Paintblog mention

Today I got a mention on Eric Cator\’s Paintblog!  I’m pumped about that! I’ve been looking at his site for a few months since i first heard about it. He features a few paintings by different artists each post.  I feel delighted to be included, as there has been some very good work posted there.

Vino Tinto

Vino Tinto Hills – oil on canvas – 12″ x 9″  Another rural Spain one.  I desperately need to prime some larger canvas’s…i want to work on some ideas that are perculating, but haven’t any ready primed canvas’s.  Will work on that tomorrow morning, and the last  of my small Spain ones.

Bubbly beginnings

January Vinyard, Spain - oil on canvas – 12″ x 9″  Here’s another from the Spain plein air starts.  At first I wasn’t quite sure what my focus was going to be on this one.  I floundered around with it for a while.  But this afternoon as i worked on it  again(!)  i gradually found my way with it.  In the end the negative shapes won out. 
Most of the grapevines around us were for the grapes that make ‘Cava’ the deliscious champagne of the region.

last light changes everything

Catalonian Hillside – oil on canvas – 12″ x 9″  From the upper balcony there was great views in every directions of the vinyards and the olive trees which went high up into the hills.  Across the valley the ruins of Gelida castle are visible in the distance on the hillside.  Although i was painting primarily on grey days, I started this one during that last hour in late afternoon before we lost the days light; somehow the last light of day was able to warm the colours, even though i wouldn’t exactly say it was a sunset in the true sense of the word as there wasn’t any real sun visible.

Not seeing the vinyard for the tree

Olive With Grapes - oil on canvas – 12 x 9″  I began with a plan to paint the vinyard from the verandah despite the overcast weather…but the focus changed  as i began to be absorbed by the myriad of grey-greens and purples in the olives directly in front of where I was standing.  Well, that’s the way painting ‘en plein air’ works for me.

the Spanish post is fast

They Wore Their Winter Shapes - oil on canvas – 12″ x 9″ 
I was really surprised to receive my plein air paintings in the mail yesterday, the ones I had mailed from Spain last week!! I thought it would take forever, but no it came by airmail and just took 1 week!

Buenes Dias!

 Here’s me and my friend AEmilia enjoying a little vino tinto and a ‘menu del dia’ (menu of the day)on Montserrat. Montserrat means ’serrated mountain’, and gets it’s name from the shapes of the geological rock formation…it juts sharply up out of the Spanish countryside and is visible for miles.  It was the backdrop behind the rolling hills around the village of St. Llorenc where we were staying.  On top of Montserrat there is a monastery and a basillica built to house the black madonna found in the mountain caves there back in the 1500’s.  Now each day in the basillica a boys choir sings a welcome to visitors at 1pm. It’s very beautiful.  We were lucky to have a sunny day to go to the top, so we could appreciate the views. 
2 of the 7 days were sunny, and so we made the most of them. 

 Placa Catalunya in Barcelona is a central square; from there we took a tour of the city in a roofless double decker which was a great opportunity to get a feeling for the lay of the city. It’s huge!!  I loved the green birds(they looked like parakeets) squawking in the palm trees as we drove along some of the boulevards.  We ate in a great little restaurant ‘Les Quatres Gats’ in the old city. It’s where Picasso had his very first art exhibition at the age of 17. It had a grand piano and an upper inside balcony surrounding the main room.  Very art deco interior…lots of artists, poets & musicians have made it their hang out over the years.
The beautiful horse is ‘Luthero’.  He is a white spanish stallion, and he is the reason that I was in Spain.  My friend AE was looking after him at the casa while his owner was away on a Camino trek.   

The Rain in Spain…

The week in Spain was fun…and just what i needed.  I got a good start on 6 new little paintings. Unfortunately I cant show you them for a while because they are currently on their way home to me via Spanish surface mail…who knows when that will get here, maybe 2 months from now…but it was the cheapest method to ship them, and i wasn’t able to bring them home in my suitcase as they were still too wet. I put acrylic bumpers on the corners to separate them in the posting box.  You can see from the picture that the weather was a little overcast, but i didn’t care…my oh my it was such beautiful countryside around the village where we stayed. 

The muted colours in the overcast landscape kind of opened up the possibilities to play around a bit more than i might have done if the days were sunny and bright.
I tried out my new Artisan water mixable oil paints on this trip, and I enjoyed working with them; although it did take a bit of getting used to.  I used medium to speed up the drying time, but next time might skip this; i didn’t like the gloss surface it left.
I’m still getting over a little jet lag; and the wonder and awe that is Gaudi, Picasso, Dali, Miro, Sorolla etc etc…

studio lighting

22″ x 28″ – oil on canvas – Untitled as yet.  Thought I’d get into the studio this morning to paint, but when I turned on the lights one blew out.  Trying to change the bulb i realized it was fried right into the socket and I couldn’t get the base of the old lightbulb out. Dang! I borrowed my hubby’s trouble light and hooked it up over my easle and was able to get a lay in of values on this piece done. I’m liking the direction of it so far. Probably will fool around with a bit more glazing before it’s done, but glad to be painting again.

I’d be interested to know what sort of lighting other artists might be using in their studios. I’m considering changing to flourescents as I’ll be less inclined to go through so many bulbs…but unsure if that’s a desireable lighting for painting. Anybody with ideas about this you might like to share?

Agnes Etherington Art Rental & Sales

Sydenham Morning - watercolor - 22" X 16"

We have a good gallery on the Queens University campus here in Kingston, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre . The ‘Agnes’ also operates a small art rental gallery there.  I have about 20 works in it which seem to rent fairly regularily  and occassionally I sell one or two.  The rental fees are minimal, but the way I figure it, I make a little money off of  renting them and still retain ownership.  Win win.  It’s better than them residing in my studio storage space, as this way they have an opportunity for exposure.  Patrons who rent them, get to have real art on their walls and change it up when they want to. 

This year I was gobsmacked when I opened my mail on Dec 24th to receive a hefty cheque for the year’s rental fees plus sales!  A much appreciated Christmas pressie from ‘the Agnes’.  Illustrated is one of the paintings that sold. ..a watercolour titled Sydenham morning.  I hadn’t seen that painting for a while as I dont visit the rental gallery that often. I forgot how much I enjoyed making that painting, and it brought back memories when I looked at it. I sketched the scene in my sketch book at about 8am one morning in June…I remember the little girl and her mum chatting and waiting patiently for the shop to open. I later completed the watercolour in my studio.

One week to Spain

One week from tomorrow I will be heading off to Spain for  a little painting trip and a visit with my good friend! I’ve spent a while considering how I could economically and compactly take along my art stuff, but not have to worry about smelly turps, medium etc. 

I know I could work in watercolour as it’s a good outdoor sketching medium.  But I’ve lost a bit of my enthusiasm for that and these days and I’m more excited about working in oils.  After chatting to an artist friend a few weeks ago, who works with water mixable oils… i thought it was as good a time as any for me to give them a try.  Dad gave me a gift certificate at my local art supply store this Xmas, so that came in handy to be sure. I bought 6 Artisan water mixable oil tube pigments and a really nifty super-lightweight pochade box which will hold 9×12″ boards or canvases.  

I allready have a super pochade box that my hubby made for me but it is much larger and heavier so I cant use it to take overseas…I wanted one that will fit easily in my luggage but is also lightweight enough to  hike about with. I’ve decided to paint on canvas covered boards which I will ship home in a 9×12″ postage box; it will be flat going over in my suitcase and I can open it up and put my work in it for mailing on my last day.  I should be able to stack the boards in the box one on top of the other with acrylic bumper buttons between each to keep them from touching each other…that way it wont matter if they’re not completely dry when I’m ready to send them home.  
I hear the house where I’m going is surrounded by vinyards…! so excited!

Christmas Over and Out

Red Cyclemen’ - oil on  canvas -SOLD

Frameworks gallery Sunday 12-4pm

One For Me and One For You – oil on canvas – 14″ x 24″ -SOLD 

winter is here

Winter Sun, oil on board – 12″ x 10“

On a Snowy Morning -oil on canvas – 28 x 22“  With little time for painting due to seasonal stuff, my image post is a revisitation of earlier work…I’m hoping to get back in the studio this weekend.

Christmas card of the Speaker

This painting When You Thought You Could Fly was chosen to illustrate Peter Milliken’s (speaker of the house of commons) Christmas card this year.  Mr Milliken is also our MP for Kingston and The Islands.  He actually lives not far from where I do, just north of the city.  I’m delighted to have my little painting image winging around the world bringing seasons greetings.
Here’s my little Christmas tree  i put up this week.

getting that ‘done’ feeling

Renewal – oil on canvas – 28″ x 22″  Getting organized for the holidays, I’ve spent less time in the studio than usual.  Too much working, baking, shopping etc!   But I’ve had this painting on the back burner for a month or two; and was finally able to finish it  this week.  At least finish it to my satisfaction that is.  That’s the thing about painting, one has to make a decision about when it feels right to stop.  It’s all about the feeling.  That feeling kind of settles somewhere down in the gut when I know I’m done.

Tomorrow is another day

Tomorrow’s Invitation -oil on canvas – 30″ x 30″   I revisited this painting last night…hugely changing the sky and I’m good with it now. Before I had way too much going on; everything  screaming but nothing was being heard.  I often need time to work things out… let the ideas perculate a little.  Not being afraid to make drastic changes helps.

head and heart in the studio when i’m not

I’m dying to get back into the studio this week, but i’ve been feeling a bit crook with a cold, so no creative energy.  Today feeling better, but have to work! boo.  Maybe there’ll be some time on Sunday.  Just as well i dont rush as waiting for glazes to dry on the one on the left which needed more depth in the foreground. It’s dry now.  So now that I’m satisfied with the depth  i’m ready to get at it and complete it.  The one on the right is just  a block in, but now i see that i have blocked in the little boat way too large, it’s not making the statement that i wanted at that huge size…so will re-block it in smaller before progressing onto the exciting bit, which for me is the water and reflections.  I haven’t chosen the palette for it yet.  Still thinking about that…My resource sketch took place in overcast weather so no real exciting shadows, but i think i will develop the pattern of the movement of the water…maybe exaggerate it a tad…or a lot.  My goal is an understated quietude of mood.  I really enjoy the time to perculate and ponder the directions i can take.  In this picture you can see my little menagerie of plastic farm animals perched on the ledge under the skylight.  They come in handy as models, adding a little life to  rural subjects.

workshop in Toronto

2 drawings by Dan Thompson

Just got back from an awesome workshop in Toronto Arts&Letters Club. Dan Thompson was teaching drawing of portraits, and boy-oh-boy did i learn a lot. Not that i’m really going to pursue portrait drawing, but the foundations of drawing principles are knowledge that all artists can benefit from.  I was particularily impressed in Dan’s ability to articulate and break down the mysteries of his process in arriving at a portrait, which made perfect logical sense. I’m posting an image of 2 of his drawings to illustrate his masterful approach.  below is a thumbnail of my pitiful attempt in class,(complete with ipod in model’s ear), hey! ahem…it was all a learning experience…back to the studio and the paint now:)                

Xmas window

We decorated the Xmas window for the gallery this week just in time for the Santa Claus parade through downtown Kingston.  Despite the reflections of the lights at night on the window, you can still sort of see my two little paintings on the left. They are 2 that sort of work well together as a pair. It would be great if the same person buys both. ha ha. a little wishful thinking there!