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

13 Feb 2024

Wintering in Colour



Hi everyone,

I hope you all had lovely, happy holidays!

Of late, over this way, I've been puttering about, enjoying painting and experimenting with different mediums. An overall quiet time--winter works for cocooning in place with good books, paints, yarn and, of course, tea. Where would the world be without tea?

This year, February barged in with a bang. The earth moved!

 We have had two small earthquakes over the years. The first one was more severe. The noise was unbelievable with the loudest cracking sound I ever heard. It reverberated for  a minute or two. Your mind turns--where to run to--what to do. Thankfully, it stopped. Always good to have a plan or two in place.

Did you watch the Superbowl? Is that even an admissible question? Fair weather fan here. Enjoyed chicken chili, and watched the half time show. 

Pastel on pastel mat paper.

             
 Thanking Jesse for these beautiful blue pastels.
 Watercolours-Sennelier and three Daniel Smith's. Always fun to mix greens, but Daniel Smith's sap green works well with a hint of red mixed in to tone it down.               


           
                                                  
 The three colours in the last row are Daniel Smith's.  Love the Opera Rose, although it is a fugitive colour.
                                 


A little grocery store bought colour oasis.


Scraps of paper will do when you don't have a lot of time, or you may want to paint quick daily paintings.  As you can see, the painting on the right is halved because I put the lane almost in the middle. A definite no no. (She lives and sometimes learns.) 

* * *
Books:

What an amazing book this is. Not hard to know why it won the Pulitzer.  In a you tube interview with Richard Powers, he said he researched the book for six years. And while it's a work of fiction with a cast of human characters, trees are, in my opinion, the main characters. 

I've always loved trees; was surrounded by them in my childhood, and if you been reading here awhile you will know that I love to be in the woods. It's difficult not to feel sad when watching land being cleared. Now more than ever because there aren't that many tracks of treed land left. 
  
In case you are interested, besides this book, a couple of recommendations are: The Wild Trees by Richard Preston published in 2008, and more recently The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohellben. 

Netflix has bought the rights to The Overstory, so we can expect an adaptation sometime-- can't locate a time line just yet.
After reading these books, I could go on and one. But I will say there's no doubt in my mind that we walk among miracles. Trees are a community.  They help each other out. They are so remarkable it's mind boggling. 
Definitely a crime to cut old growth forests, especially the giant red woods; as you probably know, they can be 20 or 30 stories high and they have likely graced us with their presence since say 786 or longer! 


Speaking of miracles, my Echeveria elegans is blooming


Enjoy the week


And Happy Valentine's Day!


Cultivate Your Dreams

                                    Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. 

                                                         Thank you to all for hosting.  


1 Jun 2021

Happy June!



 Hi there, 

Happy June!  June: a beautiful month here in Canada. Yes, we wait for it. It has it all. Beauty, lovely sunny days with soft breezes, and sometimes a frosty night just to keep everyone on their toes. 

I took these sunrise pictures the other morning at 5:00 a.m. with my iPad. Although I wasn't thrilled to be awake that early, sometimes waking up early really pays off.

Tall Tales From the Easel...

Painted on Clairefontaine's Pastelmat paper.

Painted from a photo reference I took a few years ago.

                              
                                           Mostly mid tone to light values pastels on the plate. 
                       All but two are pigment rich Unison soft pastels. I love Unison's colours.

 Today, among other things, what follows will be some general information about pastels because I was asked for information by someone. 

When I started painting, pastels were a medium that I never considered using. Then I noticed a pastel painting that I just loved, and so I thought I'd give them a go. 

What are pastels? Prue pigment with a little binder.

Pastels have a couple of issues: number one they are messy, especially soft pastels, and they shatter if you drop one. (A mat under the easel would help keep shatters to a minimum.) Do I have one? No. I live and learn the hard way it seems. 😅

Some people only clean their soft pastels once or twice a year. I don't know how they manage because pastels get dirty after just one painting. The preferable way to clean them is to immerse them in a covered container with cornmeal, or rice, and give them a shake. For now, I wipe mine gently with shop towels.

Number 2: certain brands have cobalt and cadmiums. I believe Terry Ludwig's and Rembrandt soft pastels are heavy metal free. Although most pastel painters do not, I usually wear gloves. Pastels and acrylic paint dry out my fingers to a point where the skin lifts. (Not a comfortable or a pretty picture.)

Unison, Terry Ludwig, Jack Richeson, Sennelier, and Rembrandt are soft--dare I say chalk--pastels. Although Rembrandt's are harder than the others. They are all expensive. However, if you are just starting out there are cheaper brands. Mungo non-toxic comes to mind.

A lot of artists seem to shy away from Rembrandt pastels but I like them, and they are a bit cheaper than some of the others. I can't remember--for shame--but at a certain time of year most of the brands I mentioned go on sale. It may be November (I keep checking) when the good deals can be had. Mostly, I buy from Jackson's Art because their prices are very good, and the postage, depending on what your preference is, can be very reasonable. ( However, duty, that bane of existence, applies over $100.00)

I've only used oil pastels once so I can't really comment on them. 


                                                        From my memory banks.

I've been using Pastelmat paper hand friendly paper lately. Uart sanded paper is nice too, but it's so hard on the hands. You can blend on Pastelmat easily which some people like and some people do not. To blend on Uart,  a bit of soft pipe covering works well. 


Since neutral colours are also needed, I keep the pastel dust and chips. Although sometimes I can use the chips for precision mark making. (I put a tin foil trap on my easel to collect the dust.) One day I will
grind these down, outside, add water and roll out a neutral pastel or two.

Rule #1 never blow on a painting to get rid of accumulate dusk. You don't want pastel dust in your lungs. Give the painting a gentle tap and the dust will fall into the trap.

I do not use a workable fixative, mainly because I don't like the one I have. No matter how much I shake the can it still leaves spots!
( Rule # 3: Always good to spay outside even it you are using a low odor fixative.)
If you are running out of tooth on your paper, workable fixative works well, although it does darken the painting. You can, of course, cover certain areas and then spray. 
I will try another brand sometime.

(For framing, spacers are used so that any dust falls inside the mat and not on it.)


 
  FW Ink Purple Lake. What a wonderful rich colour.


Prismacolor Nupastels and the pastel pencils are hard.

I use Nupastel for under paintings and move it about with a fan brush dipped in alcohol.
FW ink also works well for an underpainting too. Not all papers are suitable for a wet wash, but Pastelmat, Uart, and Mi-Teintes Touch take wet washes well. There are others, but, at this time, these are the papers I use.
Why do an underpainting, especially because most of it ends up covered up? It's a roadmap and it gives a certain depth and richness of colour that generally peeks through here and there. I don't always do an underpainting. I may just begin, or make a few guideline marks here and there.

The hard pastels are good for adding detail at the end of a painting too.

Once you begin working with your soft pastels, it's a good idea to use a light touch because many layers go into a painting and you do not want to fill the paper's tooth too early.

I  hope this bit of general information proves useful.
 Give pastels a go.  I believe you will fall hopelessly in love with them!

* * *
Just now, in the woodland, an under carpet of Solomon’s Seal are in bloom. 
Correct me if I am wrong, but early evening seems a good time for taking photos. Just look at the light and shadows.



Wild Honeysuckle

Too bee, or is that 2B? 
Does anyone know what this beautiful little wildflower is?
                                  I am searching for an answer. It seems we must name things.

                                       Irises are spectacular!

                               

Wild violets are a favourite of mine too.

'Til Next Time...

Cultivate Your Dreams

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Do drop by for a visit; you will be glad you did.
  Thank you, ladies, for hosting.


29 Sept 2020

The Beginning of Autumn

 

 Hi there,

       
Today, I am writing this post on my iPad. I had doubts about it ever happening. But Blogger, with its new interface, has finally plunged into the 21st century. 
     

Fall has arrived and everywhere you look you can catch a glimpse of gorgeous colours with hints of    more to come. It’s such a beautiful time a year. Certain garden flowers that have been bleached out by the hot summer sun, are also enjoying a vivid revival.
 I never long for fall, and often lament the passing of summer, but at this point in my life, I enjoy fall almost as much as I do spring. 

“Autumn, the year’s last
loveliest smile.”

William Cullen Bryant 


Reeds swaying in the wind.

Goldenrod and Asters

Awhile ago, someone ask me what I keep in my desk drawers. I admire curiosity. As far as I’m concerned it makes the world go round. Anyway, maybe one day I will shoot a video tour of my little corner studio, although I am not sure I could make it interesting. In the mean time, here's a sneak peek. In drawer number two: tubes of watercolour paint. The gorgeous bright pink: Opera Rose. Not a lightfast paint but oh so lovely.

                                                           Candy pink hydrangeas. 

Moms and Roses

On a walk, I noticed this feather. It looked like it was floating.


I added a few more watercolour leaves to this painting. As you can see, there are real leaves here too. 
                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                         

The art cards I ordered arrived, so I printed some greeting cards made from a larger Calla Lily painting that sold awhile ago. I really like the matte finish on these cards.


 When I cut these watercolour gift tags out of watercolour paper and add splashes of paint, I am in relaxation mode.  Although messy, adding texture with salt, alcohol, and cling wrap adds to the fun.

'Til Next Time

Cultivate Your Dreams.

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Ladies, many thanks for hosting. 





28 Jan 2020

A Trek

Jan 28/20


Because of  freezing rain, I haven't been out to the woods for about a month. And I‘ve been wondering about the birds.
At the entrance to the marsh, I called out and the chickadees and nuthatches quickly flew to the feeding area. They remembered me, and, my, they were very hungry. 



A beautiful, moody afternoon sky.

Recently, I was looking through my photos of the Yukon Territory. For a few years, we lived in the Yukon in a house nestled down near a lake, where I could hear, as I lay in my bed, the plaintive call of the loons. We drove there from Calgary, Alberta along the, then, unpaved Alaska Highway.  Later we motored up the Dempster highway that begins south of Dawson City, Yk. to Inuvik, NWT. 
 Not a garage, at that time, for miles on that unpaved, potential tire-shredding shale road, so we carried full cans of gas and extra tires on the roof. With only the vast remote wilderness for company, and the trepidation welling up within because the road sometimes does double duty as a landing strip,  we slowly motored on, in intermittent fog, for hours, with thunderheads of dust rolling up behind us, without passing a car or seeing a single living thing.  (From Dawson City to Inuvik it’s a two day journey: 478.5 miles/ 742km.)  Eventually, dust bitten and weary we stopped at the halfway point in an oasis named Eagle Plains / Rat Pass. Given its remoteness, we had reservations about the place, but it turned out to be a clean and hospitable place to spend the night.
While driving the Dempster Highway you see the rugged Ogilvie and Richardson mountain ranges and, of course, the tundra where ghostly cloud shadows, driven by the wind, mysteriously track over the land. Gorgeous at any time of year, but in the fall it is absolutely breath taking. 
The pastel painting below was inspired by those photos. 


A few years later, still eager for adventure, we drove from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk along the ice road on Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean.  (That may be a story for another day.) I do, however, feel fortunate to have made that trip, because the ice road has recently been replace by a highway.

Happy trails. 'Til next time...

Cultivate Your Dreams 


I am linking to: 
World Tuesday
Friday Bliss


5 Aug 2019

Summer Continued

A word to the wise.

So lovely to be able to say that here, in Canada, summer will meander along until further notice. Today: another glorious day of clear blue skies, replete with sunshine and flowers on the bloom everywhere. One look out the window and gratitude taps you on the shoulder.


 Snowshoes. A friendly reminder to enjoy the lovely summer days.


Sailing anyone?  Looks like we might be heading north. But we can, with a good wind tack in other directions.


Coral bells. O the colour!









* * *

Off the drawing board...a few things.

I've been holding on to my pastels for more than a year now. Sometimes one needs a little push to try something new, especially when it comes to beautiful pastels. (They need to be broken to work with. I didn't want to do it.)
 Recently, a friend send me a picture of a sunset and before I knew it I was breaking pastels, not only with abandon, but with glee. Apparently a little inspiration goes a long way.



 For this painting, I used Uart Sanded Paper. Because this paper tends to buckle,  from now on I will spray it down with water and iron it flat and weight it down (there must be a few heavy books around here ) until it dries.

Last week I started a folder for my sky pictures. ( I have a lot of them and want to get them together for reference for pastel paintings.) From fair to stormy skies, I love them all.  Summer, spring and fall are great times for ever changing array of clouds.  One of my mottos: Look up!

* *  *


I bought this cheap wooden box to put my pastels in. Added a coat of acrylic paint, and then decided to paint a flower.  Because I did not plan to paint anything, I didn't sand the box first, but I may sand around the flower and add a coat of varnish. The smoothness of the wood so lovely to paint on. Gamblin oil paints. What a dream.

Iris in oil on canvas.  

Linking to Mosaic Monday and  Our World Tuesday and on Wednesday with My Corner of the World on Wednesday.

See you in September...



Cultivate Your Dreams!