My Painted Life

Buttercup the goat

2014-05-14T17:00:00.001-07:00

Buttercup ~ 4" x 4" oil on gallery wrap canvas

up for bid on DailyPaintworks

auction will be active on May 15th

I grew up on a farm, and we had goats. Over the years we had many different kinds of goats...Nubians, Alpines, LaManchas, and Saanans. I grew up on goats' milk, and to this day still can't drink milk from the store. I guess I'm processed dairy intolerant. Raw milk doesn't seem to bother me.

I remember that we had a few different goats named Buttercup, and this one reminded me of her. (Yes, nanny goats can have beards and horns)

True Blue ~ Stellar's Jay and Art Nouveau

2014-05-13T19:07:00.001-07:00

True Blue ~ 4" x 4" oil on gallery wrap canvas (1.5" profile)

Edges painted black and ready to hang

For sale at DailyPaintworks...starting price $30.00

BID HERE

(auction becomes live Wednesday morning)

The Stellar's Jay ( I can't help but call them blue jay...my kids are constantly correcting me!)

is B.C.'s provincial bird, and a very common one at our feeder. They're rambunctious, noisy and comical. They squawk at me when they're out of food, and they make such a mess. They only want the sunflower seeds, so they swish their beaks through the seed, scattering it everywhere, just so they can pick out the sunflower sees. I love watching them because they seem to try so hard to communicate. I've had many opportunities to take pictures of them, and I love the brilliance of their feathers.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name ~ Bird Painting

2014-04-19T19:58:00.002-07:00

I Heard The Owl Call My Name ~

4" x 4" oil on stretched canvas...ready to hang!

The newest in my daily songbird series...I'm so delighted by the return of bird song, that I can't resist painting these cuties.

For sale on DailyPaintworks

CLICK HERE to Bid...

Glendalough Gold ~ dreaming of Ireland

2014-04-17T21:34:00.001-07:00

Glendalough Gold ~ 5" x 7" oil on panel

My daily offering for you today...trying to brush up on my landscape skills...I call this a faux plein aire...I didn't paint it from life, since, alas, I am not in Ireland at the moment. But I have been there, and stood there and looked at this scene. It is one of my favourite places on earth, and as I painted I tried to remember the smells and the breeze and imagine my self back there, to try to recreate the experience. And I have to admit, my own photography skills aren't the greatest, so I used Steve Evans (babasteve) photograph, with permission. I'm going to go through my own picture collection soon, and hopefully share with you more of my adventures.

The auction for this goes live tomorrow (April 18th) at 10 am

CLICK HERE TO BID

Start price $35.00

I Heard it From a Little Bird

2014-04-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

I Heard it From a Little Bird ~

4" x 4" oil on 3/4" profile stretched canvas

Tis the season for little birds...Spring has sprung!!

Up for bid at DailyPaintworks... price starting at $30

SOLD

Link becomes active at 7am PST, April 17th...

The Rogue ~ red fox watercolor painting

2014-04-06T20:25:00.004-07:00

The Rogue ~

5" x 7" watercolor on smooth, 90 lb mixed media paper

For Sale on Daily Paintworks ~ BID HERE :

bids starting at $30.00

Right now, my 10 year old son has an obsession with red foxes...he's done reports on them, studies them online, reads books about them from the library...needless to say, there is a lot of fox reference around lately, and his enthusiasm is wearing off! Hence, "The Rogue"...I remember growing up on the farm with chickens, foxes were a constant threat. But my dad would never try to shoot them. He just put chicken wire on top of the pen, and framed right down into the ground so they couldn't get in.

"The Visionary"~Contemporary Owl Painting

2014-03-26T19:53:00.004-07:00

The Visionary ~ 5" x 7" oil on hardboard

I have always been fascinated with owls. They have this otherworldly silence, this innate wisdom in their being, that is palpable when you see them.

Native Americans associated the owl with wisdom, foresight and keepers of ancient knowledge with powers of prophecy. In other cultures, they are said to be guardians of the underworld and keepers of the dead. However you choose to see them, they are beautiful and mystical and a wonderful painting subject.

I've been experimenting a lot with colour, texture, and different mediums in my paintings recently, and here is my newest playful piece. Up for bid on DailyPaintworks starting March 27, 7:00 am Pacific Time...

BID HERE

2014-03-16T18:33:00.001-07:00

"Starfish Blue" ~ 4" x 6" watercolour, pen and ink

A companion piece to "Treasure from the Sea"... a colourful starfish, caressed by the gentle surf, brilliant colours gleaming.

Up for bid on DailyPaintworks, link becomes active Monday, March 17th, 7 am Pacific tiime

BID HERE

Treasure from the Sea, sand dollar painting

2014-03-08T20:06:00.001-08:00

Treasure from the Sea ~ 4" x 6" watercolor, pen and ink

Starting Bid $30.00 BID HERE

at Daily Paintworks...link will become active on March 9, 7am Pacific time

The Pacific Ocean is of great concern right now, in the aftermath of Fukishima, will these beautiful creatures be nothing but myth in the future? I hope to preserve their beauty for future generations who may never get to see them.

Northern Spotted Owl Chicks

2014-02-27T20:25:00.001-08:00

Northern Spotted Owl Chicks ~ 5" x 7"

watercolor, pen and acrylic ink on watercolor paper

For Sale in my shop starting March 2, 2014

BID HERE

So, I don't know if you've noticed or not, but I've been working a bit differently for the last little while.

I needed a change. I needed to not take myself and my art so damn seriously. I felt bored and stifled. I never learned to play...I know!! Really, I was so afraid to go out on a limb, splash paint around, use crazy colors, break the rules. I played it safe. I got really good at safe.

BUT...as a wise man once said...

“Safety is the most unsafe spiritual path you can take. Safety keeps you numb and dead. People are caught by surprise when it is time to die. They have allowed themselves to live so little.” – Stephen Levine

I'm having fun!!

Two new Raven paintings

2014-02-26T18:00:00.001-08:00

What I got up to today...I got some new acrylic inks I thought I'd try out, I was feeling kind of playful, sooo...

Pretty much done!

Ascension ~ 5" x 7" acrylic ink on 300lb watercolor paper

The Rainbow Thief ~ 5" x 7" acrylic ink on 300lb watercolor paper

Grizzly Bear painting in progress shot and finished!!

2014-02-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

In progress ~ almost done!

Finito!!

Big Mac ~ 30" x 40" oil on canvas

I took a very long break on this guy... Sometimes, when I have had a bad relationship with a painting, I need to hide it for a while and come back to it with fresh eyes. When I'm struggling, all I see is what is wrong, with no idea how to fix it, and if I put it away I can come back to it later, and usually I am able to see exactly where it needs to go. This is what happened here. And he's done! Hurray!

Here is the link to my last post where I documented the progress... http://tahirihsblog.blogspot.ca/2012/10/in-progress-wildlife-grizzly-bear.html.

Fly Away With Me ~ Caherciveen Ireland

2014-01-09T22:31:00.003-08:00

Fly Away With Me ~ 6" x 8" oil on canvas panel

Bid Now on DailyPaintworks

Starting at only $39

(the auction becomes active on the morning of January 10, 2013)

Oh…to fly away to Ireland again…I wish I could. Maybe not quite yet, judging from the fantastic storms they're having right now, I might not want to be there. But soon. Please…soon :)

This building looked like a castle from a fairytale to me, but it was called the Barracks, in Caherciveen.

Caherciveen was a little coastal village that I stayed in, as a departure point for my trip to the Skellig Islands, where the ancient beehive monastery perches on top of a spire of mountain rising out of the sea. The evening before my trip, I spied a castle ruin in the distance and decided to go for a walk. It didn't look very far, but the road meandered in it's typically irish way, and it took me a few hours to reach my destination, Ballycarberry Castle. The ruins were fascinating, and I spent a while exploring inside, where it was dark and spooky…imagining duels in the narrow tower stairwell.

Anyways, on my way back to my hostel the sun was starting to go down, and when I reached the Barracks, it was illuminated by the golden light of the setting sun (it's actually a whitewashed building) As I stopped to snap pictures, the multitude of birds perched along it's spires and rooftops burst into flight…and I ended up with this.

Afternoon Encounter ~ Bella Coola Grizzly

2014-01-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

Afternoon Encounter ~

5" x 7" oil on 1/8" hardboard panel

BID NOW on DailyPaintworks

Bidding starts at only $30

A memory of an afternoon swimming with my family at the Atnarko river. The water is this rich green colour, from the algae that on the bottom, but also from the reflections of the lush greenery all around. Bears are abundant in our beautiful valley, and encounters like this are not at all uncommon. Generally the bears are shy and go their own way, but we did have a poor hitchhiker get attacked this summer! He was near a salmon bearing creek, and it is assumed it was a momma with cubs on the other side of the road.

Captain Jack Sparrow

2013-12-19T17:24:00.001-08:00

Captain Jack Sparrow ~ 5" x 7" oil on hardboard panel

For Sale on DailyPaintworks

Click here to bid

Link becomes live on Dec. 20, 2013

Captain Jack Sparrow is my dog. This is a painting of him from when he was a little puppy. He was a gift for my son's 9th birthday, can you guess what his party theme was? Yup…it was a pirate party! But Captain Jack is not a pirate in our family, not even close, unless you count the odd dive for a fallen scrap at the dinner table. He's a sweet hound, lab, border collie mutt…He's one of my best friends, an awesome running partner, and a cougar protector. I've been out walking with him and a few times he has stopped dead and not allowed me to move past him. He just says, "Nope, no way, you're not going that way. There's danger. We're going home." If I turn around, or go another direction, he's completely happy, but there's no way to force him to go towards whatever it is that he senses. He's gentle and playful with the kids, and seems to know that he can't bite down hard. If we say ouch he backs off. I'm grateful to have such a loyal friend and protector in our family.

Do you want me to paint your pet?

Drop me a line…tahirih_camelle@hotmail.com

Prince of Shadows

2013-12-18T20:40:00.001-08:00

Prince of Shadows ~ 6" x 6" oil on hardboard panel

For sale on Daily Paintworks…bidding starts at $39.00

Click here to bid…the link becomes active the afternoon of Dec. 19

My love of horses has been with me since I was a child. I remember so vividly, a spirited Morgan/Arab cross that I was riding with a friend one day. She was a beautiful bay that looked very much like the horse in the picture I painted. My own horse was a placid and gentle quarter horse and was no challenge for my friend who hadn't ridden much. Being the experienced rider we decided to switch and I got to ride that gorgeous Morgan. She was a dream, with a smooth gait and lightning speed.

About an hour into our ride, five kilometres or so from the nearest house, the horse I was riding went down on her knees, and tried to roll, saddle and all. I didn't know her well, and thought that maybe she was just trying to dislodge the saddle. When I saw her eyes, though, they were filled with pain, and I knew she must be colicking. Colic is a painful intestinal condition, that can severely injure a horse, and is very very serious. If they don't get medical attention, they can die.

I forced her to her feet, and we took off, at breakneck speed, through the woods. My only thought was to get her to a house where we could call a vet, as soon as possible. She would run, then stumble and fall…every time I had to jump off of her back before she rolled on me and then my friend and I would pull her to her feet, and I'd get back on and run more until, battered and bruised, we made it to a friends' house that had experience with horses, but she wasn't home. Only her young daughter was there. We called the vet, only to discover he was already out on another call, and it would be hours before he returned. We got a bottle of vegetable oil, wrenched the horses' mouth open and poured it down, and then took turns pulling her to her feet, and making her walk in circles. I was always told to never let a horse roll when they were colicking, as it could cause serious damage. At any rate, after a few hours we were exhausted, and still no vet. My friend finally came home, and said we should probably shoot her! I refused adamantly, as it wasn't even my horse! Finally an uncle showed up who had a pain killer for animals, and the horse calmed down. And then the vet came, and finally all was well. The vet commended us for saving her life!

Geza's Ghost ~ the plight of the rhinoceros

2013-12-18T11:30:00.001-08:00

Geza's Ghost ~ 24" x 36" oil on canvas

PRINTS AVAILABLE

Geza was a two and a half year old white rhino (this painting is actually of a black rhino) brutally mutilated and left to die by a poacher that will try to sell his horn to someone who thinks that rhino horn has medicinal qualities. It has no more medicine as our hair or fingernails, as it is entirely composed of keratin.
Rhino poaching is out of control, and some species of rhino are nearing extinction. Almost 1000 rhinoceros have been killed this year alone, and the killing is happening faster than the rhino can reproduce. These idiots must be stopped.
I'm offering prints of "Geza's Ghost", with most of the proceeds going to a charity which helps stop the poaching. Print size is 12" x 18" with a half inch white border all around. PLEASE help stop the obliteration of one of the most magnificent creatures on our planet.
This video is about Geza and his plight. WARNING! It's very sad and hard to watch:

The Storyteller ~ man playing flamenco guitar

2013-11-13T10:56:00.000-08:00

The Storyteller ~ 5" x 7" oil on board

For sale at Daily Paintworks

Bid Here

Confession: I've always had a thing for musicians… ;) I even ended up marrying one! Lol! I remember being a little girl, and watching my dad's fingers on the strings and just being in awe, tingling with excitement that such a beautiful sound could come from his fingers. The fascination has never left me. I'm the girl in the corner of the bar, sketchbook open, trying to capture some of their passion on paper instead of dancing. Not a few musicians discovered my habit, and own little sketches. Musicians open up their heart and soul to you, on stage, in person and I find it awe inspiring, raw, vulnerable and brave. I feel that they are most themselves when they're up there, and I want to capture that.

(reference photo attribution: Rich Anderson)

Going Away

2013-11-10T15:25:00.001-08:00

Going Away ~ 6" x 6" oil on board

For sale at DailyPaintworks

BID NOW (bidding starts Nov. 11)

It's getting colder…and colder…the frost hasn't left my yard in three days, and the wood stove has been burning furiously, trying to keep the chill off my new home. Did I tell you we moved? It is a lovely house that my husband built with his dad about 35 years ago. It's big and solid and cozy with three bedrooms and two fireplaces and lots of quirky artistic details. I think his dad was a closet artist ;) Much too manly to admit it, but when I look at some of the love and attention to detail in this house, I can tell, although I never knew him.

Nevertheless, when the weather gets colder, all I can think about is travelling. Years ago I found this image on flickr and fell in love…I promptly emailed the photographer HaoJan Chang, who graciously gave me permission. When I see this, I'm filled with longing, expectation, excitement…all of the emotions that an upcoming trip can bring…it's a perfect image for how I'm feeling lately and I just had to capture it in paint.

White Bisons and Music Festivals

2013-07-30T20:51:00.001-07:00

White Bison ~ 6" x 6" oil on hardboard panel

For sale starting July 31st on Daily Paintworks

BID HERE

I finally had a whole four hours to paint yesterday! What a concept! In the last month I've had a mural to complete, four farmer's markets to make jewelry and baking for, three different sets of family visiting, three to four days a week at my "regular" job, and volunteering for the Art's Council, plus two kids to take to swimming lessons every day, a cottage to rent out, three specialty cakes this week and a normal household to look after. Wow! Summer! We look forward to it all year, and then it goes by so fast that we feel like we missed all the beautiful weather.

But a whole four hours to paint by myself, with nobody around, was bliss :)

Here's one of the reasons you haven't seen much of me in the last little while. But I'm done, and proud if I do say so myself! It looks much better in real life...the surrounding cedar walls give the whole thing a bit of an unpleasant yellow tone.

Bella Coola Music Festival Mural 10 ft x 20 ft

(He will be sitting on a piece of crown moulding instead of floating in space when the new door is installed)

Voice of the Wildnerness ~ Howling wolf painting

2013-06-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

Voice of the Wilderness ~ 6" x 6" oil on hardboard panel

For sale at Daily Paintworks, click here to BID

You know those days when you just can't wake up? The alarm goes off, and your eyes creak open like a rusty door. Your body feels like a piece of waterlogged oak, and your brain feels like oatmeal? There's no excuse, no one to blame. No late night party or bottle of wine...I'm having one of those days. My eyes are half open as I type, and I'm already on my third yawn, even before I'm done the first paragraph. The one thing that I successfully accomplished today was this painting! It seems that my brain works fine on autopilot...Yay! I didn't have to think much at all for this one. An amazing wildlife photographer, who is a previous collector of mine, graciously offered up his artistry with the lens by suggesting I paint this photo he took of a wolf in Yellowstone. So really he did the easy part for me. All I had to do was paint what was in front of me.

The Prince ~ Young bull elk in velvet

2013-06-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

The Prince ~ 6" x 6" oil on hardboard panel

This little guy was a challenge from a fan to paint a white elk on a white background. I initially didn't think that I could do him justice, as my thought was that his antlers wouldn't fit. But at this angle, with his new velvet, the proportions worked perfectly.
For sale now on Daily Paintworks ~ Click HERE to bid

You Know You're An Artist When...

2013-06-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

He Came out of the Fog ~ 6" x 6" oil on hardboard panel

Bid in the Daily Paintworks Auction HERE

Have you ever notice that as an artist, you really do see the world differently than most people?

Almost everything on this list applies to me!

You know what shade of green the kale in your garden is.
There are multicoloured fingerprints on your phone, computer, countertop...
You accidentally clean your brushes in your coffee
You actually do judge a book by its cover
The highlights in your hair are from your palette, not Clairol
When travelling from one place to another you spend the whole time analyzing the color mixtures in the landscape instead of enjoying the scenery
When you get caught staring at people, but it's not because you're checking them out, it's because your trying to figure out the value of the shadow on the side of their face, or the exact shade of purple under their nose...
You long to be alone with your thoughts while others are lonely without much thought.
You go to the store and wonder why everyone is staring, only to come home and realize you had red paint on your face.
You consider things like showers and eating extremely annoying because they keep you from your easel.

Namaste ~ a Bengal Tiger in Hawaii

2013-06-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

Namaste ~ 6"x6" oil on hardboard panel

Bid Now in the Daily Paintworks Auction

Namaste is the white Bengal Tiger that lives at the Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo Hawaii. I have to say, I am opposed to wild animals being penned up, it is too un-natural and cruel as far as I'm concerned. But...it was an opportunity to show our kids something they would never get to see otherwise. Namaste was injured while we were there, and quite docile, but I was still able to get a few pictures of him before he decided to hide in his enclosure.

Here is a in progress demo so you can see a few of the steps I take to create a painting like this. Usually the background of the reference photos are busy, or too colorful, or just plain bad, so I like to make a plain light or dark background.

When I'm painting a portrait, whether a person or animal, I feel that zooming in close and getting rid of the background makes the subject the most important, and gives them a sense of individual character and personality.

The whole painting took me about 2 and a half hours.

Stage 2 ~ one hour in

Stage 1 ~ 20 minutes in

White Wolves and goats...

2013-06-11T16:16:00.001-07:00

The Stare-Down ~ 6" x 6" oil on handcut hardboard panel

Bid Now in the Daily Paintworks auction!

So...I've read that it is important to share things about yourself as an artist and a blogger...really, my life isn't all that interesting, but if you've ever wondered, here are five totally useless things about me that you probably didn't know:

I curl my toes under when I sit. Yup, weird, eh? (Oh yeah, I'm Canadian too, can't you tell!) I've done it for as long as I can remember. I have big calluses on all of my toe-knuckles...Attractive, isn't it?
I chew the inside of my cheek when I'm nervous, bored, thinking...well, for any reason, really. It's a habit I'm trying really hard to break, because it makes me really ugly, but it's not working. See! I'm chewing it right now! Sigh:(
The sound I hate most in the world is when a musician slides their finger down the string and their nail hits it and it makes...THAT SOUND! I just got jeebed out thinking about it...(shudder)
My most favourite snack in the world is popcorn with coconut oil and curry powder. I sometimes eat it for lunch. Yum...I think I'll go make some. I'm hungry.
And finally, number five...I was a total dork in school. I mean the dorky dork. No friends, chubby with inch and a half curly hair...can you say mini fro?!, and I smelled like goats...I had to milk them before school. Not a pretty picture, really.

Well, I hope that you all still like me after that brutal confessional. If you don't, at least I hope you still like my art!

So bye until next time...when I talk about the consequences of goat milking on teenage developement...