Creativity - In the Kitchen

It has been a creative weekend of sorts - no painting - missing that, but spent Saturday and Sunday afternoon making jam. Fresh fruit is arriving daily from British Columbia. The roadside stands are overflowing with peaches, cherries, plums and the local farmer's markets are starting to fill up with fresh vegetables. Took advantage of the fruit and made Red Plum Jam, Peach Ginger Jam and Blueberry Lime Jam. I love the process of preserving, I have my checklist of must do's, but can get creative adding different spices (in small amounts). It reminds me in some ways of printmaking - there are the must do's but the creativity too. When I remove the jars from the hot water bath and cool them on the counter I get a certain amount of satisfaction from the time spent turning the fruit into jam that we can enjoy through the winter months and when the last jar is opened I can't wait for next years crop. These jewel-toned jams will inspire when I head back to my studio.

A weekend well spent!

....highly recommend Amy Bronee's book 'The Canning Kitchen'. Such a great book! Have enjoyed all the recipes tried to date. Especially like that these are for small batches not large quantities - in other words 'just right'!

.....thanks for reading and hope you will give it a try....now off to do some painting!

Artists To Share - Barbara Franc (Sculptor)

I haven't been spending as much time in my studio the last few weeks - our summers are short and the call to be outdoors is strong. I know, I could be painting outdoors (which I do!) but I also like to garden, ride my horse, hike, search for wildflowers, watch for wildlife - this week alone I have watched two white tail deer with their young - one has twin fawns, the other one fawn, a cow/calf moose pair, a young moose (so beautiful with her summer coat), two humming birds, a bald eagle, blue heron, loons and the list goes on. You will just have to take my word for it, I am just not fast enough with the camera!

Like a lot of you I spend time searching for other artists and viewing their work. Their medium of choice doesn't necessarily have to be the same as mine. I enjoy looking at a variety of mediums. It is so inspiring and it gets me excited about making art. So I thought I would share with you some of the artists I am inspired by. I hope you like this idea and will enjoy discovering their work.

I found Barbara Franc on FaceBook. I love, love, love her work. What an amazing sculptor. I'll take one of each please!

*These images are of Barbara Franc's work. If you do repost them please make sure to credit Barbara Franc.

Barbara Franc - Shaggy Dog

Barbara Franc - Hare

Do you have a favourite artist(s) that inspires you? Would love to hear who it is and see pictures of their work.

Painting - Acrylics

A week of rain, cooler temperatures and cleaning up after installing some new flooring in our home. Seemed as good a time as any to attempt a little studio cleanup as well. I am forever 'cleaning up' my studio. I hate 'recycling' or 'throwing' anything out! Always seems that a few months down the road I am looking for those particular items that I got rid off. I did unearth some of my earlier attempts at acrylic painting. At the time I painted these I was thinking how bad they were, and had thought of either painting over them or tossing. But I am glad I kept them - is a good record to see where I started and where I am on this art journey.

These pictures do not have much colour mixing - if any! (that is what I am conciously working on now). Tried some different techniques - collage, image transfer, stamping and using markers and coloured pencil. I am thinking of reworking one or two, but maybe I should just keep them as a record of where I started and where I am currently with my painting.

Looking at them now they don't seem all that bad.

6"X6"
Acrylic paint, image transfer & stamping

6"X6"
Acrylic paint, image transfer, stamping and coloured pencil

11"X14"
Acrylic paint & tissue paper

8"X10"
Acrylic paint & collage

Painting - Encaustic

Last August (2015) I purchased two online encaustic painting classes from Carla Sonheim. Wasn't sure how these would work, but in a word ....fantastic! I hadn't heard of Stephanie Hargrave before, but I just love her work. Beautiful organic shapes, expressive line work and rich, rich colour. I recommend both classes - Intro to Encaustic Painting and Creating a Modular Encaustic Painting. I am watching them both for the second time, taking lots of notes. The wax is out and heating and I am looking forward to more experimentation.

6"X6" Birch panel (2" cradle)
Wax medium, image transfer, dried plant material - Tulips

These 4 pieces are meant to be hung together in a vertical format. They make a nice grouping when displayed this way. They are on Ampersand Claybord (4"X4"). Multiple layers of wax medium with image transfers, pigment rubbed into incised lines and chiri tissue.

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.