new sketch

Summertime....for the Sketchbook Project

This is a new sketch I did the other night for the Sketchbook Project. The photo isn't good, but it's better than the scan. I tried to add the touch of color, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's kind of clashy with the yellow-toned paper, I think. But oh well! I don't have to try to worry about pleasing anyone but myself with this one. Thanks to the facebook group Happiness Yes for the photo. It made me happy to look at it, which I really need right now, considering the state of things at home.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/HappinessYes-/111871948772

Bella Coola Floods, Painting Workshops and Commissions

Well, a bloody lot has happened since I last posted, and that was only a little over a week ago.

Sorry to keep you waiting, but I have a good reason. Mainly that my town, Bella Coola, with it's one highway leading into it, has been hit with a devastating flood. The road is out in innumerable places, and it could be weeks or months before it is open...and I am on the other side. I can't get home.

(Our main highway through town...that's the gas station.)

  Bailey Bridge

Firvale

But, on to better news: The reason I was out of town when the flood happened is because I was having an opening at a gallery in Quesnel, and teaching a painting workshop, and those were successful. Here are a few of my students, working really hard. Great paintings, ladies!

And, lastly, the good thing about being stuck out here, I scored a great commission to paint someone's dear deceased dog, and I'm pretty excited to get that underway.  All of the time spent stuck in Quesnel could lead to a lot more work, teaching and otherwise, so that's all good. I just wish that I could see my hubby and my friends, and help with all of the rebuilding. I feel so far away from everyone. My heart goes out to them. 

My Darling Billy

Billy in my sketchbook

I've been really enjoying looking at less serious stuff lately, namely people's sketchbooks. I love the spontaneity, the freedom, and the sense of the artist in these pictures. I've been finding them on Flickr, and on art blogs, (check out Andrea Joseph's stuff...it's amazing!, and also Paul Madonna) and I realized, I don't sketch enough. I take my art way too seriously.

I guess that there's so little time in a day, being a mom and a wife, that any chance I get to paint, I paint seriously. It feels like a waste of time to sketch, when I have so little of it to begin with.  My focus has been on success so much, and recognition, and now that I'm finally getting a few shows out of town, and workshops, my art feels suddenly so joyless. I've been painting for shows, and for work, but I need to find the joy in it again, and maybe I can by sketching more. 

This is my sweet husband, Billy. We had a beautiful sunny day, about two days ago. He was home from work, and we sat on the deck, soaking up the sun. The light was great, so I grabbed my sketchbook and whipped this one off.

I also joined the "Sketchbook Project".  It's a pretty cool idea. You send them $25. They send you a moleskine sketchbook, you pick a theme, fill it up and send it back to them. Once there it becomes part of the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Art Library. You can also have them put the whole thing on line for an extra fee, where they're there for the whole world to see. 

Anyways, that's my post for the day.

Don't forget to check out my ebay listings. I have a bunch of Cat ACEO's for sale, starting at only $9.99.

The Chairman

                                   "The Chairman" 2.5"x3.5" ACEO
      

Chairman Meow is a lovely cat that belongs to my friend and employer, Holly, of Coast Mountain Lodge in Bella Coola. He is sweet and affectionate...more like a big friendly dog than a cat, and he's also a manx...ya, just a little stump of a tail...anyways, he's a sweetie, and I had to paint him.

I've actually been on a bit of an ACEO painting binge this week, so check out my listings by clicking on the scrolling gallery to your right.

Unfortunately the horses and driver in my previous posting met an unfortunate demise...beware of painting when you're not in the mood, is my advice to all of you artists out there that might have a bit of a temper, lol! Yes, I have to start over, or patch the hole in my canvas....

A Farmer's Work...

In the past few years, I've become increasingly more interested in natural, sustainable eating and health. This image from Wetcanvas spoke to me of going back to the natural, safe way of eating...hard work, and "real life" instead of the pounding onslaught of consumerism. I want to have a better life. One where we slow down, and enjoy what we've made, and smell the clean air, and be in nature. 

This is the photo, on my computer monitor which I routinely work from instead of photos. I like that I can enlarge sections, play with the color and contrast, and crop it till it works. So much of the preliminary stuff can be done on the computer instead of spending hours doing sketches and color studies. I admit, I'm a bit lazy when it comes to that stuff...

So here's my set up. I don't have a fancy studio. I don't have optimal lighting, I have to do the best I can with what I have. Which is a really bright kitchen!:) The thing I absolutely love about my house is all the windows. They wrap around the whole house, filling it with natural light from all directions...which isn't so great for painting still lifes, but it works for now.

And here's the beginning stages of my new painting.  I've covered the canvas in a thin layer of acrylic in a light, misty green. I think it was Payne's Grey, Burnt Umber, and Hooker's Green, mixed with Gesso. I mixed the top section a little greener, and the bottom a little browner, as it will be tilled soil.

I did a grid with vine charcoal for this one, as it's fairly large, and I wanted to make sure I got the horse bums all in the right place:) You can see the ghost of it where I rubbed it out. I like vine charcoal because it doesn't really muddy your colors if you paint over it, and it wipes or rubs off very easily. Here, I've just drawn in the basic outlines of the main elements and started a block in of the basic colors for the first two horses and the farmer. I try to remember that it's cool light, so the shadows will be warmer, and I also want the painting to have a mistier, more atmospheric look, so I'm lessening the contrast and cooling out the colors a bit more than in the photo.

Next post will be stage two...now I have to go paint it!

Cheers!

Grizzly Bear in the River

                                 Grizzly  8"x10" graphite on bristol  $150.00

Soon to be framed, and on display for sale at the Bella Coola Valley Inn Gallery. Framed Price, $200.00.

The Bella Coola Valley, where I live is one of the last wild places on earth. The population is tiny...we have about 1800 people in a stretch of about 60 km, the valley is narrow, lined with glacier fed creeks, and streams filled with salmon, so it is also one of the prime locations for spotting grizzly bears in the wild. While most people on the planet can only hope to see these amazing creatures in the zoo, I have to shuttle my kids inside while they plunder the fruit on my fruit trees and lumber nonchalantly through our yard. People come from all over the world to get a chance to see one. In fact, today I have the great fortune to go on a river drift with my boss, Fraser Koreluk, who owns Coast Mountain Lodge and Kynoch adventures here in Bella Coola. They offer deluxe accommodation, and outdoor adventures, such as eco-tours and Bear viewing tours. I hope we see bears today, so I can get some more reference photos to paint from.

Framing Options

unframed $150.00 framed $200.00

Grizzly Bear Sow and Cubs painting demo

I only decided to make this a demo at this stage...sorry, I didn't get an earlier pic! But this is only about 40 minutes in. The canvas is only 9"x 12". I didn't draw or grid this one at all.  I just eyeballed the main shapes and distances with reference marks, filling in the darkest darks and a vague outline with a rough underpainting of burnt umber thinned with 1/2 mineral spirits and 1/2 walnut oil. I like walnut oil because it doesn't stink like linseed, and from what I've read, it's more stable and non-yellowing. I did a thin coat of burnt umber mixed with a touch of payne's grey for the mother's undercoat, which shows through most of her light overcoat. The cubs have a bit of ultramarine blue mixed with that, as they appeared to be greyer, with less red in their coats. The overcoat on the mom is mostly yellow ochre with a bit of burnt umber and white, with touches of burnt sienna for the redder markings.  The black for her eyes and nose is burnt umber and ultramarine blue, which makes a great black. Much less flat than tube black, which I don't like to use at all, other than for getting some interesting greys.  I've started to wash in the background with a half medium half paint mix of burnt umber, paynes grey, and white, with a bit of terre verte.                                                                                                                

This second stage is at about two hours. I've refined Mom's fur a bit, adding some darker shadows, and I've finished off the cub on the ground and started on the cub on her back. The cubs have a different texture and color of fur, so I'm mixing a bit more blue to the burnt umber, yellow ochre and white mix, to get a greyer color. They're also fuzzy, so I'm using a dabbing technique to capture the look of their fluff. I've refined the background as well, trying to get the look of the tide flat's wet muddy, sand. 

   Patience 9" x 12" oil on canvas  $250.00

And Voila! Finished, in about 3 and a half hours. This one will be for sale at the Bella Coola Valley Inn Gallery, as soon as the paint is dry...probably Friday. Thank you so much to Roy Tennant at www.freelargephotos.com for the reference. Cheers!