Be an Artist in 10 Steps

"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

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...

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

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!!!

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

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...

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!