JOANNE GIESBRECHT

ROBERT GENN'S LETTER

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:27:00 +0000

For any of us who are artists of any kind, this letter has truth that is good to read, then act on. Thought you might enjoy it if you haven't read it before. You can sign up to receive Robert's twice-weekly letters - they are a joy to see in the email inbox during those difficult weeks! :-)

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Your-Inferior-Shadow.html?soid=1102086132852&aid=N3JsY1zhNJk

ARTIST NICK CAVE

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:30:00 +0000

VIENNA ROSE

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Vienna Rose
9.5" x 11"
charcoal on Canford Dreadnought Gray paper

Vienna Rose is this child's name, and she truly is as sweet as you could ask for! Her parents are friends of ours, and are currently expecting their second girl, who should arrive in late summer/early fall.

This was such fun to do in charcoal. The smocking on her jumper took a while to do, but it reminded me of when I sewed a smocked jumper for my daughter when she was little. Now THAT was a lot of work!!!

I really love the effect this Daler-Rowney Canford Cardstock paper gives to the portrait, and how easily you can blend on this paper. It is fairly thick, so stands up to some wear and tear better than others. You can also get it in various colors...I order mine from online Dick Blick Art Materials.

This is the time of year that the yard and garden is calling my name. It is so wonderful to be able to go outside without having to wear 3 layers because of the cold! I'll soon be on my bicycle again, putting in those 25 km rides most days. As well, it is the perfect time to get new photo shots to work on throughout the long winter months. I love summer!!!

WORKING ON BABY GIRL PORTRAIT

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:23:00 +0000

My husband and I leave later this afternoon to fly out to Vancouver Island. I won't be posting during that time, but I thought you might like to see the charcoal portrait of a baby girl that I am currently working on. She is such a beautiful little girl in every way, and I love how this portrait is already showing her sweetness. She was around a year old when I took the photo that I am working from, and that day her fine hair was not cooperating, but flying out from her head. In the sun, it was like a halo.

When we return from our little trip, I will be finishing her up and presenting the piece to her parents the end of this month. I am pretty sure they will love it. :-)

BEAR DETAIL

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:25:00 +0000

Well, I must admit, I have gotten very little done on my bear. I have only just begun the detail of his fur, which was very wet and "ropey". You might wonder why I have been so slow on this piece...it is a combination of factors. Medical appointments, several coffee dates with friends, birthday party for a grandson, commissioning service for my daughter and son-in-law, meetings, and yard/house work have all eaten up much more time than I anticipated. This next week I should have more time in the studio, so the bear will look much different the next time you see him. :-)

OIL UNDERPAINTING COMPLETE

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

On My Easel...

I mentioned that a few weeks ago a friend of mine from British Columbia (who is a photographer) visited my studio. We had a great visit, and bless him, he brought some photos he had taken and wanted to give me as reference for painting. Some are flowers, some landscape, and three of them are of this beautiful Grizzly bear.

In this 20" x 26" piece, the bear is resting his head on a big log. His tongue is actually out as he is licking the raindrops on it. His fur will show that he has been in the rain, which I know will be a challenge for me. But I do love tackling challenges, so I am going to give it a try! I'll post progress as always.

PENGUIN CACTI

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Cacti
oil 20" x 24" canvas
click on image to enlarge

A friend of mine who is a photographer visited my studio a few weeks ago, and when I showed him the photo I used as reference for this painting, he thought the cacti looked like penguins. I have to agree...they do! Since I don't know what type of cactus this is, I'll just think of them as penguin cacti for now. :-)

I just picked up some more canvasses on Friday, so I am ready to begin a new piece...but I'll have to wait till later in the week. I have lots of meetings and appointments over the next few days.

PROGRESS IS BEING MADE

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:00:00 +0000

still working on this...click to enlarge

This piece is coming along beautifully. I can just FEEL the hot sun beating down on these cacti. I just need to let this set up for a couple of days, and then I will be ready to add the dark edges and spikes, and a few other details. Yay!!!

CACTI IN PROGRESS

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:08:00 +0000

On my easel; click to enlarge

I am so happy because I actually got to paint today! I was feeling a bit "down" the past few days, so I knew I really needed to get into my studio, turn up the music, and just paint! A few hours later, and this is the result - about 2/3rds done with this 20" x 24" cacti piece. I am so pleased with how it is coming along.

Last night my dog was barking in the back yard, so we went to the window to see what was the problem. There was a large female moose, with 2 scars - one on her neck and another on her side. (She was here again this afternoon, so the kids have named her Scaretta. Creative!) Later in the night, just before bed, I heard something at the bird feeders. It was another porcupine. Time to put the dogs were inside for the night! Even though they may be a nuisance to our dogs, it is really special to see and enjoy the wildlife that visits us. I want to never take that kind of experience for granted!

GERMAN SHEPHERD PORTRAIT "Barney"

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:11:00 +0000

"Barney"
11" x 14" pastel

"Barney" is completed, and is going to be delivered tomorrow. He won't actually be given as a birthday gift until sometime in August, so I won't know until then how Barney's master will like this portrait. However, I had a wonderful time seeing this dog come to life on the paper, and I have grown quite fond of his character as I saw it in the photo that was sent to me. It is indeed hard when our pets grown old or sick, and pass away!

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with an artist friend of mine who is 82 years old She wanted some help with the eye of a bluebird in one of her paintings. She is so eager to learn and to make beauty with her talent...and she does! I love how art can bring many different people together at so many levels - and there is no age restriction or gap because of age. What a privilege to do this work on a daily basis!

This week I also delivered 4 of my textured acrylics to a new collector. I was shocked by the art collection this couple has, including a first state print of Rembrandt's etching of the Prodigal Son. I was indeed humbled that my pieces will hang in the same house as many famous and gifted artists. So much beauty from the hands of those artists! ***sigh of contentment***

ALMOST THERE

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:58:00 +0000

click on photo to enlarge

He's coming along...will be finished this week!

GERMAN SHEPHERD PROGRESS

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:39:00 +0000

My son saw this piece that I am working on, and he commented on how difficult it is to do animals in pastel. He had to do a German Shepherd in pastel as well when he was in art school, and he still remembers how long it took, and how much work it was!

However, that being said, I just love this dog! Here you see the first of many layers to achieve all the different colouring that this dog had. There are times when I step back from working to see what he looks like, and I feel like I could reach out and stroke his fur. I am hoping to get lots more done on him next week...maybe even finish him. That would be fantastic. :-)

RECONCILIATION: AN ACRYLIC ADVENTURE IN LIVE PAINTING

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Reconciliation 1
48" x 60"
acrylic on deep profile canvas

Here you can see the set up and the process that took place as I painted live for 90 minutes during the service.

I am done! I made it through the weekend, which was very busy! I had 12 pieces in an art event over Good Friday to Easter Sunday, and sold 4 of them. :-) (Insert happy dance!) Friday evening, we attended the performance of The Uprising at FAC, and it was absolutely spectacular!!!

Then, on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, I painted live during each of RockPointe Church's (Bowridge campus) two
Easter services, a total of about 90 minutes each. That was not very much time to do such a large canvas (4 feet by 5 feet), but I managed to get them covered with the first couple of coats of paint. I then brought both of the canvasses home, and yesterday spent a few hours bringing the first one up to completion. Here it is, hanging on my wall. I love how this piece just glows with light!

I have named it Reconciliation 1, as it represents several forms of that to me. The first is God's hand reaching down and out to mankind, offering complete and total reconciliation through His Son, Jesus, and mankind accepting that gift, completing the reconciliation between God and man. The second is where Jesus himself is offering us reconciliation with the Father, through His sacrifice on the cross. In accepting this free gift of salvation, we are reconciled to God. The third application I can see is that of the parable of the prodigal son. When he finally comes to his senses and returns home, the father welcomes him, and brings him back into his household, fully and freely reconciled even though he had chosen to leave and squander all that had been given to him.

One of these canvasses will be hung at RockPointe Church, and the second one is being auctioned to the highest silent bidder. The money raised will go to support the ministries of the church. People will have 4 weeks to bid, and then it will go to its new home! This was such a wonderful experience for me, and I am grateful to have been chosen to do this project on the holiest of weekends in the church calendar.

Now, after I complete the second canvas, I hope to get back to my German Shepherd commission, and some of my other pieces which were put on hold for a looooonnngggg time!

THIRD AND FINAL CACTUS

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 01:31:00 +0000

cactus in progress - oil on canvas

"Another cactus?", you ask. And I answer, "Yes - but I'm pretty sure that this is the third and final one." You raise your eyebrows, and I can't bring my eyes to meet yours...for I am really NOT sure that this is the FINAL final painting of cacti. But it COULD be, if I don't take any photos of cacti that I like, and if my friend Donna doesn't send me any more of her beautiful photos of cacti. Yes - it just might be the final oil painting of cacti for a while. But for now, I am really enjoying the greens and blues, and the bright hot sun on the curled leaves of the plant. Hmmm - are they called leaves when it is a cactus? I have a sneaking thought running around the back of my head that they are called something else. If you know, could you tell me so that I am knowledgeable about that too? Thanks!

PASTEL GERMAN SHEPHERD

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:48:00 +0000

I am working on a commission of a beautiful German Shepherd who was the light of his master's eye. His very thoughtful wife has commissioned me to paint the dog in pastels as a surprise birthday gift for her husband. I hope he will be very touched by her loving idea!

What a gorgeous dog he was! He is FULL of color, and loved his toys. :-) I use both Pan Pastels and pastel pencils in my work, and here you see a small array of the colors I am using in creating his likeness.

In this photo (taken at night again - sorry for the bright light shining from above), I have the first few strokes laid in. I will show you more of Barney next week. (Thank you for giving me permission to show this work in progress Sharon!) If you know this dog, or its owner, please don't give the surprise away. :-)

SLICES

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:43:00 +0000

"SLICES"
20" x 24"
oil on standard canvas

Thanks to all of you who expressed concern about my husband! He is very gradually getting better, but still in pain, and still with those terrible sores in his mouth and on his lips. He is able to eat better today, and has a follow-up appointment with the dentist on Thursday.

So, today I got a chance to stand at my easel and finish this oil painting of a cactus plant. I am waiting on my friend, Donna, to let me know what kind of cactus it is, because she gave me the photo to work from. I tell you, that girl takes great pictures - and I could be kept busy the rest of my life between hers and mine as photo references. :-)

STUDENTS, HUSBAND, AND OPPORTUNITY

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 02:07:00 +0000

This has been a long and challenging week for me and for my family. Monday and Tuesday I taught my last two art student lessons for this spring. I took a quick picture of one of my student's abstract creation to show you - but I apologize for the poor lighting. It was night, and there was no time to set it up for a proper photo, but this will give you an idea of what she accomplished in 1.5 hours!

Hannah's acrylic abstract

The colors in this are red, orange, yellow and black. If you click on the image, you should be able to see it more clearly in a larger format.

On Wednesday, my husband had oral surgery. It was very extensive - 2 fillings replaced, 2 cavitations taken care of, and a wisdom tooth dug out of his jaw bone. As you can imagine, he is in quite a bit of pain. But as you would NOT expect, most of his pain today is from sores which are covering the entire inside of his mouth, tongue and corners of his lips. He can hardly open his mouth to talk, and eating is slow and agonizing.

Because my husband and his welfare comes before painting, I have done very little this week! I did receive a commission which I began today, and I'll show you that next week when it is a bit further along than just the drawing.

I promised to tell you about the scary project I will be involved in soon...

For the last 2 years, I have been asked by a friend who is a pastor in a church to paint live for them at their Easter services. I resisted last year, but he "reserved" me for this year, and in the end I did say yes. Now that might not sound like a big deal...but I have 90 minutes during each of the two Easter services they run to paint the canvas and do a decent job. The canvasses are each FOUR FEET BY FIVE FEET large! So, as you can see, it will be a huge challenge to fill that amount of canvas in so short a time, and to make the things I am painting recognizable to the congregation. I am really excited to do this, yet quite "on edge" as well. I hope to get pictures taken during the process, so that I have something to show you after the long weekend. The church is planning to hang one of the paintings, and to silent auction the other. I'll be doing them in acrylic so that the canvas dries as I am working on it. What a great opportunity to serve - and on the holiest days of all the church calendar!

SLICES - still in process

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:30:00 +0000

working on the spines

I have now hit the slower part of this painting. The detailing of the spines and the edges of this cactus painting are taking more time than I anticipated, but I love how it is coming together. :-) This is just one corner of the piece. By the way - thanks for all the guesses as to what this painting was. I had some very interesting comments, but a couple of you got it right. Good for you!!!

I'll be working on this throughout the week, along with teaching. Most of my students finish their 6 weeks of lessons this week, with two finishing the beginning of next week. After that, I have a HUGE project which is going to be scary, fun, amazing, did I say scary, and a first time ever for me!

I'll tell you more about it later. Closer to the date. Have a great week, everyone!

GREENS ARE DONE

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:30:00 +0000

20" x 24" work in progress

I have had some fun guesses as to what this could be from friends on Facebook, but none has been correct so far... The closest guess was bamboo.

The greens are completed, and will dry over the weekend. Then I can begin on the next color. Does it help you to know what it is if I tell you the title? It's going to be called "SLICES".

Have a great weekend!

ANY GUESSES?

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:00:00 +0000

new work in oil
20" x 24" canvas

Here you see my latest painting on the easel. I was able to get in a whole morning of painting...and am very pleased with the results. Because it's in oil, I will be trying to finish the green tomorrow, and then, after a period of drying, begin the parts not done in green. Any guesses as to what this painting is of? :-)

STUDENT'S DRAWING LESSONS

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:30:00 +0000

one of my students working on her drawing

One of the most rewarding parts of teaching art to kids and adults alike is when I see their talents begin to emerge. They get excited to see what they can accomplish when they learn the proper techniques and have the right tools to reproduce the still life set before them, or the face in a picture, or even an abstract painting which is just in their minds.

This is one of my adult students who wanted to learn how to draw realistically. She did not have any particular object that she wanted to learn to draw, so I chose an antique sifter that I inherited...you have probably seen this one. It's white metal with red rings and handle, and a wooden ball attached to the part that you use to sift the flour. So, as you can imagine, there are several challenges in this still life, but the biggest one is how to draw metal so that it LOOKS like metal! Julie is doing a great job. This will be a drawing that could be framed when it is complete, I am sure. And, I am sure she will go far now that she's had the lessons that gave her confidence, and a new way to see as an artist. ***sigh of contentment***

WATERCOLOR POSTCARD FOR CHARITY

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

pelican
watercolor
postcard sized

A few weeks ago I was contacted by one of my fellow Twitter artists, David Sandumart, and asked to do a small postcard sized painting to send to Moss, Norway for a Twitter art exhibit. Although my time is very limited right now, I wanted to be a part of this project, so I have done this little pelican watercolor postcard.

The original art work will be on display at the Moss Public Library, with all the fund raised going to help a charity - The Women's Crisis Centre - where abused women and children receive counselling, food, shelter and support during a very difficult time in their lives. Over 260 artists from all over the world participated last year, and David anticipates a similar or greater number to be involved this year. What a privilege to be a part of raising funds for such a worthy cause!

PORTRAITS AND DREAMS

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 15:26:00 +0000

Sydney's Orange Hat

The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy - but with life events that have left me little time or energy for doing my own work in the studio. Even my blogging slipped...sorry!

Since I don't have any new work to show you (other than eyes, noses, and mouths that I have been teaching my students to draw...), I thought I would post my first attempt at a portrait in watercolor, which was back in 2003! I can't believe how many years have passed and how quickly...

This portrait is of my first grandchild, and only granddaughter. Sydney was born just five days before the 9/11 event which changed the world... At this time, I was just beginning to explore painting, and most of my work was done on holidays and during summer as I was an elementary school teacher -full time. Enough said! But I had a dream that someday I would do art whenever I wanted, in my own space.

What I loved about this portrait was the combination of colors and how beautiful the blush on her cheek turned out. At times this was an exercise in frustration, but I persevered until I got a result that I was happy with. Since then, I have learned so very much, but I still like this painting and think I learned much from just tackling a project when I knew very little.

If you are just toying with the idea of painting, or of doing something in particular, I encourage you to try it. Persevere. Learn from doing. It will be worth the effort and the time. Since doing this painting, I have left teaching in the public system, and am now a full time artist. I now teach art to students in my own home studio. And I love what I do. You can live your dreams too. It takes courage, and there are times when your hopes may be dashed. But continue anyway. Get back on the road. You will be going toward that dream, and who knows what adventures you'll have along the way? It will be worth it all - I know. And I'll be cheering you on!!!

NEW BEGINNINGS

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

new oil portrait on the easel

Yup - this is going to be a beautiful portrait in a couple of weeks...I just KNOW it!

PRINCESS MIKAYLA

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Giesbrecht) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:12:00 +0000

Princess Mikayla
9" x 12" oil

My friend's little girl is a princess indeed! She is all over posing for the camera, and getting prettied up for me to take her picture.
I am happy to have completed this portrait ...painting always gives me a feeling of peace and joy.