Painting - The 'Red Deer' Hare

Have been working on this boy for a while. Had started him on paper (Arches 140lb hot press) and then mounted him on cradle board. Lots and lots of layers of paint and lots of glazing. Love the glazing part - makes everything so rich. Have included one of the photos I took of the hare while attending a workshop at Red Deer College Summer Series for the Arts (Red Deer, Alberta) and a watercolour study I did of him in the fall.

Seemed to like having his picture taken!

Watercolour Study (9 1/4"X6")

Here he is - paper mounted on wood panel - I think he turned out ok.

'Brome'
12"X12"
 Acrylic Mixed Media
Paper mounted on birch cradle board 

Daily Practice Paintings

These are daily paintings from the last 5 days. Every time I do one I am learning more about my materials (especially the pigments) and I am practicing! So I don't consider any of this a waste of time or materials - I am building a strong foundation and from this hope to create some artwork that will be amazing!

Five of the images were done on 140lb coldpress watercolour paper. I take a full sheet (21"X30") and just paint on it randomly as well as using some light molding paste. I then cut the sheet into smaller sizes and have a supply ready to go.

6"X6" Acrylic on watercolour paper

6"X6" Acrylic on watercolour paper

6"X6" Acrylic on watercolour paper

6"X6" Acrylic on watercolour paper

6"X6"
Acrylic on watercolour paper

8"X10'
Acrylic on canvas

Painting - Simplified Landscapes

I have been working on some very simplified landscapes. These are small, ranging in size from 6"X7" up to 9"X12" and I limited myself to using neutrals. The idea for these came from Jane Davies' online workshop '100 Drawings on Cheap Paper'. For the last lesson in the workshop we created our own lesson and then reviewed the lesson plan with Jane and she helped fine tune it. These are an ongoing 'practice'. I have small paper sizes at the ready and use any leftover paint from the days' efforts to create these - waste not want not! Not only do these give me lots of ideas for future exploration, but because they are small and not too time consuming they are an excellent way to experiment and 'practice'! That is one of the things that this workshop has instilled in me - how important it is to practice! Hope you enjoy having a look and are finding time for some experimentation and practice in your studio!

8"X8" Cerulean Blue, Titanium White, Carbon Black

8"X8" Hansa Yellow, Transparent Red Iron Oxide, Carbon Black, Titanium White

8"X8" Titanium White, Carbon Black Watercolour Crayons

8"X8" Burnt Sienna, Hansa Yellow, Carbon Black, Titanium White, Graphite

9"X12" Hansa Yellow, Transparent Red Iron Oxide, Titanium White, Carbon Black

9"X12" Cobalt Violet, Titanium White, Cobalt Violet

9"X11" Cad Yellow Medium, Naples Yellow, Titanium White, Carbon Black

9"X11" Bronze Yellow, Hansa Yellow Medium, Titanium White, Carbon Black

6"X7"
Phthalo Turquoise, Transparent Brown
Oxide, Titanium White, Carbon Black

10"X10"
Pyrrole Orange, Cerulean Blue, Titanium White, Carbon Black

I always enjoy hearing back from people so please do leave a comment/message - would like to hear what you think and what you are working on in your art practice.

Painting - Spring is Here!

Spent a great day yesterday painting outdoors with friends. Our weather has been unseasonable warm and dry and we need rain!! Hopefully this weekend - keep your fingers crossed please. We did spend a lovely day outdoors and I did a couple of watercolour paintings. I find it easier to pack watercolour supplies for painting out. It is always inspiring and fun to paint with friends. Here are the watercolours....

7"X7"

8 3/8"X6"

Looking forward to a summer of painting day trips in and around our area - we have such variety - mountains, foothills, prairies......best wishes

Painting - Brian Atyeo Workshop

Have been so busy with 'art' and haven't had time to post. Would consider that a good thing. I was at  Brian Atyeo's workshop in Calgary the beginning of April (April 2-5). The workshop was hosted by Leading Edge Art Workshops' - if you live in the area they offer great workshops with great instructors!

This is the second workshop I have taken with Brian Atyeo (hope to have the opportunity to participate in more!) and this one was right up my alley. 'Layers of design in acrylic and mixed media'. Lots of layering of paint as well as removal - scratching in with palette knives & x-acto knives. Adding line with crayon, graphite, etc - just about anything you want to experiment with. It isn't just a 'free for all' - it is about responding to marks made and challenging the emerging composition. Nothing is preplanned and instead it is the use of imagination and allowing the evolution of the process to take its' course. Below are some of the images created during the workshop and a couple that are still in the 'process'. I appreciate any comments and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask! Am very excited with the work started in this workshop and as we speak am working on more images in a study format to develop into more finished works! Happy creating to you all!

16"X12"
work in progress!

12"X12"
Considered this finished, but..can't you see this 'large'!!
Stay tuned for a larger version

12"X12"

8"X8"

For a long, long time I have had a vision/idea of how I see the landscape around me - not every blade of grass or leaf on the tree, but shape, lights and darks and colour. This is a real break through for me to create these images and to celebrate them realized!

18"X14"
Work in progress

Started this in the workshop and have been working on it at home. Apologies for the picture quality!! Will post a better image once finished. I am really enjoying the painting process as I work on this image. This reminds me of the view to the west from the top of our hill - one that I never get tired of looking at. 

Will post some of my work from my '100 Drawings on Cheap Paper' workshop with Jane Davies in my next post - just not enough time!! In the meantime happy creating to you all.

Painting - On-Line Workshop Practice

Have been working hard over the last weeks on my two on-line workshops with Jane Davies'. Haven't spent this much time in my studio in a long time. 100 Drawings on Cheap Paper is all about the practice, silencing the inner critic and lots of experimenting with techniques and materials. We are also learning to observe our work - not the technical process but the visual content - stepping back observing and commenting on what we see. 'Pretend someone else made the work' - not as easy as it sounds!  Give it a try.

This is a small sampling of some of my work from the workshop. Am averaging 6 images for each lesson - would like to have at least 10, but finding time is at a premium participating in the two workshops! I am not an abstract painter, but these lessons are invaluable in my growth as an artist! Will post more as the workshop progresses. Hope you enjoy.

Each image is 9"X12"
Left is the 'Start' and right is the 'Finish'

Each image is 9"X12"
Left is the 'Start' and right is the 'Finish'

Image Size 9"X12" Variety using only black and white media

Image Size 9"X12" Variety using only black and white media

Painting and more Painting! (Colour Workshop)

Lots happening in my studio!  Signed up for two of Jane Davies'  workshops - not sure what I was thinking but am making time for painting - lots of painting! Taking 100 Drawings on Cheap Paper and Beyond the Colour Wheel- Advanced Colour Studies. The colour workshop is very time consuming - making value scales mixing colours with black and white, colour wheels, taking the colour work and desaturating them to a grey scale (using your choice of app or scanner). And that is just Lesson 1. There are six in total and we receive a new lesson every two weeks.  Glad for the two week time frame. Have posted a some samples of work from the first lesson where we worked with value of colour. When looking at art work I probably don't even realize how much value plays in the way I am viewing it.

.....I know this is a little 'dry' to be reading and looking at images of!!


VALUE SCALE

Used carbon black and titanium white paint and created a grey scale. The left shows the colour scan and the right scan is in grey scale. Interesting to look at in the desaturated photo - is 'grey' vs the colour image.

VALUE SCALE OF A COLOUR - COBALT TEAL

Adding black to create a shade and white to create a tint.  Trying to match the values to my grey scale.

Colour Scan

Desaturated Scan

COLOUR WHEEL

Picked three primary colours and tinted the red and blue to match the value of the yellow. I used nickle azo yellow, phthalo turquoise and napthol red.  You can see when looking at the 'yellow' side of the colour wheel in the desaturated image the colours are slightly off.