Thursday, January 31, 2013

More sketches...

Today and tomorrow I'm showing a few more sketches from last week. Everytime I get on a sketch kick I love it and wonder why I don't make it more of a habit. So good for you!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Some kitchen sketches

Just a few quick sketches I did last week. It's a small sketch pad - 5"x7". I carried it with me throughout the week and whipped it out when I had a few minutes.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Jay Peak

Here is another watercolour I did looking out the conference room window at the Jay Peak Hotel. It was a quick one - probably about an hour. I was doing the drawing quickly by eye so it's kind of a watercolour "sketch".

Monday, January 28, 2013

Jay Peak Week. Steps of a mountain watercolour.

Last week we were in Vermont skiing at Jay Peak. I (kind of) learned how to ski! They have a terrific run for beginners. You're deposited high on the mountain but it is a gentle, long run. Perfect after you've mastered the bunny hill. It was a great trip! But COLD. Like, bone-chilling cold. Even the locals were talking about it. The mountain was pretty empty because who would choose to ski on those days? But when you've booked in advance, you just dress for the weather and embrace. Which I did. To a degree ; ) I went out only two days because, well at the top of the mounatin, it was -45˚C (-49˚F) with wind chill. Not that I was a good enough skiier to go to the top of the mountain but my family was. I chose these days to sketch and paint.
So this week I'll post my work from the trip. I decided to have a go at watercolours. Here is my finished painting and my steps getting there.

Step 1. Finished sketch. I did this from the window of the conference center room. Someone who worked there saw me sketching in the lobby and asked if I wanted a *really* good view. He called the front desk and asked if the room was booked and when he found out it was free he brought me up there and let me stay and paint uninterrupted. Now that's nice!
Step 2. At this point I really loved how the hills were looking.
Step 3. The finished piece. Wasn't sure how to handle the tree block. This is where I need a bit more practice with the medium.
This is a bit hard to see but this was the sketch one of my kids did of the mountain. He tried his hand at watercolour too but wasn't happy with how the next stage looked. I thought it was good but I have to say, I really like how he saw the mountain! Nice lines.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Winter Maple - SOLD

A tree outside my studio window. 
6"x8" / oil on canvas / $100 (includes free shipping worldwide)

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Dreams of spring

Worked with a palette knife on this one. Just had some fun!
6"x8" / oil on canvas / $100 (includes free shipping worldwide)

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Country fresh - SOLD

Dreaming about June when our strawberries are ready. 
6"x6" / oil on canvas / $100 (includes free shipping worldwide)

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Zen - SOLD

Well the new year began with a funeral in the family. My husband's grandmother was just shy of 99 years when she passed away. So the past week and a half saw a lot of family get-togethers, sharing, and eating : ). Thinking about all she'd seen over almost a century is really incredible. Rest in peace.
Now it is time to get back to routine. Doesn't it feel good to cleanse the house of all the choclate, cheese and champagne? Well, no, I guess in a way it doesn't ; ) but now that it's January I am ready for vegetables. And tea. And zen.
Zen / 6"x6"/ oil on canvas/ SOLD

Monday, January 14, 2013

Class at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Pumphouse

Saturday I had the great pleasure of teaching a one-day workshop called Fresh Acrylics at the Pumphouse in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We beagn the morning with value studies:
After this we moved to a 1-stroke 1-colour challenge. It often takes people a bit to get the hang of this idea. And some people really hate it : ) But I think it's a pretty valuable study to get us to slow down and really SEE colour without blind mixing. I think they made some really great observations.
The afternoon was set aside for people to work on paintings incorporating the mornings work. Here are some pictures of the class:
 I did a quick little study of a chair:
And then, just because it caught my eye, a picture of the beautiful lavender water that existed for a moment in one of the rinsing jars. How pretty is that?



Sunday, January 6, 2013

Just keep swimmin' - SOLD

Happy January. When things get tough, just keep swimmin'. It will be spring before you know it.
6"x6" / oil on canvas / SOLD

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Altered Altoids Kits

Hoping everyone has slid into the New Year feeling good, creative, productive and at peace in their hearts. Today I'm showing something different from my paintings, hope you don't mind! Now that Christmas has come to a close I wanted to tell you about some gifts I made: altered Altoids kits. I had so much fun making them I thought some of you might like to try it too! I came across the idea in a magazine and then did an online search for a few tips. Here's what I came up with. 
These are (tongue-in-cheek) "Urban Emergency" kits. I geared the contents to the age of the recipient. The younger set had age appropriate items. Kits for the older set contained: a mirror, a quarter, a lighter (non-smokers all, but thought it was good in case of an emergency), mini toothbrush, breath freshner, ibuprofen, mints, dental floss, safety pins, Post-it Notes, and a finger-light (a fun device I found at the dollar store). It's impressive what you can pack into a tin that size! One box I made was from a tin of Sucrets. They are a little deeper so I was able to add a tea light candle.
Here's how I put them together:
1. Trace the tin top and bottom on good quality paper. I used scrapbooking paper. Make 2 tracings of each because you line the inside as well (the interior ones are cut just a tiny bit smaller to fit). Use a sharp craft knife so you get clean edges.
2. Adhere the paper to the tin by painting a thin layer of paste (I used an acrylic gel medium), then press and smooth paper over tin, smoothing out any air bubbles.
3. Measure the side height of the tin and cut a long strip to wrap around the edge (if you want to cover it). Only cut the paper to the height of where the lid closes. Paste so that the seam falls at the back of the tin. Smooth.
4. Paste the paper on the inside so that your tin is lined. 
I glued mirrors to the inside lid. I found small mirror "tiles" at the dollar store.
You can get pretty creative with what you put in your tin. Ideas I read included an emergency s'more kit, an instant party kit and a game kit. Fun, eh?