2016 Day 18

I worked on three pieces today and none of them turned out very well. The first two got washed off but I continued with the third until I figured it was finished.

Lightening Strikes

More work might have improved this piece but I was all out of umpf so I left well enough alone!

Lightening Strikes is acrylic on one of my home-made 5 x 7 x 3/4" canvas boards. It may get painted over in the future but for now it is what it is.

I hope tomorow will be better!

September Challenge Day 24

It is often difficult to find a reference photo that gives exactly what you want so you have to improvise.

Rusty Mailbox

The reference for this 5 x 7 card was a photo of an almost pristine mailbox that I found on the internet. I wanted something pitted by stones, battered by time and rusted by weather. I am pretty happy with the look I achieved although I think this piece looks better in person.

Experimenting and Learning

I think most artists continue to experiment and learn throughout their careers. Whether one is a professional with long years of work behind them or a relative beginner, it is important to work at keeping your art fresh.

I am lucky in that way because my art students often ask to paint something that I have never painted before so while I am teaching, I am also learning. A few years ago, Teresa wanted to paint an Elk - antlers and all. She had her own photo to work from and I grabbed one off the internet. I had painted deer before but always in the distance so little detail was needed. For this picture, although I had no interest in photo-realism, I needed to put fuzz on the antlers and have a pretty decent looking face.

Big Boy 10 x 14 acrylic on paper

Recently my newest student, Jean, wanted to try a butterfly. She looked through my meagre butterfly reference material and chose a picture that left me somewhat aghast. "How was I going to teach her this? She has had about 12 lessons and this is pretty complicated"

This is a photo of a photo in an old Northlight Magazine, so the image isn't great BUT this is what Jean wanted to paint! It is "Peacock Sunning on Stones" by Sarais B. Crawshaw.

So I prepared a couple of watercolor canvases and some masking tape masques for the butterfly. We transferred the image on to the paper and applied the masques then we set about trying different ways to paint the rocks. Of course, we used a separate piece of paper: we tried salt, sea sponges, splatter with both screen and fingers - nothing seemed to be working. Finally I decided to try dry brush and it seem to work the best.

Before we could progress to our prepared canvases, Jean decided that she really didn't want to do this picture after all and she would look for another reference.

However my interest was caught! Could I reproduce this picture? I don't normally copy another artist's work but this presented a real challenge and I couldn't resist.

Peacock Butterfly 8 x 10 watercolor

I am pretty happy with the way this painting turned out and I am glad I did it because I learned a lot.

Now comes the thorny question - can I sell this painting? I am not likely to compete in the same market as Sarais B. Crawshaw but even if I credit her on the back of my painting it doesn't strike me as ethical. This question has come up a number of times in the Art Club I belong to but the answers have always been split. What is your take on this question?

DAY 18 - Squeezing it in!

My granddaughter has been visiting since yesterday so I have had to squeeze today's painting in where time allowed. I have gone back to the Oriental style  today and admit that a few days off makes a difference in the ease of using the techniques - it was harder - lol!

Weeping Willow

This copy is just a small part of the instruction piece but I felt I really didn't have time for a larger piece. 'Weeping Willow' is a 4.5 x 8 watercolor on rice paper.

All of the paintings I have done for this challenge are for sale and you can find the prices in the Challenge 2015 album on my personal Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/val.vanderpoel. Contact me here or message me on FB.

For those who are following along don't forget http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/ and http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/ for more of the art in the challenge.

This is why my time was limited today!

When my granddaughter visits we often come up with something to create together and this weekend was no exception. We tie-dyed some clothing and fabric and here is a photo of some of the results - Jasmine is very happy with our efforts!


I think they look a bit like PJ's but then I am not 12 years old. There is another t-shirt and some fabric that will be turned into pillows next time  she visits.





There is almost always something happening when you are an artist so one is never bored and life is full of color and creativity!

Day 15 - Half-way there!

It is so strange! Yesterday I really enjoyed painting and was very happy with the finished product. I had a good night's sleep and should have been raring to go today. BUT, I had to force myself to sit down and paint. I chose my subject, got the paper and paints ready, and then just sat there. I got up and went into the kitchen looking for something that had to be done, cursed, went back to the studio and started painting.

Waterfall & Pine Trees

I tried to use the various strokes suggested in "Chinese Landscape Painting for Beginners" - bent-ribbon veins, axe-cut veins, moss dots, bone strokes to name a few. In some cases using the proper stroke was very difficult because my hand wanted to paint in my normal style and I had to keep correcting myself. I used color again instead of black and gray and am reasonably happy with today's painting but it was an effort.

Check out the art submitted to the challenge at - http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/ and then go and vote at http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/. Remember, you can vote for 3 paintings and you can go back and vote on the days you might have missed too.

DAY 14 - Using Color

I have been using "A Copybook for Japanese Ink-Painting" in learning the techniques for Oriental style painting. All of the reference photos are, of course, in black and white but today I decided to use color for my study.

Going Fishing

 I also used an unknown type of paper just to experiment. It was something I got at a garage sale and I like the way it turned out! The paper allowed a little bit of blending and I find the color more interesting than the black and white. I think I will try this combination again. I also like the vignette feel of this painting - it leaves a little bit to the imagination.

Check out the art submitted for today at -  http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/ and then go and vote for your favorites at - http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/

Finishing one and Starting another

My student joined me today for a private lesson. It is nice - fewer distractions and more time. Annie still has a bit more to do on her painting of the waterfall but I think mine is finished.

Waterfall in Oregon

It is not really too much different than my last post as I was happy to just add a few touches and to clean up the leaf-less trees.


When I give private lessons I try to work on whatever my student needs most like trees, mist, perspective or foregrounds. Most of the time the student supplies a photo of our subject which is great because it expands my world with sights I have not seen before.



Today we started on our next piece - a photo from Australia.

Big Rock

On the left is the photo and on the right my 'start'. Annie wanted to see how I started a painting while she took notes. She was somewhat dismayed that I didn't take time to draw the subject before I started to paint. It depends on the subject but I don't usually draw my subjects anymore when painting in acrylics. Annie is going to try it my way on this one. It will be fun to see how it goes.