What's on Ellen's easel

Lianne finished

2012-02-03T11:06:00.003-05:00

I have finally finished this painting! I was going to add more detail to the hair but realized that I wanted the focus to be the eyes and adding detail in other places would draw attention to it. So the hair is more loosely painted. I also am cropping a few inches off the bottom to better balance the portrait. Less is more and things shouldn't be added just because they are in the reference image. An artist needs to ask themselves if inclusion helps or lessens the overall look they were trying for.

I will add the drawing stage of the next painting as soon as I have it started after I work this weekend.

finally back to painting

2012-01-24T14:56:00.004-05:00

It has been a long holiday season for me but things are finally back to normal (or as close as I get). LOL Today marked a big step... I finally got back to my painting. I have many more ideas for other paintings so I need to get this one finished. It's been on my easel (between other paintings) for over a year.
This is step 9. Today I corrected features, added a pinkish wash all over the skin tones, and a darker brown wash over all the background and the hair. I need to go in and work on the hair a lot more adding tones and hightlights. The face is mainly done.
The main reason for painting this portrait with the lighting I chose, was to give it the look of an old master's oil paintings. I don't need it to be photo realistic in the hair so it will go faster now.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-21T13:09:00.002-05:00

With all the preparations for Christmas I haven't had any time to paint since my last post. I'll get back to it after the holidays. In the meantime, I want to wish everyone the very merriest of holidays and a healthy, creative and prosperous New Year.

Lianne step 8

2011-10-24T16:55:00.003-04:00

I finally got back to work on this portrait of my daughter-in-law from months ago. I worked on glazes of colour over the skin and hair.

Donna finished

2011-10-11T15:03:00.002-04:00

I worked on the long weekend so I only got a chance to finish this today. I'll frame it tomorrow and then get it to the client on Thursday.

Step 10 - details

2011-10-07T15:22:00.002-04:00

I added another wash over all the skin tones. I removed the masking fluid from the pearls and have started adding colour to them. The end is in sight now. Once I have finished the pearls I'll look over the painting as a whole and make all the final adjustments.

Step 9

2011-10-06T11:11:00.002-04:00

I added the first overall wash on her skin tones to make them more lifelike. I will still have to adjust values and have more work to do on the mouth. Probably at least one more overall wash will be needed as well.

Donna step 8

2011-10-05T11:28:00.003-04:00

Today I worked again on the skin tones molding the features with darker areas. Slow going when you have to let it dry completely after every half hour of work or so. Once the darks are right I can adjust the values of the rest of the face. The last part will be to remove the masking fluid from the necklace and earing and finish them, but still a while to go before that step.

step 7

2011-10-04T15:22:00.004-04:00

After working nightshift all weekend and also just getting over a head cold, I finally got some more done on this today. I worked all over the skin molding the features some more. I also added a wash to the sweater to make it closer to the pink in the reference photo. Now I have to wait for everything to dry before going on. The skin tones take longer than anything else because you have to work all over and keep everything evenly moist to avoid streaks and hard edges. For those of you who knew her, I'll be adding the bangs soon so it will look more like her.

Donna step 6

2011-09-29T15:56:00.002-04:00

Today I worked more on the eyes and then started working in the darker area of skin tones to start sculpting the features more. A long way to go but I can only do a little on the skin at a time and then have to let it dry between.

Finished teaching two workshops

2011-09-26T11:41:00.004-04:00

This weekend I was busy teaching two one-day workshops. Lots of work preparing for them so so other projects were temporarily on hold. Here are a few of the results above. No one finished completely. From now on I will only hold two day workshops so we aren't as rushed.

Donna step 5

2011-09-14T15:37:00.003-04:00

I added a bluish wash over the background to even it out. I don't know if this is the final colour until I see the portrait part more complete. I brought the blue over part of the hair that is in shadow to start it receeding into the shadow.
I added another layer of pink over her top. I'll have to start picking out highlights in the next step.
I worked mostly on her eyes and started finding the shapes of contours in her skin.

Step 4

2011-09-14T09:54:00.002-04:00

I worked on blending the background line that was obvious above the head, added another wash over the ruffle around her neck, and started adding the first washes on her eyes and darker areas of her skin tones. I will now concentrate on her eyes to get them right before I go farther on the rest of the painting. If the eyes aren't right the painting has to be started over so it is best to do them early.

She has bangs but I have to paint the skin underneath before I add them after.

Donna step 3

2011-09-10T14:45:00.002-04:00

The next step was to add another wash to the background darkening it even more. After drying I see that there is too much of a distinct line above her head so that will need fixing in the next steps. I added a wash over her whole sweater but it is far from finished as a final colour. I started laying in a dark wash over her hair and a first wash of skin tone. The photo didn't take an accurate picture of the skin or hair. As the skin tones get darker it will be easier to show an accurate photo.

Donna step 2

2011-09-10T14:41:00.002-04:00

I started out by adding a second wash of blue/grey over the background. It still will have more washes added. I also started adding a wash to the ruffle on her sweater. I realized that the pearl necklace needed to be masked before I started the skin tone washes so that is what I did next.

Donna - step 1

2011-09-06T22:37:00.003-04:00

Finally I can get back to painting after a very hectic summer. This is the first step of a commission that needs to be done in a few weeks. I left it way too long (yet again). I will have to do a lot of work on it in a short time.

I have drawn out the features and put in the first wash in the background. The background is going to be a neutral grey but with blue uneven tones in it. It looks darker here than it is because I wanted to be able to see the line drawing in the photo.

It's not a painting ...

2011-08-04T11:32:00.004-04:00

I finally finished re-upholstering an antique rocking chair for my son and daughter-in-law. They are expecting a baby in Oct and this one is perfect for nursing with the low arms. It was quite a job! I removed rusty springs, straw and sisal stuffing, rotting webbing and layers of material. I have completely re-built it and re-covered it. The frame has a wonderful shaped back that is very comfortable.

It isn't a painting but lots of work and artistic in it's own way. :)

Art Sale

2011-07-30T23:34:00.002-04:00

I spent the day at a local venue where artists and other vendors took over an arena to promote their work. Lots of traffic and lots of great people. Here is a photo of my set up. More family arriving for a visit tomorrow as well as some great friends. One of these days I'll have time to get back to painting more regularly.

Sylvester finished

2011-07-18T10:48:00.003-04:00

I finally finished the experimental painting of my cat on watercolour paper glued to a wooden backing. I "varnished" it with acrylic medium before trying to get the final photo and it made it very difficult to get a photo without reflections. His face was partly in shadow but the white fur was reflecting colours from the surface he was sitting on. I love the colours that resulted in his face.

I learned a lot doing this (one was not to apply the acrylic medium with a roller... lots of tiny bubbles). I also had trouble with the whiskers. No more trying to do them with masking fluid. :(

I will be doing many more of this kind but first I have a portrait to finish and then a commission to start. There is never enough hours in the day!

step 3

2011-07-13T13:30:00.002-04:00

This one is taking awhile just because of my busy schedule. The whites are going to be full of reflected colours.

Sylvester step2

2011-07-05T07:40:00.004-04:00

After months of not working on this one, I am finally going to finish it soon. For those interested, this is the experiment of gluing watercolour paper onto a hardboard cradleboard backing before painting. It will be finished with "varnish" and treated like an acrylic on canvas for sale. I'll see if treating watercolour this way will increase sales (compete with acrylic and oil sales to the public). My good paintings for shows will still be done traditionally.

Finishing paintings

2011-07-03T19:57:00.003-04:00

I finally had a chance to finish off two paintings. The lemon painting from the watercolour symposium and a blue Heron painting from the watercolour meet last weekend. I am working on one of my cat and will get a photo of that step tomorrow.

Back again from out of town

2011-06-29T20:50:00.002-04:00

Once more back to town after almost a week away. I have one painting done at a workshop over last weekend but not quite finished. As soon as it's done I'll post it. I'm hoping for more time to paint now that travelling is finished for the summer.

Back to Town

2011-06-19T21:35:00.001-04:00

Just got back from teaching a two day watercolour workshop in Englehart. Met some lovely ladies and had a great time. Photos to follow when I get a chance. Working the next two days.

Week long symposium

2011-06-14T11:18:00.009-04:00

Again, my apologies for the long pause between blog entries. I just got back from a week long watercolour symposium in Ottawa held by the CSPWC. It was 5 days of workshops from some of the best watercolour artists in Canada. Monday was a class on composition/design with Jean Pederson (I forgot to take photos). Tuesday was painting plein air (my first time) with Bill Rogers in the ornamental gardens at the experimental farm. Here is Bill during his demo.

Wednesday was a class on still life with Gerry Thompson. Here is a photo of her demo followed by my unfinished painting that I started on in Jean's class Monday and continued in Gerry's class.

Thursday and Friday I learned to paint figures from life (very quickly) and with Bill Rogers. Here is his demo in progress followed by one of mine. I still need a lot to practise to get the light ,clean look Bill gets.

On the Saturday I roamed the Byward market taking reference photos while many other artists painted in the First Annual Paint Out.

On Friday I leave to teach a two day workshop in Englehart. Next week I go down to the 7th annual Watercolour Meet with members of Wetcanvas in Georgina. Talk about a busy month! Throw in the fact that I am also working my regular job in between and you can see I have had no time for my own painting. I plan on changing all that in July when a watercolour artist from Australia will be staying with me for three weeks and we plan on doing lots of painting together. Stay tuned for almost daily entries during that time. :)

portrait exercise in pastels

2011-05-15T16:36:00.002-04:00

This is the portrait I practised on in the second day of the workshop. It isn't a finished piece but I'll leave it where it is. The next time I try a pastel I'll take more time on it. Everyone in the workshop seemed to enjoy themselves and we all learned a lot. I'll do more in pastels in the future I think.

Dog in Pastels

2011-05-14T16:31:00.002-04:00

It has been a long time since my last entry. Income taxes, trips and life in general has kept me from painting. Today I attended the first day of a two day workshop to learn the basics of pastels. Here is my work from today. More tomorrow.

Quick Waterscape

2011-03-21T16:16:00.003-04:00

I had to take a brief diversion from the portrait to paint this waterscape for a show I am entering. The theme is water and the deadline is next week so I had to drop everything to do it in time. I don't enjoy doing landscapes but I took this photo a year or two ago on the shore of Lake Simco and I loved the light in it as well as the shape of the tree. At least it's finished and I can get back to the portrait tomorrow.

Lianne step 7

2011-03-12T09:28:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I worked all over the painting adding darker values. Her hair right now looks blonde but will be going darker.

Lianne step 6

2011-03-07T17:37:00.002-05:00

I continued adding darker values to the skin tones today and did a little more of the darker washes on her hair. This part is slow because after each wash on her skin I have to wait for it to dry completely.

Step 5

2011-03-05T17:48:00.002-05:00

I painted another couple of hours today on and off (I was working at the little store where I have a space where my work is set up - lots of interuptions). I added more darker washes to the shadowed areas of her skin and another warm wash on the sweater. I still haven't decided on the final colour it will be. Lots more glazes of dark values needed for her skin.

Step 4

2011-03-04T18:49:00.002-05:00

I worked on this a little while again today. I did a touch more on the eyes and now have to get the rest of the skin tones up to the level of the eyes before I can do more. I applied a wash of colour over all the skin and I started working out the contours of the lips. I also added a warm wash over the sweater.

Lianne step 3

2011-03-03T17:07:00.002-05:00

I did a couple of hours on this today. I worked a little more on the eyes and started the first washes on the hair and neck.

Weekend workshop

2011-03-01T10:23:00.007-05:00

I haven't been painting on the portrait lately because I was preparing for and giving a workshop on painting eyes and faces. Here are some pics from the workshop held this last weekend. I will be able to get to my own painting now.

Lianne step 2

2011-02-15T10:33:00.002-05:00

If you have been following this blog for awhile you might recognize the start of this portrait. I finally have a chance to get back to it. All that I had done previously was the first washes on the background and her shirt. I continued now with a darker wash on the background and the start of her eyes.

For those of you wondering what has happened since my last post, the portrait of Shania has been accepted into the Portrait Society of Canada's show "The Art of Canadian Music". It will run from Mar 8-Apr 1 at the John B. Aird Gallery in Toronto with the opening Mar 10th 6-8pm. I won't be there but if you are in the area I hope you drop in to see it. It looks much better in real life and the other artists in the show are some of Canada's best.

I have also been busy the last couple of weeks preparing for a workshop I am giving next week and that has taken a lot of time.

Shania step 12

2011-01-22T16:44:00.002-05:00

I think this one is finished. I've signed it but I'll look at it again over the next couple of days to decide if there is anything else I want to change. Then I need to get a good photo.

Shania - step 11

2011-01-20T14:00:00.003-05:00

I'm almost finished. I have finally gotten most of the values correct so now I just have some finishing details to add. I'll do that tomorrow. The photo shows her hair a little darker than it is in the real painting.

Step 10

2011-01-19T10:19:00.002-05:00

Two days at work interrupted work on the painting but I will be putting lots more time into it these next two days. This morning I did another couple of hours on the hair. It's tedious work but not as exacting as facial features. Once all the values are correct and fine hairs are added I will soften the whole effect on the hair so it is not so sharply defined.

Shania step 9

2011-01-16T10:54:00.003-05:00

The face and skin tones are pretty well finished. I'll check them at the very end for corrections. I worked some more on the hair finding where a lot of the curls lie. I have to make decisions about if a curl goes over or under every time it intersects another lock of hair. The first washes of colour have gone on the strands that lie on top of her neck but I'll be adding to them again. I am just starting the blocking of the colours right now.

I am more confident of making the deadline now that it is mostly just the hair left to finish.

Shania step 8

2011-01-15T15:47:00.002-05:00

I've done another hour but because I painted more glazes of colour all over her skin tones and most of her hair, I have to let this dry before I do more. I now have to go back and even out the skin tones and lots more work on her hair. You can see that the masking is still on the curls that are overlapping her skin. That will be taken off next and I'll start to add colour to those.

Shania step 7

2011-01-14T15:59:00.003-05:00

I worked a lot on the hair and also adding the darker values on the skin tones. These will be covered with more washes of skin tones overtop in the final stages but these darker values are needed to be added first to mould the features. I think I'm about half done at this stage. Still a lot of slogging through the larger washes before I get to the fun part (in my opinion). I love doing the last 10% where you add all the dark details and final touches that bring it to life. Once the watercolour painting is all finished I will get a good photo of it before I start varnishing over top. The varnish makes reflections and it's harder to get a good photo.

Step 6

2011-01-13T11:07:00.002-05:00

This morning I added more washes of colour and worked on the values in the shirt. I also added darker values on the skin on the arms and neck. Still have to go darker. To keep the darker shirt colour from affecting the hair on top, I added masking fluid to those curls. It is confusing the camera and I had a hard time getting a photo. It still isn't great. I wish we had some sunshine instead of these grey days lately.

Shania step 5

2011-01-12T15:45:00.003-05:00

I managed to do a few more hours on this today. I must be getting older as I find I can only work 2 or 3 hours at a time on a large painting like this before I get too sore to do more. I think the next few paintings will be small enough to work flat on a desk again. :-)

I worked all over the painting darkening values and moulding the features. I am purposefully not adding more skin tones until I get the shading finished and then I'll put on the final colouring on the skin. I added another layer of colour on the shirt. I think I am going to leave this part fairly loose. I still need to correct the values however. The other thing I worked on was the hair. It will take many glazes of colour to build that up.

The photo doesn't show the subtle variations in skin tone that are there in real life. Still a lot more to do and the deadline approaches.

Shania step 4

2011-01-11T15:52:00.002-05:00

I worked another couple of hours on this and have now added a first wash of skin tones. Lots more subtle layers to add but I will have to be careful not to make her skin look heavy or dark.

Step 3

2011-01-11T11:52:00.002-05:00

I started the day working a couple of hours on this. More washes were added on the eyes (correcting angles and darkening some areas), features and hair. The first wash was also added to the shirt to start working out position and features.

Shania step 2

2011-01-06T17:09:00.003-05:00

I worked some more on the eyes and started finding features lightly around the face to position them before I start applying washes of skin colour. Sorry for the bad photo. The sun was going down and getting a good photo with all the white of the paper is hard. This is the full size of the paper I'm working on so you can get an idea of the composition.

Shania Twain step 1

2011-01-04T23:50:00.003-05:00

First I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. The holidays were extremely hectic around here and things are just starting to settle down. To top everything off, I bit down on something Sunday and my front tooth broke completely off. Thank goodness for dentists and after a visit today I have a new tooth to fill the gap.

To fill you in on the background on this next painting, the Portrait Society of Canada is having a show in March in Toronto at the John B. Aird Gallery. The theme of the show is "The Art of Canadian Music". Members were asked to contact a Canadian musician for permission to paint their portrait for the show. I chose Shania Twain because were are both from Timmins and I admire her strength and determination. She was kind enough to allow me to paint her portrait for this show.

I finished drawing it out larger than life (2 x 3') and today finally started applying the first washes. I always start with the eyes because it brings the whole painting to life. It also lets me know if I have captured the likeness immediately. I tried to show the whole painting here but none of the light pencil lines showed up so here is a close up of the face so far. The whole painting shows her head and shoulders. I only have three weeks to get this done so the steps should come fairly quickly.

Happy Holidays

2010-12-24T08:00:00.002-05:00

I am presently drawing out my next very large portrait (24 x 36") but holidays and working are getting in the way. I'll finish the drawing stage and post it after the holidays.

In the meantime I want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season full of fun, good health, and as free from stress as possible.

Tess finished

2010-12-05T10:44:00.004-05:00

I did a lot of work on the fine details on the face and worked some more on the body. I'm calling this one finished. I purposefully left the body less detailed as I wanted the focus to be on the face. The body shows more of the typical look of watercolour as a medium.

Now I can work on getting ready for three Christmas parties I am holding this week.

Tess step 5

2010-12-04T15:41:00.002-05:00

I darkened the floor under Tess, lifted highlights, and started adding details and making corrections. The face is mostly done. I just have the fine overlapping hairs to do there. I still have a lot of work to do on the body but the main values are there.

Tess step 4

2010-12-04T09:20:00.002-05:00

I was able to do a few more hours on this yesterday but had to wait for daylight to get a photo. I am trying to get it finished this weekend. I was delayed by other deadlines in my life.

I darkened the background but have darker washes to put under the dog still. I went over the whole painting darkening the values again. Next will be the subtler shading of the light areas and the blending of the washes already there. The final steps will be the fine details of the fur.

Tess step 3

2010-11-26T11:03:00.004-05:00

Two weeks is a long time between posts. This is my busiest time of the year and life as well as other art related events have kept me from painting. Last weekend was the annual fine arts and crafts show where I had a table (see photo above). It was held at the Shania Twain Center and her wall of awards distracts from the sellers' tables (very busy background). But otherwise it was a great two days.

I am also decorating for Christmas which takes almost a week because I have so many decorations. I am holding two Christmas parties and have deadlines to get that all done. That is done except for the tree so I can now get back to painting.

Step 3

I have just continued with more of the same, laying in areas of colour to darken it and work out where areas of light and dark are. I have added a warm wash to the background but it will still get a few more glazes of different colours so this isn't what the final version will look like.

Tess step 2

2010-11-12T10:19:00.004-05:00

This morning I finally had a chance to get back to this painting. Life has a habit of getting in the way of my painting. I have continued adding basic washes to start building the values. I also finished the eyes and they are looking more life-like. I like finishing the eyes first because it makes me want to keep working on a painting. It's like they are watching me. :) I am working nightshift all weekend so I don't know if I'll have time to work on this more the next few days.

Tess step 1

2010-11-02T16:10:00.003-04:00

I have started a commission of one of my favourite subjects. This painting will be 11 x 14". So far I have it drawn out and I have started the first washes. The fur has wonderful bluish highlights that will be fun to paint. I haven't decided whether to leave the background a greyish colour or change it later. I'll see what it looks like as it progresses. The highlights in the eyes are still covered by masking so they are still dull looking. I'll take that off in the next couple of steps and the eyes will come to life.

Step 13 - finished

2010-10-19T18:30:00.002-04:00

I finished this painting and have managed to flatten it nicely. I have to take a proper photo tomorrow because today is dark and very grey.

Step 12

2010-10-18T18:04:00.002-04:00

Today I finished the candy canes and worked some more on the ribbon. I just have the bow to finish and then the final correction of values and details all over the painting.

Step 11

2010-10-15T11:56:00.002-04:00

This morning I finished the glass ball on the far left, corrected the reflective shadow under the glass ball, added a darker shadow to the right of the glass, and worked on the candy canes. The end is at least in sight if still far off. I just have the candy canes and ribbon to do and then all the final adjustments. A big part of the finish will be trying to flatten it once completed.

Step 10

2010-10-14T10:55:00.003-04:00

This morning I finished the dark red ball and one candy cane. I also worked some more on the ribbon, the yellow ball, and the other candy canes.

Step 9

2010-10-13T16:59:00.002-04:00

Today I removed all the masking on the teapot and glass after giving the tea a final wash of yellow. I corrected all the hash highlights left by the masking so the teapot and glass are finished unless there are final corrections after the rest of the painting is done.

I also worked on the candy canes and the glass balls as well as adding more colour to the ribbon and darkening some of the table. I basically worked all over the painting. The paper is still badly buckled which makes painting hard and I'll have to try straightening it when it's done.

Step 8

2010-10-10T16:44:00.002-04:00

Only about two hours painting today so far. Probably won't get more done because I am in the middle of preparing Thanksgiving supper.

Today I added a wash of reds to the tea. I will give it a nice yellow wash to finish it off next time. I have also started adding a few reds to the other objects just so I can erase some of the pencil lines and still tell where I'm going. Lots more corrections done on highlights of the glass as well.

Step 7

2010-10-09T15:15:00.003-04:00

After over 4 hours of painting today it feels like I am going nowhere slowly. I keep adding layers of colour but it is building up very slowly. I took more of the masking off the glass and teapot and corrected some of the highlights. I added a warmer wash of the table colour to half the painting (it will be darker still on the right side). The most noticeable area is the tea where I've started adding washes of colour to try and get the values as well as the colour right. Still many more washes to go.

The most frustrating part is the huge amount of buckling of the paper that I am experiencing. I hope I can weight it down to flatten it once I am finished. I won't ever work on this weight of paper again unless I can glue it to a backing. The only reason I am painting on it in the first place is that it is a requirment of the show it is going in.

step 6

2010-10-07T11:36:00.002-04:00

Today I have darkened the far background and lightened the shadow in the bottom left. I removed some of the masking in the teapot lid and corrected some of the values there. I darkened the darks on the glass. I also darkened the shadows in the foreground and made them more of a brown colour. The whole right side of the table in the painting will be much darker and I will be putting a unifying wash of a pale brown over a lot of the table and shadows later. I want to get to the reds in the tea but I will be putting in darker browns in there first.

Step 5

2010-10-05T20:35:00.003-04:00

The best intentions... :) I said I was going to finish all the background before I started on the objects but I couldn't wait to get started on the glass. I'll just work the whole painting at once. It will keep the values consistant anyway. Many more washes needed to get the darks in the glass right but it is fun putting in the abstract shapes and watching it emerge as an image.

step 4

2010-10-05T10:20:00.002-04:00

This morning I did a few more hours but it is slow going as I work out where the washes of colour start and end. It is faster once I start glazing layers of washes to build up depth of colour. So far today I added a blue wash in some of the glass. This will end up as a highlight and be mostly covered by darker colours later. I also added another dark wash on the background and some of the shadows. It is difficult to get a good photo with so much contrast between the dark background and the white paper. The photos will look better as I get more paper covered.

Speaking of paper, this lightweight paper is still driving me crazy with the buckling. I won't use it again unless it is glued to a support (which is what I usually do).

Step 3

2010-10-04T17:24:00.002-04:00

I worked all weekend so today was the first chance to get back to this. I am finding working on 140 lb paper very frustrating compared to my usual 300 lb. This paper buckles and warps with every wash and is starting to pill where multiple washes have been added. :( I am going to have to handle this paper very gently.

Today I added more colour to the table and started laying in the shadows. They will be getting much darker before I'm finished but the first washes are time consuming as I make decisions about where everything goes. I want the background and table top completely finished before I start with the objects on the table.

step 2

2010-09-30T16:11:00.004-04:00

I have added the woodgrain in the table (a long and tedious process) and added a first wash of lighter wood cover over all the table. There will be more washes of colour there that will soften the effect of the woodgrain. For some reason the table is showing up less yellow than it is in real life. Probably because of the rainy day again.

I also added another dark wash to the background shadows.

A Needed Break step 1

2010-09-29T16:23:00.005-04:00

I have a deadline of just 3 weeks to get this full sheet painting done. This is the second time I've painted it. The first time was years ago as a commission (this was my photograph and still life set up). I'm painting it again because I like the light and the composition. It will be in a show where the paintings have to be on 140 lb paper (half the weight I'm used to painting on) so they can be rolled for shipping. The lighter weight needs a lot of getting used to as it buckles while wet, although, so far, it is flattening out again as it dries.

I have drawn it out, added masking fluid where needed and put in the first background wash where a lot of the shadows will be. I have also started painting the drops of condensation on the lid of the tea pot. This painting will be a lot of tiny dots and lines of paint.

The photo is dark because it's a very dark and grey day outside today. It's hard to get a good photo when most of the paper is still white.

Weekend workshop

2010-09-28T08:26:00.003-04:00

This last weekend I taught another two day workshop on painting reflective metal and glass. Most of the participants had never used watercolour and some had never painted before. I was very proud of the work done over the two days. Here is a photo of the class hard at work and one of their paintings at the end. They have the instructions for finishing them at home.

Deadlines are piling up

2010-09-20T08:21:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone,
Sorry to be so long between posts. I have been out of town at an art association meeting. Two of my paintings were juried into the show and both received awards. :) I am now starting a real deadline crunch with two workshops to be taught, two paintings to start and finish, and multiple committees that I am on with work in progress all to be done in the next month. I will try and post here as I can but it might not be as often until things settle down again. I will definitely post finished paintings at least.
Thanks for your patience. Why is the fall always so busy for art related deadlines?

Lianne step 1

2010-09-07T08:22:00.002-04:00

I am starting this portrait for a few reasons... I have a deadline for the Portrait Society of Canada for an online portrait show, I took the reference photos for this portrait a long time ago and have been trying to get to it, and I am experimenting with a slightly different version of painting a dark background with a portrait so it blends into it better.

I started by going over the whole background as well as her shirt with a grey wash. I then added a darker wash over the background only. I will keep going darker on her shirt as well but I wanted to see where edges were for now. The yellow light on the right of the painting is from my desk lamp. It is grey and raining right now without enough light to get a good photo with natural light.

Art in the Park

2010-08-31T15:59:00.004-04:00

Here are a couple of photos from this year's Art in the Park. The temps were over 30 C with wind gusts up to 50 km/hr. Not the best weather for it. But lots of visitors to the tents. The first photo is my tent set up and the second is some of the other tents. I did shop as well as sell this weekend. :)

Sunflower finished

2010-08-29T22:00:00.003-04:00

I finished this painting while sitting at Art in the Park this weekend but high winds kept me from starting another one. I am finding orange/browns very difficult to properly photograph. The bottom petals are a very warm burnt sienna/pink/orange colour. This is as close as I could get it.

Reference photo by Mustcreate from the image reference library at http://www.wetcanvas.com/.

I'll post pics of Art in the Park in the next couple of days. I am exhausted and I have to work tomorrow.

Art in the Park this weekend

2010-08-27T06:15:00.002-04:00

Painting has taken a back seat to preparing for our local Art in the Park this weekend. Most of my supplies are packed and I'll set up my tent tonight. I'll be finishing the Sunflower painting while there and maybe others as time permits.

The event is much bigger than the first one last year. There will be 22 artists with tents as well as many community organizations with displays. It is also in conjunction with the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge (2 days of races on the river beside the park). Live performers on stage and food and kids activities round it out with a beer tent for the adults in the evening. The weather looks like it will be perfect so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the forcast is accurate.

If anyone is in the Timmins area this weekend, come and check out the event. http://www.thegreatcanadiankayakchallenge.com/art-in-the-park-ii/

Sunflower - a quick painting - step 1

2010-08-18T15:53:00.002-04:00

Actually, this is the second day I've worked on it but I didn't take photos after the first session. I started it as something quick to work on at my local art club's open studio last Sunday. I got another hour to work on it today.

It is very difficult to get a good photo today as it is very grey and dark out. The next one will be better. I have a lot more glazes of colour on this to do. These are just base coats to decide on colours and start getting closer to the dark values.

This Too Shall Pass - finished

2010-08-14T17:20:00.002-04:00

I'm calling this one finished. There isn't a lot of details but that was purposefully. This is not a painting showing architectural details. It is showing them as symbols of each civilization. I was happy that I decided to include the sphinx as well as the Statue of Liberty to add some human quality to what would otherwise just be buildings.

step 3

2010-08-12T16:28:00.002-04:00

I started using the pale browns on the architecture and worked some more on the statue. I want to keep the buildings fairly pale and transparent to indicate they are fading in time.

step 2

2010-08-11T12:28:00.002-04:00

I started picking out some of the darker values and worked some more on the statue.

This Too Shall Pass step 1

2010-08-11T12:17:00.003-04:00

Our art club's show in Nov has the theme signs and symbols and it took awhile for me to come up with something that fit the theme. This one needs a little explanation I guess.

Throughout history there have been many civilizations that grew to dominate the world of their time. They thought that their civilizations would last forever and grow stronger. Each have diminished and were replaced. In this same evolution of culture and values, our civilization will also follow the same course as the ones before. A hard reality to accept.

For this painting I could have chosen many more cultures but I wanted to keep the painting fairly simple and show the progress over recorded history. I chose the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and our own picking icons from each that represent each one and are immediately identifiable. In step 1 I started painting in a sky background that will unify them and started with a few of the darker areas of the statue.

Seeking the Light - finished

2010-08-01T17:17:00.003-04:00

I think this one is finally finished. I'm having trouble getting a good picture of it though. I'll frame it tonight.

step 16

2010-07-30T17:21:00.002-04:00

Another dark value wash put on the areas in shadow. This flower is definitely at the ugly stage. I am nightshift tonight so I won't get any more done today.

Step 15

2010-07-29T17:36:00.002-04:00

I did a little more on the last flower today. You can see the ghostly image after applying the first washes. I have to let this dry thoroughly before doing more glazes of colour. The colours in this photo aren't exact but I'll get a better one tomorrow.

Step 14

2010-07-28T16:52:00.002-04:00

I'm finally starting on the last flower. I finished the other flowers today and worked a little on the stems and the reflections of colour in the crystal dish. Once everything is basically done I will go all around the painting correcting colours and values.

Step 13

2010-07-25T17:56:00.004-04:00

I got a little time to paint this afternoon before nightsift again tonight. I darkened the background one more time with a wash of blue. I also darkened some of the values on the main tulip on the left. I am almost finished with that one. Just a few more adjustments on it to go and I can start the last flower.

Step 12

2010-07-22T16:37:00.002-04:00

I am concentrating on the front tulips and just started the one on the right while waiting for the other one to dry between washes. I am having a hard time getting the colours and values where I want them but it should get there with more glazes of colour.

Step 11

2010-07-19T17:49:00.003-04:00

I have started on the first of the two main flowers. Only the first washes are down and there are still many more glazes of colour to go. I will be making the shadowed areas of the flowers quite dark to make the light areas really pop.

Step 10

2010-07-17T15:44:00.003-04:00

I had time to do a little more this afternoon but it's nightshift again tonight. Work really gets in the way of my painting LOL. Tomorrow I will get a lot more done because I'll be sitting at our art club's open studio again with nothing else to do but paint for 4 hours.

All of the background petals are at least started if not finished. Once they are completed I will start on the two front tulips.

step 9

2010-07-15T12:39:00.002-04:00

These petals are getting tedious because I have to sort out which one belongs to which flower so I can get the values and colours right. :) I did more on the background flowers but had to stop to let it dry. I won't have any more time for painting today because I'm nightshift tonight.

The colours in this photo are a little off because they were taken using my work lamp. It is grey and raining today.

Step 8

2010-07-14T16:06:00.002-04:00

I worked on the top left flowers today until it got to hot in my studio. Still more glazes of colour to add but the values are getting there.

Step 7

2010-07-13T15:17:00.002-04:00

I did a couple more hours on the petals this afternoon. I don't want to start the front two flowers until all the background ones are completed. There are still many glazes left on them but they are pretty wet right now so I have to take a break for them to dry before adding more colour. My intention was for the background ones to look almost abstract or at least difficult to make out which petal belongs to which flower. That is how they looked in real life and I want the focus to be on the front tulips which will be much clearer.

Step 6

2010-07-11T21:16:00.002-04:00

I had a little more painting time today. The leaves are finished (I think) as well as the bowl. I will go back and look at them again for final corrections once the flowers are done.

I started on the first petals getting a feel for the colour scheme I want and the best way to get it to look how I picture it in my head.

Step 5

2010-07-10T21:11:00.003-04:00

Despite working today I managed to get a lot done on this. I added a purple wash to the background and the shadows (the tulips will be peachy colour). I also worked on the crystal bowl and the leaves. I want to get everything else done before I start the flowers.

Seeking the Light step 4

2010-07-08T20:46:00.004-04:00

I didn't get much time to paint today but this evening I started the first washes of green on the stems and some shadows on the table. I also added small amounts of masking fluid on the crystal bowl that the tulips are sitting in. The photo has a pink cast to it because I took it by lamp light. The white areas are still white in real life.

I won't have time to paint the next few days because I'm working so you will have to be patient for the next steps. :)

step 3

2010-07-08T08:24:00.003-04:00

I added a second wash of black to the background. That is the last of the black I will use and the rest of the washes will be colour.

Seeking the LIght step 1 & 2

2010-07-07T11:59:00.004-04:00

I looked through my reference photos for something to work on next and decided that these tulips bending towards the light would be fun. I might have said in an earlier post that I am going to paint smaller for awhile but changed my mind for this one because it needs the larger size for more impact. It is 18 x 24"

I corrected the drawing that I started yesterday and put on the first wash in the background. I am using lamp black for the first washes to speed up getting the darks established. I will use washes of colour on top of it.

The first picture of the drawing was hard to photograph when it is just pencil lines on white paper. The second photo shows the background but you can't really see the drawing.

Magnolias finished

2010-07-04T19:27:00.003-04:00

I finished working on this one started at the workshop last weekend. I deliberately left this a little looser than my usual (although it might not be too obvious :-) ).

Reflections on Breakfast finished

2010-07-03T11:28:00.003-04:00

I have decided to call this one finished because not only am I tired of working on it, but also because I am frustrated by the masking fluid I couldn't remove. It will never look the way I wanted it to. I am happy to move on to something new at this point.

What I've been up to.

2010-06-29T11:03:00.004-04:00

Now that this past weekend is finished, I can now show you a couple of things I've been painting. I was at a meet of watercolour artists and this first painting had to remain a secret until after a guessing game there (which artist painted which painting). Here is the one I submitted which shows part of a pond in the meet's location. I called this one Peaceful Garden.

I also participated in a workshop taught by a wonderful artist named Charlene McGill (http://www.charmingart.org/) We all painted these wonderful Magnolias. Mine isn't finished yet so I'll keep you posted on my progress on it as well.

step 12

2010-06-20T16:32:00.003-04:00

This painting seems to be dragging on forever because I haven't had a chance to work regularly on it. At our club's open studio today I did a few more hours. I wanted to leave the shadows on the linen much lighter but it didn't work with the darker reflections in the bowl. Therefore, the most noticeable thing is the darker shadows beside the bowl. I also spent a lot of time just working all over the painting correcting small areas of colour and value.

Reflections step 11

2010-06-14T08:50:00.003-04:00

I worked on this a for awhile while sitting at our local art club's open studio yesterday. Not much accomplished but I did little corrections here and there. I hope to do more on it today.

Step 10

2010-06-07T16:57:00.003-04:00

Today I was able to get back to this after working the weekend. However, my painting time was also taken up by cutting some paper to fit a frame for a painting I have to draw out. It will be for a meet of watercolour artists that I get together with every June. I'll share that one when I get back.

Meanwhile, today I worked on the peeled orange and a bit on the cherries. The orange will be the focus of the painting so it is very slow going until I have the little bits worked out.