". Arranged Words: paintings
Showing posts with label paintings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paintings. Show all posts

17 Oct 2023

Autumn Has Arrived

Hi everyone,

 So far this year the autumn colours are not as intense as usual. Someone said it is because the summer was so hot. Still there are flashes of brightness here and there, and, perhaps, if the rain stays away, there's still time for the fall colours to put on a big show.

Temps are cool and the nights are, of course, closing in early. Time to cozy up with a throw and a good book in the evenings, or perhaps some knitting.


I've been busy farming pastel paintings for the juried art show in November.  I forgot to take a photo of them before framing. Now that they are behind glass it is not that easy to get a glare free photo. My son, at one time, had a small digital camera that had a function for taking photos behind glass. It worked so well.

 
          Probably no one wants to hear this, but since this is a diary of sorts, I can finally bring myself to say that my Mother (Celeste Mary) passed away in April. Mom was 99 years old, and she was exactly two months away from her 100th birthday. 
I know how fortunate we, as a family, were to have her with us for so long, but I do miss her so much.


                                           
                                            Have this photo on my list as a reference to paint from
                                                             I am thinking watercolour.

                                     
                                         I just love these ornamental cabbages. They've got style. 

                                                                   New England Asters.

                                                       Solomon Seal ~ Still pretty, I think.
                                                                     
                                                                     * * *

I recycled Pastelmat for this little painting. How? Well, you can actually wash off a painting that didn't work out, and begin again. Just rinse under water, and use some paper towel to remove more of the pastel and dry it off.  Then I usually place the Pastelmat inside paper towel and weight it down with books until it dries. Of course it doesn't come perfectly clean, and you can't add as many layers. Also, it is not as easy to paint on as the original paper, but it still works quite well.



'Til Next Time...
Enjoy Autumn or Spring wherever you may be.

Cultivate Your dreams

                                       Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. 

                                                   Thanks to all for hosting.  









 


19 Apr 2022

You Never Know



Hi everyone,

By the time tulips have reached this stage, it's generally time toss them out. Because of the beautiful colour, I left them until the petals began to drop. 

Snow drifted down last night. I do like a surprise though, and a white world this late in the spring fills that category.  Needless to say, this spring has been a cool one. (You never know there could be snow.)

Yesterday I just had to go to the woods. Since I injured my foot last June, I haven't been going too far. I finished physiotherapy last week, and it still hasn't healed. So, the physiotherapist recommended shockwave therapy even though she said she couldn't endure it. That did make me laugh because, really, what a recommendation! I will ruminate on that one. To me, it doesn't seem wise to shock an injury, although the idea of it is to reduce scar tissue. The other and last option besides a brace I've ordered to wear at night is a cortisone shot.

Below, the tiny green sprouts of the Trout Lilies. When they bloom a wonderful carpet of yellow will fill the undergrowth. Although they are the first flowers that bloom, in the woods, in spring, they can be quite tender. Fingers crossed that the snow is kind to them. 


In May there will be an art exhibition at the mall. Three entries are allowed. I have a few paintings in mind but, besides the one below, I will likely paint two new paintings. I will frame the painting below as soon as my point driver arrives. Not something I've done before, and pastels have to be framed so that the painting doesn't touch the mat or dust may fall on the mat. Spacers are used, but I haven't been able to find any, but I can use acid free foam core. Are you with me lady luck?
                
                                                           
                                                  Pastel on Pastel mat paper 8 x 10 inches.

                    
                                          A few new soft pastels from Great American. 

                                                        
                                             Pastel on pastel mat Approximately 13 3/4 x 9 3/4 inches

If you've been reading here awhile, you may remember this painting. I kept wanting to add a boat to it, and finally figured out how.



             I am happy to report that my computer problems are all sorted thanks to my son, Jesse. 

Have a lovely day... 'Til next time...

Cultivate Your Dreams

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. 

The parties cover most of the globe; there’s much to see and admire, so do stop in for a few visits. 

                                          Special thanks to the hosts.


                    
                         



23 Jul 2019

Throwing Off the Bowlines

      One day this month I felt the urge to throw off the bowlines, so off I motored off to Ottawa to see Gauguin's Portrait exhibition among other things.
As I mentioned on Instagram, it must take years to put an exhibition together. Especially since this is the first show of Gauguin's portraits. Of course, the paintings for the exhibition were procured from private collectors and museums from all over the world. What a feat!

Then, somehow, they pull it all together, right down to the colour of the walls. It would be exiting, I think, to be a fly on the wall to see how it is done and how many people it takes to make it look so seamless.

Selected paintings could be photographed. Guess who got into trouble a few times. Over zealous. Moi?...Never!

So without further adieu a few of my favourite paintings from the exhibition and other parts of the gallery.

                                                                Gauguin


 A colourful palette, but, then, Gauguin and Vincent were friends; influences probably rubbed both ways. Also, as you can see, when you know what you are doing colour unites.

                                           I especially love this vivid portrait of Madame Roulin 1888.



Tehamana ~ 1893

                                                                Another Gauguin selfie.

               
     I can't imagine painting a self portrait, but who knows if I could I might.
Company for the winter.

Moving on to other galleries. A few more of the wonderful painters that I love.

  I've been to The National Gallery of Canada several times, but with so much to see, I may never cover it all.

                                                                 Van Gogh's Irises.

Monet ~ 1887-90

Cezanne ~ 1873-4

Chagall ~ 1924


Pissarro ~ 1875

Stunning!    Gauguin ~ 1882
So in love with  James Tissot's "The Letter"  ~ 1878

Degas ~ 1887-90

Renoir ~1879-84 

Picasso ~ 1919

A few from the contemporary section.




From Australia the wonderful Danie Mellor.  Besides being a fabulous painter, he's also gorgeous.
( Did I say that?)
What a fascinating painting. And just look at the scale of it. I tried to imagine planning it, but, unfortunately, I lack such skills.
Weaved paper too. That sounds interesting.



Leaving you with a double rainbow...
Thanks for visiting, lovelies.

Cultivate Your Dreams


17 Jan 2018

Tulips, Drawings and Preliminary Paintings.



                                 Vibrant tulips always a welcome sight in the snowy world of January, especially when you are longing for spring. However, we did have the customary and wonderful January thaw for two days with temperatures on the second day reaching 14C. So lovely!

                                                                One for the drawing board too.

         Drawing on tracing paper saves a step or two, but the drawings can be difficult to see.

                             
A blood root flower and a monarch butterfly with a wee tea pot on the side.
                                    As you can see I've been busy drawing. With a file full of drawings, I have a lot to choose from for painting. 
                                                             
  A dapper fellow.
 A preliminary colour mock-up for a larger painting.


Also a colour mock-up of blue poppies. Usually I don't do trial runs before I transfer to heavy paper for painting, but I enjoyed the process and I wanted to test some colours.  I will be using 300 lb. Moulin du Roy which I haven't tried yet. I used 140 lb Moulin du Roy on these preliminary runs. I find the colour lifts easy, but often the colour looks a little dull, but I like the paper for clean lines.

Command Central. 
The Ikea utility cart was an August birthday gift.  It holds a lot and wheels about with ease.  If you are in the market for one, they are great. (No, most regrettably, I am not receiving any gratuities for saying that.) 
I've named these paintings 'watercolour splashes.' They somehow remind me of children splashing about in puddles.  Wouldn't it be fun for kids to splash about in colourful puddles instead of muddy water.
(Hmmm maybe I am on to something.) :)
'Til next time lovelies...
Cultivate your dreams.

28 Nov 2017

Wonderous Things

Hello lovely people,

I hope my U.S. friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I always wonder how you do it, with Thanksgiving so close to Christmas. Both times require a lot of preparation, so my hat goes off to you all.

Earlier this year, I made my way to Toronto and I thought I'd share a few pics. I saw a painting by Rubens that the AGO recently acquired for 150 million dollars.  I was vastly overwhelmed by the subject matter, so I didn't take a picture of it. However, with that said, it was amazing, vivid and looked like it had been painted yesterday.

"The Lady of Shallot" by Tennyson a favourite poem of mine has, thankfully, been painted so beautifully by John William Waterhouse. I am not sure how many he painted in that series, but they are all wonderful.

'I am Half-Sick of Shadows,' said the Lay of Shallot.

Click here to see a clearer version.

"On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road runs by
       To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
       The island of Shalott."
Tennyson
 
Loreena McKennitt's song "The Lady of Shallot." You can listen here.

 Monet


Lady with Soup. Picasso ~ Blue Period

* * * 

I absolutely love Greek sculptures.

A favourite of mine. From the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar ll. c 600BC.
I love to imagine what the palace was like.


A wondrous totem pole. Taken at the ROM

Georgia O'Keeffe.

 I made it to the O'Keefee exhibit with only a day or two to spare before the closing date. Pictures were prohibited.  However, this wonderful photo covered the wall at the end of the show.  And people were lining up to have their picture taken with Georgia.

* * *


My orchid has been blooming for more than two months!

In keeping with my usual winter habits, I've planted a few Amaryllis bulbs. I should have one in bloom next week.

* * *
"I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I never let that stop me from a single thing I wanted to do."
Georgia O'Keeffe
Cultivate your dreams. 

'Til next time. . .