Gyotaku workshop

Today I delivered a workshop in gyotaku for a local art association.  My ability and interest in the subject has grown over time since I first learned about the technique and started in earnest pressing cold fish bodies onto paper.  The image above is a demonstration piece that I completed during the workshop.  I enhanced the initial print with watercolour washes and then added some detail with a Rapiodgraph pen.

I did start several other pieces but haven't had a chance to do much more with them yet.  The squid, complete with tentacles, were interesting to print as they made interesting, almost sculptural patterns on the paper.

It was a delight to spread the information to others and see what they produced during the day.   Capelin, squid and scallop shells were the subjects and the morning was spent learning and practicing inking and printing to get a clean, clear image.

The afternoon was spent working on enhancing the original prints from the morning and exploring backgrounds and printing over the them then enhancing the print.  As with many things what you originally think is lots of time turns into never enough time.  But I believe that enough information and ideas were soaked up that people went away, anxious to continue with the technique and experiment more.

The workshop was messy and full of smells of the sea.  The participation level was high and the quality of prints that were produced was excellent.  I will look forward to seeing more of this technique around St. John's now that more people understand it.

There is nothing more satisfying than sharing information and watching others produce something beautiful with that information.

Apple challenge results

My challenge to draw and paint apples finished yesterday and I am delighted with the response.  Twenty-two apples have appeared in addition to my own contribution of ten.   If I have missed anyone, please let me know and I'll add you in as soon as I can.

The final piece from me isn't new but a painting from last year. A still life of an antique jug that belonged to my grandmother and a apple.  Its classical in composition and brings back memories for me.

One of the best ways of learning is to revisit the same subject over and over again.  Each time, a new perspective appears.  The light is different.  A different medium calls you.  Each piece that I did taught me something new.  And each piece that was submitted helped me learn how others approached the same subject and gave me inspiration for more pieces.

I'd encourage you to visit the links and see an amazing variety of skills and interpretation of this simple fruit.  To everyone who took the time to add a piece, thank you. 

Jeanette Jobson
Apple Study
Apple Macro I
Apple Macro II
End of Palette painting
Apple experiments continue
Yes, its another apple
Oil pastels and apple cores
Deconstructed apple
Graphite apples
The last apple

Robyn Sinclair
Apple Watercolour
Apple sliced watercolour

Nicki McRae
Apple Challenge

Irina Rekhviashvili
Apples on blue cloth

Spineretta
Equinox
Autumn Accordian Fold

Gary Nemcosky
High country apples

Silvia Williams
Autumn Delight

Martine Pittet

Ann Nemcosky
Apple Time

Paulette
Apple challenge

Grobuonis
Apple challenge

Ernest Friedman-Hill
Charcoal apple

Jo Castillo
Acrylic apples
Apple II

 Rose Welty
Apple Challenge

Jennifer Rose
Apple Challenge

Stacy Rowan
Watercolor Apples

Tracy Wall
Apple and Baseball

Leslie Hawes
Apple


Vivian Blackburn
Apple I
Apple II


 

Tripod study

Its been nearly two years since Tripod decided he would befriend me and I thought its about time for another portrait of him.

I like to do a study first at times as a warm up to the portrait.  A study gives me a sense of the pose, the composition, size, palette and whether it will interest me enough to continue on to completion.  This is quick start at a coloured pencil sketch.  I'm not sure if I will use that or not.  I may even go with watercolour as I haven't used that for Tripod yet.  Or it may be back to pencil. 

I do need to try to get another couple of reference images of him, but he isn't that keen on the camera anymore.  I've tested his patience once too often with it and I get 'the look' when I pull out the camera.  I may be adventurous and do a really large portrait in colour this time now that I have my projector that makes scaling drawings up sooooooooooo much easier and quicker.

Despite his disdain for me and my efforts to immortalize him, he does translate well onto paper or canvas and I have drawn and painted him several times.  The first drawing of him sold and won me 'Best in Show'.  Tripod's only concern was that it would provide sufficient funds to keep him in tuna and dry cat food.

The last apple

This is a final reminder to all the procrastinators out there that the Apple Challenge ends tomorrow, October 15th.  Has it really been a month?  Too long?  Too short?

I started it for my own selfish purposes - to explore apples in different media and forms and I think I've succeeded in that.  The big learning curve comes from seeing what others produce and gleaning ideas from that.

I started a little sketch today then pushed it further tonight. Its done with carbon pencil and white charcoal on brown paper, my current favourite sketchbook.

Uncle Richard's church

 Gower Street Church sketch

In downtown St. John's, nestled among old buildings and within a stone's throw distance of the harbour lies a little part of my heritage.  George Street United Church as it has been known since 1925, was originally built as a Methodist church in 1873 and survived the Great Fire of 1892, making it the oldest Methodist church in the city.

Constructed with rough Newfoundland stone hewn from the Southside Hills (a gift from the Hon. Stephen Rendell), George Street United Church was designed by Elijah Hoole of London, England (who was also the architect of the present Gower Street United Church). The simple, modified Gothic style church was built in 1873 by master mason Richard Atwill of Devonshire, England, and joiner William Campbell of Queen's Road, St. John's.

 Richard Atwill was my great great uncle on my mother's side and had moved from Broadhempston in Devon to St. John's, Newfoundland  employed as a Master Mason.  Shortly before the church was complete, Richard was inspecting work, fell from scaffolding and died later of his injuries.  I had found his grave in the cemetery last year which told some of the story behind him and the church that he worked on.   So while technically it wasn't Richard Atwill's church I always still think of it as 'Uncle Richard's church' when I am in that part of town and see the spire rising above the rooftops.

Looking back in history, its interesting to see and hear about the past and it also see something tangible that has survived like this church.  Even now, 106 years after his death my great great uncle still lives on though this building.

Interestingly Richard's parents, Richard and Eliza and a brother George died all within a week of each other in 1882.  Presumably from some contagious disease.  I don't imaging that January in St. John's in the late 1800's was a warm place.

Italian leather

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Last year I bought a beautiful Italian sketchbook.  It's 9 x 12 and covered in soft red leather, filled with cream smooth paper, each page interleaved with a what seems to be a type of glassine paper.  I hadn't done much in it, but pulled it out the other night and decided to try a drawing or two.

This is an amusing little drawing of two siblings, one at a distance from the other, the sister pretending to kiss her brother. 

So how does the sketchbook perform?  Fairly well.  The problem with any very smooth surface is losing your layers too quickly and the inability to obtain really dark values. The paper is quite sturdy and may hold up to some water or even oils, which I'll experiment with later.

Thanksgiving

It is the Thanksgiving weekend in Canada and I thought it would be interesting to look back at posts done on this date (or close to) over the last four years of my blog and leave you with a view of a the leaves on the maple tree near the house and the ocean.  The day wouldn't be complete without the ocean...


2006 - Katherine's Moose

2007 - Decisions

2008 - Rejects.

Art on layaway

I started this small ( 8 x 10) oil portrait a week or so ago and got sidetracked.  I wasn't feeling well all day - well all week - some viral thing that's going around no doubt so didn't make much planned progress today.  But tonight I started giving it some more form.

Around this time of year, request for portraits for Christmas gifts start coming in. A favourite pet, your children or grand children, a partner or a portrait of yourself - all make wonderful gifts.  Costs are always a consideration in purchasing any kind of art and this year I am offering a 'layaway' plan for portraiture,

When I have confirmed your portrait commission , you will be offered an option of paying in installments once full payment is received, your portrait will be shipped.  I am doing this to make original artwork accessible and more affordable to a broader group of people.  Art is viewed as a luxury item.  To me it is an essential part of life and I want to remove as many barriers as possible to enable individuals to purchase a piece of original art.


If you would like to commission a portrait, you can make it yours with a small down-payment and make monthly/weekly/bi-weekly payments based on your budget. When your payments are complete (shipping costs can be added to the overall price) I will ship your work to you.

 A non-refundable down payment of on one third of the total price is required when ordering a commissioned portrait and the remainder of the costs can be spread over 30/60/90 days, giving you an option of paying the remaining  weekly installments .  Depending on how soon you wanted to have the piece shipped to you, you can increase the amount paid weekly.

If you are interested in commissioning a portrait, please contact me at jeanttejobson @ gmail.com.

Just following

I'm calling this portrait finished.  At least I'm letting it sit on the easel for a few days and then see if there's anything else to add.

This started as a 12 x 16 watercolour which evolved into a mixed media piece. I created a value map on the face with ink and finally completed the hair with pastels. The three mediums seem to work well with each other in moderation.  I want each to perform in its own right and not overshadow its partners.

Now I just need to do something similar again with this girl's brother.  The pair are lively children and this loose style seems to suit their personalities. Its a far cry from a lot of the stuff I usually do and even I don't really know where it came from.  Its one of those times where the painting tells you what to do and you just follow along and see where it leads you.

Graphite apples

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

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

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

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

Deconstructed apple

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

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

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

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

Portraits and turkeys

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

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

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

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

Yes.  Turkeys like to play ball.

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

Walking the tightrope

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

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

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

Pear study

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

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

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

Portrait of a girl - early stages

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

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

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

Northern Ireland

Listeen Road, Castlereagh, Northern Ireland

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

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

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

Grids, projectors and other secrets

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oil pastels and apple cores

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

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

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

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

Day jobbing and art

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

I am one of the 86 percent.

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

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

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

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

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

1. Know what you want to do

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

2. Make a plan

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

3. Make time for yourself

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

4. Get up earlier

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

5. Turn off the television set

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

6. Find creativity in your day job.

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

7. Take 10

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

8. Make your space at work your own

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

9. Downsize your job

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

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

Afternoon shadows

Afternoon Shadows
6 x 12 oils

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

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

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

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