Another Plein Air Start

"Fall Sunset", oil painting, 12 x 9"
This is another painting which I began last fall. Needless to say, I had a very limited window of time to do it, so never quite got it finished before the light was gone. I went back into it and did some more work on the trees and field in the foreground, but most of the sky stuff, back and middle grounds are pretty much as I left them. This is the third sunset painting I have done en plein air. I really enjoy the challenge and the speed required. It is very engrossing -you just paint from the sheer joy that is welling up within you as you are faced with the majesty in front of you.
Enjoy!

'New' oil painting

"John Ware Ridge", 12 x 16"oil painting
SOLD  
 
I began this one late last fall, but didn't have time to finish it on location, so I brought it back out and tried to finish it as if I was still there. I was really drawn to the orange colour of the fields in the middle distance. I think it feels like it did while I was there, so I am happy with it.
Enjoy!

Last of the ATC's & student work

These are the last photos of the Artist trading cards that I made to swap with my students. I won't go into detail again about how I made them, but if you want to know just post a comment!



I made little envelopes for all the cards out of photos from old National Geographic images and sealed them all with copper sealing wax and impressed my initials into it with a metal embossing medallion that I got while I was in Sienna, Italy and have been dying to use! The envelopes will protect the dimensional elements.

These are the cards made by one of my students, Sue McIntyre. You will have to click on the image to see it larger. Truly beautiful.
We are talking about doing another round of these for the end of the course in May -will have to wait to see how many takers we have.
Enjoy!

The Creative Life

So this is what I have been doing creatively since Christmas! After my show I was absolutely bagged and had no desire to paint. But I still needed to do something creative -it just seems to be in my DNA. So I took on the scarf, which was a stretch for a very beginner knitter -took the panel from an afgan my Mom made and just adapted it to how I thought it would make a nice scarf. Don't ask me how many times I had to rip it out, but I learned lots. Then I was on to jewelery design. The copper necklace used purchased beads and chain, but all of the shinny copper bits I made myself, and I altered the chain. I made all of the items in the little bracelet except the glass cubes and small beads. It was great fun! But now I am back to oil painting and will post my efforts this week.
Enjoy!

Painting Collage Papers

This week in my mixed media class, we painted sketchbook weight white papers to make a co-ordinated set to do some collage with. As well as patterned papers, we made a collection of solid papers in varying values to use as quiet areas (not shown). I look forward to see what will come of this exercise, but whatever happens, making the papers was FUN.
Enjoy!

Still more ATC's

Today was our swap and I must say that I was most impressed with the ATC's my students made. Here are a few more of mine:
Card #1 ("Grow Your Own Dope") has an 'acrylic inks on yupo' background, a stone with a face painted on it, and a collaged shirt and text. I was glad that the one man in the class didn't pull this one!
Card #2 ('Icarus) has a cut out B&W drawing of Icarus and I painted the sun behind him with acrylics
Card #3 ('Polly's Dream') has a background that I stamped text onto, then did an image transfer of a suit of armour, collaged figure and metal angel, hand calligraphy word
Card #4 ('For Barach') has an 'acrylic inks on yupo' background, and a collaged sketch of Uncle Sam on top -suitable for inauguration day!
Enjoy!

More ATC's

This is my second group of 4 ATC's for my class swap tomorrow.
Card #1 has a monoprint background in which I found an image of a bird and brought out with pencil crayon, rubber stamps of paw prints and a cat, collaged bird image and metal fish skeleton charm attached around the cat's neck. Card edged in copper acrylic.
Card #2 is multi layered collage with dragonflies punched out of monoprinted paper and then edged with copper acrylic
Card #3 has a monoprint background, painted, collaged and charm hearts, and letters out of little scrabble tiles. Metallic fibres attach the charms to the card
Card #4 has a monoprint background, rubber stamped and then embellished dragonfly, punched dragonfly backed with copper (so it is dimensional), and then an applique of another punched dragonfly. Calligraphy letters.

I made little envelopes for all the cards out of photos from old National Geographic images and sealed them all with copper sealing wax and impressed my initials into it with a metal embossing medallion that I got while I was in Sienna, Italy and have been dying to use! The envelopes will protect the dimensional elements.
Enjoy!

Artist Trading Cards Project

This is the mess my studio is in currently! I decided that my mixed media class should do an artist trading card swap for Christmas, however, everyone was way too busy to participate with the holidays looming. So we decided to move the swap to our first day back in class, which is Monday. I have been working all week on these little gems, and am having a lot of fun. At first I have to admit that my own personal attitude wasn't that great -I wanted the class to experience this, but I am realizing more and more that I am learning a lot myself while I am exploring. Taking each card and watching the theme for each one developing, and then the hunt for the 'perfect' embellishment! I only have to make 16, but currently have lots more than that -I will choose my favorite 16 to share with the class.

These are a few of my favorites so far. I have been enjoying using metal embellishments, brads, cutouts, rubber stamps, homemade stamps and found images (handy that we have just decided to part company with 5 years of old National Geographics, which I have been going through to pull out any interesting things to add to my collage stash). I also enjoy finding imagery in abstract painting starts and then developing them (see card #3 "Mother" which is part of an abstract start using acrylic inks on Yupo -it also has a punched gold bird backed with blue collage paper and a collaged word). Card #1 ("Father") has a monoprinted background, found images of man and a fish, and copper sheeting which I embossed and attached with brads, and bits of leftover copper I wound into spirals and glued on. Card #2 ("Artist") has a monoprinted background, an image transfer of me as a child, rubber stamped leaf design and collaged text. Card #4 ("Stone Angel") has a monoprinted background, found image of an angel and a silver metal ornament attached with a brad.
Enjoy!

Long Time, No Post!

Opabin's Glory, oil on canvas, 20 x 24"
SOLD 

It has been a long time since I last posted. This is due to the hectic nature of Christmas along with my solo show, which frankly kind of left me kind of drained. It was a good show, very well received and 9 paintings sold, which is my best show yet. (I actually sold 11 but 2 were bought as Christmas gifts and the wife didn't like them -no accounting for taste!!) I did do a commission painting, posted above which is a larger version of the Opabin's Glory sketch I made at Lake O'Hara this fall.
Other than that I have been being creative by knitting and making jewelery. Sometimes I just need a different outlet for my creativity! I have this week to paint before I return to teaching, so hopefully some good painting will actually come out of that.
I wish you all the best of a new year of wonder and light!