This morning I primed 2 canvases, and while they were drying, I decided to work on my bears.  I have a painting in mind that has a single bear sitting amidst wildflowers on a mountainside.  I have the picture quite clearly in my mind.... it is from a photo that was generously given to me by Terry Isaac.  The image in my mind has a lot of colour and is not photorealism but I still want to the bear to resemble a bear.  So.... I am working on my bear sketches.  

I am finding, they are not all that easy.  I'm struggling with the snout and eyes.  So far, my bears look way too friendly.  I've never come face to face with a bear yet, or been chased by one... and I think that experience would help me draw a more realistic bear..... however, that is entirely too dangerous.  :)  I know this is goofy, but when I see wild animals... my first desire is to hug them.... so far that is showing in my sketches.  I have to work on this.

So, for today.... i will continue my sketches until I feel comfortable, and then I will paint.  I think the painting part will come together nicely.  This will be my first animal in a painting.  I'm kind of excited :)

Lately, I've been thinking about flowers.  I had 2 paintings in my head... one of sunflowers and another of poppies.  So I started this week working on the Sunflower painting, (which you see to the left).  I completed the sky, and the flower heads and started the foliage but had to stop to let some paint dry and I had already put in 8+ hours and know that I need to take breaks.  As I was doing the foliage, I was feeling not happy with what I was seeing..... this is NOT always the best time for me to take a break because I cannot stop thinking about the painting and usually can't sleep.  If I do sleep, I dream about the painting, and I wake up and have to stop myself from going down to my studio to work on it in the middle of the night.  :)

So this morning, I got up and went for a GREAT hike with a friend.  I started off feeling distracted and a bit grouchy because I was not with my painting.... (i know this sounds obsessive and I am working on it).  About 1/2 hour into the hike, I felt those endorphins kick in and suddenly the world seemed to be a better place, and I actually was able to take my head out of the studio and enjoy the hike.  

When I returned, I began to continue with the foliage.  As I painted, I reminded myself that in every painting.... there comes a time when you feel it is not coming together and you wonder what the heck you are doing.  I reminded myself as well, that if I keep going, push forward, I am 95% of the time very happy with the result.  Once again... this was correct.  I have heard this happens to a lot of artists.  It is nice not to be alone.  :)

Just finished a wonderful 2 day workshop with Artist Terry Isaac, who paints beautiful animals, landscapes, birds and more that are so close to reality that you can often not tell they are not a photograph.  

This was a real stretch for me as I have not painted this way.  I took the workshop because I believe you can always learn something more.... and I did.  Terry has a gift not only for painting but also for teaching.  I was able to understand more clearly the meaning "value", "elements of design", and I especially learned about glazing/washes... with acrylic paints... something that I had found confusing in the past.  

So.... I suppressed my urge to paint this raven in blue and orange as was my first instinct, and instead reigned myself in and really learned.  I'm quite proud of my painting that we all did using a photograph taken by Terry.  

Below is my grizzly... I also resisted painting him yellow and purple... LOL... and although I am not quite finished him.... i've made a great start.  

Learning is good  :)

Grizzly

Last week I submitted 2 paintings to a show in Vancouver called "Painting on the Edge".  I kept telling myself that most likely, I would not get in, but at the same time I had a tiny flicker of incredible excitement at the thought that I could possibly get it.  The show would be at the Federation Gallery which is at Granville Island in Vancouver.... one of my favourite places.  It would honestly be a dream come true.  

Well..... I received the email yesterday that said my submission was declined.  This is the first time I have experienced this and I must say that I am just fine.  :)
As I thought about it, I realized that my paintings were in all honesty... not what they were looking for.  I think I needed to have something a bit more edgy.  I don't think any of my paintings are what you would call edgy.  I like edgy, and I'm going to do some thinking about it.  

In the meantime.... there will be a lot more shows and a lot more opportunities to submit my work into shows.  A while ago, a good friend and fellow artist said that getting rejected by a jury does not mean your paintings/ability isn't up to par... it just means that it is not what they were looking for.  That was good advice.  It can be difficult for an artist to deal with rejection because usually we are putting our heart and soul onto canvas.  Each painting is very personal, and a lot of who you are, is in the painting.  

Anyways....  I am looking forward to eventually, one day.... having a painting or two hanging in that beautiful gallery on Granville Island.