Another update

Heirlooms
coloured pencil 9 x 12
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I've added more layers and expanded the drawing. The Colourfix is reaching its saturation point in areas so I'm using a light hand and trying not to add more than I have to. I want to make sure the surface of the skin looks realistic and need to soften the highlights a little as well as work on the far right tomato and the leaf section of the bottom one.

I quite like using this paper. Its a unique support for cp and takes a little getting used to to be able to achieve the effects you want.

Arts cuts

Envy

Available from my shop in Etsy.
Support handmade!

I don't often post about politics, but this piece has provoked me enough to do so.

There are a lot of misperceptions about the arts -whether visual, literary, theatre or music. In Canada, the Conservative government dropped $45 million in funding from arts programming and now the 'defence' of the action just seems to ensure that Conservative will not be the box of choice to tick on October 14th.

The perception of those involved in arts from the government's perspective came out in this article.

The Conservative Leader Stephen Harper defended slashing $45 million from the arts budget and dismissed mounting criticism by calling it a "niche" issue that doesn't resonate with "ordinary" Canadians.

In his strongest statements to date over the cuts, Harper said regular Canadians see a "bunch of people, you know, at a rich gala all subsidized by taxpayers claiming their subsidies aren't high enough, when they know those subsidies have actually gone up."

The Globe and Mail adds further in this article.

In his first detailed defence of $45-million in controversial cuts to arts and culture funding, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper called his party's decisions good governance and said the government must walk “a fine line” between providing financial stability and “funding things that people actually don't want.”

I prefer Rick Mercer's poking fun at the government's statement in his program The Rick Mercer Report. Rick is a Newfoundland comedian with host of successful programs - and wit behind him.

Listen to his version here.

This monologue about the arts cuts is by Darrin White, Mudderings blog.


What is the status of arts funding where you live? And, if you are in Canada, what are your thoughts about the cuts?

Heirloom update

Heirlooms
coloured pencil 9 x 12
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I've made a little more progress on this drawing of heirloom tomatoes. These are mostly Brandywine fruit in this piece and they come in many shapes and shades. One of my favourites is the dull red/green ribbed one on the left.

People complain that the Colourfix paper 'eats' coloured pencils. Yes the pencils do wear down more quickly but not at the rate that I was expected based on what others have said. I'll keep experimenting with the paper and have to say that I quite like the surface so far.

Heirlooms in progress

Heirlooms
coloured pencil 9 x 12
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I'm working my way through my stash of art supplies and have to admit that I'm not too tempted to buy extra things when I'm out. I'm sticking with my stash diet and its not at all painful. Either that or I have wayyyyyy too much stuff in my art cupboard.

In my stash is a set of Colourfix paper that I bought from Sterling Art on my trip to southern California last year. I haven't really used it much and decided it was time to put it to the test as well as break out my coloured pencils which I haven't used for awhile either.

I've been growing heirloom varieties of tomatoes this year and they come in all sizes, shapes and colours, as well as being delicious. I was debating with myself whether to draw hops or tomatoes. The colour in the tomatoes won and I chose a piece of dark grey Colourfix 9 x 12. This is the starting layer of colour on the piece. The photo isn't wonderful taken under artificial light with my camera this evening.

I quite like how the pencils go on to the sanded paper and even rather like how I can keep a decent point on the pencil by turning in on the rough surface. I'm not sure how the overall texture will work with the smoothness of tomatoes so I''ll reserve judgement on that til later into the drawing.

September's legacy

Hydrangeas

copyright Jeanette Jobson

September in Newfoundland is when gardens are at their best. Even with the awful summer we had this year, nature still puts its efforts into the end of the season with a burst of colour, fruit and flowers.

I spent some time wandering in the garden and fields taking photos of some things that caught my eye and played around with them, experimenting with shape and colour for future drawings or paintings.

Hydrangeas on the bush outside the back door are so plentiful this year, there are more blossoms than leaves it seems. I toyed with filters as I was trying to make sense of colours and values in this piece for a painting. I liked the muted effect of the fence and trees with the vivid yellows of fall leaves through the trees of the woods. Pastels or coloured pencils might be good to tackle this with.

Hops

copyright Jeanette Jobson

Several years ago I planted hops to grow up over a fence near the house. This year they took off and covered the fence and are now threatening to take over the house as well. I love the shape of the hops and also use them as medicinal herbs. They are a wonderful relaxant and aid to sleep - both of which I am in need of lately!

Behind one of the greenhouses, stuck down behind a compost bin is an old birdhouse. Its weatherbeaten now but still serves the purpose should a bird decide to take up residence next spring or find some shelter during a storm.

Rosehips

copyright Jeanette Jobson

Not too far from this are a huge mound of old fashioned shrub roses. Pink and white, they are covered in flowers for a short time in July and August then form huge fat rosehips that feed the birds and squirrels in winter after I've had my share to harvest for medicinal use. Rosehips are very high in Vitamin C - one cup of fresh rose hips has the equivalent amount of vitamin C in 60 oranges.

Rose hip oil is also renowned for its benefits for the skin, having multiple benefits and I use it in creating skin care creams, especially for more mature skin.

White Pumpkins

White pumpkins
Acrylic 8 x 10

I've had my eye on Karin Jurick's newer blog Different Strokes from Different Folks and have promised myself than I would participate in it. I haven't had a chance til now and the reference image inspired me.

I love the shape of pumpkins and these white ones are so unusual, looking like ghosts sitting in a field when you see them in reality. Pumpkins are such a herald of autumn and I see them with a twinge of sadness that summer is going, taking warmth with it.

I took the afternoon to myself to create this weekend and spent a couple of hours playing with this. The piece is available on The Starving Artist's Daily Sales blog.

Tree peony

Tree peony
Acrylic 8 x 10

I really do need to learn to say no. But I am tempted by so many things, and I am weak.

This week was the Virtual Sketch Date and after missing last month's due to other commitments, I vowed I would do the September date. The reference image came from Sharon at Flat Sound of Wooden Clogs and lovely it was too, this tree peony.

As readers of this blog know, I am not a painter of flowers, at least not often. I know I can do them if I concentrate, but I have a mental block around drawing flowers. I say they're too complex then go on and draw an animal in detail. Go figure... I do like to push myself outside my comfort zone and find that it always improves my powers of observation as well as my drawing or painting skills.

I used some acrylics that were sitting on my studio table from a lesson I did the other night with someone and I was too lazy to haul out the oil paints. Acrylics can be useful, but I do prefer oils. I think the quick drying of the acrylics becomes a little annoying to me as I like to have the ability to move the paint around. But I persevered and here is the result. Am I happy with it? No, not completely. The petal portion is where I fumbled, as is usual. The folds frustrated me and I was having distinct problems finding the right colour values for the petals. I may tinker with the piece in the future, but I think it may stand as it is.

Cat people

Paperboy
Watercolour 9 x 12

I'm not a cat person. Really I'm not. I've always had cats around however, but mostly for functional use as mouse catchers or to sit decoratively warming their toes in front of the fire without becoming overly intrusive into my life. I don't want a cat demanding attention or always being on the wrong side of the door.

Then Tripod appeared. He wasn't a chosen pet but an orphan from the woods. I often have a soft spot for animals (and people) who are life's downtrodden. Tripod is unique for a cat and has a true personality with more dog qualities than cat ones. He puts up with me, preferring the company of others but will clamber up on me as a last resort. We have an unspoken agreement that we both keep to ourselves for the most part. I'm still not a cat fancier. I wouldn't harm one, but if he left tomorrow, I wouldn't be heartbroken either.

He is photogenic and good to draw however. The thought sometimes flits through my brain that he was sent for me to draw, for him to leave his mark on the world through my hand. I did this watercolour sketch from a photo I took of him staring balefully at me from across the dining room table, sprawled across the newspaper, which is one of his deepest loves.

Yours or theirs?

With the current controversy over potential copyrighted subject matter and authenticity of artwork in major art competitions around the world, it reinforces the need for artists to ensure that they are transparent in both their sources of inspiration and their techniques of creating work.

I have used 'royalty free' images for practice pieces and occasionally have placed one in a show, but interestingly, it is only my own images and compositions that sell with regularity. I have literally hundreds and hundreds of photos, many of which are still in need of cataloguing - another rainy day task. If I want to draw a particular piece, I can still reference many online photos and use portions of them to make an entirely different end product. The context of my reference is to view structure, colouring, values, placement, etc. How a portion of that piece ends up in my drawing will depend on the exact need that I have at the time. Perhaps the time will come when artists, like writers, will need to provide a bibliography of the various reference pieces they viewed to make the composite piece if the entire work is not from their own references or life studies.

Art societies and the buying public want to ensure that work is unique and that if they pay a considerable sum for a piece, they won't see the same subject repeated by another artist with a different medium at a later date. The only way to achieve this is to always take and use your own reference photos or work from life. I still have no qualms about doing practice pieces from online free photo galleries but they won't be competition material.

Personality and plants

Jessie - line drawing
11 x 14
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I think one of the reasons that I enjoy drawing animals or people is that I love seeing the personalities shine through and trying to capture them on paper.

Animals as well as people have their own quirks, likes and dislikes and ways of living their lives. Their expressions are so often true to their personalities. This line drawing is of my daughter's and fiance's dog, Jessie. Jessie is a high energy, playful dog. She's part Labrador, part Retriever and those breeds are reflected in both her looks and personality.

I'll start adding some values to the drawing and see if I can bring out her fun side.

Heirlooms
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I've been gathering more of my heirloom tomatoes from the greenhouse as the growing season is closing in fast with a frost forecast tonight. Besides the wonderful flavour of the tomatoes, I love the shapes of these fruits. Lumpy and bumpy with ridges, valleys and indents, they are unique and so different from the 'perfect' tomatoes found in the supermarket.

I also have about 10 pounds of purple beans to be topped, tailed, blanched and frozen. Not a task I particularly want to do, but I know that it will help fill the freezer and be welcome during the winter.

Random inspiration

A long time ago I was given a creative exercise that I have seen done more recently on other blogs.

The task was to go to a bookshelf in your home, close your eyes, randomly touch a book and pull it out. Open the book, still not looking at the pages, and run your finger down a page stopping at any point. The paragraph at which you stop is the one that you will illustrate. Or if it is an illustration, then you would create that. If it is something such as a table of contents or index, then repeat the paging/paragraph finding motion until you find something to illustrate.

I have just done this and my hand found The Complete Book of Herbs which I opened to page 87 - a full page about elecampane - Inula Helenium. This is one of my favourite herbs and I have a huge plant of it growing in the field as I type.

I will sketch the herb and post tomorrow, but thought it could be an interesting challenge to others to try this exercise as well. Especially those who have lost a little incentive lately as I have.

Portrait start

S & S
graphite 11 x 14
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I've made a small start on the double portrait of my daughter and her fiance using the Bristol 400 paper. I'm not sure yet if I like the paper. The very smoothness that I wanted is turning out to be almost too smooth and I find I need an extremely light hand to achieve the effect that I want. I'll go further and see what it produces. In the early stages, its difficult to judge the final product as there are many layers to go yet.

I haven't tackled a serious portrait in awhile and have confined myself to smaller scale pieces and sketches. I could blame time but I know that's an excuse sometimes. I need to make time for the things that are important to me.

I'm slowly turning the corner into inspiration again but am not quite there yet. I can see some things on the horizon and I think I'll tackle some painting to get into the swing again just as a change of pace. Meanwhile I'll keep nibbling away at this portrait and hope it will start coming together.

Silver linings

Drawing Glass - Tutorial

There are always some benefits to adversity and this time others hopefully will benefit from my mistakes.

I have been producing art tutorials, but in this one I screwed up the graphics by photographing instead of scanning them. No amount of tweaking in Photoshop would undo the greyness that the background showed, so they weren't suitable for production. I didn't want to redraw this particular project again, so I let it sit for awhile and now have decided I will share it with others who want to download it for learning purposes.

The images are usable, but not as clear as they normally would be but the explanation should give enough information along with the graphics to be useful for those who want some guidelines about drawing glass.

I would love to hear from those who download this piece and create a glass drawing. Your comments are always welcome and if you have questions I can be reached by email and am happy to help.

I will share the silver lining and will make this file available as soon as I figure out how to link a PDF file into Blogger!

Update:   The file is available on my website as  free tutorial www.jeanettejobson.com 

Inspiration?

I seem to be going through a very lean period when it comes to producing art.

I can't seem to wrap my mind around any significant projects or settle down to really get at anything. I have lots of sketches which keeps my hand in practice, but inspiration for something more significant just doesn't seem to be there for the last couple of weeks.

This also flows over into my blog as well. Its as if I have run out of words and meaninful ideas. I know that everyone reaches this 'wall' now and then and it can be frustrating. I've accepted the fact that I'm on a 'go slow' until inspiration hits me again.

But I want to be past this. I want to become absorbed in a drawing or painting, but the more I try, the more fleeting it becomes.

I've tried browsing the blogs I enjoy and new ones to help inspire me.
I've flipped through art magazines
I've looked at videos about art techniques
I've sketched with less used mediums to see if the newness of them will help

I know I will get past this, its just painfully slow. So I will ignore it. I'll work on other creative projects such as my jewelry and perhaps some knitting. Then hope that inspiration will return.

Eating the cold porridge

Cervical Vertebra Sketch
coloured pencil
copyright Jeanette Jobson

Years ago I studied anatomy for a year in my course as a herbalist. Starting out, the subject was fairly new to me, the names of bones, organs and bodily systems all sounded peculiar and their complex function even more so. I thought I'd never get it straight in my head. But I did.

There is a perceived difficulty in trying to learn something new, whether anatomy or drawing and it can be overcome if you take it in small steps and look at it logically. Like any skill, it is learned by repetition, practice and practice and repetition. You have to eat the cold porridge.

Eating cold porridge. I've seen the expression and finally tracked it down to a book by Tony Parsons - One for My Baby.

'You must eat the cold porridge,' he told me once.

It's a Chinese expression. Cantonese, I guess, because although hecarried an old-fashioned blue British passport and was happy to call himself an Englishman, he was born in Hong Kong and sometimes you could tell that all the important things he believed were formed long ago and far away. Like the importance of eating the cold porridge.

I stopped what I was doing and stared at him. What was he going on about now?
'Eat the cold porridge.'

The way he explained it, eating the cold porridge means working at something for so long that when you get home there is nothing left to eat but cold porridge.

That's how you get good at something, he told me. That's how you get good at anything. You eat the cold porridge.

You work at it when the others are playing. You work at it when the others are watching television. You work at it when the others are sleeping.

To become the master of something, you must eat the cold porridge.

Peter Pan Statue

Peter Pan statue

Bowring Park, St. John's, NL

Early on Sunday morning I went to Bowring Park in St. John's to take some photos in that light that only the morning can provide. By the duck pond there is a Peter Pan statue which I remember as a child and which is a magnet for every child who sees it. The animals are worn smooth by small hands caressing them - and larger ones too.

There is an interesting story behind the statue which was commissioned by Sir Edgar Rennie Bowring in memory of his grand daughter who died at sea. The plaque reads "In memory of a little girl who loved the Park" and was unveiled on Aug. 29, 1925. The little girl who loved the park was Betty Munn, daughter of John Shannon Munn and Alice May McCowen. Betty and her father were lost in the wreck of the Florizel, a Bowring Brothers ship which was destroyed on the rocks off Cappahayden during a winter's storm on the night of Feb. 23-24, 1918. They were on their way to New York to rendezvous with Betty's mother who was already there. Betty Munn was three and one-half years old.

Bowring Brothers Ltd donated Bowring Park, three miles from downtown St John's, to the people of the city in 1911 in celebration of their 100th year of business in Newfoundland. The Duke of Connaught officially opened it on July 14, 1914. Sir Edgar Rennie Bowring was a businessman, politician and philanthropist, a partner in the family business, Bowring Brothers. Among the firm's interests was shipping and one of their vessels was the Florizel.

The Peter Pan statue was created in 1912 by Sir George Frampton who was commissioned by J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan. Seven replicas only were cast from the original mould of the Peter Pan statue which is located in London's Kensington Gardens.

Based on J.M. Barrie's immortal character, Peter Pan, this bronze statue features Peter standing on a tree stump playing a flute (supposedly a set of pan pipes) whilst a collection of fairies, rabbits, squirrels and other little creatures adorn the base. The main fairy is believed to be Tinker Bell reaching towards Peter. Frampton described his masterpiece as follows; "The animals and fairies on the statue are listening to the Pipes of Pan, one of the mice is completing his toilet before going up to listen to the music, and the squirrel is discussing political matters with two of the fairies."

The seven statues are located around the world:

1. Kensington Gardens, London, England

2. Sefton Park, Liverpool

3. Egmont Park, Brussels, Belgium

4. Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey

5. Bowring Park, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

6. Glenn Gould Park, Toronto, Canada

7. Queen's Gardens, Perth, Western Australia

Harvest

The growing season is short in Newfoundland, so harvest tends to be late August, stretching into October. I've been growing some heirloom vegetables this year, both in the greenhouse and the new vegetable garden with mixed results. Chioggia beets, purple carrots, cherokee and zebra tomatoes as well as a host of potatoes varieties from banana to Irish Cobbler are all slowly maturing and I sneak a few here and there to try. They're fabulous!

The weather this summer has been beyond awful with a lot of cool, wet weather interspersed with incredibly hot, humid weather. Neither seemed to have done the plants much good. However the beans seem to have thrived despite the conditions with bumper crops of green, yellow and purple beans being harvested, blanched and frozen as well as eaten what seems daily lately, along with the ever present zucchini.

The purple beans 'Royal Burgundy' are stunning visually, being almost black they are so dark, but unfortunately turn dark green once you cook them. I grabbed a handful yesterday and did a sketch of them in my Moleskine. I added my super quick recipe for roasted beans. You can use green, yellow or purple beans for this but be warned, they are addictive!

What warms your soul?

My muse is prone to taking a leave of absence lately without consulting me much. He leaves me to flounder and wander, looking for inspiration until he returns. This is one of the pieces of inspiration that I found and one that warms my soul.

What warms your soul? For me, it is the moment that I know I have uninterrupted time to produce art. It is that moment when I have my supplies at hand and finally sit down and can start drawing or painting. There is something so overwhelmingly comforting about that time, its difficult to put into words.

Tabby study

Tabby study
Coloured pencil 9 x12
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I started doodling a cat early this morning on some toned paper and kept elaborating on it, so here is the current version. Its in its early stages and I'm just starting to build up some layers of fun and create values.

Although coloured pencils are one of my favourite mediums, I haven't used them for awhile and didn't realize how much I missed them until I had them in my hand again. I used Prismacolor pencils for this piece but may try some Derwent Coloursofts on another image later. I use them interchangeably, but do find the Coloursofts creamier, however I seem to always revert to the Prismacolors. I'm a creature of habit perhaps.

Twilight

I would like to explore light in painting over the next few days, specifically twilight.

Often confused with dusk, twilight is specifically defined as the period before or after nighttime during which it is possible to conduct outdoor activities without the aid of artificial light. Due to the unusual, romantic quality of the ambient light at this time, twilight has long been popular with photographers and painters, who refer to it as the "blue hour", after the French expression l'heure bleue.

The light in this photo of the Sonoma desert is subdued and dimming fast, taking with it a lot of the colour and sharpness out of the detail. I would like to understand the palette that can be used to capture the light during twilight. So many of us want bright sun and dramatic shadow for our paintings, yet the diffused light of dawn or dusk can as easily be as dramatic and make the viewer want to linger and see more in the muted colours and shapes.

When light disappears and is replaced by moonlight, a whole new and more limited palette comes forward. I am so near the water, yet haven't painted a similar scene to this before. I need to visit the water at the next moonlit night and capture how it lights the landscape and the ocean.