Someone had asked me to paint a dark scene from "Pan's Labyrinth" for them a while ago.  As I thought about his request, I realized that although I really like that movie, painting something dark just isn't what I am doing these days.  I had to turn him down, and as we spoke more I realized he was perhaps not too stable, so I did end up blocking him from my site. :(

So what I am pondering is the whole idea of commissions, and painting things that you know will sell but aren't really you.  I have done a couple commissions.... just small pieces, other times I've talked to people interested in commissions but I must admit I get a bit stressed when they are wanting me to match a certain colour.... or subject matter.  I don't have any horses in my paintings... so when someone asks me to do a painting of a horse... I do get an image in my head but it would most likely not be what they are thinking of.  My horse, would most likely have a daisy hanging out of his mouth, be wearing a hat, and dancing a jig.  :)

I do recognize that it is not easy to make a living as an artist, and that sometimes artists paint what they know will sell.   I am happy painting larger paintings, but I do know that the smaller ones sell more often, and so I will paint to suit at times.  My hope is that no matter what I paint, I will stay true to myself and that my heart and soul, and joy will come through in the painting.  

When I express myself freely on canvas, and someone gets it.. the feeling is indescribable... it is like you have made this special connection.  I like it when that happens.

This week I've been working on a painting called "Bed and Breakfast".  The name came to me while I was sketching it.  A while ago, I painted 2 paintings with birdhouses in them... one was a winter scene and one was a spring scene.  I wasn't aware of how much my husband like those two paintings... i didn't realize he like birdhouses so much.  He plays hockey, watches sports, goes to beer festivals.... and likes birdhouses... go figure.  It became more obvious to me, when... after I had finished a painting, he would ask... "Where are the birdhouses?"..... even if it was a painting of a ski hill...or the top of a mountain.  

So Dan... here are your birdhouses, and I must say... I painted this one with a smile on my face.  I enjoyed it from start to finish.  

This week I've been working on a painting that is a bit different from my usual ... there are no trees... but there are pilings.  This painting came to me while I was taking the aqua bus in Vancouver from the end of Hornby Street over to Granville Island.  As I looked at the pilings, inhaled the salty air and took in all that I saw.... I was filled with joy.  

We moved to Vancouver from Ontario in 1984.  It was my first glimpse of the beautiful mountains, the pacific ocean, barnacles, orcas, the sea to sky-ness of it.  It was where I met friends that I hold dear to this day.  

When I look at the ocean, the mountains, the pilings... I see incredible beauty.  What is it about the coast that makes my heart so happy?  I think it is the memory of all the good times, and good friends that we had and met while living there.  

I believe you can find beauty anywhere... i really do, but Vancouver holds a special place in my heart.

There is something I have run into recently, that I am trying to sort out.  It is finding the balance between showing and selling a painting.  

I believe it is important to enter shows, because you want people to be aware of your work... more exposure.  When you enter a show, you have to go through a "submission" process.  Usually, you are require to send photos of the work you are hoping to show by a certain deadline... then it is seen by a jury... and you are notified anywhere from a week to a month ( in some cases ), whether or not your work has been accepted for the show.  

The problem I've run into is that someone would like to purchase a painting, after I have entered it into a show, but before I have been notified if my painting is to be included in the show.  I should say here that when you send in your "submission", you have included the price you are asking for your pieces.  Now, some shows allow you to change the asking price to "NFS"... not for sale, so you can sell the painting and ask the buyer if they are OK with collecting the painting after the show... most are.

However, I found out the hard way... that some shows do not allow you to do this, and require that you still put the painting in the show.. for sale.  This means that I lose a buyer, and my painting is held in limbo from the submission deadline until the end of the show... which can sometimes mean over 2 months.  Also... having a painting in a show does not guarantee it will sell.  

So... my task is to find a solution for this.
Ideas:
1. Paint 24/7 so I have enough paintings to sell and show.
2. Don't enter shows with this type of policy
3. Suggest to the powers that be, that if a painting sells while it is in "limbo" (awaiting the jurying process, or accepted to a show that has yet to start), perhaps keeping it in the show as NFS, but paying a commission to the show hosts would work.
4. Paint well enough that the show host doesn't care what you put in as long as they have one of your paintings... :)

LOL... so, I think I have figured it out... #3 is perhaps the best option.  It really helps to pull my thoughts out of my head and put them down on "paper".  

I do not like any of the yellow paints I have been using... cadmium yellow light, medium, deep... and hansa yellow.  The problem for me is the transparency.  I often paint on a canvas I have primed with a mix of black gesso, purple,blue, and black, and I end up having to use several coats of yellow.  Often the yellow areas of my painting are very detailed and it is no easy task to paint a tiny detailed area over and over and have it look as neat as i'd like.  So... i'm wondering and experimenting with what I can add to yellow to make it more opaque.  I've tried titanium white, but it doesn't make that much of a difference.  Even painting yellow over a light background colour, i end up with brush strokes showing, and also having to do several coats.

Now, I love blue... pthalo, prussian, cobalt, ultra-marine, and when I blend these with white, I come out with a beautiful, smooth combination that is perfectly opaque, and usually requires only 2 coats.  It seems to go on more smoothly as well and the brush marks seem to disappear.  

Purple as well is beautiful... dioxazine purple... mixed with a little titanium white... one coat wonder.  :)

I have tried different brands of acrylic paint ... Stevenson, Golden, M.Graham...  to see if this would make a difference but haven't found that to be the case with yellow.  


Do different pigments blend better?  Should I try mixing my own paint with pigment and polymer emulsion?  This is a mystery to me.  If there are any other artists out there who read this, I would appreciate some feedback.



Mellow Yellow.... I think not.

I have discovered that sometimes, a painting has to be revisited. Back in September, I did a painting of an old snag of a tree.  I called that painting "Beauty".  The one thing I really liked about that painting, was that tree, and I think that I was so focused on that tree I didn't consider the entire painting as a whole.  I've been looking at that painting for a while and have never been happy with it.... some things continued to bother me about it.  I didn't like the colour of the lake... I didn't think the foliage in the foreground was substantial... all in all... i just really didn't like it.

So finally, I decided to use my black gesso and remove all of the painting except my beautiful tree.  Then i stared at that for a few days... did a few sketches, and came up with an entirely new painting.  One that I like a whole lot better.  

Most of my paintings are done of places I would like to be, or things I would love to look at and the original "Beauty" was just not doing it for me.  The new one... yes.

In 1984, newly wed... my husband and I loaded up our bright orange VW van and moved from Southern Ontario to Vancouver.  For me... it was a huge move... leaving behind family, and friends and a job I enjoyed and heading to a part of Canada I had never seen.  I fell in love.  

One of the places in Vancouver that I fell most in love with was Granville Island.... a collection of shops, a public market, galleries, Emily Carr School of Art, and the art supply store Opus.  I would head there as often as I could and just wander around and soak it all up.  

We moved around BC quite a bit, but each time we were in Vancouver, it would involve a trip to Granville Island.  As I wandered through the galleries... i would dream that one day I would be painting and have my work in a gallery.... in a gallery at Granville Island.  

Well.... it has happened.  I submitted 2 paintings for a show at the Federation Gallery at Granville Island... and they were both accepted.  I still can't tell friends about it without getting emotional... and I'm not a crybaby.  It is just sooooo exciting for me.  To look back at my quiet dream of having a painting there is overwhelming.... 
More and more I'm finding that when I hope, dream, put my wish out there.... good things happen.  

So... the show is called Artist's Choice and runs from February 3 - 15th.  I'm hoping to get down there to see it and I'm hoping I don't turn into a blubbering idiot when I walk in there.  If you live near Vancouver.... pop in and have a look.  The two paintings are "Skinny Bitches" and "Snow Ghosts".  

Stillness - This one came out of my absolute love for trees, and snow... and the peace I feel at this time of year.  Stillness was exhibited at The Courthouse Gallery in February of 2014, at the Art Exposed show and was sold there.

"Loopy Lupines" - I painted this one after hiking up to Tod Lake, and seeing all the beautiful Lupines and other alpine flowers.  This one sold to a friend's daughter who said it reminded her of hiking with her Mom.  





"Flow" - I just had this image in my head of this one.  It gets it's name from the flow of the water, sky, and breeze.  This one sold to a couple I know from Williams Lake.  









"Old Friend" - This one was hard to part with.  It sold to a woman at a show in Celista, BC during the summer.  This was painted with so much love.  I'm glad it went to someone that it spoke to.  She loves it as much as I do.  My inspiration for this one came from an old tree I hiked past many times up on the Jimmy Fox trail in Williams Lake.  









"Snow Ghosts" - Inspired by the beautiful snow ghosts at the top of the mountain here at Sun Peaks.  These "ghosts" are full of joy.







"Skinny Bitches" - This one always makes me smile.  I pass these trees weekly on my way down the hill from Sun Peaks to Kamloops.  You can't miss them.  










"Trendsetter" - I LOVE the colours in this one.  Painted in the fall of 2014, this one is done with just acrylic and I'm using more shapes to give the impression of leaves, bark etc..









"Ghosts" - This one came to me as I drove by the site of the Barriere fire.  It could be anywhere in BC as we have had our share of forest fires.  What struck me, was the new growth springing forth in rows down the mountain side.  So although there is sadness in this painting, there is also beauty.






"Schrooms" - In October/November there were so many mushrooms around I couldn't help but paint them.  I really like the colour and whimsy in this one.  It has sold (much to my son's disappointment) to a gentleman from Kamloops.







"Warmth" - I just love the tree.  I didn't plan on having it look like a totem... but as I painted... that is what happened.  I think everything happens for a reason.  This painting just speaks to me.

Let's just start by saying that i LOVE ink!  When I paint, I choose one of two methods depending on what I want the painting to look like.  

Method #1 - I use my ink pens to completely draw the painting out on my canvas.  Then I use paint, and finish again with ink.
Method #2 - I paint my entire canvas black, using a combination of black gesso, prussian blue, purple and black fluid acrylics.  I then draw a rough idea of what I want for the painting, and paint leaving the black showing between sections.  

I keep going back and forth between these two methods but lately I am all about ink.  The painting on your left is done using method #1.  I mostly use this method when I want a lot of details in the painting.  It is almost like I get an itch to draw swirls, and loops, and exaggerated lines.... i honestly can't stop myself.  :)

When I was 2 years old... my lovely older sister fed me a bottle of ink while we were playing house.  Needless to say, I ended up getting my stomach pumped out at the hospital... not a nice experience for all concerned.  I wonder... if that was when I developed a taste..... or possibly hunger... for ink.  :)

Two weeks ago I participated in an Arts Integration Learning Lab at TRU.  Arts Integration is an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form.  We were encouraged as Artists to collaborate with educators in bringing art into classrooms/schools.  It was a week full of new information and self examination.  

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what exactly is my "artistic process".  I first had to understand what exactly that meant, which is how does my painting come to be.  I think because it is an intuitive process for me, it was quite a challenge to break it down into steps.  

I have narrowed it down to:
1. Go for a hike/drive/walk/snowshoe.... or just start thinking about trees.
2.  Spend some time thinking/meditating... and just feeling the energy of what I see. 
( people ask if I take photos, but I find that I can't capture what I want in a photo... I call what i do.... inhaling the energy of what I see )
3.  Sketch
4. Choose size of canvas and background colour
5.  Choose either ink and acrylic, or black gesso a canvas
6.  Draw on the canvas
7.  Think about the colours for at least 12 hours.
8.  Start painting

My struggle right now is that I would absolutely LOVE to be teaching, and doing workshops with children and adults, but I have to create some lesson plans that would work well in teaching.  Since I haven't been to art school myself, I don't know all the rules, and some of the rules I do know.... i often break but I like it that way.  So I'm trying to find a balance between helping people feel a passion for art... their art... and gently teaching the rules... i.e.:  composition, colour etc...

I think that what I have on my side is enthusiasm, and passion.... and the ability to dive in and learn as I go.