celebration

Yesterday I woke up with the thought that my imagery is changing, the city becoming more abstract and more about surface effects, because I no longer live downtown.  

Yes, I can go downtown and get a dose of urban anytime - but I'm realizing that what I paint, really, is my subconscious reaction to my daily environment.  Now that environment includes a lot less urban and a lot more nature, and it seems my work is incorporating more curved lines and a different sense of space...  sometimes I lament this and sometimes I celebrate it.

In The Gap

mixed media on canvas

96w x 35h inches

Geography

mixed media on canvas

57w x 25h inches

fixer-upper

Yes, I still regret not leaving this one alone!  Ah well, guess I'll just have to  learn from my mistake and make another attempt at the idea.  

Meanwhile here are some snaps of the evolution:

... How many paintings can be made on one canvas?  Haha

Papergirl Calgary 2012

Regardless of linear logical reasoning I hold two ideas simultaneously: that original art evaluated in terms of money should have a price tag worthy of its quality; and also that fine quality original art should be accessible to everyone regardless of income level, social class, etc.  

To this end I put a drawing/painting into papergirl, an art show/event happening this weekend.

mixed media on paper

24w x 36h inches

pretty much

And there it is, my show almost complete - due to angles and space, a couple of pieces not in the frame.  The cup of tea caps it all off nicely.

tiny changes

before:

after:

can you see the difference?

the quickening

This is going very fast, much faster than I had anticipated.  I have not been working on anything else besides, just wholly immersed in this painting.  Perhaps it's not quite finished, but I sure am liking where it's going.

It's unusual for me to work on only one canvas at a time - I have long thought that having several things on the go simultaneously will help prevent me from overworking any one piece.  Perhaps this is changing...

happy days!

it begins and begins again

Looking really awkward at this stage of preparation.  Need to gesso in order to do that colour thing which I've envisioned for this one.  Gotta do that colour thing before I can incorporate more drawing & perhaps some shadowy forms in the raw canvas area.

I love this way of working, building a thing in stages and holding the idea in my mind while going through the necessary steps to get there.

Which is why I'm disappointed with myself over this one, because I lost the idea and went off track:

It puts me in mind of those paintings, you know, with colourful umbrellas and rain drops.  Which I don't have any problem with on one hand... but on the other hand, this is a fairly large painting and I had envisioned something a little more sophisticated, based on the musical piece.  

However, I will bring it back!  Yes, I will!  Because I am a professional and I can do it!  

It's good to be able to pep-talk myself, with a little help from a friend who gave some thoughtful feedback on this one.

Here is an idea of the size:

Wish me luck!

:)

into the gap

The work goes on.  How fortunate I am to be able to work at something which I love and feel passionate about.  

idea sketch:

 stitched:

The plan is to gesso the top & bottom areas and paint those areas with sheer layers, similar to the middle parts of this work - but this time leaving the middle part as raw canvas with maybe some additional drawing.

detail with some initial pencil drawing:

I usually don't draw before stretching the canvas, but there it was on my table and I was thinking about how it would be, and I began some drawing.  It will be interesting to see if the pencil lines smear at all while I stretch it.

and here we have this lovely work:

I began this painting while listening to a friend's composition.  I was not necessarily trying to make a painting that mirrored his work, only to see what might happen with the influence of his specific music.

Then two evenings ago I decided to work on it some more - and I didn't put on the music while doing so.  Here is what happened:

Yesterday I continued to muck about with it, since once a thing is changed you cannot go back, only forward.  Rather than being a response to someone else's creative work, this is now becoming one of my usual canvases.  

Is it better to adhere to a concept, or to be fluid and allow the concept to change a little as the thing takes form?

It's a subjective interpretation I suppose, but I wish I hadn't changed this one.  Well then, I will have to try again to make a canvas with a specific piece of music and not switch trains in the midst.

prism

Yesterday I was out & about, riding my bicycle around downtown doing errands.  Along my travels I bought a prism for the studio.  

Now there are rainbows all over everything - on the wall, on my working table, on my sewing machine.

And all over my paintings too!