Tracey Costescu - Vancouver Portrait Artist

Peeling Paint - Update

2009-07-04T23:18:00.005-07:00

Well a bit of time has passed since I started this demo as I had to reformat my computer to try to restore my webcam, only to find out that it is a hardware issue, not software so now I need to find my warranty for my computer...awk! I never buy the extended warranty, perhaps I jinxed myself by buying it as I have only had the computer for less than a year...ok enough griping!

So I meant to take a photo earlier but was so happy to be back painting that I forgot. I painted in transferred the drawing and then masked off the whites so I could paint the dark layers of wood beneath the peeling paint without having to worry about saving my whites.

I used several layers of paint, more than I thought I would need, and will continue to add more layers as the painting progresses to give more depth. The bricks were under painted with yellow to give a bit of a glow through the layers I plan to add on top. I am going to make the bricks warmer than in the reference photo to add more contrast & because I like warm bricks :)

The house has been under painted with several layers of a blueish gray painting in some of the darker areas just to keep things balanced. I am still debating on how much detail to add to the windows as I am tempted to add the detail I see within the window panes but will wait to see how the painting progresses as it may be more interesting just to see the play on lights & darks.

Quebec City Window - Peeling Paint

2009-06-26T19:53:00.004-07:00

This is the reference photo for the painting I started on today. It has been sitting on my table for awhile now & I finally got my butt in gear to start on it! I transferred the sketch to my stretched watercolor paper today and laid down the first layer of glaze and hope to dive in tomorrow morning :)

Summer Vacation

2009-06-25T09:20:00.002-07:00

Well my posts and my painting have dwindled considerably over the past few weeks. Nothing like extra free time and no deadlines to kill the motivation, I definitely work best under pressure! It is a nice break though and it is giving me time to play around more rather than working on finished paintings so I have been experimenting more to see how far watercolor can be pushed, I have several 'wrecked' paintings on the go that I am hopefully learning from ;)

The extra time also motivated me to take an art class with a friend but I could not find a class that fit my schedule that looked interesting. Then it hit me, hit up one of my artist friends whose work I admire and invite them over for a workshop in exchange for some website tutorials & a yummy lunch. Yay, so we have one set up which should make for a fun, relaxed workshop for the three of us. It will be in watercolor as well but she paints my looser than I do so it should make for a fun learning experience :)

Separation Anxiety

2009-06-20T22:49:00.006-07:00

This painting recently sold but it is to a friend so I have been putting off packaging and shipping it as I have separation anxiety already!

It is funny how attached you can get to a piece of paper ;) I like the quote from John Singer Sargent, "Everytime I paint a portrait I lose a friend" I feel that way even about a statue, hmm, I gotta get out more!

Luckily I have scanned the image from a professional giclee printer that I use so I can get prints of this one. The reference photo was taken by an artist friend and I don't know what it is but I fell for it immediately and knew I had to paint it.

Online Gallery for Original Artwork

2009-06-08T17:02:00.011-07:00

Well I finally got around to uploading my original artwork to my website and I am so happy with the end result. I wasted a ton of time creating the little Buy buttons for PayPal as I didn't want the standard buttons. Turned out there was a bug in my original file. Deleted, recreated the button & viola ;)

Adding all of the artwork took awhile as well as I had to format all the images and tweak here and there but the majority of the work is done. I need to play with the logos a bit as they are pretty basic right now and may rearrange the navigation a bit.

I tried to create a separate look and feel from the commission portrait area of the website so that it looks almost like two separate websites but are still connected. I may actually get a domain with my name, but as no one can ever say my name correctly, I wonder if they would ever find it ;)

Photos from Frogstone Grill Exhibit

2009-06-01T13:19:00.005-07:00

Well I am finally getting around to uploading photos from my Frogstone Grill solo exhibit which runs until June 8. The photos are not the greatest as it was a beautiful sunny day, finally, so there is alot of glare from the open windows. The paintings are hung in the bar area where they have live music and a fire place.

I like this exhibit as it gave me a chance to showcase my work without a set theme which allowed for more variety. A fellow artist that I met through my blog, Andrea Pratt, met there a couple of weeks ago to check out my exhibit and brought along a dog, Mala, she is training as a service dog. Apparently she juried a piece of my artwork for my first exhibit at the Federation of Canadian Artists and stumbled across my blog. We have been chatting online ever since and admiring each other's work. Check out her site at her blog at Colouring Outside the Lines or at her website at Andrea Pratt she does very cool work and her blog is quite entertaining :)

Suite E Exhibit at the Outlet in June 4 - Aug 16, 2009

2009-05-29T13:42:00.006-07:00

This exhibit is just around the corner, time is just flying by lately! It will be an exhibit by 8 Suite E Life Drawing members featuring artwork of figures as well as non-figurative work in all mediums.

There will be an opening reception June 4 from 7-9pm with wine, nibblies and the artists at the Outlet. The works will be displayed across and adjacent to the TicketMaster booth where I had my solo exhibit in November of 2008. It is a great location with many other art groups, classes and exhibits in attendance throughout the year. As the exhibit will run for just over 2 months we will be changing out the artwork in July to freshen things up! Should allow for a nice variety of work from each member.

Hope to see you there at the opening!

My Studio

2009-05-23T09:57:00.003-07:00

I reorganized my studio (again) and thought I would share photos with you all. It is still a bit messy but it goes from clean to ridiculously messing when I am working in a matter of minutes. I like to think it is because I am messy but it is likely due to the fact that I am just messy ;)

The bookcases & office desk I inherited from my hubby as he used to use them for his home office and the drafting table I picked up for $60 at a second hand store, major score :) It is a great room and I am really lucky to have it for a studio. It gets lots of light and is big enough to move around plus have a great display area when visitors come.

Latest Edition to the Family

2009-05-14T08:40:00.002-07:00

We seem to have been adopted by the most adorable, friendly little cat. He is so cuddly & smart that we totally fell in love with him that we ran out and got him all of the cat 'paraphenalia' so hopefully he continues to stick around! The kids named him Tiger for obvious reasons and they are crazy about him. He has become a great little toy for them and does not get annoyed when they are nose to nose with him when he is trying to eat, he is much more patient than me!

Solo Exhibit at Frogstone Grill - May 5 to June 8

2009-05-05T13:06:00.002-07:00

I just got back from hanging my artwork at the Frogstone Grill in Coquitlam for a solo exhibit. I have eaten there before and love the decor but did not realize they had live jazz on the weekends so I will definitely have to go check it out on a weekend during my show.

We hung 11 pieces ranging from seashells to architectural paintings so it offers a bit of variety while you are sitting sipping your wine :)

Watercolor Still Life Seashells - Pile Up

2009-05-03T19:46:00.002-07:00

This is the latest in a series of paintings of still life seashells in watercolor that I am working on. I set up the shells in my studio then take several photos from all different angles. Once I find a photo I am happy with I transfer a sketch of the photo to my watercolor paper and start building up the layers of the background varying the colors depending on the colors in the shells. I then build up the shells in layers using similar colors that are used in the background to provide harmony yet still allow contrast between the shells and the sand. The shells are almost complete in this painting and then I will darken areas of the background to provide a bit more contrast.

Port Moody Art Association Demo

2009-04-30T13:26:00.007-07:00

Monday night I did a demo at the Port Moody Art Association using my seashells as a reference for a watercolor painting. I am working on a series of shells so thought this might fit in nicely for the demo and chose two larger images of my shells to hopefully show more of the detail while doing the demo. The painting is not finished but this is as far as I could get during the demo, whew!

The sand in the background had already been painted in to allow time to dry using yellow ochre, indian red & cerulean blue. The sky was then painted using cerulean blue, permanent alizarin crimson & naples yellow. I will likely develop both the sand and the sky a bit more once the shells are completed. The shells were then painted in using thin layers to build up the texture. The left shell was painted using burnt sienna, burnt umber & sepia for the stripes. Washes and dry brushed layers were added for the lighter areas using yellow ochre & burnt sienna.

The shadows were deepened using a gray created from cobalt blue, permanent rose & transparent yellow. This same gray was used for the right seashell with touches of burnt sienna for a warm glow. The dark shadows underneath the shell were created by mixing sepia with french ultramarine and painting several layers to built up texture and shape to the shadows. The final step was to paint in some highlights using Aquacover by Creative Mark. It is similar to gouache or white watercolor so you can use that instead but I prefer the texture of the Aquacover. I will post the updated painting once completed, I am calling it Lean on Me.

Watercolor Still Live Seashells - Beached

2009-04-21T08:27:00.003-07:00

"Beached" - Watercolor 11x14"

This is my latest seashell painting called beached. The conch seashell is from one of my stash and I took a super close up photo of it and then imagined the background, a place where I would like to be!

Watercolor Portrait - Truth

2009-04-15T20:27:00.003-07:00

This is a portrait in a series that I am working on which shows only the eyes with the rest of the face covered either by a scarf, hands or another object. This portrait was painted using watercolor and a monochromatic pallete.

This painting is currently on display at Place des Arts until April 25, 2009.

Tri-City News Article for Beneath the Layers Exhibit

2009-04-09T09:41:00.004-07:00

I opened the paper last night to find a wonderful article written by Janis Warren, a reporter from the Tri-City News. They did a really cool layout with my eyes and then my series of paintings with the veils and just the eyes showing which looked really cool.

The photos were taken by Craig Hodge. The article is at http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/tricitynews/entertainment/42593117.html

Family Fun Day was a Blast!

2009-04-06T09:33:00.003-07:00

It was a beautiful sunny day here yesterday which we have not had a lot of so we did not know if people would be too tempted to stay outside and play rather than come in and do art with us. Well, we had a huge turn out and had a blast! There was clay sculpting, a family tree craft and portrait drawing led by yours truly :) It was so much fun as the ages ranged from around 3 to 16 and it was great to see that the activities were enjoyed by all ages.

Some were happy to play with the erasers and crayons while others ended the day with some very nice portraits of Mona Lisa and the Easter Bunny, both famous and very well respected subjects ;) It was really fun to hear some of the conversations as the kids drew as well, "Mommy did you know the Easter Bunny is Purple?", very serious discussions ;) I am looking forward to checking out the next Family Fun Day with my family, it is a great way to wind down a Sunday afternoon!

Made the cover - too cool

2009-04-03T19:56:00.007-07:00

Well I made the cover of the Tri-City News for my solo exhibit at Place des Arts, very cool :) The is a huge photo on the inside on the community section as well with different artwork and me again, I will try to scan it and upload as well :) Great for the scrapbook....if I every get to starting it anyway! I will also be in the Wed paper so I will have to keep an eye out for it!

Photos courtesy of Craig Hodge from the Tri-City News.

Photos from Beneath the Layers Solo Exhibit at Place des Arts

2009-03-27T09:41:00.007-07:00

Last night was alot of fun and I think a success :) We had a very nice turn out at the exhibit. By the time my photographer, aka my hubby, took photos many of the guests had left but this an idea of how the show looked with all the guests. It was a nice mix as there were many fellow artists and friends and I met a few new people as well which is nice. It is such a great venue and the other artists works were very nice and I think all of the artwork worked very well together.

Tomorrow is the 'big night'!

2009-03-25T07:43:00.003-07:00

Well it has been a busy week, ok year, but now I can sit back & relax :)I have dropped everything off at Place des Arts for my solo exhibit which starts tomorrow and now I can just relax and enjoy the show! Luckily my hubby is totally a keener and packaged everything up for me and dropped it off so all I had to do was unpack and help set up the artwork to be hung!

The Exhibit Director, Barbara Duncan, actually invites artists to join in at the hanging so they can provide input as to how the show is hung which was really great as it makes you think of things from a gallery's perspective and also helps you to really see the artwork as a whole, which being this many pieces, was pretty cool!

Using the Grid Method - Step by Step

2009-03-19T11:23:00.005-07:00

I thought I would do a quick tutorial on how to use the grid method. I posted a very brief summary of the method awhile back but thoguht I would repost using images to hopefully make the process clearer.

	Print the reference image on one sheet of paper in black & white. Reinsert the paper into the printer and print the grid image on top of it.
	Print the grid image on a plain sheet of paper in black & white.
	Using an hb pencil, draw on the printed grid directly drawing one square at a time paying attention to where each line meets the edge of the square on the reference images grid. Once complete, turn drawing over and draw over the back of the paper roughly to create a transfer paper or use a wax free transfer paper.
	Take a fresh sheet of paper and place completed drawing face up onto the paper and trace over the lines you have drawn. The drawing is now transferred to clean sheet of paper and can be colored in or shaded as desired.

Solo Exhibit at Frogstone Grill - May 5 - June 8

2009-03-17T20:26:00.006-07:00

I am pleased to announce I will be displaying my artwork at the Frogstone Grill from May 5 until June 8. This exhibit will feature my non-figurative drawing so will be a mix of watercolor paintings ranging from seashells to abstract work so should be fun!

Suite E Exhibit at the Outlet in June, 2009

2009-03-17T20:21:00.004-07:00

I am excited to say that I will be exhibiting with Suite E Life Drawing group at the Outlet this summer in June. The dates have not been nailed down exactly yet but will be in June and possibly July in the Outlet, adjacent to the Ticketmaster booth. I exhibit my artwork there for a solo exhibit in November and was quite happy with the exhibit. It is such a great area surrounded by art and artists.

Watercolor Seashell Painting

2009-03-16T08:37:00.002-07:00

This is the latest in my series of watercolor shells that I have done. I just loved the shapes of the shell and the different colors. I exaggerated the colors a little to create more of a glow. I used the same palette as with the Shell Trio painting which shows how versatile a limited pallet is and there are so many other possibilities using this combination of pigments that I have not even tried yet!

April 21 - May 3 2009 - Federation Still Life Show

2009-03-13T09:17:00.005-07:00

Two of my recent paintings have been chosen for the Still Life show at the Federation of Canadian Artists gallery on Granville Island from April 21 - May 3, 2009. The first painting, Shell Trio is the painting I did for the demo at the Art Focus Group and the other painting chosen is Shell Dance. I painted both from a collection of shells that I bought from a home decorating store and plan to paint more as I really like the different textures and shapes in each shell & sponge. I have been using more opaque paints which is very new for me as I generally use mostly transparent pigments so it is fun to see all the different possibilites with each pigment.

Watercolor Painting on Canvas

2009-03-12T17:59:00.007-07:00

When I was buying my frames for my exhibit recently I found a product I thought I would never use for watercolors. I was looking for the fredericks canvas that is for painting with watercolor but the store no longer carries them so the sales person suggested using a ground on my own canvas instead.

I thought it would be too messy and too much work but apparently, all you need to do is paint the absorbent ground on the pre-gessoed canvas...hmm, now I am really intrigued. You can also use it on hardboard, wood or other surface to create a porous watercolor paper like surface. You can then display framed under glass or seal the surface afterwards to seal and protect it as you would with any watercolor surface not under glass.

Gesso is like a bridge connecting the support and the paint and the absorbent ground is applied to any gessoed support to mimic the absorbency of watercolor paper. For the full technical information and instructions go to Golden's site Aha just when I think I will not have anything else I 'need' to buy when I go into the art store I find something new I just have to try :)

As a bonus, it can also be used to cover up mistakes on watercolor paper or for negative painting. You can also mix the ground with acrylic paints for a colored ground