Emotive Expressions

Feeling very Honoured!

2012-01-31T07:45:00.001-05:00

I had a phone call last week to say that I have been selected for Election as a signature member of the Canadian society of Painters in Watercolour CSPWC. I then had to take my paintings for verification by one of the selection committee which went really well. Now I’m just waiting for the paperwork and then I need to take the completed forms with the selected painting down into Toronto to be included in the National collection. Then I will be able to use CSPWC after my name. I feel very honoured.

When I was told which of my 6 paintings had been selected for the National collection it brought a tear to my eye because it is the one of my very good friend Denis who is sadly no longer with us. He had such a love for watercolour and his wish in my last phone conversation with him just before he died last year was that I use the painting of him as part of my application this year. He would be so thrilled to know this painting will now be part of the permanent national Canadian collection of watercolours.

Denis was so supportive of me when I was just starting out in watercolour and always believed in me. Thank you Denis. I can feel that you know this exciting news and are smiling.

Ona

Seeing Double!

2012-01-29T19:28:00.002-05:00

I have finally managed to get the Teddy's varnished and framed. There are actually two paintings because I wanted to be able to paint a second following my own instructions to see if they were clear enough. This was a great exercise because it helped me to see the process from a different point of view and to then fill in any missing gaps in my explanations. It also helped me to realise the points where you might all panic thinking this is never going to work so i will hopefully be able to reassure you at these points :) I am now busy writing my script for the DVD and will then begin the process of editing all the video clips and photos and compiling it all... I think I have a summer long project ahead of me :)

I thought you might like to see the two versions.... Its a bit like the game 'spot the differences' for although they are both pretty much the same there will always be small changes that make each painting unique. Both are varnished with liquitex satin varnish. I just love the effect it has on the painting as it really seems to enhance the texture of the paper and give the painting a rich glow. The colours are not acurate in these photos but they do give you an idea of the effect the satin varnish creates and the overall effect of the gallery wrap.

The first painting I have left as a bare gallery wrap. I've simply then added two D rings to the two sides and attached some wire to them.

The second I have put in a floater frame. The canvas then sits inside this frame with the sides still partially visible.

I have my next two paintings already drawn on the watercolour paper and stretched onto boards ready to paint. Hopefully I'll feel up to beginning one of them this week.

Ona

Comfor-Ted

2012-01-17T17:48:00.000-05:00

When you are small there is no feeling more comforting and consoling than knowing you are in the arms of someone who loves you.

"Mothers bring the arms of comfort to an insecure child in a world of uncertainty" Reed Markham

It was this idea that was my inspiration for this painting. I still have to fix and varnish it, but the painting itself is now finished. I'm planning to exhibit it in our local Watercolour Society's exhibition which will take place the week before Mother's day. I hope it will be a popular one :)

Ona

Comfor-Ted WIP 2

2012-01-14T16:31:00.002-05:00

Baby Ted is now finished and Mommy Ted is slowly appearing as I paint the fur texture and then glaze over.

I thought you would like to see a close up of the baby teddy. Cute isn't he :) You can get a better feel for the smooth graduations of colour of the background in the close up too.

Lots of fur still left to do on Mother Ted.

Ona

'Comfor-Ted' WIP

2012-01-12T17:15:00.008-05:00

Its taken me a couple of days to get the really rich dark background I was after for this painting.

I wanted to create a more sophisticated background because, although I am sure children will like this painting because of the subject matter, I also wanted it to appeal to adults. We all need to both comfort and be comforted whatever age we are, so the two teddies are my representation of us all. If I had gone for the more bold bright childlike colours, to me, it wouldn't have had that more universal appeal.

Today I have begun working on the baby Ted. There is still a long way to go, and lots still left to capture on film. James snapped this shot of me today with the lights and cameras whirring. We have three video cameras going most of the time so that when I get to the editing stage I can hopefully choose the best angles. I'm glad I'm doing this in the winter. Those lights sure do chuck out some heat! As you can see the teddies are watching carefully as I begin to make them appear on the paper. Actually, it's really useful to have them close by just to be able to pick them up and look closely at the facial features or texture of the fur.

Ona

Playing with the English Language

2012-01-08T13:05:00.013-05:00

Sorry I have been so long posting this update. Sometimes it takes a while to get from that initial idea to something tangible that I can actually show you. Both ideas that I have been developing are based on a play on words... each ending in Ted. Why Ted?... short for teddy of course :)

I am doing the first as a gallery wrapped watercolour. I have just finished the stretching process so its all ready to paint. I have taken a little longer than normal for ths one because I have videod the whole wrapping process.

We have a local watercolour show coming up at the beginning of May (the week leading up to Mothers day) and I wanted to create a painting that captured the essance of what mothers were about but at the same time be more general too. So I've used the word comforted for inspiration.

I wanted to keep the composition really simple and plan to use the background and lighting to really enhance that warm cuddly feeling. I deliberately placed the 'mother' facing away because, to me, it seems this way to focus more on the feeling/ action.

My second idea is taking a little longer to develop. It was the word reflected that sparked my creativity. I wanted to use several meanings of the word in the one painting:

1. To throw or bend back (light, for example) from a surface.

2. To give back or show an image of (an object); mirror

3. To look back on the past:

So I have decided upon a scene on a dressing table of a well loved teddy but more about that one later. I'll be painting the outline above first :)

Ona

Mirror Mirror on the wall!

2012-01-02T19:46:00.002-05:00

During the last few days of any year it seems like everwhere you turn people and news channels are reflecting on life and events. This got me thinking and I decided it would be a fun idea to explore in a painting. I liked the idea too of playing on the double meaning of 'reflect' so from here I began to play with mirrors.

It takes me a while to formulate the image of what I want to create in my mind. I'm a pretty visual/ tactle learner so I like to explore and try ideas first hand to investigate possibilities especially when it involves scientific things like angles of reflections!

James, my trusty photographer, was waiting patiently while I was doing this and decided to have some fun while he waited. I thought you would enjoy seeing me in action in the very intial stages of an idea before I even put pencil to paper ... and yes I'm lying on the floor as this was the easist place to safely position two big mirrors. What a lot of Ona's there are !!!!

Luckily I won't be in my painting. My subject matter will actually be the teddy.

But why a Teddy???...I promise that I will explain this in my next post but for now I wanted to say that while I was playing with the teddy and mirrors another idea for a painting popped into my mind.... this happens sometimes... one thing leads to another.... so we decided to take both reference shots in the same photographic session. A very productive day :)

Ona

12 New year Resolutions for a watercolour artist!

2012-01-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

It's traditional at the beginning of a new year to make resolutions and I thought it would be fun to think about all those quirky idiosyncracies that make us artists and with the help of my friends from Art Colony and those on facebook I have compiled a list of 12 resolutions. Why twelve? ... one to break for each month of the year of course :)

12 New year Resolutions for a watercolour artist!

1. I will try not to be late for a meeting or appointment because I suddenly knew exactly what that important detail of my latest painting was that I just had to fix it while it was fresh in my mind.

2. When I go out, I will refrain from always stopping and gazing at the world around me especially when I’m standing in the entrance of a public building or at the top or bottom of the escalator.

3. I will place my tea/coffee or other beverage on the opposite side to my paint water with a saucer over the top.

4. I will not worry so much about the tidiness of my studio space and explain my deplorably bad housekeeping by saying, "it's a work-in-progress..."

5. I will refrain from using my calming strategy (reaching for my favourite softest brush and stroking against my cheek or hand while I think about how to fix the latest mistake) on the cat, dog or any other family members. It doesn’t seem to help to fix their mistakes!

6. I will try my hardest not to stare at people in a queue as I break their faces up into shadows and lines, colours and shapes and look for colours under the skin tones.

7. I will not bore my family by exclaiming that’s not just yellow that’s raw sienna with a hint of quin gold and then glazed with a very pale wash of brown madder

8. I will not drive with a camera on the steering wheel to catch pieces of landscape and I will also pull over if I see something beautiful instead of driving all over the road as I gaze out my window!

9. I WILL stop and take a photo no matter what...instead of grieving over it, 10 miles down the road!!

10. I will remember to take off my coat before I start painting and end up getting the paint all over my sleeves!

11. I will not keep my eraser next to my healthy carrot stick snacks while sketching plein aire

12. I will market my latest abstract watercolour poured white socks as designer label originals and not just throw them in the washing machine.

lets all hope that 2012 will be filled with friendship, happiness and creativity. Happy New Year!

Ona

Imagine

2011-12-29T16:29:00.003-05:00

After a lot of thought, I've decided to call this painting ‘Imagine’

The John Lennon song has been in my mind today as I finished the last details on her dress. The words just seem to fit with Rebecca’s thoughts about the world. The title also takes us back to my initial request for her to imagine when I took the photo of her sat on the stool. Lastly it leaves it very open for us all to interpret in different ways. For some it might be imagining her swinging on a star, for others flying and looking down at the clouds, for others just feeling the breeze on our own skin and the warmth of the sun on our faces, and for some imagining a world below the clouds where people live in peace and harmony.

I wanted to keep that soft dream like quality to it, so haven’t used any bold bright colours. I did want to add some sense of excitement/ joy to it though and for this reason played with the compliments blue/orange and purple /yellow in the painting rather than pick a more analogous colour palette.

Hope this close up helps you to see more of the details.

Ona

Watching progress!

2011-12-20T09:02:00.003-05:00

Here is my daughter Rebecca taking a look at my progress so far. I hope the photo gives you some sense of the scale of the painting. I really like working this size. It really helps you to become absorbed in the feeling/emotion of the painting as you paint.

It was a lot of fun yesterday creating the wispy hair blowing in the breeze and the golden brown colour that her hair goes in the summer sun. I still have the bottom section of hair to paint but the tricky sections are done.

I'm still trying to think of a title for this painting. So far the ones I like best are:

1. Sky High
2. 'On top of the world' or 'looking down on creation'
3. J'Imagine

Any thoughts on these or other ideas are, as always, greatly appreciated :)

I probably won't get around to posting an update again until afer Christmas so I hope you all have a wonderful holiday.

Ona

Rise up above the clouds! Portrait WIP1

2011-12-15T18:07:00.002-05:00

I wonder if anyone spends as long on a background as me? Its taken me a week and many layers of glazing to create the effect I wanted. Its been fun though.

To me, a background helps to set the scene and develop the mood or atmosphere of the painting. I wanted a soft almost dreamy feel to this.

I expect many of you have traveled by air and have looked down at the clouds below. It has an almost unreal feel to it. We are so used to looking up at the clouds but now they are below us like snowy mountain ranges peaking through a layer of mist.

This was what I was imagining as I began creating the background.

Ok, time for a quick science lesson now :)

Each winter, when a high pressure weather system moves over the snow-covered mountain valleys , something takes place called a temperature inversion. When this happens the warmer air above traps a layer of cold air in the valley and the clouds settle almost on top of us weighing us down with misery as we long for the sunshine once more. Yet only a couple thousand feet above us, sometimes not even that much, the sky is deep blue in every direction and the sun sparkles.

Isn't this a little like our lives? We so easily allow the problems and stresses of life to cloud around us, blocking our vision and dulling our spirits. We need to remember though that hope and sunshine are just above the haze. Once we realize this, we can leave the clouds of despair below us and move into the sunlight of hope. I guess this is partly what this painting is about and its an important thing to remember at this time of year as we lead up to Christmas.

I'm not sure how quickly I'm going to get the actual portrait section completed in the coming weeks but I'm going to remember to keep my head firmly above the clouds as I do so :)

Ona

And all Because......

2011-12-08T15:32:00.006-05:00

...one of the pieces of music I used for my slideshow was called 'I believe I can fly' and as I listened to it over and over again while I was putting the slideshow together, an idea for a painting popped into my mind.

My daugher Rebecca has been learning to fly this past summer. Her tuition is on hold now over the winter months but she is looking forward to the spring again when she can complete her training and finally be able to fly solo. She seems so young to me still, but I know she is growing up fast. She is so full of ambition and motivation to succeed. Its wonderful to see. You know the saying 'the sky's the limit'... that is certainly true for her. I didn't want to put her in a glider for my painting though because I also wanted to encorporate the more imaginative side of her personality into the portrait too.

She is just like me in that way...she has such a vivid imagination so it was easy to get her 'to believe' in my idea for the reference photo shoot.

" Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!"– Dr Seuss

.... so I placed a chair in the middle of the basement and a fan beside it, gave her a summer dress to put on and told her to sit on the chair, feel the summer's breeze through her hair and imagine she was on a swing high in the sky, above the clouds.

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. ~Henry David Thoreau

yes, I know she only really had the floor to look at, and a chair instead of a swing but her imagination could fill in the rest and hopefully my pencil and brushes can bring to life what was in her mind. (fingers crossed)

The outline is drawn onto watercolour paper and stretched on a board. It is another big one... I just couldn't resist it. Its 24 by 33 inches.

Ona

Going larger with gallery wraps!

2011-12-02T11:54:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone:)

So you all know I have been working on developing further the gallery wrapped paper idea for watercolours over the last 8 months or so.

In case you are new to this blog here is an example I did this summer mounted in a floater frame and HERE is the link to my post back in October which takes you through my version of the gallery wrap process

Up until now all the ones I have done, like this one, are small ones but I am now gradually trying and developing the technique for bigger gallery wraps. When I did one of the two baby duck gallery wraps which was14 by 14 inch I found that with the constant wetting of the paper (because I glaze) the foam core 'sandwich' had begun to bow a little. It was hardly noticable at this size, but it made me think about what I could do for larger paintings. I would like to get to the point when I can do a 40 by 40 inch gallery wrap. So....

.... this brings me to my current experiment. I have been sensible and not gone too big yet so I have just wrapped a 20 by 20 inch one (half the size of my goal size).

To stop the bowing/ sagging of the foam core I am trying sandwiching 2 layers of foamcore between the paper and stretcher bars. I stuck the first , as usual to the stretchers with double sided tape and then repeated this with the second layer of foamcore stuck to the first one and then wrapped over the combo. My theory is that while my top layer of foam core will still get very wet, the bottom one will stay dryer and support the top one. I like the slightly deeper more gallery style effect that the double layer of foam core gives me. I did a quick wet on wet experiment at this size and then took apart the gallery wrap to look at the foam core underneath. The experiment worked well.

I will have to think of something to paint this size now :) I'm not sure how much painting I'm going to get done this month as I am working on developing some ideas but in the New year I'm definitely going to try a bigger gallery wrap!

Ona

Ona Kingdon Watercolours 2011 Video!

2011-11-27T13:13:00.001-05:00

As I look back on everything I have achieved this year I can only say...Its been an AMAZING year with acceptance into 6 international juried shows, a signature membership to the PWS, awards from the CWA and PPWS exhibitions, a sale from the CWA exhibition, an award and publication in the Canadian Brushstrokes Magazine and several local local awards and sales too.

Yes, I know we still have December to go this year but there are no more exhibitions and I have so many paintings to share already in this video I though any that I do paint this month can go into next years :)

If you, like me like seeing a full screen/ high resolution version of the video instead of the small one embedded in this blog post click on this link and then click on the full screen icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

I really hope you enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed making it.

Ona

Baby on Board!

2011-11-26T09:41:00.008-05:00

'Life has a way of knocking over the most brilliant plans'

(from the Jerusalem Train by Jon Dietz)

Isn't this quote so very true.... not only for my painting but life too...with a 'Baby on Board' you can never be quite sure what is going to happen next. (grin)

This has been a fun painting to do. I wanted to keep the chess pieces and board quite mystical, almost like a surreal world in feel, so I kept it deliberately 'soft focus'. In contrast the baby is very much 'in focus' because, to me, he represents real life with all its unexpected twists and turns. I also chose to add another colour for the babies arms to help draw attention to his action of knocking over the king. Its fun to play with techniques to help convey a message.

Ona

Anyone for a Game of Chess? WIP 4

2011-11-23T16:53:00.001-05:00

It's World Watercolour Day today and I celebrated it in two of the best ways possible... firstly by sharing the news with friends on facebook and helping to spread the word about this wonderful medium and secondly by painting :)

I hope you have all helped to spread the word too and have had some time to paint.

I know many of you are curious to see my progress with the chess painting. I've now completed all but my centre of interest (the baby and the fallen king)

In the traditional chess game black and white are used for the chess pieces but I wanted more colour in this painting. I did however want to keep to the opposites idea for the opposing teams so chose my colour palette for this painting accordingly using mostly the compliments of golden yellows and purply/ browny greys.

I had a bit of fun in the background castling the king (quite literally). I've added a close up below for you to see as it is hard to spot it in the small jpg of the whole painting. Don't forget you can click on either image to see a larger version.

Painting for me, is all about having fun as well as providing opportunities to engage the viewer and conveying a message. For me, castling the king just adds to that childhood fantasy feel that I wanted to convey.

I'm still thinking about a name for this painting. I've had several ideas from friends and some of my own.

So far my favourites are:

Baby on Board
Rookie Player
Chairman of the Board

I'm really looking forward to the next part. I'm hoping to really punch the values on the king and inject some fun additional colour into the baby. fingers crossed it works.

Ona

Anyone for a game of chess?

2011-11-20T17:29:00.000-05:00

I seem to be averaging a chess piece a day. Glazing is never a quick process but I love how the shape and form develop as you add each subsequent layer. As you can see below, I'm working on the gold pieces at the moment. I felt gold and pewter/silver pieces would add more atmosphere than traditional black and white would have done.

I'm enjoying creating the strong lighting. I still need to add a couple more layers to get the depth and colour of each shadow on the floor but will work develop these further while I am working on the other pieces.

I'm still thinking of a suitable title for this painting. Any ideas?

Ona

Chess WIP 2

2011-11-18T11:59:00.001-05:00

It is always a challenge to create the atmosphere of a painting, to put on paper what is inside your soul, to convey your vision. I didn't want to use the standard black and white, good versus bad version of chess, but instead to inject some subtle colour into the painting, to give it almost a surreal feel. So I decided to create a suggestion of sky in the background with a break in the clouds lighting up the distant castled king. I also wanted another pool of light around the baby and the fallen king. It has taken many many layers of glazing but I'm pretty pleased with the effect.

Now to bringing the characters in the painting to life.

Ona

Chess WIP1

2011-11-14T11:32:00.005-05:00

When my son was a young baby, we went to Switzerland on holiday and he was fascinated by a large chess set that was situated across the street from our hotel. His favourite 'game' was to crawl around and knock over the chess pieces. I thought this would be a fun idea to play with in a painting.

I was also fascinated by this quote: "The chess board is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the universe, the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature."

— Thomas Huxely

Life is full of beaurocracy, rules to obide by and regulations that stipulate what is the correct way for us to proceed, but… the unexpected sometimes happens, whether this be man made or natural, and life is all about dealing with these unexpected twists and turns as well as following the norm.

In my outline I decided to use the image of Alexander knocking over the chess piece from my reference photo but instead of the usual sized chess pieces I decided to make each piece enormous and have the chess board stretching off into the distance.

as you can see the actual chess pieces I am using are only small ones. So I had to take a little liberty with perspective in my drawing.

So why the big pieces?

A baby is so small in the world and yet, it has such a huge impact on the lives of the whole family. You can plan so much but the unexpected often happens. So, in my outline, all the chess pieces (the family members), have followed the rules of life (the game rules) and positioned themselves ready to reach their ultimate goal(to check mate the opposing king) but the small baby just comes along and knocks him over.

I know I am going to have lots of fun with this one:)

Ona

Spinning a Tale

2011-11-08T09:15:00.004-05:00

I have really enjoyed painting larger and am going to do more this size. It just has much more impact visually. It was also fun to creally develop the lighting effect in this painting, light against dark and dark against light to really make the key areas pop.

The spinner woman is not only busily spinning the freshly sheared wool but also spinning her tale of life in the pioneer times. Every spring the wool would be sheared, collected, cleaned then brought inside and spun into wool to be made into clothing and blankets to keep the families warm during the cold harsh winters. Each piece of yarn that the woman spins holds this tale deep within it... it's woven into the fabric of time.

Here is a close up of the woman. I had a lot of fun not only developing her warm welcoming and chattery personality but also the moving parts of the wheel as it wound the newly spun wool onto the bobbin.

I hope you have enjoyed watching over the last couple of weeks as her tale has unfolded. Thanks for the company.

Ona

In Progress Photo's

2011-11-06T16:50:00.001-05:00

James was watching me paint today and decided to take some photos so I thought I’d share a couple with you. It’s a good way for you to see how big this painting of the spinner woman is. The colours on the painting are a little darker in the darker areas in real life but the following photos should give you an idea of how it is looking as well as seeing me in action. I promise I haven't painted everything with my smallest brushes:)

I must admit with the size of this board the painting is taped too I have been painting this from all angles, even upright on a couple occasions but mostly flat on the table turning the board around so the part I’m working on is closest to me. Luckily today I could paint the right way up but it does mean the painting is upside down for you.

As you can see, the spinner woman keeps a very close eye on me as a paint and never stops chattering to me :) I still have some of the spinning wheel and the un-spun wool to paint but the end is now in sight. I'll post again once is finished.

Ona

Spinning a Tale WIP 7

2011-11-03T15:58:00.000-04:00

I've been busy painting the folds in the apron fabric over the last few days. I'm a bit sick of red now (grin). I decided to use red for the apron as it will provide a good contrast to set off the hands. The camera really doesn't like red but I have tried my best in photoshop to get the photo looking as close to the painting as possible. Some of the subtle colours in the glazing have been lost though.

Now I am going to paint the spinning wheel. My husband pointed out to me yesterday that I had missed a vital connection between the big wheel and the smaller bobbin wheel. Its good to have a technical person in the house. Luckily this should be an easy fix with the help of a magic eraser and some tape:)

Ona

Spinning a Tale WIP 6

2011-10-31T10:29:00.001-04:00

I have spent the last couple of days painting in the pattern on her dress and creating the folds of the fabric. I have also been working on developing the contrast between the light and shady areas. The light of the paper only becomes really bright when it is contrasted closeby with some really strong darks. I have also painted the cloth around her neck. I decided to use a contrasting colour here as it seemed to help draw attention to her face and lead our eyes down towards where her hands will be.

I have now masked around the edges of her hands so I can paint her apron.

Ona

Spinning a Tale WIP 5

2011-10-28T20:15:00.001-04:00

I know many of you are keen to see my progress in this portrait. I'm really enjoying it now all the weaving is done:)

I wanted to create that late afternoon/ early evening atmosphere so am using a mostly warm colour palette for this painting with just touches of cool to add contrast and effect. The woman's face is now basically finished. To suggest the light shining in on her from the side it was important to really develop the darks to provide a real contrast to the almost white of the light side. I am pleased with the effect. Her face is only a small section of the whole painting so I have cropped right in for the photo so you can see it clearly. I will begin working on her clothes next.

I have also been busy designing some brochures. Debi Watson gave me the idea. Thank you Debi. Business cards are very convenient to have with you but at shows or sales its great to have the extra space that's available in a brochure to give potential customers more information about you. So here are a couple photo's of my new brochure.

Ona

Spinning a Tale WIP 4

2011-10-26T16:30:00.000-04:00

I finally finished painting the background section yesterday so today I was able to start working on the woman's face.

When I start painting a portrait I usually begin with the eyes. I guess it helps me to connect with the person. This time though I just knew I had to start with her mouth. Maybe it’s because I needed to hear her telling her tale once again.

I’m still underpinning her features and working on the light and shade on her face. I’ll add the skin tones once I have worked on her eyes, the bridge of her nose and her forehead. I can hear her encouraging me along now :)

Ona