Old Year

Here it is, the last day of the old year. Looking back is a good thing to do as long as I do not linger there. It has been quite a year. I did a series of drawings that danced across the walls of several venues and I won a few prizes. The workshops I attended were very enlightening and the wise words of mentors persisted into my awareness: the only way to master what you do is by doing, in other words, paint. I finished off a couple of watercolours for the latest show and recorded their codes in my book; according to the records I managed six paintings this year. Six. Sigh…. So what happened? As I pondered the dilemma I realized that moving into new quarters had snuffed my creativity. I had lost the connection. I have since moved again and the paint has come out once for a couple of days to finish off some old inspirations….. This will not do. All is not lost. During the last couple of months I have had the opportunity to repriorize and bring into alignment what it is I really want to do. I am looking forward to spending more productive time in my studio and that requires planning. The time and energy consuming exercises that bring me the most revenue will be curtailed, I am going with my heart: more painting, less commissions and less teaching. More heart means less head, more intuition and less adrenaline. I am looking forward to moving through 2013 with ease and prosperity. May your year be prosperous, healthy and fulfilling as well.

Light

There is light! I am so thrilled! My studio is now functional to the point where I can actually paint in it! The framing is done… I had several pictures to frame for myself and others… The school is almost prepared. I go to Peace River at the end of January. The murals are on the way, ideas formulated, sketches to do. The boxes are close to being unpacked. I unpacked three today. I am looking for paint, for the students at the school. Soon there will not be any boxes to search… What does not fit on the shelves is recycled or trashed. I am downsizing. And there is light! ‘Tis the season to celebrate light. We are fast approaching the solstice and the days will be getting longer… Alleluia! I will not be publishing a blog on Christmas Eve so have a blessed and merry couple of weeks. See you in the new year!

On the road

As the car was moving I took some pictures on the way home this weekend. Many ended up being discarded and some of the patterns were interesting. The original picture is blurred; the road was rough. I like the movement and the contrast. I could enhance the bridge because I am not a camera, manipulate the colours, play with the textures and add some whispers. Whispers are elements that cannot be perceived by the naked eye. Poetry would be one of my whispers. Spirits of the land would be another. The possibilities are endless. To begin with I played on the computer. Since the original was such a poor resolution many of the computer manipulations did not work well. Cutout did a good job of simplifying things. I adjusted the brightness and the contrast, the colour balance and I tried again. Cutout picked out some different shapes. Fascinating way to spend a few minutes. Have a great day!

Munn Creek

There is a place, remote, quiet, rugged. Just my style. Often when the children were young we would pack up the van and find the most natural venue for our camping experience. “The most natural” meant the necessities included an outdoor toilet (the smelly kind), firewood and water. We preferred being beside a stream, not for the fishing really though we did attempt it, rather for the sound of running water, soothing, calming, healing. Now that my bones are older they protest sleeping on the ground and so Rocky Mountain Escape is a great compromise. Just below the haven of bed, flush toilet and shower, wood stove, sink and comfy couches there runs Munn Creek. I did not have my paints with me when I first ventured down the path. It was late in the day and the sun was setting. Gold laden branches caressed by the breeze stood in stark contrast to the violet purples of the distant hills. Complementary colours. Sometime during our stay I took the time to draw and paint the morning view and in my studio I did a tracing so I could splash down the colours I remembered from that morning. It is time to go back. I can hear the creek calling…..

Adjustments

So, to fend off discouragement, I put down my utility knife, ignored the boxes and cleared a table surface. I found my paints and began to prepare a couple of watercolours for two different submissions. Today is the deadline for one of them. The painting is not finished but I will submit anyway and sometime today I will pick up the necessary glass to frame them before next weekend…. There is a lot to be said about deadlines. The watercolour on display this week has been done several times. I decided to make an adjustment in the drawing of the figure in the foreground before I send it to Vancouver for the Member Show coming up in January I believe. I will need some more corplast and Styrofoam to build a shipment box. I do appreciate knowing how to go about things with that part of the process. In the meantime there are several other shows to which I have been accepted. One is under control and the others are…. imagined! Priorising events will help get things done as I weave in and out of personal and professional responsibilities. Hahhhhhhhhah! Panic is not allowed.

Jetlagged

I got home in the afternoon on Monday after having slept in the Los Angeles airport for the night….long story.  Choosing to sleep in the next morning did not improve my mental capacities and I completely forgot to put out my blog. My studio is slowly improving and I am about to embark upon my creative adventures once again. There are a few other things getting in the way, nonetheless, paint will hit paper this week. Life is good.

Lily Fountain

Well this is the last of my Cortes Island stock…. I will paint something for next week. I do have some watercolours that I intend to submit to a local show; they are not quite finished and I now know where my palette is although I am still working on clearing a surface on which to work. Unpacking takes a while. I was in the garden for this little painting as you can see. I thought I would try a bit of abstraction on the water fountain and ended up combining two images: the water and the nearby lily. It needs work. I do like the composition, the colours are conservative and the stamen is weak. There are possibilities and it is a good reference if I choose to pursue a deeper abstraction of the image. Time for incubation. Creation always requires a good deal of incubation, rumination and self-analysis through the art of asking pertinent questions. Time to unpack another box.

In the Shade

Okay. My studio is still in shambles so I am back at the work I did on Cortes. I am totally fascinated with warm and cool grays. It was such a new realization that I could not help but do a little experimenting. This one impressed the instructor…. I usually do not like doing architecture. It is a precision endeavour that does not allow too many errors. The perspective must be correct. I was uninspired with the flowers… I am not sure why they do not excite me. Perhaps I find them too easy. In any case I turned around. I was under the shade of one of the lovely trees that graced this magnificent garden when I noticed the light filtering through the intricate wood work of the balcony and glancing off the leaves and stems. I saw an opportunity to use the grays, cool against warm, light against dark and within the darkness, more cool against warm…. Such fun! 

Yukon

So how was I supposed to know? I thought north meant cool, even cold. I had never been north of the arctic circle and I had no idea what to bring to wear. I checked the weather averages, 15-16 degrees Celsius for the high. Well, that is cool. So I packed my summer wardrobe and a few extras for more layers if I needed them. Well, I never wore the layers, it was glorious. So much for preconceived ideas. The weather man marveled at the records hit each day, 22, 23 and 19. September in Whitehorse is breathtaking too. The colours are spectacular, the water in the Yukon river is actually turquoise. It looks drinkable! One of the fabulous forays into the surrounding area included Miles Canyon. We strolled, sketched and compared notes. As usual I picked something with sharp contrasts and negative space, so predictable. Pencil does not quite capture the colours though and ink would have done more justice to the deep shadows. Still, all in all, it is somewhere I would like to visit again. Perhaps we will drive next time…. Life is good.

Airports

Lately I have been spending a lot of time at airports. There have been great opportunities to observe human nature, connect to strangers and paint. I like choosing subjects who are more or less settled, unaware of my presence and engaged in an activity that will allow them to remain in stationary position for a length of time, enough time for me to do a sketch. Often I will begin several subjects so that I may return to the previous one once they have resumed their original position. Memory plays a part as well. Then there are occasions when I rely more heavily upon memory or artistic license. Such is the case with this study as I waited in Vancouver for the flight to Whitehorse. The young lady would eventually turn out to be my roommate for the event we were both attending. She was blissfully immersed in her book as I took out my watercolour pencil and began to draw her and the surroundings in the five by seven sketch pad I always take with me. The portable studio fits well into a purse that can hold water, brushes, spray gun, pens, pencils, tissues, paint, pad of 140lb paper, warming blanket and a rain poncho which serves as a tarp on occasion. It measures approximately ten inches by eight inches by four inches. It has been through many scanners and will continue to do so. I could not finish the sketch as some other participants arrived and she chose to join them in animated conversation. The next time I took out my paints was in Los Angeles. Instead of beginning something new I decided to finish this one knowing that I had total freedom to choose the colours I wished without regard for the original scene. It was good to get back to brush to paper….

In the Garden

Well, I missed last week and I am late this week! I am staggering from the information I took in during the training program of Braveheart Women Resonate. In the meantime I am still waiting for heat in my new studio so the boxes are still configured in Everest style and I have little idea where anything is… Sigh. I am suffering from withdrawal. Today I will do some drawing and tomorrow I will do some painting in preparation for a class. Now let’s turn to yesterday. The two flower studies are from the garden at Hollyhock on Cortes Island. A magnificent retreat, so peaceful, so beautiful. The garden was full of flowers even at the end of August and it produces much of their salad ingredients and herbs for their kitchen. It is a wonderland of textures, colours and contrasts. Sunshine makes such a difference as you can see. The hydrangeas enjoyed a subdued light under a cloudy sky, graying the colours and forcing a look at a more abstract composition. The lily basked in full sun. The exercise here was more about few strokes, clean colours, and contrast. Yes, it is time to get back to painting…..

Beach House

This is an exercise in grays, light and gradations. Beginning with a panel covered in black gesso I sketched in the major tonal areas before adding the cool gray for the house in the background and the warm gray of the tree in the foreground. The tonal value of each set up the rest of the image as each colour was added allowing the dark of the panel to show through. This opens so many possibilities. We could begin with a red panel or a green panel or a blue, purple, orange, fuchsia…the choices are endless. Each base colour would cause a different reaction with the subsequent colours. Adding the fun of juxtaposing warm and cool grays formed from complementary colours and magic happens. Magic or chaos… The fun is in the experimentation. In the background, over to the right, a little gradation is happening in the sky as the blue gray gradually becomes an orangey pink. Grays make it possible. This is another whole world to explore. I can hardly wait to get started!

Balance

How does one find balance in the midst of chaos? Once again my studio is out of order. It is a good thing that I am absent for a couple of weeks while the heating is being installed. There is a point of balance. I am grateful that my mind will be occupied with interests other than ordering my chaos…. I am grateful for my husband’s sense of humour and his never ending patience. I am grateful we have a place to come home to. Deep breath. Life is good. Over the next few months my temporary quarters will give us the time to consider more permanent alternatives and to decide on the priorities each of us wishes to choose. In the meantime I will expand upon the wonderful insights of the last workshop on Cortes Island. There is so much to explore and to share in this wonderful world of visual expression. Until next week, happy painting!

Juicy Strokes

Thirty-five strokes

Twelve strokes

Strokes are some of the distinguishable marks that separate painting from photography. Strokes allow the artist to interpret, to abstract, to simplify what is seen, or what is felt. Often when I am teaching I ask the students in what direction does the grass grow? Is it top down or bottom up? By flowing the paint in the same direction as the plant grows we have a better chance of creating a semblance of the object. Wild grass is a long way from manicured as well. By twisting the brush as we flow the paint in various directions the “grass” becomes more realistic in an abstract way. Length of stroke is another consideration. How long is the grass? The best method is to use juicy strokes. Juicy is full, fluid colour and body. Loading the brush with semi-mixed colours we get streaks that look like stems. Next time you are out for a walk in the country, or stop the car, take a look at the grass in the ditch before it has been mowed. The colours will amaze you. Enough about grass! The images are examples from the Cortez workshop as well. The exercise was using juicy strokes in a minimal matter. How few strokes can one use to create a painting? I managed twelve. How low can you go?

Hollyhock Beach

Disgruntled with some of the results of my painting and the fact that I had ruined a book, I went back to watercolours. I was not in a good mood. I was feeling frustrated and my painting was weak when the instructor suggested that it could not be improved because I was using watercolour. There is something deep inside my psyche that will not permit me to roll over and play dead. Just tell me I can’t do something and watch me find a way. I looked at the foreground again and I had to admit it was very poor. No balance, no depth, no contrast. Sigh. I looked around for a solution. There were some smaller trees just on the edge of the beach and the grassy knoll upon which I was standing. I looked at the pile of driftwood and decided that it needed some deeper hues. Taking my brush loaded with pigment I slapped in the tree carefully painting around the sprigs of grass that I had drawn. Much better. The light was too soft. Taking some more darks I developed the shadow areas within the wood. Before it dried I dropped in another strong colour and watched it mingle and pattern. Lovely. Who said watercolour cannot be fixed? I think I will go back to acrylics.

First Attempts

Wandering through my favorite store I spotted something I might need when I went on the acrylic workshop the following month. I made a note to buy it when the best sale of the year was on. Sale or no sale my bank account diminishes drastically when I make my purchases for the year. This item was a wet palette so the acrylic paint would not dry out as quickly. In the hot Cortez sun and dry wind it turned out to be the most useful tool I brought. Not knowing how to use it at first I put it away on the first day in my back pack. The lid is air tight, not water tight. Unfortunately I had paid little attention to the book I had sitting on the seat until the next morning when I spent some time separating pages with paper towel. Sigh. In any case what you see before you are the results of my first efforts at painting en plein air with acrylics. I can certainly understand the attraction to this type of paint. They dry almost as quickly as watercolours and they have far more capacity for changing unwanted passages of colour or drawing. They are a little more difficult to clean up and that is why I buy inexpensive brushes for acrylic painting. It was a delight to experiment and discover. There is no end to the possibilities.

First Impressions

Cortez Island was a new venue for me. I love the ocean and on any given day the west coast islands are truly breathtaking. I looked forward to smelling the salty air once more and just gazing out upon the ever changing water hues as the light shifted during the day. Hollyhock is a special place. It has a harmonious peace about it. There is a communion of souls here, a quiet understanding to which even the trees and the wildlife are privy. I was not expecting the heat wave. Usually the ocean keeps things cool. Not here. There were thirty-one other artists seeking the necessary shade in which to carry out their craft. Shade not only provided some shelter from the burning sun but made it possible to see the pigments more clearly as we applied them to canvas. Oh, that was another thing. I choose to paint watercolours on location. They are portable, convenient, easy to clean up and do not cause problems in airports. I could see that I would eventually decide to move into acrylics for this workshop. Another challenge. Staying in my comfort zone does not appeal to me at the best of times anyway. In the meantime, being stubborn, I created my first painting in watercolours. Since we were to be pushing towards abstract I was less careful than usual. A view of the beach, full of colour and contrast. Fun if nothing else.

Invitaion to Listen

My watercolour series has taken a new curve. It so goes against my grain to leave something “unfinished”, yet is it really? The question is open. Are the trees and the figure in the past or in the future? Are they always present? Are they beyond time? Our world is connected in ways we barely understand and in ways of which we are not even cognizant. Past and present pertain only to this lifetime. There are worlds in which timelessness is the norm. The creative space is timeless. Anyone who creates is aware of this phenomenon. I wonder if the next life is timeless. I suspect so. Irrelevant, perhaps, as I am living in the here and now. Which brings me to the question of being present. In our world of clamour and noise we are inundated with useless information and propaganda aimed at derailing us from the time-honoured art of listening. Are we listening to each other? Am I listening to myself? My body can keep me healthy if I listen to its wisdom. There is much the forest can tell us, or the stars at night. How often do I stop to hug a tree or go to a place, away from the artificial lighting, to gaze at the heavens at night? Am I listening? Am I taking the time to listen to the children and the elderly? Wisdom can also be found in these places. Today I will take a walk, smell the flowers, hug a tree and listen to the water flowing over the rocks. Today I will listen.

Transformed

Lately I have been spending my time with a different kind of paint: latex! I enjoy any kind of paint! The first item on the agenda was the bathroom. I did not think to take before pictures which is unfortunate, however, the transformation is dramatic. There have been some amusing moments in all this such as the spots missed in the ceiling only show up when the lights are turned off. That limits the time for touchup during the daylight. Three days of work just about did me in though. My muscles were pleading for respite. Each night I eased myself into an Epsom salt bath and faithfully followed my exercise routine to avoid complete seizure. One day was spent in my studio this week. The last painting I will do there for a while. I loaded a few boxes with some items I will not need immediately, reference books for example. I am all packed into the car for my trip to Cortez Island. Four glorious days of nothing but creatively covering canvas. I leave tomorrow. While I am away I will not think about the packing, the dismantling, the reinstalling and reorganizing. Sigh. While I am away I will concentrate on transforming canvases, visiting family and generally having fun. In the meantime, more latex.

Deprived

I have two lovely watercolours on the way. It is always exciting to see a painting develop. I love the contemplation time, just gazing into space, allowing the creative juices to flow. I am also working on a mixed media that is also gloriously opening like a blossom in sunlight. Then there are the six panels in incubation. I will grab my camera one day and find six interesting female faces to adorn their surfaces, a new mixed media series “Mother Earth”. Abundance. I am a little fearful of the future though. I will be studio deprived for a month or more. A few extracurricular activities have tempted me beyond my seclusion and I have chosen to participate. The van is loaded with the elements of a different kind of painting….wall painting. My daughter and her new husband are moving into new accommodations with his parents and their present home needs readying for sale, the sooner the better. Tomorrow we begin. The following week I am away. True, I will still be studio deprived but I do not think I will be suffering as I will be participating in a workshop with Robert Genn and his lovely daughter Sara on Cortez Island. I so look forward to that. Upon my return I will be packing. My daughter has invited me to set up my studio in their garage and we hope to move most of our belongings as well as my studio into this space by the end of the month. My studio would be closer. I would have ready access to water and a place to clean my brushes. As for open space, well, that remains to be seen. I am very good at packing. It is one of my extraordinary talents. Comes with practice I think.

Double Happiness

Double Happiness

Bride and Groom

Someone mentioned that it is Monday. It is almost Tuesday and I had completely forgotten my blog…. I have been a little distracted this week. Most of my studio time has been preparing for my youngest daughter’s wedding. I have used a lot of red paint this week. Good thing it was on sale! As you can see, one of the decorations was a large double happiness symbol to be hung on the not so pretty wall at the reception venue. Friday was installation day and picking up the slack. Saturday was the big day so there was no time to spare. Everything went without a hitch due in large part to the wonderful teamwork surrounding the event. We managed to get to bed at 2:30 and I discovered that I am really not as young as I used to be! Sunday we went to church and unpacked, taking a much needed nap in the afternoon. Today we spent with comings and goings; our son is returning to Manitoba early tomorrow morning. It is good to reconnect and recollect. We now have a larger family circle. Life is good.

Installed

It has been a year since I completed this mural, almost to the day. It went up this week. I have a final coat of varnish to apply and it is finished. There is something to be said for doing things in a timely manner. I find that most of the time now is best rather than later. In this case I had forgotten to make notes about the colour combinations I had used and I was very appreciative of the guidelines I had worked up for Riverdale as I had really forgotten the procedure on how to install fabric murals. All went well nonetheless and she is looking beautiful. I am also managing to get a more even tan for the dress I will be wearing for our daughter’s wedding this coming Saturday. My baby is getting married. It went so quickly! She asked me to be in charge of decorations…. I have not been painting pictures much lately, baskets and lettering but not pictures. Did I mention I can sew? Yes. Well, we will see how advanced we get in the decorating department today. I may squeeze in a bit of passion on the side. I do plan on making a trip into my studio to do the varnishing on the mural at the very least… Perhaps that will take longer than usual….

The Creek

From Memory

Out in the Open

So my husband and I disappeared into the wilderness for a weekend. I always take my paints with me. This time I took more than my portable studio which fits into a purse. This time I took the tripod and my screw-in table top with a full set of paints and brushes so I could work on 11” x 15” instead of 5” x 7”. I like the larger size and I do not always have a couple of hours to spend on a sketch. The light was magnificent the night we arrived. We took the short walk down a path to where the washout jointed the creek again. Water was still trickling trough but the bush had begun to reclaim its space. I did not have my camera….when will I learn? I made some mental notes. The next two days were filled with exploring the new territory so on the morning we were to leave I got up early and installed myself beside the water’s edge. It was overcast but looked less like rain than the previous evening. I set about doing the preliminary drawing knowing that it would consume most of the time and hoping the light would change. Part way through the early sun managed to peek through the clouds and light up the opposite bank. Lovely. Not as magnificent as the evening but lovely nonetheless. I made a mental note. Mental notes are essential as light effects rarely last for more than a few seconds. There was another problem that morning. It was cold. Of course we were at approximately five thousand feet so it does not get really warm ordinarily. My feet were freezing, or they felt like they were freezing. My fingers were becoming less cooperative and refused to hold the brushes on occasion. I decided to leave the rest for memory and my studio. Packing up I could almost smell the coffee and I wondered what delight awaited me for breakfast.

Blocked

Martin and I had a delightful three day escape in to the mountains last weekend. It is quite a bit out of the way, a rocky road off a gravel road, off a highway just north of Hinton. The way was blocked by a fallen tree. We could have driven over it if we had had a four by four or a truck. Our little Neon was not going anywhere. Martin and I decided that there were no more than four kilometers left in our journey and that happens to be the length of his regular daily walk so we locked up and set out. (I am not sure locking up was necessary….) We found out later that the grizzlies had moved to the tree line to avoid the heat so that was not a concern. We saw deer, squirrels and birds. Four kilometers turned out to be two and we soon came across a young lady trying to capture some butterflies on film. Curiosity crossed our hosts faces as they wondered where our vehicle was. Grabbing a chain saw and hopping in a truck we headed back down the trail. In no time at all the way was cleared and we could proceed with our car. Our log cabin had running water, a lovely bathroom, a wood stove for heating and 12 volt lights running off a solar panel. We had no phone signal, no internet, no television and all the meals were prepared for us. Luxury. We hiked a few of the quieter trails and saw some magnificent sights. I started an en plein air sketch (I will post it next week as it is not quite finished).  This is an artist paradise. A great place to do workshops as space is limited to ten. Just right. Anyone interested? 

Sitting

Part of the responsibility of being a member of an artist cooperative is volunteering. It has been years since I joined and this is the first time I have actually participated in the set up and sitting for the annual show. Moving into the city helped. Instead of long gaps between life drawing sessions (up to one or two years sometimes!) I mostly attend now once per week except in the summer. The member shows begin the summer programs, so I am sitting. I had been reading but I am finding my eyelids very uncooperative, lead lids block my view. Writing may be more invigorating. This blog needs to be written and set up as I am away the day it is published. Martin and I are escaping into the mountains for a few days. I plan on taking my back pack, paints and paper with me. En plein air is not on my schedule very often and I could do with the practice. In the meantime lead lids are interfering with my writing as well, perhaps drawing is a better choice.

Near Alberta Beach

Early morning holds surprises for those who are awake. I often wake up about four thirty. I think it has something to do with the birds and the beginning light at this time of year. Got to love the fifty-fourth parallel! In this case I rolled over and went back to sleep. I jumped out of bed a couple of hours later thinking it was much later and decided to get dressed. We were on retreat. Lac St. Anne is surrounded by small vacationing communities and retreat houses. It has been a center for healing and spiritual renewal for many centuries, long before Europeans set foot here. We had been invited to share the space with five others as we explored our relationship with God and the organization with whom we are involved. I glanced out the window. Magnificent! I grabbed my camera and began to snap some memories. I had not noticed the buck right away. He raised his head and the light caught his antlers. Morning light, peace, and choruses of bird songs. We have a beautiful world. I am so fortunate to live in a part of the world where I do not have to be concerned about from whence comes my next meal or the safety of my surroundings. I can relax, renew and recentre. My studio is calling me. Patience is in order. I am sitting with the “Naked Show” today. I’ll tell you all about it next week.

Fathers' Day

The weatherman said it would rain. Well, our plans did not include external moisture. We wanted a picnic in the park that would last all day. My oldest son smiled cynically when I mentioned our plans. ”Prepare to be wet” was the implication. I sent out a request for perfect weather, not only for us but the rest of the celebrating population. It had been a very long time since we had gone camping. I knew that pulling the already packed boxes from the attic would be the quickest preparation. As I shook the dust from the various elements I selected what we needed for the day rather than a week’s absence. In deference to the possibility that my request would remain unanswered I brought down the tarp and threw in some rope. It was quite the load. The back of the van was full once I had the chairs and the firewood in place. All the utensils and the dishes needed washing. My daughter-in-law and I prepared a simple meal of hotdogs and salad. The only logistical problem we had was that there may not be room at the park next to the sand pile where the grandchildren would play. Once the final hymn was sung Papa and our daughter headed for the park as I finished off a few details including picking up our other daughter on the way. I decided to leave the tarp in the car as we set everything else out on the table. We sun baked, we talked, we told jokes, we laughed, we relaxed. Eventually the younger set arrived and the fire was started. Food, drink and merriment were the order of the day. And the rain? God has a sense of humour. I was just gathering up the tablecloths when the shower fell. Thank you Lord, for the perfect day.

Celebration

Once again I was invited to create a mixed media piece before an audience as the evening unfolded towards a live auction of the artwork under way. I had less time on this occasion so I showed up early, set up the table and got started practically before people began to arrive. The preparation had begun long before then of course. The canvas already had six or seven layers of paint and a transfer on it. The transfer usually takes overnight to dry and then around an hour to remove the residue paper. I had also tried to prepare torn pieces of tissue paper so that all I had to do was glue them on… That did not work. I got to the point (about three pieces later) where I needed to paste something down in order to see what shape the next morsel would take. So, taking a watercolour pencil I drew in the approximate shapes and shaded in the darker ones. I brought two sets of tissue paper, one dark and another not so dark. That would have to do. Having the gel, paint brushes, prepared paint for layering, pure pigments, pens, bibles and an already written poem helped complete the task on time. I even had time to eat! The supper was delicious. The live auction was a great success as there was a beautiful quilt which sold for $600 if my memory is correct and my painting  went for $550. Double from last year. Impressive. All in all, a great success. And there is a promise of red wine when I deliver the varnished, wired version to the new owners… Live is good!

Building Boxes

Looking into the interior

All gridded up

Ready to go

I guess I am not done with learning curves. My laptop is making funny noises this morning; the motherboard may have overheated during the night. I took the time to backup the system before I started writing this and I hope I will be able to finish. The topic today (celebrating my hundredth blog!) is building boxes. The last time I shipped to Vancouver I was in a panic so I built a box out of cardboard and sent it, then I asked questions. One friend suggested Styrofoam and Corplast emphasizing how light the materials are. Another told me how to ship glass. She said if it does break it will not damage the artwork it is protecting. And neglect to tell the shippers that the package contains glass…. Yes, well, okay. I measured my drawings and found that I did not have the framing I needed for the size. I researched the standard size that would best accommodate and ordered the box of glass and frames to go with it. Knowing the size the pictures would be, I decided to ship the two together and proceeded to design the box. I began with pencil sketches in various configurations then I bought some Styrofoam sheets, one 4’x8’ at ¾ inch thick and a second at 1 ½ inches thick. I had thought of putting the thinner sheet between the pictures but I ended up not using it at all. Once in my studio I cut the pieces of Styrofoam to size and the added half an inch to the Corplast exterior. Using good old duct tape I hinged the pieces together then inserted the Styrofoam. It looked so small. I thought, oh well, if the framed drawings do not fit I can always make another.  Once I had the drawings in their frames I took masking tape and put a grid pattern over the glass then slipped the piece into my box. I was delighted to discover I had room for bubblewrap. Amazing! Some days just go well. The show is in the Federation of Canadian Artists’ Gallery at 1241 Cartwright St. Vancouver, opening on 12th June. If you are in the area drop in. It is sure to be a great show.

Stepping Out

June is a busy month. The Works is on in Edmonton, a festival of culture in the form of many creative pursuits: music, theatre, visual arts, formal and informal. There are street performances everywhere. As part of that Harcourt House (10215 112 St. Edmonton) opens its doors to the public with two exhibitions and an invitation to visit artists in their studios. I submitted five drawings for the “Naked Show” with the possibility of having one to three showing. ‘Stepping Out’ was one of the ones rejected. It should be a great show. The drawings are all from this past year’s work done in the Annex with a live model. I will submit drawings for the Member show “Symbiosis” which opens in the main gallery on the same night, June 21st at 6:30pm. Two drawings have also been selected for show in the Federation of Canadian Artists’ Gallery in Vancouver (1241 Cartwright St. Granville Is.) I am in the process of framing and packaging them for delivery by June 7th.The exhibition runs from June 12th to 24th.  June 7th also sees me doing demonstrations in the foyer of St. Albert Place as part of the ArtWalk for St. Albert (5 St. Anne St.) which coincides with the opening of the fundraising event for the Art Gallery of St. Albert (19 Perron St.). I have one drawing in that as well. The month begins however with another fundraiser at Holy Family Parish in St. Albert (75 Poirier Ave.) at 6pm on June 1st. I am preparing a mixed media panel that I will finish onsite during the evening. It will be auctioned off at the end in the hopes of garnering mega dollars for a foundation that supports several farming and community activities in Nicaragua (Roots of Change). To finish things off there is an unveiling of vignettes and tableaus in the St. Jean Baptiste Park in Morinville on June 24th probably in the afternoon. I will keep you posted on that event. In the meantime I am going swimming. Have a great week!

Palettes

Doctors’ offices are great places to catch up on reading. I was glancing through a book on colour and came across the section on how to lay out a palette and the thought occurred to me that that might be a topic of interest for some people as not many watercolourists I know do things exactly the way I do them. So here is how I lay out my colours. I keep lids off jars of jam, pickles, condiments, anything that has a white interior so I can better see the colour wash within it. I squirt some water into each lid and add the colour I choose from the moistened tray to the point of intensity I wish. A test paper is essential to determine the intensity. I keep adding colour until I am satisfied. I repeat the process with each colour so that the colours I choose each have a brush, a wash and the original block. Some artists squeeze the watercolour straight out of the tube for greater intensity. I find I can make use of every bit and have very intense colour if I fill my tray, let it dry and moisten it just before I paint. Intensity comes from the quality of the paint as the higher the quality the greater the pigment content. I also limit the number of colours I use at one time. With the painting I am working on at the moment only six colours are set out with their washes. There is a seventh brush which I use to soften edges or add paler layers of pigment in certain areas. I rarely mix colours before I put them on the paper. Instead I begin with one wash and drop in other colours while it is still wet so that the mingling and mixing occurs right before my eyes. It is such fun watching the colours swirl. When I leave for the day I know that my lids, brushes and tray will be dry by the time I return. I simply add water and carry on. Love it!

More Murals-Military Vignette

This was an accident. I had been called in to give some free advice and I got another job. It is amazing how charity and prosperity are linked. Our oldest son had the same experience: a volunteer computer maintenance position at his high school fostered his first job. When I live in abundance, giving with no strings attached, a flow is created that usually results in my receiving tenfold more than I gave… This particular vignette (a name chosen because of its small size--three feet by four) presented particular problems. I had three reference photos with three different horizon lines and I wanted to put them all on the same horizon. There was too much of a difference between the scene on the left which had been photographed standing in the street and the one on the right which must have been taken from a cherry picker. Separating them seemed appropriate. Separating them all with use of the street worked quite well. In the end I ended up with this image that was not entirely working but the deadline loomed. I handed it in for approval with the suggestion that I move the cenotaphs to the left to balance the space better. Another suggestion was forthcoming in that I reverse the order of the monuments as well as moving them. Brilliant! The lady who did the research for me supported the change in spite of the fact it creates chronological disorder. So now the task of painting is at hand. I so enjoy mucking with the paint in the first layers. That is a very technical term: mucking. It means having fun! I better get on with it… the deadline is tomorrow!

Invitation to Seek

Well, I have started a new series in watercolour. The mixed media image I am working on might take the rest of my life to complete! Tackling more than one project usually gets me going in the right direction. I had the painting done but I could not leave this watercolour without a poem. I did not include a psalm but the poem is laced through the branches and hidden in the shadows. It speaks of invitation to seek something more in this life. The spot is near Spirit Island in Maligne Lake in Jasper. It is only reachable by boat so there is no traffic, no motorized vehicles. There is a peace that permeates the air and calls us to hug a tree. The one drawback is there is usually no time to just sit and ponder. The boat comes and goes on schedule. I have to be in a very quiet place, a place I usually find only within myself, before I can hear the counsels of the soul. Spirit Island is well named. My studio is also a quiet place. Most of the time I listen to the radio, Tempo and Shift on CBC. Sometimes I seek the silence in order to listen. I enjoy the silence.

Invitation: To Seek

Seek and you will find

connections, new energy, 

linking all in all.

Invitation: Chercher

Les arbres nous parlent, donc,

cherchons la perle dans leurs mots:

travaillons ensemble.

Anticipation

The Art Gallery of St. Albert (AGSA) holds a major fundraising event once per year. This year they are doing things a little differently by calling for entries from artists that measure one foot square. I had good intentions. I bought two canvases that were gallery ready, one foot square. Somehow the number of previously priorised items on my list were unusually long for March and April and now into May. I decided that drawing would have to do once more as I had easel table space in which to do it. I managed a nice little drawing of my bird’s nest tucked into lacy folds. My studio is getting smaller. With the major piece I am working on for the series “Grace”, watercolours, the small mural project and the still-life work there is little room for anything else, yet, there is always room in an emergency. We cleared the remaining items in the apartment for our new renter. The boxes went under my main table. The rest I move as necessary and I clear a table for framing. I think I will eat lunch standing up! The AGSA event is coming up on June 7th and will continue until the 23rd. It will be fun to see the walls lined with squares of beauty. Another fundraising event coming up shortly will be for Roots of Change, an organization that is helping people in Nicaragua make permanent change in their standard of living. I will be completing a small mixed media piece during the evening and then auctioned off in hopes of bringing in mega dollars. The last one did quite well. The event takes place at Holy Family Parish in St. Albert on June 1st beginning at 6pm. There is another show coming up at Harcourt House too. The Naked Show displays selected life drawings done over the previous year.  I will submit five, one to three of which will be chosen for show. This happens around the end of June. I will keep you posted. The deadlines are aflyin’ and it is time to send out some invites….

Jetlag

I am at my computer with my eyes closed wondering if it is possible to have jetlag without boarding a plane. In reality, I suppose, one could say we were flying low. It is a five hour commute to Grande Prairie from here and we got back in time for me to participate in the life drawing at Harcourt this afternoon. Just got home from being taxi to one of our daughters and I am ready for bed. I’ll just close my eyes for a minute while the rest of my blog surfaces to my typing fingers…. It was a very rich weekend. I ate too much, but how can one resist homemade goodies, soups and treats… all weekend long! My husband and I were attending the regional meeting for an organization called Development and Peace, an outreach to the global south as they call it. Their mandate ties in with a growing concern for the environment and our less than nutritious food supply. We were introduced to the notion of eco-farming for North America and the horrifying reasons why it is a better idea. I suspect the changes will be implemented more slowly than they are necessary. Very few like change. We tend to resist what we do not know or that with which we are not familiar. The world has changed in spite of our resistance over the past hundred and fifty years or so, dramatically. We have thrown our world out of balance and are responsible for the largest extinction of animal species since the dinosaurs disappeared. Our claim to fame may be our undoing if we do not accept the responsibility of redirecting our energies. And speaking of energy, I am about to renew mine. My apologies for not have the latest image to show you…. I forgot to take a picture.

Caught

As I wait for the rice to cook I look back at my week so far and wonder where I went wrong… I remembered my blog on Tuesday which seems to be a new tradition. Unfortunately I was in the car on my way to the studio and beyond the point of no return. I thought about when I might slip it in and there seemed no time between then and the present moment. This moment is short too. As soon as the timer sounds I am off to make supper and we shall eat, it is late after all. I got caught this week. Too many deadlines to allow for error. Sigh. I turned my attention to the painting at hand, the one I am going to show at the end of the month. Once that was done I got out my references and my piece of paper for the maquette that was due the next day (today) only to discover that I had neglected to print the reference photos required for the job. Another reason I needed my computer. Sigh again. I packed everything up and went home. Somewhere around seven my dear husband asked me if we were going to eat supper. I could not believe how fast the time had flown. We ate. I began to wilt at around nine thirty as my day begins at five so I left it all on the table and went to bed. This morning I was at it again. Lunch was late and I managed to get out the door at two, just in time to deliver the maquette and be on time for my massage. Whew! Home again and off to visit the grandchildren. My bed is calling me…. Oh, there goes the buzzer!

There are special moments in life that we treasure in our hearts. This is an en plein air sketch that I finished several months later from memory. Every year I get together with the most unlikely combination of four other women, all powerful, all with completely different interests and professions, all with one purpose. We were randomly thrown together in a personal development program called Samari Camp over three years ago; we keep in touch by conference call once per week with one intention: to change the world in which we live. It was during our annual retreat, this time in Jasper last fall, that I shared my love of painting and storytelling. We had spent the morning in conversation over breakfast savouring the minutes and the tidbits as we discussed our accomplishments over the past year. We left with a prepared lunch in the direction of Maligne Canyon pulling in at each bridge as we made our way higher into the gorge. There were some complaints about gerbils in the back (my shocks or spring cushions are rather noisy) but we delighted in the natural beauty and after a short hike decided to lunch and paint at the Fifth Bridge. I chose the spot because the terrain lent itself to easels and such, not that we had any, but there were places to sit. Everyone had their own palette (mine had the good paint in it) and we set about looking at shapes instead of trees, rivers and mountains. This is a keeper. Just done the next task is to generate a few greeting cards and send them off to special people on special occasions or for no reason at all, just because. Life is good.

Done

Just about forgot again! Ideally these blogs are supposed to be written ahead of time and I thought for sure this one was just waiting for me to post…. Confidently I opened the page, feeling delighted that I had actually remembered to blog, even at this late hour, and, well, nothing. I had the picture and the title…. A little more than nothing. Sigh. My mural is done. It was one of the more interesting subjects: Christian churches. Ecumenism is one of my passions. It goes beyond Christian circles and includes the whole world. There is so much good being done in pockets around the world by ordinary people. The scope of this exercise was limited to one community and it was a delight to discover the common themes throughout the various expressions. It came down to people. Church is people. The main activities were prayer, singing songs of praise, mentoring, walking the journey together and celebrating. Helping one another in times of joy and sorrow has connections with the land as well. Pioneers endured much and survived by working together. We have got away from that somewhat. It is time we slowed down and reconnected. It is all about people, the earth and taking care.

Rearranged

My studio and my life have been rearranged again…. Life throws curves every once in a while. This mural is a small one, only four feet by eight. It is waiting for me. I do not usually miss my deadlines but I guess there is a first time for everything. The painting is progressing well. I should be done soon. I had intended to be done last week. On my way to the studio I slipped on some ice and catapulted my head into the cement. It felt as if I were being held in gentle hands as I went down and the doctors say I am lucky. Indeed I am blessed. It could have been a lot worse.  I did get to the studio later that same day but I could not sustain the extra hours and the drive home seemed longer than usual. The next day I could barely get out of bed. The world was spinning and my stomach suffered from travel sickness. I spend the morning keeping appointments and went to bed for the rest of the day. Saturday was no better and Sunday saw some improvement. Monday I did bookkeeping instead of visiting the life drawing studios and Tuesday I decided I could drive again. I am very thankful for my husband who doted on me as I recovered, became my means to manoeuvre from place to place and provided me with sustenance. It is a times like these that gratitude takes over and I can see how much more beautiful the world is.

Life Drawing

Two minutes

Five minutes

Two Twenty Minutes

Some days I can draw and some days I might as well go home to bed. Life drawing is one of the most efficient ways there is to improve my skills as an artist. The challenge is accuracy within a very limited time frame. Being consistent in the challenge is the key to improving…. Consistency. Yes, well, now that I am in the city I am scheduling life drawing for one afternoon per week instead of once per month which derails into once per year. Another factor is inspiration. Some models possess a certain grace that is totally inspiring. Models who have dance as part of their repertoire often possess this grace. Sometimes it comes naturally. It does not take much. A carefully placed hand, a little twist in the spine, one foot in front of the other, a glance and something magical happens. Drawing becomes easy. I use a number of different mark makers. One of my favorites is ink. I do not erase. This time I used a new product called watercolour sticks. I have a few colours, three to be exact. They came in the sample packages I pick up at a promotion; quinacridone burnt orange (PO 48), carbazole violet (PV 23) and undersea green (PB 29 and PO 48). I got excited when I put the violet and the orange together. At first I used the sticks as crayons. Then I dipped them into some water before putting them to paper. I love uneven lines, unpredictable events. I continued dipping. Then I took a paint brush and smudged some colour into shadow shapes. So much fun! I’ll be back.