And the "Other"

Here are some of the 'other' things that I have been doing!

I decided to make a sign or 'banner' for the Trade Show at the end of April; something I can hang behind the table or on the front.

A few years ago I got a roll of some linen type fabric at a garage sale and haven't known what to use it for but it worked well for this sign. I think this should stand out! I also made some place-mats and hot pads using the same fabric and the same colours. Who knows what I will come up with for the rest of the material.

I am sharing a space at the Trade Show with another artist, Lesley McLeish. Lesley has been turning her lovely paintings into fabric and you can see her work here: Wildflower Fabrics.  Her husband will also be there with his interesting boxes and storage ideas.  I hope the show will be successful for all of  us.

The other day I got 2 more postcards from the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap. I found both of these very hard to photograph effectively - one was so shiny and the other so intricate that the detail got a bit lost.

This card is from Mikki Raub a potter, painter and crafter from Colorado. Mikki sells her work through an Etsy shop - Freelance by Design so pop over and take a look!

This card was from Christine Barker whose story and works can be found at Freehand Impressions.

Christine added a super quote from Auguste Rodin on the back of her card.

"Art is contemplation. It is the pleasure of the mind which searches into nature and which there divines the spirit of which Nature herself is animated."

The LYA swap is almost over. All of the participants will get a card from the organizer, Kat Sloma, and then we are to participate in a blog hop of some kind. I just hope the blog hop is easier to do that the instructions indicated - I am not adept at computer terminology and need visuals - lol! There will also be a video featuring a number of the cards that have been circulated around the world. I am looking forward to everything!

That's it for the 'other', now it is on to the 'next'. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!.

Value Workshop part 2

We started the second class on Light with critiques of the still-life paintings that everyone did since the first class. I am happy to say that my painting "More than a Picnic" (see my blog 'Value Workshop') did not receive any negative comments and no suggestions for improvement were offered. I guess I got an A+ - lol.

I actually submitted two pieces for the critiques.

#1018 - Still-life with Oranges - 5 x 7 watercolour

my drawing of Still-life with Oranges

I did this piece mostly as a test for myself. My friends at Art Club were teasing me about my first painting for the workshop because I printed the photo and just transferred the image onto my watercolour paper before painting. I figured it was a class on value not drawing, so why not? But, Wednesday evening I decided I would do a drawing of the still-life from one of the photos on my computer. I was happy with the way it turned out so I painted it and submitted it for critique too. Everyone liked this piece as well and offered no suggestions for changes.

The remainder of the class was about Light and Mood and the instructor shared lots of photos as examples. It was very interesting and the notes will prove useful for future paintings. The instructor tried to show different moods on the still-life set-up by using coloured film over a spot light but the daylight in the room was too bright and the effects were limited.

We finished the class by starting work on another still-life with the new display. I took lots of photos but I also did a sketch.

drawing of still-life #2

 I do my sketches on newsprint in pencil then go over them with a pen. I really don't do enough drawing so working in pencil first is an indication of my lack of confidence. I plan to do a drawing every evening while watching TV to hone my skills and build that confidence. Being able to pause the TV is such a benefit. Here is a sketch I did from a commercial.

Deer sketch - about 6 x 8

This probably only took about 5 minutes to sketch, then another five to add the pen and some extra shading.

I think that the impetus to start sketching is one very special bonus of the  workshop I attended. I may not do many more still-life paintings but I will definitely do more sketching.

Value Workshop

Yesterday I attended a workshop on Value hosted by the Creston Art Club. Every year the club puts on a number of workshops instructed by club members or by other local artists. This workshop was given by a wonderful pastel artist, Carol Schloss - Carol's web page.

Partly because there was so much information to absorb and partly because we had homework, the workshop was split in two and the second half will be held next Friday. Here is my homework.

#1013 - More than a Picnic - 7  x 10 watercolour

'More than a Picnic' is my rendition of the very large still life set-up that was arranged for the class. I made a few changes, switching oranges to apples and adding the drapery in the background. It will be interesting to hear what kind of critique this piece gets next week.

Although I already knew a lot of the information given at the workshop yesterday, some of it was new and the reminder of the usefulness of red plastic film was the best part. For those who do not know, looking at your art through red plastic film turns the piece almost black and white. This makes it easy to check your values which is an important part of a painting.

One aspect of the class yesterday was very disappointing for me. Each participant brought in a painting they were not happy with for critique and suggestions for improvement. When my turn came, the response was unenlightening. Everyone, instructor included, said my painting was lovely even though I thought is was blah!

#426 - Windmills and Water - 7 x 10 watercolour with pen & ink

I wasn't happy with their lack of suggestions and prodded them to offer something. The changes I made are quite subtle but I think they make a difference.

#426a - adjusted painting

Of course, the changes are more evident in person but I am happier with the corrected painting.

In my last blog I shared some photos of the Creston Valley and today, just for fun, I want to share a picture of the same scene. - I will add the other day's photo for comparison.

I always think of Brigadoon when we have fogs like this - lol. The world has disappeared and you can imagine entering a different world when the fog lifts. Isn't imagination grand!

Thanks for stopping by  and please leave a comment.

Teach and Learn

In the last few weeks I had requests to teach things that had me scratching my head and thinking 'how the .... do I do that!'

Near the end of November my friend, Linda, called and asked if I could teach her how to paint abstracts. Now Linda is a wonderful watercolour artist with a deft touch for landscapes and flowers in that medium and when I heard her request I was flabbergasted.  But undaunted, I said "sure I'll do what I can".

Tropical Forest

I really don't know what I am doing when I paint an abstract: I just play with my acrylic paints. Choose the colours, maybe add some mat medium, slap paint on a canvas, spray it with water, push the paint around with a palette knife and it is done! Sometimes I really like what I end up with; other times not so much.

unnamed acrylic abstract

So Linda watched while I started the Tropical Forest painting, then went to town on her own canvases. She kept grinning and saying 'This is fun!" She dropped paint, splashed paint, sprayed and twisted her canvas letting the paint drip and run. At one point she had a mess of dropped paint on the table and went to wipe it up when I stopped her. I grabbed a piece of mat board and turned it down on the paint, twisted and lifted it and ended up with the background for the unnamed painting above - waste not want not - lol.

Here are Linda's paintings - don't they look like she had fun doing them?

It is always great when Linda comes over for a day of painting but better when it makes me think and learn.

The second "how do I do that" was really my own fault. My Tuesday student, Jeannie, wanted to do a still life with fruit. We couldn't find a suitable photo online to use as a reference so I grabbed a few fruits out of the kitchen and put them on a simple plate. But just the plate and the fruit looked unfinished so I draped some fabric around them. Fabric! What was I thinking? Especially white fabric!

I showed the start of our paintings in my last blog and here are the finished pieces.

Jeanie's painting with mat

my painting

Jeannie wanted her painting finished in time for Christmas as she intends to give it as a gift. I demonstrated the technique for the shadows at the end of a class but, because we had a deadline Jeannie did the work at home. The stroke and blend method is not always easy to do, especially for a beginner, and Jeannie was not happy with her background when she arrived at class this week. I showed her how some careful lifting and scrubbing and the use of a bit of white paint could fix the fabric enough that she was satisfied. I was satisfied too - it is so nice to have such a hard working student.

I have always found that I learn something when I teach,especially when I have to figure out how to do something new.

September Challenge Day 22

Today's art is the culmination of a project I started back in the hot days of summer.  I had been doing some fabric painting and decided to make a few "Hot Weather Scarves" - scarves filled with gel crystals. Once these crystals are soaked in water and expand they stay cool for many hours and feel wonderful against a bare neck.

Hot Weather Scarves

All of the scarves are made with cotton and are painted with acrylic paint and fabric medium. The sections with the crystals range from 16 inches to 23 inches and the scarves, of course, are long enough to overlap in front to be pinned or tied.

 I hope to sell the Hot Weather Scarves, for, although the summer has passed there is always next year!

Display Challenges

A few years ago I took a workshop on "Painting on fabric with Dyes". The instructor was a local artist, Eileen Gidman. ( - http://eileengidman.blogspot.ca/) 
As with all workshops, I had a great time, learned some things and managed to create a number of reasonably decent pieces.

Garden Favorite

My problem was - What do I do with them now? I am not a quilter like Eileen and most of the pieces where the wrong size or shape to make a pillow, so the pieces just sat around.

Recently I decided that I had to do something with these fabric paintings!

 For Garden Favorite I added a border and painted Morning Glories using acrylic paint and fabric medium. Then, I made a pillow using a piece of green fabric for the back.

The colors aren't an exact match but it looks pretty good I think.

Flower Basket

I attached the two larger dye paintings to stretched canvases so they could be hung - gallery wrapped so no frame is needed.

Poplars in Fall

I think this will increase the chances of these pieces being sold because they will actually be seen now that they are hanging on the wall and displayed on the bed.

I had a challenge with how to hang another painting recently. It was a 4 x 6 acrylic on canvas board. Of course, I didn't have a fame that it would fit and it sat on a shelf for a few months before I figured out what to do with it.

Blue Flame

Although the background looks a little purple in the photo it actually matches the painting very well and the red frame really finishes the whole thing.

Although I have a very busy month ahead of me I decided to enter Leslie Saeta's upcoming 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge for the month of September. Check it out here -  http://30paintingsin30days.weebly.com/ 

I hope you will follow along with my progress during the month as I work to improve my skills with pen & ink.

Summer of Color #5

Once again the participants in this year's SOC were set a considerable challenge. Two greens and a pink - where does she come up with these combinations?

Because I had more time this week, I decided to paint some fabric. The colors weren't really inspiring me so I just played. I used some GAC 900 and fluid acrylics, mixing cyan and yellow to get two different greens and just going with primary magenta for my pink.

painted fabric tote bag

other side of tote with pocket showing

I painted two pieces of fabric because I mixed up too much paint (I still have some left - lol). I made a nice large tote bag: perfect for carrying a couple of 11 x 14 paintings or some binders. The bag is lined with a pocket inside and one outside.

painted fabric in greens & pink

I will probably make another bag with the second piece of fabric but who knows?

While I was thinking about greens & pink, I decided to try something with my watercolors. The best thing about painting is being able to mix your colors so I started experimenting until I got some shades that I liked and then I did a simple little landscape. It is hard to believe that I just used the three colors stipulated - hooker's green, thalo yellow green and permanent rose.

At the Lakeside 5 x 7 watercolor

There is just one week left in the SOC challenge - what will Kristin come up with next? You can read more about the SOC here - http://www.twinkletwinklelikeastar.blogspot.ca/2015/07/the-summer-of-color-5-week-5.html

Going Overboard

I have noticed in the last few years that I have a tendency to go overboard when I find something I like doing. I think it started with the purses I sew and paint.

Bell Flower purse

Daylily & Hummingbird

I really enjoyed coming up with new designs and figuring out what to paint. The first year I made them, the bags sold well, so I made more, and more, and... well, you get the picture.

I think I was alright for a few years, just doing my normal painting, in between housework and volunteering. Then I took a mixed media workshop with local artist Win Dinn http://windinnart.blogspot.ca and discovered a new toy.

Gauze Scarves

tar gel brooches

Once again I went overboard! I was having so much fun playing with color and shapes that I made so many of these items I might never sell them all. It is a good thing that I enjoy wearing them!

There may have been a few other things between then and now, but this winter I found a new creative outlet that has (almost) taken over my life. Crocheting! I learned to crochet when I was young and over the years have made a number of afghans - useful but time consuming. Just before Christmas I saw some crocheted ornaments and I thought "I can do that".


I found a number of patterns on line and started making things, then I adapted the patterns and made more, then I started making my own patterns. Before I knew it I had gone through 2 balls of crochet cotton and now I have enough ornaments to decorate a tree. I plan to sell them at this year's Wynndel Christmas fair.

I ran out of enough of the cotton to make another ornament so I made a few earrings - white, of course. My granddaughter commented that she wished they were in color and there I was, off on a new venture.

Not content with just earrings, I have started to make some pendants to match them. I have no idea if I will be able to sell these items but they are so much fun to make I just can't help myself. I continue to make up more patterns for the earrings and the pendants.

  
  Every time I come up with one of these 'crafty' ideas my husband suggests that I wait to see if they sell before I make too many. Unfortunately, once I get started I almost always end up going overboard because I am enjoying myself and that is what counts most! 

Catching up

As it has been quite some time since my last post, I have a fair bit of catching up to do. I managed to get a few of my mixed media pieces finished in time to include one in the Art Club's Fall show.

Feathers & Flowers

I started this piece at a workshop last February with local artist Win Dinn https://www.facebook.com/pages/Win-Dinn-Artist/138761966191277?fref=ts It took some time before I decided what to do with the start but I am very happy with the end result.

As I look through my list of completed art I am surprised (as always) by how much I have done. I number my paintings and since the middle of August I have gone from 670 to 709. I have done some acrylics:

Sunset Forest

Cypress Swamp

I have done some watercolors

Shadowed Stream

Old Barn in Autumn

And, I have painted on fabric with dyes at a workshop with another local artist Eileen Gidman. You can check out her work at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eileen-Gidman-Watercolour-and-Textile-Artist/310557619037972?ref=ts&fref=ts

Poplars in Fall

And finally, I have done a number of small (3 x 5) watercolors thinking they would make great Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers. To see more of these 'Little Gifts' check out the album on my Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mellowood-Studio-and-Art-Gallery/120412094734638?ref=hl

Winter Grove

One project completed

It took longer than I thought  but my wall-hanging is finished.

Buttons & Ruffles

This was so much fun to do. My grandson helped  - mostly with the sewing. He placed and sewed all the buttons. The biggest challenges were getting a decent photo and figuring out how to hang it.  As I will be displaying this at the Artistic Visions Summer Art Market at the Chamber/Visitor Centre, I need something that will work with large hooks. Still working on a solution.

Figuring things out

As I am very close to being a Luddite, I find making this blog very difficult. If my husband, Bob, wasn't so computer adept I would have given up  - actually I probably wouldn't have started. I have managed to write a bio of sorts for an 'About Me' page and I have a start on my 'Gallery' page. In my art I have a couple of projects going:

This painted fabric is going to be a wall-hanging. Not sure exactly where I am going with it but I have a few ideas.

This painting, which I am calling "Waterfall in Oregon", is acrylic on paper. I am giving a few classes to a fellow Art Club member and it is always easier to demonstrate on my own painting. I try very hard not to put my brush on another person's painting. It is interesting to see the differences between artists doing the same picture. I hope I can remember to take a photo of Annie's painting when we are done.