Counting on Transformation revisited

My art buddies organized a nice potluck lunch yesterday to cheer me up.  Besides enjoying great food and company, we each brought some of our recent art for a critique.  I love these things…  they really push me to think of the fundamentals and provide many ideas for next steps. 

Something was bugging me about the bottom right of this one but I couldn’t put my finger on the problem.  Today I obliterated the previous work with the turquoise and dark purple paint I used in that corner, let it dry and then used the stencil again with opaque paint and my handy, dandy stencil brush.  Then I hand printed the quote.  The quote doesn’t stand out as much as it did before but I think I like it better this way.  I also increased the contrast in the main butterfly.  I hope you like it…  Regardless, I guarantee this is my last post on this painting! 

First ever painting in oil… SO COOL!!!

Thursday, my friend Lindsey asked me over to try my hand at oil painting.  Thanks to a course she is currently taking at Calgary School of Art, she’s all set up for it and bubbling over with enthusiasm…  She sat me down at an easel, squeezed out some paint, put a brush in my hand and pointed me towards the still life.  This little painting is the result.  I know there are all kinds of composition issues in this one…  but the bottom-line is that I painted, and it felt wonderful!  It’s definitely about the process for me right now. 

I loved the creamy texture of the paint.  It’s a completely different experience than acrylic and watercolor painting.  You can go back and make changes long after acrylics would have been dry.  I really enjoyed the afternoon – it was a great diversion.

Hmmm, I think oil paints are going to be a the very top of my list for Santa this year!  Ciao!

Counting on Transformation [acrylic, 15”x21”]

This painting has been a really good diversion for me this past week.  My subconscious choice to combine the numbers stencil and another that, among other things, include a butterfly was interesting.  The last time I used the number stencil it was for “Counting Sheaves” months ago.  So, once the texture of both stencils started to appear I jumped to the title, and the meaning of this painting for me. 

It’s interesting to study the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.  For example, in nature, only 10% of monarch chrysalises develop into butterflies.  The numbers can climb to 90% if the process variables are properly managed.  We can count on more butterflies in our lives if we set up the right conditions…  that’s what I hope to do over the next weeks and months.  Cheers!

Counting on Transformation - in progress [acrylic on w/c paper, 15”x22”]

I’ve added a quote by Maya Angelou and emphasized the butterfly motif in this painting.  I’m still not done with this.  It lacks balance and I will continue to resolve it over the next few days. I’ve taken a close-up shot of the quote below…    I think I may have made it a bit too small in the painting.  The process of painting is SO good for me right now.  I’m so thankful to have this outlet in my life right now!!!  I’m looking forward to Nov 1 when we begin another journey of discovery in class.  The routine of it will be good for me.

I’m off to have dinner with my folks…  cheers!

Still contemplating…

This painting is looking every bit as muddled up as my mind and heart.  I used 2 stencils with opaque paints.  I’m a “reformed” accountant and there are times I miss the counting parts of my life…  that’s why this number theme surfaces regularly in my work.  I’m also a fan of the butterfly for all it represents about life and transformation within life.  Perhaps a good title for this piece is “Counting on Transformation”…  I think I like it.  I still have a long way to go to make this into a painting but I think I have a plan now…  stay tuned.

Contemplations in Green… acrylic, 15x22

I’m proud of myself – I cleaned up my studio!!!!  You can’t even imagine what a relief it is to re-organize that mess.  It frees the mind.  While tidying up I found a start [below] from Sept 17th and I puttered a bit more putting in some darks here and there.  It really was mindless doodling. Next I will add some opaques and hopefully push and pull it into some kind of a painting.  It felt good to spend some time in the studio.  I don’t feel fantastic about the results but, hey, it’s at least a step in the right direction.  It is definitely NOT about the product right now. 

Good Jumpers [in progress, acrylic]

There’s a little row of bins on the way to the Leighton Centre and that’s what I had in my memory’s eye when I started this.  However, they bear a strong resemblance to the row of old wooden bins we had on our family farm back when I was a kid.  My sibs and I would take a run at the row and hop from one to the other like crazies!  We’d run down the entire row of [I think] 6 bins.  There were a few incidents but nothing too dramatic.  The more dangerous trick was “swimming” in the flax seed.  Yes, I can hear the collective sucking in of breath amongst all the farm folk out there – you can drown in that stuff it is so slippery.  I remember taking turns with Chuck…  one would slog across the bin and the other would sit on the braces ready to grab a hand if it was needed.  What a pair of brats we were sometimes. 

Anyway, I’m still struggling a bit trying to get into the studio.  I seem particularly stuck in the planning phase on paintings.  I cannot plan right now.  So, rather than judging myself and stressing about it I’ve decided to just play…  this was today’s play session.  I enjoyed it…  particularly once I recognized the row of bins and the fond memories from the farm. 

Now, I’m off to the FCA meeting…  Cheers!

Sunrise cloud study… watercolor over acrylic on 140lb arches paper, 11”x15”

I’ve had precious little time for painting lately but I started this yesterday with some loose washes of acrylic in yellows and reds.  This watery application of acrylic doesn’t seal the paper and I was able to put the clouds and foreground in today.  I hope this will kick start me into painting again.  It’s been a rough few weeks for me and my family.  I know that painting is one of the best things I can do for myself and I need to be doing it more regularly.  Hopefully that starts right now. 

Ciao!

Memories of Chuck [slideshow]

I've put this slide show together in honor of my brother, Chuck Matson. He was born on my first birthday and left this earth September 24th, 2010 doing one of the things he most loved - flying. We will miss him but know that he is in a much better place - think of the flying he'll be doing there....
Music credits: Faith Hill singing "There Will Come a Day" [songwriters Christopher Lindsey, William C. Luther, Aimee Mayo]Matt & Beth Redman singing their song "You Never Let Go"Natalie Grant singing "Held", [songwriter Christa Wells]
There are thousand of photos of Chuck. Most of these are from the perspective of the Matson family. May these memories of Chuck comfort you as they have me. God Bless!
Love,Cheryl