Painted Furniture

Toscana Cucina
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My last project of the year was this trunk which was commissioned by my creative friends from Lime Design who have come up with many interesting themes for me to paint for them. You might remember the Medieval Armoire or the Twitter Trunk from the April and November postings. The goal was a trunk that would remind them of their visit to Italy. How perfect that I had just been there earlier this year and was full of ideas and good remembrances of the colours, flavours and scenes of Tuscany. Out of our remembrances came Toscana Cucina.

This project was just completed after many, many hours of researching traditional Italian decoration, reading recipes, multiple sketches and finally painting. The following pictures show the trunk in it's various stages from sketches to block in, and final.








May the new year be full of happiness, blessings and prosperity.

Tagged and I'm It

It seems we art bloggers are having an on-line game of tag in which we share 5 little known tidbits of information about ourselves and then tag 5 other artists. A fun way to learn about one another. Chris Stott who paints fabulously elegant still lifes tagged me.

5 little known things, some of which are probably better off not revealed but better to scare you than bore you.

1. 6 years ago I was illustrating in acrylics and I needed a little change in medium just to rev my illustration up a little- so I took an oil painting class. It was love at first brushstroke and it completely changed my life. Now I do both illustration and oil painting and will likely go crazy.

2. When I was a kid I read in the bath tub till I was shrivelly and my Dad would make me get out so the rest of the family could use the bathroom. I still read in the tub for hours but now no one can make me get out. I do other things in the tub like draw, plan schedules etc. It's a relaxing way to work. A cat falling into the tub, however, is not a relaxing event at all.

3. When I was a teenager I read the book 'The Good Earth' by Pearl S. Buck and have read it once a year ever since. It never gets boring.

4. I received a teddy-chicken (that's right - chicken) for my first Easter when I was a baby and I still have him, although he lives a much quieter life in a trunk now. His name was Cheppie which is apparently derived from my mangled attempts to say chickie. Although I used to play with dolls, I now find them kind of creepy but ancient teddy-chickens are perfectly acceptable.

5. I love peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches. Try one sometime, you'll thank me.

In spite of some of these odd facts I am fairly normal.

I'm tagging
D. Prizzi
Justin Clayton
Jerry Lebo
John Beder
Ronell at My French Kitchen

Empty Easel Reviews Still Life - Tipsy

The online art community is really something. Everything about art is shared there, no holding back. Artists can read how other artists make their art, how they make a business of it both online and through traditional means, and what inspires them. Artists not only share information but showcase the works of other artists. One such website is Empty Easelwhere I recently had a wonderful review of my art. Stop by Dan's very informative website and read the review.

Three of the paintings Dan reviewed were Tipsy, Imposter and Not Made For Walking from the September post. It's always such a pleasure when another artist 'gets' your work. Tipsy and a few other paintings are currently at Trudy Labell Fine Art in Naples, Fl and will be showing in their February Contemporary Realism show. Imposter is will be on it's way to the Federation Gallery in Vancouver, BC for their Red and Gold show this spring. Not Made For Walking sold in Oct.

New Oil Painting - Hazelnut Leaves With Beanpot

Hazelnut Leaves With Beanpot
10 x 10
Oil/Canvas
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After painting the darkly dramatic Royal Turban and the colourful and more airy Autumn Tang I felt like painting something more neutral and contemplative. The darker leaves and pot against the neutral background and the spare composition seems to give Hazelnut Leaves With Beanpot a rather zen look.

Hazelnuts grow everywhere on our small piece of land. Later on in the summer they grow little nuts that the squirrels clean up by late fall. Those busy little chirpers will not leave one single hazelnut on the trees.

I found this beanpot in a Chinese grocer one day, it was filled with a tasty and rich bean paste that is used in Chinese dishes. I bought it both for the contents as well as the stout, little brown pot that I knew would find it's way into a still life one day.

Autumn Tang

Autumn Tang
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Such lovely little apples but so incredibly tart to bite into. The birds love crabapples when they've clung to the tree all winter and had time to ferment, and I love them because they are beautiful in all seasons and for the most lovely apple butter they make.

Still Life To The Death

Royal Turban
18 x 24
Oil/Canvas

It always amazes me that no matter how much we artists paint we never seem to run out of ideas or be inspired afresh by the things we see or experience. I'm always struck by the fragrant and juicy beauties piled high in supermarket produce sections, while browsing a Chinese grocer or gift shop, or working in my own garden. The attached painting Royal Turban is one such inspired painting. It needed no props to glorify it's incredible shape and colour, only a soft, natural, north light to show it to it's best advantage. It was a real challenge though, normally I paint from 5 x 7 up to 16 x 20 so this big 18 x 24 presented some interesting challenges.

Lighting was a bit of an issue as I'd set up my lights and was quite pleased with the dramatic look, however when I left the studio and turned out the lights I happened to glance back and the north light shining on the turban squash was quite stunning, turning the highlights to pinks and subtle lavenders. How could I not paint that? The problem with painting from life here in Canada is that the days are very short in the winter time. The days are endlessly long in our wonderful summers but so very short come winter. The brightest light came in from 12:00-2:30 which became my time to paint this incredible king of squashes, but it wasn't quite enough to light my palette adequately so that became somewhat of a struggle. At this size I knew this was going to take a while.

The next issue was the fact that the squash had already been hanging around the studio for some time as I completed illustration assignments and other paintings. When I was finally able to get to the squash it was showing signs of aging and by the time I was nearing the end of the painting it was starting to get leaky and mouldy. Each day before painting I had to wipe off the haze of mould that had grown overnight but managed to finish it before it collapsed.

When you are painting one solitary item at this size every single stroke counts. Any stroke placed badly will be distracting and bothersome. Brushstrokes in a simple background placed at the wrong angle will catch the light and stand out like a pink ruffle on a wrestler, all the more noticeable when you are painting larger.

All in all it was a great and wonderful challenge, I had my doubts but couldn't bear to give up on that squash.

Normally most of my paintings go out for sale but I don't think I'm ready to give this one up just yet. Maybe later.

Series

Imposter
Personal Collection


Impersonator
9 x 12
Oil on Canvas
$475.00
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The inspiration for Imposter came to me one day when I was shopping and came across a fake lemon which reminded me of my Grandmother. She had the greatest green thumb and could grow anything - except a lemon tree which just wouldn't survive the winters of Saskatchewan no matter how green the thumb. Still, she wanted a lemon tree and after saving up her fake, plastic lemons, tied them to a tree outside and had an instant lemon tree. Imposter is in honour of my Grandmother.

Of course one lemon painting just leads to another. I recently painted Impersonator after seeing the curiously shaped plastic lemon in the grocery store. Great shape, fun subject matter, not so good in the flavour category. I've painted numerous lemons and can't get enough of them. There is much to be gained by taking a subject and painting it in a variety of ways. It's both a learning experiment as well as pure pleasure as you intimately explore your chosen subject matter. It becomes a series of it's own accord in which you travel through idea after idea, explore and examine and ultimately create some very satisfying art. It's quite a journey, and like a journey there will be good trails and bad but the end results are always worth the trip.

Jerry Lebo talks about the value in doing a series. Look him up, he's got some great paintings happening.

Influences & Experiences

Twitter Trunk
30 x 18
Acrylic on Pine
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As artists we are inspired by the places we've been, museums we've visited, markets, music, landscapes, people who are important to us, and other artists. Like my friends Lara and Matthias of Lime Design who love whimsy, pattern and colour but in such a sophisticated way.

They've travelled and seen a lot and like all artists are inspired by those visual experiences. A few years ago I did a trunk for their first child and later a tall armoire featuring medieval animals. The idea was in part, inspired by their recent travels. See the armoire in the June 2007 post. Most recently I painted 'Twitter Trunk' for the newest addition to their family. More projects are in the works and all are based on the things and places we've seen.

Art is seeing life's experiences in paint.

Lessons From the Low Countries

Suleyman's Legend, Margret Short


Michiel Comans, Calligrapher Artist by Michiel van Musscher was the inspiration for Suleyman's Legend.

I've always been fascinated by the Dutch painters and was thrilled to find out about Margret Short, an artist who recently committed to an incredible project called Lessons from the Low Countries.

She selected 11 paintings from the Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art Exhibit and did an in-depth analysis of the colour palette of each one. Margret did 11 paintings in her own style based on the colour palettes of the selected master paintings. Her palette was limited to the pigments used in the 17th century and were hand ground from powdered pigments such as genuine lapis lazuli and vermilion and turned into paint after a fairly laborious process. The project required a huge amount of research and experimentation and I'm quite in awe of her ability to tackle such an incredible task.

Even though even though my own work is more contemporary I can't get enough of the Dutch masters and have been deeply inpspired by them, by people like Margret too.

Fashionista

18 x 18
Oil on Canvas

Can't get enough of that leopard print! I think pattern as subject matter is something that I'll return to again and again. Not only do I enjoy the whimical spots but I'm finding that it's a very useful exercise to explore the same thing numerous times in different ways. This time I experimented with the palette knife making some nice thick textures in the foreground.

Peach Luster on Leopard

18 x18
Oil on Canvas

Pairing this vintage Peach Luster tea cup with a leopard print fabric was just sheer fun! Patterns and interesting prints have long been part of my illustraton work but I have yet to use them as frequently in my oil paintings. Pattern as subject matter has been on my mind for a while and as I'd recently finished the wild cat print boot I was in the mood for more of the same. I'd been wanting to paint this teacup's fascinating, shimmery surface ever since I bought it and wanted to do the leopard print too so it seemed a good time to get them together.

The reflections in this tea cup kind of reminds me of Neil Hollingsworth paintings in which he paints reflected surfaces so admirably. I bow to you Neil.

Not Made For Walking

Not Made For Walking
8 x 10
Oil on Canvas
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These boots weren't made for walking in all day but in reality they are surprisingly comfortable. I bought them in a small village in Tuscany at the urging of a friend who insisted I go into the shoe store. I resisted thinking I had more shoes than I needed but finally gave in. I walked in and there they were right in front of me in all their supple, leathery, luxurious smelling glory. There was no doubt that they were coming home with me. I might just do a big painting of these.

This was another great exercise in painting quickly and decisively. It does me good to do this.

Summer's End

Fern Study
8 x 10
Oil on Canvas
SOLD


Tipsy
9 x 12
Oil on Canvas

Fern Study was done on the porch in the shade on a blistering hot 31 degree day. This quick study had an imposed time limit in which I had to be selective about what items would be in the background and foreground and how much of the fern I would actually paint. A fantastic exercise in being decisive. Painting loosely like this isn't about being messy or careless with the brush it's as much about control and careful planning as is a tighter painting.

Tipsy was painted in the studio but with no time limit. Careful planning was also done here to create a fun shape which the pear provided with it's elongated body. Playing on that shape with the tilted Chinese teacups made this whimsical piece great fun to do.

Summer is pretty much over and fall is on our doorsteps. The task of cleaning up the garden and putting the plants to bed is about to start. I wonder what fall views will inspire new paintings this September?

Thanks for all your wonderfully encouraging comments over the past year. It's so rewarding to hear that people, are indeed, touched by art.

Artists on Rails

Morning Plums
5 x 7
Oil on Canvas
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Morning Pear
5 x 7
Oil on Canvas
SOLD

The dog days of summer are here and a somnolence has set in making me feel like lazing in the hammock on the shady porch doing nothing but read and listen to the bees buzz and bump around in the flowers, however, I have weeds to battle, paintings to paint and fun projects to do.

Three days were spent as a visiting artist on the Artists on Rails tour going to Jasper, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies. I was invited to participate in this project which is to provide tourists with some of the culture of Alberta as they travel through the province. Painting and visiting with the guests on the train as we travelled to Jasper on Via Rail was a fabulous experience.

Above are two of the paintings from the Early Morning series which were part of my display on the train.

Early Morning Paintings

Pucker Up
5 x 7
Oil on Canvas
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Morning Tomatoes
5 x 7
Oil on Canvas

These two little paintings are part of my Early Morning series that I started this April. I began a series of small paintings with natural morning light and artificial light. I prefer the natural light but it doesn't always cooperate. For one thing the sun only peeks through that window for an hour at the most. To make things really interesting the shifting morning clouds makes the light vary dramatically moment to moment with sunlight one minute and cloud the next. After some frustrating days with inconsistent light I started to experiment with artificial light and I'm not quite sure if I like it. At least it stays still.

Dandelion Field Near Leduc

Dandlelion Field Near Leduc
8 x 10
Oil on Panel

One glorious late afternoon some friends and I painted this field of dandelions while the mosquitoes had their way with us. The farm cat, not wanting to be ignored for puddles of paint leaped onto an easel and promptly left haughtily with ochre and green feet. What was beautiful to us is no doubt less than enchanting for the owner of this dandelion filled field.

Early Morning Mandarins II

Early Morning Mandarins II
Oil on Canvas
5 x 7
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This painting as born after my frustrating experience of chasing the sun for days trying to paint as much as I could in one hour. I decided to paint the oranges again with a loose and a much livelier look in one go. The oranges are alive and well unlike the rather worked to death ones in the previous painting. I like these quick, little paintings, so spritely and alive.

Early Morning Mandarins

Early Morning Mandarins
Oil on Panel
8 x 10
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I set up this still life in the afternoon and got a good start but when I went into the studio the next morning at 6:00 the light was peeking in the north window making the jug and oranges glow beautifully. Well, I just had to start another painting. The sunlight only slants through that window for about an hour so I went in every morning and painted quickly to try to capture this brief moment. The main challenge was the light which both moved as the sun climbed higher and dimmed considerably when drifting clouds passed over the sun. The scene changed from moment to moment. This is not by best painting by any means, it is very laboured looking but it does illustrate the challenges that artists must deal with.

Recent Paintings

Korean Jug in Winter
Oil on Canvas
8 x 10
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Peony Shimmer
Oil on Canvas
16 x 20
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Pear With Paint Rag
Oil on Linen
8 x 10
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Radishes in a Water Glass
Oil on Canvas
16 x 20
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Some of you who receive my monthly painting email have not able to view the attachments for some technological reason that I have't been able to figure out, so I've posted a few of them for you.

Medieval Armoire

acrylic on pine
7.5' x 3.75' x 2'
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This May is special for me as it was 19 years ago that I began illustrating and 5 years ago I started oil painting. My style and methods of illustration have evolved constantly since then and the addition of oil painting has further effected the way I illustrate. In turn, illustration and my design background have been big influences on my oil painting which has truly become a force in my life.

My most recent project was commissioned by some extremely imaginative friends that I have worked with for over ten years. This seven and a half foot armoire features animals dressed in medieval clothing.