A diversion, distraction, digression ... you get the idea

I am currently working on another large painting with water soluble oils. This is still a foreign concept to me - I mean the waiting thing between the layers.

And so, to fill in time frow all the waiting, I am also painting a full sheet watercolor of my Japanese Quince bush - large, lots of detail and almost monochromatic.

Somewhere between lost patience and working so intently on a large pieces, I found the need to, well, digress.  I have been curious about pouring paint and using a masking compound (hate them).  I started a doodle of sorts of my koi fish named "hoover" - mixed little pans of colors and dove in without really a clue what I was doing.

The masking stuff - well in addition to being sticky and difficult to apply with any accuracy, it stinks - I mean really smells bad. Smells worse than nail polish remover! But I persevered.  Layer of paint - hair dryer - mask - layer of darker paint - hair dryer - mask.... and rub, erase, rub some more, erase some more.  And then I got to tidy it up with a brush.

Overall I really like the batik quality of this little painting - and - from a distance, it almot looks like I knew what I was doing!  And you know, I had lots of fun. So now back to the studio!

Blue on Blue

Finally finished.  This is a mixed water media piece on Arches 300lb cold pressed paper.  I have never combined acrylic and watercolor previously.  So, I have learned a lot from this process - get over yourself - use a masking solution.  I started with the sky - four watercolor washes and three in acrylic.  The incredibly stubborn part of me resits masking.  So I started with the sky, painting around the flowers - big mistake.  This left a dark ridge around the flowers - several washes later, hmmm... I had a problem to fix.

I subscribe to the theory that is isn't anything you cannot fix.  So, I pulled out my acrylic tube of cobalt blue- mixed it with the watercolor paint I was using and it worked - only took three washes to fix it!  Did I mention that I am stubborn with this stuff?

Anyway, I love the result! On to more experimentation!

Blue on Blue - Work in Progress

Since the beginning of this past summer, every morning (or so) I would go out onto our deck and admire the amazing shades of blue in our morning glory vine.  As summer progressed and the vines reached the top of the arbor, the shade of changed to a more intense shade of blue.  Several mornings in a row, I would rush outside with my camera to photograph the back lit blooms.  I was afraid it would rain soon and beat the blooms into oblivion.

As summer started to wane, the intensity of blue in the morning sky also deepened.  This is when I realized this little morning obsession I have would have to become a painting.

I was torn – to paint this in watercolour or in acrylic.  Watercolour being my favourite medium, I drew the blooms out on Arches 300lb cold pressed paper. As I began painting, my strategy had to change.  I started with the sky.  With my normal approach, not using a mask (mistake in this case) I started to paint the sky, ever so carefully painting around the blooms.  Three washes later I still had streaks.  This is where the masking medium would have been my friend.

Hmm, what to do? I decided this would be a missed media piece and layered on two more washes, same colours but in acrylic with a tiny touch of white added to help blend out the uneven tones I inadvertently created around the blooms.  This approach worked.  This is now officially a mixed water media piece.  I love the contract and the way the painting is building.

I do believe I will repaint this piece – larger and in acrylic.  In due time. And maybe next summer!

Small works - no small effort

Small Works

Ah, as Christmas approaches it is often quite prudent for artists to complete a number of small works.  These are good as possible donations to requesting charities but also very marketable this time of year – more so that larger works.

I struggle with small paintings.  They are almost as much work as larger pieces and they take a disproportionate amount of time to complete.  Take this little star fighter lily.  Only 5” x 5”  big, er… small.  The drawing took no time really – but painting that level of detail that small is icky picky work.  I get a great deal of satisfaction with large freer brush work that I apply with larger scale acrylics.  Then the fun really begins with I get into the details.  Love this stage.  It is when a painting comes to life. To me this is magic and very satisfying.

So it would make sense that I would also love the detail and concentration of the smaller pieces. And I do.  It is just they are small and that is the whole point.  You have to be closer to the work to see the amount of effort.

In defence of painting small – sometimes they can be outright fun pieces.  You get to experiment with new subjects and or techniques without having to invest mega hours or gallons of paint.

At the end of the day, this little lily is actual size to the bloom and is quite sweet. Point is, you will see a number of smaller pieces painted my me in the weeks to come– tis the season and all!

They will be on display at the Fundy Gallery of Art, Loch Lomond Place in Saint John during the month of December.

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras - this painting was pure fun to work on - well...for the most part.  I recently purchased some water soluble oils and decided to try them out.  I had forgotten how long oils take to dry - and yes, this is the case with this type as well.  So, I painted for a few hours - waited a few days, paint again wait again, you get the picture. This went on for quite awhile.  Then one day as I was studying the piece - I realized it was close to finished!

And so today I worked on it for about four hours and I think it is finally finished.

In this painting is Hoover, Nemo,Comet, Guilda, Goldie, Marilyn and Dot....our pet goldfish and koi. I continue to be fascinated by the fish and love to paint them. The next painting they are swimming in the pond - a whole different perspective. Oh - and it will not be in water soluble oils - this media is too frustrating to work with.

Ruby Red tuLips

This is yet another adventure working on Aquabord.  I am finding this surface is better when worked in a painterly style as opposed to realism and high detail.  It is a good process to go through as it does help to loosen me up as along as I have large pockets of time to work in.  I find when I grab a few minutes to paint – I work in a tighter manner. 

I love the colours of these flowers, not pink, not red and not orange, but really all shades in between.  Tulips when in full bloom make me happy.  I am not completely sure, but to me they represent free spirits. Out in the early spring, bowing in the wind – leaning into the sun. 

This stand grows in my front garden under an apple tree.  The most challenging thing about gardening with tulips is keeping the deer from eating them completely.  As soon as the stalks are out of the ground, I start applying blood meal.  It does help – I also think a spray of safers soap also keeps the deer from munching. I take a lot of photos as soon as the blooms start to open.  Cliché maybe – but I  really like to get shots of backlit tulips.

Noah - "Learning to Fly"

This is a painting long in the making - I started it forever ago and just finished it this week. I had Noah painted on the swing - painted some of the grass - and finally went in for the face.  Normally I would have started with  his little face - and if that didn't work out for some reason - well, I would either start over or move on. 

This is a painting of the little boy next door - and he is adorable.  I showed the painting to his Grandmother and she turned all red and welled up - you know you have captured the essence of the person when you get a reaction that profound! The painting will be hers!

This watercolor is painted on Arches 300lb paper 12" x 15".