Illustrated Life

Weekend study

2012-02-26T22:27:00.000-03:30

Between sleeplessness, followed by long naps, and the usual weekend chores, I've had some time in the studio and have pretty much finished the puffin piece. Waiting for it to dry, in off days I dabble with little studies for other paintings. This is another view of the red boat that I painted earlier this year.

Finishing up the palette is a good excuse to do a study and practice never goes astray. I'm working out ideas and thumbnail sketches for new paintings, as well still finishing up pieces that have been left to sit for awhile.

More puffin

2012-02-24T22:34:00.001-03:30

I've literally snatched time this week to work on the puffin painting. A few minutes in the early morning, a few more in the evening. I hope to have more time this weekend to put in some serious painting and make inroads into this piece and maybe get the drawing underway for the next piece.

I want to keep the painting a bit looser instead of the tight control that I had in the gannet in the Vertigo painting a few months back. Its always a fine line with which way to go. I love high realism detail but also love loose impressionistic pieces too. The looser pieces feel truer to me somehow and I like the paint to point the direction.

I'm working on adding more shape to the bird and getting the subtle changes in colour of the the body and wings just right. Too much yellow in the body right now, but I'll get there. Of course night time and artificial lights, yada yada yada. You know the rest. Tomorrow a better image under natural light I hope.

Flight Path in progress

2012-02-22T21:55:00.001-03:30

I'm about a third into this painting of a puffin coming in for landing. I was of two minds about showing it at this stage, as it really is the ugly duckling stage, with colours blocked in and nothing refined. However, people keep telling me that they like to see how a piece progresses and the stages that it passes through to reach the swan stage, so here it is, raw and uncensored on the easel.

It does make me a cringe a little to see it at this unfinished stage and I know this stage is often the undoing of less experienced artists who see the raw state and can't push it aside to see the finished piece in their head. Or who get bored once the initial blocks of colour are in and the detail work and colour choices become more important. However, we've all been there too and know the only way to the other side is through the dark tunnel.

Puffins, while so cute, are not graceful birds. They beat their little wings frantically trying to stay up in the air and landings are a lot less elegant. They're known locally as 'sea potatoes', their round little oblong bodies and stocky frame making it always a wonder they can fly at all. When I go on whale watching tours, the boats go to the breeding grounds of the puffins and you can see them in their hundreds on the sea and on the island that is littered with the burrows they nest in.

This little fellow is on the flight path, wheels down, ready to hit land or water. I like the awkwardness of the moment and the glow of colour in the feet against the sky. This is in oil on 24 x 30" gallery canvas.

Amended whelk

2012-02-21T21:45:00.000-03:30

Because I second guess myself all the time, the more I looked at the original whelk shell done in oil, the more I felt it needed adjusting. The benefit a few days and a bit of distance as it sits on a shelf across the studio are often useful in provided sober second thought.

So this is the adjusted shell. More colour, less colour, more shadow, less shadow. Its an age old dance in the art of creating art

Whelk Shell II

2012-02-20T22:50:00.000-03:30

I couldn't resist another version of the whelk shell hat I painted this weekend, but this time in watercolour.

I haven't used watercolours for awhile and enjoy how the colour merge under the right conditions. Its always a surprise when they do as I hope they will. And its always a surprise when they do what I don't expect.

This is about 3 x 6 on 9 x 12 watercolour pad from my newly cleared out stash. Everytime I clear out cupboards I find little gems tucked away that I have forgetten that I had. I should have a Stash & Swap Week where artists can find homes for things they no longer want and get new things they'd like to experiment with. It might work if people don't mind paying for postage, that's always the killer, unless they are local. Its my dream to stumble upon a garage sale or flea market that has a heaping table full of artist quality supplies going for a song. I did say it was a dream...

Whelk shell

2012-02-19T11:30:00.001-03:30

I like testing my ability to work small sometimes and I have three tiny canvas panels that I want to use. A sea creature theme seems to be emerging for them. First the jellyfish and now this whelk shell. Any suggestions for number three?

I cannot resist beaches and everything that I find on them. Photographing little shells and the colour contained in them is something I enjoy. We so often think of exotic shells when we consider seashells. Big colourful conch or abalone shells are traditional fodder for painting and they are beautiful.

On the shores of the north Atlantic the shells are more traditionally whelks or mussels and they can rival any tropical shell for colour and form. I collected quite a few large whelk shells from St. Mary's beach and stained them with watercolour, creating beautiful ornaments out of them. I still have one little bag of three left if anyone's interested in them. And a few more in a Coastal Steamer box.

Meanwhile, this 3 x 5" oil painting is the second of a mini series of mini paintings

Jumping off a cliff

2012-02-17T22:47:00.000-03:30

I started this painting of the Cliffs of Moher a few months ago, then put it aside. I pulled it out the other night to see if it is salvageable and added a few more layers of glazing to it. Its 30 x 40 on a stretched canvas using oil paint. The problem is that the canvas is old, not fabulous quality and when painted, the crossbars are showing through as seen here. Getting an image of the painting has proven to be more difficult than the canvas. Size, lack of daylight, etc., etc. But you get the idea.

Can it be saved?

My thought is taking it off the current stretcher bars, buying some new, better quality bars and restretching it. I haven't tried this before, so I don't know if it will work, or if the marks of the crossbars on the painting are permenent and won't be eliminated with stretching.

Or should I simply chalk it up to experience and let it become fodder for a bonfire in the field. Perhaps it could give birth to some new charcoal. The more I look at it, the more I think it is destined to be classed as an experience and left to live out its days in the utility room or lining a wall in the barn.

I try not to become frustrated with paintings or tools, but this one does frustrate. Maybe that's a sign to leave well enough alone.

Jellyfish finale and winners

2012-02-14T22:00:00.000-03:30

The Drifter

3" x 5" oil

canvas panel

I spent a little more time on the jellyfish tonight to finish it up and set it free to float downstream. As always, it looks completely different in life and has an inner glow which is what I was hoping to achieve. The tentacles are whispers of lines for the eye to put in. Too much and it detracts from the airy feeling and gives it a grounding which I don't want.

So from the tiny to the large, another boat painting will go up on the easel tonight. Or at least the bones of the drawing of it.

And now, the winners of my little heart give away for tonight. Tracy Urban from my Facebook artist page and Carol Lee Beckx who both commented on the post and/or joined my FB Artist page. Congratulations to both of you, your hearts will head your way as soon as you provide me with your mailing details.

The littlest things

2012-02-13T23:08:00.001-03:30

I paint and draw in a variety of sizes, usually dictated by the subject, but sometimes not and more the mood or the medium. One thing I haven't done a lot of of is very small paintings or miniatures. Tonight, I didn't have much time for painting and started doodling with a jellyfish on a 3" x 5" canvas panel.

What always amazes me is that it takes virtually the same amount of time to create a small piece as it does a larger piece. And I always run out of space on a small piece. I never seem to gage it correctly and the cut off point comes sooner than anticipated.

This little jellyfish isn't complete but another session should finish it. Oil again. These remind me of visits to the seashore when the children were small. Scouring rock pools in Lyme Regis or Seaton, the girls with bucket and spade in hand and always hauling home some sea creature, rock, shell or pile of sand. Vicky, the sea anenome. That's a whole other story for another day.

Fogbank

2012-02-11T22:06:00.000-03:30

Living on the ocean, fog is a very common occurance. When the sun is up it seems to force it back to the edge of the horizon where it lurks like a murky blanket, waiting to slide in over the water and land.

At dusk, it starts to creep forward and lose its rolled form, flattening out to fill every nook and cranny with cool, moist air.

This piece is in oils, 12" x 12" on canvas panel. I'm not sure if its finished yet or not. It was produced fairly quickly with a large brush. Sometimes that works, and I don't second guess. This time I am wondering if there is enough contrast in the piece. A few days to let it sit will usually tell me what to do.

Today I joined Daily Paintworks to use their auction format for a few test paintings. You can find the link to my gallery here or on the right side at the top of this blog. I find eBay has become very expensive to auction items on and I mostly use Etsy. Of course with the numbers of artists out there all selling something, its difficult to be seen individually sometimes, so worthwhile to try a few new options for selling work online.

Lucie Rose sails!

2012-02-10T21:39:00.001-03:30

Lucie Rose

12" x 24", oil on stretched canvas

available for purchase

I stopped procrastinating and put the final glazes and touches on the Lucie Rose and now its ready to sail out into the world. This one of several paintings in a boat series. The shapes of boats and the little details that make them unique making interesting subject matter. And of course, the water.

I have one last 15 x 30 panel that will host another boat painting. I will draw it out this weekend and make a start on the underpainting.

I love the technique and detail, but at times I am seduced by loose, free paintings that let me put down colour and form and not think of detail. Where does my style fit in? What is my style? Is style defined by technique or by subject matter, or both? I wish I could make a firm decision on the path I want to travel and stick with it.

Roller - finished

2012-02-09T21:20:00.000-03:30

Here's the final (I think) image of Roller. I have fought with this image and its still not correct. I can't get the focus or colour correct on it, no matter how hard I try under artificial light. I will try for daylight, but in the meantime here it is. I may give a glaze of transparent oxide brown over the board when this layer is dry to complete it and give some warmth to the wood, but aside from that, there should not be much tweaking to do.

Its sitting on the top of my old file cabinet to dry along with an eclectic mix of other paintings, props and tools. the little wooden manikin of a cat I bought a few years ago, but haven't used it yet. There are endless manikins of various animals and body parts available. I have a classic human female manikin, about 16 inches tall, which makes for interesting drawing when I have time. I should take the wooden cat manikin for a test draw too soon. Perhaps on my Buddha board which finally arrived today. More on that tomorrow.

Apple - part II

2012-02-08T21:55:00.000-03:30

I finished an oil painting last Friday of an apple, a challenge that was thrown out by one of the members of my local art group.

I wanted to play around with other mediums for it and started the next version in pastel. Pastel is not in my comfort zone, but I enjoy using it. I started laying down colour in broad strokes but don't like the final result. Too bright, too red, too.....I don't know.

So I wiped out most of the colour, or more like spread it over the paper so there's almost a ghost image instead of the contrast of the blue paper and I like this version more. I'll see what I can do with it, still wanting to keep it more subdued.

This is done on St. Armand paper, made in Montreal. Its a denim rag paper with a soft tooth.

Roller in progress

2012-02-07T21:57:00.000-03:30

I should be painting water, but instead I'm caught up in marbles. Why? I have no idea, except that they're so appealing and so....round!

I'm trying to create some pieces for a May exhibition of small works, and this may become one of them. There's still work to be done on the marble shape. It looks a little compressed to me right now. Funny how you see these things when you step back from them for awhile. The surface the marble is on is an old wooden board. I'm still considering how that will be depicted effectively.

This is in oils on 4" x 12" gallery canvas and still in progress, but I'll get there. There are just too many ideas in my head right now.

Giving away my heart

2012-02-05T17:15:00.000-03:30

Well two hearts in fact.

I've been turning a mistake into something different. I printed a couple of photos the other day, but accidentally put the paper in the machine the wrong way. As a result, it printed on the wrong side of the glossy paper. This leaves a blurred mass of colour that is unusable as an image. However, the glossy photo paper is very similar to the surface of yupo paper, so I decided to play around with layering some paint and see what happened.

Like yupo, the surface is not absorbent so water based media stays on the surface and dries, lending itself well to marbling. I used watercolour and some freestyle hearts. The background seemed to create the guide for colour and works well being muted and blurred. With very wet colours applied one on top of the other I let colours mix and bleed and these are the results.

I've decided to provide them as giveaways on Valentine's Day. So how do you enter your name to win one of them? You can subscribe to my Artist Page on Facebook, (see link on top right of my blog) comment or share the post there. Or comment on this blog post or send me an email. On the 14th, I'll draw for two names to send a heart. Everyone needs a little heart now and then...

Red reflection

2012-02-03T22:02:00.002-03:30

Available for purchase from my website

A friend in our local art group threw out a little challenge to paint one of her photos this month. A beautifully red apple. The colour in it is irresistable.

I started out with a sedate little painting last night then looked at tonight and it was just..blah, so I grabbed a palette knife and laid in some brighter colours and loose application.

I'm getting to quite like this palette knife painting. Its a great warm up for a more concentrated piece.

This finishes off my oil palette and now I can start afresh tomorrow.

On the rocks

2012-02-02T21:30:00.001-03:30

The sea is on my doorstep and I can take it for granted, being so close. I see it every day, but more as a marker for weather than the body of every changing water that it is. As I drive past the ocean, I always look towards it and note the colour of the water reflecting the sky, the movement of the waves and if there are any ships on the horizon. But it isn't an indepth look.

When I go closer, to the edge of the water, is when detail becomes apparent and I take note of other, perhaps more painterly, things. The colours in the water as it shifts, reflecting sky and revealing the hidden depths and the rocks, always present, that surround the shore. The colours and shapes carved by thousands and millions of years of ocean and weather and glaciers become sculptures of the sea.

This 8" x 8" oil is on a gessoed wood panel of the view over the edge of the cliff at Pouch Cove. It wasn't high and I was far back from the edge. The height shows the ocean's movement and how it changes colour as it is close to shore. It can look almost tropical at times, this wild Atlantic.

Yellowtail flounder

2012-02-01T22:23:00.000-03:30

This is a gyotaku print of yellowtail flounder before it has been mounted to another sheet of paper.

Mounting gyotaku is rather like stretching watercolour paper but with rice or wheat paste adhering the 'sandwich' of the two sheets. Most gyotaku prints are mounted as the paper the fish is printed on is fairly fragile and needs the stability of another sheet.

The process is always a little daunting to me as I put paste all over the back of the print and layer and smooth it carefully onto another sheet. I don't know if I even breathe sometimes! I have a large plastic topped table that I paste on and tape the edges so as it dries it becomes taut and eliminates most wrinkles. Not everything is perfect always and that's just how it goes. Unlike watercolour, you've already done your creative piece before stretching, so it becomes a bit stressful. Even if things don't go quite as planned, results are usually good and of course practice makes perfect. Or at least acceptable.

Marbles in progress

2012-01-31T06:19:00.002-03:30

Time is really limited lately for painting, so I've been getting up early, sometimes too early, to fit in some painting. The challenges of juggling a full time job as well as an art career all comes down to planning and discipline of 'butt in chair'. I do find that very early morning works well in that respect as there are no interruptions, no phone calls, no meals pending, etc.

For those saying they can't find time, means they don't want to find time or are not serious enough about wanting to reach their goal. That may sound harsh, but if you can find time to watch television or spend hours online, but still say you don't have time to paint, you may like to rethink how you lay out your time. For everything in life, if you want it badly enough, you'll create the time.

So this morning gave me a couple of hours to work on this marble trio. I had taken some reference images at the weekend using good light and great old wooden surface of a antique paper cutter. I'm working on getting the marbles to a degree of finish as well as the reflections, while working on the background which is more a play of light than detail.

It is in oils on an 8 x 16 panel.

Inside information

2012-01-28T12:52:00.000-03:30

Available for purchase from my website.

I've been looking more closely at cut surfaces of fruit and vegetables and find them quite interesting. Heirloom tomatoes in particular are full of colour and are quite beautiful. I've been setting up still life pieces today trying to find just the right one that will speak to me. A snowy, blowy day gives me no excuse not to get some painting done.

Meanwhile, this tomato slice was painted over the last couple of nights. Its oil on 8 x 8 gallery canvas.

Yearly planner

2012-01-27T06:20:00.001-03:30

The Yearly Planner Bringing back the art of living in daily life by Jeanette Jobson | Make Your Own Book

My life revolves around my daily planner. If I didn't write things down, my life would be in chaos. Meetings, appointments, art exhibitions, supply orders, birthdays, etc., etc. are all contained in a little book that stays with me close to hand at all times.

I don't think I'm the only one who is reliant on notes as reminders of events and the average daily planner is, let's face it, rather dull and boring. I have created a 136 page planner that covers a year with space for writing in each day. I've populated the planner with my art which slides you into each month and adds some colour. Available through Blurb, with a full preview available, you can organize your year and add a little touch of colour to your planning.

A zen decision

2012-01-26T22:58:00.000-03:30

I think its time to create another ocean wave. I'm trying to decide to go small, medium, large or extra large. Decisions, decisions. While I decide, I put a little paint on canvas in the form of a study of how I want the wave to look, more or less. Yes, I do love my studies. Sometimes they don't get past that, but its great to work out the bugs on a small surface before tackling something larger. This is in oils on an old panel. I'm working my way through reject paintings by recycling them in studies and impasto paintings and will need some new canvas panels soon!

I discovered Buddha Boards today via Myrna Wackov's blog post on drawing with a coffee stir stick. She's inspired. Her drawing in the post wasn't on a Buddha Board but it seems to be a great alternative to a 'zen' sketch book. The zen of living in the moment, no past, no future lives up to its name in this board. You use water and brush only on special paper. The lines are like ink and wash but only last a few minutes then disappear completely. You can only capture your sketch with a camera. Its truly the green alternative to working out compositions and ideas.

I just ordered one.

Dream boat

2012-01-24T21:47:00.000-03:30

Insomnia has its drawbacks but also its benefits. Up at 4am this morning, I gravitated to the studio and once some coffee did its work, I decided to do some painting.

This is the grisaille start of a small boat. The palette is mostly Caribbean Blue, Payne's Grey and white and in oils. Its at the point where I need to let it dry for a few days before adding more paint. Its 10" x 10" on canvas panel.

The colour and monotone reminds me of dreams. Hazy and not quite formed and always a little unsettling, making you ask questions of why, where, and how.

January Sale

2012-01-23T21:27:00.000-03:30

In the Pink

I've made a number of pieces available on my website with some pretty hefty price discounts. I need some space in the studio (and a new one eventually) and would love to see these go to good homes.

The sale will be up until February 14th, so enough time to find a little nugget of art to please someone for Valentine's Day.

January Sale

Paper Trail

2012-01-22T11:24:00.000-03:30

This piece is available for purchase from my website

Its feast or famine with me for concepts for new paintings. Right now its feast and there's not enough time to get it all down on canvas. However, this week I've been in abstract/colour mode. I can't explain why. Perhaps its the January weather of grey cold days that makes be want intense colour glowing.

This piece was inspired by some fragments of paper that had fallen onto the studio floor. I used modelling paste on the upper section of the canvas panel and scrubbed in pigment. I added oil paint, luscious thick dabs of paint to represent the fallen paper using a palette knife. I love how the paint builds and how, when dragged over the paste, hits the high points only.