Hugh's Pond

Joy

Hugh's Pond
Pride

3- 7x7

acylic on canvas
all sold

Here are the three commissioned pieces all in one place. I do believe they should be hung horizontally, but they won't fit on the screen in that manner. The neighbor who asked me to paint these for her husband's birthday this summer has seen them on the blog, but not in person yet. The pond is his own creation and his pride and joy. She seems pleased so far and I hope in person she will like them even more. The colours certainly show better in real life. The greens of the water are not showing well on my monitor; the blue is taking over a bit. The painting of the water lily is a waaaaaaayyy better photograph than the previous one I posted- look here to see the difference. This is a much more accurate representation. I wanted to include a more pulled back view of the pond, so that hopefully it can be recognized by the family as the one Hugh created in their back yard. I was a bit concerned they wouldn't flow, but I think it is okay, and hopefully even a bit more interesting done this way. Please let me know what you think now that you can see them as a grouping. As always, I appreciate hearing from the interesting people that stop by my blog.

Painting Number Three of Three

Hugh's Pond
7x7 

acrylic on canvas
sold

It's been awhile since I posted. Last week I was at the studio three afternoons working on this painting and it was also the last week of school so things were quite busy. Then I had organized a Block Party for our street which we had on Saturday- super fun for all the kids! I think they especially love the freedom of running across the road with no concern of traffic. By Sunday (yesterday) I was too tired to do much of anything. So I didn't!

This is the last of the three paintings of the pond commission. I wanted to do a pulled back view of the pond as opposed to another close-up detail. This one was quite possibly the most difficult. It did have rocks at the bottom left, but visually it just didn't look right. As soon as I took them out and continued the water, it just felt so much better. The colour of the rocks changed from where I started as did the foliage up in the top right corner. At the last minute I added the fish because on it's own the lily didn't seem like a strong enough focal point. Whew! I have one more concern which quite possibly could be in my head and I won't say what it is (in this post anyway) because I don't want to influence your thoughts!

I tweaked the water lily painting ever so slightly and want to take a better picture of it. Once I do, I will post all three paintings together.

Happy Falker Satherhood

Breakthrough At The Hilltop

22x14

acrylic on 300 lb paper

This painting was in my first ever solo art show at a coffee shop back in 2004. I was pregnant with Tommy and busy with Sammy, who was almost two. It was a very exciting time. The show was a success, and my dad loved this painting, so I gave it to him for his birthday. It is displayed on a decorative easel in his home office. Since today is Father's Day I have been thinking about mine a lot. I'd love to give him a big hug and kiss, but he is at the lake- it will have to wait until I see him again. My dad is such a kind, generous person, and he loves, loves people from all walks of life. He is a city boy, but he is so happy when he is in the country- meeting farmers, hunting and joining in on small town activities. In the last few years he has begun traveling to far off lands- Turkey, Greece, Scotland- which has impressed me to no end. Until this point the extent of his traveling has been to the U.S., so at his age he has really stepped out of his comfort zone. For that and many other reasons too numerous to list, he is a great role model, for me and my boys. He is a family man- he would lay down his life for me, my mom, my sisters and my kids. Of that I am sure.

* to learn the reason behind the title of this entry check out this post on one of my favorite blogs, Cake Wrecks. It's my go-to place when I need a chuckle. Do yourself a favour and spend some time reading through the archives. You won't be sorry.

Soft Day

Soft Day

7x7"

oil on canvas
sold

I've spent some time working on the large canvas at the studio and, although I have made some progress, there is still an area that I can't seem to get the way I envision in my head. A bit frustrating. I went to the studio on Friday afternoon and stared at it for about 10 minutes after which time I promptly packed up my supplies and headed out to paint en plein air! The day was finally sans rain, so again, let's say I was seizing the moment rather than procrastinating. This was my first ever excursion taking oil paint outdoors and may I just say... what a mess!!! Acrylics likely would have been just fine because even though it was hot, it was extremely humid and the clean up would have been much easier. Also, at this point I kind of get what acrylics are going to do for me when I start painting; oils not so much! Here is what I learned that afternoon: 1) I am quite adept at making mud, 2) I can now scrape and wipe paint off with the best of them, 3) Sammy's hat doesn't fit me, 4) spur of the moment plans often cause me to forget important things (i.e. palette) and most significantly... 5) who cares? I was outside sitting smack dab on the learning curve and lovin' every minute of it!

Coming Our Way

Coming Our Way

7x7"

oil on canvas

for Twenty Minute Challenge

 June 11, 9:00 - 9:20 p.m
sold

After working on the water lily for a few hours I needed to change it up a bit. I didn't want to take a long break, so I decided to do another piece for the Twenty Minute Challenge blog. I found a photo (still on my camera) of foreboding clouds from the weekend before when a storm blew in during Tommy's baseball game. I knew they would be fun to paint in oils- just pushing the paint around and only worrying about the mood, not so much the detail. The bottom of the photo had buildings and fences, people and cars which didn't interest me, so I kept it simple and pretended the picture was from the lake (as are many of my reference photos). I like the aqua blue on the bottom- in fact, that was the very first colour I put down. That day, it was quite amazing how quickly the weather changed and how dark it became, so I mixed some colours to get a black, ominous feel happening. It felt great to move fast and to paint from a more emotional, intuitive viewpoint as opposed to the detailed and planned strategy I have taken with the commission. That being said, I actually really do enjoy both processes equally. I don't think I will ever chose one over the other. I am gaining a bit of confidence in myself and realizing that there is not anything inherently better about painting in a "loose" manner. There can be really brutal "loose" paintings and there can be absolutely glorious "tight" paintings. My goal as an artist is to work from an honest place and to express the world as I see and feel it in the moment that I am painting it.

As the quote to the right says, "I am large, I contain multitudes."

Two Down

Pride
acrylic on canvas

7x7"

(update: for a better quality image see this post)
sold

I made it to the studio a few days this week and was able to get the second painting done for the commission I am working on. Well, it's basically done... now that I see it on the screen I think I may have to glaze over the stems again to make them appear more submerged.

I forgot to mention in my last post that I finally put to use a tube of paint I bought ages ago, but never quite knew what to do with. It is called Iridescent Pearl and it's really quite beautiful. I ended up using a small amount on each fish- to give the scales an iridescent shimmer. On this painting I ended up putting the slightest touch on the tips of some of the petals, just to tie the two paintings together. I think generally it is a colour that should be used in moderation, but especially in this circumstance when it is a gift for a man. I'm not too sure how much razzmatazz he would appreciate on his paintings!

Which got me thinking: I wonder when the shift happens for boys? When do they stop enjoying sparkly things? I know my kids love anything shiny when they are doing crafts and my sister, who teaches Grade One, says year after year the boys in her classes can't get enough of anything glittery. It's really quite cute. Just this week Sammy brought home a workbook on the Wright Brothers and their inventions which he completed in his Grade Two class. On one page he was supposed to list what he felt were "Other Useful Inventions" and his short list made me smile:

- tradeing cards

- toylets

- glitter glue

One Down, Two To Go

Joy
7x7

acrylic on canvas
sold

Here is the first of three paintings I am working on that have been commissioned by a neighbor (sorry about the slight glare across the top of the canvas). Her husband is celebrating a big birthday this summer and she wanted me to paint his pride and joy... a pond in their back yard that he has designed and laboured over (actually I'm pretty sure his baby grand-daughter is his official pride and joy, but the pond is a close second!). After she approached me, I gave the project some thought and then suggested that instead of one large painting I could do three smaller paintings with each one focusing on a detail of the pond. She loved that idea and that quickly became the plan. I really hope it turns out the way I see it in my mind's eye because she is completely trusting me on this one.

I have to say, this little painting has been glazed within an inch of it's life! I wanted to build up the colour of the water to give it depth and richness- especially against the bright, bold  colours of the fish. In the photos she provided for me, the water looked black and I wanted to avoid such extreme darkness in the painting. I'm pretty happy with the result; I really like the composition and how the colours are working together. Once the other two pieces are finished I may have to do a bit of tweaking to make sure they will work as a group.

Next up... the water lily... it's beautiful, but the petals are going to mess with my mind!