Monotypes

I'm working on improving my printmaking techniques and trying my hand at reductive monotypes, using a gelatin plate.  Today I worked on a couple of pieces that didn't have the detail that will come in future ones, but the softness and roughness also has its appeal.

The first is Back Pasture, which is the view across the grass to the woods beyond.  The play of sun and shadows of the trees on the mowed grass interested me.  I inked the plate with Caligo  Safe Wash ink then removed - or should that be revealed - the lighter sections of the piece with rag, cotton swabs and fingers then printed it using a japanese paper.

The second image was from imagination, spurred on by a small painting that I'm working on of the sea.  I wanted a dark sky this time and a bright moon on the water.  The same process was used as the previous print, moving ink from the plate.

When the ink dried, which was fairly quick on this absorbent paper, I thought I'd add some colour and used oil sticks.  I also took a ghost print of the water piece and may add colour to that with a different medium, perhaps watercolour.

I think both coloured and uncoloured have appeal, but for these subjects I prefer the uncoloured version.  Which  do you prefer?

Taraxacum Duet

 Taraxacum Duet   SOLD

4" x 6" gozen paper

Available for purchase on Etsy

I was experimented with ideas for printmaking using plant materials.  I have a vase full of 'weeds' sitting beside me in the studio.  Of course to me weeds are just the opposite, as a herbalist.  Each represents a form of relief from a symptom causing distress, but I know that to most people, they're just weeds.

One of the plants in my vase is dandelion - taraxacum officianale, a common garden plant usually growing where you don't want it.  However, its a very useful herb and farmed as an alternative green which are used in salads or cooked before the leaves are large, the roots have been used to make a coffee-like drink  and it has been used for centuries as a medicinal herb.  Dandelion root is a registered drug in Canada, sold principally as a diuretic. The plant is known for its ability to treat jaundice, cholecystitis and cirrhosis. The dandelion also affects the digestive system by acting as a mild laxative, increasing appetite, and improving digestion.

I had a closed flower and a seed pod together, placed on tin foil to give more reflected light.  I reduced the image to basics in a photo editing program then printed the bones of it onto Japanese paper - gozen.  This is a very thin translucent paper that's lovely to work with.   After printing I started adding colour using a very dry watercolour wash in select areas of the the flowerheads to provide a stronger shape and finished with a few flecks of silver leaf.

I printed two of these on the gozen paper, but worked out my experiments on the first image.  Always a useful habit to ensure you have back up when something goes wrong!   This piece measures 4" x 6" with an approximate 1/2" border on the sides and 1" border top and bottom.

July 1st

 
I haven't painted for about a week and it makes me feel a little unsettled, as if I'll forget how to unless I keep at my daily routine.  I've sketched and photographed however, so that makes up for it a bit and I have ideas in my head that will come out on paper or canvas soon enough.

July 1st is Canada Day, but Memorial Day in Newfoundland, commemorating the Battle of the Somme and the July 1st battle at Beaumont Hamel which wiped out most of the Newfoundland Regiment in 1916.  This video clip paints a picture of just how it all unfolded. 

Reflections on Cod

Back in the winter I had three pieces of gyotaku accepted into a summer exhibition that is opening soon at Five Island Art Gallery in Tors Cove.  Reflections on Cod marks the 20th anniversary of cod moratorium on July 2, 2012.

The moratorium has had a huge impact on the culture and livelihood of many people in Newfoundland with 35,000 people suddenly out of work, the largest industrial closure in Canadian history.

This is one of the gyotaku pieces, Fisherman's Cut which I will have available  in the Reflections on Cod exhibition.

I'd encourage you to visit the exhibition which runs from July 2 -July 27th.  The public reception will be on Sunday July 8th from 2 - 4pm.  Opening remarks by Richard Cashin.

This exhibit will feature more than 40 original works by local artists including watercolour, acrylic and oil paintings, pastels, ceramics, mixed media, hooked rugs and art figures. 

On Friday, Tara Bradbury wrote a piece on my gyotaku for The Telegram, the newspaper had two full pages and a cover shot and there was this shortened online version.  It brings the art of gyotaku to a broader audience.

Capelin season - in progress

Its that time of year again when the capelin roll in on the beaches to spawn and the public make spectacles of themselves watching and gathering them and taking them home.  Some people falling into the cold water, others with scoop nets or cast nets, dogs biting at the water and hoardes of children fascinated by the little silvery fish that cast themselves into their little hands.

Capelin are my favourite fish.  I love their little shiny iridenscent cigar shaped bodies and how they curl and flip before succumbing to net or bucket.  They are the perfect fish for painting.  Small, easy to handle and position for composition and plentiful enough that replacement twins are easily found when they need to take their leave.

So over the last 48 hours the capelin have spawned on local beaches and of course I have to celebrate the season with a painting.  This is the start of a painting of capelin ready to be dredged in flour in a paper sack before heading to the frying pan.  No, I don't eat them, but others do.

So far shape and values are being blocked in and are starting to take form.  the composition is fairly simple, as is the lighting.  Its on a 12 x 12 canvas panel in oils.

But it will have to sit for a couple of days while I head to Ottawa for a few days for work.  Hopefully I'll have another post lined up to roll while I'm away, so stay tuned.

Duck feathers

SOLD

I tried some more prints with the gelatine plate today.  I was trying some capelin that I defrosted but they were still a little too cold and damp to work well so I hunted in the barn for other things and while filling up the water bucket for Lucky and BD I picked up a few of their feathers and thought I'd try them.

These are the results.  They do make great imprints for the plate and I loved that turquoise blue colour as the base, providing contrast but not too strong.

One other print from last night's gyotaku prints with the star fish didn't work out as well as I wanted, so I played around with adding some colour to it today.  Shots of bright pigment in watercolour overlaid the original acrylic.  Despite the dark blobs of original error, I like the potential for adding additional colour overlays for these prints.

I've put a few of the pieces up on Etsy for sale.

Gyotaku gel prints

 Polar Star

I had seen the new Gelli Arts gel printing plates for sale and read more about them online.  I made a gelatin plate from scratch years ago and while it worked well and lasted reasonably well, it was time consuming and a bit fiddly.  Also, they're not the best things to use in summer.  If we had any heat that is, but that's another story. These gel plates are reusable indefinitely with a little care and I wondered if I could incorporate some gyotaku into them, so I ordered a 6 x 6 one to experiment with.

Acrylic paint is used as the medium instead of ink and any object placed on the wet surface then removed will also remove the paint, leaving an outline, so I figured it would be a type of reverse gyotaku.

I gathered a few starfish that I had lying around, as fresh fish were in the freezer (yes, I know that's a contradiction - fresh and freezer :) but you know what I mean.


Applying the paint to the gel surface is simple but very easy to arrive at mud.  The first print was a bit like that but the imprint of the Northern Sea Star and shells and bubbles contrasted well and some shots of colour still came through.  Every mark or ridge in the paint shows through and adds to the interest in each piece.

 

 Movement North

I pushed for more colour with the second print and got more of what I was looking for and the large and small sea stars came through well.

 

41^o46' N, 50^o 14' W  SOLD

The last prin,t shown at the top of this pos,t is my favourite.  A polar sea star which has nine legs and is purple, is an amazing beastie.  I went with prussian blue with a little cerulean and a touch of orange.  I like how the orange becomes a light source, but very subtle. The variances in value and colour are much better in person as is usually the case.


These are all 6 inch square printed on Kinugawa Japanese paper with a generous border on all sides.

Study of clematis bowl

I've been in a bit of an artistic slump lately, likely due to the fact that the day job keeps me fully occupied and often spills over into off time, either physically or mentally. Its funny how much mind set and the ability to clear thoughts plays in the act of creating.  At least for me.

I'm also sitting at a crossroad of wondering where I want to take my work.  I've been on the water theme for awhile now, as well as gyotaku and while I do enjoy them, I seem to be void of new ideas around that theme right now.

When ideas fail to materialize, I find it useful to look at other artists' work as well as look at different subject matter.  Reflections are one of the things that draws me to fish and water and the spill over into hard objects such as glass uses all the same principles as does creating water, which is probably why I enjoy it too.

Early this morning I played around with an idea for a new, detailed painting and this is the resulting study.  Rough yes, but the concept is what I was looking for.   This little bowl is a piece made by Maling in the UK between 1934 and 1940 and belonged to my grandmother. Its no more than 3 inches across and the same in height.  The swirls of blue lustre on the inside and the transfer panel of clematis on the outside always fascinated me, but I balked at the idea of painting it because of the detail.  Right now, the detail is what I need to clear my mind.   I put the bowl on top of a little liquor glass to balance and it became the composition without thinking too much more.   Once I find the right lighting and get a drawing in place I'll be on my way.

Cape St. Mary's

I've finally made progress in the studio.  In the clean up part anyway.  I've even found things I was looking for months back!

On the painting front, its been slower going, but you simply trade off one thing for another, don't you?  This past weekend I went to Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve to photograph the nesting gannets there.  Its a 1.4km hike over the cliff trail that is a bit rough in parts, but you end up overlooking the nesting site, Birdrock and are literally 10 or 20 feet away from thousands and thousands of Northern gannets.

I don't do heights and cliffs well, so for me this was a little heart in mouth at times, but I managed and got some great photos.  The weather cooperated with sun there which helped a lot, as its so often foggy there on the edge of the southern shore.

There were herring gulls and several types of murres there as well, but the gannets outnumbered them all.   They are unique birds and I love their pale ochre heads and that wonderful blue eye ring.  Last year I completed a painting of  a gannet flying over the ocean - Vertigo.  Now I have lots of resource material for new pieces.

Tapper's Cove complete

I've just finished this painting tonight.  I hoped I'd have it ready to go to the framer with eight (!) others but it will have to wait for the next batch - or a buyer who would like it unframed.  My studio walls are quite bare now - a  good complaint I'm sure, but one that puts pressure on me to produce more.

The water is a myriad of colours of reflected light from above as well as the glow of pale rocks sitting on the ocean floor even if the photograph doesn't do justice to the colours and values here.  The clarity of the water never ceases to amaze me and I should count myself lucky to live in a place where pollution is more the rarity than the norm. The turquoise blues really are that rich in real life and often the water looks tropical instead of being the Atlantic Ocean.  As always, the photograph does not provide justice to viewing a piece in person.

There may be a few tweaks, especially in the forefront timbers of the wharf, before the painting is signed off and ready to go but for now I'm letting it sit.

What's in a name?

Some paintings seem to name themselves, while we struggle with others forever before finally slapping something, anything on them to differentiate them from the last one painted.

So how important is a title to a painting?  Its pretty important for both artist and viewer.  For the artist it becomes a part of the piece, describing an emotion, a place, a memory and it serves well as a reference point in inventory.  How many "Red & Blue"  or "Untitled # 8"'s can you have without having a clue what they are visually in the future?  Its a gallery nightmare to have untitled paintings in stock.

For the viewer it becomes a direction signal into the process and placement of the painting to help them understand the piece more, even though they will create their own story around it.

Titles for most paintings fall into place at around the halfway mark, when the direction of the piece is known and coming together more clearly.  Sometimes a title comes first, then a painting to represent it, but that's less the norm.  And then there are those orphans who end up as completed works but with no name attached to them.  Those are the challenges to name without reverting to 'Untitled' again.

Painting titles  range from sentimental phrases to obscure references with meaning only to the artist. Whatever the association, its helpful to have something that gives the viewer a direction without revealing too much of the thought process and allows them to create their own thinking around the image.

The above painting, Metamorphosis, is 24" x 36" on gallery canvas.   The image isn't wonderful, taken early in the morning withe sunlight filtering across it through the blinds.  But the colour is fairly true and the final image will be taken in better light soon.

It is quite abstract, but still represents water.  I used a palette knife to apply thick layers of oil paint and to give texture and a split of hot colour to contrast the blues.

Why is it called Metamorphosis?  I'll let you create your own story around that...

Honey jar

 
Nothing I turned my hand to this weekend in painting worked out well on a large scale, so I've abandoned the bigger piece and tried my hand at a small painting. 

When I was in Manitoba last month, I had an hour or so between meetings and took advantage to walk through the Forks Market and found a stall selling unpasteurized honey.  They had brought a glass sided box of bees and honeycomb on display so you could watch the honey making action.  Not being a bug person, I stayed clear of that.  But I thanked the bees and the beekeeper for the honey and brought a small jar back with me.

Honey is a very useful substance besides adding to tea or putting on toast.  Unpasteurized honey has antiseptic and antibacterial properties and has been used for centuries to soothe sore throats and coughs. its is also believed to assist in relieving allergies by eating a tablespoon a day and is good for topical use in treating sores and ulcers in individuals who have diabetes, as well as treating mild burns.

5 x 7 in oil

Killick Coast

Available for purchase from my website

According to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English, a killick is "an anchor made up of an elongated stone, encased in pliable sticks bound at the top and fixed in two curved cross-pieces, used in mooring nets and small boats." In other words, it's a homemade anchor. The Killick Coast stretches from St. Thomas to Logy Bay on the northeast coast of the Avalon Peninsula and includes Bell Island.  It winds through fishing villages, farmland and a mining town.  And it passes through the town where I live, Flatrock. 

The coastline is rough in most places in Newfoundland and if you are in the right place at the right time, as I happened to be, the light is just right and you can capture the sun starting to break through the fog and reflect on the water.  This painting is 8" x 10" in oils.   I wanted to capture the essence and light, not a realistic interpretation of the scene. 

Changing the subject

When I first started selling and marketing my art, many years ago in the UK, my bread and butter income was from animal portraits.  I have evolved (or should that be devolved?) into fish and water, but I still keep a soft spot for painting and drawing animals.

I've been painting water steadily for a few weeks and needed a break so this little pug face was fun to play around with.  Its on a 7 x 5 panel in oils left over on the palette from another painting.  I started too far down the panel for some reason, but the dog was resting its chin on a surface.  Then there's the nose that just won't do what I want it to... If it was a commission, this would be a study and I'd fix the composition on the main painting.  But as it was practice sketch, I'm not worrying about perfection.

And pugs.  Haven't they got such sad little faces, but simply adorable?

Empty

 Available for purchase on my website

 This boat may look slightly familiar to you if you're a regular reader.  It's the same image that I used for a painting done in watercolour previously. I laboured over the original piece, abandoned it, refreshed it, cropped it and set it afloat finally.  And it sold.  

I used oils for this version and a palette knife.  I do like the simplicity I can achieve with a knife.  It takes away my ability to fiddle to much.

This is 8" x 10" on canvas panel and ready to sail to a new owner.

Heating up the beach

Funny how the eye is attracted to bright colours, isn't it?  No wonder they're used so much in advertising, the brighter, the better.  Its often the case in paintings.  It may be just a little shot of colour or something very bold that pulls in the viewer.  No doubt there is some science behind it or intuitive rationale that preys on our inner primitive being.

I am no different and while I had a couple of spare hours when I was in Winnipeg, I hunted down an art supply store that I'd been in previously.  They didn't have what I was looking for, but I was drawn to a carousel of Jack Richeson soft  pastels.  Stubby handmade sticks of pigment in every colour, just waiting to be bought.  I'm not a frequent user of pastels, and not as proficient in them as I would like, but enjoy their immediacy - and the feeling of getting hands dirty while producing.  No, I'm not a worrier of pastel dust or dusty coloured clothes, its all part of the experience of creating.

One of the colours I was drawn to was this luscious orange.  It was so vibrant, like a fresh orange had been condensed into a stick.  Another shot of colour in red, a few neutrals and an assortment of my 'water' colours came home with me.  Tonight I played around with a twilight image of a beach.  It let the pastel flow like paint without much blending and turned the beach into a firey glow of orange and red.  No realism in colour, or is there.  Is the realism in shape and value or in colour?  Contrasts and values set the shape and show the eye where to look.  If that is correct, everything else is believable.

This piece is about 6" x 10" on Canson paper. I'll take a better photo in natural light tomorrow that should give a better idea of the intensity of the colours.

* Image updated 2.6.12

Tapper's Cove update

It seems that nearly every time I travel, I get sick.  This is no exception and in addition to allergic reaction to some shellfish, I have the mother of all colds that is wiping me out, so not a lot of art is getting done.

Dosed on medication, I came to the studio tonight to add a little more to the painting of Tapper's Cove.  The colours aren't right, even with tweaking and lighting the image causes glare from the wet paint.  however, colour is blocked in and now I'll begin to pull some detail out of it.

The light is unusual in this piece, coming from behind the boat and wharf, casting a heavy shadow over the structure and water.  Even in the heavy shadow there is still a lot of detail, but in muted colours that makes the eye strain to pick it out.  I love those areas of a painting, the mystery corners that pull you in and make you study it more.

Juggling mid year

I'm still working on Tapper's Cove painting, but had completed Weekend Warriors.  I just didn't have time to post it before heading west for some work.  So here it is now.  10" x 20" in oils and available through House of Diamonds Art Gallery and can be seen in more detail on my website.

I'm now at the point where I have to do some juggling with paintings.  Some to galleries, some to exhibitions, some to swap around and more to produce.  The investment in framing becomes challenging at times and it is a skill I do need to learn to do effectively, especially for oils or acrylics.

I also need to revisit my art marketing plan, not that there really was a concrete plan with tangible outcomes.  This year, I went more with the flow than the structure and I rather miss the structure.  Laying out objectives and planning methods of reaching them provides direction and deadlines, both essential for me to progress.

So I will be reassessing where I want to go with my work and how to get there.  I analyzed my artist statement and it gave me insight into why I do what I do.  Water is a constant theme, and boats, but reflections are the common thread and show my interest in glass objects or reflective surfaces.  Pulling it all together and finding the right market is key.

Then there's workshops.  I've been so busy this year, I've only had time to provide one workshop and there is a constant stream of people asking when the next one will take place.   Time management is crucial when one has a day job as well as an art career.  I need to plan and manage carefully to get to where I want to go.

Tapper's Cove in progress

There is a little cove not far from where I live that is reached only by a very narrow, steep road and open only in summer.  A few fishing and pleasure craft are moored there in the warmer months, a far cry from years ago when it once was a hub of fishing industry.

Last summer, I drove down and took a few photos of some of the small vessels moored at the wharf.  Glimpses of fish heads and entrails signaled the recreational cod fishery and the sunlight shimmered on the water where I could see thousands of tiny fish fry swimming in the clear green water.  The green was what enticed me.  Water on a sunny day is usually so blue, but this was emerald green in places with the pale rocks beneath the surface appearing to be glowing turquoise.

So after a week away on business, I return.  Sick, as I always seem to be when I travel.  The bugs and viruses sit in wait for me at airports and on planes I am sure.  But this painting makes me forget that and remember that summer day last year when the water was clear. the sun warm and the boats sitting waiting by the wharf in Tapper's Cove.

This is 10 x 20 on stretched canvas in oil.  I've begun to block in colour and shape and then the refining begins to bring it to life.

The secret lives of eggs

The Secret Lives of Eggs

Available for purchase from my Etsy shop

This painting reminds me of the Sesame Street character, Elmo.  Big eyes, big nose, all it needs are irises and pupils.  Not the right colours for Elmo of course, but shapes create forms that remind us of other shapes.  And it makes me smile each time I look at it.  This painting is 5" x 7" on stretched canvas in oil.

Eggs are such a part of life now as the 'ladies' in the barn produce more than could possibly be eaten and there is a steady stream of people lining up wanting fresh eggs.

Eggs are quite remarkable creations and the original convenience food.  Here are a few things you may or may not know about chickens and eggs, based on questions that are often asked at the farm.

1. You do not need a rooster with a flock of hens for them to produce eggs.  The hens produce infertile eggs without a rooster present. And roosters are usually pretty nasty birds. Or so I think...perhaps its the scar on my leg that influences me...
2. Fertile eggs look and taste no different than infertile eggs.  
3. The application of heat on eggs less than 10 days old, if fertile, will start the growth within.  A hen usually lays up to a week's worth of eggs before sitting on them for hatching.
4.  It takes 21 days for a hen's egg to hatch.
5. Brown shelled and white shelled eggs are no different in taste or nutritional value.  The colour of the shell comes from the breed of bird.  The yolk colour can be affected somewhat by the food that the hen eats.
6. Want your own Omega 3 eggs? Toss the hens a handful of flax seed each day.  Voila!  It takes a hen approximately 24 hours to produce an egg.
7. Hens occasionally lay double yolked eggs.  This is usually from a young hen just starting the laying cycle and doesn't continue often.
8. Hens lay according to length of daylight.  In natural light they lay most in spring and summer then trail off to nothing in winter.  To induce laying, timed artificial light is used to imitate longer day length.
9. Chickens are vicious killers.  If they see another bird in distress, they will attack and kill it, including their own chicks.
10. Like most birds, chickens share a great deal of DNA with their lizard ancestors, however, according to a July 2010 story in the Times & Transcript, recent DNA analysis shows that T-Rex and chickens are such extremely close cousins biologically that “science has no choice but to acknowledge that birds are, in reality, dinosaurs, not just critters evolved from them.” 

This is the last post til early next week as I'll be away for a  few days, going to Manitoba for work. Hopefully I'll find some time to become inspired by some new things while I'm away.  Fitting in sketching is a challenge as the schedule is so hectic, but I'll try to take advantage of some quiet moments to capture a sense of the place.