Twelve Days of Christmas

It is twelve days before Christmas - so I thought I'd show my "12 Days of Christmas" ornaments. The *real* twelve days of Christmas have Christmas as the first day and run to Epiphany. However, I notice that stores are having the twelve days of shopping so my pictures are running before too.
These are paper mache' baubles that I bought a few years ago. They are, of course, unbreakable and, even though they are a decent size, lightweight. I gessoed the balls first, sanded and then painted in acrylics. They are then varnished with a gloss acrylic varnish.  This is the first one and here is the partridge.  These were fun to do.  This year, due to the kitchen renovation and attendant upheaval, I'm not having a tree but I'll put these ornaments on the mantelpiece along with some cedar. It might be interesting to  paint some other decorations some time but I haven't seen any more paper mache' baubles.

Back to the tools

A while back, I did a small series on old tools that used to belong to my Dad. They were "mixed media" pieces with some collaging from construction diagrams in the backgrounds.  Recently, I was clearing out some more tools - most of which were happily taken away by my son- when I felt that just maybe it was time to paint some more. This is the only one completed so far - and is, of course, a keyhole saw. I felt it almost had a personality! At any rate, it was fun to do. There may be more to come. I have a screwdriver that has so much more to it than the modern screwdrivers. I want to record that too.

Some practical painting

Just in case you have been wondering why I haven't been posting as frequently...Well I'm undergoing a reno around here. The main thing is the kitchen - but there was a bit of spin-off into the laundry room as some plumbing for the kitchen overhead had to be dealt with. It all ended up in a new wall and new shelving in the laundry room. So... I've been painting a bit with a roller and a gallon can. The colour is "Waterfall" by Benjamin Moore. I had a space left between the shelves so I could hang a painting and also cover the access to the main shut-off valve. The Prague rooftops with the copper edgings oxidizing to turquoise seemed a good choice. I'm happy to have it clean and bright and with the plumbing fixed up and easy shut-off access.   I have been doing the "usual" amount of drawing so may post some pictures of drawings. But here is the practical side of painting...

Dream Cities

I've finally got around to sending off the 2011 paintings so they can be added to the website. There are four "Dream Cities" in the set.  This series is about cities as you imagine them- before the trip, as it were. Everything is ideal. Then you get there and your feet are sore, the traffic is horrendous and the place is polluted! This series started when I was working on the Winter Sunset, Finn Slough painting and thought , "What if the telephone poles were minarets?" One thing led to another and I began to imagine an Istanbul-like place looking magical with reflections. I've never been there- so it really is a "dream city". So far there are 6 in the series and I'm not sure, but maybe, the series is completed- or the dreams may continue with totally imaginary cities and places. At this point, I don't know.

Ordering card

I decided it was time to think about a Christmas card. I used to get multiple photocopies, cut them out and paste them onto cards. Then I decided to try Apple and loved the quality and ease (no cutting, no pasting...already done!) The big decision is just what painting to use. I had a new poppy painting but I used "Poppies by the Fence" last year. I'd recently hung "Birches in Winter" in the entry hall and had several comments on it - so I thought -why not? This is the view I see when I sit at my computer. The birds are Redwing blackbirds.  I thought I would just be picking a painting for the front of the card - but- wow! - the new design offerings has one with a strip of mini paintings down each side of the message- so all of a sudden I was thinking about which ten or so paintings to choose. I'm quite excited about the result and looking forward to receiving the paper copies. It will be interesting to see what the reaction of the recipients is. I hope people don't think it is too promotional looking- but if you don't promote yourself, who will? They will go "as is" to gallery people, those who have bought paintings, etc. and I will add an insert with personal news for closer friends. I do love my Mac computer. This new version of I-Photo was added when the computer got a new hard-drive in a recent recall. I didn't lose anything - except maybe two e-mails that don't seem to be retrievable- and this new card design is really great. Much fun.

A real Hallowe'en cat

Here is Digby getting into the Hallowe'en set-up.  I'm not sure how the witch felt about sharing the spotlight.

Calendar Launch

This coming Tuesday is the Calendar Launch at Richmond Cultural Centre and everyone is welcome. 7-9 pm Tuesday October 23. There will be refreshments. Several of the artists, including me, will be there. Besides the painting shown in the calendar, each artist was allowed an "extra".  My two are shown in the previous blog---- and yes, they did get hung!   The paintings are hanging in the Rotunda.