a day in the life

7:15am
Arrive at studio, light breakfast while doing accounting exercises and homework to prepare for tomorrow's class.

10:20am
A call from my local gallery, they sold a painting, I will have a cheque next month! Sweet feeling, first cheque since early February, finances have been a bit low.

10:30am
Second breakfast. Begin painting, work on 3 canvases.

1:00pm
Sylvain drops in to say he'd like to accept my offer of a stitched canvases to paint a landscape on, joining the collaboration I set in motion in at the beginning of this year.
Also he gives some interesting feedback on my new works.

1:30pm
Go to public library, pick up "exit through the gift shop" Banksy movie which it is finally my turn to take out!
Swing by grocery store for ingredients for this week's lunches.

2:30pm
Lunch & sudoku sitting in sunshine, open studio window

3pm
Stitch, stretch & photograph a new canvas, 22w x 25h.

7:15pm
Tidy up & leave studio.

This was actually an ideal day in the life: no class this evening, no work shift during the day. Time enough for studying and artworking, a productive day. AND another painting finally sold!!
Ahhh.

a few new beginnings

stitching and initial colouring
51w x 33h




stitching and initial colouring
31w x 45h



stitched
71w x 37h
thinking I may not paint this one, maybe draw with graphite & conte...

in pieces

The commission I've taken on will consist of 21 canvases measuring 9x9" each, making one large image all together. It will be hung on a curved wall in a client's home.


Here is the idea sketch for the stitching:




All 21 canvases stitched:

(I used yellow thread which doesn't show up well in the photo)


The finished work will look something like this:


Soon the pre-made stretcher frames will arrive, and then I can stretch them all and begin painting - I'm impatiently waiting!

Meanwhile, I continue working towards my November show...

so far

Here is my last 4 weeks' worth of city(ish) work.

1st, drawing with pencils and a bit of acrylic colour wash on the stitched canvas:



2nd, stitching pre-painted canvas together with raw canvas, drawing with pencil and a light acrylic colour wash in the top bit:



And then it all seems to come together in this one, using all kinds of drawing media and collaging some architectural drawing bits, too:





Today I stitched a couple more canvases which I'll paint overall, in the now-old way, haha. Need a little break from these and also need to produce some work for a show in November.

let's go!

My latest new work:

mixed media on canvas
45w x 51h

Having fun with drawing on the canvas, excited by the possibilities of graphite, charcoal, conte, china marker, acrylic ink...

The camera has been acting up a bit, taking photos has become a hit-or-miss endeavor. I will need to get the camera repaired or buy a new one, methinks.

Wrote the mid-term exam for the accounting course tonight, and I think I did quite well. Next week tuesday I'll see if my feeling of doing well matches the reality of my mark, haha.

re-enter and re-enter

Today I stitched and stretched this canvas. Some of the canvas was already painted, a work I wasn't feeling very excited about, so I tore it up and used the bits. This is where it led me.
Now this is getting interesting, huh?

This thing measures 51w x 45h. I have decided to experiment in large format, haha! And I likes it.

doing and becoming

“Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
- Mark Twain

Nice to come across this quote.
My dreams were not encouraged when I was younger and I feel fortunate to be where I am now. And where am I now? I'm here:

I recently quit my job at the art supply store and, after job searching awhile, will be starting a new one next week.
Have a solo show to prepare for in November, with a new gallery in Edmonton which I just joined.
Took on a complex but exciting commission through my Vancouver gallery.

What a wealth of choices I can make, options I have in life!

And I am in the midst of taking an evening class - Accounting. Of all things, accounting! Why on earth?
Because:

1. I went through a time of hating all things art a few months ago, and wanted to do something, anything, with the other side of my brain.

2. Knowing a bit about the financial side of things could be useful in my self-employed life.

3. It could also be useful if I ever need to get a "real" job with decent pay.

And taking the course is all right, it satisfies that part of my mind which longs for order amid the chaos. However finding myself immersed in meticulous rule-following activities is a bit disconcerting.

I struggle not to stare out the window at a wonderful view of highrise buildings in the early evening sun, their silvery edges and reflective glass, the blue shadows of receding spaces. You know how the light is at this time of year, sigh, so beautiful. I could probably draw that view now, from memory, fairly accurately.

Remembering the meanings of terms like "Capital" vs "Equity", in which order does one make a Balance Sheet, Income Statement, &c... shall we say it requires some mental effort. Which is what I signed up for, I'm not complaining.

In the class with me are people who work in offices, or have other similar knowledge of this world of business, and I feel a bit slow in comparison.

What, me? hard on myself? impatient? no, never! Haha.

So here I am, reminding myself that I am a great artist, that I can make great work for the November show and also complete the commission I've taken on, that I will enjoy the new p/t job, I'm intelligent and likeable enough and have the courage to return to school after 15 years to learn something totally outside my comfort zone, and that these things make me what I am.

Yep.
:)

‎"There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle" -Robert Alden