Less than a week!

This  time, in a week, DoorsOpen will become "doors closed" and it will be over for another year.  So... don't miss it! I will have the full series (well all I am doing for now - who knows if I will return to the theme?) of "City Evenings" - some have been posted on blogs - but there are some that haven't been - so come and be surprised. June 3rd and 4th, 10 am to 3pm. Brochures available at various city locations- community centres etc. There will be a piece in Richmond News and you can also go to the city website www.richmond.ca/doorsopen  I have a draw for a free painting.
    I thought I would post something different  than another "City Evening" this time- but it is also recent. This is "Autumn Hike"from the Mount Baker area- getting towards the end of last year's hiking season. I have a request in for more hiking photos this year- especially waterfalls- so we will see. I used to enjoy hiking - although I never did any overnight hikes. Autumn colours somehow seem especially amazing up in the mountains. I still remember a hike up Mount Arrowsmith when the whole scene couldn't have been more lovely- like it was planted by a Master Gardener. Well, maybe it was!

Wiring paintings with help

I'm getting ready for DoorsOpen on June 3rd and 4th so there were a few paintings left to be  wired. It is not  my favorite job - so I'll take any help I can get. Digby felt he could make his contribution by sitting on the canvas...fortunately on the back and it was face down on a towel. Somehow, even with his help, the paintings got wired. Digby is looking forward to being doorman and welcoming all the visitors.

Feels good to help!

I just got the notice that this painting of Lion's Gate Bridge went for $900 at the Daffodil Ball- the fundraiser for B.C. Cancer Society. I'm glad it has gone to a good home - and glad that it helped raise money for a good cause!  This was painted last year after Men in Hats had the opportunity to paint on the deck of a lovely condo above Park Royal. I painted a smaller one - which I have since turned into "Van Gogh Visits Vancouver" - and then painted this slightly larger- 16 x 24- one in the studio.

This "Van Gogh Visits Vancouver" version will be at DoorsOpen. ( June 3rd and 4th from 10 to 4 when I will have an open studio) It is 12x18 - and will be *much less* than $900!

Another from "City Evenings"

This one is "Seven-thirty" from the "City Evenings" series. Time for a walk with the dog to the corner store, from this winter evenings series. I just used it for my May newsletter.( Question - how did we get to May so soon?) As I said in my newsletter, I was definitely thinking about Edward Hopper when I was doing these paintings but I wanted to put my own spin on the idea and have present-day time too. I started all of these paintings with a dark under-painting, then used white chalk to draw the shapes. Then I used Transparent White over the chalk. I wanted a softer white than Titanium. I then worked at mixing both cool darks and warm darks for the painting. Some of the lights were warm, but fluorescent lighting is cool. There is a fair bit of Alizarin Crimson used in the brick building.
     I've got my 2016 paintings posted now - just go to the right-hand side, scroll down to where it says "View Loraine's paintings" , click on that - and you'll see 2016 - including "Five-Fifteen" - the paintings that started this series. Including "Seven-thirty", there are six more - but I think that is probably it for "City Evenings" at this time and I'm ready for more spring-like and summer-like thoughts. Now, if it would just stop raining.....

Pastel Life Drawing

This is from last Friday with our smaller group for "Long  Pose". It works out to around 2 hours drawing (or painting) time - allowing for breaks for the model and time to set up the pose and lighting. This piece is done with mostly soft pastels or grey pastel paper- no mixed media this time as we were in a smaller room and there wasn't comfortable space to get up, apply paint, pastel gel etc. We have a sturdy step stool now and with sufficient padding on it, it makes something a bit different for the model to perch on. So, we get away from the flatter "girl in chair" type pose. My position meant that I had a nice angular view - and a bit of challenging  foreshortening. "Foreshortening" just means perspective as applied to the human form. If we had  more storage space, we could have a chaise lounge or other things that would give an interesting set of options for poses - but we don't. The step-stool has the virtue of folding flat for storage. Some people call pastels "paintings"but I think of it as more of a completed drawing since there is paper left uncovered. Some fast painters can complete a painting in this time, but I don't paint that fast so I was happy to be using pastels for this .

Graphitint and Life Drawing

I am working a bit smaller and in neutrals for a bit in life drawing. I'm using Derwent's "Graphitints". These are graphite pencils so you draw - and erase- just like ordinary  graphite pencils.  The graphite is tinted somewhat so there is a subtle colour, Then, when a wetted paintbrush is applied, the colours become more intense and will wash out a bit to create shading in the drawing. This is not a very heavy paper so there is some warping of the paper- but the effect shows. This was just a ten-minute pose but I thought it turned out reasonably well. I'm enjoying having a go at smaller, more controlled drawings - at least for a bit. When this sketchbook gets filled, I may go for Inktense or water-soluble wax crayons for wilder colours and less control. I find it is good to change what I'm drawing with every so often. Of course, every other Friday, for Long Pose, I'm continuing with mixed media - for now, anyway. Next Wednesday night is a Long Pose and I will work in pastels on pastel paper. I can't seem to confine myself to just one medium!

Seven Forty-five

I used this one on my March newsletter. "Newsletter" sounds long and wordy but it actually is just one page with a picture and information about what is coming up. I call it "Loraine's Art News" and that fits as the title.  (E-mail me if you want to go on my list) This is another of my City Evening series that started with the smaller "Five fifteen" of people leaving offices for the homeward dash.  Then I moved to 16 by 20's with " Five forty-five" -  a couple crossing the road closer to home with red lights reflecting on the pavement. This one is the dash to the eight o'clock show start. I like a lot of city lights paintings and wanted to see what I could add to the genre. Mine all involve people- no empty streets for me!  Some are a bit lonelier and not all evenings are wet ones. I think they are all places we can relate to - and feel that it could be us out there. Modern cities are pretty generic now so this isn't like my series from Rome, Venice and Prague. This is definitely North America. I start each on a dark under-painting and sketch in - first with white chalk (erasable!) - and then blocking in with Zinc or Transparent White before moving in to darks that aren't done with Black plus the colours. I like acrylics because they work well for glazing so the colours- especially lighted windows and reflections on pavement- are all built up in layers for more of a depth. I'm working on a 20 x 30 one right now- but you'll have to wait to see the final result.