Beauty or the beast

Yes, another one found its way home, as beasties should never live singly.

Why I find these ugly birds appealing I have no idea. But everywhere I go now, I seem to see them in some form or another.  Hopefully this may get it out of my system and they can live their life out amongst the flowers in some bed hidden in the garden.

The line between beauty and ugly can be a fine one sometimes.  Perhaps its more the charicature aspect of these silly things that tips the balance. Beauty tends to be a certain placement of features that when seen triggers some internal primal emotion likely related to survival of the species.

So where does the line slide over into appealing?  Or is that related to some instinct to nurture a weakling that only humans have?  In the animal world, the weaker are dispatched pretty rapidly. Or is it simply human nature to like the quirky?

Talent or hard work?

This sketch about sums up how I feel tonight.  Its been a busy week at work and with art and soon I need to sleep.

I've been marketing my work, experimenting with new papers to print fish with, setting up meetings, etc., etc.  Whoever thinks that any successes in art are handed to you on a plate really isn't thinking logically about the workload involved in this field.

If I hear once more about 'God given talent' I won't be responsible for my actions.  Let's get real about talent. 

I don't have talent.  I have the ability to create illusion and that ability has come from years and years of practice, of colleges, workshops, self study about technique and more practice.   Anyone has an inbuilt ability to draw or paint.  Not everyone has the willingness to put in the hours it takes to do it sufficiently well.  Creativity needs to be nurtured hand in hand with technical skills otherwise the blob of colour on a canvas that the teacher praises will never allow the student to advance and put their thoughts into reality.

Yes, some individuals have an ability to see more easily the ways to create a piece or have a more advanced colour sense than others do.  But its not down to divine intervention or genetic makeup.  Its down to lots of good old fashioned hard work.

More clock

I have completed the painting of the clock face that I was working on a few days ago.  I've drawn in the numbers for the face and now need to drill a hole for the mechanism and insert that and it should be ready to tick.

Its whimsical and fun, done in layers of inks and watercolour on a piece of pine which was not primed, so the wood grain shows through.  Its been sprayed with several coats of varnish to seal it. I will experiment with other offcuts of wood that are around the property and I have my eye on a nice piece of natural slate that I found too.

So many ideas, so little time...

Funky chicken

Sometimes the world of ordinary or extraordinary catches my eye and I just know it will turn into a painting.  This was one of those things.

I found this strange bird in the supermarket garden section of all places.  I presume its meant to be stuck in a big flower pot or in a bed of flowers, nodding on its spring in the breeze.  Its weird and funky and I had to have it so I could paint it.

This is completed in watercolour, 12 x 15 on 300lb Arches paper.  This piece is now available for sale on my Available Art page.

Gyotaku project

 Damp red fish print drying

Kitakata paper 

One of my goals for 2010 was to apply for a grant, which I did and was successful in receiving it.  Grants are approved through the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council (NLAC) and not everyone who applies receives their grant or gets the full amount that they requested.  I was lucky on both counts.  My grant project period began on May 15th and will end in April 2011.  I applied for a longer period of time, rather than a short project period, as I work a day job and need all the time I can get to produce quality work.

My project is to produce a body of work (10 - 15 pieces) in gyotaku, using fish that are local to the province. I'll be experimenting with different types of Japanese papers as well as ones traditionally used in art.  I will also experiment with different backgrounds and presentation methods. I will offer a workshop on gyotaku next spring, to share the knowledge that I've accumulated over the grant period with other artists.

I won't be sharing much of my grant project work with you online, as it will be offered to a gallery for exhibition after the project is completed and I don't want to spoil the surprises.

However, I can share some of my findings with you.  Today, I did a little experimentation with some Japanese papers that I have on hand as well as newsprint and masa.  I used an ocean perch, also known as red fish, that was lurking in the freezer, well past its best by date, so it was a little 'high'.  However a fish is a fish when it comes to gyotaku and fish odours are one thing that you need to get used to, as well as any queasiness about anatomy in preparing the fish.  I love the gill plates of this fish with their patterned edges and the large eye space provides lots of scope for painting.

Speaking of which preparation is likely the most lengthy part of gyotaku, if you want good quality prints from your fish.  It can take an hour or more to prepare the fish for printing, choose the print paper and ink, prep your worksurface, then get down to printing.

I've found that dampening the papers by spraying with water makes it much easier to mold around the fish's body, though it does make the process trickier as the paper is much more fragile then, especially if the fish is bony,, such as this one is.  I've commandeered some shelving to dry my prints initially and after drying completely, the eye of the fish will be recreated and any additions made in colour or touchups before it goes into a board press for storage.

Of clocks and cats

I have some new projects in my head and have been sketching out others.  I also have this grant proposal to put into action as well.  Aside from that I have a little piece of whimsy that I've been working on here and there.  It will be a little clock eventually.  I have the bones of it on the wood and have more work to do with it yet, but here's a little glimpse.

I initially did a watercolour wash on the wood.  Of course this raises the wood fibres, but also gives an interesting patterning as well.  I will be adding acrylics or oils to finalize this and put in a clock mechanism and paint on the numbers etc. I can't tell you what it means or where it came from, it simply is and mostly done late at night in bed.

I've spent a lot of today working in the garden and wandering around the property, seeing what winter has moved and spring has revealed.  Of course Tripod sticks like glue.  He has a horrible habit of running in front of me, then throwing himself on the ground, hoping to be picked up and carried.  More often he gets kicked or stepped on as you trip over him!  Today was no different and as I started out with my camera, there he was.  Meowing and racing over to ensure he wasn't left behind.

I wandered down the lane by the house and noticed Tripod stopping for a drink in a little stream by the side of the road.  He's a strange cat and won't drink water inside the house from his bowl.  He has to go out and drink from puddles or streams. Perhaps a throwback to his feral days.

Of course he noticed I was wandering off so he scrambled up the bank to chase after me and once he caught up, he shot ahead and flopped on the ground.

His attention span in the great outdoors is limited, so the sound of birds or squirrels has him peering into the woods at regular intervals.  Until he realizes he's left behind again...

Feels like rain

Living on an island, I'm more than familiar with rain, so this drawing is a way of accepting it instead of fighting against it.  Water in all forms holds a fascination for me and I think we all become transfixed by the circles pushing outwards on the water's surface, whether from the impact of a raindrop or a stone thrown.

The initial acrylic study for this piece was posted a couple of days ago and now I'm working on a full sized piece.  This is done on blue Canson paper 19 x 25 using charcoal.  Without a daylight shot, I'm not even trying for the muted blue of the paper.

The subtle differences in the water movement out from the centre where the raindrop hits is challenging.  Even the drawing was intricate and somewhat of a maze that I get lost in as I'm going. It seems I can get enough of punishment in terms of detail, having completed the hundreds of beads in Masai Portrait.  I'm hoping this one won't be quite so detailed.

Stay tuned for updates!  And a short clip of one of my favourite musicians, Maria Muldaur, It Feels Like Rain.  This music keeps me company constantly.

Paying back

 Sparrow Tutorial in progress

I read an interesting piece tonight about an artist, perhaps intermediate level, who was wondering if she should give lessons in oil painting to people who asked.  Her dilemma wasn't whether she was experienced enough in technique and teaching to do, but that if she taught people, they would become her competition.

To me, that thought defeats the teaching rationale.  As a teacher, I want my students to excel and to be better than me.  I know they are not my competition, as I have my own style and so will they.  I know there will be wide eyed individuals who think that art teachers have secrets they will pass on that make instant artists, instead of old fashioned hard work. Yes, there may be more artists in the same market if a teacher gives them direction, but there are many elements in place to ensure success in the market, not from just one artist, but from many.

Part of teaching and or learning is the ability to give away part of yourself to others.  It can be in words or more tangible objects, but in the giving, you enable others to move forward and you enable yourself to pay back to those who have helped you along the way, even if they may never see you again and know what you do now.

This little sparrow is one of the things that I'm giving or will when its complete.  Its another tutorial that I've worked on when I've had the chance.  I have several tutorials available and some are for sale on my blog, some I provide just to see others learn and grow.  Why?  I can't teach art and I can't live life unless I can share it with others.  That doesn't always come with a price tag, but brings wealth in its own form.

Keep an eye out for the tutorial, it should be available in the next couple of weeks. And yes, it will be free!

Desire and sacrifice

 Ripples

Acrylic 4 x 4

People often ask how I find time to produce the art that I do.  There's no magic trick to it, its all down to desire and sacrifice.  To do anything, art included, you have to want to succeed at it desperately and to ensure that it happens you have to sacrifice other things.

When I hear others say that they can't produce art because they (pick your choice) have children, have too much work, or don't have time, don't have the skill, it annoys me a little to be honest.  Yes, we all have commitments, but we free up time to do the things that are important to us and we eliminate other, less important things, to make sure we can achieve what we want.

Today I learned that I was successful in obtaining a grant to produce a body of work in gyotaku and deliver a workshop on the method.  It was one of my goals for 2010 in what I wanted to achieve this year.  Perhaps as I approach the half way point in the year, its time to revisit those goals and take stock of what's progressing and what isn't.

I have a full time job that teeters on 50-60 hours a week some weeks.  I have a life outside that job and I have my art.   So where do I put in the time to produce the work?  Evenings and weekends are my time and I push other things that I once considered important to the side to make sure I can produce the work that is necessary.  Yes, its all about me.  And its all about me because that's how it has to be if  I want something badly enough. 

Its worthwhile analyzing your average waking hours to understand just where time slips away that could be used for artistic purposes.  I'll share a sample of my day so you can get an idea of how my time is split.

• 6:30 - 7:30   Get up, showered, dressed, coffee.  Then work for 15-30 minutes on current art project or research for new one
• 7:45 - 8:15   Drive to work.   Listen to art marketing art or art history podcasts on the way. Sometimes stop to take photos of objects of views that interest me.
• I  stop work for lunch at some point around mid day.  My schedule varies depending on workload as to time.  I often eat at my desk and catch up on blogs, facebook etc.  I sketch out ideas for projects, make phone calls related to art marketing or prepare brochures, write out tutorials, etc.
• 6 - 7:30  This is my down time when I eat, relax, watch the news, but even then I usually have a pencil in hand jotting down ideas
• 7:30 - 11  This is my time to completely concentrate on producing art, following up art marketing, sending emails, writing blog posts, etc. 
• 11 - 12  I go to bed and sketch more ideas or sometimes just collapse and sleep

I don't have blocks of free time and that works for me.  I like the structure it imposes on me and the deadlines that I set for myself. I use time that I could waste on trivial things on things that move me closer to my goals.

This routine varies, depending on what else is happening in life, but its more the norm than the exception.  Social life fits in at weekends.  Work over rides social life, either the day job, art or teaching.  I don't have small children to contend with anymore but there are ways around that.  I have always found ways to fit in my drawing time, even when my children were small and I was a single parent.  Nursery school gave me a couple of hours in the mornings.  One hour to do chores, another to draw or paint. And each night when they went to bed, I hit the easel again til midnight. Yes, sure I was tired sometimes, but having my routine was important to me and ultimately to the children as it kept me sane.

My sacrifices?  I don't see them as sacrifices. I see them as manipulating my life to my advantage. And for that I do not feel guilty.  Women, especially mothers, are constantly in a pull/push situation of guilt.  I believe making time for yourself helps eliminate that guilt.  I love my children, but I have a life outside of them.

I rarely watch television, except for the news.  I use my time to concentrate on what I feel is important to me.  I don't allow myself to 'play' until I have reached a goal that I've set for myself, either in my head or on paper. Weekends allow me more time to draw or paint as there are less demands on my time.  I fit in housework and errands on weekends, laundry on week days and clear up as I go during the week.  I'm toying with the idea of a cleaner once a week to do the majors like vacuuming and washing floors.

Art is hard work.  Being successful in art is even harder work and it takes dedication, planning and the ability to not be easily distracted by less important things.  Its also about taking control of your life and not being swept along on a wave that is not of your own making. Its about knowing what you want and just going for it.

My way isn't for everyone.  We use a lot of excuses to not reach our dreams and then complain about not being able to reach the same dream.  Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of rejection all play a part in staying in safe harbours and never risking the surf.  Its a matter of logically examining each excuse that you throw up and finding a way around it.  There always is a way, if you want to find it badly enough.

I've thrown my excuses out and choose to take some risks.  What about you?

Masai portrait - finished

The Masai woman's portrait is complete, give or take a tweak or two.

I'm happy with the outcome and yes, the beading did make me a little crazy at times, but without it the portrait would not have the same impact. I took an easel shot to give a better idea of size and to see it at a more appropriate distance.

I've gotten a lot of positive responses to it which is wonderful.  I think the lighting and colour against the black paper create impact that draws the eye to it.  Your eyes always come back to it in the studio. I've had requests for prints and cards with this image and will look at that possibility.  I have some other paintings that need to go the print route and have been tied up with other things but will make the time to get that ball in motion in the very near future.

This is a larger portrait, a bit larger than life filling a full 19 x 25 sheet. I still call it the Masai portrait as I haven't thought of anything more inventive at this stage.  Secretly I call her 'Betty Beader'...  Here's a cropped view for those who like to see the intimate details and strokes that make up the portrait.

Now on to other paintings and drawings waiting in the wings!

Starts and stops

 Reef Rats

I prepped a piece of masa to do a batik like piece and I guess I rushed it as the paper tore and didn't adhere well to the watercolour paper either.  I ended up cutting into smaller pieces that I'll use for practice pieces and chalk it up to experience.  Some things just can't be rushed.  So now I have to start that piece all over again.  Frustrating, as the drawing took awhile to complete.

I used one of the smaller cut offs to play around with a little reef fish painting.  This was a reference from this weekends WDE at WetCanvas, hosted by Lisilk.  She has some amazing shots of aquatic life in the Bahamas.

I've got a line up of images in my head waiting to go onto paper.  Its as if they've been waiting to come out once I was feeling better.  So today I started putting down the bones of some on paper and getting ready to add some colour to them or start some shading.  I played around with a tiny study to see if my idea would work.  This will, I hope, turn into a full sheet drawing.  It seems size does matter, at least in the exhibition world, even though some smaller pieces are both quicker to produce and have less expensive price tags to suit more people's budgets for original art.

 Ripple study 4 x 4

I'm nearly at the end of the Masai portrait that I've been working on.  I set it aside today on my burgeoning drawing table.  I so need more room to store pieces.  I need to work on my takeover plan for the room next to me, just to get pieces off the drawing table and into storage.  I have completed works, works in progress, works that are perpetually in progress and lost souls.  All need a home that preserves them but keeps them accessible.

Yeah, I know, it horrifies the purists out there with wonderful storage and filing systems, but nothing is damaging anything else, they're just sitting and waiting.  But it would be nice to have my drawing table back!

Plum

Tonight I was clearing off the table in my studio and unearthed some more pastels.  My table seems to become loaded with the materials that I'm currently working on and sometimes things get buried a little.  That's ok, as within a few days its always a new discovery to find them again - either that or I have a short term memory problem.

So tonight I played around with a little pastel of a plum.  Partially from memory, partially from references.  I love the richness that pastel gives and the painterly qualities it has.  Its instant gratification to satisfy the child in me.

In sickness and in health?

 Sketch of an unknown man

I have neglected my blog a little over the last couple of weeks.  I don't feel guilty about it, just a slight let down with myself for not having anything fruitful to pass on to my readers.

Illness knocked the wind out of my sails and while I kept working at the day job, the night job of artist was put pretty much on hold.  It found it interesting that the creativity that is so rampant in me most of the time simply stopped while I was sick.  I piddled around with a pencil now and then but nothing much came of it.  It was as if every creative bone in me had completely disappeared and it was a little disconcerting. However, now that I'm getting back to normal again, my need to create is back, maybe not full force, but back anyway.  And it feels good to draw and paint again, even if I only missed a couple of weeks.

I know there are scientific reasons why your body or mind shut down to a degree when you're ill,
but made me wonder about how fleeting the act of creativity can be.  Is it really there only on the whim of your healthy mind and body? 

The creative marriage, at least for me, doesn't take its vows too seriously.  It obviously doesn't hang around for the 'in sickness' part!

Masai portrait update - more beads!

 
I'm starting to feel almost human again and with that, is coming ideas and the need to create.

I pulled out the portrait of the Masai woman and started adding more beads.  I need to work on this and complete it.  Funny how we put off the more tedious parts of a drawing isn't it?  They're a bit like doing housework.  Necessary, not not too exciting.

My only concern with the beads is that my paper (mi tientes) hasn't got a lot of tooth and I've reached the limit on some areas of the beads.  I'll try a light spray of fixative and see if that will give a little more grab for the final highlights. 

Acrylic study

I pulled out some acrylics last night, hoping that a bit of painting would inspire me and require less thinking than a detailed drawing.  I didn't want the hassle of clean up with oils, but remembered my lack of recent experience in acrylics and perhaps should have taken out the oils instead.  The quality that some artists can achieve in acrylics has my admiration, but I've rarely been able to successfully pull it off.  Yes, I know there are extenders and slow drying acrylics, but I use acrylics too infrequently to warrant additional funds in that direction.

Anyway, I started a piece and will see if I can push it to completion.  This is another view of the lane near my house that leads into a marsh.  The lane is flooded and the iron in the soil is apparent in the orange/rust colours.  I love the changing colours in both the water and trees during the seasons in this view and often do studies of it. The colours in this lane always remind me of autumn even in summer.  The greens aren't usually lush there, being pines, larch and alders and the rusty soil adds to the overall feel.

This piece is about 16 x 20 and I'm laying in colours and values roughly before I start defining it more.

Barnyard tales

 Horse tack

I've either been busy working or too sick to paint or draw, but things are finally moving in the right direction again.  I pulled out a canvas and some acrylics to start a painting.  I'm not sure if its going anywhere yet and am remembering quickly why I'm not so keen on acrylic paints.  I may get the bones of it down in acrylics then work in oils or it may just sit for awhile while I consider its fate.

It was a lovely sunny day and I walked around the property for awhile seeing what was springing to life and even that was tiring. This cold or flu or whatever I have really has taken its toll this week.  I found myself in the barn, talking to Lucky and B.D., the last two ducks living here now. They're a funny pair who seem permanently attached at the hip now  They were each left alone and are survivors in their own right.

BD is the last Muscovy duck I have and is about nine years old.  His legs are arthritic and he doesn't move far, just venturing out of the barn to the grass outside and back again usually.  He's my favourite guy.

Lucky - named so after surviving attacks by mink and an owl - is the last of a batch of Pekin ducklings that were hatched here a couple of years ago.  In the mink attack, he was fairly badly injured and perhaps should have been put down.  His neck is twisted as a result of the attack likely tendon and muscle injury.  However, I tend to keep waifs and strays, so he remained.  He's happy and chatty and healthy other than his lopsided look at the world.

While in there I noticed an old bridle and bit and some ancient horse shoes hanging on the railings of the stairs leading to the loft.  Cobwebs and dust accumulated on them, showing their lack of use as I have no horses now.  That is a bit sad, but unless I have the time to devote to them, its just not possible.

Looking back

You never know what is around the corner and who you will meet or what will unfold.

The other day I accidentally came across someone on Facebook who I had not seen or spoken to in probably close to 35 years and it was a delight to connect again.

He is an artist - a musician of many talents and has continued that throughout his life.  I noticed a wonderful image that he had as an avatar as asked if I could use it for a painting.  He graciously agreed and I've played around with a quick value sketch for it. 

The image has a magical feel to it.  The rocks, the land, the whiskers!  There is a story  behind it, as their is everything but for now, its better to let you tell your own story.

I have a couple of other portraits to complete before I can do any serious work on this piece and that may be good.  It gives my mind some time to think and plan.  The study, and there will likely be more or at least thumbnails, will let me work out my mistakes before I get down to business. Even now I can see where I made mistakes.  Must be the cold medicine. Or that's my story.

Hot toddies

 Hot Toddies

6 x 7.5 on 8 x 10

I haven't done much printing for awhile as an old injury to my finger became painful with the pressure to cut the harder lino blocks.  Warming the lino helps but cutting for half and hour or more leaves my hand sore.

I'd tucked away this piece when it was about half finished then hauled it out tonight.  I have a miserable cold and nothing was inspiring me.  I wanted something simple that didn't take a lot of thinking to work with so thought I'd try this one again.

I cut out the rest of the lines for it and tried a few prints on masa paper.  There are a few areas that aren't inked as well as they could be.  Then a few specks of cut lino sneaked in, but I got what I set out to do.  At least for tonight.  Now I'm off to find a real hot toddy!

Up close

I have spent the last few days cocooned in meetings with little of me leftover in terms of energy or time for either creating art or talking about it through the blog.

I am back home now and with a day off tomorrow should have some time to catch up with myself again in terms of art before work engulfs me once more on Tuesday.

So until my thoughts regain consciousness, I'll leave you with an image that feeds the detail part of my artistic brain.  I love macro views of common objects that leave you wondering initially what on earth they are.   This pineapple made me look closer and see the shapes and colours of what appear to be perfectly wrapped little packages.  I can see a painting in this fruit's future...

Art at home

Today my piece that was entered in the Arts and Letters competition was picked up and is back home after its vacation of 4 months.

I put a pen and ink piece in the competition just before Christmas and waited to hear its fate.  It wasn't until late March that I received the letter telling me that the winners had been chosen.  My piece wasn't one of the winning art works, but was it was given an honourable nod and was on display at The Rooms from April 6 - 18th.   I visited the exhibition and spent time trying to figure out which pieces would be the winners.  I think some of my favourites made the cut. You may view the winning pieces here. I wish they would provide the sizes of the pieces when they're posted online, otherwise there is no way of knowing the scale.

From time to time I add a little piece of art to my own collection.  Today a new piece arrived in the mail. Its a shodo chine colle by Ambera Wellmann of Halifax, Nova Scotia.  I came across Ambera's work on Etsy and the sombre piece 'Weight of the World' caught my eye.  The beluga whale, weighted down by its anchor tail  in the dark water, bubbles floating around it, appealed to me.  The paper is a mottled silver grey, adding to the overall appeal for me.  The print is 1 of 6, so a very limited edition and measures about 9 x 6 for the print, 12 x 8.5 overall.

You can see more of Ambera Wellmann's work in her Etsy shop.