Aspens...Completed

The Process

I am working on a painting as commission for two wonderful clients.
I sometimes photograph as I paint to see the canvas I've been working on from a new perspective.  I do this when I am stuck on something or have the feeling that something is "off'" in my composition while working. When I snap that picture and see it through a different lens I can almost instantly see the problem and then figure out a solution.
With a commission I know more or less what a client wants and know where the end point will be but as I snap images of various stages of the process for assessment I find it pretty awesome how the image changes.  I thought it would be fun to share with you the transformation that a canvas undertakes along the way.
There are stages that are pretty cool to look at and stages when I am filled with angst and wonder if I have a shred of skill left at all...but all in all if I keep showing up and working through the process I will inevitably arrive at a solution.
For now I am still a long way from completion but here's what 2 days of work accomplished!  Kind of fun to see.

30 in 30....day 30

Finally.
I get a break tomorrow.
That's where I'm at right now.

I'm not at all pleased with this painting.  Although there's someone out there that probably doesn't even know of me that if they stumbled across my work would probably think this is the most inspired I've ever done.  Or not.  I don't know.

I really don't know much at all.

I suppose that's what the challenge has taught me.  Which I already knew -just for the record!  I'm a student, learning, exploring...I hope I always will be!

I pushed the envelope on this one.  I think I pushed too far.  I think it was there (or at least closer) half an hour before I finished and I just spent the last half hour attempting to make the closest thing to an abstract more "identifiable"  which I think missed the point.   I took a picture during the process then deleted because I knew I couldn't get it back...but I should have posted that one.  It was fresher, cleaner, more energetic less over-worked.  Will I pursue a more abstract style in the future?  I'm not sure.  Time will tell.  I know I can compare the colours of this one and see similarities to my more representational pieces but I am more pleased with the results of many of the others.  I'm curious none-the-less.  I cracked open a door I never intended to walk through.  What's on the other side is intriguing, interesting, alluring, but is it for me?  Time will tell.

For now.  I will take a break.  Maybe a day, maybe more.  I will reflect, regroup, clean up my work area and attack some other aspect of my life with a bit more gusto.

When I return to my easel I will return with a bit more confidence because now I know I don't always have to wait for inspiration to show up, sometimes me showing up first calls inspiration and asks it to put in some time.  Sometimes that scenario works too.

I'm happy I participated in the challenge and I will again.  This has been an intense month but I believe it was a great learning experience and totally worth the time.  Thanks for taking the journey with me!

24 x 12

acrylic on canvas

30 in 30....day 29

My math genius brother just texted me to point out a couple of facts... two can play the tormenting game, Andrew!  ;)

Fact 1:  I didn't post day 29 and it's already day 30.
Fact 2:  There are 31 days in January not 30...so I need to paint an extra painting.

To address his concerns:

1:  I slipped in under the wire on the link up to Leslie's blog for day 29...it's there now!  I actually started this painting yesterday but didn't get far.  Sam is having a birthday party today...will be starting in minutes and my house was, well, filthy!!!  Because I've been painting all month...and sanding drywall compound didn't help the situation even a little bit.  So yesterday I spent a good deal of time trying to wade out from under the dirt so the "8 year olds" didn't contract some dust borne disease on my watch!

2:  There are indeed 31 days in January...but for the love of all things sacred!  Enough is enough!  I am very happy I took this challenge but -I WANT MY LIFE BACK! I've never done one of these link ups before but apparently we will be creating a collage of all the paintings I've done in the 30 days on day 31...not sure how that works but if I can, I will post the collage here!  And, Andrew, to boast about my own awesome math skills...I suspect we had to end on day 30 because a gridy, collage thingy will only work with numbers that are divisible!  5 rows of 6 or 6 rows of 5 or something like that!  ;)

Anyhoo!  Here is day 29.  I like how it looks but I want to add a little more once it is dry...build on some shadows and light.  The image was snapped on a very dull winter day when I was sitting in the truck waiting for Scott to get something at one of the local lumber yards...the tree caught my eye because it is so tall but so spindly and wobbly. The light and colours I've added are entirely fictitious.

Off to party!  Will post day 30 later....promise!

    

12 x 24

acrylic

30 in 30....day 27

Today's painting is the 2nd in a series I have now done which features Shawville Fair in the spotlight.  Again centred around my favourite part of the whole weekend, behind the barns...where all the excitement happens...at least if you're farm folk!

I am always hesitant to start these and nervous to share because I feel so much more weight is placed on them as the locals will see and of course will have opinions!  Did I get the cow just right?  Who exactly is that?  Well, that doesn't look a bit like him/her! ...and so on.

Anyway, I sketched this painting the other day but didn't have the time required to paint it so after I put a coat of mud on our renovations in the back room this morning (which are coming along wonderfully...if I do say so myself!) I sat down to finally fill it in and other than the odd break to chauffeur kids to lessons and make supper I only just finished now!  So a very late post for me!

For anyone who wants to play the "name game"...ie: try to identify anyone this photo -this is again circa 2002...so you have to reach back in your memory banks!  Enjoy!

17 x 12 

watercolour

 

30 in 30....day 20

Yay!  Day 20  -only 10 more days to go!

This challenge is a full time job!!!  Not really, but I am complaining, it is hard to be inspired ALL THE TIME!  However, the art needs to be done and the more I do the more experiments and experience acquired but it really is a very intensive assignment....there are days I just want to take a break, have a weekend...whatever, however...on I paint.

And today it was worth trudging up to my studio and putting paint to canvas, I really like how this turned out.  I painted almost the exact scene once before but the seasons were slightly different... this photo was snapped early autumn, the last time I painted this I captured an early summer day and it turned out predominantly blue and green.  Though there wasn't a lot of fully coloured leaves apparent in this picture I can easily see the results show a much wider colour spectrum.  I likely made about half of them up, or so Scott would say, he looks at my photos and wonders where I come up with all the variations...but honest, in my eyes those colours are there.
For real.
Which leads me to wonder just how differently do each of us see and perceive the same scene?

God knows we hear the same words differently, feel different in the same situations, interpret every piece of music, current event, facial expression and piece of art differently so I guess it's perfectly plausible that I really do see all the colours and Scott simply does not.
 
Likely much similar to how he interprets my eye rolls as a "sarcastic reaction"  whereas in reality it's just a sign of affection! -Ha! Now we'll see if he reads my blog!  ;)

  

 

      18 x 24

acrylic on canvas

30 in 30....day 11

Completed the second board for my seasons series this afternoon.  A bit moody, a bit darker, definitely more "in season" than my spring canvas done on day 6.

I think it will go well with the other though.

I am thinking if I matt this series on black (or at least something relatively dark) they will really pop out and be dramatic...but who know!  Two more still to paint and I'm a little fickle while deciding what to do!  :)

12 x 16

acrylic on canvas board

30 in 30....day 8

Some days life gets complicated and it's a little hard to fit in enough time to paint an entire completed painting.  I have a feeling that at the end of January I will be faced with at least a dozen canvases which need varying degrees of touching up!

Today was such a day.

However, what I did complete in the time I had feels successful to me.  Back to my favourite subject, my beloved bovine!

Sure, there's lot of anatomy corrections to make, the foreground and background to develop but all in all I like the direction this one is taking.
 
I took this picture travelling around on the back roads one early spring day last year. Obviously early as there's not a stitch of green anywhere to be seen, but somehow the cattle looked like they were just breathing a sigh of relief, as was I, after a very long winter.

I imagine if I were to take that same drive today I'd find some of the same girls huddled side by side tight to the round bale feeders with a layer of snow and ice caked on backs and the air heavy with fog as their breath steams up the entire yard. I'm not tired of winter yet, but I know that day will come very soon, and I suspect even the cows will long for the day when they can again loiter around a dry yard and soak up the first weak rays of spring light while watching the world come slowly back to life.

  

24 x 18

acrylic on canvas

30 in 30....day 7

Confession:  This was not painted today.  But recent-ish.  I spent the day putting away Christmas and just didn't get around to pulling out my paints.

This is a very large painting I did early December when I should have probably been doing about a dozen other more pertinent things.  I have wanted to paint a reindeer for about 3 years and never took the time.  I finally decided to be selfish and stubborn and ignore all responsibilities.  This is the result.
My reindeer.  "Waiting for Santa"

The photo quality is poor.  Actually, all my photos are not great.  I've been using my I-phone and our home has a lot of bright, warm walls and generally by the time I'm done painting for the day I have lots of lights turned on so colours are distorted.

I will need to take some time to pull out my good camera and set up on a bright clear day and retake all my images, but particularly this one.  It is sparkly and kind of magical.  This does not do it justice....but here it is anyway, I'd rather post a poor picture than none at all.  When I take on a challenge I generally stick to it, stubborn like that!

See you tomorrow!

  

48 x 24

acrylic on gallery canvas

30 in 30....day 6

Again trying a slightly different style today, I will eventually get back to my tried and true method to painting but I do find it really weird how no matter what I set out to do when experimenting I get completely different results than what I was actually aiming for!  I guess that's a sign that I'm no true expert...or at least not a very good fake!

What I had in mind was that I was going to create a series of seasonal paintings...I've done the same concept before but another style that time too...I was thinking of a painting made almost entirely of circular organic shapes, with extra colours and circles within circles....inspired by the likes of Norval Morrisseau, bright bold colours, very graphic...and so on.

What I ended up with was something very different. Mr. Morrisseau would no doubt NOT be impressed, but in my defence I abandoned that concept almost immediately after beginning.

My head was in the clouds today. I've been thinking of a couple people who've lost those very close to them in the last couple days, considering spirituality, mourning, grief, letting go and such.  So perhaps that's why this ended up looking like it did.   I "think" I like it but I don't consider myself much of a romantic and this looks like that to me.

(I also so hope that heaven is a little more rockin' than this too....assuming I'd be admitted that is...and that this isn't my subconscious giving me a window to the great hereafter!)

Perhaps it ended up like this only because it was my spring version??  A little sticky sweet, perhaps I can make a winter storm next or a really miserable autumn day...more matching to my volatile character!        

I do like the globs of paint, it created a bit of texture which is hard to see in this image but pretty cool when the board is in front of you.  I will continue the series for the remaining 3 seasons and hope when they're all together it looks cool.

12 x 16

acrylic on canvas board

30 in 30....day 5

My painting from today is one I've been working on for a while and I will no doubt tweak a bit more before completion.

This is a commission that is long overdue, my clients have been more than patient with me and I hope they really enjoy the painting when they finally get it!  The painting is quite large which is my favourite way to paint...love flowers, full colour and lots of splash, this was requested after seeing a similar sized painting of hollyhocks which I painted.  The clients love blue lupines and so here they are!

Might put a bit more highlights and lowlights in but otherwise it's almost there!

16 x 48

acrylic on gallery style canvas

SOLD

30 in 30....day 4

Today I did a quick research on painting with palette knives before experimenting on canvas.

I have used one a bit in the past but have never covered an entire canvas with just the use of a knife. Not easy to manipulate when I'm more familiar with the dynamic of a brush.  I have also spent the last 4 days working on relatively small canvases when I really have a strong preference for large.

What I can say is so far my preference for brushes and big have not waned but I'm pushing myself to try new styles and techniques and even if in the end nothing changes I will know a little bit more about my shortcomings, strengths, limitations and such and I guess that's a good thing!

This was a photo from years back which I took at my childhood home, snapped on a day not unlike today, when the trees and entire world around here are caked by heavy snow.  A good day to stay inside and stay warm!

 

10 x 8

acrylic on gallery canvas

30 in 30....day 2

Back again for day 2 of the 30 in 30 painting challenge...

Here is my work for today!

From a photo I snapped while biking with the kids this past autumn (they kept asking why I had to stop so many times to take so many pictures....an occupational hazard I suppose)

'Twas a brilliant afternoon...everything really was this glorious-for real!

I've always been intrigued by the old lane way, the house has been torn down and it is now only used for the fields which surround the yard that was the location of the homestead.  Usually makes me a bit melancholy to see homes fallen and forgotten but with the light the way it was on this particular day I thought it had a festive air.

Wouldn't you love to travel home to this maple lined lane?
 

12 x 12

Acrylic on Canvas

March Break Art

The kids were on March Break a couple weeks back. 
I had also been asked to teach an art class for kids as a fundraiser for the Pontiac Artists' Association which didn't transpire.  Hope is that next year more people will be looking for activities for their children and register.  There is a plethora of super talented instructors in our area who anxiously share their skills with kids one week a year at the Young Artists' Workshop and this was to be an expansion of that.
I was to be the novice teacher and had bought the supplies before the classes got cancelled so half way through the week when we were all going stir crazy I pulled out the canvases and told them "Today is art day...put down the electronics and follow me."  and so they did.
The project I picked was Kid's Silhouette Art.  I found the tutorial online, but the link I used is eluding me completely!
What we did was pretty simple:
-I used a light and traced their outlines for them.
-Set them up at the table with Black Sharpies and told them to draw things that they liked, were about them or important to them within their images.
-I then brought out tempera paints and showed them how to use them like watercolour and fill in their images. (Sam decided he was done slightly before filling it all in...and I decided that was fine...a true reflection of his artistic fortitude at the ripe old age of 6)
-After the paint was dry I pulled out black acrylic and had them paint around the images (mom did that step for Sam)
-All done! 

I've always liked Silhouette art and yet have none.  Although these are pretty flashy and bright, they are really stunning and look incredibly fun in their rooms....and the best part is they say this was the best thing we did over the March Break!  Points for mom!...Gotta love that! ;)

Coffee Bag Art

I agreed to participate in an exhibit some time back and the deadline is looming.  One of our local artists has a great coffee shop and art gallery called Art Brulant and Impressions.  Since he has begun roasting coffee he has accumulated quite a collection of bags that hold the green coffee beans so being resourceful he's decided to hand them out to other artists to transform into art of their choice.  The exhibit will be called "Beyond the Bag" and starts on May 5th in Shawville.
 
I've discovered a couple things about these burlap bags.

-I really like them...just as is.  I hope to get my hands on a few more and make some great toss cushions for outdoors under my porch, love the graphics on them and think they are pretty awesome all on their own!
-But also, even after a good thick coat of gesso and then some more acrylic primer I've discovered that this stuff really sucks up the paint!  I'm going to go broke painting this bag! We are so fortunate to have a plethora of quality art supplies on hand just about everywhere these days, I'll be happy to return to the ease of  my regular canvases shortly.

Meanwhile the coarse nature of the ground means I have very little control over the detail in the painting and this has forced me to loosen up and just go with it.  What the end result will be remains to be seen but I'm doing a bit of a tongue in cheek thing, not getting too serious about the subject and just relaxing about the process. 

I was told in college that I took tasks very literally, I see that literal interpretation popping up yet again in my project but at least I'm stretching my creative legs and moving outside my box even if I'm not getting very far beyond the coffee bag... I just couldn't kill all the printing on the bag- my love of coffee and all the rough, natural burlap and yes- cows are coming through and I'm having fun...so thanks, Raymond for the experience!

I cannot wait to see everyone else's interpretations and creations.  I'm sure most will be far more ingenious than this and it will be a really energetic and entertaining exhibit!  

'Cafe au Lait'  -with miles to go!   ;)

Where's My Purple Paint?

I always lose my purple paint

                                               and I always need it. 

You see, I have a system for sorting my acrylic paints and I guess it needs some tweaking because I never quite know where to put and therefore where to find my purple paint. 

I have a basket that has three sections and so I divide my colours into three categories which makes sense to me for ease of retrieval when I’m in an inspired painting frenzy.

They are few and far between lately therefore I cannot risk a loss of focus!

 

I have a neutral section which houses the browns and a tube of black I’ve had for 20 years.

The warm colours section holds the yellows, oranges and reds.

Finally the cool colours section has a medley of blues and greens.  

I dump my purple anywhere; it does not have a home.

Is it cool and therefore does it go with the blues and greens? 

Or is it warm due to it’s proximity to red and therefore should it get mixed in with those and the yellows? 

Or finally is it neutral? 

Yes, I think that must be it.  In my life purple is most likely a neutral.  I use it everywhere. While I do not have a purple wall anywhere in my home I have tried, my usually very complacent husband put his oar in there and said NO WAY!  He apparently does not agree with me on the “purple is a neutral” train of thought!  Actually neither do I -there’s no way purple would be neutral on a wall!

 So where should it go?  I still do not know.

But for my art… purple is as essential as breathing. 

There is never a painting I do that doesn’t have a lot of it in it.  (Having said that a little purple goes a long way, it is very concentrated, in case you wonder.)   I paint purple cows…I never use black, a left over tip from art school days that  suggests the creation of black from other pigment adds a deeper, richer dimension to the colour on canvas.  Purple creates life, depth, shadow and fullness.  Therefore my cows are purple, my leaves are purple, the skies, the sheep, well just about it all!

On our wedding day many moons ago I remember the minister’s sermon.  She spoke of our small community and the landscape, the hills and valleys and likened the view to the patchwork quilt my mother had sewn as a wedding present.  She included the people that you see every day in passage.  The ones you speak to and the ones that might only get a cautious nod, even a very few you may go to great lengths to avoid.  She said in the incredible view that is our valley home there is richness and depth because of the dark spots, the forests, the deep dark lakes and even the questionable individuals.  Without all these “shadows” our views would be flat, lifeless and shallow.  In my naivety and youth I wondered why she needed to cloud our special day with such moody talk, but realized soon enough she was equating it with a marriage, a relationship and the shadows that would inevitably fall. 

These shadows are my purples.  In almost 16 years of marriage we have experienced many purples.  The really incredible thing about purple is not it in itself but how in spite of it’s somber intensity it does add life and vitality to our world.  Purple has a vibrancy all its own. Purple compliments and makes yellows sunnier, pinks more vital, blues deeper, greens increase in range a million fold.   Without the purple of life, the sorrow as it sometimes is, the injury, the darkness which carries a whole life of its own, there is not a doubt the fun times wouldn’t be as spectacular. Once you walk through the purple and realize that it was the shade that brought cool relief on a sweltering day, the depth that made leaves pop bright against the autumn sky would you really never want to experience it and are you not richer for it?  Would our lives be as sumptuous if the shadows weren’t in them?  I imagine life would be kind of flat. 

I like purple.  I have faith and perseverance to get me through my darkest purples and it illuminates by contrast the wonder that life holds in all its other array of colour and emotion.  I hope that in my art I have used it sufficiently to instill depth and richness which is so very essential in keeping everything from falling flat.

May your purples be bearable.  May you see them for what they bring and what they illuminate.  Tolerate the dark days as the celebrations will be all the sweeter.   Life is short, shadows fall, but it is a wonderful, amazing, awe inspiring trip.  So breathe it all in and enjoy.

Now back to my palette I go…so concludes my ode to purple. 

Don’t even get me started on Green and for the record, I do not have one of those but many, as they are life itself…another rambling for another day!