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! 

The Matting and Framing Challenge

For an artist, the work isn't over when the painting is finished. The art has to be framed or otherwise fixed for hanging. Some methods are easier than others.

A gallery wrapped canvas mostly just needs a dust cover for the back and a wire for hanging.

Spring Poppies & the Valley

Simply painting the sides of the canvas is all that is necessary. Of course, many people want a frame on their painting but that is something that can be left to the purchaser.




More complicated to frame are artworks done on paper. My primary medium is watercolor and watercolors need mats, glass and frame unless they are finished with a varnish sealer. An established artist displaying in a high end gallery might be able to leave the matting and framing to the gallery or to a professional framer but many of us can't afford that option and do our own framing. The challenge is in the matting. Do you pick an off white as many galleries prefer or do you choose something that matches the painting? Do you double mat or single mat? I will often double mat so I can kill two birds with one stone: an inner mat that I think works well with the painting and an outer mat in a white tone.

Solitary #1

   Does one choose for subtlety or drama? I don't think that a painting or the framing materials have to match the decor but I do think that a mat can make a painting POP or it can swallow it.




I think my biggest challenges in framing have been my mixed media pieces. Many of them are done on mat board and have additions that preclude framing behind glass. I have tried a number of methods: adding matting that has been sealed so no glass is needed, framing without matting, and attaching a mixed media painting to a painted gallery wrap canvas.

Paper Flowers in Purple

Exploded

  
There are so many options and, of course, one never knows what will work best for potential buyers. I don't usually think too much about buyers when I am painting or when I am framing: I just do what I think works.

Autumn Colors #2

The finishing touch is the frame. I prefer thin frames, either metal or wood, that do not overwhelm the paintings. Others prefer ornate frames that make a statement.

Like so much in life it is really 'in the eye of the beholder' and in art there are few wrong choices.

Making things and Organizing

In the late Spring I started doing some new creative activities because my walls were too full of paintings. Many of the items I made are going to be available this coming Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Wynndel Community Center's Annual Arts & Craft sale.

  My granddaughter, Jasmine modeled some of the items so I could get some photos. On the left she is wearing one of the T-shirt scarves I made (we call them fun dangles) and one of the mixed media brooches I made last year. Below on the left, Jasmine is showing a belt and headband done by finger weaving as well as a crocheted wristband and choker. The middle picture shows more finger weaving with a hat band and a tie/belt. The final display is an infinity scarf done in crocheting. I have had a lot of fun making these items and other things - I just hope I can sell some!

 Of course, I won't have Jas available to model during the event so I had to come up with a way to display some of my product. Once again my granddaughter came to the rescue! I traced around her upper body to make some mat board figures and she traced around me. I think they look quite smart.

Now comes the organizing part! Whenever I have a show with a table display to set up, I always set the display up at home first. This gives me the chance to decide if I have too much or too little product and it makes set up on the day of the event much easier.

As you can see I have a full table full of color and variety. In addition to the items already mentioned I will have some of my little boxes, my mixed media brooches, a selection of my paintings and some Christmas type cards. I hope to see many of my friends this Saturday at Wynndel Hall.

A New Venture - Workshops

A thought that has been germinating for a few months has finally sprouted and is growing like a weed. I am now offering workshops!! I have taught workshops to the Creston Art Club and once to the Riondel Art Club but now I am open to going further afield. Details are still sketchy but I can think of a few things that might appeal to students.

In Watercolor:

It's Snowing

 This simple winter scene gives students a number of techniques to learn.

Trash or Treasure

 Painting metal and glass is always a challenge - I would have to practice a bit!

Abandoned

Atmosphere is always popular and a scene like this can teach a number of things.

Add Pen & Ink:

Fencepost and Daisies

A loose watercolor with pen & ink accents - a great way to spice up a painting

Blue Poppy

Or, just use the pen & ink techniques by themselves for a totally different look

Maybe some Acrylics:

Iris Magic

 Painting with acrylic on paper gives you options - watercolor style or acrylic or both!

Under the Skimmerhorn

 Painting a scene with just a palette knife can be fun and challenging.

These are just some of the things I have taught over the years and I look forward to sharing them as well as other techniques with aspiring artists.  If you or your group is interested in a specific technique, check with me - maybe I can help.

I try to structure my workshops so the participants each takes home a painting that is not a duplicate of my work  but something uniquely their own - it is the technique that is important not the subject.  I hope my idea of workshops will appeal to many artists in the neighboring communities. To find out more contact me at val@mellowood.ca

Busy, Busy, Busy

The month of June is always a very busy time. Between the garden, my flowers and getting art ready for the summer tourist season, I don't seem to have time for anything else.

Last week I took some art to the restaurant at the Kokanee Springs Golf Course as part of the Eastshore Art Connection which I joined this year.

Broken Trellis

Sunlight thru the Trees

I don't know how into art golfers are but I am keeping my fingers crossed.

I also have to have a painting to - possibly- display at Wynwood Winery as part of the Eastshore artdrive. It is a challenge to pick something as I have heard that the lighting there is not great.

Into the Flames

Next I will be displaying two pieces at the Wynndel Canada Day celebration art display.

M'mm Good

 These pieces will go on to the exhibit at the Ingham Arts Center in Creston on July 2 and stay there for a few days.

I have never displayed big pieces in Wynndel before so it will be interesting to see what happens.




I am still organizing the Art in the Library display for the summer so that is cutting into my time to prepare for the Artistic Visions Summer Art Market. The Art Market is a cooperative with 14 artists in a variety of styles and media. Check out our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Artistic-Visions-Summer-Art-Market/325425777508572?ref=hl

I have been painting some local scenes that I hope will catch tourist's eyes and pocketbooks but I will also display some of my other new work.

From the Viewpoint

Hidden Below

Birds over Erickson

A Creative Outlet

I have been thinking recently about looking for a new creative outlet. It is not that I am unhappy with painting but that I am running out of room. Almost every wall in my home/gallery has art and some rooms are FULL of paintings and the offshoots of my painting.

my studio

spare bedroom

laundry room

 
 I have tried many forms of creativity over the years but I am sure there are still new things to explore.

Also, since I started on Facebook and Etsy, I have seen so many really neat things that I think I would like to try. Like these charming fabric flowers and this lovely crocheted scarf/necklace.




There are so many interesting things out there that I want to try. Some people may say that some of these items are craft not art but I am not so sure. One of the definitions in my dictionary is: The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful...

Of course, things that I consider beautiful may not be thought of that way by others, just as things I consider art may be considered craft by others. It doesn't really matter what others think as long as whatever I do makes me happy and fulfilled.

Creativity has a different look for each person but most of us want and need a creative outlet in our lives to make us complete.

Lots of Ideas, Too Little Time

My mind is just brimming with ideas for new posts but I can't seem to find the time to write, so, I will let the photos do most of the work.

A workshop in February where we all did the same painting creating atmosphere with acrylics.

two starts from different participants

by Richard Mitton

by Val van der Poel

the left painting is the finished product by the instructor and the right is my piece before I added some people



A mixed media workshop where we all did our own thing using the techniques taught by Win Dinn, a local artist and color fiend.




various different starts by a number of classmates and me

The Junction

Medallion

These are two of my finished pieces from the mixed media classes.

Both types of instruction have their place but I much prefer being able to create my own painting with my own references or imagination.