Win an OttLite lamp

I'm happy to partner with OttLite in reviewing one of their newest lamps, the Cool Breeze LED Fan Lamp and offer one lucky person their own lamp in this seasonal giveaway.  Have a look at my review, this really is a very functional lamp for any individual who needs good light to work in.  From OttLite's Wellness Series, the lamp is designed to reduce eyestrain, so for me, having just finished cataract surgery in both eyes, good light is crucial for me to create effectively.

Regional restrictions limit participation to US residents only for this giveaway.

Here's how to enter:

Go to my Facebook page post and tell me the comments what state you're from and why you would like to win this lamp.  If you are subscribed to my mailing list, you get an extra chance to win!  Click here to subscribe

Links to subscribe and to my Facebook page are in the show notes on the video.  Just click the "see more" link under the video.  A winner will be randomly drawn from entries on December 15, 2018 and notified.

And if you're Canadian, check out an exclusive giveaway just for my fellow Canucks to win an original painting.  More details on that tomorrow, or check it out on Facebook.

Good luck!

Remembrance Day 2018

In Flanders Fields  -  SOLD

12 x 36 

oil on canvas

The gallery season is over and after all the taking down of paintings, packing personal effects and moving back to the city, there is a transition to "civilian" life again.   Of course that doesn't last long as exhibitions, new paintings and events leading up to Christmas take over from day to day gallery life. But  before that, my concentration is on November 11th - Remembrance or Armistice Day in Canada.

Fallen - SOLD

8" x 10" 

Oil on Panel  

Click here  for details

Each year I create a small painting of a red poppy for Remembrance Day in honour of my great uncle who died in WWI and of those who fought and died in World War I and II and those still serving in peacekeeping and conflicts around the world.  Poppies are the only flower that I paint and only for Armistice Day, as my subjects are usually boats and water.

Survivor - SOLD

6" x 8"

oil on panel

This year I started earlier than usual with a larger painting.  "In Flanders Fields" is 12" x 36" and sold before I shared it on social media.  So I painted my usual smaller one and then one slightly larger.  Survivor has sold but Fallen is still available along with a couple of others from previous years.  You can view details of them in my webstore.

Gallery Operations I

Bright & Early

30" x 40" oil on canvas

Available from the artist's website

I own and manage The Baccalieu Gallery, in Heart's Content, Newfoundland since August 2017.  So who am I to offer advice you ask, with a gallery technically still in its infancy?  I am learning as I go and hope some of the information I share will be helpful. I want to show you the good and bad sides of gallery operations and open your eyes to the reality of operating an art gallery that you may not know or have not considered. If you have questions, comments or suggestions for topics you would like more information on, let me know in the comments or email me directly.

Running a gallery is harder than I thought.  I mean I'm no slouch when it comes to work but there are some rules I set myself to make sure things get done and still leave me painting time (and sanity). 

1.  Always stay on top of the finances.  Invoices, bills, suppliers, utilities, all those things that make the world go round or come to a screeching halt  need attention.  Immediately.   I have gotten into a routine that ensures there's never a backlog of accounting  tasks to deal with.  I enter revenue at the end of day and make adjustments as required.  I also deal with receipts and bills as they come in, otherwise I can't sleep at night, knowing they're waiting for me.

2. Marketing.   Putting the brand and myself out there is crucial to making a mark in this world of art and galleries who are all vying for the same centre stage.   But I don't want it to take over my life or have me tethered to a computer all day, so I plan ahead.  I have a pretty good ideas of what social media message I'll put out the next day and what image(s) will go with it.   Then it takes me 10 minutes in the early morning and its done.  I don't usually check it again until after the gallery closes.

3. Treat suppliers and artists like gold.  Because they are.  These are the people who keep you in business.  Neglect them and you're toast.  Communicate, encourage visits, respond to emails promptly and provide payments on time.  Basically, treat them as you would expect to be treated.  With courtesy and respect.

Pretty much every thing else under these three topics is simple and straightforward.  That old saying, "Don't sweat the small stuff." is true.  Take care of the major players and all else falls into place. 

Sleep, eat, clean, paint, repeat.

Breaking Point

Breaking Point

12" x 36" oil on canvas

Its time to get back to writing again. 

A year ago I opened The Baccalieu Gallery and its been an learning experience, mostly good, that is worth sharing with others. I will share my thoughts in a series of weekly gallery posts that I hope will help artists and gallery owners or those considering that option. 

I still paint of course and am enjoying a more relaxed pace of life for the season in the little seaside town of Heart's Content, where the gallery is located.  Inspiration here is at every turn and the ocean is a literally a stone's throw from the gallery.

As always I can be found online on social media, on the website and through email.  I can't wait to reconnect with old friends and new.   I've changed my Studio News to quarterly, so the next one will be emailed in early September.  Sign up is quick and easy from any of my contact points including this blog (see the right hand panel).

I'm opening a gallery

I've been sitting on news for a month and now that the paperwork is complete I can finally let you know that I'll be opening a seasonal gallery in Heart's Content this summer!

I have been searching for a long time for what I hope is the perfect property and location for a seasonal gallery and believe that the delightful, historic seaside town of Heart's Content, on the Bay de Verde Peninsula is "the one".  With a name like Heart's Content, it beckons you to rest and relax, doesn't it?

Why do I want to open a gallery? 

• I'm a prolific painter and have work  not currently in galleries that I want to share with the world.
• I want to provide other artists with an opportunity to showcase their art and build their art careers. 
• I want to be next to the sea all day and night.  It is my inspiration for many of the paintings that I produce.
• I have a business and art background that fits this industry and I want to put those skills to work.
• And many other reasons that I can't begin to articulate!  

The building is a large gallery space, about 1500 square feet, with an attached apartment that I'll be calling home until the end of October. It sits a stone's throw from the waters of Trinity Bay on Route 80, on the Baccalieu Trail, 1.5 hours drive from St. John's.  It is located right next to the Heart's Content Cable Station where the first permanent telegraph cable connecting Europe and North America was hauled ashore at Heart's Content. With plenty of free paved parking available right outside the door, its convenient and comfortable for access.

Right now the space is big and full of echoes but July will be crazy with refurbishment to turn the previous pharmacy into a gallery space. Some inside restructuring, painting, flooring, hanging and lighting systems as well as all the other things that will turn the space into a functional art business are in full swing.

I am aiming for an August opening and will announce the date as soon as the building is ready . The website for the gallery is incorporated into my website www.jeanettejobson.com  and updates on the refit progress will be posted there and on social media.

While the season will be shorter than usual this year, submissions from artists who believe their work would fit in with the island's newest the gallery are welcome. The feel of the gallery will be predominantly coastal - marine, aquatic, boats, fish, etc. 

Artist Submission Guidelines are available here.  

Line Fishing

Line Fishing - Sold

22 x 28 x 1.5  oil on canvas

Dried salted cod was the staple for food and almost currency in Newfoundland for hundreds of years and still can be found drying on flakes and lines in late summer.

The colours that can be found in what initially looks like a bland cream coloured kite shape is amazing when really studied.

Islington

Islington - SOLD

8"x 8"  oil on panel

I cannot resist a boat sitting, waiting to be launched into the water.   This punt was resting on the wharf in Islington.  The lighting was diffused with sun just starting to show through and gave a pastel feel to the scene.

Seeing colour

Drying cod - work in progress

Artists seem to see colour within forms that many others do not see.  If you've seen a beginner's painting, it often has a solid block of colour making up a form, while an experienced artist's painting shows a number of colours that are used to create the same form.

For me, when I look at an image, I see the overall hue and that is often my foundation colour for that area.  Value changes will make that base colour lighter or darker as it moves across the form.  The colours overlap and intertwine.  They reflect light and hide it.  They try to create a cohesive painting where light and colour direct the viewer's eye and provide interest.

Summer Cove - oil study

Within a colour there are what I call "mini colour wheels".  These are colours that have common hues in them that harmonize with the area that I'm painting.  Often they harmonize with the whole painting.  They are the same area range of colours but more or less saturated depending on the form and light.

If you have ever created colour charts you'll be familiar with the range of hues and values that you can create with your palette or what new additions can create.  Everyone has their personal preference for paints on their palette and mix according to what they need.

Chilling

Chilling

15" x 30"     oil on panel

“She had never known that ice could take on so many shades of blue: sharp lines of indigo like the deepest sea, aquamarine shadows, even the glint of blue-green where the sun struck just so.” 
― Malinda Lo, Huntress

Aside from a few details and tweaks, this painting is complete.With no shortage of sea ice and icebergs this year, there is lots of inspiration that the ocean provides, so there may be more ice paintings.

As with most of my paintings, shards and spots of unexpected colour find their way into the composition towards the end.  As long as the values are appropriate, colour works.

Fog

Fog Blanket Over Middle Cove

11" x 17"  oil on wood panel

Fog is such an elusive thing.  Ghost like, it is there one minute and gone the next.  I stopped at the lookout in Middle Cove and watched its progress up the cove and over the land.   You can drive past the cove and be socked in with fog then drive a tiny bit further and see clear blue skies.  There is never a dull moment with the weather here.  I've sketched and photographed this vantage point several times capturing sun and fog.  Now there's a bit of both in this painting.

Painting fog with oils is all about pressure for me.  I put in a thin layer of the background then meld the fog colours over it with very light pressure and a good amount of paint on the knife.  Picking up some of the background colour with heavier pressure gives that illusion of land showing through the fog.   Its worth a little practice on a spare piece of paper or canvas to get the hang of it and decide on the fog colours, as they will change depending on the weather and the background.

Middle Cove Fog

10,000 years and counting

Untitled

15" x 30" oil on panel

This painting in progress is of some large chunks of ice on the shoreline.  The colours in the ice are amazing always and combined with the water lapping at their bases made a good composition.

I seem to be encased in ice lately.  My previous post at Easter about the first iceberg of the season seemed to send a signal to Mother Nature to open the floodgates.  And given the gift of ice, I figured I may as well paint it.

The pack ice pushed in to shore off and on depending on the wind direction and last weekend we had 60 hours of freezing rain and drizzle, coating the landscape.  Oddly enough it didn't seem to affect roads too much which is unusual.

Today, the sun was bright but the wind cold, but icebergs and more loose ice moved into the harbour where I live.  The sun lit the bergs and ice and the colours were beautiful blues and turquoises against the deep indigo ocean.

As the ice was so close and even on the shore, the opportunity was too good to not pass up the chance to harvest some glacial ice for drinks.  This ice is dense and melts much less quickly than the ice you'd make at home.  It was rinsed and broken into smaller pieces (this glacial ice is HARD) then to the freezer to add to drinks.  There are tiny pockets of air in glacial ice and they make popping sounds as the ice melts in a drink.  Its very unique.

The Government Wharf - finishing off

The Government Wharf

24" x 24"  oil on wood panel

Available direct from the artist 

I've concentrated on putting in the final details for this piece and its sitting in the corner of my studio waiting for any tweaks and drying.  When I sign off on it, it goes to the other studio for its "glamour" shot.  There its set straight on an easel and lit well or, if the day fits, put in good daylight for photographing.

I shoot final images in RAW to ensure I capture as much detail and colour as possible.  The result are high resolution files of about 10 or 12 mp.  If I want to reproduce any of the images, the highest quality is required to be able to reproduce in larger sizes.

“The lessons you are meant to learn are in your work. To see them, you need only look at the work clearly — without judgment, without need or fear, without wishes or hopes. Without emotional expectations. Ask your work what it needs, not what you need. Then set aside your fears and listen, the way a good parent listens to a child” ~David Bayles

End of palette paintings

At the end of larger paintings there's usually paint left on the palette.  To put it to good use, I create small paintings of whatever subject appeals to me.  My internal "rule" is that I can only add white to what is left on the palette.

With the most current painting finished, I created these two little oil sketches and primed canvas paper.  The apple and a couple of turnips (also known as swede in the UK and rutabaga in the USA). I used a more graphic style for these with bright colours and solid forms, still using a palette knife.

How do you use leftover paint?

Trinity Water study

Trinity Water study

11" x 14" oil on cradled wood panel

I'm finding myself drawn more and more to scenes of rocks and water.  The waters around the province are pristine and crystal clear, making it easy to see to the bottom in shallow areas.  The movement of the water and reflections in the water as well as the colours in the rocks are a magnet to me.

This study is in preparation for a large painting of the same scene.  That is in the wings waiting its turn on the easel.  And my courage to work that detail on a large scale.

What does an artist do with their free time?

Do artists ever have free time?  Of course they do, at least in small snippets. Or so mine is.  And often my free time is spent in another form of creation or something that may move me forward in my own art.

It may be visiting galleries or museums, creating jewellery or photography and often that is done with an eye towards composition of another painting or drawing.

Living on a small farm, I restrict my time spent outside doing ‘farm stuff’ simply because its more the domain of my husband.  I prefer to wander off taking photos of what is in the barn or field than deal with the intricacies of growing or dispatching them, whether animal or vegetable.  I am partial to growing edible and medicinal herbs and am a chartered herbalist, so their put to good use in tinctures, creams and salves.

I have cupboards full of yarn and was a prolific knitter in the past.  I still do put a few small things on the needles from time to time and enjoy the rhythm of knitting and the satisfaction of a tangible, object at the end of it.  When I do knit, I prefer real wool when suitable and a unique pattern.  If I invest time into something, I don’t want to see its clone half a dozen times in the course of a day in my travels.

Iceberg season again

Pack ice and icebergs are making an early appearance this year and on Easter Sunday I took a drive down the coast to Ferryland to see a large berg grounded just offshore.  There were quite a few people dotting the hill overlooking the sea and the wind off the water was so cold that I didn't stay long.

I went further up the coast for an alternate angle and explored the little town of Aquaforte where I found a few boats for my reference collection, along with some further shots of the iceberg.

Icebergs and pack ice aren't something that I've painted very often.  The bergs are majestic and do have appeal but for some reason I haven't gotten around to them.  I'll have to rectify that in the very near future.

Meanwhile, if you're on an iceberg hunting quest, you can find their location on the Iceberg Map.  Its predicted to be a bumper iceberg season in 2017.

The Government Wharf - progress

The Government Wharf in progress

24" x 24" oil on wood panel

                  Little drops of water wear down big stones. (Russian proverb)

I'm working my way across this painting of an algae covered wharf and love creating the colour changes.  Once across the palings and reflections, I can start on some details that provide the texture.

Working through complex paintings, its easy to mentally shut down and convince yourself to give up. Keeping that vision in your head and working methodically through the less interesting parts to reach detailing is crucial in creating art.

Age and beauty

The Ice Maiden

24" x 36" - oil on cradled wooden panel

There are so many contradictions in humans with respect to age.  We love old objects, but want the newest ones.  We love old cars, but won't take time to restore them to their glory.  We love old people but don't want to be one.

I'm a proponent of embracing aging as well as respecting and admiring the past.  There is so much we can learn from what has gone before, both in physical and intellectual areas.

Sketch for Wooden Boats series 2015

I love old boats. I love seeing how they were constructed and admiring the handwork (and hardwork) that went into them.  It is somewhat sad to see them sitting, derelict on a shoreline but I enjoy capturing them in that moment as an almost historic homage to what has gone before.

I have watched this boat decline and disappear over years until this year when it was removed and is likely kindling for someone's fire.  I am glad to have had the privilege of sketching and painting it and keeping its memory alive.

Sketching from virtual life

Giraffe resting I

UPDATE:  Giraffe calf born 11:25am Newfoundland time Saturday April 15th.  Gender: male.

If you haven't heard of April the expectant giraffe by now, you're one of few.  She's a captive bred giraffe housed in the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, NY.  Her enclosure is on a live feed on Youtube and if lucky you may be able to catch the birth of her 4th calf in the very near future.

I won't say I'm addicted, more curious perhaps, but I do check in most evenings to see how she's getting on.   Apparently giraffes need between 30 to 120 minutes of sleep a day, so its rare to see them napping.  The other night I was looking at the live cam feed as she folded her impossibly long legs underneath her to rest.  A resting animal is a perfect sketching opportunity and as I'd never sketched a giraffe before I thought I'd try.

Giraffe resting II

She changed position once more, almost cat like, curled around herself with her head on her hind leg. It was like a complex yoga position and didn't look comfortable, but she stayed there for about 5 minutes giving me another chance to do a quick sketch.

If you don't have an exotic animal close by to observe from life, a virtual view is just as good. Testing sketching skills with moving animals whether from life or a camera provides the same results.

Check the cam and see if the calf has arrived yet.  She was showing signs of something happening last night, so you never know.  Next, sketching a baby giraffe!

Chiaroscuro

White Knight - Sold

24" x 36"  oil on canvas

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” “There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.”

Chiaroscuro is Italian and roughly translated, means light and dark. It originally described a type of drawing on medium-dark paper where the artist created both darker areas with ink and lighter areas with white paint.  Very similar to drawing on the toned papers that are available today.

Supper at Emmaus - 1601

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Caravaggio, with his intense dark backgrounds in paintings in the 16th century really brought chiaroscuro to a new height with an almost spotlight effect on his figures.  Chiaroscuro adds drama to a painting with focal points being flooded with a light source and the edges of objects melting into the same value as the background, making you look closely to define one from the other.

You can see just how large this painting "Supper at Emmaus" is, with its almost lifesized figures  and see more of his work, style and life in the video below from the National Gallery where the painting is housed.  The video is 30 minutes long but well worth your time if you're interested in the master artists.