Stone angels

Its not water and its not fish, so how did I end up with stone angels?  I'm not really sure, but you know how one idea sparks off another, etc., etc.?  In my flurry of ideas that were spinning through my head I had one for a project that I'm starting to explore that involves sculpture in cemeteries.   On the Avalon Peninsula there are a number of cemeteries going back to the 1700s and likely beyond, but markers are long gone, likely victims of weather and nature reclaiming them as they fall over.

Cemeteries have always held a fascination for me.  Even as a child I remember wandering through them as the adults visited relative's graves, exploring headstones and monuments.  I used to take my own children when small on excursions to cemeteries, the older the better.

So turning to local cemeteries which are full of both simple and ornate monuments to the dead, I find areas of interest in every part.  From the overall view of towering trees that create shadow and disrupt the ground, to ancient gravemarkers leaning precariously and finally the sculptures of angels, cherubs, urns and crypts in varying stages of age, a cemetery could provide a lifetime of inspiration.


Of course I get odd looks when sketching in a cemetery but as I'm respectful and usually in an older part where few people go, I'm generally not disturbed.  And some do think its rather morbid, but I think its more a place of history and beauty.

The sketch at the top is done in marker to capture the strong contrast of shadows in the sun.  The blue sky brightens a somber scene of this child angel.

The pencil sketch is another child angel, perched on top of a gravemarker.  I loved the profile view and again the strong shadows is virtually essential for the sculpture to have impact as a drawing or painting.

I've been working on a few sketches and have started this painting of a stone angel.  This is in oils on a 16 x 20 stretched canvas.   The initial colour and shape has been blocked in and I've added a helping hand in the form of pumice paste to obtain a better texture for the stone.  The face hasn't had much work yet, and I need to wait a day or two to let the paste and oil dry a little before I can do more work on it, but you can see the general direction its heading in.

High Tide at dusk

 In one drop of water are found all the secrets of the oceans.  ~Kahlil Gibran

And there are many secrets.  And colours.  And shapes.

When light starts to fade, the ocean takes on a different colour.  The brightest lights are pulled out of it and replaced by softened shades that make you strain to see them.  Purple, turquoise, blue, green, grey all blend together.


Its easy to see why dusk and dawn are perfect times for capturing light.


This is 6" x 12" on stretched canvas, painted in oil.

The laundry room

I've been working my way through some colour exercises lately, under the tutelage of a variety of books from Kevin MacPherson to Stephen Quiller.  This exercise is from Lori Putnam's workbook, Exploring Color. This is about exploring colour and any two of yellow, orange, red, violet, blue, or green may be used.  The concept is to use the two colours to create light and shadow, but still make the hues identifiable no matter how you combine them.

I used ultramarine blue and cadmium orange for this, along with titanium white and was fairly conservative in colour mixing with a little mud thrown in for good measure. This is the view from the door of my studio out into the laundry room.  Not the most beautiful view but the shapes were interesting and the light coming from a half bathroom was all that was illuminating it.

Interior scenes are not something I've done a lot of, but the appeal is there if the lighting is right and simple scenes can become glimpses into intimate life.

The study is 5 x 7 in oil on a canvas panel.

Specimen 18437

Because capelin sexes have different shapes, they are often posed together classically for comparison.   I came across a 1948 black and white image showing a similar pose and its sparked off ideas for a whole series of capelin paintings.

Now I know looking at fish is not everyone's idea of pretty pictures, but if you're looking for flowers, you're in the wrong blog.  I always seem to root for the underdogs of the world.  Stray animals, the mangy dog at the pound, some half dead cat who turns up on the doorstep and all those creatures that people look at and say 'ewwwwwww'.  Fish being one of them.

Like most things, the more you examine something, the more intriguing it becomes. You see all kinds of shapes and colours that you wouldn't have seen at a cursory glance.  This is how I feel about fish.  They are quite remarkable creatures with an amazing ability to live underwater.  Just think about it!  What a world they must see!

For this painting I started out shapes with a brush then switched to a palette knife to complete the pair. Meet Specimen 18437.  In oil on canvas panel and 7 x 9, I think.  Its on an old unmarked canvas and I'm too lazy to find the measuring tape.

The male is on the top, the female on the bottom.

Green water

I seem to be all over the map in terms of painting lately.  My mind won't settle into one track and stay there.  As soon as I get a piece started, another idea kicks in and sends me off in a different direction.  Maybe it is the season that does it, stirring up ideas and growth after a long winter.

Yesterday I started a couple of paintings and ended up wiping both of them then reverted to my old standby of water.  Each wave is similar but different.  Light changes, shapes change, and capturing all the elements becomes a challenge.

The initial stages of blocking in shape and colour lets some of the undercoat peek through.

This is the current stage of the painting I'm working on.  Its 6 x 12 in oil.  The wiped surface was a very dark greenish orange and it gives the painting a somber light.  While I work on the mid-range values, the light will become stronger until I can reach the point of pure highlights to help bring it to life.

And of course there is another painting on another easel as I work on this; more sketches and thumbnails of ideas and the urge to do a large, detailed drawing is in my head too.  Yes, it must be spring.

On ice

I love using palette knives for speed and freedom in painting.  Using them makes work take on a whole new looseness, letting me concentrate on shapes and values instead of getting bogged down in detail, which I have a tendency to do.

These fish, mackerel I believe, sitting on crushed ice, were perfect candidates for going under the knife.  The image wasn't perfect, which takes away the detail and forces concentration on the important elements.  I seem to be bolder in colour when using the knives and the strokes with those delicious dollops of paint refuse to let me lean towards any detail work.  

Small size allows satisfaction in a shorter period of time, meaning I can usually finish a piece in one session.  This is on a 6 x 6 gessoed masonite panel using oils.

People comment that the technique uses a lot of paint.  Well, not really, not a lot more than I would use in a painting using a brush and traditional use.  Of course, a larger piece will take more paint and I did a 16 x 20 to test to see how much I would use and get good coverage.  I was surprised that this technique is not as lavish in paint use as many believe.  I'd say that you would use perhaps double the amount of paint that you would you use if you paint modestly with a brush.

And as I always say, supplies are made to be used, not hoarded.  So be generous with your paint and let it work for you.

Spring Challenge

Today was a beautiful spring day.  The air was warm, the sun was shining, people were happy.  And I needed some colour in the house.

While shopping at the supermarket, I was drawn to a pot of orange/yellow tulips.  The intense colour ensured they went home with me and I could see possibilities of photos with the sun at the right angle really lighting up those colours.

I posted one of the photos on my timeline on Facebook and Rose Welty mentioned that it would make a good painting subject.  I suggested she'd be a lot better at it than me, as anyone who knows me knows I hate painting flowers.  But the gauntlet was thrown down as she said she would do it if I would.  I took it a step further and said I'd put it on my blog as a little spring challenge for anyone who wanted to play around with the image.

So here are the guidelines:

Click on the image to view it full size and save to your computer.
Paint, draw, etch, whatever with the image and provide a link to your finished piece on this post.
There is no timeline, simply enjoy and share the process.
Please use the image for this challenge only.

Pea Green again

The previous painting of the pea green boat niggled me a little and Sue Pownall, from Art of a Nomad, put her finger on it in a comment that the end piece didn't read well and she was right.  Its always good to have other eyes skim over work as the artist often can't see what's right in front of them.

So I removed the motor and then changed the colour to a yellower green that fit the description better for the pea green boat.  So here it is again.  I'm hoping it won't morph again, but you never know!  I've put it on Daily Paintworks and hopefully it will find a good home before I have another change of heart.

Backwash II

This piece is pushing towards the completion of a demo that I started at the workshop I delivered on Saturday on painting water.  Weather had postponed the previous workshop this one was placed in a different venue that wasn't the best place in terms of acoustics, equipment and layout.  However, you work with what you have.

The original demo piece was painted a month or so ago. This piece is in a lower key and is a smaller version, measuring 8" x 10" in acrylic.

I painted the beginning shapes and blocked in colour, trying to create some values to give the piece form while I had time.  I never seem to have enough time to really develop a piece at a workshop demo, perhaps because I was created a more detailed painting, so I lay the traditional path on canvas, then encouraged participants to create their own pieces based on that direction.  I continue to circulate to provide feedback and assistance and take more time at various points to develop my demo piece more.

I know participants at workshops like to get down to the business of painting, and theory exercises becomes a bit tedious for them, no matter how valuable.  Finding the balance between providing technical knowledge and putting that into practice on a piece can be a challenge sometimes and may have to do with the level of experience of individuals and where they want to go with their art.

...in a beautiful pea green boat

One of my favourite childhood poems was The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear, written in 1871.  Full of nonsense that makes perfect sense to every child, its appeal lingers on. You can listen to it, if you care to, in the animated clip below.

This little pea green boat looks to be just the ticket for fowl and feline to set sail in.  5" x  7" in oils on canvas panel

Urbay Decay

There is something interesting about texture and decay.  While we can find it distasteful in some situations, it still has the connection to life, often from neglect in man made structures.  Natural objects, which still decay, don't seem to have the roughness to them or stand out as strongly visually.

This wall, along the side of a canal shows all the elements of age, decay and neglect.  Iron in water pipe exits stains the concrete surface with shades of orange rust.  Water stains seep upwards from tide or lock lines.  Metal erodes, concrete crumbles.  Nature reclaims its space.

This is a multimedia piece on 4" x 12" gallery canvas. I used coarse pumice paste for the top third to add roughness, molding paste for the rest with a little firm gel in places.  Oil washes, a bit of palette knife work and here it is. 4 x 12 on gallery canvas.

Pastes and gels are wonderful for adding texture to paintings, and any number of effects can be created using them.  They break up the surface and leave under colour showing through as additional layers hit the high points.

Burning

After my flurry of palette knife paintings, I've gone back to a more sedate pace.  At least for now.

Watching the fire burn in the woodstove the other night, I wondered about painting flames.  Like water, there are very subtle shifts of light and values, always moving, always leaving me to sear memories of colour and light onto my brain and pull out later in a painting.

Like a firestarter, I lit match after match in the studio til the place smelled like hell fire's sulphur, watching the movement of the flame and the process of burning.  I need more practice and ability with the camera to photograph a match in the process of lighting to catch the quick flare of the initial burn and curl of smoke as it burns itself out.  Practice and a good clamp with a flat base to avoid burned fingers.

This is a tiny gallery canvas just 4" x 4" and the painting is in oil.  It is available for purchase on Daily Paintworks.

Making water

One of the best ways of learning about the palette of colours you choose for a painting is to create a colour swatch that you can keep as  reference for future use. As artists, we often tend to use the canvas as the palette, mixing colours there and experimenting til we get it right.  Sometimes that works, sometimes not so well and we end up with mud.  That's not always a bad thing, depending on the shade of mud you end up with and if you know how you created the mud.  This is where we fall down when we mix a colour on the support.  We often don't mix enough then spend ages trying to recreate that same colour to continue a passage of the painting.

One exercise I use in classes to familiarize participants with their colours and how they perform is to create a swatch of colour mixes, labelled with the original paint names and showing the changes as colours are added. We're always so anxious to get on with the painting process, we don't take time to do a little prep work that will save us time and frustration in the end.

I start out with primary colours, usually cad yellow light, ultramarine blue and cad red light. Titanium white is added to the palette to lighten colours as needed. Write the name of the colour over the blob of paint for reference. In this case, I used indanthrene blue in this image simply because I'd run out of ultramarine.  And yes, I spelled it incorrectly too.  That's fixed now. Most of the blues will provide a similar effect and each should be experiemented with to see how the colour changes in hue.

Starting with  one of the colours,  pull down some from the squeezed out pile and simply add one of the other primaries to it mixing it on the paper or canvas.  Continue down smoothly, adding white to the mix til a smooth gradation of colour from dark to light is achieved.  This provides a good idea of the range of colours that can be achieved with the three primaries and white.

I add a variety of additional blues and use the same process, adding yellow or red to the mix, then white to achieve a range of colours and understand how the initial colours are different from each other to acheive the 'formula' for painting that I need.   This colour swatch is looking more at blues and turquoises and variants of them.  Another layer can be added using just reds and blues to achieve varying shades of purples or reds and yellows to find those sunset colours.  

There can be no secret formula for any particular painting.  There are too many variables to predict success.  The only way forward is to create your own formula and that will come with experimentation, a little homework and a lot of practice.

This palette, in acrylic, consists of colours that I use in painting water.  The addition of extra colours will depends  on light and if there are other objects such as shore line in the composition.  Additional tubes of paint aren't really necessary and I view them often as shortcuts.  They can be a bit of the 'formula' that buys some extra time or less thinking about what paint to mix to achieve a particular colour.  However, I don't think there is any one colour, besides white that I ever use straight from a tube without mixing it with another colour to adjust it to suit my needs.

So have some fun creating a swatch of colours.  Create your own formula, document it, use it, change it, share it and enjoy the process.

Easter fish

Whatever you believe in or not believe in during Easter, fish play a common role in this holiday. Whether eating fish on Good Friday or buying chocolate fish in Paris, the fish is the symbol of fertility of spring and also the original symbol for Christianity, pre-dating the cross.

Not having either in mind, these fish made an interesting composition.  8" x 8" in oil on canvas panel.  I painted over another piece that hadn't gone well.  Its a bit eerie seeing the partial painting and eyes peering through the oil sketch.

Perhaps in many years time, someone will analyze the painting and find the ghost of the initial painting behind the fish and wonder about it.

Its been difficult to get a good photograph of the final piece, the reflections from the wet paint just aren't cooperating.  I hope to re-photograph it in a day or two when its dryer.

PS  I edited last night's text as it didn't seem to make sense at all.  And I hadn't even had a drink!

Tidal flow

 

I'm in the process of creating a tutorial e-guide on painting water and to do so, I need to write down every step of the process, which can be very time consuming.  It may well be a book by the time its finished as there's so much to cover.  This painting is 10" x 10" on canvas panel in acrylic, a popular medium with many artists for many reasons.  Acrylic has as much potential as oil in painting, but slightly different handling, so the switch back and forth between it and oil becomes challenging sometimes. 

I'll have a bit of a test run of the process at the workshop I'll deliver next weekend and that will provide feedback for additional tweaks.  A 6 hour workshop doesn't provide enough time to do more than a sampling of exercises, concepts and technique practice for participants.  A full 2 or 3 days would give a more in-depth understanding of painting water. 

I am considering the option of holding an online workshop for the future, and there's still a lot of work to do to put that in place, but I hope that by the fall I will have something ready to offer.  Online opportunity for artists to learn technique is a non-threatening and affordable way for individuals to participate from all parts of the world.  The use of video, step by step photographs and information on technique that can be accessed over and over makes the experience of an online workshop more effective than attending one in person sometimes, as the material can be reviewed as much as required to understand a particular point.

Flat Line

Flatline

Oil on canvas   SOLD

This line of boats waiting on the mud flats for the tide to reach them is a common sight in coastal communities. The vivid colours of the boats are reflected in the water and the wet mud.  Bumpers made from old tires are common as seen here, as well as the traditional white or coloured bumpers. 

This is in oil, still using a palette knife on an 8" x 16" panel.  I may have the palette knife out of my system for a little while, as I return to other brush paintings.  The smooth surface seems almost foreign after wielding a knife in the paint.

The Edge of Freedom

SOLD

Yes, I'm still on my palette knife kick and having a great time.  Its a temptation to do a whole series of small boats using a knife.  It also helps me work out the kinks for larger pieces too.

The Edge of Freedom is 6" x 6" on masonic panel in oil and shows the noses of two kayaks ready to ease into the water and see what the ocean will offer.  Sea kayaking has really grown over the last few years in Newfoundland and becomes an attractive way for  people to experience the Atlantic coastline and see nature very close up.  Too close up sometimes as this video shows, shot off Mobile on the southern shore of the Avalon Peninsula.

Sunshine

 

I'm working out ideas for new paintings of boats and water and find that the palette knife serves me well in getting colour and form down quickly onto canvas.

I liked the intense colour of this yellow boat against the blue water.  It outshone the sunshine and just glowed.  I think this will translate well onto a large canvas.  Its tempting to try it on a large scale with a palette knif,e but it may bankrupt me in the amount of paint I'd need to use.

For now, here's Sunshine.  5" x 7", oil on canvas panel.  Stay tuned for the larger version in the future.  That is, once I get this 24 x 36 wave out of the way.  More on that another day as I'm in the process of building layers to get it to a point where there's actually something to show you.

Choppy

St. John's annually hosts the Royal St. John's  Regatta, one of North America's longest running races using fixed seat shells.  It is declared a municipal holiday and most of the city shuts down for the day.  However, the holiday is completely weather dependent, especially where wind is concerned.  Too windy and the lake becomes dangerous and difficult for rowers.

Early in the year, rowing teams take to the water to practice for the Regatta, often rowing early in the morning or evenings to get the training in that is required to help move them towards victory.  A safety boat is always present during races and carrying water rescue personnel in case of emergency.

A few days before the races, it was a warm, sunny day, but the wind was very strong, making little white caps on the water of Quidi Vidi Lake.  There would be no racing that day.  The safety boat stood out brightly against the brilliant blue of the lake, waiting for race day.

This is another palette knife painting in oil on a 5" x 7" canvas panel.

Waiting

 Waiting

6" x 12"

 oil on stretched canvas

Remember the little boat I was having problems with a few weeks ago?   Giving my arm a rest from the large painting I'm working on, I pulled this one out and figured I'd tackle it with a palette knife.

I really do love the feel of paint using a palette knife, its very different than brush feel of paint and results are strong and direct and can be put down quickly without quite as much of the thought process as there is in a more detailed painting.


This is painted in oils 6" x 12" on a stretched canvas.  Its a new brand of canvas, made in Canada and the quality seems very good.  I'm testing out a few new supports over time and while they can be similar in many ways, some surface just seem to accept paint more easily and smoothly than others.

Lone Survivor

 Lone Survivor

4 x 6",   oil on canvas panel

The clean up of an oil palette in preparation for a new painting evolved into this painting with a palette knife.

Its similar to Abandoned in the Garden, with a few new colours introduced into it.  The hot yellow and green give a different feel to it.  The last survivor in the garden, screaming for attention from a bee to ensure its legacy.  The colours are very saturated in this piece and that is part of the appeal.  Pure and strong without being muted. 

You can purchase this little survivor on Daily Paintworks.

Tragedy of Commons

 The Tragedy of Commons

5 x 7", oil, canvas panel

2012 is the 20th anniversary of the cod moratorium in Newfoundland and Labrador.  The impact on culture and life has been dramatic in the province with the withdrawal of what was once a livelihood for many people who worked on the ocean.  The moratorium in 1992 marked the largest industrial closure in Canadian history. Overnight 35,000 people became unemployed.

The tragedy of commons  is a dilemma arising from the situation in which multiple individuals, acting independently and rationally consulting their own self-interest, will ultimately deplete a shared limited resource, even when it is clear that it is not in anyone's long-term interest for this to happen.  This was very much the case with the fishery in the province.  What is in the individual's best interest is not always in the best interest of a society at whole.

Wikipedia sums it up:

In the case of Newfoundland and the Northern Cod fishery this meant that from the perspective of the individual participating in the fishing industry, maximizing their catch was in their best interest; however when the government failed to intervene – due largely to the highly sensitive nature of the political discourse created by the expansive group of stakeholders – the ecosystem was brought past its threshold and collapsed, leaving everyone worse-off.  When the government was finally galvanized to action, it was too late. The 1992 moratorium was initially meant to last two years, with the hopes that the Northern Cod population would recover, and along with it, the fishery. Unfortunately, the damage done to Newfoundland’s coastal ecosystem was indelible, and even after sixteen years, the Northern Cod population has failed to rebound and the Cod Fishery remains closed.

During the summer of 2011, a study was announced to show that recovery of East Coast cod stocks around Nova Scotia showed promises of recovery, despite earlier thoughts of complete collapse. It was found that initial stages of recovery began around 2005, though more time and studies were needed to study the long-term stability of the stock increase. In addition in 2010 a study by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization found that stocks near Newfoundland & Labrador had recovered by 69% though that number only compared to 10% of the original size.

I started playing around with some paint left on my palette and this little cod swam out of the red water, a worried expression on his face. And well he should be worried, his existence is in danger.

Revising the artist statement

I'm reworking my artist statement to reflect what has evolved in my work over the last couple of years.  Artist statements, while a necessary evil, are usually the last thing an artist wants to create.  They have a reputation for being useless pieces of fiction, written only for galleries and collectors who don't understand them, but want the writing on the wall, quite literally, to become part of the aura of the artist.

My artist statement tries to be factual, brief and written in terminology that helps the viewer have a better understanding of why I paint what I paint.  Its never easy to put into words something emotional and often something that even I, as the artist, don't  have a firm grasp on the 'why' of.  

As I drove home today, I glanced at a bank high above me on the highway.  It was early spring dulled brown with just the lip of dried grass poking over the cliff edge and a fallen tree lying across the summit.  In my mind,  a sepia drawing flooded in along with detail of the rough grass, strewn rock and dead tree.  To most people passing by, it was boring, and not worth a second glance.  The artist statement challenge is getting across to the viewer, my vision of how something such as that dull piece of land can turn into art and why it inspires me.

Back to my artist statement.  Its swerved from being tightly focused then broader, then more focused and now back to broadening once more.  I think this is quite normal, as for each exhibition and focus a new statement needs to accompany the art to help the viewer see the artist's vision.   Now my focus, while broader than gyotaku and even water has a common denominator of reflections.   I analysed why I was drawn to the fish and the water and marbles, glass, etc.  Its the play of light back from a surface.  Its reflections.  Coming to that realization was  through an brain storming exercise where I wrote down everything that I liked about subjects, other paintings that drew me in, colour, landscape...almost like a storyboard of images, colour and ideas that helped me focus and drill down to what I was really thinking about in my art.   Now to put it into words.

A little pre-used canvas, a little left over paint on the palette and ideas of reflections in my head  created this 5 x 7 in oil of a marble.   Simple and without overthinking, this took about 30 minutes.

Secret Formulas

Between bouts with a large painting, my break becomes smaller pieces. And with an exhibition looming in May I wanted to create a few newer paintings.  This piece also serves as good practice for an upcoming workshop that I'll be delivering next weekend on painting water.

As I paint, I go through steps in my head to be able to explain how it is created.  Its never as simple to explain in words  how paintings come out at the end of a brush than it is to actually paint them.  And doing so while painting sets up a battle between right and left brain functions.  One side always loses or at least gets lost for awhile and its usually the left side.

Artists who teach are often expected to have secret formulas that provide others with all the ingredients of a successful painting.  And individuals believe that by purchasing the same paint, brushes, canvas, etc., etc. that becomes part of the formula for success. I wish it were that simple.  All I can provide is technical information in getting paint onto a surface and tips on learning how to observe.  The rest is down to the desire of the individual to practice, to learn to observe what is really there and to ensure they develop their own style, not a copy of mine.

For those still interested in knowing what my watery combinations are in oils, I can share that with you, but you'll have to do your homework and paint many gallons of water.   I use a mix of paint from different manufacturers from Daniel Smith, Richeson, Old Holland, LeFranc and Winsor & Newton.  I have a couple of favourite colours that turn up on each water-related palette as standards.   Richeson The Shiva Series Ice Blue; Old Holland, Caribbean Blue;  Daniel Smith Indigo, Cobalt Teal Blue, and Manganese Blue,  Maimeri Classico, Cerulean Blue.  Titianium white is a standard and I usually have Winsor & Newton large tubes on hand as they're available locally.  A new paint I've introduced is from Kama Pigments, Cold Grey Deep, perfect for the north Atlantic.

I use varying colour mixes from these and other colours that I introduce, depending on the water and the setting, reflections, etc. The turquoise so commonly seen I create from Cobalt Teal blue or use a combination of Cerulean Blue, Cadmium Yellow light and a touch of white.  Either work well for light shining through water in certain wave conditions.

For acrylics, its a similar palette that I'll share in another post.

Dull as ditchwater

I have a fondness for ditches.  There, I've said it.  Its out in the open.

I can't resist peeping into ditches as I walk down the road and, of course, living in the country, they're not a rarity.  Usually filled with water, plant life, water beetles, frogs and sometimes the odd little fish, they're endlessly interesting.

Then there's the light as it filters through the trees and bushes that hang over the ditches, forming patterns and casting shadows.

This is the inspiration for this rather abstract painting.  The water runs off the land, through the ditch on its way to the sea and depending on the time of year and depth of water, the earth gives an amber/golden colour to it as the sun shines through the trees into the water.

This is a 6 x 12 study for what will be a large painting  that I'll be setting up tomorrow.  And of course, a glimpse at the delicious isoindolinone yellow.  Isn't it just so vibrant in all its varying stages from pure to tint?

From the archives

So I'm digging through the archives to find a little treat as I haven't much new and wonderful to show you right now.  I came across photo of one of the Embden geese having a bath in a puddle in early spring.  With still snow on the ground you'd think the water would be too icy for bathing, but they never seemed to care, treating any bit of water like their own personal pond.  Even though the geese and I weren't the best of friends, I loved the look of them and their grace of movement.

I've been run over by a steamroller this week.  The cold from hell has captured me at gunpoint and won't let me go.  Ok, enough dramatics, suffice to say, I feel blah, but today is the first day I've had a glimmer of hope and not felt like curling up on the office floor at work with the heat on full blast. 

Why I am at working if I'm sick, you ask?  Well, welcome to the world of non-profits where nothing is average and everything is different. I truely can't remember the last time I had a sick day.  They're more a luxury than a norm and usually involve hospital or doctor visits.

So not much has been done with art this week.  I've pushed a little paint around halfheartedly then stopped again. But I have been reading and looking at other art sites and considering ideas for new pieces, one of which I'm starting tonight. 

My treat of tubes of new handmade paints arrived this week and only tonight have I squeezed some out and found a new colour to fall in love with.  Isoindolinone Yellow - I can't even pronounce it! But it is beautiful.  A true golden yellow, strong, but transparent.  Its like orange juice married a lemon and they had butter children. Ok, ok, blame it on the cold meds.  But this colour is heavenly.  You HAVE to try it.

Aquatic trio

I finally painted the third in this aquatic trio, a mussel shell.  I'd had a mussel shell that was perfect, put it somewhere for safe keeping and, of course, couldn't find it again.  So a local restaurant, unknown to them, provided the prop.  I may put a few more touches to the mussel, that mother of pearl inside shell is difficult to reproduce well and more difficult to reproduce in a photograph of a painting.

These are tiny (for me) 3" x 5" oil paintings on panels.  I will have them framed together if possible as they seem to be heading that way.  Its tempting to do a few more small pieces in a similar vein, but the best laid plans and all that...

This cold is wiping me and some OTC drugs are keeping me going during the day that at least take the edge off the worst of it so I can work and paint. Wouldn't we all be a miserable bunch if we couldn't rely on some temporary relief from discomfort?  I musn't complain (yes I know I already did) as others have a much worse lot in life. 

Revealed - complete

 Revealed

10" x 10"

oil on canvas panel 

Inbetween napping and toasting myself by the fire today, I put in a little time in the studio to see if I could get this clementine finished.  And I think I did.  I'll let it sit and dry and see if any additions are needed, then its good to go.

I've been doing some research on support to paint on with oils.  The types on offer vary considerably from manufacturer to manufacturer.  I've used a number of brands, from Winsor & Newton to Fredrix mostly, as they are available here, but I'm in the market for some new ones and think I'll give RayMar panels a try.  They have a range of cotton and linen canvasses and offer sample packages for sale which will make choosing much easier.  I wish all manufacturers offered samples, I'm quite willing to pay for them and not looking for handouts.  As long as the panels are professional quality, I'll be happy.

I tend to like panels more than stretched canvas, although I do use gallery canvas to get around the framing issues at times.  The panels provide a sturdy surface that's not as prone to damage.

What supports do you use for oil paint?  Panels or stretched canvas?  Do you have a favourite brand?

Revealing - update

I've done a little more work on this clementine.  Its a fine line to keep the light in the fruit and make it believable.  Citrus has such a high water content, light shining through it is almost the same as water, making it translucent and reflect colours.

This image was taken earlier this afternoon and I've added more detail to the piece since.  However, I find it really difficult, even with good lighting to get true colours of this painting.  Some colours just don't seem to photograph well under certain light conditions.

This afternoon the symptoms of a cold suddenly arrived out of the blue.  I hope it moves past quickly, as colds can sometimes knock the desire to paint right out of me.

Revealing - in progress

As usual, and likely the same as many painters, I have several paintings happening at once.  While one dries, I do some more work on another.  Its the necessary evil of oil paints, but also helps increase productivity. There are times that I want to rush things and am itching to put some glazing blues over the Calmer Waters piece, but I have to wait and let nature and oxidization take its course.

So I've started another clementine painting.  I took some photos of clementines I had around Christmas.  The season of them is fleeting usually and I wanted to make sure I had some extras at hand.  I was experimenting with the shapes of the peel and how much could be unwrapped without the peel dropping off.  That and strong directional light helps make a composition have more strength.

Here is about an hour's worth of paint in oil on a 10 x 10 inch canvas.

Calmer Waters

I'm letting the little boat sit in a corner and consider its transgressions for a few days before tackling it again.  Its often good to put something to one side if its not working for me then come back with fresh eyes at a later date.

Meanwhile I pulled out this piece that I had started previously of a fairly calm water surface.  The nuances in a body of water are one of the things that draw me to it. Perhaps the challenge in getting the shapes and values just right satisfies the detail freak in me.  It becomes a meditation of sorts and I can easily lose track of time while I create swirls and gentle curves on the water surface. This painting is in oils, 11" x 14".

My entry into the gallery world once more is off to a good start, with two paintings being sold today that had only just been put on the wall.  That will go towards my late birthday present to me of a load of Kama oil paints. I'm justifying the purchase as necessary art tools.   Besides traditional tubes of paint, I ordered a few oil sticks as well.  I haven't used oil sticks before.  I'm presuming they're similar but perhaps softer than oil pastels, but should be interesting for making marks.  I'll have to experiment a bit.  Tips are welcome if others have experience with them.

Boat woes

I've fought with this little boat for three days and still its not doing as I want.  The colours are ok, the shape isn't and I'm about to wipe it for the umpteenth time. 

Its likely because I'm tired and stressed from work and general busyness.  Daylight savings time play havoc with my body clock and it takes me a week or more to get over it, rather like jet lag.  I wish they'd just leave it all alone, it serves no purpose to me - and many others by the sounds of it.

So when all the factors combine, the construction of art seems to suffer.  I don't know if I'll continue to beat this piece to death or admit defeat while I'm ahead.  Its looking more like the latter right now, but you never know what a new day will bring. 

Tonight, in a moment of weakness, I ordered a dozen tubes of handmade oil paints and some oil sticks from Kama Pigments in Montreal.  Like all artists in moments of despair, I believe that the tools will be the saviour or the destruction of me.  Either way, quality pigments made traditionally cannot be a bad thing, can they?

Flight Path completed

The funny puffin coming in for a landing is complete and on his way to the gallery tomorrow. 

I quite enjoyed painting this bird and perhaps will try another seabird in the near future.  A gull maybe if I can get the right composition and light, not that there's any shortage of gulls around here!  They're brazen and would snatch food right out of your hand given half a chance.  It always amazes me at how large the gulls are, mostly herring gulls that I see here, but there are other varieties around.  I'm just not up on them.

But for now, this little clown will head out into the world.  Its 24" x 30" in oil on gallery canvas. Gary Jones has kindly provided the reference image for this piece.

Blues

I use the walls in my studio to hang paintings on nails to dry.  As I put up last night's blue donut on the wall with other pieces I noticed a trend emerging.  Everything is blue to varying degrees.  Some more prominently than others.  Yes there are other colour elements in the pieces but there seems to be an underlying blue connecting most pieces. 

I know I paint water which often does have blue tones, but haven't really noticed this before.  Tonight as I started a new piece and stepped back to look at the form, it too is blue.  Of course it is a blue boat to start with so there's no escaping that.

Blue is likely one of the most universally favoured colours and I'm no different.  Also as a child, I always was dressed in blue and still love to wear blue .  Maybe its engrained, maybe all my paintings will always be blue!

Do you notice a colourway seeping into your work every time you paint?

Something blue

I've never eaten (or even seen) a doughnut with blue icing on it before.  But this was one of the subjects on a challenge and instead of fiddling with a cat study as I have for the last couple of nights, I thought it was time to move on, so here's a little 5 x 7 in oil of one of life's sinful pleasures.

I've been working on water using acrylics and the switchback tends to be a bit frustrating after using oils for the last few months.  Each medium has its own quirks and it takes awhile to get back into the swing of it again.  But I had to admit that I enjoy oils more than acrylics.  Its the paint feel I believe.  Yes, it too has challenges, but I am more familiar with how to get around those now and enjoy the process.

The Spurrell Gallery in St. John's will be representing my work and currently have have several of my original works.  I'll be bringing in a few more pieces in next week, a couple of them being gyotaku prints to see how they fare in the open market.  Today the Gallery have my information and pieces on their website and I look forward to working with them into the future.

Backwash

 I've spent more time defining this wave to add some realism to it.  All those little fiddly details are what I love to work on, but there's a fine line between detail and overkill.  With water, its easy to go on forever adding light and darker values to the water surface, foam and spray. 

Close analysis of water reveals its complexities.  Its not simple  shapes or solid colours as so often depicted, especially by beginning artists. Creating a transparent, moving mass takes time and so often I see pieces discarded in frustration when another couple of hours of work would push them into a new direction.

I rarely work from a printed photo, as it never provides enough detail of the water surface and values.  I keep the image on the computer screen so I can enlarge and reduce it as required to really observe well.

This piece is a sample for a workshop and measures 8 x 16 on canvas panel in acrylics.

Making waves

Quite literally.   I'm trying out a demo piece for a workshop on painting water in acrylics that I'll be teaching later this month.  I've rather immersed myself in oil these last few months and need to get back into the feel for acrylic paint and how it performs again.

Its much easier for me to show than explain technique just as its easier for people to learn by seeing then doing.  I thought I'd test a video clip and see how it turned out.  I still need to get lighting better and have a tighter crop on the image.  However, this being an 8 x 16 canvas, its difficult to get closer without losing some of the image.  I used a Flip video cam to shoot this and have no control over focus only to zoom in and out a bit.  For the next video I'll try the Canon camera that has the video function on it and see what the difference is.  It should be much better as the resolution is so much higher.

For now, this is about 25 minutes of painting condensed into 3 minutes and is at about the halfway point of the painting.