Tonal values

I am simplifying what I am carrying around, so I decided to work in black and white on grey paper again for our plein air day. We were on the south arm of the Fraser, with the Miltown marina on our other side. This is looking towards the airport- on the right. I thought of doing some of the airport buildings but then decided that this view looked quite calm and rural. Who would think that there was an airport to the right, a mall to the left and airplanes heading in to land just overhead?  It was just a matter of being selective. Working in black and white is a good exercise as tone values are very important even when you are painting in full colour. It is easy to get carried away with the excitement of colour and forget that the tone values are important in making the composition work. I'm probably going to do more of these on our Tuesdays and I'll probably show them as a group next DoorsOpen. I only use charcoal pencils as I was working fairly small. Still, it is possible to try different ways of making marks - like brushstrokes vary in a painting. I'm not sure where all this is leading, but I'm enjoying the journey.

Black and white for last "long pose" of the season

This was our last  Friday "long pose" as we can't book daytime space once the schoolkids are out and kid's classes are running all the time. I decided to keep it simple and draw in Chinese ink. Paper does make a difference. The top drawings were warm-up poses of one minute each and are drawn with a Chinese brush on cartridge paper. The brush and ink has a lovely flow for doing the quick sketches. The next shown was actually the third from the long pose and I had shifted my position a little.  It is done all with a brush and ink on "terra-skin" - the paper that isn't really a paper as it is actually made from stone. The ink wash puddled a bit more as terra-skin is not as absorbent - so it took longer to dry. I don't really like the mottled effect that results. The next drawing is on vellum paper - a bit creamier and thicker. The washes sunk into the paper quicker so there was more control. The last one is also on vellum paper and there was some pen used as well as the brush. These were all part of a roughly three-hour session - which means a little over two hours of actual drawing time. Although we can't book daytime sessions during the summer, fortunately we still have our Wednesday night Life Drawing.  It is not likely that I'll work in Chinese ink then as we are more crowded and I need a bit of room to work with ink.

Shades of Grey?

Well- maybe not"shades of grey" = that was just to get your attention. There is only one grey - and that is the paper. The rest is black charcoal pencil and white charcoal pencil. Men in Hats were drawing and mostly painting at Harold Steves' farm but I decided to keep the transport simple and just work on a drawing. This building appealed because it was very dark inside but you could see the light coming through from two back windows. I also thought the wire fence would be a challenge. It is interesting to just work in tonal values for a change - and not think about colour at all. I may do some more along this line-- much easier than taking paints - and right now, I don't have a good packable easel. My good old reliable one packed it in the other day.

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.....