Red reflection

Available for purchase from my website

A friend in our local art group threw out a little challenge to paint one of her photos this month. A beautifully red apple. The colour in it is irresistable.

I started out with a sedate little painting last night then looked at tonight and it was just..blah, so I grabbed a palette knife and laid in some brighter colours and loose application.

I'm getting to quite like this palette knife painting. Its like a great warm up for a more concentrated piece.

This finishes off my oil palette and now I can start afresh tomorrow.

On the rocks

The sea is on my doorstep and I can take it for granted, being so close. I see it every day, but more as a marker for weather than the body of every changing water that it is. As I drive past the ocean, I always look towards it and note the colour of the water reflecting the sky, the movement of the waves and if there are any ships on the horizon. But it isn't an indepth look.

When I go closer, to the edge of the water, is when detail becomes apparent and I take note of other, perhaps more painterly, things. The colours in the water as it shifts, reflecting sky and revealing the hidden depths and the rocks always present that surround the shore. The colours and shapes carved by thousands and millions of years of ocean and weather and glaciers become sculptures of the sea.

This 8" x 8" oil is on a gessoed wood panel of the view over the edge of the cliff at Pouch Cove. It wasn't high and I was far back from the edge. The height shows the ocean's movement and how it changes colour as it is close to shore. It can look almost tropical at times, this wild Atlantic.

Yellowtail flounder

This is a gyotaku print of yellowtail flounder before it has been mounted to another sheet of paper.

Mounting gyotaku is rather like stretching watercolour paper but with rice or wheat paste adhering the 'sandwich' of the two sheets. Most gyotaku prints are mounted as the paper the fish is printed on is fairly fragile and needs the stability of another sheet.

The process is always a little daunting to me as I put paste all over the back of the print and layer and smooth it carefully onto another sheet. I don't know if I even breathe sometimes! I have a large plastic topped table that I paste on and tape the edges so as it dries it becomes taut and eliminates most wrinkles. Not everything is perfect always and that's just how it goes. Unlike watercolour, you've already done your creative piece before stretching, so it becomes a bit stressful. Even if things don't go quite as planned, results are usually good and of course practice makes perfect. Or at least acceptable.

Marbles in progress

Time is really limited lately for painting, so I've been getting up early, sometimes too early, to fit in some painting. The challenges of juggling a full time job as well as an art career all comes down to planning and discipline of 'butt in chair'. I do find that very early morning works well in that respect as there are no interruptions, no phone calls, no meals pending, etc.

For those saying they can't find time, means they don't want to find time or are not serious enough about wanting to reach their goal. That may sound harsh, but if you can find time to watch television or spend hours online, but still say you don't have time to paint, you may like to rethink how you lay out your time. For everything in life, if you want it badly enough, you'll create the time.

So this morning gave me a couple of hours to work on this marble trio. I had taken some reference images at the weekend using good light and great old wooden surface of a antique paper cutter. I'm working on getting the marbles to a degree of finish as well as the reflections, while working on the background which is more a play of light than detail.

It is in oils on an 8 x 16 panel.

Inside information

Available for purchase from my website.

I've been looking more closely at cut surfaces of fruit and vegetables and find them quite interesting. Heirloom tomatoes in particular are full of colour and are quite beautiful. I've been setting up still life pieces today trying to find just the right one that will speak to me. A snowy, blowy day gives me no excuse not to get some painting done.

Meanwhile, this tomato slice was painted over the last couple of nights. Its oil on 8 x 8 gallery canvas.

Yearly planner

The Yearly Planner Bringing back the art of living in daily life by Jeanette Jobson | Make Your Own Book

My life revolves around my daily planner.  If I didn't write things down, my life would be in chaos.  Meetings, appointments, art exhibitions, supply orders, birthdays, etc., etc. are all contained in a little book that stays with me close to hand at all times.

I don't think I'm the only one who is reliant on notes as reminders of events and the average daily planner is, let's face it, rather dull and boring.  I have created a 136 page planner that covers a year with space for writing in each day.   I've populated the planner with my art which slides you into each month and adds some colour.   Available through Blurb, with a full preview available, you can organize your year and add a little touch of colour to your planning.

A zen decision

I think its time to create another ocean wave.  I'm trying to decide to go small, medium, large or extra large.  Decisions, decisions.  While I decide, I put a little paint on canvas in the form of a study of how I want the wave to look, more or less.  Yes, I do love my studies.  Sometimes they don't get past that, but its great to work out the bugs on a small surface before tackling something larger.  This is in oils on an old panel.  I'm working my way through reject paintings by recycling them in studies and impasto paintings and will need some new canvas panels soon!

I discovered Buddha Boards today via Myrna Wackov's blog post on drawing with a coffee stir stick.  She's inspired.  Her drawing in the post wasn't on a Buddha Board but it seems to be a great alternative to a 'zen' sketch book.   The zen of living in the moment, no past, no future lives up to its name in this board.  You use water and brush only on special paper.  The lines are like ink and wash but only last a few minutes then disappear completely.  You can only capture your sketch with a camera.  Its truly the green alternative to working out compositions and ideas.

I just ordered one.