Elephant poop and sketches

I just put in an order for some paper from my regular mail order company.  While I can get a lot of basic supplies here, pricing tends to be more expensive here and bargains can be had along with unique finds in art materials.

Today I found tree-less multimedia paper and ordered a few sheets to try out.

No priming is needed as this paper doesn't buckle, and makes an ideal surface for oils, acrylics, charcoal, pencil, pen & ink, watercolour & more. 

Terraskin is made from 75% mineral powder (ground calcium carbonate or limestone) combined with 25% non-toxic resin. Tree-free, this paper uses no water or bleach during manufacturing.

This 348 lb paper feels similar to a 300 lb watercolour sheet, but is not as stiff as it does not contain any sizing.

There are quite a number of tree-free papers available it seems, including elephant poop, yep, the real thing.  Odorless and bacteria free.  Don't think I want to make that kind of paper. However, its a logical progression seeing that the diet of elephants, like horses or cows is predominantly grasses or other woody matter.

An additional link to more hand made papers is here.

Green Living Tips points to a number of varieites to look out for:

Bagasse - the pulp that remains after extracting juice from sugar cane.

Mango - Mango paper is usually from Thailand. It is made from kozo (paper mulberry) and mango leaf.

Banana - Made from waste bark of banana tree which is cut after the bananas have been ripened.

Cotton - Can be made from old cotton rags, clothing and general cotton waste

Jute - you've probably seen jute twine; usually brownish in color and quite coarse. It can also be made into  high-quality writing and specialty papers

Elephant poop - yes, you read it right, poop - but it's bacteria free and odor free :).

Hemp - Did you know that Benjamin Franklin was the owner of a mill that made hemp paper and that Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on paper made of hemp? Hemp has somewhat of a undeserved general reputation; but industrial hemp is an incredibly useful plant. 

Straw - as straw fibers are very similar to wood fibers, it makes an excellent paper. Oddly enough, the USA was once the largest producer of straw for paper making; but the industry no longer exists.

Tamarind -  contain petals and leaves from tamarind tree

Coconut - the husks of coconuts were usually discarded, but the fiber is now being used to create paper with a thick texture

However, I digress.  I was going to subject you to a glimpse of the contents of my head before I go to sleep at night.  Or perhaps during the night too sometimes.   Most nights before I sleep, I draw in my sketchbook.  These drawings can be snippets of anything, rather like a notebook for ideas, or notations about dreams.  Most come from somewhere in my head and have no references, simply memory to go by.  Others start out as a photo in a magazine, then morph from there.

These are a few that arrived over the last couple of weeks.  Some have futures, their thumbnail forms rough and strange. Some are destined to be trapped in the sketchbook forever.

Moving ahead

I've been doing some marketing with my art over the last few months and its starting to pay off now.

I have one of my pieces accepted into the Provincial Art Bank which I'm very pleased about.  This provides a showcase for my work to a broader audience.  Pieces are displayed on a rotating basis throughout government and government related education buildings around the province and may be displayed at times in the provincial art gallery at The Rooms.

I've used a free public advertisement service to promote animal portraits and contacts have been good from that source.  You take a chance when doing this but I created special offer for the holiday season and that seems to bring out collectors and commissions.

Finally, I had dinner tonight a St. John's restaurant that displays art from local artists in its rooms.  I asked about displaying there and was told they're interested in new artists and charge no commission for sales.  I will be setting up a meeting to show some of my art there I think.

With every marketing piece that I do it has a fear and pleasure aspect to it.  Like many artists, marketing myself becomes a daunting task, but as with all things, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.  There is always a risk of rejection, but you take the punches with the good times.  Lately, the good times are becoming more frequent.

I still haven't had a lot of time to play with my new camera, but this image at the top of the post was taken early one morning this week with a telephoto lens. It is a Northern Flicker which frequents the birdfeeder outside the dining room window now that it is stocked with suet cakes.  I think this is one of this seasons 'babies' as it seems rather round and a bit small.  I love the colouring and markings on these birds and occasionally they wake me by drumming on the side of the house.  That, I'm not so keen on.

The psychiatrist is in

Its interesting how non-artistic people view the world and need to be coaxed into seeing what we see.

I'm doing some commissions and find that individuals rarely have a vision of the final piece in terms of size and what they feel is value for money.  I try to steer them in the right direction, knowing almost intuitively how a piece will translate onto different size canvases or paper.  Most people are happy to be steered and understand a little more of the process of composition, reduction and enlargement.

Commission work often consists of part psychology, part intuition, part patience, part education and a dash of luck, combined with holding your breath until the piece is accepted.  So why do it?  Because its wonderful to see different people or animals and watch them come to life.   99% of people are amazing to deal with.  The 1% that are difficult I look at as helping me learn.  I learn to anticipate the person's vision of the final piece and have never had a piece returned or major changes to do. 

This sweet dog is a start of a piece in watercolour.  Black dogs are always a challenge, but the smaller size makes it easier as there is not so much detail work.  If it were a traditional head and shoulders portrait, my work would be cut out for me.

Stumbling blocks

I'm in my usual multi-tasking mode and have several paintings that I'm working on simultaneously.
I'm nearing completion of one portrait with another in the wings and a commission hot on its heels.I'm using watercolour and sort of fell into a technique that almost borders on pointillism.  I lay down the usual washes of colour but start adding to them with swatches of colour, allowing the viewer's eye to blend them optically.  This technique seems to give depth to skin tones rather than flat washes.

I am moving more towards impressionistic images in portraits.  I like the edginess of them and how they make you look twice.  I've never been drawn to 'sweet' portraits with pristine shading.  It smacks of chocolate box art and those paintings of innocent faced children in fancy frocks barefoot in the grass.  It may be the image of the monied class who want to depict their child as perfect, but its not for me.  I like a portrait to be a little different and yet represent the true personality of the sitter.

I need that push of a deadline to really get into production.  Without a deadline, even if self imposed, I tend to procrastinate.  Then suddenly, time is upon me and gives the incentive to get into action.  There's also a part of me that just loves having my time filled, so procrastination of one thing leads to production in another.

Production means forward movement and completion.  There are nearly always points in a painting that I start to lose interest in the process or the subject and need to concentrate to move through that phase to get to the end.

Stumbling blocks come in many forms in art and everyone has their own, often they are similar to others.  Procrastination, loss of inspiration, production blocks, the list goes on and on.  The common thread is that many people share these blocks and many get past them to continue producing art.

Sunrise

 

Drawing from memory has advantages and disadvantages.  We all have an internal Utopia where nothing is true to reality and that comes out when we draw from memory.  We know shapes and volume but don't often reach perfection in creating something from our imagination.  Its edges are fuzzy and likenesses warped and molded through our experiences and visions.  It can become freeing and provide very interesting results, but if you're aiming for realism, it rarely works.

This piece came from that place in my head.  I'd seen the sun rising over the lake on the way to work and captured it in my memory then tried to recreate my version of it tonight.

This is pastel stroked over a sheet of lovely ink stained paper.  The colours work, but aren't the reality that I saw.  I think I prefer to live in that Utopia at times where colours are brighter and landscapes unreal.

Portraits in progress

Its good to be back home after a hectic few days in Toronto. I took today off to catch up on some work (and sleep) and made a concentrated effort on progressing with a couple of portraits.

I added more layers and refined shapes in the watercolour portrait that I'm working on for the portrait swap at WetCanvas and its finally starting to go where I want it to.  The ugly stage nearly had me tearing up another sheet of paper but I worked through it and am coming out the other side.

I also agreed to do another swap with someone who's sign up partner had not forwarded any images.  I know she was anxious to paint and I'm always happy to do more portraits for practice, so I am doing a small piece in oils for her.  I've had time to only block in basic shapes and values so far and will work on it more over the coming week and hopefully have it on its way within 2 weeks, provided I don't get too slap happy with the oils so it doesn't take forever to dry enough to ship.

Christmas commissions are coming in now, due to a little marketing on my part.  Its always good to have that extra work and I enjoy the challenge.  I know my own cut off point in terms of workload and don't surpass my comfort zone.  I'm also not afraid to turn down commissions if the images provided aren't suitable to provide a piece with the quality that I want to provide.

Peggy's Cove

I thought I'd quickly put this piece up online before I head out the door.  This is a quick watercolour sketch of the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia.  The viewpoint is from Peggy's Point Road and done for the Virtual Paintout for November.

Seems no matter the time of day, I still can't get a decent image but this one is close.  However, the final piece is slightly different than this as I have added more pen work on the rocks, as indicated below.

Portraits and lighthouses

I've been fighting with a portrait for a couple of days, but hope that I'm conquering it now.  I decided on a fresh start and hope that will work wonders.  We too often second guess our first instincts and that often has bad results.  And sometimes the transition from small to large doesn't always go as planned.  But it only paper.  And if I have to start over 10 times, that is 10 lessons learned.

As a little change of scene, I thgouth I'd try my hand at this month's Virtual Paintout which is the Halifax region of Nova Scotia.   I know the area to some degree, or at least the more scenic parts and chose the classic tourist destination - Peggy's Cove.   This little lighthouse is perched on the edge of the Atlantic with surf worn rocks surrounding it.  Seas can be very rough at times there and tourists often stand on the rocks to watch them.  Bad idea.  A number of individuals have been washed out to sea by standing too close.  Rogue waves are notorious on the east coast.  Be warned!


View Larger Map

I made a little start on a watercolour sketch. I still have to finish the rocks and intensify values.  However, that will have to wait for a few days most likely, as I head to Toronto tomorrow on business for a few days.  I'll be back late Sunday night so will unlikely be posting to the blog until Monday.

I ordered a new camera that should arrive next week.  I have a couple of cameras, an old SLR Minolta and a little Canon point and shoot.  They provide reasonable photographs but the megapixel size of the slr is tiny compared to what is available now, so I figured it was time for something new.  A Canon Rebel EOS with an 18-55 and 75-300 telephoto lens should fit the bill for current needs without breaking the bank entirely either.

Now I just need to learn how to use it properly!

People's choice

Decision making always leaves me second guessing when it comes to art.  Its true that gut reactions are often the best ones.  There is some intuitive sense that seems to know best, whether its art or other decisions in life and often paying attention to those feelings stands you in good stead.

I'm in the process of deciding what images I want to print for greeting cards.  I want four images at the moment that will be available in packages of four cards and envelopes.  This is where you come in.

I would love you to help me choose which images that you believe are the most appealing or saleable. I've chosen 12 paintings that I think have appeal , at least to me. Simply choose four images that you believe are most suitable for greeting cards and write their appropriate number,  i.e., 1, 5, 8, 11, (they are in descending order #s 1 - 12)  in the comment section.  If you like you can also add why you like those images or, if there are other images on my blog that you think would be better suited, then link to them in your comment post.

The person who picks the same four that I finally choose to be printed will get a  package of the cards. In the case of a tie, the person whose comment is posted first will be the winner.  I will announce the winner on November 30th and you have up til November 29th to make your choices.

 

 

 

 

The last kiss

I worked a little more on the watercolour of the candy and am calling it done for the moment in terms of showing work in progress.  I still have to firm up the lettering and deepen folds in spots but that's not a large job. I have enjoyed the process of painting these, but there are challenges as well in all those folds and creases.

I have a few other projects looming on the horizon and some preparation to get some prints and cards into being.  Its a task I've been putting off and putting off, but now I simply have to get moving on it.

There is so much I could do with my art if only I had more time to market and produce.  I will have to seriously look at time management and see what else I can fit into my day. I have a feeling lunchtimes will have to go by the wayside to give me time to make visits to galleries and other businesses.

I have a bonus of having November 11th, Armistice Day, off work.  Everything else is closed on that day too, but I can catch up on some projects.  Then on Thursday I go to Toronto for a few days on business.

Is life really meant to move at this quick pace?  Some days I feel as if I'll never catch up.

Doing studies

I look at creating a study before a major painting purely as practice and a way of working out colours, values, composition, and background.  Its no different than a pianist practicing a piece before a recital or knitting a swatch before starting a full sweater.

I like working out my palette with a study before I tackle a full piece. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of things if I can work out my mistakes on a small scale before committing them on a large scale.  Its cheaper also, as I'm not wasting materials.

My studies generally don't take more than an hour or two to complete.  They're not finished pieces and never will be, but they provide the template for the painting that will take place next. The study acts as a guide when I do my full piece in terms of colour placement, values, etc. 

I don't do a study for every painting that I create, as I don't want to lose the spontanaiety that comes with starting fresh.  I do use studies when I have an important painting to create or a commissioned portrait that must be correct.

Often beginning artists want to achieve results in the least amount of time so completing a study doesn't appeal to them.  It is a time saving exercise in the long run.  It also relaxes you by letting you work out potential problem areas ahead of time in prepartion for the painting you'll do.  And once, your painting has been sold or delivered, you still have a study for your files.

I'm taking part in a portrait swap on WetCanvas, which has become a bit of a ritual for this time of year.  You add your name and are paired up with another person whose portrait you create and they in turn create one of you.   They can be anywhere in the world which adds to the fun of it.  

This year, I was paired with someone in Newfoundland, the same town more or less.  So we decided that we'd take the opportunity to do some drawing from life and take some photos then work from there.  This morning I sat for him and tomorrow he will come to the farm to sit for me.

We had exchanged photos previously and I did a warm up sketch which then turned into a study in skin tones as I most likely will do a watercolour portrait. Of course, I didn't use watercolour paper for the intial drawing so the water buckled the paper.  That's ok as its only a study.

Starting from scratch

When ever I clean out my studio I find things that I have forgotten about.  This time it was some hand made paper.

Occasionally in the summer I get the urge to make paper.  Its time consuming and very messy so I take it to the garden.  In involves newspapers, water, screen frames and lots of mess.  The home made screen frames that I use aren't large, perhaps 9 x 5.  A warm sunny day helps them dry quickly which wouldn't happen as easily indoors. 

The basic principle is to dip the screened frame into the paper slurry so that a layer is deposited on the screen.  The frame is left in the sun to dry until you can peel off the resulting layer of paper.

This paper is neutral with a greyish tinge from the printers ink in the papers.  It can be bleached or coloured and additives mixed into the slurry.  I like to use flower petals and herbs that give texture with an added bonus of seed heads.  I make them into gift tags or cards which can then be planted directly into the garden and grow into herbs or wildflowers.

There is no sizing on the paper so it is very absorbent and the texture is rough.  I played around with a quick sketch of a crow using pen and wash.  The water soaks into the paper like a wick and I may try some oils or acrylics on it for the next piece.

There is something satisfying about being able to create the surface that you paint or draw on.  It gives me a sense of history.  This is something that others have done years ago and in this modern age I still like to become familiar with what has gone before. 

I will be creating some tags from some of this handmade paper and making them available on Etsy.  Keep an eye out if you're looking for something unique to add to your Christmas presents this year.

Kisses update and clean up

I haven't had a lot of time tonight to work on this piece, but have added some layers of colour and made a start on the lettering.

I wish now that I'd added an unwrapped or partially unwrapped candy but there's not room on the sheet to do this without it looking strange, so I'll leave that concept for another painting.

I've made a half hearted stab at cleaning up the studio tonight as I can't find anything on my table anymore. The surface is literally covered with things. I regained some more floor space and my drafting table is clear - more or less.  But the table still is a bit littered with stuff.

It was about a year ago that I claimed this space as my studio and looking back it was so clean and tidy then.  Amazing how things build up and collections of supplies and finished work start stacking themselves against furniture and walls.

When I can't walk around easily, I know its time to make a change. What's that saying?  A clean desk is the sign of a boring mind?

Kisses - update II

I'm pushing on slowly with more layers for these candy wrappers.  I haven't drawn or painted paper in some time and forgot how complex it can become in terms of folds and shading.  Its a good exercise in concentration!  I've barely touched the third piece on the left, but will get there.  For some unknown reason I started on the right and worked left instead of the other way around.  Either way it does work, I just need to to be more careful not to damage the work already done.

I've even pulled off some sketches during my bedtime ritual of drawing.  I tried one wrapper from memory, one from a piece of candy sitting on top of my sketchbook.  The other, a piece of unwrapped candy.  Sorry Purity, but your molasses candy doesn't taste like molasses...

Kisses update

Time changes screw me up for several days, similar to jet lag, so this morning, even if the clock said 5:30, my body clock said it was 6:30 so I got up and put down the initial layers on one of the pieces of candy that I drew last night.  Because I have to photograph the piece under artificial light, the paper has a yellowish/tan cast to it.  I'm not able to photograph in daylight until weekends as I'm at work all day and its dark either end of the day for a few months yet.

I signed up for the annual portrait swap at WetCanvas and should hear by tomorrow who I will  be painting and who will be painting me.  I joined for the first time last year and ended up doing two portraits, one of which was for someone who thought their initial partner dropped out.

There is a 4 week time limit on the portrait swap with the intention that people receive them in time for the holidays.  Last year, my original partner's piece didn't turn up until this summer!  I know life kicks in for some, but I believe that if you join something where there are specific expectations, you either notify people if problems arise or you don't sign on in the first place.

Candy and awards

There is a factory in St. John's that produces a variety of baked goods that are unique to Newfoundland.  One of these are a sticky, chewy toffee type of candy, called 'kisses' which come in several flavours and are wrapped in waxed papers of different colours.  I had a bag of these and was playing around with composition and shapes and decided to start a painting of a trio of them.

This will be watercolour and I've started the drawing for it on a half sheet of 140lb Arches cold press. I may also work on another in graphite or charcoal, perhaps a single piece to get a feel for the piece.  The folds and shapes of the paper wrapped around the roundish filling along with lettering, makes for a complex piece so it may take awhile to produce.

Billie Crain of Art by Crain has kindly bestowed the Kreativ Blogger award on me. Thanks Billie! In return I must pass it on to seven other artists and provide seven tidbits about myself that others may not know.  I have done this before so I'm not sure if I have new information about myself but here goes.

1.  I really dislike going to a hairdresser.  I just want to get it over with as quickly as possible and I go as infrequently as possible.
2.  I love jelly beans and as result buy them rarely, as I have no control over eating them.
3.  I have to be alone to draw and have to have silence, but I can paint in oils with music playing
4.  If I find a sweater or cardigan that I really like, I buy several of that style in different colours.
5.  I sleep with an electric blanket as I'm always cold.
6.  I could exist on cheese and crackers forever. But it must be good cheese.
7.  I have absolutely no sense of direction.

As I have done this previously, I think I'm wearing out my welcome passing it on, so I won't do that.  Instead I'd encourage others who would like to participate to pass on the award, share information about your self and know that your work and you are appreciated by me and many others.

Halloween

Halloween is pretty much a non event at my house.  With no small children at home and living pretty far off the beaten track to tempt trick or treaters, Halloween becomes just another night.

However, I had bought some miniature pumpkins a couple of weeks ago as painting material and took one of them to sacrifice as a seasonal decoration.  A little carving and a small tealight and this was the result.  I always find jack o'lanterns appealing and the variety and skill levels of carving that is around, each one out does the last one I've seen. 

Keeping seasonal, this is a small drawing of a lit pumpkin and reflection that I played around with a few weeks ago using coloured pencils on black Artagain paper, about 4 x 8 inches.  It is sooo difficult to photograph anything on black paper!

And what is Halloween without a cat in the mix? After rushing around this afternoon dealing with personal issues, I took some time to start a portrait of Tripod on a last piece of watercolour paper that I had in a pad, 12 x 16.  I've just laid down some washes and will see how the colours and washes work to depict fur without getting too heavily into detail.

And finally, some little stories to spook you before you venture out into the night...

Excerpt from St. John's Haunted Hike website:

This story concerns an odd phenomenon at Coaker's monument in Port Union South, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. The site is the private Coaker graveyard, and to my knowledge only four people "reside" there. As a youth I noticed that on days where not the slightest breeze was blowing, a sudden gusty wind would spring up upon entry through the gates to the graveyard....

Finished

The last couple of days have been quite hectic and I haven't had much drawing or painting time, so early mornings and late nights I played a bit more with this portrait and am calling it done for now.  The piece is on a half sheet (15 x 22) of 300lb Arches hot press watercolour paper.  Its fun to work portraits that are larger than life, but challenging too as features become almost abstract when done on a much larger scale until you step back from the painting.

I'm not completely happy with the hair, but will let it sit for awhile and see if it needs tweaking.  Hair is something I don't particularly like doing. Its a complex thing, even when broken down into basic values and shapes.  I don't want to get into too much detail and loose the impressionistic feel of the piece, but it needs to look like hair.

I worked layers of pastel over the watercolour on the hair.  Its forgiving and works well on the paper surface and has the element of quicker coverage.   For some reason, hair in watercolour alone I find particularly difficult, probably why I revert to pastel when I can for it, even if I can get the same speed of coverage with watercolour too.  Just one of my quirks.

With my mother currently in hospital, I'm to-ing and fro-ing to town and to feed her cats while she's not there.  With a hectic work schedule and added trips, it becomes a bit of a juggling act at times.  Hopefully I can have some downtime this weekend and get some more drawing and painting started.

With Halloween tomorrow, it should be fairly quiet here.  The advantage of living in a more isolated spot is that there are rarely kids trick or treating as the road to the house is long and dark and scary.
Perhaps tomorrow its time to tell a ghostly tale or two...

Edit:   I've taken a couple of photos of the piece in daylight.  During the week, I never seem to be around when its light. This gives a truer impression of the reality of colours in this portrait  which are much cooler than under incandescent or florescent lighting.

 

Moving ahead

I'm pushing my way through this, taking the good with the bad and trying to both anticipate and resolve problems as they arise.

I've reworked the mouth endless times and in the end the paper, even at 300lb, was protesting so I resorted to watercolour pencils to get some shape and colour down and a wash to blend them.  The mouth still isn't complete, but I'm moving in the right direction now.

The hair still needs a lot of work and although I blocked in a dark background, it may be too stark against the lighter hair.  This image really shows all those earned grey hairs!  I have added some pastel to the hair as a first step, over the watercolour and see where it goes.  The two media seem to work well, as does coloured pencil with watercolour.

I played around with an a painterly approach for the skin tones, laying down colour in an pointillistic way so that the eye blends the colours.

Its heading down the home stretch now.  Keep your fingers crossed and thanks for keeping me company on the journey.

At times like this...

Yep, its officially making me crazy.

I know its early stages, and I know its the ugly phase, and I know I can do this, but I keep going over and over the same sections.  Scrubbing, repainting, scrubbing, repositioning - thanking myself for using 300lb paper that I can actually scrub.

I think -maybe - that I have conquered the eyes. Or mostly.  There's still some deepening of shadows to happen but that's reserved for later.

The mouth is making me really crazy.  I think I've gotten it, then it escapes me again or the colour is wrong.  So for now, I'm speechless. :)  Stepping back from this I see that I need to adjust the hairline and bring it lower.

At times like this I wish I'd just used a pencil...

So why do I post it and share it?  Because it pushes me on and makes me do it right.  Or as right as I can.  The degree of accountability, if only to myself,  gives me momentum.  The perfectionist in me makes me crazily look for exactness in form, colour and likeness. Voice in my head...don't we all have them?

Self portrait start

I'm still working in watercolour and with another self portrait. that I set up today.  This piece is 15  x 22 on 300lb Arches paper.  The skin tone is very pale in this and I'm using a reference image. I wanted to see how I could capture that colouring, yet still have elements that draw the view in. 

I also like the drama of a face that fills the space.  That, in itself, creates impact.

So I'm thinking carefully now about brush strokes and placement.  Watercolours do tend to be a planner's tool as they aren't very forgiving.  I'm still going fairly loose with this but patience isn't often my virtue when it comes to waiting for layers to dry, so there may be some lost edges.  However, part of the appeal of watercolour is not knowing exactly what will happen.

And a couple of closer views for those who like to see technique and detail.