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I see you – painting of a sparrow
I See You is an 8″ x 10″ acrylic painting on Claybord of a white throated sparrow watching me from my apple tree. Luckily, I almost always have a camera on the ready within reach. On this particular day I was perched on my deck, hunkered down, camera focused on our bird feeders. The birds were so active. Swooping in for a sunflower seed and then rushing off with their treasure to peck it open. And then swooping back in for another. Over and over and over again. The only problem is how fast they move. Just as soon as I would get one little bird in focus, poof it…
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Two in their new home
Ever since I painted these two dahlias, my daughter Jenn has had her eye on them. We finally had the opportunity to get them out to Vancouver without the hefty shipping charges. How you ask? Out of the frames, off the stretcher bars, rolled in towels and placed in her sister’s suitcase. Although it is a bit risky to put valuables in a suitcase, it worked and they arrived safely. Although I probably would not recommend this by the way. Do as I say, not as I do My father had an expression that made me crazy “do as I say, not as I do”. And here I am…
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Summer’s Jewels – Nasturtiums
Summer’s Jewels was so much fun to work on – I mean I completely love these colours. And I completely loved pouring the colours of nasturtiums! There were a few moments of uncertainty – like when the making compound really did not want to come off. Took me a few hours…. and a blister to make it happen! This painting went through seven different pours – one colour I applied twice to increase the intensity. Below is the peel reveal I friend and I were recently discussing colours what subjects pour better or what make a successful poured painting. Whether monochromatic or complimentary colours pallets would be more effective? I…
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Sunshine Yellow Azaleas
I just finished this poured watercolor commission of sunshiny yellow azaleas I think what I like best about poured paintings is how fast they seem to build. The process keeps you engaged daily – I typically work on them each day for about two weeks. Each stage has to dry completely before you move onto the next. But the progress really builds nicely. There were seven pours with this painting. Once completely dry I removed the frisket. I call this the peel reveal. Some artists take their work to this stage and call it done. I personally cannot do this, although I have been tempted a few times with the…
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Duckie Duet and trouble with my easel
So today I had one of those days in the studio Everything I touched went wrong. Easel Troubles The bottom support on my big easel dropped to the floor right through my fingers with a loud bang and a bad word. The ball bearings in the crank mechanism hit the floor and rolled all over the place. Unfortunately we were unable to recover all of them. Does anyone know how to reassemble a crank easel? The air in the studio has to be exceptionally dry this time of year with the electric heat going all the time. Because of the dry wood on the easel frame we couldn’t tighten it…
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What I have learned
What I have learned while attempting to Painting 30 28 Paintings in 30 Days Once I got over the initial fear of committing to a project of this magnitude, I made the decision to approach it with a few ground rules for myself: First – that I would not compromise on quality; and Second – that I wanted to use this challenge to explore new surfaces and mediums What I have learned: That I like to paint watercolors on larger paper 11.5 x 14, what is call ¼ sheet. It only took one day for me to realize this size was not sustainable as it takes too long to complete a…
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30 Paintings in 30 days Finale
Wow. What can I say. I really did stick with the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. Only I painted 28. Really 27 as my last painting was finished today – after the end of the challenge. I am so glad I decided to do this challenge for a few reasons – it help passed this cold month and I wanted to use materials and subjects I do not always get around to. And I learned a lot. I learned that I actually do like acrylic paint. I just do not like to use it on canvas as I am unable to get the degree of detail I want…
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Icky ick ick ick
Icky ick ick This is an interesting photo I want to share. When working up close and personal on a bug painting there is a bit of a creepy factor with that level of concentration. It actually imprint on my brain! I still feel the disgust… As I was focused on this little painting, I almost jumped out of my skin. There on my drafting table was a dead roach of some kind between me and my palette. I stood up in disbelief, moved my canvas away and swatted at the thing a few times. It didn’t move. Then I squinted at it and low and behold – the creepy…
