Fielding Colour

This is from a photograph I took when I was last in England. It is of rapeseed fields which are in full bloom in May.

'Springtime Fields' 8" x 8" acrylic on board.

On the Horizon

A couple of years ago I was given a Canson Montval art board when I attended a workshop. It won't accept oil paints so I decided to do a painting with my acrylics.

Probably because it was free, I decided to try something a little different and more abstract than usual. I also worked to be less slavish to my source photograph using it more for inspiration.

I am very happy with the result.

'Darkening Horizon' 8"x10" acrylic on board.

Flowering Work

I've been painting again and here are the results.

'Solitude Awaits Below' 8"x10" Oil on Board.

'Gerbera Trio' 5"x5" Acrylic on Canvas.

Castaway in Hawaii

'Kona Clouds' 8" x 10" Oil on Canvas.

This is from a photograph I took while in Hawaii (the Big Island) two years ago. I used to live there so it is wonderful to revisit my old haunts and spend time with friends.

It was more overcast than normal the last time we were there which meant I could get some pictures of those beautiful tropical colours in deeper tones.

Set to Work

I am finally able to do a little painting and here is a little painting.

Sunset Reflections 5" x 7" Oil on Canvas.

Mail Memories

I was recently in this show in Canada but the on-line portion of the show didn't happen so I thought I'd post my entry here. Now the show is over, my card will be sent to one of the other participants and I wl receive someone else's card.

This is the first time I've entered a show like this and it was fun to do. On reflection there are things I would change about my piece were I to do it again. But art, like so many things in life, is about a journey where you continue to make progress and learn from your prior efforts.

Blooming Lovely

My painting of yellow Gerbera daisies sold the day after Christmas at the San Clemente Art Gallery.

Island Life

'Treasure Island' 5" x 7" Oil on Canvas.

This is the southern most beach in Laguna Beach and is named for the 1934 film 'Treasure Island' which was filmed here. 

Sunny Flowers

The more I look at this painting, the more I like it. Though small, it really lights up the area around it.

'Sunny Bouquet' 5" x 7" Oil on Canvas.

The Sun of the Parts

'Sunny Cove' 6" x 8" Oil on Canvas. This is taken from a photograph by one of my cousins of a beach in Cornwall, England. Cornwall has beautiful, rugged coastline as well as some quaint harbours and towns. I always visit Cornwall when I visit England as I have friends and family there.

I wanted to keep the painting's complexity to a minimum to stress the simple forms of the cliffs and a sense of depth.

Feeling Blue

I've been working on a private commission, in watercolour, for a friend since I returned from my trip so haven't been painting with oils until this week.

This was painted from a photograph of a sunset at Doheny Beach.

'Blue Heaven' 5"x7" Oil on canvas.

Better Safe Than Sorry

When I took the decision to paint largely on board and canvas, rather than paper, I chose acrylic paint rather than oils because I didn't want to use turpentine, for my own health's sake and my hubby's since he can't tolerate strong smells. At the time we were living in AZ and my studio did not have enough ventilation (due to needing the windows on and the air conditioner on so much of the year) to dissipate the fumes.
Eventually I took the plunge into oils with water-soluable oil paints which wash up with water and don't require the use of turpentine.

While these actions took care of our safety I also wanted to do what I could for the environment which meant tackling what to do with the water I used during painting. I didn't feel comfortable just pouring it down the sink with the flecks of pigment from the paint in it. So what to do?

I am not an inventor, I am not useful with my hands in a handyman sort of way, but I came up with a very simple and inexpensive solution which I have been using for years now and want to share with any artists out there.

I start with an empty 32 oz yogurt container. Now there are several types of such containers and not all of them are suitable because some have a wider mouth. I measured the mouth of the container shown at its widest point and it is four and a half inches wide.

Next you need a shorter container whose mouth is also four and a half inches wide. There is more choice available for this container. The one shown is a 16oz container bit I also use one that is 15oz and a little deeper. The main criteria though is that both containers are the same width across.

Turn over the small container and draw the following lines with a pen.

Then carefully cut out the two shapes. So far I have managed to do this without losing a finger or cutting the wrong part.

Next, get yourself a coffee filter. I don't drink coffee so this was something I had to go and buy especially. I didn't like how much they cost so I went to a dollar shop to see if they could be bought there.

One hundred and fifty filters for $1 sounded like a good bargain to me.

Put the cut small container inside the larger container.

Then put in the coffee filter.

Pour your dirty water into the container and listen to it drip through the filter collecting the paint fragments install container (as on the right.

When the filter is new the water will drip through very quickly. How often you change the filter is up to you. I try to use one as long as possible. I have found that, even though it appears no water is dripping, after leaving the pot overnight I found more of the water had gone through.

I personally found that I could use each filter longer when using acrylic paints than my oils. Since I use less water with oil paint It takes longer to dirty my water than when I use acrylics.

If you let the filtered water settle for several hours and then pour it out carefully you will find the the water looks almost clear while the paint fragments stay in the large container staining the inside walls and bottom.

Fruitful Efforts

I don't have a name for this yet. 5"x7" Oil on canvas.

Underneath the painting is a rough texture created by spreading modeling paste across the canvas before painting. Doing so the day before painting allows for plenty of time for the paste to dry.

Friendly Flowers

It has been a little while since I have painted with acrylic paints and I had forgotten how fast they dry compared with oils. But it was fun to work with them again.
I call this a still-life because it was done from a photograph of flowers in my garden.

'Complimentary Companions' 5" x 7" Acrylic on Canvas.

Delightful Painting

A single Stardust Daisy from my garden. 'Sole Delight' 5" x 7" Oil on Canvas.

Changes

After painting in my studio for two years now, I have been able to fully realise some of the shortcomings of the arrangement of furniture in my easel area. As my inability to step back far enough from my work to look at it properly got more annoying I decided it was time for a change.

Here is how it looked before the change.

As you can see, when I stepped back from the easel I hit my drawing table.

I could step back further if I changed the angle of the easel. However, I would have to move the easel back to start painting again (because that angle didn't provide the right light for painting) so it wasn't a good solution. Although my drawing table was in the way, I did not want to take it out of the room. Even though I haven't been using it as a drawing table lately, I still wanted it there.

After discussing the issue with hubby, this is what we came up with.

We changed the position of the drawing table and that of my easel and taboret. I can still put my drawing table up quickly to use it for drawing but most of the time it is placed vertically to give me the room to step back from the easel sufficiently.

I also moved my taller still life stand next to the taboret. It used to be next to a desk, barely seen in the bottom left-hand corner, but it blacked some light to the desk and ended up being a flat surface for papers, books and other stuff. It is still easily accessible in its new place and I now have a greater feeling of space in the studio.

The changes did cause some new problems, so there were compromises, but my highest priorities were met and that is the most important thing.

Drawn To It

I have been having some problems finding enough time to paint because other aspects of my life have been getting in the way. When I started to paint I found myself drawing much less. It wasn't through any conscious decision, it just happened.

Well over the past few months I have fallen in love with drawing again drawing every spare minute I can. I now have several sketch books, as well as scraps of paper, piled up in my art studio with different projects in them all on the go.

One of my favourite books to draw in at the moment is a book I bought at a library sale. I've seen this idea several places including here and wanted to try it for myself.
Initially, I wanted to use this a vehicle for trying new things and worrying less about the outcome. But I like these results so much I don't want to 'spoil' my book with reject drawings. I think I am better doing my experiments on single sheets that I can save or throw away. Even so, drawing with a ballpoint pen is quite daring for me so there is some element of risk involved. 

These are pen drawings of paintings by one of my favourite artists that I did on loose sheets which I stuck in my art journal. I like to draw paintings as it is difficult at times to replicate paint marks using a pen or pencil.

Most of my art journals are simple composition books with squared paper. They are a consistent size and, as a result, fit better on the shelf. 

Another recent project is drawing self-portraits as an assignment for an online class I am taking. This was drawn in pencil first  before going over the lines with brown ink. This was drawn on some very basic sketching paper.

Sign of the Times

This is my last post about my trip to England last month.


Something I love to do is visit artist's homes or studios. In Provence, a few years back, I was able to visit Renoir's home/studio and Cezanne's studio.
In London I visited the home of the artist Frederic Lord Leighton.

I last visited about 16 years ago and I wanted to see it again on this trip. A bonus was that the friend I stay with in London had never been there and that the house was exhibiting Victorian Visions: Pre-Raphaelite and Nineteenth-Century Art from the John Schaeffer Collection. I missed seeing this in America a few years ago so it was a happy coincidence to get another opportunity to see it.


Go here to see a picture and also a virtual tour of the magnificent Arab Hall at Leighton House which is my favourite room there.

One of the things I like to happen upon when I walk around London are the blue plaques. These are blue plaques placed on buildings associated with 'notable figures of the past'. See more about the scheme here. Some are people I've heard of and some not which can spark some research. Some of these buildings, like Leighton House, are museums and open to the public but many are private homes.


In the same area where my friend lives is a plaque for another artist.

I don't know much about Walter Sickert although I saw some of his work on my visit to Tate britain. He was a member of the Camden Town group. I want to learn more about this group in the coming months.

The Wonder of Art

What are the chances that you will visit a gallery in the morning on the first day of a new show and find the artist in attendance? Not unlikely but then again not too certain if the actual reception is set for that evening.
Then what are the chances, if it is your good fortune that the artist is in attendance, that you've only had eight hours sleep after being awake for the previous 32 hours? In my case that's exactly what happened on my first full day in London in early May.


The Gallery in question was Richmond Hill Gallery in Richmond, London. The artist was Philip Sutton RA, an artist I only discovered a few years ago but whose work I fell in love with for its expressiveness and exuberant colour.

Although I was coherent enough to recognise Mr Sutton that was as far as my speaking abilities went as I groped for the ability to ask and answer questions. Despite doing a fair impression of a half-wit, Mr Sutton was very gracious and talked to me for a while about the way he decided to paint compared with his contemporaries in the 1950's.

In a better frame of mind, I could have thought of many good questions to ask  but I also wouldn't have wanted to take up too much of his time. I loved seeing the paintings which were inspired by a trip to Crete.

As I was leaving I was invited to attend the evening's private view (which I was sadly unable to attend - although I feel that I had my own private viewing that morning) and one of the ladies manning the gallery very generously gave me a copy of the show's accompanying book and DVD. As tired as I was, I floated back down the street.

What a highlight and brilliant way to start my visit. For me it was a magical moment.

To photograph part of the book to illustrate this post I placed the book on my palette box and realised that the colours from the last painting I did before my trip were very close to those in the painting on the cover.

Virtual Visit

Today I have decided to invite you to a virtual visit to my home studio. A virtual visit means you don't get to see the untidy (ok, more untidy) parts of my studio.
Getting my studio organised into its most efficient arrangement seems to be an on-going process.That's because it is also home to some of my things that don't have a good home elsewhere in the house.

Please come in.

The immediate eye-catcher is my easel which shows a current work in progress. Hold on. Who's that in the background?

It's Vincent van Gogh who oversees activities in the studio, keeping me on my toes. He's not smiling so what have I done wrong now?!

Next to my easel are some of my paints and mediums.

In another part of the studio are some of my painting props. I'm slowly building these up.

Also evolving is my inspiration board of colours, scenes and other items which encourage and inspire me.

Other sources of inspirations are the lives of my favourite artists, my art journals and the photographs I take.

This sign reminds me to get outside to seek new inspiration from my surroundings.

I enjoy looking at artwork I've done in the past. There's Vinnie again. Still not happy. Probably thinks I should get back to work.

Thank you for coming.