Graphite apples

I am still in apple mode and have a few more to get out of my system before the middle of the month.

This one is in graphite.  I recalled Jennifer saying that she was taking on a Monthly Sketch project - the evolution of the Virtual Sketch project that I was part of.  I had a look and what was there?  Apples!  So of course I had to give it a go.

I started the drawing at work one lunch time then finished it off at home.  So its on basic copy paper.  That in itself becomes a trial, as there is little tooth to the paper and while I want to go darker on it, the paper won't allow it, so here it is.

This piece is about 4 x 5 inches and obviously my rectangle is a little skewed and so the scan was too.  I enjoyed drawing this and its made me want to tackle a larger project in graphite.  However, there are a few other things outstanding before can think about that.

Deconstructed apple

Ah yes, you didn't think you'd get away that easily did you?  Yes, Virginia, there are more apples...

In fact there are more apples than I could possibly have time to draw or paint in a lifetime.  And in the Apple Challenge, there are even more.  You still have until October 15th to pop your version of an apple into the comments section and links to all of them will be added as soon as possible after the challenge finishes.

For this piece, its another macro view, this time of an apple cut in half.  Its quite ingenious how the seeds are protected within the heavy layer of flesh, each within its own little pocket, sometimes twin seeds in a section.

Looking at it from this perspective, it may be difficult to even recognize it as an apple.  This in done with coloured pencil on brown paper in my Earthbound sketchbook.  I wanted it to be subdued so used mostly sepia with a touch of ochre and venetian red and white for highlights.

Portraits and turkeys

I did some more work on the portrait I started last night but am not sure if I like how its going or not.  I think it may still be in that ugly phase and I need to work through it.  I don't like the eyes and am not sure how to get around that with watercolour and ink in place already.

I have layered more pigment and added ink, almost like a value map on the face.I wanted a graphic look to the piece and its moving in that direction.  There's still a lot of work to be done on the hair and that throws the whole thing off a bit as my eyes are still looking for what isn't present yet.

I have switched up to an updated version of Blogger for posting.  Don't ask me how.  Some little box popped up and, like a five year old in front of an elevator button, I pressed it and here we are.  So bear with me if things look a little wonky til I get used to it.  However, it doesn't seem as if I'll have too many troubles with it.  And it does make loading and placing images much better.

The Thanksgiving turkeys came back today with people picking them up constantly.  Supper on days like this is a thing of the past or eaten in many stages.  There are just the Christmas turkeys in the barn now, eating like there's no tomorrow.  They are fed natural feed with no hormones, no animal by products.  They have music, a large pen inside, corn on the cob hanging in the pen to peck at and eat and a Sponge Bob ball. 

Yes.  Turkeys like to play ball.

It keeps them amused and provides something to peck at rather than each other.  They will, in mass, chase the ball if you throw it.  I need to capture that on video, its quite funny.

Walking the tightrope

I'm doing a little experimentation with this portrait. Its a watercolour on 11 x 14 arches paper. I want to go loose and a little abstract with it as well and see what happens.  The first layers are down now its time to play around a bit.

I want the colours to be bright and cheerful and there will likely be some ink in here before I'm through.  Of course that becomes the tightrope.  I can get safely to the other side or fall off entirely.

But hey, its only paper.  And being part of the circus should be fun. Shouldn't it?

Pear study

I've had a lazy day today. It was cool and damp and very fall like, so I lazed on the sofa and napped then after supper came to the studio to push paint around.

My notebook was sitting close by and there was paint on my palette so I decided to see how it would react to the paper. Although it sucks up paint rapidly, I like the feel of it for a quick study.

I bought a basket of pears at the market and took some photos of them on the kitchen counter with sunlight coming in. I love strong shadows and contrasts. Pears remind me so much of fall, I only wish I could grow them here. I haven't seen any growing, but if apples grow, perhaps pears could as well if sheltered..

Portrait of a girl - early stages

I've made a start on a new portrait and its very early stages at this point. My preliminary drawing is done with a brush straight onto a toned canvas panel. The likeness has moved away a little as I haven't worked on the eyes yet. However, I'm not worried as it will come together as I get further into the piece - I hope!

I've used a limited palette with this painting, almost Zorn, but with the addition of ultramarine blue. I want to keep it simple and feel that very often the first stroke should be the final stroke. I like the loosness and feel of simple strokes that aren't blended too much. Quite often I go back into a piece then wish I hadn't as the freshness is very easy to lose.

Going through the stages of a painting is always a little traumatic. Keeping the vision of what I want it to be throughout the ugly stages is always a challenge and is often where people go wrong and stop or trash the painting. The amazing part is seeing features appear out of the canvas and knowing that it is matching what's in my head.

Northern Ireland

Listeen Road, Castlereagh, Northern Ireland

October's Virtual Paintout is in and around Belfast in Northern Ireland. I did a quick oil painting of a field in Castlereagh, outside Belfast. Compared to what was referred to as "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland, this peaceful pastoral scene provides a different picture.

I spent about a year in Ireland, mostly in the south in Cork, but I did travel all over, including the Aran Islands. I didn't go into Northern Ireland as it wasn't stable there then but knew a number of people from the north and still can pinpoint that musicial northern Irish accent that's so unique to that region.

I will be back to explore Belfast and the surrounding area and work on some more paintings. This was another 'use up what's on the palette' painting so my colours are limited and I need more browns and yellow in this. Perhaps I'll adjust it tomorrow.

Grids, projectors and other secrets

I usually resize images by gridding but its a task that I truly dislike. All that measuring, all those lines, all that transferring of squares. So I decided that I'd invest in an art projector. Not a hugely expensive piece, but one that would allow me to increase sizes of original drawings or play around with reference images to get them to the size I want without tears.

There are a couple of schools of thought about using projectors, or even gridding for that matter. One school of thought brings out the 'are you cheating' concept. This says that if you use a mechanical aid to help you, you're less of an artist for it.

The second school of thought believes that aids are simply that. A method to move you more quickly and more accurately towards the end result that is in your mind's eye.

I have a foot in both courts. I don't believe that using a projector is an any way 'cheating'. If creating an outline or pinpointing angles of facial features or landscapes makes a person an artist, I'd love to let them tackle a full piece complete with values and colour. I do believe that slavish use of a projector or gridding diminishes the ability to make that mind/eye/hand connection that helps you judge and measure and draw effectively. If you use a crutch enough, you will forget how to walk without it.

For the tedious aspects of drawing, such as transferring drawings from a master to a clean sheet of paper. For increasing the size of a piece and for accuracy when it really counts, I believe in using every aid that exists. It doesn't make me a better or worse artist for it, I am still an artist. In your job, I don't ask if you used a computer to create a presentation or a graphics program to manipulate an illustration. I accept that you do your work and use the tools that you need to do so.

After all, who where the original users of similar items? The camera lucida and obscura go back hundreds of years and are reported to be used by some of the most famous artists. David Hockney's book 'Secret Knowledge' looks into the use of tools by artists of the past. Durer's grid seen in the image above is an early form of using a grid for a life drawing. A challenge in a life drawing class I would think!

There is no stygma in using tools to help you achieve a result. The problem only arises if they are what you rely on completely so that you can not produce art without them. There are pluses and minuses on both sides. What is your take on it? Do you use tools to help you?

Finally one of several pairs of earrings I have created that will go into my Etsy store. Sterling silver wrapped from head to toe with tiny clear glass drops that looks like rain.

Oil pastels and apple cores

I sat down to watch the news when I got home today and there was a box of various art supplies at my feet that I had been sorting the night before. I took out some oil pastels and played around with them, creating this apple core from memory in a small sketchbook.

I have never really done anything with oil pastels. I see work of others that looks effortless, yet I struggle with child-like lines and blobs of colour, hoping they meld into something that looks vaguely familiar. Oil pastels do not seem to have a strong following of artists who use them exclusively. Often they are used to set up an preliminary drawing for an oil painting.

I was getting them to blend a little and that is when they seem to come into their own. I know that with any medium that I'm unfamiliar with, it is a matter of practice to be able to be anywhere near proficient.

This article on Empty Easel is a good starting point for those who want more information about how to use oil pastels. And more detail and information on oil pastels in a squidoo lens.

Day jobbing and art

About 14 percent of artists rely on solely on their creativity and art sales to pay the bills. The other 86 percent have alternate jobs that bring in the bulk of their revenue and use their spare time to create and market their art.

I am one of the 86 percent.

Day jobbers go off each morning to serve coffee, teach children, manage corporations and a myriad of different tasks, shedding that skin each evening to become someone different, someone creative and productive. While we fill our day job roles and do them well, the day job doesn't always get 100% of our brains. There is a part that is constantly in creative mode, thinking about what will be done next, seeing inspiration in a corner of an office or meeting room or inside a coffee cup. Often we are silent about our other life, as if to speak about it too much jinxes it and it is at risk of dissolving.

Or we do talk about it to colleagues at breaks and lunch and see in their eyes that they don't understand the passion or why you forego the latest episode of a current television program to sequester yourself away in a room or corner and find your own world of imagination

I'm asked how I am able to work full time and still have time for all the activities that go along with creating and selling art.

Well the primary reason I work is that I need to pay bills. There is no choice in the matter. Starving artists are a cliche. A starving person can't create or buy materials to create. An artist needs a roof over her head, heat, food and clothing - and these days a computer, scanner and digital camera!

There are a few things that carry me through times when I'd rather be in the studio and some things that I do to push myself to create.

1. Know what you want to do

Do you want to write sonnets, draw animals, paint oceans, illustrate greeting cards? Knowing what you want to do keeps you going through those times when the tedium of daily work wears at you. Having that vision spurs you on.

2. Make a plan

Once you know what you want, how are you going to get there? You need to know that otherwise you move in circles constantly and have no benchmark by which to measure progress.

3. Make time for yourself

Everyone has busy lives, too busy a lot of the time, but it is often of our own making. Do we feel less important if we take lunch away from the office instead of at our desk? If we turn off the cell phone so we can have uninterrupted time to sketch at lunch? Will anyone die? No.

4. Get up earlier

Adults often sleep more than they need. And early morning when it is quiet is a perfect time to work on a painting or drawing. Try getting up 30 minutes earlier. If you're still tired, go to bed earlier. You'll go to work feeling that you've accomplished something, I promise. And you'll be more productive.

5. Turn off the television set

Sure come home and watch the news, get sorted out but then head to your creative spot and give yourself permission to do nothing but draw or paint. You've worked all day, you deserve it. If a partner protests at being left to amuse themselves, either find a new one or limit your time creating. But don't abandon your creativity or you get sucked back to where you started.

6. Find creativity in your day job.

No matter what you do for work, you can find creativity in it. You can glean ideas for marketing or planning. You can develop networks. You can find ways to benefit your work with your art and vice versa.

7. Take 10

Take a 10 minute break to devote to sketching during your day. Sketch anything, anyone. Who knows, that sketch of the coffee cup or client chair could be the inspiration for your next major piece. That 10 minute sketch will refresh and inspire you as well as keep your mind/eye coordination sharp.

8. Make your space at work your own

If you work in a cube farm, make it your own little piece of heaven. Bring in art, be comfortable. Take your favourite mug, listen to your favourite music if you can. You will enjoy work more and put yourself and others you work with in a better frame of mind.

9. Downsize your job

If you're constantly stressed with work, constantly at breaking point and caught up in the vicious cycle of 'who can do more' game at work, get a job with less responsibility. You'll have all the skills and it will make it seem easy. The new company will love you and your stress level will drop dramatically. You may even find that you'll soon be making more money than at your previous job. Take on a consulting role, teach art or workshops, find more time to paint, draw, market your art.

Little steps to change how you view your day job and how it interacts and benefits your art move you closer to your goal. You may push the statistics up to 15% for artists who get their sole income from their work, but if you don't, at least make it pleasurable being a day jobber.

Afternoon shadows

Afternoon Shadows
6 x 12 oils

After yesterdays unheaval with the ducks and the owl, I wanted to do something that I didn't have to think about too much.

This little oil painting is a 'plein air' and is of the view from the drive up towards the rear meadow and small greenhouse. I liked how the sun was bleaching the grass in bands as it filtered through the trees.

The paint is laid on pretty thick here. I was going for speed I think as the air was cool despite the sun and I wanted an impression of the scene in front of me, rather than realism and detail.

I also thought about greens and the abundance of them in trees and grass. As I have previously mentioned, my oils paints for green consist of two tubes: sap green and terre verte. The rest come from mixing various blues, yellows and white to try to vary the shades. Even the bench under the trees is green!

The unromantic reality of life in the country

Many people see a superficial view of life on a small farm and think its idyllic. They buy vegetables or fruit or pick up their chickens or turkey and wax lyrical about how wonderful it is to live here. And in many ways it is. But there is another side of life that people don't know about and don't want to know about in many cases. Its a side of life that makes you deal with death and predators and disease.

This morning was a prime example. I woke around 6ish to crows cawing loudly and incessantly from a tree in the yard. There are always crows around and I love crows. I think they are intelligent birds and have never had problems with them taking things they shouldn't (well a little duck feed from the pen now and then) or getting into garbage. They go about their crow business and I go about mine without friction.

The one huge benefit of having crows when you have livestock of any kind is that they become the air raid siren when predators are around. Hawks, eagles, foxes, coyotes are heralded by lots of loud cawing and they don't stop til the intruder is gone.

So when I heard the crows this morning I knew something wasn't right. I instantly thought of the remaining three ducks still in the pen in the field. These three ducks were the last three (besides BD) that I have. They were badly injured in the last mink attack and couldn't be sold with the last batch that went. So they went to the 'rehab' pen in the field and were slowly getting better but would never be quite 'normal' as the injuries affected muscle and tendons.

It first it was thought that it was a fox in the pen, with the brown colour and the early light, but when it raised its head there was no mistaking. It was a Great Horned Owl sitting in the entrance to one of the duck shelters in the pen. He (or she) had obviously gone into the shelter to attack the ducks who go in at night.

The remaining duck was quickly shut into the other pen but it took quite awhile before this owl was going to leave. The owl sat on the ramp to the box dozing off and on, not scared by people at all. Crows joined forces and continued to scream at the owl and dive over his head to scare him off but it took several hours before he slowly made his way from the pen to the field then to the trees at the end of the meadow. Crows continued to harass him and blue jays joined in. The noise was pretty loud as you can hear from the quick video clip that I did. I didn't get too close to the owl as I'm not sure if it would attack or not and those talons are very big!

The remaining duck was rescued from the box in the pen and put in the barn, so hopefully the owl won't be back again with nothing there to attack. Of course, the two ducks that he killed were females, both egg layers and lots of people always want duck eggs. No more.

So while this isn't pleasant for me and may not be pleasant to read, it is reality. The animals on the farm aren't as pet-like as most people's idea is, but they are well cared for and it isn't good when this happens for several reasons. I don't think there are many more predators left to come and visit. We've had hawks, a bald eagle, foxes, coyotes, mink, weasels and now an owl. The only thing left is likely a black bear and I really don't want to see one of them!

The positive thing out of this? I have some good photos of a Great Horned owl.

Yes, its another apple...

On my continuing exploration of apples, I dug around in my stash of supports and found a piece of translucent yupo. My next apple was going to be on a traditional watercolour support, but I thought I'd try the yupo and go really loose, as only yupo can do.

It was a bit of a struggle and some of the colours overmixed and became a bit muddy in places, but the general idea is there.

I'm of two minds with yupo. Part of me enjoys the experimentation aspect of it and how loose it makes you think and paint. Another part craves the detail and smooth blending that traditional watercolour paper would allow if worked dryer. I think that I will get another couple of pieces of yupo in my next order just for times when I want this strong impressionistic feel to a piece.

Any suggestions for the next apple in terms of support or medium?

Apple experiments continue

Are you sick of apples yet? I still have some apples left in me and I am quite enjoying cycling through different mediums and techniques to put them on the support that I choose.

Tonight it is coloured pencil on black paper 9 x 12. I haven't used cp for awhile and am not pleased with the highlights. They're not blended enough and need to be smoother and softer. But as the piece isn't intended for sale, I won't worry about it and move on to the next piece.

There are so many views of an apple that I can have, it's mindboggling. Sliced? Just the core? A bite taken out? Multiples? Singles? I seem to have concentrated on single pieces of fruit so far. I like doing that so I can really concentrate on the form and lighting. Piles of fruit are more timeconsuming and sometimes the initial enthusiasm for the piece starts to wear off and it progresses. I wanted these studies to allow me to really examine an apple and put it on paper or canvas.

Now which medium next? What support? Stay tuned to the apple challenge....

Armchair travel

12 R. das Quelnas, Lisbon, Portugal

I'm slow on catching up with the rest of the world sometimes so have only recently discovered Google Street View and an opportunity to combine art into technology.

The Virtual Paintout is hosted by Bill Guffey and consists of choosing a city a month and letting people explore it, choose a view, paint or draw it then have it posted on the VP blog.

Its easy to get lost (literally and figuratively) in these cities. As you explore narrow streets, view local sculpture and scenic spots, its difficult to decide on a particular place as they all have appeal.

September's city is Lisbon, Portugal. After much exploring I came across this stone outbuilding in the older part of town and couldn't resist a pen and ink drawing of it to capture the feel in black and white. I felt that colour would bring it too far into the present day somehow.

Anyone over 40 from St. John's will be quite familiar with the White Fleet. Until the early 70's the Portuguese fishing fleet would leave Portugal for a season's voyage, or a campanha, to fish off the Grand Banks. The fleet was known as the White Fleet because all the ships were painted white. Many of the sailors in the fleet were fine musicians who brought their instruments ashore or played on the boats tied up in the harbour.

Portugal and Newfoundland have had strong ties for more than 400 years through the fishery. In the 1960's and early 70', the waterfront was lined five deep with the Portugese White Fleet and downtown St. John's became cosmopolitan with Portugese fisherman speaking a language few knew, their olive colouring a stark contrast to the sun starved inhabitants of this island.

...The launching of the new ship also marked the quincentennial celebration of the Portuguese presence in the waters off Newfoundland. There were celebratory masses. The St. John's film council organized a special film festival for the fishermen, with showings of the films "Portuguese Grand Bankers" and "Portuguese Golden Beaches," with announcements printed in both the Portuguese and English language. The festivities ended when a parade of 4,000 Portuguese fishermen marching to the Basilica of St. John the Baptist bearing a three-and-a-half foot high statue of Our Lady of Fatima, a gift of gratitude and friendship intended as a holy link between the two peoples. A statue of Gaspar Corte-Real also stands looking out to sea, in remembrance of the Corte-Real brothers' 1501 and 1502 exploration of these coastal waters, to which they ultimately lost their lives...

White Fleet ship saved from scrapyard
Portuguese company now owns two historic fishing vessels

The St. John's Telegram article says:

Pascoal & Filhosa fish company - in an emotional dockside delivery - took possession weeks ago of the Argus - one of the final four surviving members of the Portuguese White Fleet.

The fish company has strong family ties to the White Fleet and now owns two White Fleet vessels. The other - called the Santa Maria Manuela - is undergoing complete restoration at a Spanish shipyard. The company plans to sail the Santa Maria Manuela to Newfoundland in 2010 to celebrate Portugal's ties to St. John's and the Newfoundland fishery.

So 12 R. das Quelnas now has a place in my heart and I will be back there to see more and draw more, even if only from the comfort of my chair for now.

Finding the past

I seem to be constantly unearthing the past lately when I look for other totally unrelated things.

I found this photo of a watercolour sketch that I did in 1987 inside a book. 22 years ago! The photo is a little the worse for wear but I recall the image well. It is of my niece when she came to visit me in England many years ago. She was perhaps 2 or three then I think. Rather fitting as tomorrow is her birthday and she's back in England.

Its a shame the photo isn't better. The colours have faded a bit and aren't really representational of the original but the overall values are still there.

I don't know where the original of this is. I don't recall if I gave it my sister or not. I did another piece of her but in oils that my sister does have. I don't have an image of it though and must get one for my files. That was done around the same time also.

Its interesting to find old pieces and compare them with my current style. I don't know if styles do change a lot, even over time. Experimentation takes place with mediums and supports but style seems to stay with a person.

What do others think? Is this similar to my current style or have things changed in the past 22 years?

The 'end of the palette' painting

I'm usually not overly frugal but for some things I really hate waste. Paint left on my palette is one of those things.

After painting all weekend, I'm still left with an assortment of squiggles and blobs of half used/half dried paint in various colours left on my palette and I really don't want to just toss them. So I thought I'd just pile them onto an old piece of canvas board and let the colours land where they may and see if something recognizable came out of it. There are rich layers of impasto that make me almost want to dip a finger into them like icing on a cake.


So now my leftover paint is used. My leftover canvas is full of paint. I have a new apple that looks rather like a patchwork quilt. I don't think it will ever make it in an exhibition but I thoroughly enjoyed creating it.

Twilight Marsh II

Twilight Marsh II
oils 9 x 12

Today is the first day of autumn and while I'm not quite ready to break out the wooly sweaters and mitts quite yet, I am contemplating starting some small knit projects that will keep out the cold.

The weather's too warm to wrap my head around that too much but it did cross my mind as I continue revitalizing old canvases. This winter scene is of a meadow that I pass each day on the way home. On this day, the sun lit the clouds outlining the trees in gold and the snow was purplish-blue in the fading light. Twilight. A perfect time of day.

I originally painted this back in January, mostly from memory.

I have been studying the paintings of Peter Fiore and his beautiful stark winter landscapes. Perhaps I was influenced by his work when I repainted this little strip of land. Its not winter yet, but with scenes like this that I know will appear again, it makes the season less formidable.

Apple macro II

A single apple on its own deserved a companion so I tried another, this time in green.

Greens are always a challenge to me and I don't have more than a couple of tubes of green in my oils arsenal. Mixing blues and yellows help and in green apples there are also a lot of yellows and blues that stand on their own in the form of highlights and shadows.

This, sitting next to the red from yesterday, would make an interesting pair of complementary paintings with some symmetry in the stems to balance them.

This is also an 8 x 8 inch canvas panel in oils.

Apple macro

I still have the apple challenge in the back of my head and ideas are swirling around. This afternoon, I tried this quick one. Its a macro view of an apple that turns into an almost abstract this close up.

This in in oils on an 8 x 8 inch canvas panel.

Savage Cove surf

Savage Cove surf
7 x 10 watercolour

I'm continuing on with a mini series of ocean views around my area. There is so much coastal geography in the province, I don't have to go far to see water and rocks.

This is Savage Cove. Its a lovely little cove with a stony beach and lethal submerged rocks. I'm sure it was named for good reason. But it is one of my favourite places to paint because it is very quiet there and also dramatic with the rock cliffs sloping down to the sea and the often turquoise water at certain times of year.

This piece measures 7 x 10 and is done on handmade heavy rough watercolour paper. The paper has no brand name and is contained in a book that I received as a gift last Christmas. Its a perfect texture for painting rough water as the brush skips over the paper, making its own highlights and eliminating any need for masking fluid. I also add a little pastel to intensify the foam in areas that aren't strong enough.

I've noticed that this has similarities to the Pouch Cove surf piece in terms of composition. Perhaps I'm drawn to that view of diagonal rocks in the water or they're just peculiar to Newfoundland!

Pouch Cove surf

Pouch Cove Surf
watercolour 7 x 10

I am still learning about water and how to depict it convincingly. Its a lot harder than anticipated but I think I've broken the back of it and have enough information about how water acts and reacts to predict where to put my next brushstroke.

Until I joined the small group that makes up Watermarks, I hadn't paid a lot of attention to the water around me, not artistically. I concentrated on people and animals mostly, but Watermarks has made me examine water more closely and helped me understand it well enough to draw and paint it.

Images of seascapes can be painted from reference images and done well, but unless you know, first hand, how light plays on water, how the sea streams over and off rocks, how waves form and curl, how the foam turns creamy brown after storms and how 'plain old rocks' turn into glittering rainbows of gold, blue, purple and green, your paintings will be somewhat lacking.

Intimate knowledge of your subject is crucial to create a good piece of art. A large expanse of water is daunting, but when you break it down into smaller parts and concentrate on each section one at a time, it comes together more easily.

I continually watch the ocean as I drive past it daily. I see light that I want to capture, patterns of currents on the surface, how the weather affects movement, surf, light...it goes on and on. There are successes and failures, but each one moves me forward.

Apple study

As I threw out the concept of the apple challenge a few days ago, I thought I'd better make a start on one.

I had a need to draw again after painting steadily for awhile and chose charcoal. I used charcoal pencils for this. I guess I just wasn't in 'mess' mode. Not that it made a lot of difference,as I tend to be pretty much 'hands on' with charcoal in any form.

Let's see what else I can come up with in terms of drawing and colour for apples over the next few weeks. I hope you'll join me. I look forward to learning from each drawing or painting that is posted.

A little progress

I have done a little more on my grand daughter's portrait and am still refining the face shape. When I step back from it on the easel, I always see something that isn't quite right. And I haven't really done much with the background of towel or hands. Those hands! The tangle of fingers can be daunting, but one at a time and I'll get there.

Yesterday I had to drive to another town to meet with an affiliate. The day was bright and the highway took me through untouched countryside with no other traffic around or very little at times.

The landscape of Newfoundland is unique and made me think about other people's 'commutes' to work. I think I am lucky in many ways.

How was your drive to work?

Apple Challenge

I have been looking for inspiration and may have found it on my kitchen counter in the form of apples. Often the most obvious and what is often thought of as the most simple subject, is overlooked.

Apples are frequently drawn or painted but often not well as we hurry past the simple shapes and don't really examine them to create the detail in light, reflections and colour that they deserve.

So as it is September and apples are ripening in many parts of the western world, I'm throwing open the blog to an apple challenge. Any size, shape, colour. Any medium, any support. The rock challenge gave me a lot to think about viewing other people's approaches to a subject and I believe that this will be similar.

I think a month should give enough time to get a good harvest of apples, so October 15 will be the deadline. Simple add a comment and a link to your piece on your blog and at the end of the time I will do a post and list all the entries.

Is anyone game?

Searching for inspiration

I'm in a lull of sorts. I'm picking away at different pieces but there is no one piece that is firing me up, making me forget the world concentrate on creating it.

So I've been flipping through photos. So many photos I have! Some of them catalogued, a lot not. I've gotten as far as putting them in years so I guess that's a start. Now to further define down to art and photos then further still. It seems too daunting a task to contemplate. Perhaps best saved for one of those cold dreary damp days when I'm confined to the house.

What I would like to do next is a drawing I think. Drawing is my comfort zone and when I've been painting for awhile, the need to use graphite or charcoal calls to me. Finding the right piece that inspires is the challenge.
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Meanwhile I played with a little watercolour of some pears I bought. Pears are such simple yet such complex fruits and so classical in paintings. This is done in a tiny 3 x 5 Moleskine watercolour book.

Transformations

I continue to sift through old paintings and see what I can do to transform them. This was originally an image of something entirely different that I wasn't pleased with at the time. And this is some of the process I used to reach the final painting that is now here.

I covered the surface with modeling paste with a thought of texture in mind, and perhaps depicting ocean movement. I played around with images and options and finally decided on a view I'd sketched previously of Middle Cove, just after Hurricane Bill. The sea was rough with waves hitting the cliffs, the wind was still high and clouds were scudding across the sky.

The undercoat that I'd previously used for initial sketches was interesting, so I decided I'd let it show through the clouds. The lines left in the modeling paste added to the feel of the day.

I decided to share some of my painting with you in video form. Yes its a bit scattered and yes my studio table really is that messy, but sometimes its interesting to watch others work. I wasn't talking during this piece but there was some music on my laptop and if you turn up your volumn you may be able to hear it.

Marshland revisited

While I'm still working on the portrait from yesterday's post, I have also been having another look at other pieces that I did but wasn't completely happy with.

This piece was part of a series on the journey of water to the sea. The original was a little washed out. Part me, part due to the season it was done in. Spring here is slow coming and things turning green slower still and I just couldn't seem to get the right colour mix for this water coming off the marsh into the stream.

So I changed the sky, softened the background and gave it a looser feel that I'm happier with now.

Its on 8 x 8 canvas panel in oils.

The lion cub revisited

Like most artists, I have a 'discard' pile. These are paintings or drawings that were started, then stopped for some reason. Either the piece didn't inspire me, it wasn't matching the vision in my head or I was simply painting badly, so it was added to the pile in a corner of the studio hoping one day I would want to see if I could salvage it.

Over the last couple of days, I have dusted off some of the pile and done some additions, repainting or surface alternations to begin new pieces.

This is one of the pieces that I put aside. Its the start of a portrait of my grand daughter who was here in June. She'd just had a bath and was wrapped up in her lion towel and was posing beautifully for me in the evening light by the window as she had her eye on my camera and wanted to play with it.

As she was dressed up as a little lion I though what more apt but to place a background of the plains of Africa. The bones of that are in place and while minimal in terms of canvas space and values, I hope it will work.

The first attempt at the portrait didn't work and I put it aside then thought I'd pull it out again and see what I could do. More layers and its starting to come together now. I can't find my very small brush to do some more work on the eyelids, so they'll have to wait til tomorrow when I can buy a new brush.

This painting is done on gallery canvas and is 11 x 14 in oils.

Who do you think you are?

Fog bank
oils on canvas panel 9 x 12

I heard it yesterday. That voice. That snarky voice in my head that second guesses and gives me an earful when I do something that pushes me outside my comfort zone or when I do something a little bolder or self serving. I heard it clearly and disturbingly as I walked up the steps of the museum and art gallery, submissions in hand. And it nearly made me turn back. But I pushed the voice aside and continued on.

It's the voice that says "Who do you think you are?"

The voice comes singly or in a group. Christine Kane visualized her voices as a group of high school girls.

Their eyes are lined with thick black pencil. They wear concert t-shirts. Their hair is burnt from too many home perms. One of them steps forward and says, with her hands on her hips, “Who do you think you are?” And then she turns to the others and says, “Who does she think she is?” Then they all take an aggressive step forward.

My friend Joy told me that “Who do you think you are?” jumps in whenever she imagines hanging out on the sofa reading magazines.

A few years ago, I saw Oprah speak. She said that every time she wanted to achieve more, the first voice she heard was “Who do you think you are?”

Every woman I know has her own version of this voice waiting in the wings.

In other words: Stay down, play small, shut up, and don’t embarrass yourself. Don’t even bother because you won’t make it, you don’t deserve it, and everyone knows it, and they’ll all laugh at you when you fail.

So, next time that voice jumps up in your head, here’s what you do:

Answer it.

Really. Who do you think you are?

One time, I was telling a mentor about some fears coming up around a choice I was making.

I said, “…and all the voices in my head are saying, ‘Who do you think you are?’”

And he looked at me and said, “Well? Who do you think you are?”

I smiled and continued with my story.

He cut in.

“No. Stop. I really want to know. Who do you think you are? Tell me right now.”

In a very tiny voice, I told him.

Then he made me say it again in a bigger, stronger voice. And again after that.

He said, “There. Now you have an answer for your voices.”

Now I do this exercise every time those voices arise.

Here’s a tip:

When you answer that question, use language that speaks the truth of your strengths and values

In other words, make it authentic.

It’s tempting to recite something that sounds “lofty” or “holy." I know you know what I mean. “I am a divine being, living in divine perfection with power and grace..and blah blah blah...abundance and light."

Okay, fine.

True as that may be, if that language doesn’t resonate with you, you’ll never feel any bolder, and those high school girls with the black eye pencil will put their cigarettes out on your shoe.

The Co-op of Lack

My theory is that “Who do you think you are?” is actually a Co-op.

It’s a collective body of voices saying, “Agree with us in the lack that we see! Agree with us that there are no other options! Agree with us that no one has any power over life conditions!”

It’s actually pretty convenient.

It’s convenient to have this world-view because it gives you permission to stay stuck. It never requires that you do anything about it because after all, you’re dealing with a whole world-view!

Think about it.

When you say, “I no longer want to work with this abusive client,” you’re also saying, “AND, I believe there are multitudes of others out there for me.”

When you say, “I’m gonna nap right now, and I will be more productive and happier because of it,” you’re also saying, “AND, I believe that there’s more than enough time for me to get my to-do’s done.”

Get it?

Essentially, you’re telling the Co-op that you’ve decided to create a whole new world-view!

Extra Credit Bonus Tip

Let’s be honest.

Most likely there are occasions when you’ve been the one saying, “Who does she think she is?” (Even if it’s only in your head.)

Don’t be ashamed. It simply means that you have more opportunities to shift those old lack mindsets. Usually those mindsets are saying: “I’m feeling small and poor, so she should be small and poor too.” We’ve all caught ourselves doing this.

Even if it’s uncomfortable, you can choose to bless or praise anyone who seems to be taking bigger strides in her life. Then remind yourself again who you think you are, and join her!

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her 'LiveCreative' weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.