Flight of Fancy [16'x20', mixed media on 1.5" gallery wrap canvas]

This is my submission to the Federation of Canadian Artist's upcoming juried exhibition called "Muse".  What is it that drives you to create?  We all have a muse...whether we're creating a perfect report for a school project, the perfect Saskatoon berry pie [yum!], or a piece of art.

Sometimes I just feel like throwing colour around so I make "starts".  This canvas began months ago with a lot of random colours and shapes.  One day I picked it back up and imposed a grid system and, as I doodled and glazed I began to see a blue shape emerging.... a "Flight of Fancy".  You can see this piece at the FCA gallery on Vancouver's Granville Island from June 6-18, 2017.  If you're in the Vancouver area drop by and check it out!

Flirty Birds [collage on cradled panel, 8"x10"]

I had some fun paper sitting around... just a wipe off sheet that had some pinks, reds, yellow, greens, and then areas I'd cleaned black paint off my brush.  The combination made me think of crows and since I'm getting ready to teach a 3 hour collage workshop at The Collective Art Market here in Lloydminster, I put this together.  It's a very basic design using brown paper (branches), tissue paper (background), and drawing paper (birds).  I had a lot of fun doing it.  Maybe I'll see you on June 15th....  I hope you enjoy the video!

Fields of Green and Gold (8"x10")

The prairies stretch out all around me here in Lloydminster.  The verdant fields of Saskatchewan to the East and the colorful Alberta flatlands to the west.  36 kilometres north we have the beautiful North Saskatchewan river, 47 kilometres south, the Battle river valley.  I'm inspired by these views.  This little painting is a study for a larger piece I'm working on.  Enjoy!

Masked Bandit (oil, 6"x6")

I have a raft of reasons for my nearly 3 month break from blogging. Well, okay, some are reasons and some are excuses. Three come to mind.... a 3 week visit to Japan over Christmas (yay!), bronchitis, and the winter blahs. 'Nuff said. The good news is that I've still been enjoying some painting time. However, I need the quasi-accountability that I find when I'm blogging. It makes me more productive. So, here goes...

I often find myself glancing out my kitchen window looking for birds. Have I mentioned I love birds? Anyway, huge flocks of cedar waxwings have been swooping in an out of my neighbours backyard, loving on their fruit tree leftovers. Enjoy!

 

 

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Bow Lake Beauty (oil on panel, 9"x12")

I set up reminders for all the FCA jury deadlines earlier this year. Last week my phone began to remind me daily of the impending cut-off for the Small, Smaller, and Smallest exhibit (works up to 164 square inches). Those reminders were beginning to get on my nerves :-).

On Thursday I decided to take off my hand brace and see how it withstood a painting session. I limited myself to short sessions and long breaks with ice and heat for my hand. Habits gather rust. Planning a painting is much easier when you're doing it regularly. Finding a subject was the biggest challenge. I have a huge collection of reference photos but nothing new felt right. I selected these trees along Bow Lake because I've painted this view before (Here). Having the mood and plan in my head was half the battle. This ensured I didn't spend a bunch of my time planning...I could just dive in and paint.

My hand cooperated reasonably well. It's a bit shaky and small, repetitive movements are a challenge. But, we made it through and I'm pretty happy with the result. Whether Bow Lake Beauty is accepted into the show or not, I really enjoyed painting again! Have a great weekend!

 

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Mr Stellar's Jay

Georg Wilhelm Stellar, a German naturalist, named half a dozen species on his 1741 voyage. Of those, only Stellar's Jay continues to thrive. The alpine area around Lake Tahoe is one of the places in Western North America where these birds thrive. They're ostentious, outgoing, and noisy birds. They beg for picnickers' lunch regularly. It's been fun hanging out with them these last six days in the lovely Tahoe basin. Cheers!

 

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Sand Harbor watercolour sketch

We visited Sand Harbor State Park on the Nevada (east) side of Lake Tahoe yesterday afternoon and I did this little watercolour sitting on a rock looking out onto a gorgeous beach. Ron spent his time wandering the pathways with the camera. It was a very quiet and relaxing time together. Ahhhhh, vacation!

 

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Day's End (9"x12", oil)

This quick sketch is the result of cleaning my oil palette in preparation for our California trip. Oil paint doesn't last forever on a palette and unfortunately, my hand hasn't been cooperating with my plans. Today I painted through the pain. This image was meant to feel relaxed, like an evening after a hot lake day. Everything felt great as I painted...except my right hand, which complained bitterly. I can't get over how much of daily life involves my dominant hand! Amazing!

 

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Movement in Mixed Media

It's been a very busy summer at our house. I've been taking a break from painting due in part to summer activities, and most recently, a very sore right hand. It's funny how important my right hand is to my creative processes! This past few days I've been slowly building up layers on a 24"x36" canvas using my left hand and rags. I slosh on some paint, move it about, and wipe it off in places. Between layers I consider the principles and elements of design. But both the painting and the planning feel all wrong and I think it has to do with using my left hand so much. Argh! Hopefully I'll be right as rain soon. If not, I hope that at least i'll hear soon that using the hand won't cause any damage despite the pain.

Anyhow, after I collaged some highly textured Japanese papers onto my canvas i began to add paint. The images below show some of the stages of development this canvas has gone through. The surface is quite rough and these images don't show that aspect.

Tomorrow I'll post my plans for finishing this piece. Cheers!

 

 

 

 

 

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Repurposed Birdbaths

My granddaughter Vicki has been here visiting since July 4. We decided to collect some garage sale stuff and repurpose it into birdbaths. Here they are at the end of our project... It was lots of fun.

 

 

 

 

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