28 June 2010

whoopie!

Just got another art rental client, they're taking 2 paintings for 6 months ...and then Kurbatoff (my gallery in Vancouver) phoned to say they'd sold a painting! Cheque's in the mail. Funny how a little cash lends inspiration. Now I can pay my bills AND continue painting.

heehee!

24 June 2010

art for art's sake

money for god's sake!!

Haven't sold a painting in months. Total financial nose-dive compared to this time last year. AND we just bought a house..... eek!
But I will prevail.
I will prevail with smaller paintings.

Like this one:

It's an itty-bitty little thing, part of the "Lens" series I've been working on, all 10x10", all quite abstract. I'm having a lot of fun getting back to the more abstract aesthetic.

In fact, because my work is not selling much, I am not under so much pressure from the galleries and it feels lovely to work on something a little different without thinking about the business of whether they'll sell. Heehee.

Here's another one, before & after:

This one measures about 12x22". Not sure if I like the progression here, the "before" is maybe more interesting because it's less defined...

And here's one of the big stitched ones, still in progress but liking where it's going so far:

Yes, I am still working on the big stitched pieces for my show in Vancouver. Not till February next year, but these things DO take a long time to make, so it's gotta be an ongoing thing.

Hope they sell something soon because I am about to be flat broke, in the literal sense of the term.

22 June 2010

once upon a time,

a long, long time ago,
I made these two paintings
from photos I myself had taken.

They were an attempt to translate the prairie, to which I had just relocated my life and which I still find incredibly beautiful, into paint. The only way I could fathom this emptiness was framed through a construction of windows inside an abandoned house. Always some reference to the built environment.
Later I removed these paintings, stretched new canvas, and they became the Summer In The City...

A couple of days ago I had been going through the old "Why do I make paintings? Why not do something that more directly involves/impacts people in a positive way?"
And then Jocelyn came into the art store where I work, and told me about how she'd bought one of my paintings (one of the Building Blocks) and how much she loved it. She derives great joy from her art collection, and my piece is part of that milleiu.

How lucky is that?
I'm feeling much better now.

17 June 2010

Drift and Settle

The oil pastel is my new love.
It seems to finish/fix paintings beautifully.
That drawing thing contrasted with the brush thing underneath. A limited palette too, I like not mixing them, just let the colour sit on the surface without smearing or working into it.
It's a bit like crayons...!



these are 8x10" canvases, very small for me.

#6

oil paint, oil pastel on canvas
10 x 10"

:)

10 June 2010

04 June 2010

black and white world

Some experimenting with materials has led to these.








First I used black India ink on rice paper. Then with acrylic medium I adhered the paper to wood panels. Then I painted over a bit with white acrylic ink. Lastly, a thin coat of spray varnish.

Acrylic ink is very nice! Thin like ink, highly pigmented and lightfast. However it is not waterproof and will smear if brushed over, therefore the spray varnish.

something old, something new

just started:

41x43"


just finished:

Mezzanine
oil on canvas
12x18"