Coloring Animal Mandelas

I have a review copy of this paperback  and I'm just getting into it. " Mandala" comes from the Sanskrit word for "circle". I've played around with creating some, off and on,  but I'm not that good at detailed designs. Wendy Piersall, the illustrator of this collection, has been drawing mandala colouring pages since 2009. For this collection, she has taken her inspiration from the animal kingdom and spun them into intricate designs. Mandalas have been used for meditation and healing for thousands of years. The idea here is that colouring these designs - and thereby turning them into works of art- will bring relaxation, more focus, a higher state of meditation and simple enjoyment.  I've shared mine around a bit and I'll report further on reactions to colouring these designs. I'm impressed with both the detail and the individuality.  They are obviously created by hand as there are often subtle differences. There is a you-tube video of Wendy colouring at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GjK1FOe6Ag  which is fun to watch but since it is time-lapse photography, you don't get the relaxing effect- for that, you have to do it yourself.

Grand Prix show still on-

It was raining on our outdoor painting day, Tuesday, so we headed inside the Seine Net Loft and painted inside. The front part of this building has a museum display and the back part continues the display of paintings from the Grand Prix last Saturday. I had decided to not work in acrylics as I was also going to spend some time going through the receipt books, getting ready for writing the cheques for the artists. So, I picked this artful arrangement of a net with its floats and worked in pen and ink . Then I added colour with water-soluble wax crayons - Cretacolor- and then used water for  a simple little sketch.  I may do some other outdoor work with these materials - and I think I'll do some Life Drawing this way for a change of pace for awhile. Some of the others were much more ambitious and painted the scene out the window. I settled for a few photos and I may try a larger studio painting later, of that scene. In spite of the rainy day, a lot of people came through to see the paintings. With more artists painting this year, we were fortunate that this venue was finished and we are able to use it. There has been a lot of good response to the show - and to the Grand Prix event in general. Wow! this was the fifth year!

September with the railway matreshkas

     Now it is September, I'll put a matreshka set in the kitchen window. This month it will be "Casey and Crew" - my railway set. I had fun with this original design. The engineer is the most important person so he is the outside doll. Because he is outside, I could have projections - so his cap is an "add-on". He has an oil can  and a screw driver. His assistant has a coal skuttle while the conductor, who feels important in his uniform, has his ticket punch all ready.  His pocket watch is shown too. The porter carries a suitcase while the chef is in his whites planning the meals for the dining car. I'm planning a more modern "travel" set with the crew of an airliner and I'm currently collecting references for the clothing and insignia. Should be fun!
     The Richmond Artists Guild has a show of local scenes showing as of Monday the 8th in Rocanini Coffee Shop at the corner of Moncton and #1 Road. It will run to the end of October- stop in and have a look! I have one piece in the show-" Finn Slough- Western Entrance " - a thin painting to fit a narrow spot. There are paintings of all sizes and all are very reasonable so you have a chance to have a piece of local scenery on your wall.

     

Report from the marathon

This past weekend, I did a drawing marathon and here is one of the results. The first day was 30-minute poses ( really 25 minutes with breaks for the model) and I worked in black and white on grey paper. The next day was hour poses (50 minutes) and I worked with coloured pastel on smaller paper.  This is one of the poses. The last day was 3-hour poses - about 2 and a 1/2 hours with model breaks and I worked on larger sheets with more pastels.  I thought this pose was quite lovely with the dark hair of the model spread out on the pouf. It was an intense and a bit tiring weekend - but the intensity helps make it worthwhile and I got in some good drawing. I've only just photographed them but I will post more on the blog later and also put them in my Pinterest album on Life Drawing

plein air painting

 Summer  weather is still with us and plein air painting continues - although I've already decided some were not up to snuff and I've painted over them!  This is one that needed a little fine-tuning as I didn't have time to complete it. I ended up taking  out a cart and adding the tractor to this view painted in Vancouver's Southlands. Summer greens are a challenge - and there is so much of it!  I think I prefer Spring and Fall for painting colours but you can't beat summer weather for actually being outdoors.  This past week, the group did not paint as we had a day tied up delivering paintings to Hollyburn Country Club where the paintings will be displayed for September and October.  We will continue to paint through September so we should be well-primed for the Grand Prix of Art which takes place September 20th. The difference between it and "regular" outdoor painting is that the artist doesn't totally pick the subject. With "regular" painting you choose where you will position yourself and what you will paint. When we are in a group, we are only in the same general area, not all focused on the same scene. With the Grand Prix, the artist pulls a location and has to be within thirty feet of the marked (by a tent) spot. Of course, there is still some choosing - which direction to look? -an all-over view - or a close-up of a detail? Then, even if two people painted exactly the same thing, the paintings would be different because each artist brings his or her own feelings to the scene. And that's just for starters- each one would see colours a little differently and  choose and mix them differently as well as using brushstrokes in an individual way. One artist might start on a white canvas while the other might prefer an under-painting -or "imprimatura" if you prefer that term. One might use glazes, another not.  Then- one might be painting in acrylics while the other might choose oil or watercolour- all with different results. When I look at the photo I often take - just in case I want to check up on something later in the studio (or substitute a tractor for a cart)- I am often surprised to see how ordinary - or even uninteresting- the photo is, compared to the life that the painting has. But then- isn't that some of the value of art? We help people see the beauty in what might otherwise seem to be an ordinary subject.

Animal artists

Lately, in the news, I've read of Mini the kitten who is paw-painting up a storm in New Zealand. Her paintings are going for $1000. The proceeds go to animal welfare but it still is food for thought when an animal commands prices like that. There is even a series of pictures on the web of the 12 top-selling animal artists. Prices go up to $25,000. The higher prices are commanded by animals now deceased. Just like people, apparently prices go up when you are dead... supply and demand... there won't be any more.... Here is Digby, posing with a Lucky Cat. You can tell by his expression that he has no intention of soiling his fur with paint. Maybe I could get him to use a brush - but do I want the competition?

Paintings and interior decorating-

Yesterday a rather lush home decor magazine arrived with the newspaper.... lots of glossy pages of beautiful kitchens, expansive decks, glass-railed stairs and so on. However, there were very few paintings on the walls. In a number of cases, the rooms were verging on the bleak because there were no personal touches. As a contrast, I love the Saturday feature where some well-known personality shows a favourite room in their home and explains where the pieces came from and the personal significance. As an artist, I love to have paintings on the wall- and I can even switch them around for variety.  I have a friend whose great-aunt had a closet with her "extra" paintings and  enjoyed changing them around. Currently, I have the boats at Steveston in the entry hall- but it could change again. Maybe some people are afraid to commit - but a lot of artists  are willing to have people try a painting out. Maybe some people feel the painting has to be really expensive -like Tobias Meyer's rule in the last blog-  but it is more important to have something you enjoy and can relate to.  After looking at those lovely homes with stunning architecture, I thought this statement by the interior decorator Ghislaine Vinas was applicable - "Art is the nods and winks that give a place personality."