Loraine Wellman Online

More Marathoning-

2012-01-30T20:30:00.000-08:00

There was another Marathon weekend at Phoenix Art Workshop this past weekend. This time, there were three sessions. One evening one was 30-minute costumed poses and the other two were 5-hour sustained poses. The first long pose went well but the next day the model woke up ill so the planned set-up (alas! no Medusa!) did not happen. However, Lawrence saved the day by coming in to pose and some very nice work resulted. I haven't photographed anything yet so this is Wanda from a previous Marathon. Coloured conte' on pastel paper.
It is always interesting to paint with other artists and see all the different interpretations.

One of the Men in Hats

2012-01-24T16:02:00.000-08:00

The weather is wet and windy today - quite miserable out- the kind of weather of which my grandmother used to say "It's not fit for man nor beast- send Father". Nevertheless, I delivered the re-done "Abandoned Farmhouse" and it was happily received. The owner says she didn't think it could be improved but now she sees it has been. So that is a happy ending. .....and it may be wet out there but it is easy to get around. Last week, with the snow, we weren't sure if Life Drawing would take place so the model ended up being cancelled. Some of us went anyway. Happily, although a lot of Richmond had an electricity blackout, the lights were on in the Art Centre. We improvised by taking turns posing for 10 minutes each and had a successful drawing evening anyway. This is Marv, posing with a hat on, as befits one of "The Men in Hats." the 10-minute sketch was done in water-soluble graphite pencil.

37 and 1/2 years later

2012-01-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

I don't do watercolours now- except maybe in a sketch book- but I did some years ago. I don't remember all the particulars of this painting. I'm sure I painted it en plein air - and maybe I was running out of time -?- but looking at it later I felt the foreground just wasn't interesting enough and was too flat. I offered a painting exchange to the owner, but she liked the old deserted farmhouse. Then it was loaned to someone else. Then she got it back and said I could "touch it up" if I wanted. So, figuring it had my name on it and I should try to "fix" it, I borrowed it back. It was a challenge doing watercolours and realizing they would dry lighter whereas acrylics dry darker, but I ended up happier about it. Then "in for a penny, in for a pound" as my grandmother used to say, I knew it needed re-framing as the mat took too much from the edges and didn't give the painting breathing room. Anyway, it is done now and I plan on taking it back this next week. I'll report on the reaction.

Collage completed

2012-01-19T16:52:00.000-08:00

It was nice to work upstairs where it is a little warmer - so I worked on the collage and got it done. It is very time-consuming but interesting work and I ended up putting a few different twists on the actual model set-up. He got a tropical garden - or is a conservatory?- to be near. I think he looks like a magistrate or official. Could he have some power in a more tropical place? Or was that a winter wish on my part? At any rate, I have decided that one of the few perks of winter is hot chocolate! I'm not sure if this collage will be "shown". I think it needs to be under glass and that is a whole other level of expense. I may look into some kind of interchangeable frame and then just always do collages the same size.

Another year...

2012-01-07T18:07:00.000-08:00

Here we go with 2012- and new experiences in art. "Nets" is a recent painting that was a bit of an experiment. It ended up being really interesting to do and at our Guild critique just before Christmas, the guest doing the critiques liked it and said it was "controlled chaos". I'm thinking of doing something else almost as complicated and using the same approach, which ended up being almost meditative. I worked a section at a time, not thinking of anything beyond the section I was working on. At the tag end, I did some work pulling it together but it didn't need a lot. My aim for 2012 is to do lots of drawing in different media and to just have fun with painting and see what develops. Currently I'm doing a collage and will post it when it is finished.

and here is the photo

2011-12-23T11:46:00.001-08:00

somehow this got missed-

An "installation"

2011-12-23T11:42:00.000-08:00

Apart from a couple of drawing sessions, there has been no large chunks of time devoted to painting this past week---too busy with Christmas preparations. However, it occurred to me that I could claim an "installation" - the tree is up and decorated so that is part of my "practice" (to use artspeak) for the week. One interviewed instructor in a glossy art magazine said that after studying art, everyday activities are potentially loaded with social, political and historical meaning. Wow! and to think I was just decorating a tree to make things look nice!

Christmas fast approaching

2011-12-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas is getting closer and tomorrow we have a small group for Life Drawing and a potluck lunch. It is always nice to fit in a bit of socializing while keeping a hand in drawing. I've got the cards done and mailed and am taking a break from tree decorating. I think I like the Grand Firs better but they were out of them and now I have a Noble Fir. It smells great but was really heavy and now I'm thinking it is awfully dense for decorating. I like it when there are spaces for a bit of see-through. The drawing here is one that was done in the small group - coloured conte' on pastel paper. It just got rejected from a show but I know it is a good drawing - especially with the leg muscles. Sometimes there is a real prejudice, still, against nudes in art. When a person gets rejected, it just can't be taken personally and, in the long run, really means nothing.

Cards and books-

2011-11-29T14:11:00.000-08:00

My Christmas cards have arrived from Apple so now they have to be sent out. Some friends "voted" their choice and I'm going with "Poppies by the Fence" even though they are not exactly seasonal flowers. ... The Globe and Mail printed their choice of the 100 best books of 2011 and Eric Larsen's "In the Garden of Beasts" made the list. I didn't mention it in my last listing... not one artist in it...but it was an excellent slice of history as it is the true story of the American ambassador to Berlin just before WWII. His family's gradual awakening of what was really happening - and the deafness of Washington to what he had to tell them- gives a real sense of what life must have been like then. On the "art" list, I read the biography of Modigliani - and wrote a review on it for Amazon. I also found Constable Portraits by Martin Gayford and Anne Lyles very interesting as I had just never thought of Constable in terms of portrait painting. He was admired by Lucien Freud - which is high praise indeed. Freud said "I've always thought that it was completely loopy for people to go on about portrait painters, English portrait painters, and not to have Constable among them." Further, he added "There isn't a good painter of 'subjects' of one subject rather than any other. I mean, as a game you can say, perhaps, Gwen John was the best painter of cats (as she is) but with really good painters all their work is really good. You can't say 'this is a marvellous painter but don't look at the portraits' "

The Marsh in Winter

2011-11-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday we changed the paintings on display in a local politician's constituency office. This is about the third time we have done it and it went very quickly. there are 12 paintings on display. Since the MLA holds receptions, they do get to be seen. So far, no really major results from it, but it does put the club name out here and paintings are seen, rather than being stored in closets. It is a good thing to take advantage of a display opportunity such as this. We show local scenes each time. My painting for this occasion was a winter painting from a nearby walk along the raised dyke by the marsh. I did a series of these a couple of years ago. This one is called "The Marsh in Winter" and is 24" x 30".

Reading List

2011-11-11T20:58:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when the new book lists are with us and it is time to anticipate reading by the fireplace. I was looking over a number of books I've read over the past year and decided it was an especially good year for art books and books whose story line involved art in some way. Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy Ken Follett's Fall of Giants (and I'm looking forward to the story continuing in the next volume.) I'll probably read Catherine the Great this next year- but art did come into a lot of my favourites of last year. Barbara Kingslover's Lacuna would certainly be near the top of the list- if not at the top. Freda Kahlo is in there as part of the story but there is a lot of depth to the book beyond that. I liked The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland - but not as much as some of her other books and I felt the touch of romance would not have been true to the type of person Emily Carr was. A number of readers were not as enthusiastic about her Clara and Mr.Tiffany but I thought it was good in how it showed the era and the setting and felt any detail about stained glass making *was* essential to the story. The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein was an excellent read about a real-life artist who was the first western-style artist from China. Well written and well-researched. Lots of incidental history in there too. More history in Madonnas of Leningrad (Debra Dean)as well as capturing some of the dementia of the aging lead character. Steve Martin, who is a very knowledgeable art collector, did a great job on capturing the crazy art action of modern day New York in An Object of Beauty. The Ghost Brush (Katherine Govver) was about the daughter of Hokusai - another excellent read. The painter in Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves was imaginary but set in the real world of impressionistic painters - and a good story too. I hope I find some more good books this year! The painting was done a couple of years ago in Gail's attic and the model got hooked on The Other Boleyn Girl while posing for us.

Ten Cents a Dance

2011-11-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

I just posted this painting for my November Newsletter but the format cut off her feet- so here is the full painting. It was done after Helene posed for us, at Adrienne's, in a costume that included a vintage hat that had belonged to her aunt. We set up the lights so there was rather dramatic edge-lighting. At the time, I did a drawing in coloured conte' and took photos. Then I painted this. There was something about the hat and the pose that made me think of the Depression era and the position of women then. They had a determination to somehow survive and make things right for their families... so I hoped to convey that determination in the painting. Since then, I've also made a 5"x5" ink and colour drawing that is now part of the International Mail Art Exhibition opening on November 17th in Richmond Art Gallery.

Ballerina sculpture

2011-10-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

I"m doing another session of sculpture and so far have made a sort of "tree person", but last session I did this ballerina. I had an idea for something different that didn't sketch out, so took some drawings of Iva to use them. It was from the five-minutes rotating pose. I had to carve, rather than model, the legs. That was a bit different way of working. She has ended up being a bit sturdy for a ballerina but I like the attitude of the pose. Working three dimensionally is a good practice and a challenge. It is a different way of thinking compared to putting three dimensions into a two dimension medium.

Spicing it up

2011-10-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

Art isn't all painting and drawing. Sometimes it is gardening and sometimes it is changing something about the house. My spice jars had been around forever and were quite grungy. However, you know how it is- you just get used to them! Then, for various reasons, I saw them in a fresh light and decided to make a change. First, I changed over the grungiest to new jars and new labels protected with storage tape so that they would wipe off. The problem there was that then the rest looked worse than ever! So- no answer for it than to do a major re-do. Peppers of various types all got hot pink labels and I changed the others according to the spice and my mood. One advantage is that the new jars have a slightly smaller diameter - so they fit on the turntable better. Not likely to make it into an art gallery, but it is nice to open the cupboard door and see bright, fresh jars of spices.

...and another change

2011-10-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

After due deliberation, the decision was made to change the sky yet again! Yes, I do seem to be obsessing over a subject I didn't really *choose* in the first place, but I'm trying to see if it can't be made to "work" better. Anyway, I think I went overboard with too bright a yellow sky, so it now has a toned down version- and a slight adjustment in the shading on the car. Your opinion is welcome!
On another subject, I am now in "LinkedIn", and ready to link up with others there too. I did the "WhoHub" interview some time ago and am on a few other things- but no time to Twitter and I don't really like Facebook as an artist- and no real time for that either. Mostly, I think I will stick to the odd blog....

Art in public

2011-10-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

Last night we did our Life Drawing with a draped model at the Art Centre- down in the foyer. This was for Cultural Days. We attracted a fair crowd of watchers and a couple who tried their hands at drawing with us. We had the light on the model but the lighting for we artists was not so good- so it was a bit of "drawing in the dark" - but an improvement over "painting in the rain" which was how we started out at the Grand Prix. Since then, I've noodled a bit on the plein air painting - changed the colour of the sky and added crows- just to have a bit of fun with it---- and because I felt the foreground needed something. So here is the result.

Cultural Days

2011-09-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

How did we get near the end of September so soon? Some of it whirled by in preparation for the Grand Prix of Art Steveston, where we started out painting in the rain this year. Now we are up to Cultural Days and Richmond Artists Guild is doing a Life Drawing demonstration in the foyer of Richmond Art Centre this Friday evening. We will have a clothed model in one pose and the general public will be invited to watch or try drawing. I plan on worked in coloured pastels (conte' crayon) so I may produce something like this one. This was Helene in a hat with a veil. We have a different model on Friday night so I may very well post the results.

September....

2011-09-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

September always seems like the start of a new year- guess that is sort of an academic hang-over! Still, it is a time when meetings start up again after the summer break and we get into the swing of things again. I've already received notice that my painting, "Have a Cool One" will be in Autumn Salon at the Federation Gallery, Granville Island, Vancouver. It opens on September 20th and runs until October 2nd. I love the play of light and shadow and this was especially a joy to do with the interesting shadows cast by the straw hat. Nadine, the model, likes the way the painting turned out too. I did a pastel in an hour and a half - and also took a photo for additional reference. Being able to put paint on in layers really adds a richness that isn't quite there in the pastel. Peter Aspell, one of my former teachers, used to talk about "the sensuous quality of paint." I like to aim for that. I used transparent darks for the shadows. Anyway, I'm glad that "Have a Cool One" is having a chance to be seen in an exhibit.

Summer Gallery at Omega

2011-08-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

Summer is not over yet and the Summer Gallery show at Omega is still on. I am one of four painters and my contribution to the show is all European paintings. This one is of Orvieto, a hill town not too far from Rome. We parked at the bottom, because the medieval town could not take modern traffic, and took a funicular railway up to the old town. There is a beautiful 12th century cathedral there with a mosaic front - and interesting narrow streets. I like the way the space over the streets is often used - as in this painting with the building forming an arch over the street. I think that there is a bit of a sense of mystery - what is down the street, through the arch? Who is the lady meeting? I used a palette knife on the building so that the layers of paint show through somewhat - just like the old plaster. It adds a richness and surface interest to the painting.

Maritime Festival

2011-08-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

Richmond had its 8th annual Maritime Festival last weekend at Britannia Shipyards and the Richmond Artists Guild was invited to take part. We had a tent for a display of (mostly) maritime paintings. I set up the scheduling for "sitting" the show and for having painters on site. I was going to paint but found the sun too much so just did some sketching and photography- reference shots. I told everyone that it wasn't for selling but just to represent the Guild, make people aware that we exist, give out our new business cards and so on. We did get a good response. However, and much to my surprise, I actually sold a painting. It was "The Balclutha" which is an old sailing ship down in San Francisco. We had a perfect day when we visited it as it was sunny but very few people were there so it was easy to get people-free photos. Needless to say, I did not paint on the spot as just drawing all the rigging took some time before I even got to the painting. At any rate, the painting has found a good home. It goes to show that you never know when a painting will be in the right place at the right time. The Festival itself was really interesting with lots to see and do. For most of us, our favourite performer was the Eagle- on stilts- and I have recorded her in my sketchbook.

Omega Gallery Show

2011-07-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

The Summer Gallery show at Omega is on and was mentioned in the FCA's Art Avenue magazine. I was up at the gallery on Tuesday with two friends who enjoyed the show. The gallery is looking lovely and fresh and everything was nicely displayed. I hope more people can get in to see it. Dunbar Street has it's challenging parts as construction goes on in parts, but there is parking on side streets. In a previous post, I showed one of the two new paintings I did for this show- the one of Burano. This is the other - the Christmas market in Trastevere, Rome. The star-lights are strung across the street. What interested me in this was the contrasts of light and the more shadowy figures and capturing some of the magical feeling of the market. What interesting items might we find for sale?

The importance of drawing-

2011-07-19T20:12:00.000-07:00

Robert Genn's latest newsletter talks about drawing and its importance to artists. I totally agree. Life Drawing, especially, really helps keep up a person's skills in observation as well as in drawing. Lately, I have been drawing in three colours- in conte' or in charcoal pencils - black, white and sienna- to work on capturing tone values. I do them on a medium tint paper. This is a fairly "classical" way of drawing and I'm looking at realism, not so much interpretation. I'm just about finished the current pad of paper and I think I'll go to something more freewheeling for a while... more colour, playing more with variety in line, etc. Just a change to shake things up but the same actual *drawing* challenge is there- capturing a pose, the foreshortening of a limb, the way light falls on the body... The illustration here is one in coloured conte' of a 30-minute pose in the last Drawing Marathon.

On Google

2011-07-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

The promotion advice newsletter that I get said to post on Google as it would work for a person by coming up first on a search - so I did. I picked a photo of me in the Czech Republic coming out of Karlstein Castle - that is my "castle owner's smile" - maybe!
At any rate, the Google listing is interesting because it brings up all the painting photos from my website. Time will tell if there is any value to it. I also survived posting photos of the Fraser River Art Festival to the Richmond Artists Guild blog. I found it a bit more difficult to do than this blog but I must be getting more computer savvy because I *did* manage to do it!

Summer Gallery at Omega

2011-07-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

I delivered my paintings to Omega this morning. The gallery is looking lovely and fresh and even has a new floor. My paintings include the one of Burano from the last blog and this one of the Estates Theatre in Prague. This is just a little painting (10" x 8") that I did to try to capture the magic of an evening at the opera. This is the same theatre where Mozart premiered "Don Giovanni". (And conducted it ) If you saw "Amadeus", you saw the inside of this theatre. The amazing thing is that it is still the same- with electricity substituting for candlelight-but still with the beautiful boxes and their gilt cherubs and drapery. When we were in Prague, we went to this theatre, sat in a box - and even saw and heard "Don Giovanni". People do dress up - at least to the extent of nice clothes and no jeans. I didn't see anybody there in full evening dress. Nevertheless, it was a very elegant evening. Each box has a mirror that reflects another box - this was so some subtle flirting could go on without having to lean out and be obvious to others.I'm not sure how a person could arrange to be in a box with the mirror reflecting the object of their affection- but I'm sure it was worked out. I used our reflected box to do another sketch. Not as romantic, but I enjoyed myself.

Getting ready for summer

2011-07-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

Lots of things are happening so there will be no "summer doldrums". The "Summer Gallery" at Omega would have started but Dunbar Street is being ripped up for new water mains and access to the gallery is only under difficulty.Jenny Mao, the new owner,decided to take the opportunity to do some redecorating, so when the show opens on the 15th, everything will be new and fresh. Before then, on the 10th, at London Farm, there will be the Fraser River Art Festival. There will be tents out on the lawn and about 25 artists (including me!)displaying. Live music will be provided by Steveston Folk Music. ,,,and we've just been invited, and accepted, to be part of the Maritime
Festival by Britannia for the BC Day weekend. Today is Canada Day but I didn't go out to any events. I had a quiet paint-in, mowed the lawn and did some other garden work. Next week I have to organize what I am taking to the London Farm event and pack up the paintings for Omega. For Omega's Summer Gallery, I will be showing some of the European paintings - and I've done two new ones! This is one of Burano, island by Venice, which is a new painting.

"The school of life"

2011-06-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

"The school of life" is what Robert Genn calls his latest newsletter. He notes that every year about 900,000 North Americans try painting for the first time and 800,000 quit in frustration. "Apparently, at any given time, three percent of the population is trying to paint." He goes on to say "On the surface, painting looks easy, offers mounds of personal satisfaction and has the potential of big bucks. But then again, so does golf. And we all know that golf makes grown men cry. When closely examined, high-aimed painting is difficult, loaded with disappointment and the dubious benefits of poverty."- This is applicable timing as I was out the other day for an appointment for my husband. I took the books I "published" on my Mac and the doctor was appreciative - but-- immediately assumed I must be in the "big bucks" category. Complimentary, in a way, but far from the truth. Most of us persist because we *must* paint, but most of us would have starved if we had to rely on or art income. We carry on through sheer determination.
Here is Lawrence as painted. I showed, in previous blogs, the graphite drawings done in Life Drawing. Originally, the background was lighter, but, following a critique, I re-did it. It probably looks a bit more like a suggestion of foliage now and is more dramatic against the flesh tones. An artist has to keep questioning.

Whimsical prints

2011-06-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was at the Federation Gallery to pick up my painting from the "Canvas Unbound" show and to take a look at the new print show. I find printmaking intriguing but I haven't done any since Art School. However, yesterday I was thinking that there seems to be a different level of acceptance- or would that be theme of acceptance?- in prints than in paintings. Maybe it is brought on by their very smallness, but there is a lot of whimsy and some almost cartoon-ish pieces. I felt some might be the kind of stuff for doodles in sketchbooks but would be rejected if submitted to a regular show. Not to say that I didn't like them. I don't know enough to say whether the techniques were outstanding and that was part of the acceptance or not. I could only judge the images -and I found a lot appealing. Some brought a smile. I just wonder about the difference and acceptability. Or is it something that come with the choice of medium? Are people with a sense of whimsy - and showcasing it- drawn to the printmaking process? Something to think about.......for the illustration here, here is my Singer in Red.

Vancouver Riots

2011-06-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

I don't usually blog about anything except art and art events, but I am rather sickened by last nights rioting after Vancouver lost the Stanley Cup Hockey final. These are the same streets I walked on as a child after Saturday morning art classes. This is where I prowled with sketchbook later on, as a student at Vancouver School of Art. This was just a hockey game, not a plea for democracy. As The Guardian newspaper notes, it makes us look like a fishing village, not the "world-class" city we claim to be. Politicians are saying it was a few yahoos and punks, but the hockey fans inside the arena showed a distinct lack of class and decency when they booed the Bruins at the end of the game. Where was the sportsmanship in that? After the violence and looting on the streets, while spectators filmed it all, Vancouver ends up with a reputation it will take a long time to live down. There is no point about extolling the virtues of a "livable city" and its natural beauty when its citizens end up looking like jerks and worse. .....For the record, I was at Wednesday night Life Drawing and not even watching TV!... painting is of a kayak just by Granville Island- I call it "To Each His Own" and it is a calm and peaceful view in Vancouver.

No Tub after All

2011-05-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

Well, the tub was there - a round one- but it just did not fit well into a composition from the position that I had. So, I left it out. It still was fun to have a full day of painting and to see what everyone else came up with. All were different, of course. Different media, different styles - and everyone had a different position, of course. I'm not sure what to call my painting. Any suggestions? I can always resort to "In the Studio". ...and so, the marathon is over - until the next one.

In the Midst of a Marathon

2011-05-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

Mark is having a drawing marathon this weekend at Phoenix in Steveston. I've done nine hours of drawing so far and have six hours of painting tomorrow... and that isn't quite a *full* marathon. So far, I have done drawing in coloured conte' on "charcoal" paper 12" x 18". The paper is slightly smaller than I use at Adrienne's - for easier portability up those three flights of stairs. It also works better for half hour and 45 minute poses. I'll probably photograph and post some of the drawings fairly soon. We've had fun with a variety of models and some creative costuming and themes. Tomorrow is an all-day pose ( with a break for lunch) on the theme of a "Degas Bather". Yes, there will be a tub. This is one I couldn't resist. Back when I was in Art School, one of the exam paintings was a model in a bathtub. There was an actual tin bathtub and we were on risers around it, so we could see into the tub. A bouquet of lilacs completed the scene. I remember the young fellows in the class being eager to volunteer for the job of adding more warm water to the tub! This tub, for tomorrow, is the round kind used in country households back in the old days when the bathing took place in the kitchen. It should be another interesting day. My posted painting is another where I did "brush editing". The actual pose had only one visible foot- but criticisms were that it seemed strange and unbalanced. The solution was to invent where a foot might have been and just show a bit of toe. It has been a major improvement. It's also made me aware of avoiding awkwardness in the first place by seeing that hands or feet don't disappear mysteriously.

After DoorsOpen

2011-05-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

Richmond's DoorsOpen was last weekend- and I'm still not quite tidied up again. It was a good weekend- except for the weather. Unfortunately, the Saturday was wet so not as many people enjoyed the garden. Everyone was really nice and I had some interesting conversations - some in translation. One young fellow brought his parents. The Dad does traditional Chinese brushwork so was very interested in the paints and surfaces I use. I find the open studio is more of a community outreach than anything else. People like to see the workspace and ask questions. Some want encouragement to try art for themselves - or for their children. One Dad told his young daughter, "See, a lady *can* be an artist!" I wonder if older brothers had been discouraging her? People find we are (relatively) normal, that we try different things and enjoy what we are doing. I always put up some of my drawings (such as the one of Lawrence here) and put out sketchbooks too. Oh- and all the Neapolitan cookies I made got eaten.

Be an Artist in 10 Steps

2011-04-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

"Be an Artist in 10 Steps" is the title of a book that appeared in a catalog. Wow! now if it was just that easy...Not only that, the book covers pastels, pencils, acrylics, watercolours and oils! Most of us consider art to be a life-long learning process, requiring at least the 10,000 hours to attain any level of proficiency! Even then, we don't rest and continue on the same way. We keep experimenting, keep practicing, keep reading, going to life drawing, attending demos and workshops... somehow I doubt that 10 steps is going to do it. However, it does show that many people are intrigued and challenged with the idea of getting into art. !0 steps is just the tip of the iceberg and I hope the purchasers of the book are happy with their glimpse at "what it takes". Sometimes people gain greater appreciation when they try it themselves, so that's another positive.....My illustration for this one is "Three Pears" which will also be in the "Moms in Our Midst" show at Omega Gallery (27th and Dunbar in Vancouver). It is one of my "Iconic Edibles" where I used metallic gold paint to make the edibles like icons. I'll probably get back to doing more fruit and vegetables but they will, no doubt, be a different series again.

Poppies for Mother's Day

2011-04-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

There is going to be a Mothers' Day Show at Omega Gallery - all the artists will be Moms. I thought something floral might work well for this show. This is a new painting from a photo I took last summer- Poppies by the Fence. The poppies were part of a community garden. They are pink poppies with yellow centres- not the red ones with black centres. They were fun to paint - trying to capture the way light fell on them and the almost-rustic fence. I'll be taking the painting up to Omega on Monday but here it is for viewing now.

Into April...

2011-04-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

I've just done my April Newsletter and realizing that, yes, it is a month until DoorsOpen and there will be quite a bit of organizing to do- setting up displays, doing a re-hanging in the main display area, baking a few cookies so I'll have refreshments and figuring out which painting will be the "free draw". Not to mention actually taking advertising brochures around to as many places as possible. In the meantime, regular activities continue (and we are not mentioning the Spring garden clean-up) -such as Life Drawing and a new session starting for Sculpture. I'm working in water-soluble graphite for Life Drawing- in one of my periodic switches of mediums. The combination of the pencil and wash makes an interesting change....until the next switch. This is one of Lawrence done a couple of weeks ago.

Another book from Apple

2011-03-29T14:40:00.000-07:00

My second book arrived. I did this one as a coil bound. This painting is what I used for the cover design and this is what I wrote about it: " "Journey's End" (24 x 30) is the cover painting as this volume is paintings of close to home landscape, people, and things. Sometimes it is nice to travel and see new sights, but sometimes what is closest is the best. We just have to learn to appreciate what is all around us." So now I have two "Paintings Book"s to have for DoorsOpen - and I'm relatively up to date. Maybe I will have another volume for next year. They are surprisingly easy to make on I-Photo and the delivery is very quick! Next project is definitely getting ready for DoorsOpen which will be May 7th and 8th this year. This is the only time I have an Open Studio and I like to take the time to really get things displayed more than I normally have. I also will do some baking so there will be refreshments. I have a "free draw" for a painting so I"ll have to decide which one it will be. Actually, I usually have two, so the winner has a choice.

In Print!!!

2011-03-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

Excitement today when the Fed-Ex truck delivered my book from Apple! It is a 20-page hardcover with a printed dust-jacket the same as the book. For this "Paintings Book", I selected all paintings about Europe. This book has only one painting per page. My next book, which will be coil-bound has a couple of pages with two paintings. I kept the book simple as I didn't think there was anything to be gained by having a background of a softer view of a painting or by going for any fancy effects like cast shadows. I wanted the paintings to stand alone and I'm really pleased with how it has turned out. This is the cover painting- one that sold at Omega Gallery.It is rooftops of Cesky Krumlov.

"Brush" editing

2011-03-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

Not everything is a matter of photo-editing. Sometimes changes have to be made right on the canvas. This can happen after you think you are "finished" - then something jumps off the canvas and you realize that either a minor - or even major- change has to be made. I noted, in an earlier blog, that "Predictions" didn't make the cut in a selection I was making because the knees proved to be distracting. So, here is the changed canvas. I eliminated the knees, making it just more visible stomach, changed a bit of the beading and the drapery - and I think it works. Marjanka is one of my favorite models. I like the imagination she puts into her outfits and her poses. Next post may show another bit of "brush editing".

Keyed in...

2011-03-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

I've been learning a lot in some sessions at the Apple store. Today I learned more about editing photos. Sometimes it is difficult to get a photo that is *just* like the painting. "Difficult" is not even the right word. There is often a lot lost in the process. Now I've learned more about how to fix it and I've been playing around with some of the photos of paintings. It can be quite surprising. Here is "Keys" after I edited it. Furthermore, it is fun to do!

Spring and growth-

2011-03-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

Now we've changed the clocks and the weather is picking up, it is time to think of growth in many ways. Years ago, we used to see a painter in Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island. He was always in the same spot and always painted the same picture- shafts of light coming down through the evergreens. I'm assuming he sold them - to buyers who had no idea that their painting was virtually a duplicate of many others. Original? -yes, sort of. It wasn't a print and it was freshly painted but without an original thought!
For Life Drawing, I like using different materials. For painting, I like different subjects. I'd probably paint people all the time if I could afford to hire models just for myself. But then, I enjoy plein air, studio painting of landscapes, and even the occasional still life when something really appeals to me. I've done quite a few bouquets and a whole series of fruit and vegetables. I choose subjects because of a strong feeling I have for it. Right now I'm working in a couple of different directions. For me, the enjoyment of painting is the constant challenge and opportunity for growth. I may not always be sure of where I'm going, but I find pleasure in the journey. The painting this time was done about a year ago because I loved the old-style keys. And so the painting is called "Keys". The rest of the story is up to the viewer.

Finn Slough Art Show

2011-03-01T16:17:00.000-08:00

The annual Finn Slough Art Show is on this week. We deliver our paintings for hanging on Wednesday evening and then the show runs through to Sunday afternoon. The reception is on Friday evening- with some entertainment and delicious goodies. This is always a fun show as it is not juried, will include photographs and maybe have some kid's art too. It is always interesting to see the various interpretations of this community. My entry this year is a winter sunset as viewed from the little bridge. Something I learned about the bridge is that the centre part can be removed for boats going further up the slough - and that this section gets chained in place for Hallowe'en! Most of the artists will be there on the Friday evening so that adds to the enjoyment too. Somehow the show keeps getting better and better all the time. You can find out more about this event and about this historical community at the Finn Slough website.

Paintings 2010 up to date

2011-02-25T14:37:00.000-08:00

The posted paintings are now up to date - scroll down on the right side of the web page to see the collection from 2010. It is always interesting to review the year's output- and 15 of them - more than half- are figurative. Two are cats. Five are still-life and two are flowers -one indoors, one outdoors. So that leaves only three that are landscapes- a bit of a switch from how it is sometimes. I might paint more cats - but the current residents are pure black and too hard to see all the detail! The painted cats don't live here - one is a resident of Finn Slough. I have some more ideas for pretty well every category but some depends on opportunity- like having a model to paint. -this one is of Nadine and I call it " The Straw Hat". She looks very tropical but actually posed by a heater in winter. I loved the way the hat made such interesting shadows on her face.

Working on an application...

2011-02-14T16:32:00.001-08:00

My effort for the last bit has been to put together a "package" for an application...details to follow if I actually get it. I've decided to go with all figurative work and had friends in to vote on their choices. I'm including the one of Marjanka that is "Memories" but we decided against this one of "Prediction" although there are certain things I like about it. The "against factor"? - the knees at the bottom of the painting. One friend suggested I just paint them out, at a future time, and I think I might try that. This is one of those times when what was actually *there* (her knees) becomes a thing that doesn't contribute to the success of the piece. So one of these days, I may be posting the changed version.

New Endeavours...

2011-02-10T16:12:00.000-08:00

I just listed myself on the BC Travel page- gobc.ca- as I was looking at another listing and found I could do this one for free. I've posted my snowy painting on it. So that is a new one for me. This week, the figurative show has opened at the Federation Gallery on Granville Island and I have my painting "Little Black Book" in it. This was done last year up in "Gail's Attic" with Helene modeling. We had fun with the set-up - trying to avoid a boring "girl in chair" pose, yet have something that wasn't a strain on the model. We decided to create a "scene" and have her with shoes off. Tanya picked up the shoes and dropped them so they would fall casually and then we also decided to have the book too. I think we had a glass of wine on the table but, in working out what I wanted to paint on the challenge of a different-shaped canvas, I left that out. I had fun painting the shoes. This was a four or five-hour pose and was all painted right then. Definitely the fun way to paint! I probably would choose to paint people over and above most other subjects but I'm waiting to win a lottery so I can afford to hire models all the time. Definitely I would consider portrait painting too but so far have not found a lot of demand in that field.

Successful Opening

2011-02-05T10:33:00.000-08:00

The show at Artizen (Jeanette Jarville's) opened last night with a good crowd attending. Everything looked great and the jewelry, sculpture and pottery really added to the paintings. The show goes on for 6 weeks- opening on Saturdays- but not on February 12th. There is also a silent auction that is a fund-raiser for Juvenile Hockey. There is such a nice variety of art. My magazine Art News runs an advertisement for a gallery that always says "Nothing enhances the beauty of your home like art". This show is an excellent chance to see art displayed in a home- which should help people realize how it might look in their own home........ This painting is "Gary's Woods"- one my paintings on display along with the works of 17 other artists.

Another winter ago-

2011-02-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

In spite of all the threats that this was going to be a bad winter on the Coast, it has been pretty mild most of the time. Two tiny snowfalls - and lots of rain. It has been really easy getting around- not like two years ago when our street was snowed in and I put on my cross-country skis and skied from our front door up to the dyke, something I've never been able to do before! One of the problems with snow here is that we rarely get to actually enjoy it. Usually it snows with a grey sky and then it turns to rain, with more grey and nothing photogenic or paintable at all. But when we do get snow and sunshine, we really feel lucky. This was one such day. I like the reeds and water along the dyke walk which overlooks Sturgeon Banks. I felt the dried reeds added a warmth to this snow scene. This painting is one of three of mine that will be displayed at Artisan Studio as Jeanette Jarville's salute to Winterfest. There are eighteen artists showing this time, including sculptors. The show opens this Friday evening and will be open for 6 weeks (except February 12th) on Saturdays.

More about Emily

2011-01-24T16:29:00.000-08:00

Interesting that when a person is noticing some particular thing, that that "thing" then starts cropping up all over! I've barely finished with the fictionalized account of Emily Carr's life when it seemed like she was mentioned in many places. Now the Globe and Mail had an article about two photos that have been in separate archives and are now together. Photos of a tennis party, one has a young man gazing at Emily instead of at the photographer, while one taken minutes apart has him, seated, leaning against her leg - which as the article states would have been very unusual behaviour for the time. and then there is a recently published story by Carr called "Stone and Heart" in which she recounts a tennis party and a young man lifting her down from a ladder and kissing her. She went on to say "Soon I found the young man was only flirting with me, but too late, my heart was lost. It took 15 years to pull myself out." Interesting indeed, as I found that a far more realistic "romance",considering the times and her upbringing, than the one in "Forest Lover".There is going to be a new Exhibit about Emily Carr at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, curated by Kathryn Bridge. She is hoping to find out who the man in the photos is before "The Other Emily:Redefining Emily Carr" opens in March. -How times have changed! ---- This photo is the figure I did in the last Sculpture session. The nice contrast with the black against the fired white of the sculpture, was provided by a strategically seated cat!

Back at the Easel

2011-01-18T19:33:00.000-08:00

I'm actually working on three paintings at the moment- well- not all at the very same time! One is a large close-up of allium seed-heads - and I'm feeling my way on that one, with pauses between sessions. Another is just a blocking-in of something to have for the next Finn Slough show. The third is *probably* finished. I was working from a coloured conte' drawing from a Life Drawing session. Our model sat on the stand while we were figuring out how we wanted the pose to be. She was just very relaxed and had her feet turned in. It was a bit different, so we decided to go with that pose. I thought it would make a different painting - so here it is. Interestingly enough, while a lot of classical nudes are in major museums and private collections, it is very difficult - at least here on the West Coast- to exhibit nudes --- and even harder to actually sell them.Granted, you might not want one in your living room, but they are nice in a bedroom. Well,maybe that depends on your guests. When my mother was alive, she used to complain, every time she came over, about the nude I had in our bedroom. I still like *that* nude and will post here sometime. And I like this nude too - she has such an impish expression.

Show at Gateway

2011-01-12T10:01:00.000-08:00

Monday, My show at Gateway Theatre was hung. It will be there until February 28th and can be viewed when performances are on and also Monday to Friday from 9 to 1 and 2 to 5. (Enter via the box office door.) It is paintings from my trip to the Czech Republic and Rome - plus a few others. This is what I wrote for the "Statement" - European Memories- While I enjoy painting this wonderful part of the world where we live, I also find excitement in painting a different environment. These scenes of the Czech Republic and Italy bring back treasured memories that I am happy to share. I love paint, brushwork and the play of light and colour. the way light hits cobblestones, shines off red tile roofs and creates delightful reflections in water is all very special. While I want places to be recognizable, I edit and emphasize to create a feeling and capture the essence of a moment. This is one of the paintings in the show- Prague Rooftops.

The Price of Everything

2011-01-04T17:17:00.000-08:00

"The Price of Everything" is the title of a new book by Eduardo Porter, mentioned in an article in today's Globe and Mail.Mr. Porter says that paying a high price for something actually stimulates the brain. He says, "The price is a signal about you, not about the thing. When you pay something for something you're sending a signal about the quality of person that you are. About the resources at your command." Interesting when you think about the story I've told before about the man in a gallery who was set to buy a painting and had his check-book out - only when he found it was $2,000 and not $20,000, he didn't want it. ...and, yet, a lot of people think art prices are a way too high when they might be $500 for a painting. I guess it depends on the market. Recently, a fellow artist admonished some reasonably well-to-do people that she knew who were complaining about an artist's prices. She told them that they didn't question $70 an hour for a car mechanic, so why should the artist be working for low wages? Another factor, rarely considered is that a gallery takes 50% for their expenses. However, the artist has paid for materials and often framing, so actually ends up with slightly less. Maybe we need to somehow suggest that buying a painting "sends a signal about the quality of person you are." Or - like the advertisement for a Park Avenue gallery I saw recently, "Nothing Enhances the Beauty of Your Home Like Art." Have a cup of tea and consider... the painting is of a copper kettle I don't use but keep by the fireplace. It was hand-made in the old B.C. Penitentiary, bought by a guard and given as a wedding present to my parents.

Reading about Art

2010-12-31T12:05:00.000-08:00

In a recent newsletter, Robert Genn commented that he was reading Steve Martin's novel "An Object of Beauty" about dealings in the art world of upscale collectors. Then he added that he- and most artists- don't usually read fiction. The clickbacks now show that lots of artists *do* read fiction and many read about art. I've got 238 pages into "Fall of Giants" by Ken Follet and I'm really enjoying it. I might even end up more knowledgeable about the whole 20th century. Certainly I already know more about coal mining than I did before. However, before that, I finished "The Forest Lover" by Susan Vreeland. I've enjoyed all of Vreeland's books - my favourite is probably "Life Studies", her book of short stories and my favourite novel is"Luncheon of the Boating Party" because it gives such a complete picture of the creation of this painting. However, I had put off reading about Emily Carr as I wasn't sure how I would react to a fictionalized account. I'd read Emily Carr's journals, heard about her and been in children's art classes in the old Vancouver Art Gallery where we were on the floor under paintings by Emily Carr, Lawren Harris and others. She influenced how I saw the West Coast. But, Susan Vreeland did capture her character very well and the descriptions of her trips to First Nation's lands were very well done as was the inner struggle with expressing herself. I could understand the need to invent a character like Claude for the sake of the story - but I really think, given the conventions and morals of the times, that any relationship between a "Claude" and Emily would never have happened. Still, it was worth reading and thinking about the contribution that Emily Carr made towards recognition for female artists. Now I'm looking forward to Vreeland's new novel coming out this January. ....painting here is "The White Gown" which is Iva in a wedding dress - and has nothing to do with reading.

Greetings!

2010-12-19T11:05:00.000-08:00

Down to the count-down to Christmas. I'm interested in the response to cards this year. For the past while, I have been having photocopies made of the photograph of a painting. Then I've glued that down onto a card, written on the inside, identified the painting on the back - and so on. This year I used the computer program to select a card design (plain- all photo) and took an I-photo image of my painting. Then I selected the writing for inside and ordered them from Apple. They came all nicely packaged. I felt that the quality of paint shows up better. Slightly more money but a lot less work. The drawback was that the *whole* painting wouldn't fit the card shape and there was nothing to be done except show part of it. So far, people are quite enthusiastic about the card.I painted this picture because I liked the idea of two kinds of lanterns.I think we need all the light possible in a winter-dark season. The main lantern is an actual miner's lantern that my Dad used in his mining career. Later, he wired it so it could be used with a light bulb. I used "artistic license" to not show the cord. I'm wondering how it would look with a larger painting ("Lanterns" is only 10" x 20") as to showing brushwork and so on. I guess I'll have to wait and see about that... So... Happy Holidays to all!

Drawing Marathon

2010-12-13T19:15:00.000-08:00

Behind in blogs again- one marathon was getting cards out. Then, this past weekend, I took part in a drawing marathon. I didn't do the whole 18 hours, but I did do 6. It was fun - and I certainly would take part again. Since I am not a really fast painter, I worked with coloured conte' crayons -a chalk pastel of medium softness. One session was a nude in 30-minute poses, after some warm-up poses. Another was a ballerina in a two-hour pose - again- after some warm-up poses. We had a showing with a reception at the end of the weekend and I thought I'd take my two-hour drawing. Upon reflection, I decided it was too pastel and too static and a thirty-minute pose was much more dynamic - so- here is my almost-reclining nude.

Change of Medium

2010-11-20T16:34:00.000-08:00

I was just reading where Marc Chagall said "I work in whatever medium likes me at the moment". I certainly know that I like to switch around at times. Right now, at Wednesday night Life Drawing, I'm working in pencil crayons in a sketchbook. On Amazon, there was an offer for "Multicultural Crayons", "Colors of my Friends" - so- how could I resist? I ordered a box and added it to my stash. It has a nice variety of browns, mostly and gives some extra choice - but I still took the big Dick Blick collection. The crayons are nice but not as waxy and blendable as Dick Blick and Prismacolour. For now, then, I'm enjoying the change to coloured pencils. Each medium gives a different feel to the drawings. Here they are - and a sample drawing. The "15" marked on the page means it ws a 15-minute pose.

Small, Smaller and Smallest

2010-11-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

The painting show of small size works opens this coming Tuesday - the 16th- at the Federation Gallery on Granville Island. It will be a good show as there will be lots of pieces in it and prices are very reasonable since the paintings are small. It makes a great opportunity to buy a one-of-a-kind Christmas gift -- and you don't have to worry about whether it will fit the recipient. I have a 12" x 6" painting of a cat in this show. I've called it "Bliss". I don't think any creature can get a more blissful expression than a cat! If you want to check out the show, the images should be posted on the Federation of Canadian Artists website once the show opens. Avoid the crowds at the malls and visit the Federation Gallery----

Not 68.9 Million

2010-11-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

I read where Modigliani's seated nude has gone for 68.9 million- a record for his work. I wonder where it went. Let us at least hope it will be in a museum where people can see it. I read a wonderful short story by Susan Vreeland in her collection, "Life Studies", that is a fictionalized account of Modigiliani's daughter. "In the Absence of Memory" is well worth reading. Too bad that there is such a discrepancy with works by dead artists selling for huge sums while living artists are often making few sales at all. I think that there are lots of good artists around these days, with works at reasonable prices. But maybe that is the problem? I read where a fellow was ready to write a cheque for a painting, then when he found it was $2,000 and not $20,000, he didn't want it! I guess he just wanted to be a big spender- but if you like something, why not have it? If you enjoy it and 10 years later, it is worth more- well, good for all. If not, then you've enjoyed it for ten years and will probably still be enjoying it - so who cares what artificial price is on it? In the meantime, I'm carrying on with my own "Life Studies". This one is a coloured conte' drawing. She is standing, not seated - but I'd probably consider 68.9 *dollars*, rather than 68.9 million!

practical application-

2010-11-04T11:43:00.000-07:00

Today I was going to spend the morning painting on a very large painting (well. 30" by 48")- but, instead, found myself working on my cat problems. My daughter's two cats are currently resident and have been menaced by a large prowling cat. CatStop electronic devices in the garden are out there- but have to be turned off if Digby and Isabella are let out. They *love* the garden but are terrified of this other cat that has attacked them. I take a water-gun out when I'm gardening and have succeeded in my shots, some of the time. Other times I end up chasing the cat and amusing the neighbours. Desperation leads to desperate measures - so now I have made up a poster and will print it out and post it up. -Oh well, art put to practical purposes.

Another kind of sculpture!

2010-11-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

Before it is too late, I thought I'd post a picture of this year's Hallowe'en pumpkin. I'm against all the commercialization of Hallowe'en decorations. It is getting so people think they can't carve a pumpkin without buying a stencil. I decided that scary was not the way to go- stencils can be scarier!- and that I would just have to come up with a not-seen-everywhere design. I did a carving as if Picasso might have done it - and this is the result. I even got a few compliments from the trick-or-treaters coming around. However, it is from artistic glory to the compost box for this piece of sculpture.

trying again-

2010-10-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

There seems to be no rhyme or reason when photos won't "publish" - can't click "done" if "done"does not appear!

Fraserview Church View Gallery

2010-10-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

Sunday, the View Gallery opened a new show, following Margreth's.Larry Tillyer is the featured artist. This is called "Around the Corner" and is streets and houses around Vancouver. Done in Larry's colourful style, it is a joy to see. Barb Bowen, as usual, has done a great hanging job and the space shows off the paintings well. We are fortunate to have Fraserview doing this community outreach and giving artists a space to show their work. I know I certainly appreciated having paintings on show early this year. The picture shows Larry with Barb Bowen and a glimpse of Larry's impressionistic take on a house. I think I"d like to live there!

From October 21-

2010-10-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

Steveston Folk Music Guild put on a very enjoyable evening's entertainment on the 21st. Marvin forgot his picture (!) and Rita hadn't finished hers, but Bonita, Adrienne and I took our paintings of Elsa for display. Elsa was really pleased with them all.Each one was individual and captured different aspects of the model and the idea of performance. In the photo, Bonita's painting is just peeking over Elsa's shoulder. It shows the drama and ambiance of performance. Adrienne's is in her colourful style. In mine, I wanted to have a lot of warmth as well as the sparkle of the model. Elsa has a wonderful voice and can do those "trills" to perfection. (Do not expect knowledgeable music critique from me!) - Jose Gimenez is Guitar in the duo - Sangre Morena. Songs from many Latin countries were performed and Elsa often made variations on her costume to suit the country. There was a good crowd out- even on a rainy evening!

Music and art together-

2010-10-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago our drawing group was fortunate to have Elsa Rojas Marquez model for us. I did a pastel as well as several sketches. Elsa allowed us to take photos so I had a photo-reference as well as the pastel.Then, it turned out that Sangre Morena - of which Elsa is the "voice" was slated to perform at Britannia on October 21st and Rita McArthur arranged that we could show our artwork. I decided to work on a painting as it is more "complete" looking. The pastel would have to be matted and framed with glass to be shown properly. I also wanted the painting to have more warmth than the conte' drawing. So - here it is! I will take it to the performance on the 21st.

-we try again

2010-09-28T13:43:00.001-07:00

here is the photo

Grand Prix of Art- Steveston

2010-09-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

The "sun dance" a volunteer said that she did for us, must have worked because we had a beautiful day for the first annual Grand Prix. For next year, I have ideas for improving the registration procedure - but, we did it and got everyone through on time! I had a bit of a time adjusting from my organizing part of the brain to the artistic section- and no time to go anywhere but stay at Britannia- but I did paint and had a bit of fun. I just painted two other artists in action. No masterpiece, but passersby enjoyed the concept. Everyone did a great job and the judges had difficulty choosing. All the results are on the website - www.grandprixofart.com ....so, here I am in a floppy Tilley hat, collapsed on the "stage" with my stuff all spread out. Not so sure if I'll post the resulting painting or not!

New show at View Gallery

2010-09-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

Work and planning continues for the Grand Prix of Art ****this**** Saturday, but other art events continue too. Margreth Fry's show "Once Upon A Story" opened at the View Gallery in Fraserview Church on Sunday. Some of the paintings have accompanying stories that tell about growing up in a little Swiss village. Other paintings are some of her more recent work. I took this photo of Margreth by a fairly new one. Someone has converted a boat to shelves for potted plants and Margreth has captured it in her colourful way.

Sculpture class

2010-09-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Painting, of course, is a two-dimensional thing- although a person is representing something three-dimensional. Back at Art school, we took a sculpture class in the first year. I liked it- to a certain extent- but didn't feel it was my strongest point. However, we did work in pairs and did portrait heads. We had calipers to measure each other as they were life size. They were meant to be cast and never got to that stage.Last year I had the chance to take a sculpture class through Richmond Potters. We worked on sculptures that were fired. We did have an inner support that had to be removed later and the inside hollowed out. Since they were to be fired in a kiln, they were definitely not life-size. I worked from photos of Marjanka who had posed for some of us. I decided to do a head, rather than figure study - and- a bit to my surprise- it actually turned out quite well. It even survived firing! Now I have signed up for another session and am doing a complete (clothed) figure of a friend. It is a good experience to be working in three-dimensions. It is supposed to help your drawing...not sure of that... but it is interesting to do. The photo is my head before firing - now she is white in colour.

Elsa-

2010-08-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, at Adrienne's, we had a flamenco dancer model for us. Elsa is very dramatic looking and the poses were striking. For the "long pose", I worked in coloured conte' again ( hard pastel) as I am not a really fast painter. (I guess I will have to speed up for the Grand Prix of Painting in Steveston at the end of September!) I felt pretty good about capturing the tension in Elsa's arms in this pose. Now I intend to make a painting from this. Serendipity arises in that Elsa will be performing in October in Steveston and we will have a chance to show our paintings at her performance!

Doodling

2010-08-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

One of the things artists are often asked is to make a donation. This is something most of us like to do - but, on occasion, as it can get out of line otherwise. However, I've just taken part in a fun "donation" - three sets of doodles being sent to "Oodles of Doodles", the fundraiser for Surrey Hospice association. I don't usually doodle in an abstract way - but rather faces or "things". For this, I did cats, kids and birds. Of course, they are fun and imaginary - and I hope they will work hard to help raise funds for the Hospice. Here is the bird one- birds have such extraordinary variety that they are quite "imaginary" to start with... but I tried to go "one better" in most cases.

Progress on the Plein Air event!

2010-08-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Well, much progress has been made on the plein air painting in Steveston. We are getting sponsors so there should be lots of "participation" awards for both artists and volunteers. There is a website set up now---www.grandprixofart.com which will have more information as time goes along- but whoa! time is moving along as this is all to happen on September 25th! The limit is 50 artists and I wouldn't be surprised if it fills up well before the date. The excitement is definitely building! In the meantime, I have turned the pastel (shown on the blog on November 27th,2009) of Milford, into the inspiration for a painting- shown here. Milford has the most interesting costumes! (and is an interesting person).

Another go...

2010-08-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

As I've said, one of the good things about acrylics is that you can change things. Remember "Grandmother's Gown"? As in previous posts, I did work to warm it up once- but now I've had another go at it. This time, I made even more changes to the warmth- and also added an earring- and I feel much happier about it. The other thing I have been working on is an event for "Cultural Days" - a cross-Canada celebration of the arts at the end of September. The Guild is going to sponsor a plein-air painting event. Artists will have three hours to complete a painting - in the Steveston area- and there will be prizes. People can walk around to see the artists at work, and later even vote for "people's choice". It will be open to all artists but there will be registration. We don't have registration forms yet but Saturday, September 25 is the day to mark on your calendar for Steveston's Gran Prix d'Art.

Show in Hallway

2010-08-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

Today the Richmond Artists Guild hung a show of member's work in the Minoru hallway of the Richmond Art Centre. I have two paintings in the exhibit. One is "Baskets" which is posted on my June 11 blog and the other is "Iris Garden"-which I intend to post here. Iris Garden is a view of a house (gardener's house?)and nearby irises as seen from the gardens of the Lieutenant-Governor's residence in Victoria, B.C. We had an enthusiastic group out with their paintings and there is a nice variety - definitely worth dropping in to see if you are in Richmond. Blogging has fallen behind as there have been many meetings and other events. Stay tuned for something exciting to happen for Cultural Days at the end of September. I've been working on something which is not ready for an announcement yet.

July's Art Scene - "To Each His Own"

2010-07-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

Here we are in July and time for a couple of summer art events. The Summer Group Show at Omega gallery will be showing some of my paintings. Because of space limitations, not all will be hung at the same time. (But if you are interested, you can ask to see them) I have posted some in the blogs, previously- there is "Spices", "Lanterns", "Blink" and "Finn Slough Spring" - along with this one - "To Each His Own". The reason for the title is fairly obvious as the kayaker paddles past the yachts at Granville Island! The other upcoming event is the Fraser River Art Festival at London Farm on July 11th from 10 until 5. There will be a number of artists as well as face-painting for the kids. This is one I've never done before but I'm assured that it is fun- and I sort of got my arm twisted by a couple of other artists who told me that I just *had* to do it. I will be taking some of the small fruit and veggie paintings that work out great for kitchens as acrylic can be wiped off in the event of a cooking disaster! I'll also take a variety of other paintings, especially local scenes. Now all we have to do is hope that the weather cooperates - but we all have tents for coverage. ... and so we move through the summer...

Art Handling Olympics

2010-06-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

The current issue of "Art News" magazine reports on a fun competition for art handlers. "Accompanied by music from Chariots of Fire, Rocky, and The Price is Right, contestants hung pictures of kittens, packed up pizza boxes and trash by artists named Panini and Bruschetta, and assembled installations without instructions." The goal was "to spotlight the skills that we use" and to bring art handlers together as a community. Onlookers had styrofoam chickens to throw at contestants in "Speed Hanging" and "Static Hold" among other rounds. One art handler vouched for the authenticity - "what you see is exactly- as a parody- what we go through." I was amused to read this after another episode of "art handling" that I just went through. Along with a number of local artists, I was recently in a situation where there was an hour to bring in and arrange a display to assist a charitable foundation in its fund-raising. Meantime, everyone else, and the caterers too, were going lickety-split to assemble their areas. It was a bit frantic and wearing - and because of poor sound, the attendees appeared to have no idea as to why the artists were there at all! I felt we were regarded with the same lack of enthusiasm that results from the realization that to exit the castle/tourist-attraction, you have to leave via the gift shop. Anyway, I had a few good conversations and nobody threw styrofoam chickens.- and here is a painting shown recently- "Baskets" is 12" x 16" framed acrylic on canvas.

"Limpid"

2010-05-31T14:53:00.000-07:00

I've been noticing lately how one word often keeps cropping up repeatedly. Right now, for me, that word is "limpid". This is *not* a word that I am especially fond of. I somehow get a mental picture- if the word is used as "limpid blue eyes" - of someone with a vacant stare. Must be the "limp" part! I prefer to use "clear", "translucent" or even "pellucid". .. Anyway, this "limpid" keeps cropping up in a book I am reading about the Impressionists. The current one is a history - but, before that I read "The Swan Thieves", a novel by Elizabeth Kostova. The novel is about an imaginary woman painter during the time of the Impressionists but there are actual historical references too - such as the Prussians destroying hundreds of Pissaro's canvases. An interesting novel. I enjoy reading *real* art history and also historical fiction. I liked Susan Vreeland's "Luncheon of the Boating Party" - all about Renoir and the painting of his masterpiece. Some other glimpses of Impressionists were in a few of the stories in her "Life Studies" too. Thankfully, neither Kostova nor Vreeland were addicted to the use of "limpid". I'll post a painting that was in the recent show at the Federation Gallery - Roman winter- are the colours "limpid"? I think of it as clear winter light...

Life Drawing

2010-05-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

For the recent "DoorsOpen", I made a display on one wall that had drawings from one life-drawing session- Iva in her ballet outfit- and then I posted the following explanation. Life drawing is called "life drawing" because it is drawing from life - from a live model. The model is often "undraped" (nude) in order that the artists can better understand anatomy. Sometimes the model is "draped" (clothed)- which can actually be harder as besides needing an awareness of how the body is moving under the clothing, the artist has to draw the clothing itself, with all its folds and drapery. Each life drawing group has its own format as to how the poses are set up and the timing planned. One person is the timer and, usually, another sets the lighting. Some groups are silent but it is more usual to have music playing. Again, the music will vary with the group. In the group in which these drawings were done, the format is five one-minute poses, five two-minutes poses - for warm-up - then four five-minute poses which are actually the same pose but the model rotates 360 degrees. This rotation pose is excellent practice in anatomy and drawing from different angles - along with the problems of "foreshortening", the term used to describe perspective relating to the human form. Then, in this group, we do a "long pose" - half an hour, then a coffee break followed by a return to the same pose for a further hour. The last hour is in two half-hours to give the model a break between.

Brushwork Variety reception-

2010-04-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Last night was the opening reception for "Brushwork Variety". The Federation Gallery looked great and the paintings were all nicely grouped and displayed to advantage. The back wall had at least one from each of the seven artists in the show- which was a really nice touch. We had a good turn-out and everyone seemed to enjoy the food. I did a bit of sitting after the concrete floor got to me. (I found I was stiffening up with standing!) However, a night's rest cured that. This painting is one that is in the show. It is "Trastevere September" and is just a walk down from where my daughter was living in Rome. I love the way light comes down between the buildings and catches on the cobblestones. It is amazing how the streets last through time. Apparently, drainage is actually better with cobblestones. Another thing is that they are endlessly recyclable so no doubt are more environmentally friendly than our flat asphalt. My paintings are from the trip to Europe but the rest of the show has a lot of variety and much appeal. It runs through to May 2nd and is worth a trip to Granville Island.

The Diva

2010-04-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is "delivery day" for the Finn Slough paintings. Then the exhibit will run Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday just to noon (pick-up time). As noted last post, the reception is Friday evening. On Valentine's Day, a number of artists were invited to a tea at Finn Slough. This was a very nice event and all of us who went, really enjoyed it. I was pleased to meet "Barbra", the subject of this painting. The cat is actually a male, but is a real diva. He looked so elegant sitting in the window, backlit. I was able to get a number of photos. (Cheers for digital when you can just keep snapping away and not "waste film" if the subject turns his head.) At any rate, this was fun to paint and will be something different for the show.

More Events!

2010-03-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

Much is happening. I've finished two new paintings for the Art About Finn Slough show and will be taking them over next week to the lecture hall in Richmond Arts Centre. The reception will be on Friday evening, April 9th, from 7 to 9 pm. A lot of planning is now going in to the Federation of Canadian Artists Group Show in which I am to be one of seven selected artists. We are: Bob Araki, Sharleen Hartfiel, Etsu Inouye, Michael Knox, Larry Tillyer. David McHolm and me, Loraine Wellman. We are calling it Brushwork Variety. This will run from April 2oth to May 2nd in the Federation Gallery on Granville Island. We are having a reception on April 22 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm when the artists will be there and there will be refreshments in abundance. Bob is bringing sushi and I'm making butter tarts - and there will be lots more! ... and May will start with DoorsOpen May 1st and 2nd from 10 am to 4 pm, when I will have an Open Studio... more on this later. Last blog showed a Finn Slough painting- so this one will show one from Granville Island - not one in the Group Show, but one that is currently up at Omega Gallery.

Finn Slough

2010-03-12T13:09:00.000-08:00

Right now, I'm working on two new paintings for the Finn Slough Art Show, which will be April 8, 9 and 10th - with the reception being on the 9th from 7 to 9pm at Richmond Art Centre in the Lecture Hall. The one I did last year is "Finn Slough Spring" and is one of the five paintings up at Omega Gallery.
Finn Slough is one of the few remaining pieces of natural near-wild riverside environment. It dates back to the early 1890's when a group of Finnish people arrived in south Richmond. That, of course, was before the area was even known as Richmond. Because of flooding - hand-built dykes did not really keep the river off the land- a lot of the houses were built on pilings. The settlers were mainly fishermen and needed a safe harbour for their boats. Today, there are still fishermen, fishing nets and fishboats but many of the people living at Finn Slough are active in the arts- painting, design, music and so on. They have a society which is endeavouring to preserve and maintain the heritage values of Finn Slough. For a painter, the place is a "natural". I wonder how many paintings and photographs there are of the "Mermaid III" ? I was sorry when the old net loft collapsed into the river as it was lovely to paint- with the interesting shadows created by its boards. Every painting I have done of the "Eva" has sold - but, no, I'm doing something different this year.

Lanterns at Omega

2010-03-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

I was up at Omega Gallery today - and noted that traffic definitely seemed lighter. Could it be that more people decided that the Canada Line is the way to go? It certainly makes it easy if you are going downtown but it doesn't work for going to Dunbar with canvases in the trunk! Tien Ching decided to keep five for now. One is "Blink" from a couple of blogs ago and one is "Lanterns" which I'll post here. The miner's lantern is a real one that was actually used by my Dad at Coleman, Alberta. Later, he wired it so it could be used as a lamp. I don't actually use it but I'm glad to have it as a bit of history with a personal connection. Tien is not displaying these paintings right now but a person can always ask to see them! This was interesting to set up - first I had a lighter background because I liked the cast shadows of the lantern plant (Physalis alkekengi ) but then it didn't seem right to have a miner's lantern sitting out in the light, so I re-draped the stand and settled on the darker background. After adjusting the light, I was fairly pleased as I felt it captured the glow that lanterns provide.

Olympics and Artistic Growth

2010-02-26T17:17:00.000-08:00

Well, the Olympics are coming to a close. I've found myself more interested in speed-skating after our drawing groups involvement in a speedskating project. We went to watch some practices and an early competition. We were able to do sketching and also take photos. Then we completed a painting or two for submission to Speed Skate Canada. We also made a group collage of our sketches. Selected paintings and our collage- along with a wonderful video documenting our project (made by Mike Hughes) - were then exhibited in Richmond's City Hall and are currently being auctioned off. Some are also printed on cards and even posters. It was a really interesting project and I was glad to be part of it- although my painting was not selected for the big display. We had fun being at the Oval and had a great group camaraderie. I had a great time studying how artists have portrayed movement- and I enjoyed trying to do so. However, this *did* result in a painting that would not easily lend itself to being copied commercially! Definitely it would not work for printing on a sweat-shirt, for example. However- another interesting attempt - and isn't it, after all, through trying different things that we grow as artists?

Life Drawing variables

2010-02-23T16:02:00.000-08:00

Life Drawing can change from group to group. In one group we always start with 5 one-minute poses, then five two-minute poses and then a four-times-five pose in which the model poses for five minutes then rotates 90 degrees to assume the same pose- until a full 360 degree turn has been made. That's a good one for improving drawing ability from all angles. Then, in that group, it is on to 10 minute and 20 minute poses - so lots of variety to the session. In another group, we have a long pose -usually one and a half hours, after the "warm-ups". Of course, this is broken up with breaks for the model. Sometimes this is draped, or semi-draped. This pose gives some a chance to paint - or, for me, a chance to get out the coloured conte' crayons and do a pastel. I'm not a fast painter but I love the chance to work in colour and to have time to work on a "likeness".

New Gallery

2010-02-07T16:03:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm *almost* up-to-date as there has been a new digital gallery added - Gallery 2009. I've just been adding titles and sizes to the images. Quite a few are European paintings. Funny, it doesn't seem that long ago in some ways- and like a million years ago in other ways. This is one of the "not- Europe" paintings. The title "Blink" is because one of the books is just that. So, would the impression of the painting also be made in a blink? The jug is an original piece of pottery bought at Circle Craft on Granville Island.

We'll try again-

2010-01-21T20:48:00.001-08:00

-and here should be the photo

Ceperely Park

2010-01-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

The exhibition "Just a Season" continues at Fraserview Church (until February 28th) I had quite a few questions as to where Ceperely Park was. It is actually part of Stanley Park and I'm not quite sure why that piece got a separate name. Further, I gather that the name is no longer in common use. It is the area with the playground by the swimming pool. I understand it also included the area beyond Lost Lagoon where there is the little stone bridge. There are also group picnic table areas and I remember being on a Sunday School picnic there once. My painting is in the winter, however, with the sun setting. There are ducks silhouetted in the foreground water. The row of trees in the background is along the Seawall walk. This photo shows Barb Bowen adjusting the painting.

Rachel Revisited

2010-01-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

One of the neat things about acrylic paints is that they can be painted over. After viewing the painting of Rachel - see two blogs ago- I decided that it had to be warmed up. So I did some glazing with this result. The model has a cool skin tone and there was no "real" background- just more artists. So I had just used a complimentary colour. However, it was a cool complementary - and the later decision was to warm that up as well as warm the skin tones just a bit. I'm not sure the difference shows in a photo - but it does when you see the actual painting.

"Just a Season"

2010-01-05T21:13:00.000-08:00

"Just a Season" was the title Barb Bowen decided on for the exhibition I am having at Fraserview Church (11295 Mellis Drive) which opens this Sunday (January 10th). Barb wanted my snow paintings but then also some hinting at a turn of the season to Spring.I'm glad that snow is confined to the paintings and the mountaintops and isn't down here making traffic miserable like last year. There will be a reception at 11:30 AM. Church is at 10 - but people can come to just the reception. Having an art gallery in a church is such a nice thing and it is exciting to be showing there. With the Art Centre regular functions closed down because of the Olympics, classes are moving temporarily to Fraserview - so there should be lots of traffic through the church then.
The church will be projecting one of the paintings on the big screen in the sanctuary before services start and also using one on the church bulletins- so that is really nice too. "Winter Pond" is the one on the poster and is quite recognizable to people who walk the dyke by Sturgeon Banks. Part of my "artist statement" says "I want my work to be representational to the extent that the viewer can feel 'Oh yes, I remember that', but I also edit and emphasize so that something more is felt, the essence of the moment is evoked and a connection is made to the viewer."

Happy 2010

2009-12-31T17:34:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the end of a decade! Remember when the big fear, going in to 2000, was computers crashing and airplanes falling from the sky? Well, they didn't and here we are looking back on ten years and wondering what this next year will bring. For me, I hope there is lots of art activity. The guild managed to get the painting room for the weekend of the 19th and 20th and we had a good session painting a model. It was great to get actual paints out - rather than pastels- and have enough hours to finish. Unless I am painting something small, outdoors, there is no way I can complete a painting in two hours. As usual, I was painting with acrylics on canvas. We had our lovely model in a replica ballgown, kindly supplied by Sharon. It made a good subject. From my position, a couldn't see very much of the skirt, so I just did head and shoulders. Since then, not much in painting - but I did "create" Christmas dinner - and there is a whole year ahead!

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-24T22:07:00.000-08:00

I put Happy Holidays on my cards this year because it can apply to everyone - no matter what their religion. This year, the transit buses flash Happy Holidays in between telling their destinations. It makes a happy greeting when a person is out driving.
This year I used "Towers, Cesky Krumlov" on my cards. There is the clock tower from the castle and a church tower down below. Memories of last years "happy holiday".

Here we go again-

2009-12-19T18:58:00.000-08:00

This should show "Homeward Bound" this time. Well,last blog, I clicked on "show image", uploaded the image and it would have published to the post once I clicked "done" -only "done" did not show up to be clicked. This is a Mac and it usually works "tickedy-boo" as people used to say. Every now and then it doesn't - as you can tell from past posts. My theory is that computers have moods and some just "don't wanna.."

Paintings at Steveston

2009-12-19T17:45:00.000-08:00

The Richmond Artists Guild was invited to display paintings in MLA John Yap's office in Steveston -right around the corner from Starbucks. Some paintings are on the Olympic sports theme while others are of Steveston and Finn Slough. Each one is by a different artist but they all work together very well and quite bring the office walls to life. Parking can be dicey in Steveston, but I got lucky and parked right outside the office - a good thing, since I had a four-foot ladder in the car for our hanging job. I took a little 24' x 12" acrylic on canvas painting called "Homeward Bound" so it would fit a little wall. It is a fishboat heading back up the Fraser River. It is a nice opportunity to show works- and we are hoping that we will be invited to continue with different shows.

Another day, another drawing

2009-12-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

Today was drawing at Gail's and we had Helene for a model. She has such a twinkle in her eyes. I love her curly hair and had fun with hair in my pastel drawing. Well, I call it a drawing but some people refer to these more finished pieces as pastel *paintings*. We were talking a bit about modelling and how some people think it is easy -"just sit". However, holding a pose is not that simple and getting back into the same position, after a break, requires a real sense of presence. Also, there is a rapport between the model and the artist or artists. Helene said that the model has to be in the present moment. If she is modelling for a class, she will adjust her poses to the points that the instructor is teaching. We got the lighting just right and all the results turned out well. Of course, each artist has his or her own style so there were individual interpretations. I love drawing people and am definitely interested in doing portraits - should the opportunity arise. Some artists do a lot of obvious measuring. I used to - but quite often I just "eyeball" it - comparing shapes to shapes as I block it in - maybe it is a bit looser that way?

Milford in costume

2009-11-27T15:50:00.000-08:00

Today was a good drawing day. We had Milford in a costume he had created. He looked somewhat like a cavalier. He is a very creative guy - has been both a boxer and a dancer, had a radio show, does creative designs- and today, made a terrific subject. After ten warm-up drawings, we spent the rest of the session on the one pose - with breaks, of course. I had fun again with my bigger box of conte' crayons. I thought the face turned out especially well. Maybe, when some other projects are out of the way, I will do an acrylic painting.

Lots of Activity!

2009-10-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

The "artist's life" has been very busy lately. A group of us from Life Drawing has been over at Richmond Oval sketching the Canadian Speed-Skating Team. The plan is to produce some finished work that will be juried to make a selection for display during the Olympics. When we do our life drawing, our short "warm-up" poses are one minute. *One second* is more like a speed-skating sketch - so it is a real challenge to get the angle and gesture and feel of it all. Interestingly, after drawing at the Oval, we had a regular drawing session and the one and two minute poses seemed to give a person all the time in the world to draw! Then, we were given the lower hallway at the Cultural Centre to display paintings, so that was fun getting the chains hanging at the right levels. My painting "Rendezvous" is hanging there. Also, we have had meetings to organize our website and it is now up and running- www.richmondartistsguild.com -and for anyone wanting the Multifaith Calendar for 2010 - go to www.multifaithcalendar.com

Here is the painting-

2009-10-05T21:26:00.001-07:00

This is supposed to have been added to the post....

2010 Multifaith Calendar

2009-10-05T21:06:00.000-07:00

The 2010 Multifaith Calendar is out! "Enduring" is the painting for the month of June and I was able to borrow the painting back from Richmond Hospital Foundation for the launch.This painting was originally done for the Richmond Art Gallery's themed juried show "Changing City". I thought it would be interesting to twist the idea to something that had *not* changed. I especially liked the Murakami garden because it was not at all what you would first expect. This is the artist statement from that exhibition "My painting is called "enduring" because it is about something that has lasted, rather than changed. The Japanese words for Murakami, "garden", "enduring" and "living history" are carved into the textured fence posts while English written words are hidden throughout the painting. I have painted this garden before because it is an expression of a free-spirited woman making her statement. I thought a re-interpretation would show that some things carry on. I wanted to celebrate a piece of living history that continues while change occurs around it." The calendar is really lovely and it was nice to meet some of the other artists. It is possible to buy the calendar online at www.multifaithcalendar.com

Busy Weekend-

2009-09-29T12:12:00.000-07:00

This Saturday is the Artists for Animals auction for the Kensington Foundation. It will be at the Cambrian Hall 215 E.17th Avenue, Vancouver with the viewing starting at 11:30. I have donated paintings from my Iconic Edibles series. A catalog and more details are at the Kensington Foundation's website.
Sunday is the Calendar Launch for 2010 Multifaith Calendar. It is from 2-4 pm at St.Andrew's Theological College, U.B.C. There will be refreshments and local artists will be there with their art. I am borrowing back "Enduring" from Richmond Hospital. This art calendar is very popular as it shows religious holidays for all different religions. The little cat, "Streetwise", is here because I just recently made some changes to it - one thing I like about acrylics. I decided a bit of palette-knife work could add to the fur and give the painting more life. This is a cat who meows in French.

A new box of colours!

2009-09-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

Most people remember the beginning of a school year and the excitement of a new box of crayons. For artists, this excitement doesn't end with the end of school years. Every new tube of paint, different pen or new media is a fresh thrill. I just got a new box of 48 colours of conte' crayons. I often draw quick poses at Life Drawing in sepia or black conte' and I've used some other colours for long poses. However, this is my very first box of 48 colours. It came in the mail and when I opened up the package, the colours were so enticing I felt like licking the plastic cover! Conte' is a hard pastel, rather than a soft pastel - so not so crumbly but still very nice to work with. You can blend it and layer it to build up colours. Last night, Iva posed in a costume from Bohemia. I did a 30-minute colour sketch on black paper. Why black? Well, I was at the end of one assorted pad and down to four black sheets so felt I *should* use at least one before getting a new pad. When I started, I was afraid I'd made a mistake using the black - but decided to take a "what the heck" approach and charge ahead. It was only one sheet of paper and thirty minutes of time. As I progressed,it started to turn into fun and I ended up reasonably pleased... although I must say not a great resemblance to Iva who looks much plumper than in real life. A couple of more assorted sheets plus at least one more black and then I'll open the new pad of coloured pastel paper for fresh excitement!

Spices

2009-08-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

The new issue of the Federation of Canadian Artist's magazine, Art Avenue, is now out and my painting, Spices, is in it on the page about Summer Gallery. This was a fun painting as it is quite textured. I also did a lot of glazing to build up those wonderful "spicy" colours. Anyway- nice to see it - even if they did misspell my name. So many people feel they need to "correct" the spelling - but I *am* a one-R Loraine. My mother gave me three names - two grandmother's and one just for me (Loraine) so she felt she had to eliminate something. I'm glad she did- it is a little different- but I do wish other people would spell my name in my way!

Missing sketch-

2009-08-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the water-soluble graphite sketch that was supposed to go with the last post. Just when I think I'm honing my technological skills, my program starts balking at adding the images! ...anyway, this Helene in an 8 by 11 sketchbook at our Life Drawing summer party...

Water-soluble graphite pencils

2009-08-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

Last night was Life Drawing and for this group, I'm working in a sketchbook - sometimes with ink but mostly with water-soluble graphite pencils. With them, a person draws - and erases- as with a regular pencil. Then, with a brush dipped in plain water, the drawing is "fixed"and also blends so that shadows become washes. It works very nicely as it involves carrying a light load on supplies. Now, one sketchbook is completed. On the reading front, I am now into volume two of the Matisse biography - Matisse the Master- up to page 173 and WWI has begun.