Renovations

My living room

getting better

There is a certain joy in renewal. It is sometimes painful, like getting out of a crouch position after having been there too long, but the stretch and the freedom to move make up for the temporary distress. Renovations are renewing. I have made several tough choices lately. Every choice has a benefit and a price. For me, my choice to stay home and help with the renovations has cost me my studio time. The benefit is that the disruption will be done by Christmas and I will have a brand new house in which to celebrate. Another benefit is the realization that my attitude has transformed what could have been a very trying, unpleasant experience into fun. I especially enjoyed mixing the paint. I bought some mistints and poured them into a laundry tub in which I used to mix salads during my catering days… yes, I have done a lot of different things… I adjusted the colours with the bits of left over paint that were stored in the garage from other projects and added white. I was thankful that the mixing was completed before the new floor went down in the laundry. I got a new pair of shoes out of the mess I created, another benefit! At the moment I am sitting in the middle of my office at my overcrowded desk surrounded by empty walls waiting for some mud and a little paint. The floor is in. I can taste the beginning of the end…. And it is delicious. I am not sure what I will have for you next week; that depends upon the choices I make this week. I do know I will be enjoying the open, clean spaces of my new home!

Listening

40” x 30”

Mixed media

Canvas

This is the twenty-third in the ongoing series “The Many Faces of Eve”. Listening is a skill I am looking to revive. Largely lost in our busy world, listening requires an openness which precludes my own agenda and the responses upon which my defense and/or solutions insist. Just being. Just listening and allowing the other to solve his/her own problems or revel in the communion of attentive fellowship, that is my ambition. I had some unusual pieces of tissue paper. I had actually tried to control the outcome as I added the necessary colours. The results were far from what I had anticipated. I had set these unique pieces aside knowing there would be an opportunity to use them later. Later came along in the form of trees for “Listening”. Having installed the trees on the left I repeated the patterning on the right saving some strips for the hair. Using other pieces and colours I constructed the clothing leaving the rest for paint, graphite powder and watercolour pencil. This morning I noticed a visual error on the side of the painting. I do paint around the edge and perspective is not always accurate. In this case it was proportion that caused a problem. The ear was way too small. Of course no one can see the ear from the front so from this point of view everything looks fine… Well, out came the gesso and tomorrow my listener will have a new ear. And, although the appearance of listening is present, I wonder….

Alley Lace

Alley Lace
15" x 11"
Watercolour

It was a glorious holiday. I spent most of my time outside in the sunshine hidden behind sheds and in corners trying to be inconspicuous, out of the way, invisible. There is something compelling about happening upon an artist at her easel, staring at puddles and overhead wiring. What madness is this? Often people would stop to chat and take a look. Many would pretend they had not seen me, to maintain my illusion of invisibility, or to avoid connecting with someone from another dimension. Yes, all creativity has its roots and inspiration in another dimension. I visit often, would prefer to stay, however, practical considerations require my presence in this world. The first attempt at this delicate piece left an impression that an elephant had trampled through the wires or that some mud storm had passed through leaving streaks of heavy, inconsistent strands slicing the sky asunder. I enjoy drawing negative space. It is that bit that shows up between things. The holes as it were. I love drawing the holes. This method is usually the best and fastest way to a stunning composition and, in this case, the opportunity to play with colour. The watercolour pencil I use for drawing adds its own voice once water is introduced to the surface. I often choose complementary colours so that red peeks between the green branches, orange streaks the blue sky or yellow graces a purple grass. This time I chose an analogous colour. The darker blue against the paler blue/purple blends beautifully and makes green among the yellow leaves. Another ode to autumn, my favorite season.

Downstream

Downstream
60" x 30"
Mixed media
Canvas

I walked away dissatisfied with the last coat I put on. Grumbling to myself I went home to renovations. Perhaps renovations has a lot to do with the way I see things right now. It is all a matter of attitude. We have lived in this house for sixteen years. It (not us!) has accumulated dust, clutter and battle scars, an understandable eventuality after four children and two cats. That day, as I stepped through the door, I caught my breath. The sub-floor was showing, the bare bones exposed. I decided to work in the garage that afternoon. Again, as I opened the door later that same day, my breath escaped my lips, oooh, lovely! There is hope. Yes, we will have a brand new home soon. There is another advantage: we have an extraordinary opportunity to declutter. I love orderly, clean, open spaces. That is why I love being in my studio. Oh there are canvases all over and projects in every corner but everything is in order and there is room to move. A good thing. Four foot by six foot canvases need a lot of room…. Upon returning to my studio the next day I glanced at what I had done. The dark cloud I had left with the previous day had obviously interfered with my vision. I like that. So grabbing my pens, metallic for the psalm and felt for the poem, I put the finishing touches on Downstream, the second in the series “Rocks and Rivers”. The first one sold almost before I had it hung up at the show last weekend. Mmmm. I am satisfied.

Suncatcher

Suncatcher

8" x 8"

Mixed media

Canvas

I had long admired the sunflowers in my friend’s garden. There were dozens of them everywhere but especially snuggled up next to the fence both north and east. Faces of gold, burgundy and all variations in between turned to greet the sun. It was a particularly warm, sunny afternoon when I dropped in for a visit. Gertrude is an excellent listener. I had a distressing problem I wanted to air and we sat in the backyard under the sturdy spruce trees sipping something cool. The flowers waved their greeting and nodded in agreement every time I made a point. I love flowers. Just before I got up to go the offer came. Take some home. Yes. Lovely. I filled a five gallon bucket and we loaded it into the van. There were too many for just one bouquet. I arranged two vases and took one to the studio to set on the table just in front of the window. As I entered the store I was informed that they were not sunflowers but daisies. A lively discussion ensued on the benefits of having flowers brighten our day. Laughing we came to the conclusion that the daisies were just what we both needed. Happily I installed my still-life and another Tiny Treat was born. 

The Other Side

The Other Side
15" x 11"
Watercolour

The leaves were so brilliant, intense. I collected fist-fulls. Carefully I placed them in between sheets of wax paper and dumped a bunch of phone books on top. Someone told me they would turn brown. I refused to believe, after all, they had kept their colour before. Just in case, I worked another watercolour and took a bunch of pictures. I suspected I knew the truth. My intention is to use these lovely masterpieces in a collection of abstract paintings, another series just begun. In the meantime I enjoyed my cozy view of the very soggy landscape outside wondering if the boats moored and beached on the other side of the lake were used often. Once I was home I carefully unpacked my treasures and to my dismay the yellow had begun to disappear. The red and the multicolours remained, not quite a brilliant as before. I do have a solution however. Necessity is the mother of invention and yellow is really essential to my composition. Brown will do too, red, purple, green and anything in between. Yellow comes in an artificial form carefully shaped and coloured. Tissue paper leaves will peek out here and there accenting patterns and enhancing rhythms. Next year I will select a few bright yellow real ones and seal them in acrylic. Perhaps it is the air that disagrees with the longevity of hue. Like canning, the sooner the better.

Recycle

Recycle
15" x 11"
140lb watercolour paper

Martin and I had decided to take our chances on finding a place to stay as we pulled out of Montreal. A nice bed and breakfast would be good, not too far from Québec City where we had chosen to spend most of our time. About twenty kilometers out the B&Bs disappeared. A highway sign indicated that there was a campground nearby with some cabins. Why not? The chalet was exquisite with a large front window overlooking Lac St. Augustin. Lovely. The leaves glowed. I could spend the five days just here. We bought groceries and I set about the challenge of cooking without the usual abundance of pots and pans or ingredients. Did I mention? I love a challenge. Fun fun. Our first visit to Québec, many years ago, had involved four children and a very different camping routine. As we had walked past the cafes and bistros I had promised myself that we would return when we could enjoy them. It was raining the following day so we decided to stay and enjoy each other’s company in hopes the weather would improve. I set up my paints and began to draw the scenes out the window. The very next day we set out in the rain, exploring old Québec, revisiting the Artist Alley with time to stop and talk. I was thankful not to be manning a post there. It was cold. Occasionally I really wonder about my passion and what keeps us going as artists. We explored ruins, a café and ate some sandwiches under a leafy canopy. The rain did not abate. On the subsequent day during our trip to the Charlevoix region, fog set in with the rain. There is a grandiose viewpoint overlooking the St. Lawrence where we stopped to stretch our legs. I noticed that we could not see the parking lot below but the pictures on the wall were lovely. At Baie St. Paul we explored some galleries and decided to call it quits. I was anxious to get back to the paintings I had started. We spent most of our last day in the cabin painting and reading. A blessed repose. The sun came out and we went for a walk. I would finish my paintings in the morning….There is a lesson in this. Something about blooming where I am planted and filling each present moment with joy. Sometimes why I am an artist is no mystery at all.