When I don't see my surroundings as just a whole lot of work...I guess I'm pretty blessed. A few hazy photos from the beginning of a very hot day here at Little Red Wagon Vineyard and of course home! Stay cool!
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
30 in 30....day 28
For all the work I put into yesterday's painting this one is the opposite....a quickie to the extreme which did not pan out to my favour.
I went too quickly and as a result made some fatal anatomical flaws which I more or less corrected only by using acrylic paint to cover up my errors.
Rather than scrub and work and agonize I am chalking this up as a learning experience....in taking time and preparing. A lesson I need to re-teach myself again and again and again as the years go by! So this is what it is, kinda quick, kinda okay but nothing monumental!
I think I'll be happy to take a break after the next 2 days are done...30 paintings in 30 days is a HUGE commitment, another lesson learned!
I went too quickly and as a result made some fatal anatomical flaws which I more or less corrected only by using acrylic paint to cover up my errors.
Rather than scrub and work and agonize I am chalking this up as a learning experience....in taking time and preparing. A lesson I need to re-teach myself again and again and again as the years go by! So this is what it is, kinda quick, kinda okay but nothing monumental!
I think I'll be happy to take a break after the next 2 days are done...30 paintings in 30 days is a HUGE commitment, another lesson learned!
9 x 6
watercolour and ink and acrylic
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
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!
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
Sunday, January 25, 2015
30 in 30....day 25
Still a little under the weather today so I decided I'd create something really quick and simple out of my head. What I guess I forgot is that my head apparently does not do quick and simple. In fact it's kind of a convoluted mess of confusion which seemingly translates into a tangle on paper.
Oh well! Took longer than planned to but here it is..a simple drawing and watercolour of some colourful and upbeat flowers...done colouring book style!
Oh well! Took longer than planned to but here it is..a simple drawing and watercolour of some colourful and upbeat flowers...done colouring book style!
12 x 16
watercolour
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
30 in 30....day 21
Just a quick and simple painting today. There is a multitude of things calling to me... the dust bunnies are mocking me, the farm bills are leering at me, the hole in the kitchen ceiling is flat out laughing at me because they know me, they know I like to stay on top...as best as I can and I'm falling just a bit further behind with each passing day!
Thus quick and simple. The subject matter is also simple but although innocent looking enough it is also taunting me. Painted from a picture I took in my vineyard late this summer as the grapes were ripening. We have lots of wine ageing gracefully (we hope) in our garage, but that begins the problem. We were supposed to have built a winery by now.
The winery allows licensing.
Licensing allows a business.
Business allows sales.
Sales allow income.
Income allows a small climb towards debt recovery and maybe even some fine day: profitability!
We have no winery.
We do have lots of legislation, paperwork, complications, barriers.
What we need is WINNING LOTTERY TICKET! A SUGAR DADDY!! A PRIVATE INVESTOR! A GUARANTOR! A PHILANTHROPIST! Not even a truly rich one. Just brave and trusting. That would cut through ALL the red tape in one fell swoop and we'd be on our way.
Oh well, I just have to hunker down for the long, slow wait. If nothing else I am being taught patience over and over and over again. Some day you would think I'd get good at it but apparently I'm a slow learner.
Sigh. So today I'll have to satisfy myself with painting my Marquette grapes and maybe once the day is done I'll pop the cork on one of those many bottles and savour the efforts of a season past and dig in stubbornly planning a bit more for seasons yet to come because although patience is not my strong point apparently stubbornness is!
Thus quick and simple. The subject matter is also simple but although innocent looking enough it is also taunting me. Painted from a picture I took in my vineyard late this summer as the grapes were ripening. We have lots of wine ageing gracefully (we hope) in our garage, but that begins the problem. We were supposed to have built a winery by now.
The winery allows licensing.
Licensing allows a business.
Business allows sales.
Sales allow income.
Income allows a small climb towards debt recovery and maybe even some fine day: profitability!
We have no winery.
We do have lots of legislation, paperwork, complications, barriers.
What we need is WINNING LOTTERY TICKET! A SUGAR DADDY!! A PRIVATE INVESTOR! A GUARANTOR! A PHILANTHROPIST! Not even a truly rich one. Just brave and trusting. That would cut through ALL the red tape in one fell swoop and we'd be on our way.
Oh well, I just have to hunker down for the long, slow wait. If nothing else I am being taught patience over and over and over again. Some day you would think I'd get good at it but apparently I'm a slow learner.
Sigh. So today I'll have to satisfy myself with painting my Marquette grapes and maybe once the day is done I'll pop the cork on one of those many bottles and savour the efforts of a season past and dig in stubbornly planning a bit more for seasons yet to come because although patience is not my strong point apparently stubbornness is!
10 x 8
acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas
Monday, January 19, 2015
30 in 30....day 19
Today was a mixed up day. There is a good deal of uncertainty in our lives these days surrounding our occupations and the choices we've made throughout the two decades and more that Scott and I have been working together to build our lives. Nothing monumentally critical, we have our health and sanity (most days) and family and love so nothing that we don't believe we can't find the tools to handle, just not the somewhat more relaxed winter days of planning and dreaming with some rest and rehabilitation as in years past.
So, when I went to my easel today I went with an empty cup. Frustration, resentment and not an ounce of desire to create anything new or inspirational went with me. The project I settled on was not started this month, I actually started well over a year ago and just got away from it. Again, not my "usual" style but something I really enjoy doing, when in the mood...I call these pieces my colouring book pages. I had inked out the image before and had done a small amount of filling in with watercolour. I decided that colouring was about all I could handle today.
What really helped is that it is my mom and dad's. My childhood home. With the riotous, very ambitious and yet well tended flower garden and raspberries which took over much of the vegetable patch after we kids left home.
Soon enough I was mesmerized in examining the photo and laying down the colours of the yard where I grew up and the place I will always think of as "home" and soon enough everything fell back into a more manageable place again.
Almost as good as a hug from them both. Or like, snuggling up in the corner of one couch in the living room while dad watches television (likely curling if I'd gone today) on the other sofa all the while offering a running commentary or opinion on the broadcast while slipping in quiet phrases of encouragement and support.
Or flopping across their bed upstairs watching mom doing needlework or knitting in her armchair while pouring out my woes, which would eventually lead to us both lamenting choices made, then recalling better days, then laughing at the so many amazing memories that would not have been made had the choices been different. Finally, that would lead me back to dreaming of what tomorrow may be.
In no time at all I'd be filled up with love to overflowing. Fixed and as good as new for the next thousand miles, not to say that we don't have vast differences in opinions, or that I didn't take completely opposite paths than they would have if they could have chosen for me, but there's something so rare and precious about just going home and being unconditionally supported by your parents. Even when you feel like a complete failure, even when you're supposed to be all grown up....it is a feeling I will always carry with me and always treasure.
Hoping this colouring book painting is a gift that they will enjoy during all their tomorrows no matter where life takes them. Hoping I will have them to continue to support me for many years yet and that I am adequate at supporting them too. I also hope they know that when I think back to my childhood, this is what I see, a picture perfect storybook life, a beautiful home overflowing with creativity and love, a secure and safe haven, that's what they and this place will always be to me.
So, when I went to my easel today I went with an empty cup. Frustration, resentment and not an ounce of desire to create anything new or inspirational went with me. The project I settled on was not started this month, I actually started well over a year ago and just got away from it. Again, not my "usual" style but something I really enjoy doing, when in the mood...I call these pieces my colouring book pages. I had inked out the image before and had done a small amount of filling in with watercolour. I decided that colouring was about all I could handle today.
What really helped is that it is my mom and dad's. My childhood home. With the riotous, very ambitious and yet well tended flower garden and raspberries which took over much of the vegetable patch after we kids left home.
Soon enough I was mesmerized in examining the photo and laying down the colours of the yard where I grew up and the place I will always think of as "home" and soon enough everything fell back into a more manageable place again.
Almost as good as a hug from them both. Or like, snuggling up in the corner of one couch in the living room while dad watches television (likely curling if I'd gone today) on the other sofa all the while offering a running commentary or opinion on the broadcast while slipping in quiet phrases of encouragement and support.
Or flopping across their bed upstairs watching mom doing needlework or knitting in her armchair while pouring out my woes, which would eventually lead to us both lamenting choices made, then recalling better days, then laughing at the so many amazing memories that would not have been made had the choices been different. Finally, that would lead me back to dreaming of what tomorrow may be.
In no time at all I'd be filled up with love to overflowing. Fixed and as good as new for the next thousand miles, not to say that we don't have vast differences in opinions, or that I didn't take completely opposite paths than they would have if they could have chosen for me, but there's something so rare and precious about just going home and being unconditionally supported by your parents. Even when you feel like a complete failure, even when you're supposed to be all grown up....it is a feeling I will always carry with me and always treasure.
Hoping this colouring book painting is a gift that they will enjoy during all their tomorrows no matter where life takes them. Hoping I will have them to continue to support me for many years yet and that I am adequate at supporting them too. I also hope they know that when I think back to my childhood, this is what I see, a picture perfect storybook life, a beautiful home overflowing with creativity and love, a secure and safe haven, that's what they and this place will always be to me.
18 x 12
watercolour
Saturday, January 17, 2015
30 in 30....day 17
I worked on a quick little image today in an effort to squeeze a piece of art in. I used A LOT of acrylic gel gloss medium and mostly a palette knife after first laying down a background. My lesson today is don't overwork things...I took it a bit too far and lost some crispness and clarity in the process. I also think I'd like to take a palette knife course at some point in my existence, will have to see what's available nearby.
The photo, I've used before. A snapshot from our garden, I love the bright, crazy coloured, sturdy zinnias almost best of all...as well as poppies, delphiniums and of course sunflowers...mostly anything bright and gaudy I suppose! (Maybe synonymous with me?!)
The summer flowers are a huge contrast to the very bone-chilling, blustery day we're experiencing here, very grey and sombre. The mood is festive inside though as my oldest son turns 11 today and he has spent the last 5 hours with a handful of friends running around, traipsing in and out of the house and having an all around great and loud time! Thus the reason for the very quick, very small art project today.
The photo, I've used before. A snapshot from our garden, I love the bright, crazy coloured, sturdy zinnias almost best of all...as well as poppies, delphiniums and of course sunflowers...mostly anything bright and gaudy I suppose! (Maybe synonymous with me?!)
The summer flowers are a huge contrast to the very bone-chilling, blustery day we're experiencing here, very grey and sombre. The mood is festive inside though as my oldest son turns 11 today and he has spent the last 5 hours with a handful of friends running around, traipsing in and out of the house and having an all around great and loud time! Thus the reason for the very quick, very small art project today.
6 x 8
acrylic on canvas board
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
30 in 30....day 12 & 13
I'm not absolutely sure that this 30 day painting challenge is bringing out the very best of my artistic talent!
I decided to participate for various reasons, one which includes my continued involvement in the Pontiac Artists' Studio Tour. The tour runs during the middle 2 weekends in June and my oldest in her 14 year old wisdom ( last year) informed me I would be so much less stressed before the tour if I just got my act together much sooner in the year. So, Emma, I'm placing any waste of paint and supplies and time this January very firmly upon YOUR shoulders! ;) Just kidding.
I do have a collection of paintings in various states of completion and I am truly far ahead as compared to years past and yet I find myself rushing a little too quickly a little too often to get my link up on Leslie Saeta's blog...so the quality may not always be right on, however experimentation is happening which wouldn't have otherwise so I'll chalk it up to lessons learned!
Next, there is the predicament of after I link up my art to her site of perusing through 400+ other artists' daily masterpieces...and they truly are, then I start to doubt and worry and wonder....
then, in an effort of self preservation (or ego preservation at the very least) I quickly go do something else that doesn't involve art at all....and then...
my next predicament: I fall behind! Payroll for Glad Crest Farms is in fine shape, I'm proud to report, but I failed to post yesterday at all...so today, a 2 for one!
The 2 missing seasons from my little experimental series. Summer had many challenges, Autumn was much easier.
Enjoy!
I decided to participate for various reasons, one which includes my continued involvement in the Pontiac Artists' Studio Tour. The tour runs during the middle 2 weekends in June and my oldest in her 14 year old wisdom ( last year) informed me I would be so much less stressed before the tour if I just got my act together much sooner in the year. So, Emma, I'm placing any waste of paint and supplies and time this January very firmly upon YOUR shoulders! ;) Just kidding.
I do have a collection of paintings in various states of completion and I am truly far ahead as compared to years past and yet I find myself rushing a little too quickly a little too often to get my link up on Leslie Saeta's blog...so the quality may not always be right on, however experimentation is happening which wouldn't have otherwise so I'll chalk it up to lessons learned!
Next, there is the predicament of after I link up my art to her site of perusing through 400+ other artists' daily masterpieces...and they truly are, then I start to doubt and worry and wonder....
then, in an effort of self preservation (or ego preservation at the very least) I quickly go do something else that doesn't involve art at all....and then...
my next predicament: I fall behind! Payroll for Glad Crest Farms is in fine shape, I'm proud to report, but I failed to post yesterday at all...so today, a 2 for one!
The 2 missing seasons from my little experimental series. Summer had many challenges, Autumn was much easier.
Enjoy!
each 12 x 16
acrylic on canvas board
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