Christmas Elf

Well, here is another "long pose" from the last Friday session before Christmas. Since we are still in the "holiday season", I thought I could still post a pastel of an elf. Again, this is my multi-media process that I am working on - first the sketch in one colour of hard pastel on watercolour paper.  Then colour washes with three primaries in acrylic. Blow-dryer--- then apply acrylic pastel ground medium... this is quite gritty. Blow dry again -- then work in pastels. Each time is a little different - not just the model and the pose, but also how I mix and blend the paint layer. The pastels are different on a coloured surface, of course, and different as the under-colours vary. I'm enjoying trying out different effects each time. I'm not sure where I am going with this, but I just got some more watercolour paper and I intend to keep working on more figure drawings with this technique. Another bonus is that sheets of paper don't take up a lot of room.

Lots of red!

     Well, here is the painting with the most red I have ever put into a painting! On the other hand, I have never painted a poinsettia before. This all started as I was mulling  over what paintings to use on my Christmas card. When I was given a poinsettia, it seemed a natural to have it for the cover painting- the only problem was that the painting had not been painted. I also had the inspiration of two trial tubes of "cadmium red medium" from Liquitex. They were just marked "1" and "2" and one was truly cadmium-based but the other is a new development that eliminated the toxic cadmium and was said to be a very durable replacement. I tried out the two and got some friends to try too - and we could not tell any difference in how the paint handled. This is a terrific step forward for good opaque reds, orange, and yellows in eliminating toxins. Paint manufacturers are always working for improvements. When Van Gogh painted his yellows, they were not permanent and dis-coloured over the years. Cadmiums were a "permanent" replacement but now they will be replaced too. This has happened with many colours over the years- arsenic is no longer used in greens and expensive lapis-lazuli was no longer needed when ultramarine blue was developed. Liquitex, interestingly enough, was the first developer of acrylic paint for fine arts. It was developed after latex paints came into use for house paints... and that, of course, was so toxic lead could be eliminated from house paints. So, bit by bit, some toxins are being eliminated.
     So I'm late with snail-mailing cards but it was fun to do this painting.
    ArtRich is on display in Richmond Art Gallery until the end of the month. I have "Sandpiper Time" on show as it was accepted into this exhibit. The red in it is just a very little bit- the Canadian flag and its reflection.

What I'm reading now...

At first glance, Cast looks like one of those coffee table books-  large and beautiful but not much more. However, Cast goes far beyond being beautiful to being totally interesting and informative. I'm a fast reader usually, but I've enjoyed slowing down, lingering over illustrations and thinking about casts in a way I've never thought before. The book covers both fine arts and every day life. The art of casting, pouring material into a mold, dates back to antiquity but modern manufacturing casting has changed our lives- toilets for modern sanitation, bricks for construction,  mass-produced plastic toys- these only touch castings influences. Beautiful photos illustrate ancient and modern masterpieces. A chapter on jewellery illustrates pieces far beyond what the reader is likely to see in ordinary circles-"from wearable to conceptual". This is the first-ever in-depth resource about casting- truly a book to enjoy over time. Back in my fabric-art and doll-making days, I did a little casting- but the authors tell us that if we have ever made ice-cubes, jello or muffins, we've all done casting. I took the above photos, but you can see more about this book at www.castartandobjects.com  I certainly recommend this as a real treasure.

ArtRich 2017

ArtRich has opened in Richmond Art Gallery and will be on display throughout December. There are 40 pieces on display, juried from 120 entries. It is the final local celebration of Canada's 150th and the themes were Environment, Diversity and Reconciliation. My "Sandpiper Time- Britannia Heritage
Shipyard" was selected. We were asked to write statements for a binder so that people can see where the paintings fits into the celebration of Canada's 150th. This is my statement for this painting " "Sandpiper Time" is about what changes and what endures. Every September, the sandpipers come to Britannia and here they sit on a floating log and on a piling. They were here long before settlers and the great salmon runs of the past - for which the remains of the piers are a mute testimony. Will we protect the environment so that they can always return?" I made a point of making the paint thicker on the pilings above the waterline while the reflections are thinner paint. I think the dimensionality adds to the interest of the painting.

Long pose again

Now that we can get the painting room in the daytime (which we can't in the summer, due to  kid's classes), we are back having long poses again. Most people are painting although some are drawing, and I am back to mixed media. I had a rough grey paper for this ... now I can't remember the name of the paper but it is quite rough and has flecks of something that looks like bits of straw in it. I started with a drawing in black conte' and then used pthalo blue, alizarin crimson and arylide yellow  acrylic in some washes. After using the blow-dryer, I painted on acrylic gel for pastels and then dried that too. Since the paper was already quite rough-surfaced, I then had a nice gritty surface to work on. Giving created the pose from inspiration from a statue who was part person but also turning into a fern and returning to the earth. The statue's hands had already melded into fern fronds. So it was fun to have this different idea. I worked a bit of green into the skin tones. I used some powdered pastel, applied with a sponge to get a base going as both soft pastels and harder pastels tended to sit more on the surface of the rough paper. However, I also liked the effect of the upper layers of pastel on the rougher surface. I think I only have one more piece of this paper but I may do a search to find some more. I recall that it did  come in different colours. So, what should I call it? Lady of the Ferns?

GuessWho? a great success!

This shows the set-up we had for GuessWho? on November 4th at the Pioneer  Church at #3 and Steveston Highway.
We set up grids and hang all the 10x10's on both sides of the grids. We had 137 paintings and sold 52 - all from 10 am to 3pm. There was a terrific selection and we made $2350 for the  Richmond Food Bank. We also had a lot of fun so it was a great success. If you didn't make it this year, mark your calendar for next year when it will be November 3rd. You'll never had a better chance of getting terrific original art for only $100!!

GuessWho? is November 4th!!

Something different today- I didn't paint this and I'm not telling who did - but this lovely 10x10 painting could be yours for only $100 at this year's GuessWho? sale... and then you will find out who the artist is. The sale is this Saturday, November 4th from 10 to 3 at the Pioneer Church at the corner of #3 and Steveston Highway-- the little church on the grounds of South Arm United. $50 goes to the artist -- so you see the artists are making a contribution too -of time,materials and talent. Then the balance goes to Richmond Food Bank - which is a very good cause especially with the colder months coming up. There are 132 paintings to choose from this year. They include paintings by artists whose works sell into the thousands - and also works by students of Steveston/London Secondary and some of these may be worth fortunes too when the student artists become famous!  Since they are all the same size and don't need framing, you can start to build up a collection. I have some sitting on  strips of wood painted the same colour as the wall. That way it is easy to get them at the same level without bothering with wall hangers. A gallery wall is a lovely way to enjoy a variety of paintings. Often I deliberately do something a bit different - so my challenge to you is to guess which ones I painted this year.