Glenrose

The opening reception, held at almost the end of the exhibition (October 31^st ) was a delightful success. It has been a while since I have done a live watercolour demonstration and being rather preoccupied these days I neglected to verify what I had in my backpack before leaving the house. The backpack is my “en plein air” studio. It has been travelling quite a bit lately and I assumed I had watercolour paper in it… Stonehenge is a superior quality paper I use for life drawing usually and it can take a fair amount of water application although it buckles more easily than Arches largely because of its weight, 90lbs rather than 140lbs. I pulled out a sheet, swore under my breath, and clipped it to the board. It is a good thing I have a little experience with manipulating paint…. Those watching the action wanted me to finish it before their eyes. Ah, yes. That takes careful planning. Sigh. I promised I would leave the painting, once completed, at the reception desk. Of course that will not meet expectations either as I have a deadline on November 4^th, my number one priority! My two openings are coming up fast. The list of work for CAVA (en plein air work) is due Wednesday. I will make a list and finish the paintings over the next two weeks. They will be framed and ready for delivery on November 4^th.  If I wish to change the titles, too bad, so sad.  The other opening happening on the 5^th at VASA will be delivered on October 31^st, same day as I pick up the Glenrose show… Life is good and busy!

Heavy Weights

So my deadline approachth. As I inch toward completion I begin to panic. Instead of twelve I decide to finish the ten I have already begun. Perhaps I will be able to add two more later… I have trouble with later. Later is not usually better. Say a prayer, breathe and let go. I so enjoy having a paintbrush in my hands on a regular basis again. There is nothing quite like the euphoria of watching paint make magic on the chosen surface. So fun. Once the painting is done there are several other steps to be completed before it goes into a frame. At the moment I have begun the next step in the process with the few I have completed: flattening. Four litre containers of molding paste and regular gel are useful when painting with watercolours. I have placed the paintings between two sheets of plywood, smooth surface facing the paintings, and piled a bunch of random weights on top. The board evenly distributes the weight. Should this method of flattening prove inadequate I will resort to an iron. In the meantime they can sit for a while as I add a few more strokes, a bit of blue here, a dab of red there… Life is good.   

A Sampling

The pressure is on. And off. Today is Thanksgiving. All is prepared and we await our guests who will be arriving in about an hour. Now is not the time to escape into my studio… The pressure is really on however. I have three shows opening in the next three weeks. Two are under control. The third one is still a work in progress. The latest gusts of wind have all but denuded the trees of their lovely autumn glory. So what will the next few paintings entail? I have no idea. Is it the colours that intrigue me most? Not really. It is the space between the branches, the contrast the spaces make against the lines the branches form. Negative space does not blow away. I need between ten to fifteen paintings. Four are done. It is a good thing I work well under pressure… Happy Thanksgiving by the way. May this time of year bring you joy and peace. Life is good.

En plein air

The French language uses far less capital letters than English. What does the title mean? One translation is: out in the open air. That is where I have been spending a lot of my time lately, capturing the lovely fall colours around Edmonton. We live in a very beautiful city, the weather magnificent. That being said, what does one do with rain when using watercolours for en plein air? Watercolours are my favorite medium for outdoors at present… Eventually I decided one of the essential ingredients for the exercise is my camera. Once I have located what I consider to be an interesting spot (usually having to do with negative spaces!) I take a photo. I never know if I will be able to finish the painting while on site or not. Usually it takes me about two hours for a quarter sheet of paper (11”x15”). I have been rained out, timed out and chilled out (yes, I am a wimp!). In the rain, the first thing I do is protect what I have already painted. I carry an empty plastic bag for the occasion. My equipment is simple and therefore very easily packed up for the trip home. Takes about five minutes plus the walk from wherever I might have wandered… In my studio I load the picture I took onto my computer and install full screen. This is much better than a print. Now if only I could glue the shadows in place so they would not move… Life is good. 

P.S. The en plein air paintings are the ingredients for my upcoming show at CAVA, opening November 6th. Yah, I know... last minute.