Arts on the Credit Giveaway!

Here are all 8 miniature paintings I am giving away. I haven't done anything this small in years... I had forgotten
how fast they go. And how fun they are. 

Arts on the credit is here in less than a week. So far this is the only art fair I do (but I am hoping to change that this year... I've got my applications ready and deadlines marked on the calendar. Bring it on). I'm on my 3rd year there, and I have to admit, it usually causes me a great deal of anxiety. I'm dealing with everything much better this year... I'm not running around looking for stuff because I put it away when everything was done last year. I got my display stuff out last week and set it up in the garage, so I'm sure I've got all the tools and hardware packed up and ready to go. I've got a bunch of prints I can take, I have way more art than I can possibly fit in my 10 foot booth, and I have something to wear that I'm sure fits me. I even managed to get a haircut. Yay me!

This is by far the largest piece I will have with me. If
you spot it, you're in the right place.

One thing I usually do, after the fact, is give something away to my followers. I always plan to have something posted during the show, but every year I am so bogged down with other stuff that I don't get to it. Well, people, not this year! Over the past two weeks I have managed to paint 8 miniature originals, all one of kind in a series, and I am going to have a draw. 

If you are planning to visit the show this year... and that's April 9-10... stop around at my booth. I will have ballots to fill out, and a box to put them in. Fill in your info, drop it in the box, and that's it. When the show is over I will draw out 8 names, contact you for your address, and I'll drop them in the mail. Easy peasy. 

For those of you who actually paint yourself, I'm going to tell you what I was doing here.... I've recently been refreshing my memory on the rules of visual art. I wrote about that last week. I stumbled onto a video on colour theory (sorry, I can't find the one I watched. I lose stuff on youtube all the time. I really should bookmark the good ones) and this guy explains it way better than any of my professors did in uni. So, I picked out three random colours that were sitting on my art table, added my favourite metallic, and got to work. I honestly didn't know how these were going to look. I don't know if I would ever have thought of putting turquoise, crimson and raw sienna together, but they were sitting next to each other, so there you go. By making sure there was a bit of each colour in every colour mix, the colours work together beautifully, even though they don't necessarily go together when you look at the full strength hues, side by side. Something I maybe figured out intuitively, without actually articulating it. It was a fun little exercise. 

Anyway, I'm hoping I'll have some time to post some photos from the show next week, but in case I don't, I'll be back to my regular Sunday posting the following week. Have a good one, and I'll see you at the show.  

Abstract Painting: Pheonix Rising

"Phoenix Rising", 12x12" mixed media on canvas. Available. 

I have recently been in touch with an artist friend I haven't talked to in a while. He asked to see what I've been up to lately, so I sent him a few photos.

"What happened to all the colour?!"

Ok, so it's been a long while. I think the last time he saw my painting, I was working on my music series.  So yeah, this stuff is really different. My friend is a very accomplished artist. He shows across the country and his work sells well. If he sees fit to offer advice, I am going to listen carefully... and take notes. He recommended I work on my compositions a bit more, add some colour, maybe loosen up a bit with my use of line. All things I notice in other artist's work, but haven't been focused on in my own.  I've been so intent on how a piece makes me feel that I've been ignoring a lot of the design stuff I've learned over the years.

I didn't have to consider what he was saying for long, I knew immediately that he was right. I got out some books and reread the chapters on composition. I watched a few youtube videos on the use of value and design in visual art. Refreshed my memory on the "rules". Then I prepped a couple small canvases and got back to work.

It's hard to keep all this info in the back of my mind while I'm working. I've very much an intuitive painter. For this piece, I asked a couple local artist friends to take a look and offer a critique when I was at a mid-point, just to keep myself on track. That's something I miss about school... oh, not those scathing critiques where everyone in the room tells you how you totally missed the boat on this one, but the helpful, thoughtful comments that direct you out of a problem when you are stuck and ready to get out the gesso.

Most artists work in isolation to some degree. It's helpful if you have other artists around to bounce ideas off of, to share information, and to just talk to. But I've found that since I left school, getting any constructive criticism is extremely difficult. People are so afraid to hurt each other's feelings that they won't offer an opinion that could honestly help the other person improve their work. Even in a workshop environment, I've found that instructors are quick to point out the parts that are working well, but tend to avoid the part that isn't. Of course any advice has to be welcome and considerately given. Not personal or confrontational. If things are done with consideration and in the spirit of helpfulness, the whole critique process can be pleasant for all participants. And we can all learn to be better artists.

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If you are in the GTA, I will be exhibiting at Arts on the Credit, April 9-10 at the Waterside Inn in Port Credit. I'll have a whole pile of new work on display, along with 40 or so other artists and fine crafts people. It's always a good show.

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Art Journals: Working through mistakes

An entry in my larger mask journal... I've got two going at the moment. This one is made from watercolour paper.

One think I like to do in my art journals is experiment. I come across a lot of different techniques in my reading and online exploration, and I've got a list of things I want to try. Sometimes it takes me ages to get around to trying something. Sometimes I try it out and like the effect, but it doesn't necessarily work with what I'm doing at the moment, so I set it aside until I need it.

This page started with an image transfer of a photo I found online. I didn't really remember how to do a transfer... It had been a while, and though I remembered the basics, I figured I should try it out and make sure I didn't forget something important before I included the technique in a workshop I was teaching. So I had my background painted and collage done, and placed the image where I wanted my transfer. The next day I took off the paper and... it looked pretty bad. The image I used had a lot of tone. I hadn't adjusted it to have more contrast. And my background was too dark. I could hardly see it. 

I decided I was going to figure out a way to make this work. I got out my paints and slowly built up the form... highlight, colour, highlight, colour... until I could see the image. He still looks like he's in the background. Maybe looking through a window? Or a ragged hole? So on the facing page I drew the mask, in the foreground. Almost like he had removed it and set it aside. I think I am satisfied with this page. It may not be particularly beautiful, but it speaks to me. 

I could have just as easily painted over the entire thing with gesso. It would actually have been a lot easier to do that. But I think what was there wasn't awful, it just wasn't what I had planned. By looking and thinking and figuring out a way to make it work I not only salvaged the page, I created something unique that would communicate something about my life. And that's what art is. 

Abstract Painting: Where Spirit Meets Bone, Part 2

"Where Spirit Meets Bone", Diptych, 60x40", Mixed Media on Canvas. Available.

The original drawing for this piece came from a video of a couple dancing. They were connected, yet separate... two people that seemed so much a part of each other, I couldn't really imagine them as single entities.

It's funny how certain images and ideas trigger other thoughts. They were young, they moved so gracefully, but what came to mind was my parents. My mom is here, my dad is gone... but they are still so intertwined in my memory that I suspect they will always be like one unit to me. Trying to get this idea across... visually... that was a tough one. I decided to accentuate it through the format. Each canvas is successful on it's own, but they look like they belong together. They look better together. I won't separate them... as far as I'm concerned, this is one piece. But once it's out of my hands, it's out of my control.

The right side alone... still works as an
individual piece, but definitely works better
with it's partner.

Doing the original drawing I took a similar approach. I held one watercolour crayon in each hand, and followed the dancer's movements simultaneously. It was difficult to watch them both at the same time... I set myself up at a distance and tried to concentrate on the motion as a unit, not as individual bodies (If you want to try something that really gets you into the present, try doing that. It's impossible to think about anything but what you are doing...).

As I couldn't do more than glance at my actual drawing while I was working on it, my starting point was somewhat unplanned. Anyone who has followed along for a while knows this is an ongoing trend in the way I work... give myself a problem, then work my way out of it.  I find that while I am a decent problem solver (at least as far as visuals go), staring at a blank canvas with a world of possibilities open to me will cause me to freeze up. There are just too many choices. I love those creative exercises where you just scribble a few lines, then try to make an image out of it. Having that limitation put on myself will spark my creativity. Once I figured that out, it seemed I was away to the races. I'm hopeful that creative blocks are a thing of the past for me. Of course nobody knows what the future holds... but I have some tools at my disposal to help me work my way out of whatever life throws my way.

If you are in the Toronto area, I will be at Arts on the Credit, April 9-10 at the lovely Waterside hotel in Port Credit. It's always a wonderful show, with over 40 artists showing off their latest work. Drop by to check it out, and be sure to say hello.

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Abstract Painting: Where Spirit Meets Bone, Part 1

"Where Spirit Meets Bone", Part 1 of a Diptych, 30x40" (complete piece is 60x40"),
Mixed Media on Canvas. Available.

Stage One: the two canvases together barely fit on my
easel. I'm thinking a triptych is probably out of the question.

A couple months ago, I decided that I needed to do something large.  I've been working small for years... the largest I'd venture was a 30x40" piece I did last year. Problem is, I can't fit anything larger than that in my car. Even that is tight. But I wanted larger. I wanted something substantial. I wanted something that screamed "I'M HERE".

I have been working in series for a long time. I like to work that way. I get started on something, and I can just keep going until I get bored... which can take months or longer. I worked on my music series for probably close to 2 years.  Maybe, I thought,  I could do two pieces that worked together. A diptych. I hadn't done one of those before, and once I got the idea into my head, I couldn't get it out. I was going to have to do it.

Next stage... building the layers...

I had a couple large canvases hanging around I had gotten on sale about a year ago. They were just sitting there. For a year. That's crazy. I was doing well using up my stash of supplies... it was time for me to use these big canvases. Put together... 40x60"... oh my, that is an intimidating size. I decided to approach it just the way I work on a small piece.... Pick a colour and just start.

Once I got going it went pretty well, even if it did take a fairly long time.  I have been working away on this piece for what feels like ages: one canvas, then the other, then I'd put them together and make sure they work. It got difficult near the end, when I needed to have them together to put on the finishing touches. They barely fit on my easel (which is huge... when my husband built it for me I thought he was crazy making me something that big. You'll need it eventually, he said....). They seemed to take up most of the small room I work in. To get a sense of how they worked from a distance I had to move them out into the main part of the house and look at them from the end of the hall.

Anyway... I'm happy that I pushed myself to do something a little out of my comfort zone. Once it was done I felt a huge sense of satisfaction. I will do it again... but probably not soon. I have a spot to hang this one, but don't have too many walls big enough to accommodate a piece this large. Next week I'll post the other half, a shot of the two canvases together, and a bit about the imagery. If you are in the Toronto area, I'll have this and many other abstract paintings with me at the Arts on the Credit art fair on April 9 and 10, 2016. Come on out and say hi.

Art Journal entry: Transformations...

Art Journal entry. Collage, acrylic and water soluble crayon. 

Art Journals can be a weird thing... the point is to work intuitively, and what comes out is supposed to tell you something about yourself, right? Like art therapy. Years ago, I took a class at a local college called "Experiential Art", and the instructor was a certified art therapist. It was an interesting experience, even if I couldn't quite let myself just create. My brian stepped in and put a halt to whatever might have been trying to come out... or maybe it was the 3 years of having the "rules" drilled into me I just couldn't create without thinking composition, or focal point. As I was told... a few times... I just needed to relinquish control. But I couldn't do it.

One of the masks at
the McMichael exhibit.

Fast forward 15 years, and here I am again... trying to just let things happen. It's better than it used to be. My collage is random, my colour choices are intuitive, my drawing without any kind of plan. I pick a subject out of thin air, and get to work.

This journal started life as a children's book. It was called "Where's Spot?", and each page had an illustration of a puppy hiding somewhere in a room. This page said "Is he in the piano?" You can still see the copy showing through a bit in the top left. The collage was bits of newspaper text, and some headline copy reading DON'T HIDE. When I went back to the page a week or so later, I drew the mask on the page without any real attention to what was already there. I just got to work.

I was recently at an exhibit of First Nations art at a local gallery. I was completely captivated by the masks. Lucky for me, I was allowed to take photos. I'm sure I'll be using them as inspiration for years. Anyway... there was a docent at the gallery with whom I had a long conversation about the symbolic significance of the masks to the indigenous people. I have been thinking about masks as a way of hiding oneself from the world, but they saw their masks as something different... a symbol of transformation.

If I look at my page in this light, I see something completely different. I guess it's my subconscious telling me to stop hiding and step into the light... life is changing but it's not bad, it's just different. It's my time for transformation.

I guess I finally managed to relinquish control. Wonder if I'll be able to do it again.

Abstract Painting: Brave Spirit, Standing Strong

"Brave Spirit, Standing Strong", 12x12 mixed media on Canvas. Available.

At the beginning of January, I had an idea of how many pieces I wanted to get done before Arts on the Credit in April. Since it's the only art fair I've committed to this year, I wanted to make sure I had a reasonable number of new paintings to show. I had decided after last year's show not to take the musician pieces with me, no matter how many I still had left in my inventory. I may still show them around here and there, but since my abstract work has been my focus over the past year, I really wanted to have enough of those pieces to fill my booth.

I've managed to complete a fair number of pieces, even though I've had to push myself into the studio. Winter is always tough for me, but this year, even with the mild weather, it has felt monumentally dreary. I suppose having people around me dying in quick succession hasn't helped. I just get to the point where I'm coping with my emotions, and there's another one. I suppose that's the curse of getting older... at some point you get to an age where there are more funerals than weddings. I suppose it beats the alternative (ie: one of those funerals being your own). 

Anyway, painting helps me cope, so I push myself to get started, and before I know it I'm in the zone, feeling the tension leave my body and my mind focus in on what I'm doing. It's better therapy than anything else I've tried, and absolutely a better option for me than medication. I'm still thinking Warrior, and am going to continue working with that idea. That's the wonderful thing about working in a series... one idea will spring from the one before, and you just carry on from piece to piece, trying to make each one better than it's predecessor. I may not have time to get to another piece before spring (I've got a few at the "almost done" point I really want to finish), but I did manage to complete this little series. Three is a good number. Maybe I'll have a chance to finish up another of the ones I've got going, but even if I don't, I feel confident my booth will look pretty good. At least I won't have to panic. 

The Warrior Series. 12x12" each. All available.