Cindy Revell - Still Life

Finding The Colour of Light in a Still Life

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:17:00 +0000

Plum in Mexican Bowl
5 x 7 Oil on Panel

This little Mexican bowl with it's thin strip of intense blue is such a beautiful little thing. It sits on a table right beside my easel holding holding pebbles. In this little painting I was trying to do two things, work swiftly and create exciting and lively brushstrokes and to capture colour more intuitively. I've been working on this with my studies for some time now. Sometimes when you look at light in your still life set up the colours seem to shift right before your eyes, one moment they might appear orangey and the next more pink. When that happens it causes a lot of head scratching, peering, and squinting. The trick seems to be to look fairly quickly and paint the first impressions of a colour. It seems easier to capture the elusive colour of light with a quick look versus a long analytical look which is invariably when the second guessing starts. Art, strangely yet wonderfully perplexing.

New Chapter Book - Grandma and the Depicters

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:11:00 +0000

What a great year 2009 was! It's been one adventure after another trying new techniques and methods as well as revisiting old mediums and exploring new ones. I've been painting with gouache, a digital tablet, and pen and ink with watercolour. It's eye opening to explore a variety of mediums and it's amazing how each one affects how you paint with the other.

My final project of the year was the art for Rosalie Silverstone's 11 chapter book 'Grandma and the Depicters'. When I was first approached to do this book I thought it just might be the perfect project for pen & ink with watercolour since the interior illustrations were to be black and white. After working for so many years in acrylic and oils I'd forgotten how wonderfully lively this combination can be and I'm glad have them as part of my repertoire again.

'Grandma and the Depicters' was written for children aged 7 – 12 but I loved it, guess I'm still a kid. You can get this highly enjoyable book at http://www.thedepicters.com

A Wing, A Beer Bottle and More-Oil Painting

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:35:00 +0000

Spirit Talk
9 x 12
Oil on Linen/Panel

An old stubby my husband found in the bush, a wing from a Red Winged Black Bird that died in our yard, an egg from one of my sister's little hens and a branch from a pine tree were all in my studio with all the other things I collect for paintings. I have a drawer full of moths, bees, dragon flies, and feathers. There are shelves full of old bottles that we've found in the bush, unwashed and left just the way we found them, old tobacco cans, 4 year old crumbling rhubarb leaves, china, berries, eggs, old cutlery, and more. The skulls of a goat, cat, cow, deer, rocks, stones, and numerous antlers. They're all things that have meaning in one way or another or can be representative of feelings, thoughts or ideas. I collect things knowing that eventually they will all have a story to tell on the canvas.

This particular grouping of items was in response to a call for entries from the Federation of Canadian Artists for an upcoming exhibition 'Capturing the Canadian Spirit' in celebration of the 2010 winter olympics in Vancouver. The space in this painting represents the spaciousness that is the Canadian landscape, the branch stands in for our incredible natural resources, the egg is for the newness and our growth as a nation, the wing stands for our history of exploration of this huge land, and the stubby represents the humour we Canadians can see in ourselves, and well, we do like beer.

New Children's Book - Clever Rachel

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:23:00 +0000

Clever Rachel - Author Debby Waldman/Illustrator Cindy Revell

Clever Rachel is book 2 of the Jewish folk tale series published by Orca Books. It's a challenging and rewarding experience to bring the characters in a story to life but then illustrating a kid's book is always quite an experience. My studio becomes a flurry of activity with tracing paper everywhere filled with character sketches, tiny thumbnail sketches that are used to capture those first initial ideas, then later the fine tuned and enlarged drawings. Finally I scan all the sketches and email them to the art director or editor to meet their deadline. A big relief. I clean up the heaps of paper, work on other jobs and paintings and wait for the go ahead to move on to the final illustrations which usually take about a day each to do. A kid's picture book is a process that takes a few months during which time my regular assignments like illustration for calendars, magazines and educational books have to be worked on as well, and they have their deadlines too. In between all that I work on oil painting commissions, Project Heroes, paintings for my gallery, and practice. There's a busy hum in the studio and with so much going on at once I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed but I can't imagine a life without that creative buzz.

Clever Rachel is in bookstores now and can be purchased from Amazon or Chapters/Indigo. Book launch and signing on Oct. 18, 2009 at Greenwoods Bookshoppe at 7925-104 St. in Edmonton, Alberta. Come join Debby and I at the book signing for coffee and Debby's homemade rugelach which was mentioned in the first book in this series.

Aspen Studies

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:30:00 +0000

Aspen Study 1
8 x 10, Oil/Panel

Aspen Study 2 - Sunny
8 x 10, Oil/Panel

Aspen Study 3 - Early Morning
8 x 10, Oil/Panel

Aspen Study 4 - Sunrise
8 x 10, Oil/Panel
SOLD

These paintings are yet more studies in my quest to explore and address specific aspects of painting. Painting aspen leaves is a challenge as they flicker madly about in the slightest breeze. They are frothy leaved, graceful trees and I've nearly always been surrounded by them. I always thought the trees in Dutch landscapes were very reminiscent of aspen and today a Czech friend informed me that aspens are indeed found in the Slavic part of Europe, she says they are romantic and they are.

For the first two studies I painted the aspens that I could see from the window near my easel. The third study was a more interesting experience. Very early one morning I let the pooch out just as the sun was coming up but it was cold and windy and I knew I’d want to paint that lovely dusty orange sky later in the week so I made notes about the colour then painted it from memory a few days later. Another early morning sunrise caught my eye but I hadn't even had a sip of tea yet and wasn't quite ready to haul the painting gear out on to the porch to paint so again I took notes and hoped I'd remember enough for next time. Turns out I forgot to write down the colour of the trees so I had to paint those from nothing but my memories.

Painting from memory and my notes might just prove to be one of the most significant exercises I've ever done and something that I'll continue to do. It was liberating and exciting not to be constantly looking up but to just rely on what I saw and that feeling you get when you are looking at something truly beautiful. Did I capture it accurately? I don't know, it might not matter, the painting still gives me the feeling of early morning and for now that's enough. With practice my ability to record what I see will improve.

Dandelion - Still Life

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:38:00 +0000

Dens Leonis
8 x 10, Oil on Panel
Sold

The dandelion, one of the first blooms of spring, an early edible green, a child's favorite bouquet for Mom's, and reviled weed. The name dandelion comes from the french dente de lion, a translation of the medieval latin dens leonis which means lions tooth in reference to it's jagged tooth like leaves.

This joyful little flower brightens ditches, gardens, and lawns alike. Whether you revere it's edible qualities and happy blossoms or detest it's tenacious tendencies it's a hardy burst of sunshine that isn't going away soon and I love it - most of the time.

Plein Air at Bob’s Point

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:43:00 +0000

Ragwort at Bob's Point
5 x 7

Right near my home is South Cooking Lake where I’ve been doing some plein air painting. The Marsh Ragwort is blooming and making a glowing golden display. There was a lovely little boat in the foreground but I decided to focus on the yellow flowers.

I admit to being a less than outstanding plein air painter but the experience of painting quickly before the light changes is such good practice that I keep at it.The fast brushstrokes of plein air paintings and my studies are slowing affecting my studio paintings making them livelier and juicier. Being an artist is very much a work in progress and a life long one at that.

Limes & Stein Oil Painting

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:41:00 +0000

Spring Fever and Frost
9x12, Oil on Panel
$360.00 unframed

The frosty spring had me longing for greens. The little key limes which are incredibly delicious in a Corona are a fun contrast with the pewter beer stein. It’s a contrast of colour vs neutrals, small vs large and is a fairly understated painting with a touch of humour while the artichoke is a more vivid play of cool greens and purples on warm golden colours.

Artichoke
5x7, Oil on Panel
$266.00 unframed

As usual I’m doing my typical balancing act of painting, illustration, and Project Heroes, a soldier portrait project. Recently one of my partners and I interviewed the parents of Cole Bartsch, one of the soldiers whose portrait I’ll be painting. They showed us his room, the many, many photos and told us so much about him that it seems as if I know him. It will make painting his portrait that much more poignant. Cole believed in what he was doing in Afghanistan and I am one proud Canadian to be painting his portrait. We owe so much gratitude to these young men who serve our country, and this project, even though it’s a big one, hardly seems enough to say thanks.

I haven't spoken about Project Heroes on my blog but you can find out about it here Project Heroes and you can follow it's progress at the project heroes blog

Oil Painting to Watercolor - Illustration

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Sun, 10 May 2009 14:01:00 +0000

Thank You
6 x4, Watercolor with Pen & Ink

It's been an experimental few months and I'm not done exploring yet. Recently my agent Deborah Wolfe of Illustration OnLine suggested we give our clients another illustration style to choose from, something loose and free, like watercolors which used to be my medium of choice. It was a great idea and I'm loving the spontaneity of these.

Flowers For Mom
4x4, Watercolor with Pen & Ink

This illustration is one in a series that depicts a small story in only 6 steps with no text to describe the story. The pen I'm using to do the inking is my Aunt's which she used when she was just a young woman. It's in my studio now and I'll treasure it forever.

Smart Car Journey
7x6, Watercolor with Pen & Ink

Smart cars are a pretty nifty mode of getting around but they do have their limits.

Am I done exploring? I don't think so. A commission for another trunk has come in and this one has a Cuban theme. The research phase is underway and inspiration is starting to flow. Still lifes in oil, whimsical watercolors and acrylics, and functional art, it's going to be a fun and very creative summer.

Snow, Cranes & Chilis - Oil Painting

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:08:00 +0000

Red Hot Blues
(6 x 8, oil on panel)
Sold

While the springtime drama of snow, sun, snow, sun has been taking place the trees grow knobby with buds and the pussy willows burst out. Flocks of Sandhill Cranes are soaring and circling overhead on their way to their nesting grounds making far away haunting calls.

Over the winter the studies have been large but I’m back to painting small again. I love doing the tiny paintings. Red Hot Blues, so contradictory with it's cool blues and deep red, kind of like our spring which was warm and sunny one day and snowing the next. Fortunately the snow seems to finally have given up and the chorus of frogs, robins and chickadees is getting louder.

"Who told you that one paints with colors? One makes use of colors, but one paints with emotions." (Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin)

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:49:00 +0000

Turquoise Tango - Oil Study

Turquoise Tango
(5 x 7, oil on panel)
Sold

This was painted just the other day, another exploration in using exaggerated color. I'm interested in just seeing how far I can push the color in shadows and in the backgrounds. Besides exploring color I'm also making things up which is simply not what I normally do.

Setting up the still life is a hugely creative part of the painting. Instead of making decisions as I work my way through the painting I plan them ahead of time when I'm setting up a still life. The lighting is carefully planned to create mood, objects are placed so that a rhythm is established, shadows are planned similarly, and folds in fabric are used to point to the focal point. I choose a fabric color for the background and foreground or use lighting to influence the color of the wall. After the planning is done and the decisions made I observe carefully and try to paint what I see.

Turquoise Tango and the other studies are completely different. In nearly all of them the background or foreground is a made up color. I have to use my imagination and go with my gut feeling. It's more immediate and very rewarding. Being studies there is no concern about 'will a gallery like it' or 'will the collector who commissioned it like it'. Will it change how I paint? Not completely, the act of quiet observation and the challenge of capturing what I see has it's own rewards but as time goes by there will be a bit more freedom in my work as I continue with the studies, time will tell.

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:32:00 +0000

Waiting for Spring

Apple Study
19 x 15
Oil on Canvas

February and the first half of March were spent illustrating a children's book and I didn't have a lot of opportunities to paint or to post any previous studies. The book art has been shipped and I can spend some time with oil painting again. It's interesting doing both illustration and the still lifes, it requires quite a mind switch. One day I'm painting whimsical little characters and scenes straight out of my head and the next I'm painting a still life that is set up right in front of me or from a photo.

This painting was another exercise in looking for colour in white, the shadows were vaguely purple but I pushed them as far as I could. Normally I lean toward accuracy but it's been wonderful fun to exaggerate the colours I see. How will this affect my regular paintings? Will it be a sublte extra bit of color or will it be more obvious - it will be interesting to see.

Apple Study was done in January but reminds me of the fresh greens of spring that I’m waiting for.

Oil Painting - Looking For Color in White

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:56:00 +0000

Chinese Bowl with Mandarin Study

This winter still finds me working on studies with an emphasis on whites and how they are influenced by surrounding objects and the light source. It's amazing how much color is there when you really look and of course exaggerating that color is exhilarating. It will be interesting to see how these studies will affect my regular paintings. If I could I would do one of these a day, they're that fun, but commissions and illustration assignments have to be tended to as well.

Working with white and specifically looking for the color in it has made me notice more color in the whites of snow. I never realized just how much red can be detected in snow. What a lovely bonus.

Contemporary Still Life Site

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:15:00 +0000

Just the other day my work was added to Contemporary Still Life. I feel hugely honored and somewhat out of my element. This site is produced by several artists from the Netherlands and they have some fabulous work there. The artists deeply revere the still life and make no apologies for it. I visited many an artist's website and am feeling pretty darned humbled and a lot inspired.

Anticipation

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:14:00 +0000

Red Pears With Silver
16 x 20
Oil on Canvas
Sold

This is the last of the year's commissions. Commissions are always interesting things. Made to order paintings that are a wonderful challenge yet are fraught with the inevitable worries that the painting may not be what the collector had in mind.

On the flip side of that are the studies that I've been doing which are done purely to examine, explore and practice. Whether it turns out good or bad isn’t such a concern. In painting mileage counts, the more you paint the better you are bound to get if you are willing to explore and try new things that will inevitably bring about failure. Happily our successes are built upon our failures and improvement is inevitable.

Red Pears With Silver is a quiet and more formal painting than the recent studies and I'm glad to say it looks better in real life. The photo somehow sucks the life out of it and I can't quite figure out what I've done wrong. As I carry on with the studies I wonder what my painting will look like a year from now.

And speaking of years, here we are, another one gone. Elections, political upheaval, economic disaster, strife of all kinds around the world and yet I feel incredibly hopeful and full of anticipation. As I sit in my studio today watching the snow fall I realize that the cycle of life just keeps on keeping on. What is happening in our world today has always happened in one way or another yet new lives are created while other lives end, joys continue to be had and sorrows too.

I feel incredibly blessed to live the life I lead and thank you all for following and sharing my art. My wish for you all is continued awareness and enjoyment of the beauty in life. How lucky we are!

Happy New Year.

Reflecting Light - Oil Painting Study

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:20:00 +0000

Reflections on White

Another quick two hour study. Normally I try to make my color and values as accurate as possible, only emphasizing them when I think an area needs enhancing or toning them down where required. I keep my brushstrokes quite controlled and not overtly visible but as I do more of these studies I see how making the the marks big and bold is simply another measure of control as is manipulating the color. Brushstroke placement, thickness and direction are even more important when they're large and bold because they are so very visible. One ill placed mark and you've got a bulls eye on your painting. I'd love to do one of these every day but illustration and commissions have to have their share of the time too.

Interview with Oranges & Sardines

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:32:00 +0000

I recently had an interesting interview with Dini Menendez of the Oranges & Sardines blog who interviews poets and artists. Answering the questions for interviews always makes me think about my art in a way that I don't always do. After all we're busy making it and we sometimes we go along not really paying attention to what, why and how we make our art. Things like this really makes you a bit more aware of your artistic self.

Pomegranate Study

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:58:00 +0000

Pomegranate Study
11 x 14

I'm loving these studies. They're such a great opportunity to practice, experiment and take chances that I might not otherwise do for a commission or a painting destined for a gallery.

Studies in Oil

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:21:00 +0000

Pear and Bottle Study
11 x 14
Oil/Canvas

The little studies have been so much fun but then so are the bigger ones, this one is only 11 x 14 but I recently did a bigger one about 26 x 26. I'm finding that the bigger I go the bolder and freer I get. Big brushes and lots of paint, done in 2 hours or less. A great exercise initially given to me by Doug Swinton (www.dougswinton.com), an excellent artist in Calgary from whom I get occasional instruction. He's good for me because his work is the exact opposite of mine.

The recent studies have been very fun and liberating in that they've been quite experimental without my usual carefully planned set up of lighting, backgrounds and foregrounds. In fact some of them have been done from two separate photos. I know, I know, I usually say how important it is to paint from life as much as possible but sometimes I find that I get overly careful and maybe a bit afraid to take chances, after all this is my living and I want the paintings to turn out well, but there is something about putting two separate pictures into one painting, making up the background and shadows that is incredibly exciting and causes me to exaggerate colours, values and brushstrokes more than I normally would. Add to this recipe a time restraint and things get happening! I love it.

Miniature Studies in Oil

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:45:00 +0000

Small Autumn Squash
Oil/Canvas
3 x 3

Yup, you read that right 3 x 3 inches. A miniature painting like this is great fun to do especially with a bigger brush. I'd been doing tiny little 2 x 3 inch oil studies in my sketchbook then remembered a lilliputian canvas that seemed so right for the pint sized gourd. You can see that I'm really in the mood for red lately.

Still Life in Reds and Greens - Oil Painting

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:18:00 +0000

Red Green
Oil/Canvas
8 x 10

I'm still painting tomatoes and am trying to get my last licks in while there are still a few ripening tomatoes left to paint. I'm down to a remaining few and will soon have to resort to store bought specimens which can't hope to compare for shape, variety of sizes, colour, personality, but most of all - taste and smell.

Many, many thanks to the hundreds of art lovers that showed up on Oct. 5 for the opening night of the Alberta Oil Painter's annual fall exhibition. Nine artists put up their best works for a total of over 100 paintings. The gallery was hung salon style and was lush with colour and a variety of subject matter. I love seeing all those personalities represented in paint.

Fall Bounty - Another Autumn Inspired Oil Painting

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:05:00 +0000

Fall Bounty
Oil on Canvas
5 x 7
Sold

Another painting inspired by the produce of my garden. The red and orange autumn colours in this painting are a homage to fall and bring out the green in this stout little squash. In my front yard I have a scarecrow overlooking an old wheelbarrow full of squash and pumpkins that were recently picked from my garden. Of course I want to paint it all! This painting will be in the upcoming fall show on Thursday.

Autumn Crisp-Fall Show Painting

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:46:00 +0000

Autumn Crisp
Oil on Canvas
8 x 10
Sold

A friend gave me a big bag of fresh apples, the smell was incredible and their colouring was so delicate, I had to paint them. They will be in the Alberta Oil Painters 3rd Annual Fall Exhibition being held this Thursday on Oct. 2, 2008 at Johnson Gallery, 7711-85 St. Edmonton, Alberta. We'll have over 80 paintings and about 15 will be mine. The next few days are a flurry of activity as I get ready for the show, one activity being picking eesny teensy flies out of the varnish and fixing those spots. Who knew flies would like varnish so much?

Love Apples in Black - New Oil Painting

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:35:00 +0000

Love Apples in Black
24 x 18
Oil on Canvas

Autumn, it’s a mellow golden time of year with ripening fields and an abundance of garden produce to pick. The vegetables are covered with sheets each night to protect them from early frosts and there is an abundance of tomatoes ripening faster than we can eat them. As always I’m lured to the greens, reds and oranges of tomatoes. I love the sharp, green smell of the vines and hate to wash it off. I do, and paint the tomatoes with the smell and taste of summer in my mind.

Love Apples in Black combines that wonderful, golden, autumn light with ripening tomatoes in a Korean jug which I've painted before, a heavy, chunky piece of pottery with a glossy rich black glaze. I think this is a Korean medicine jug but I'm not certain. This painting is larger than my usual paintings at 24 x 18. The tomatoes were ripening while I painted them and over a few days some of them turned from green to orange. A fun challenge to capture the original colour.

Sunflower - Oil Painting

cindy@cindyrevell.com (Cindy Revell) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:59:00 +0000

Good Morning Sunshine
8 x 10
Sold

Painted with such thick paint that it's positively chewy. I loved painting this and did a companion for it. Good Morning Sunshine will be part of the fall exhibition that I'm participating in again this year.