A painter's table, work in progress

This is another reclaimed canvas, but I'm almost out of them ; ) You can see in the first picture I've sketched in my drawing, and so on down the line. It's on top of a still life. Plan on finishing it tomorrow.

Still life - done!

Finished! This was a ton of fun to paint. Below is a detail in close-up. Now...what to call it?!

acrylic on canvas / 24"x36"

Still life - almost done...

Above and below: details of my favourite parts

Today was another studio day at Laurie's. I carried on with my reclaiming old canvasses series and this is what happened today! I still have a bit more work to do on it which I'll try and get completed tomorrow. But I'm really happy! Let me take you through the process:

Do you remember when I posted this one? Ugh. Well anyway, this is what I started with, but I tipped it on its side.

Next I sketched in my drawing with willow charcoal (I know it's probably hard to see and a little confusing). I love that stuff!  Then I began painting the corner of the table.

This is what it looked like the next time I took a picture. Almost done!

ARTLOVE: Katalin

He's stealin' my heart / 12"x12"

 Give us peace

 Stars in her eyes

 Secret whispers

Winter song / watercolour / 5"x7"

Well, the market went well! A huge thanks to my family and friends who came out, kept me company, brought me drinks etc... It's so nice to have good friends, yes? (heart)
One of the artists at the market was my friend Katalin. She came to Canada from Hungary in 2000 and I met her a few years later. I really love her work. It has an old-world charm that and her pieces have so much character. LOVE. She has a blog that she posts to when she can but she's pretty busy right now.  Aside from her painting, she works full time, has children, and is expecting!! (yay!)I thought I'd post some of her work here and I invite you to check out/follow her blog to see more of what she does. Gorgeous work Katalin!

A perfect day at the Market!

Sharky rain boots / October, 2010

A perfect day at the Christmas HandMade Market!! Don't let the forecast of rain scare you away tomorrow. We'll all be there under one big tent with our wares; food to fill your belly; and wine, coffee and cider to ward off the chill! 11-4, The Good Earth, Beamsville, ON

6"x6" / oil on archival panel / $100 (includes free shipping worldwide)

Come one, Come all!! Tomorrow is the Market!

Unless you are reading this through the email feed, then...TODAY is the Market! : ) Saturday and Sunday, 11-4pm, free admission. Great food, wine, and ART!!! And so much more. You can see the various vendors and the menu here. Wanna get a head start on your shopping? Come on out! Gifts for everyone on your list.
And just a note about the lack of posts this week. Monday I came down with a rotten head cold so painting kind of suffered.  But I'm on the mend and ready to go for tomorrow!

Untitled

acrylic / 24"x24"

~detail~

So this is the painting I was speaking about yesterday. I was painting over an apple tree I'd done and my initial intention was to cover the greater part of the canvas. As the pose drew to a close, I ran out of time and this is what I'd completed. So I had to leave it. But what I thought was cool was that - by luck - the model's pose, the composition I began, and the shape of the tree in the former painting all converged into one unified painting. The tree looks like it's cradlelling the figure! And the sunlight and leaves are dappled through the flesh. I thought of calling it "Nesting" but I'm open as always to any clever suggestions (Barbara?; ). To me it also conjures up memories of climbing trees, and of how happy and peaceful you feel there. 

Gesture/figure drawing

Today at Laurie's we had a model. It's been so long I thought every drawing was going to look like a mutant but I must say - it was great fun. We started off with 30 second poses (above).

Next we jumped to one minute...

And then...how many minutes was this? Can't recall - I'll blame it on my cold. But anyway, after that we had an extended pose for about an hour and I did a painting. Because it was dark when I got home I couldn't get a good photo (yada, yad, yada) but I will post one tomorrow. It turned out pretty cool - a figure painting over one of my old landscapes. Anyway - till then - ciao!

ARTLOVE: Kurt Lightner

Untitled by Kurt Lightner, acrylic on panel, 66"x84", 2010

Untitled by Kurt Lightner, acrylic on panel, 55"x72", 2010

Untitled by Kurt Lightner, acrylic on panel, 12"x16", 2010

So one of the great things about the internet is discovering something completely by chance. I was doing a search for art t-shirts (looking for some clever ones that pertain to the profession) when it lead me to site Today in Art which showcased the work of Kurt Lightner. LOVE!! I really don't know much about him other than what his website says. He was born in Ohio and lives and works in New York City. And man, can he paint. Totally thrilling!

More mini canvasses + an invitation

These will be for sale at The HandMade Christmas Market Nov.26th+27th at The Good Earth, Beamsville, ON (11-4). Luxury Hand-Spun Fibres, Artisan Wood Products and Time Pieces, Fresh Seasonal Arrangements, Leather Goods,  Natural Bath + Body Products, Jewellery, Hand Bound Books, Pottery, Hand-Sewn Bags + Accessories, Preserves, Designer Clothing, Home Decor,  Estate Honey, Food + Wine, and of course, Original Art! In addition to the mini paintings above, I will also have a huge selection of my 6"x6" daily paintings on sale for $75. A fantastic selection!! Paintings of everything from food to wine to toys to flowers to a trouble light ; ) 

Mini originals

Today I worked on more mini paintings for the HandMade Christmas Market, November 26th+27th at The Good Earth. Above are "Bust II", "Hansa Yellow" and "Linseed Oil". These are about 2.25"x3.5". I found a few mini easles that look so cool with them! They can also be hung on the wall or used as fridge magnets. These three are acrylic.

Pitcher with pears

Long-time readers of my blog (and with good memories : ) may remember what canvas I re-purposed this from. This one changed a number of times. I've posted photos of two previous incarnations below and the way it last looked can just be described the vase on an all white background. I brought this to paint over on Monday (studio time with Laurie) because it had always felt a bit isolated and staid to me. However, when I looked at it on the easel I really liked what was going on with the flowers and didn't want to cover them. An artist next to me was painting a set-up of fruit, a milk pitcher and a candlestick. I looked at it and wondered if I could incorporate my flowers into that setting and have it look integrated and complete. And here is the result. 

p.s. I'm not really keen on the title. If anyone's got a better idea, I'm all ears!

acrylic on canvas / 24" x 24"

Melmac and sugar

So this is another in my series of re-purposing old paintings. I had begun a rough painting of a memory of my Mom from the 60s wearing a pink skirt, jacket and tinted hosiery (think Jackie O.) In behind I had started to rough in our wall paper from that time. It was white with a red velvet design. (Mom has flair). Anyway, it wasn't going anywhere and so I thought I'd paint over it. It was my second painting yesterday and I was tired and couldn't settle on a still life set-up. I aksed Laurie if she could whip something up and I told her I really loved her melmac cup and her Corningware sugar pourer. She grabbed an apple, plopped it in the cup and set in on a Redpath apron. And it was on a formica table to boot! Well! It was perfect. It really made me think of a time gone by and suddenly the painting that I had begun of my Mom seemed like the perfect pairing. I included Laurie's coffee maker (on the right) and a bowl. I was going to paint in the background but ended up leaving the pink (which was my Mom's skirt) and the little red velvet loops that were the beginning of the wallpaper design. Sometimes you just love a painting right of the bat and that's how I feel about this one : )
This painting is acrylic on canvas and I think it's 16x20. I'll measure it in the morning.

Winsor blue

Never used it until the last couple of years and now I can't get enough of it : )
6"x6" / oil on archival panel / $100 (includes free shipping worldwide)

Cheers! - SOLD

These are bottles from The Good Earth. The one on the right is their rosé which I enjoyed this summer. I am so seduced by the colour of that rosé! So much fun to paint. By the way, I will be at The HandMade Christmas Market at The Good Earth November 26+27th, 11-4pm (yep. promoting it again : ) Mark it on your calendars! The perfect place to get your Christmas shopping done. And you'll be supporting local artisans. It's about as  far as you can get from the "big box" experience ; ) Oh, and did I mention that you can shop while strolling around with wine or coffee or hot apple cider? And delectable food aromas are wafting about? AND it's free admission? Yep - that's what I'm talking about ; )

6" x 6" / oil on archival panel / SOLD

Up and away

I actually did another 6"x6" today but by the time I got home it was too dark to photograph it. So after months of needing a real break from painting small, it seems I'm able to enjoy it again. Maybe I was just a bit burned out.
Anyway, I decided to pull another one from the vault. This is a larger acrylic - 24"x30" - that I did a few years back. Sometimes you tuck things away and don't look at them for a while and then it's a pleasant surprise to make their acquaintance again. That's how I feel about this tree ; )

Friday vino

I painted a small one today! It's been a long time!! So here it is - a bottle of vino. Happy Friday!
6" x 6" / oil on panel / $100 (includes free shipping worldwide)

Evergreen + the Christmas HandMade Market!!

I painted this at my last Good Earth "Eat.Drink.Paint" event. It began as my demo and then I was able to work on it later in the day. 

And exciting news! November 26+27 I will be at the Christmas HandMade Market at The Good Earth. Last years event was so festive and, well...all around wonderful that you'll really want to come if you're within manageable driving distance. Here's a short video from last year so you can get a flavour of the weekend. I highly recommend it! And hey - you could probably finish a good chunk of your holiday shopping!

acrylic on canvas / 12"x12"

New website up and running!

Wallace Mountain, Yukon / acrylic / 20"x24"

And loaded with work! I'd love it if you could take a minute to check it out ; ) A huge thank you to James who worked so hard on it for me. The best part about this site is that I will be able to upload new work on my own, so it is current! My work is divided into the following categories: Landscape, Still Life, Figure, The St. Nicholas Collection, Others, Collage, and Photos. These are all larger paintings. My 6"x6" daily paintings remain dedicated to this blog.

Back in the day

So yesterday was my class with Laurie Wonfor Nolan. We went on a field trip to Southworks Antique Mall. It was my first time being there and I'm a little bit in love...lol. We were free to roam the place, set-up wherever we wished and PAINT! How cool is that? Southworks is Canada's largest antique mall and everywhere you look is a treasure. I opted to paint this oven. I was attracted to it immediately and think it was the black and white thing again. The tea towel, black enamel trim, vent holes etc... it was just really interesting.

acrylic on canvas / 16"x20"

Oak at sunset

When I was cleaning my studio this past week I hung up a bunch of pieces that had been stacked in piles against the wall. I unearthed a few I'd forgotten about. These paintings are of the same oak tree. The top painting (at sunset) was the first one I did. It's 12" square. I loved the tree so much that the following week I went back to paint it again but this time I brought a large canvas (I can't remember exactly - maybe 36" square?) It now resides in Amsterdam (Cheers Michel & Sonia!). Again I notice how the first time round I was very detailed. I find sometimes when I'm really trying to understand a subject I often paint it this way, and then the second time I have the info stored in my brain and I can just go. 

Studio Table - Done!

Okay - I'm finished! I had a lot of fun with this piece. There was a lot going on. The challenge was to keep everything loose as I continued to work away. I had a reader ask me why I had painted this - what did I want this grouping of things to say - I don't know! I really was just painting a corner of my table. A small piece of my daily environment. It's a warm and comfortable bit of happy clutter.

Still life...work in progress

So this is how it's currently looking. I've resolved the issues I was having on the left by adding a tree figurine and extending the branches. Next comes re-working the background (again) and fixing up a few things on the cupboard. Liking it though! I worked and re-worked the problem as I was falling asleep the past couple of nights. It seems to be the best time for me to figure out art problems!

"Take a kid to work" day=CLEAN STUDIO!!

Today I had the good fortune of having one of my wonderful nephews come to my studio for "Take a kid to work" day. As I was pondering what we would do together a picture of my dreadfully messy studio popped into my head. *Bingo!* We would start the day with a clean-up followed by a reward of plein air painting in the afternoon. As we neared noon, Jake saw how much we still had to do and he kindly told me we didn't need to paint, we could continue cleaning. Seriously?

Awesome!

So clean we did. You may remember this picture I posted the other day:

First we cleared everything out, filling up another room.

Which then looked like this (and you're seeing the good side! lol):

Then, onto cleaning the floors. That's a serious shine!

Next we began hanging art. That took a looong time.

Jake had a great idea to hang my mini's in a gap between paintings. I love it! They look so cute there ; )

You can see baseboards!

And a clean floor ; )

Ta-da!! I can't tell you how good it feels to have so much of the art hanging instead of stacked in piles leaning against the walls.

And he even gave me flowers. A good day.

Thank you Jake for being so helpful! I REALLY appreciated it! Can you skip school tomorrow? ; )