My Artistic Soul

Faces Number Nine, Ten, Eleven and Twelve

2012-02-12T20:07:00.003-05:00

Face Number 9 - ballpoint pen

Face Number Ten - Pen and pencil wash

Face Number Eleven - Watercolour Pencil

Face Number Twelve - Watercolour Pencil

Face Number 8

2012-02-09T16:29:00.002-05:00

It seems that I am in catch up mode. Here is face number 8 of the 29 Faces event. I will be working on today's face and see if I can post it up tonight.

Faces Numbers Five, Six and Seven

2012-02-07T18:52:00.002-05:00

Face Number Four
The chin needs work.

Face Number Five
This one is from my painting class last night. It's from a 2 minute gesture sketch.

Face Number Six

Face Number Four

2012-02-05T13:10:00.002-05:00

This is yesterday’s drawing for the 29 Faces event. It’s apencil sketch.

Face Number Three

2012-02-03T19:10:00.002-05:00

Today’sface is a drawing of Titus Geer Simons 1765-1829. He was a Colonel in theBritish Army during the War of 1812. This is the Bicentennial of the War of1812 – Celebrating 200 years of peace.

Some interesting facts on the War of 1812:

TheWar of 1812 is an important milestone in the lead-up to the 150th anniversaryof Canada's Confederation in 2017.
Canadawould not exist had the American invasion of 1812-14 been successful.
Theend of the war laid the foundation for Confederation and the emergence ofCanada as a free and independent nation.
Underthe Crown, Canada’s society retained its linguistic and ethnic diversity, incontrast to the greater conformity demanded by the American Republic
TheTreaty of Ghent re-established the borders between British North America(Canada) and the United States to their 1811 configuration. The Treaty calledfor a joint British-U.S. boundary commission that would confirm the borderbetween Canada and the United States in the years following the war. Thisboundary between neighbours is nowthe world's longest undefended border.
Theend of the War marked the beginning of two centuries of peaceful relations,close cooperation and friendship between Canada and the United States.
TheWar was an important chapter in Canada's military history, with many modernreserve regiments from Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada tracing theirorigins to this conflict.
Three weeks before the BritishNavy attacked Baltimore and inspired the "Star-Spangled Banner,"troops from the same fleet landed in Maryland, battled outgunned Americanforces, marched into the young city of Washington and torched federal buildings.

Face Number Two

2012-02-02T06:18:00.000-05:00

Day two’s drawing in the 29 Faces event. It is another ACEOpencil drawing. I will gradually work up to larger drawings and then intopaintings.

My First Face

2012-02-01T08:23:00.000-05:00

Today is the first day in the 29 Facesevent. This is my first face. It is a simple pencil drawing.It is an ACEO.

ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. They MUST be2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, no exceptions. Editions can be open or limited. Otherthan the size of the card anything goes

29 Faces

2012-01-30T18:53:00.002-05:00

I joined a challenge. I will be attempting to draw, paint a face, every day in February. I need the practice for sure. You can join the challenge too.

Voting on a painting

2011-12-21T16:51:00.000-05:00

I entered a painting in a very small contest - there are only three of us in this category Pine. There are two other categories Snow and Fireplace. The contest is sponsored by Koh-I-Noor on Facebook. To vote on a painting in this category or the other two categories, you need to Like the Koh-I-Noor page and then Like the painting of your choice.

Experiment Using Woodless Pencils

2011-12-11T14:51:00.001-05:00

I found this mini grater at our local thriftshop.

I was reading the Chartpak blog and saw a technique I wanted to try – with some alterations. I did two versions one using watercolour and the second one using acrylics. The woodless coloured pencils and an acrylic medium are also used. For tools you will need your paint brushes – one for watercolour and one for acrylics; a grater and a pencil sharpener and something to hold the shavings in.

I drew a pear on both pages – (140lbs watercolour paper –cold press) and drew a line down the centre. They were both done in a wet-in-wettechnique.

I painted one of the pears with watercolour. While the paintwas still wet, I grated the woodless pencil directly over half of the pear: thegratings on that half of the pear that flowed and moved with the water. I letthe other half of the pear dry and then painted the medium over the wet medium.The gratings remained where they landed.

I repeated the steps above but used an acrylic paint – a wet-in-wetwatercolour technique. I again grated the woodless pencil over one half of thepear. Even though I used the wet-in-wet watercolour technique, the gratingsstayed where they landed.

I allowed the paint to dry and then painted an acrylicmedium over the other half of the pear. While the medium was still wet, Igrated the woodless pencil over that half. Again the gratings stayed where theylanded.

Regardless of which paint is used they both require afixative/sealer on top.

I preferred the watercolour pear – without the medium.

Some Great News!

2011-09-08T17:12:00.005-04:00

Here’s some great news for those of you taking classes or are planning to take classes at Michaels. There is an Open House happening and all the Instructors will be taking part in this event. Drop in and learn all about the classes!

Here is the best part – register for a class on September 10, 2011 and receive 50% off the regular class price! Take two classes for the price of one. Now is the time to get the skills you need to make a beaded necklace, crochet a hat, knit a pair of socks, create a scrapbook or paint a picture. Take these new skills and have a handmade Christmas present!

My fellow instructors and I will be there from 1 - 3:00 pm to answer any questions you may have. We will be at the Michaels Burlington, Ontario store. Stop by my table and pick up some information on Acrylic painting using Grumbacher paints.

Join Classes at Michaels in Burlington on Facebook to find out more about the classes.

Two new ACEO's Posted to Etsy

2011-09-05T17:14:00.001-04:00

I just posted these two new ACEO's to Etsy.

The Purple Chrysanthemum

Silver Birch

Meet the Teacher Event

2011-07-04T20:40:00.000-04:00

We had a Meet the Teacher Event at Michaels on Saturday July 25. There was a great turnout for the event.

Me!

Finished Demo Painting

Classes from June 23rd

2011-07-04T20:36:00.000-04:00

We worked on a Floral. Pat and Sandra had great results. Sandra even sold her painting! Congratulations Sandra!

Pat

Sandra

Paintings from June 9th class.

2011-06-15T19:27:00.000-04:00

I had 6 wonderful students for the June 9th class. We did a landscape this time. Four of the students have allowed me to post their paintings here.
The next class is on June 23 and we will be painting is a floral.

Sandra

Janice

Caitlin

Kate

Student Work from May 12

2011-05-24T17:08:00.000-04:00

I had another mother/daughter team Janice and Caitlin. We painted Delphiniums. May 26 (Burlington) and May 27 (Ancaster) we will be working on a seascape--Cancun.

Caitlin

Janice

Back to Nightschool

2011-04-13T18:42:00.000-04:00

This time I’m taking watercolour painting (again). The painting I did on Monday night is below. The teacher sets up a different still life every week. This week we had vases…lots of them. I only painted three.

Some more students

2011-03-28T20:02:00.000-04:00

Students Ana and her mother Nada painted these. Great work.

Nada

Ana

For the past 10 weeks

2011-03-20T15:40:00.000-04:00

For the past 10 weeks, I have been taking night school classes in acrylic painting. I believe we should always learn and improve our skills. This is what I have been working on for the past 10 weeks.

I pushed colours in my Poppy painting; changed the lighting on Stonehenge from daylight to night and did an experiment using cloth as the canvas. I used clear gesso to prepare the cloth for painting. My source pictures are included.

Canadian Cancer Society Great Ride 'n' Stride:

2011-03-12T08:38:00.001-05:00

Canadian Cancer Society Great Ride 'n' Stride:

I am participating in Great Ride 'n' Stride in Burlington (I'm doing the Stride part) to support the mission of the Canadian Cancer Society. I am participating in this walk in honour of my brother Mike. Mike lost his battle with cancer April 22/10. Mike was battling melanoma which has spread to his brain. In the past, Mike has walked for others, now we are walking for him. The walk here in Burlington is on Sunday May 1st.

Your support is appreciated. Simply click on the Support Chris button and complete the information requested.

The money raised from this event helps fund leading-edge cancer research that is improving cancer treatments, preventing cancer and saving lives; provide reliable and up-to-date information on cancer, risk reduction and treatment; offer vital community-based support services for people living with cancer and their families; and advocate for healthy public policies.

Please pledge me and help me reach my fundraising goal! Every pledge takes us one step further in the fight against cancer. Online pledging is secure and it saves the Canadian Cancer Society money by reducing administrative costs.

Thanks for your support!

Landscape paint Friday March 4th

2011-03-10T21:19:00.000-05:00

I had two wonderful students for last Friday’s class. We worked on a winter landscape using complementary colours.

Loreen's painting

Iona' painting

Monday's Acrylic Class

2010-12-07T10:11:00.000-05:00

On Monday’s class we worked on a Seascape painting. Both Pat and Carole finished the session with wonderful paintings.

Carole

Pat

20% off Everything

2010-11-26T10:08:00.001-05:00

Etsy has developed Coupon Codes for their stores. To give this a try, I set up a coupon for use in my Etsy Store. It will run from now Friday November 26, 2010 until Friday December 3, 2010.

Here is the code for my first ever coupon. Enter the code during the check out procedure.

LCS0001 http://www.etsy.com/shop/paint1chris

I offer ACEO's, Original Artwork, Cards and Books/Journals

Thursday's Seascape Class

2010-11-19T07:42:00.000-05:00

For Thursday night’s class I had two students: Adrian and Sandra. Adrian took the floral class with me a week earlier but I forgot to bring my camera. He very kindly brought his painting this week so that I can get a picture of his work. This was a challenging painting and I think Adrian did very well with the various techniques.

The seascape lesson also went very well and we have two beautiful paintings as a result.

By Sandra

By Adrian

Seascape Class

2010-11-15T16:18:00.001-05:00

We worked on a Seascape today. Ronna's painting is full of movement and has a great depth to it.

Mohawk College Art Sale

2010-11-14T09:58:00.002-05:00

My fellow students of the watercolour classes (and perhaps some students from other mediums) are offering our art work for sale.

13th Annual
Mohawk College Art Sale

Haddad Lounge (F-Wing)

135 Fennell Avenue West

Hamilton, ON L8N 3T2
Thursday, November 25, 2010

11:00 am to 8:00pm

Thursday's Class

2010-11-05T07:39:00.001-04:00

I had some enthusiastic students again last night. The class went well and the work done was outstanding.

Julie’s landscape

and Sandra's landscape

Watercolur - Live Model

2010-11-03T18:01:00.000-04:00

We had a live model at our night school class on Monday. I’m always taking classes, for me it means that I’m always painting and I’m always learning. I think that’s very important to always learn.

Anyway, after many timed quick sketches we did a long study in watercolour.

Acrylic Painting Class at Michaels

2010-11-01T16:23:00.000-04:00

I’m an authorized Grumbacher instructor for the painting classes at Michaels and I taught my first class today. I had two students and we worked on a landscape painting. Both of the students did wonderful jobs and are incorporating their own style into their work.

I’m quite proud of them.

Here is Tina’s painting

And here is Ronna’s painting

Treasury for Mitochondrial Disease

2010-09-22T09:32:00.000-04:00

I am honoured to be included in this treasury created by cindylouwho2. Cindy is a fantastic jewellery designer and it is worth checking her shop out.
Mitochondrial disease is a serious neuromuscular disorder involving cellular energy deficiency, caused by a genetic defect. This is Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week, and GREEN is the colour! Learn more about mitochondrial disease (“mito”) here: http://www.mitoaction.org/mito-faq 10% of her sales are donated to MitoAction, a support and awareness group for mitochondrial disease.

The Making of a Halloween ACEO

2010-09-18T14:36:00.001-04:00

I joined another swap with my friends at Acetsy: ACEO Etsy Street Team. The theme was Halloween. I got my idea from the Grim Reaper but with a small twist. For the scull I used one of the Crystal Skulls (aliens). I started with a card painted black. The skull was created with a light wash of white acrylic to a more intense white. I highlighted some areas with iridescent white.

My steps are below from my thumbnail on a scrap of paper to the finished product.

ACEO Swap - Mermaids

2010-08-18T13:18:00.000-04:00

One of the groups I belong to ACEO Etsy Street Team sponsored an ACEO swap. The theme was mermaids. I decided to join the swap and thought I would blog about how I did my card. With this in mind, I completely forgot to take photographs for the step-by-step progress. So now I need to make sure that I’m totally clear in my instructions.

I took a piece of paper towels and separated the plies. Using metallic paint in copper and peridot, I painted the one of the plies of paper towel. When the paint was dry, I cut out the shape of the tail end of the mermaid and then glued it to my card with matte medium. My card already had a background on it that I did last year during the winter – Ice Painting. I then painted in the mermaid’s back. Once that was dry, I placed some moulding paste over part of the mermaid’s body to make it look like it was in the water. I added some blue and white for the water and then to finish it off, I added some glitz with glimmering fabric paint.

To do the Ice Painting background you need to have a cold winter. It needs to be cold enough for the paint to freeze while it is mingling but not too cold that I freezes before I gets a chance to mingle. Timing is everything. Use a 90lb hot press watercolour paper. Have some spray bottles of three different colours of watered down acrylic paint and a spray bottle of clear water. Spray the paper with the water and then with the various colours. Pick the paper up and move the paint around while it is mingling. Then go inside and warm up. The paint freezes while it dries and will hold the lovely texture that Mother Nature created.

TeamMike

2010-04-30T09:22:00.001-04:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am participating in Great Ride 'n' Stride 2010 (I'm doing the Stride part) to support the mission of the Canadian Cancer Society. The walk here in Burlington is on Sunday May 2nd.

So far, our team has collected in online donations $7,695.00. My online collection is $660.00 plus an additional $220.90 in cash donations. You can follow how well I am doing at the Canadian Cancer Society webpage.

In addition to participating in this fundraiser, I will donate 15% of any sale made from both my Etsy and ArtWanted stores to the Canadian Cancer Society in honour of my brother Mike, who recently lost his battle with this disease.

I have also set up a permanent store where 100% of the profits will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. The TeamMike store sells bookmarks and only bookmarks.

The money raised helps fund leading-edge cancer research that is improving cancer treatments, preventing cancer and saving lives; provide reliable and up-to-date information on cancer, risk reduction and treatment; offer vital community-based support services for people living with cancer and their families; and advocate for healthy public policies.

World Wide Rave - A Book Review

2010-04-04T17:26:00.002-04:00

I couldn’t sleep last night so I reached down and picked one of the books from the pile on the floor beside my bed. I thought I had picked the perfect book that would put me to sleep within the first half hour. Five hours later, I finished reading World Wide Rave Creating Triggers That Get Millions of People to Spread Your Ideas and Share Your Stories by David Meerman Scott.

World Wide Rave is about increasing your web presence by creating messages that go viral. You know the ones…you told 5 friends and they told 5 friends and they told 5 friends and so on.
This book captured my attention fast. It is well written and had numerous ideas on how to create your own World Wide Rave. In each segment, Scott provides techniques that others have used to their advantage. The techniques and challenges made me want to get busy starting a World Wide Rave of my own. I’m going to try an ebook –a small one for now to see if I can create at least a ripple.
World Wide Rave Creating Triggers That Get Millions of People to Spread Your Ideas and Share Your Stories
David Meerman Scott, Copyright 2009
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN 978-0470-39500-4
CDN $27.95 (US $22.95)

Canadian Cancer Society

2010-03-22T19:02:00.006-04:00

I am participating in Great Ride 'n' Stride 2010 (I'm doing the Stride part) to support the mission of the Canadian Cancer Society. The walk here in Burlington is on Sunday May 2nd.

In addition to participating in this fundraiser, I will donate 15% of any sale made from both my Etsy and ArtWanted stores to the Canadian Cancer Society in honour of my brother Mike, who is currently fighting this disease. You can follow how well I am doing at the Canadian Cancer Society webpage.

The money raised from this event helps fund leading-edge cancer research that is improving cancer treatments, preventing cancer and saving lives; provide reliable and up-to-date information on cancer, risk reduction and treatment; offer vital community-based support services for people living with cancer and their families; and advocate for healthy public policies.

New portfolio

2010-02-17T18:12:00.005-05:00

I have put some of my work on ArtWanted. There you will find some of my paintings as well as some of my photography. My photography work is pretty amateurish and is really intended as some source material for future paintings.

My sister also has posted some of her photos – she is much better than I am.

Quite often we will go out together for these Art Trips. She takes about 100 pictures to my 10.

Kreativ Blogger Award

2009-11-21T21:11:00.002-05:00

I have just been nominated for the Kreativ Blogger Award by an Etsy friend, Pam of Fanciful Creations by Pam. Thanks Pam.
I have not heard of this award before so I did a little research…because that’s what I do…check out new things.
Enough blogs have been written about this award so I won’t go into it further. If you are also interested in reading about this Kreativ Blogger Award check out these blogs.
http://careann.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/kreativ-blogger-award-part-2/
and
http://simonfoodfavourites.blogspot.com/2009/08/original-designer-of-kreativ-blogger.html
There are some rules surrounding this award. Here they are:
1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link the person who has nominated you for the award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

The first three are done. Number 4 is a little tough…7 things that you might find interesting…hmmm!
OK how’s this?
1. I have lived in the following provinces…Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta.
2. I have visited the following places…Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Maine, Vermont, New York State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Jamaica, Japan, England, Scotland and Wales.
3. Places I want to visit some day…Newfoundland/Labrador, Yukon, North West Territories, Nunavut, Alaska, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Australia, New Zealand, Greece (there are more but these one’s are at the top).
4. I use to cross country ski. When I was first learning I couldn’t even get out of the driveway…it is big enough for only one car but it is up hill! Talk about Sports Goofy!
5. I love to listen to J.J.Cale. His music is great! Eric Clapton performs some of his songs.
6. I love to read.
7. I enjoy baking cookies.
That’s done, now for number 5..Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers. In my opinion, seven is too many. I think I will only nominate 2.
My first nominee is
Dan Felstead’s blog - Wood and Pixels Narratives - A photo blog encouraging the art of prose
And
Andrea Kobayashi’s blog - The Armchair Antiquarian. - explores images of ancient places and the reception of prehistoric sites in art.
Dan is a photographer and writer. His blog is a combination of his photographs and his musings on the photos.
Andrea’s blog reaches out to me through her art. We share an interest in prehistoric art.

I'm Back to Blogging...Again

2009-11-19T15:52:00.005-05:00

So here I am back to blogging. Where have I been? What have I been doing?

Well, I moved from Alberta to Ontario back in May and I have been busy with getting thins organized. It took a few months to get my computer up and running. I do tend to put things off...did I mention that I'm a procrastinator? Well I am and I'm very, very good at it! Anyway I think I've got my life back in order at last and I'm not putting things off any longer.

I'm still working my Etsy store. It's a little slow right now but I'm willing to give it a few more years to get going. I do have one of my ACEO’s featured in this spotlight in the By Hand Gallery.

I've been on a few art trips in and around town. The pictures are below.

ALBERTA MaY MaDnEsS SALE MAY1-7

2009-05-01T09:19:00.009-04:00

I am a member of the Etsy Alberta Street Team and we are having a "May Madness Sale" featuring extremely talented artists/artisans who would love nothing more than to assist you in finding the perfect gift for yourself or someone special. With this many artists at your fingertips (39 shops in all), you are virtually guaranteed to find something that you simply can no longer live without. The sale begins May 1st at 12:01 sharp to May 7th at midnight. Each shop is offering different special deals for you; so please see their announcements for more detailed information.

Check the Alberta Street Team blog for any updates Have a great first week of May! Let the madness take you away Ha Ha; Hee Hee; Ho Ho!

Scavenger Hunt

2009-04-04T09:45:00.000-04:00

One of the teams I belong to on Etsy is the Original Artists on Etsy. This weekend, we are featuring a contest in the form of a scavenger hunt.

Join the fun! Put on your thinking caps, do a little sleuthing and find the treasure! Well, maybe not a treasure chest, but a darn nice reward! Find the clues in our team member stores and they will lead you to your reward. If you are the first to correctly identify the object and post a comment with the listing number, on our team blog at www.originalartistsonetsy.blogspot.com, you will win it. Along the way, check out our stores and tell us what is your favourite item and who's shop it is in. A list of our members can be found at www.OriginalArtists.etsy.com.

Here is my clue for the hunt.

..... It's home to clowns, and I'm not just fishin' around.....

For more clues go to www.OriginalArtists.etsy.com

Wood Carving an update

2009-03-28T18:55:00.004-04:00

I started word carving in November of last year. I have been steadily learning about the craft from the other members. This is the biggest project that I have been working on. It is a relief carving. You may recognize the design from one of my paintings. It takes quite a lot of time to do this type of carving. This is still not finished. I’ve taken some time off to take a small course on caricature carving. I’ll show you my results when I finish the course.

My February Art Trip - A Free Workshop

2009-02-25T17:16:00.003-05:00

Did you ever want to take a workshop but couldn’t afford one? Well here is how you can take one – visit your local library! Your library will have many many videos on many different subjects, including painting.

My art trip today was to workshop in painting portraits in oil Steps to a Likeness: Oil Portraits with professional artist, Perri Sparks. The workshop is reduced to 1 hour and 46 minutes long showing the important aspects of the techniques being taught. I’m sitting on my nice comfortable couch not a hard chair. I’m not missing any of these techniques by scribbling down notes. I can stop and start the video at any time and rewatch any part of the video or rewatch the whole video.

My trip to the library also provided me with an art history art trip and an art cultural trip. Three art trips with one visit to the library.

Marketing Plan

2009-02-23T20:56:00.001-05:00

I have been doing some researching on how to run a business and found that I am missing some very important documents. These documents when put together form a Business Plan. I do have a Business Plan that I created when I took a course on starting a small business in 1999. Oddly enough, even though this is 10 years old, quite a bit of that plan is still applicable with some minor adjustments.

The part of my Business Plan that needs a total overhaul is the Marketing Plan. When I first wrote it I imagined that I would be teaching painting combined with selling my paintings to the public via gallery sales. I did not envision myself selling on the internet in a shop type store.

Some questions needing answers are:
Who is my target market? How do I plan to reach that market? Do I know who my competition is? What types of customers are best for what I offer? What is my marketing budget? I don’t think the answer “I don’t know” is going to be much help.

So for the month of March my goal is to write out my Goals and Objectives for my Etsy store and to write my Marketing Plan for my store.

There are many good books and websites out there to help develop these documents. The book I am using is called The Market Planning Guide – Creating a Plan to Successfully Market your Business, Product, or Service; 6th Edition by David H. Bangs, Jr. This book explains the different aspects that make up a Marketing Plan, a sample of a Marketing Plan and blank forms to use to create your own plan.

Some websites are:
http://www.artbizcoach.com/consulting/mktgplans.html
http://www.nitaleland.com/articles/marketing.htm
http://reviews.ebay.com/Why-All-Artists-Need-An-On-Going-Marketing-Plan_W0QQugidZ10000000008576464
http://www.business.vic.gov.au/BUSVIC/STANDARD/pc=PC_62518.html
http://www.knowthis.com/topic-areas/management/the-marketing-plan.htm

Etsy Fine Art Gallery

2009-02-17T19:32:00.002-05:00

A bunch of artists selling, or in my case attempting to sell, original artwork through Etsy.com are working on increasing our visibility on the web. One of our artists Lisa Bartlett started the Etsy Fine Art Gallery. In it she is featuring various artists in a gallery type setting. Future plans are to feature up to six artists per week. She will be asking them to submit six of their very best paintings along with a short bio or artist statement. It was suggested to increase the wordage in the blog to get some “keywords” going and the bio/artist statement would generate that. She is hoping that this format will showcase everyone in a professional manner.

You know you're an artist when

2009-02-08T13:25:00.004-05:00

I was doing some searching on the internet and found this site on Art Jokes. Here is a sampling that I really enjoyed.

You know you’re an artist when…
The highlights in your hair are from your palette and not Clairol.
When viewing a sunset, you think in terms of cadmium yellow (light hue), salmon and gold, a tinted teal mixed with gold for the water...."
There are Prussian blue fingerprints on your phone.
You stay awake late at night wondering how to render on canvas the dimly lit shapes and the shadows in your room.
You explain your deplorably bad housekeeping by saying, "it's a work-in-progress..."
Dust bunnies are part of your mixed media.
You buy expensive brushes that have nothing to do with your hair.
You get a feeling of calmness from holding and stroking the bristles of your clean paintbrushes.
You know the difference between beige, ecru, cream, off-white, and eggshell.
You never look at a person's face as a whole. You break it up into shadows and lines and shapes, and think how they would look on a canvas.

An ACEO is…

2009-02-06T11:14:00.003-05:00

Dan made a comment on my last post…thanks Dan. Anyway he commented about my “ACEO…the tree I am unsure what an ACEO is. I can tell it seems to be quite a phenomenon but I can't get my head around it??”

ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. They MUST be 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, no exceptions. Editions can be open or limited. Other than the size of the card anything goes.

The artwork on the cards can be either portrait format or landscape format. The medium and subject matter are as individual as the artist creating them. Abstract, Impressionism, Surreal, Naïve, any style and any support; canvas, paper, wood. All cards are either original or printed editions of original work.

When I first started creating these cards I thought it would be pretty easy and fast. Wrong! I put just as much effort into creating these cards as I do my other paintings…my thumbnail sketches are almost the same size as the card.

ACEO
What Is an ACEO?
ACEO Auctions

Holy Cow!

2009-02-02T21:02:00.002-05:00

Holy cow! It has been over 2 months since I last posted here. How did that happen? I know, I know. I procrastinated and look what happened!

So what have I been doing since my last post?

Well, I joined the woodcarving club that I mentioned in my last post. We meet every Wednesday evening. Right now I’m trying my hand at relief carving and there is a small course being offered (for free) at the club for carving 3-D characters that I will be following.

The Daring Color workshop that I was hosting with the ArtBookWorkshop group has ended and I am now hosting a monthly workshop using Betty Edwards Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. In March we will be working on Nita Leland’s The New Creative Artist.

My Etsy shop is doing well. I branched out into some smaller items (not paintings) and have sold a few. The paintings, I think will take a bit longer. I set up a Facebook online store linking to my Etsy shop and I set up a Twitter account. Check them out.

My November Art Trip - An Art Show and Woodcarving

2008-11-21T15:43:00.007-05:00

I went on two art trips this month one this past Sunday and then the second one on Wednesday. The first was to an art show and sale that an artist/teacher friend of mine, Janet Cardinal, hosted. It was showing some of her artwork and that of her students work. The paintings were beautiful! I bought some small note cards done by one of her students, J. Forster.

My second art trip was to a woodcarving club. I got to try my hand at carving and was given a little bit of instruction from one of the members. I really enjoyed it and I think I will be going back and joining the club myself. I need to buy the special gloves they use to prevent cutting myself! You have to use your imagination to picture what I’m trying to carve here…one is a feather and the other is a face…don’t laugh too hard ‘kay?

Daring Color - Internet Group Workshop

2008-10-29T19:07:00.004-04:00

Earlier this year, I mentioned that I was leading an internet workshop on the book Daring Color by Anne Abgott. This book is excellent and I highly recommend it for your library.

Here is some workshop participants’ great work.

An Artist I Admire – Cathy Savels

2008-10-03T11:07:00.006-04:00

I found Cathy’s work through the Design Style Guide group I joined shortly after I opened my Etsy shop.

Cathy is Belgian but is a resident of France. She is a mixed media artist combining oil or acrylic paints with string, paper, and cloth. Her work is full of beautiful texture and inspired by the patterns and details of nature. For her “Everything has a spirit, a voice that needs to be listened to.”

Cathy exhibits her work across France where the tactile and aesthetic qualities have proved successful.

http://www.cathysavels.com
http://www.cathysavelspaintings.etsy.com

My October Art Trip - A Walk

2008-10-01T16:53:00.004-04:00

I went for a walk yesterday, with my camera. It was a beautiful fall day, bright sun shinning on the trees. I walked this trail before, but didn’t go off the path. This time I did. The walk took me along Blackmud Creek which runs through South Edmonton. It was pretty neat! I saw two beaver dams and the scenery was just spectacular. I got some great pictures, some might even end up in a painting…watercolour I think.

Either way, they are great resource pictures and I got some exercise! I picked up some leaves for the colours.

Progress Report

2008-09-29T15:04:00.003-04:00

So my shop has been up and running for two weeks now and I am learning so much. I’m still fine-tuning the photos of the paintings that I have offered for sale. I had a suggestion to show the paintings framed, which I am attempting to do. Some of my photos had reflections in the glass and didn’t look all that great (one of the reflections was me!). I have since decided to photo them without the glass, just the frame, mat and picture I think that should work. Some of the paintings I have decided to sell are not included on this blog so you might want to go take a look and what is offered. www.paint1chris.etsy.com

My Artistic Soul Internet Shop

2008-09-19T12:21:00.001-04:00

I have just set up an Internet Shop to sell some of my paintings. The shop has been open for three days now. So, we will see what happens.

So far, I have posted six paintings and have plans to post some more shortly. The paintings that I have posted are watercolour and/or mixed media on watercolour paper. I have not posted my oils/acrylics yet. I have a little more research in the cost of shipping bigger items before I do.I hope you will take a look at the shop and let me know what you think.

My September Art Trip - 1st Juried Online Exhibition

2008-09-18T13:20:00.003-04:00

I haven’t had a chance lately to visit an art gallery/museum so I did the next best thing. I visited an on line juried exhibition. It is sponsored by the Society of Canadian Artists and is their 1st Juried Online Exhibition available until November 29 at www.socanart.ca/ex08.
There is a great variety of artwork here, including sculpture. I found lots of inspiration for improving my work and possible future subject matter.Great stuff and worth the visit.

Work in Progress – Celtic Fire Part 6

2008-09-12T15:30:00.001-04:00

I had a bit of free time and worked on Celtic Fire. I am painting in the body of the second brooch. I want the value to be very close to the background. This value is a little too close, but I feel will be lightened somewhat when I do the final details.

Happy Alberta Arts Day

2008-09-06T10:44:00.001-04:00

Today is the first-ever Alberta Arts Day. Alberta Arts Day is to “raise awareness of the value of arts in our society and provide Albertans with opportunities to experience and participate in Alberta culture – an important part of The Spirit of Alberta’s cultural policy.” So says Lindsay Blackett, Minister of Culture and Community Spirit.

Check out the Alberta Arts Day website for events and join The Spirit of Alberta .

Work in Progress – Celtic Fire Part 5

2008-09-05T16:58:00.002-04:00

Now that summer is (un)officially over, I had a chance to work on my painting. I completely painted in the background and adjusted the bottom jewel a little.

The next step is to paint out the silver of the bottom brooch and then work on the facets of each topaz.

Mind Mapping – Have you tried it?

2008-08-30T11:30:00.004-04:00

I first started to mind map in 1991 when I picked up a book by Joyce Wycoff: Mindmapping Your Personal Guide to Exploring Creativity and Problem-Solving. Mindmapping is a technique for idea organizing and was fist developed in. 1975 by Tony Buzan .

I have used this technique in my business career and in my painting. I have found this to be a really helpful tool in generating ideas or in narrowing down ideas for a specific painting. For the drawing on the right, I started with a single theme of memories and mindmapped things that suggested memories to me.

Below are some videos on how to mind map.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlabrWv25qQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvnbKEHOQIY

An Artist I Admire – Leland Bell

2008-08-13T12:22:00.002-04:00

While I was on vacation, I visited M'Chigeeng, Manitoulin Island, Ontario. While there I toured the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation and the local church Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. The works of Leland Bell were displayed in both locations.

I have seen his works in books before, but this was the first time I had the chance to see them in person. His work is based on the traditions and stories of the Anishinabek (Ojibwe/Chippewa) people. The Circle is important in his work. "The Circle is what my paintings are based on. The rounded lines are deliberate ... what I create is something simple and serene and peaceful."

http://www.manitoulin-island.com/communities/westbay.html
http://www.whetung.com/bell.html http://www.nativeartmanitoulin.com/details2.php?record=Bell,%20Leland

Return Trip - By Road

2008-08-08T09:18:00.002-04:00

Well I’m back from my trip and it’s a good thing that I drove back. I would have seriously blown the luggage limit if I had flown. I bought more drawing supplies, plus I had to buy more clothes to replace the ones that I left at home.

I did get some drawing done. I like this one which I drew as we drove back through Saskatchewan.

Vacation – What can I take with me?

2008-07-16T10:18:00.003-04:00

I’m taking a trip at the end of the week and I’m taking some of my painting supplies; but which ones? I’ll be flying out to Ontario and driving back. I’ll be visiting family and friends for two weeks. Because I am flying one way, I also have to pay attention to what can go in the cabin with me and what I have to check in with my luggage. I will have one checked suitcase and one carry-on. The checked luggage has a weight restriction of 50lbs (23kgs) and I have to bring my clothes too. My art supplies (minus the book) will have to be packed in the checked suitcase-I use a utility knife to sharpen my pencils so that can’t be carried on. The water brush might be OK but the sketchbooks are coil binding and may or may not be allowed. I don’t want to find out when I go through security. So basically most of my stuff will be in the checked baggage, so we will see what fits and what doesn’t when I pack.

There are a lot of supplies that I want to take, but here is what I have narrowed it down too (on paper):
- Sketch pencils;
- watercolour pencils and crayons;
- water brush;
- coloured pencils and blending brush;
- two sketch books – one is about 6 x 18” and the other is about 4 x 5
- an art book I am reading (the one I will be conducting workshops on for the ArtBookWorkshop group)
- maybe another book I just got out of the library, Painting Weathered Buildings – Claudia Nice. I’m attempting to follow the current workshop being offered on the ArtBookWorkshop group.
- Plus all my non-art stuff.

Work in Progress – Celtic Fire Part 4

2008-07-06T11:55:00.002-04:00

Today, I blocked in the knots of the top brooch. A bit of the “glow” that I am going for is starting to show.

I plan to move on to the background and then other brooch. Once the background is done to my satisfaction, I’ll move on to the actual brooch. The plan is to leave the facets of the jewels until the end and then of course, any fine tuning that will be needed.

Happy Birthday Canada!

2008-07-01T15:59:00.000-04:00

http://www.edmontonceleberatecanada.ca/

New Internet Group

2008-06-25T09:06:00.002-04:00

I joined a new Internet Group-ArtBookWorkshop. It is a “forum to create paintings and works of art from selected art instruction books”. I really like this idea and in fact am a member of other Internet Groups also working though books. I have found that doing this way I actually do the exercises instead of just looking at the pictures.

I have volunteered to lead one of the ArtBookWorkshop starting in August. The book I selected for review is called Daring Color Mix and Mingle Watercolor on Your Paper written by Anne Abgott. I’m a little nervous about this, but I have a month and a bit to get organized and plan out the exercises.

Daring Color Mix and Mingle Watercolor on Your Paper
Anne Abgott
Hardcover: 128 pages
Publisher: North Light Books (July 18, 2007)
ISBN-10: 158180850X
ISBN-13: 978-1581808506
CDN $37.99 (US $29.99)

If you wish to borrow the book from your local library the Dewey Decimal code is 751.422 ABG.

The techniques provided in this book allow for intense colours without the need for glazing. I’m looking forward to going through this book and hope you can join me.

Work in Progress – Celtic Fire Part 3

2008-06-24T08:39:00.003-04:00

So this is where I’m at today. I worked on the background only. I plan to work from right to left so my next round of painting will be with the silver of the jewel and then the jewel itself. I will then move on to the other half of the painting.

The colours used are Cadmium Yellow Medium, Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White.

Self Critique

2008-06-23T16:59:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I find it hard to judge my own paintings. It’s hard to look at a painting with a fresh eye, especially after hours of working on it. There are some things that I use to trick myself.
The easiest trick is to change the orientation of the painting by rotating it. Usually I rotate the painting so that the top is at the bottom. This helps me see shapes both positive and negative.
- Are the shapes the right size and in proportion?
- Are the shapes in an interesting arrangement?
- Have I repeated the shapes elsewhere in the painting?
- Are the negative shapes between the objects interesting?
I also squint at a painting; or take my glasses off. This helps me evaluate the values I have used.
- Are the values correct?
- Are the lightest lights and darkest darks near the focal point?
- Do the light/dark areas create an interesting pattern?
Looking at a painting through a mirror is also a good technique for tricking the eye.
- Is there depth in the painting?
- Is the painting predominantly warm or cool?
- Are the colours appropriate?
- Have I repeated the colours elsewhere in the painting?
- Do the colours and values lead the eye to the focal point?
- Is the focal point where I want it?
- Is there more detail near the focal point?
I don’t do all of these tricks for every painting and I don’t ask all the questions-at least not coconsciously. When I do notice that something is off, I make adjustments as I work. Often, when I finish a painting I sit it where I can see it daily. If I don’t notice anything that bugs me about it, I sign it and call it done.

Work in Progress – Celtic Fire Part 2

2008-06-22T13:15:00.002-04:00

It’s been a little hectic for the past few days; so I haven’t got much done on the painting. I did get a chance to sketch it onto the canvas and lay down the underpainting. The colours I used for the underpainting are Cadmium Yellow Medium and Payne’s Gray.

I don’t really like using Payne’s Gray—I find it rather lifeless in colour, but since I have a tube anyway, I used it for underpainting.

Work in Progress – Celtic Fire Part 1

2008-06-11T01:13:00.003-04:00

Here are a couple of thumbnail sketches I did for my next painting. Thumbnails give me a chance to work out the composition of the painting and determine where my focal point will be.

I’m going with the bottom sketch.

This painting will be done in oil and on a canvas 24 x 30. This is bigger than I normally work. I will be attempting to paint the jewel so that it will glow. To get this effect I will use the colour theory “law of field size”. This theory uses a large dark field/background with a smaller foreground of pure colour. For my painting, the smaller foreground is the actual jewel in the top brooch. The rest of the painting will be in various shades/values of grey.

Watercolour Technique

2008-06-09T21:56:00.007-04:00

This is a little painting that I did just for fun. I used 140lbs hot press
paper and wet the entire surface. I then splattered on some colours. When that was dry I applied some liquid mask. After the mask dried, I splattered on some more paint. I let that layer dry and then did some more splattering. I used a spray bottle to soften the…um…splats…so they wouldn’t have a hard edge.
I continued on in this manner letting each layer of mask and each layer of paint dry.

This is an extremely messy process and including the drying time was a long process. I did use the hair dryer on occasion but mostly let the layers dry on their own.On the last layer of mask, I removed some and then added more making sure to cross over some of the areas I just removed. After the last layer of splattering was dry, I lightly brushed on some green to get rid of the white. Once that layer was dry, I removed all the masking.

Fast Sketching Techniques – A Book Review

2008-05-27T09:00:00.001-04:00

If you’re looking to improve your on location sketching the Fast Sketching Techniques by David Rankin will help. This book is full of information including an explanation of the difference between drawing and sketching. The book is divided into four chapters: The Basics, Landscapes, People and Animals, plus an Introduction.

Using a question and answer format, Mr. Rankin reduces information to select hints and suggestions that are easy to understand. Exercises are included to help work out the suggestions provided.

Some suggestions:
· think with your pencil first
· use your camera for back up
· define structure with line work first
· limit sketching to three or four values

I found this book to be easy to read and follow. The suggestions are very helpful.

Fast Sketching Techniques
David Rankin, Copyright 2000
North Light Books an imprint of F+W Publications
ISBN 1-58180-005-3
CDN $35.99 (US $22.99)

Work in Progress - Emma Part 3

2008-05-19T19:57:00.001-04:00

I tried to work on Emma today. She was coming along nicely until my left brain started up – her nose doesn’t look like that! I didn’t want to see her nose, just lights and darks, patterns and shapes. But my left brain wouldn’t stop. So I did. I will try again later.

Here is what she looks like now. I am also including the photo I am working from.

Work in Progress – Experiment with new technique

2008-05-16T11:39:00.004-04:00

I saw this technique by Mary Todd Beam in the February 2002 issue of The Artist’s Magazine. I routinely remove articles from magazines that I find interesting before tossing the magazine. Anyway, this technique is one I’ve wanted to try for a while. I changed it slightly to suit my style.

First I made a thumbnail sketch of what I wanted to paint. I then sketched the picture lightly on an 8 x 10 piece of gessoed masionite.

I then coloured it in with crayons.

Once I was satisfied I painted over the drawing with black gesso.

After the gesso dried, I followed the instructions and scratched over the gesso to reveal the crayon underneath – just like we did when we were kids!

At that point, I realized that I missed a small step in the instructions – to leave some spots unpainted. So, I drew up a grid of where I wanted the white to show and also decided to add some grey. But before I did that I added some more crayon.

I then painted the white and grey areas – not exactly as drawn but close enough and still pleasing. I don’t always follow my thumbnails or plans. In fact, most of the time I change them as I go. My next step was to scratch out again.

Mary Todd Beam then suggests unifying the painting with bronze paint. Which I did using Iridescent Bronze (Fine). I glazed the bronze everywhere but the blue vase. I used Pthalo Blue (liquid) for the vase and then painted the stems and berries back in. I left some of the crayon showing through. The colours I used were Burnt Umber, Pthalo Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Pthalo Green and Yellow Ochre.

Overall I think this experiment was a success and one I will probably do again.

PS Added May 24, 2008. I just got the book Celebrate Your Creative Self by Mary Todd Beam from the library. This technique is in her book on page 104. Now I'm off to explore her book in depth.

Competitions - Brushstroke Magazine Results

2008-05-14T11:24:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I received my May/June issue of the Canadian Brushstroke Magazine. That means that the paintings I entered in their competition didn’t get selected. The paintings that did get selected though are wonderful. With that degree of artwork out there, the selection process must have been very difficult. Check them out…you need to subscribe to the magazine but it’s free.
PS Added May 21, 2008
Here are the list of winners:
Grand Prize Winner
Olaf Schneider http://www.olaf.ca/
Finalists
Mina Dela Cruz http://www.adelaidestreetstudio.com/
Mickie Acierno http://www.mickie.ca/
Leslie Parkes http://www.watercolours-parkes.com/
Julie Donec http://www.juliedonec.com/
Cindy Revell http://www.cindyrevell.com/
Olaf Schneider http://www.olaf.ca/
Laura Levitsky http://www.levitskyart.com/
Marilyn Mills – no website.

Competitions – Alberta Zone Show Results

2008-05-11T20:01:00.003-04:00

Awhile back I said that I had entered some paintings in the Alberta Zone Show. My zone was Central Alberta. In this Zone Show, the paintings are juried for awards and for advancement to the Alberta Wide Show. The show was this weekend. The jurors reviewed the paintings yesterday.

The categories were: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Master. I entered three paintings in the Advanced category. Two of my paintings “First Discovery” and “Family Jewels Series No. 8” were selected to advance to the Alberta Wide Show. “First Discovery” also took the award for the Advanced category!

I think the last time I won an award for my artwork, I was in grade 5. I placed third in a poster contest and my prize was a book – Heidi! I don’t remember what the contest was for, but I still have the book.

Competitions – What do jurors look for?

2008-05-11T00:09:00.002-04:00

Well, today is the day for the paintings for the Central Alberta Zone Show are juried. The paintings that receive an award are sent on to the Alberta Wide Show. What do jurors look for when they are reviewing a painting? I did a little research in some old magazines that I have and on the internet and here is a listing of some of the things that may influence the juror (not in any particular order):
· Drawing skills
· Shapes, patterns, values, colours and good design
· Creative use of the medium used
· Texture enhance/detract from the painting
· Edges used-soft, hard, lost/found
· Effective darks, lights and shadows
· Atmospheric quality/mood
· Sense of time/place
· Artist’s knowledge of the subject
· Presented well-matting/framing
· Aesthetically pleasing

I will be going to the show tomorrow. The association is having a general meeting which I plan to attend. The juror will offer critiques of the works for the artists present and I hope to have at least one of my paintings critiqued. I have also volunteered to help release the paintings back to the individual artists.

May 18 is International Museums Day!

2008-05-08T15:09:00.002-04:00

Did you know that there was an International Museums Day? I certainly didn’t! I found this out when I was searching for a museum on line.

International Museums Day has been celebrated worldwide since 1977. This year’s theme is “Museums as Agents of Social Change and Development”. Here is a listing of the museums taking part in the event.

The one that sounds interesting to me is hosted by The Tech Museum of Innovation – the First Virtual International Museums Day. This exhibit will run for 24 hours and will be staffed by museum professionals from major time zones around the world. It will begin at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time/9:00 a.m. Paris Time on May 18, 2008 and there will be one major event at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time/6 p.m. Paris time at slurl: http://b.tinyurl.com/6hqj84.

So, visit a museum on May the 18th!

Work in Progress – Emma Part 2

2008-05-02T12:12:00.002-04:00

I had a chance to work on Emma the past couple of days. I did manage to rework the drawing by adjusting the eyes and making her forehead slightly bigger. Both these changes are subtle.

I masked off the wisps of her hair and the whites of the dandelion she is holding. I then painted the background and moved on to her shirt. The colours I used so far are: Thalo Green, Cad Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson.

A Green Studio

2008-04-22T13:14:00.001-04:00

Today is Earth Day. In honour of the day, I decided to see what I could do to help the environment. I already reduce, recycle and reuse what I can in the rest of my life, but am I doing the best I can with my art supplies?
I checked some websites and found that I am not doing everything that I can. Some art supplies are made of hazardous materials-lead, cobalt cadmium and mercury. Cleaning solvents are also hazardous. These materials are not only hazardous to the environment but also to us.
So how can I help the environment while I continue to paint? Here are some suggestions that I found.
1. Know what you are buying. Read the labels. Hazardous art supplies must be labelled as such. Health concerns are also on the labels. Check the Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). I found this site at The Artists Depot, which lists 141 MSDS. Another good site is http://www.ilpi.com/msds/
2. Use water based paints. They contain fewer VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and don’t need chemical solvents for cleanup. Choose paint colours made from organic pigments such as madder (red) and indigo (blue). My paints are all water based, including my oils so I’m OK with that part. I will try to choose paints made from organic pigments.
3. If using solvents to clean up, pour a small amount into a container for use. After finishing, let the residue settle and then pour it into another container straining out the residue. Let the residue dry and then toss in the garbage. You can recycle the turpentine or mineral spirits this way and reduce the amount being disposed of. It is also cost effective as the turps and/or mineral spirits will last longer. I use mineral spirits with my oil pastels and have been using this method of disposal for many years. My reasons for doing this were to save money not the environment but it seems I’m smarter than I thought I was.
4. Use rags as opposed to paper towels. The exception to this would be with oils. If using oils, clean up with paper towels. Do not wash rags in home washers or at commercial Laundromats. The waste from the rags is not contained and is washed down the drain. This one surprised me-I thought by using rags it was better. I will replace the rags I use for my oils with paper towels (made out of recycled paper).
Some interesting sites.
http://siri.uvm.edu/library/artist_waste
www.thegreenparent.blogspot.com
http://www.pp.okstate.edu/ehs/hazmat/Hazmat-1.htm
http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/greentips/305-the-dangers-of-modern-art.html
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?3172
http://doitgreen.org/article/arts/supplies

Inspiration – Where does it come from?

2008-04-21T14:07:00.000-04:00

Where do you draw your inspiration? I get my inspiration from many things from the conventional sources of books, nature, and other artists; and from unconventional sources such as spills. I have a really great copy of a design of a spill on a bus shelter wall. I do NOT want to know what was spilled nor how it got there, but the design it made was great! I get drawn (pun not intended) to things with a textural quality-bark on a tree, designs carved into masks, the facets of jewels.

Learning new techniques also inspire me. One of the groups I belong to Art Techniques has a folder of Monthly Art Techniques supplied to the group’s members. This is mainly an altered art group. I’m not real good at altered art, although I have tried, but I take some of the techniques provided and try to adapt them to my painting style and chosen subject matter.

Art Teaching Business - A Book Review

2008-04-15T19:36:00.000-04:00

Has anyone out there thought of starting a teaching business? Start & Run an Art Teaching Business is a great book for those of you who are thinking of starting a business. It is full of great exercises to determine if you have what it takes to start a business and forms you will need. It has information on creating a business plan, goal setting and organization. The legal and tax considerations mentioned in the book are for either Canadian or American readers.

I followed some of the exercises and found that it would be better for all concerned that I not start my own art teaching business. The book talked about taking public speaking classes—my stomach won’t take it. I would need to learn time management—did I mention that I was once late for a time management class? I would have to prioritize stuff—I once bought a book on procrastination and put it away to read later!

Seriously though, the book is worth the read for anyone interested. Just following the suggestions and heeding the information provided should help you determine your chances of succeeding as an entrepreneur.

Start & Run an Art Teaching Business
Tanya Freedman, Copyright 2007
International Self-Counsel Press Ltd.
ISBN 978-1-55180-734-8
CDN $22.95 (US $18.95)

Work in Progress - Emma Part 1

2008-04-09T21:58:00.003-04:00

I drew this picture for a watercolour painting I started just last year but haven’t worked on it since. I posted it to one of my groups and asked for their critique. I knew something was “off”. Anyway, I got a lot of great feedback (thanks guys) and I will be reworking the drawing. To rework it, I will use tissue paper and make the changes there rather than on my original drawing. I think it is a pretty good likeness of my granddaughter and if I can incorporate the changes suggested it should be an even better likeness. If I can’t improve the drawing without messing her up, I will go ahead with what I have.

I am using a quarter sheet of 140lb cold press Arches watercolour paper. I masked the hair to preserve some of the highlights. If I change the drawing, I will start the painting again but I’m not disregarding this one just yet.

Competitions – Alberta Zone Show

2008-04-07T12:38:00.002-04:00

My paintings are priced, framed and named and the registration form has been mailed off. I had people with me when I mailed the form so there was no dithering over the mailbox…couldn’t look silly in front of them. Maybe that’s the trick.

The paintings I entered are below.

Competitions – Naming Artwork

2008-03-28T11:41:00.004-04:00

This topic has come up in a couple of my groups this month. Do you give your pieces titles? How do you come up with a name? Why name them? How can you think of interesting titles?

I generally name my work. I pick pretty lame names too, depicting what the subject matter is-Sunflowers; Scottish Urn; Copper Jar-rather than thinking up a really good name. So my mission for the Alberta Zone Competition is to give my work interesting yet meaningful (to the painting) names. I am entering three paintings in this show. I have originally named them-Watercolour Jewels; Pottery Jars and Copper Jar. Thanks to Geoffrey in my group The Artists Den I have a really good name for my Copper Jar painting. It is now renamed First Discovery. This title relates to the goal I had for what I wanted that particular painting to reflect-that of a copper jar found at an archaeology site.

So now I have to think of interesting names for the other two pieces. Here are some websites that offer tips on naming work.
http://drawsketch.about.com/cs/tipsandideas/a/namingdrawings.htm
http://painting.about.com/od/careerdevelopment/a/RGennTitles.htm

Competitions – I Did It!

2008-03-22T12:29:00.003-04:00

So OK, I actually did it. I entered a competition!

Maybe I should have practiced putting entry forms in the mail. Who knew that just doing that would be so nerve wrecking? Anyway, it’s in the mail…I can’t get it back. I can go back to breathing now.

This contest is one I came across just recently. I subscribe to a free online magazine Canadian Brushstroke Magazine. I sort of blew my criterion out of the water by entering this competition as it is not a juried show and it has a short deadline-the entry form must be RECEIVED in their office by March 30. The subject is “Flowers, Gardens, Still Life”. The paintings must have been completed within the past 2 years. I went through my paintings and the two that I entered are below. The Sunflowers are Mixed Media-Acrylic, Tissue Paper and Sand. The Scottish Urn is Watercolour on Gesso.

So yesterday I got to work and prepared the CD and entry form. I almost blew my chances by not reading the rules well. On second check I realized that I had not prepared cover of the CD properly. Lesson Learned-Read the Rules don’t just gloss over them!

Work in Progress – Copper Jar Part 5

2008-03-19T11:09:00.003-04:00

Well, I believe I have finished. I distressed the jar some more and I think I have achieved the feeling I was going after-that of an ancient jar found in a cave or archaeology site.

Please feel free to provide constructive criticism. I would love to hear from you.

Work in Progress – Copper Jar Part 4

2008-03-13T21:10:00.002-04:00

I worked on my painting today. I added some holes and dents to the jar and basically just roughed it up a bit. It is now in the “sitting on the other side of the room so I can check it out for changes” stage.

Competitions - Pricing

2008-03-10T22:27:00.001-04:00

The juried show I’m entering is asking for a dollar value on my paintings for insurance purposes and they want to know if they are for sale.

The easy part is “yes” they are for sale. The hard part “how much”? I have no idea! How do I figure this out? In the past, I just went with gut instinct…how much do I think someone would pay for this?” Not a good way to go. I either under priced or over priced.

I need to price my work correctly so that the prices would be comparable to other artists, comparable to each other and fair for me so that I can continue to buy paint. I need to set the prices for not just the pieces I am entering in competitions, but for those that I set up on my website that is under development.

From all the information I have read on the subject, I will have to do math (shiver). Have you noticed that math is a four-letter word? I hate m*#h! There is no way around it though so I’m off to get my pencil (a big) erasure and a calculator.

http://www.artbusiness.com/pricerealistic.html
http://www.artbusiness.com/pricepoints.html
http://painting.about.com/cs/careerdevelopment/ht/Howto_Pricepic.htm
http://www.ebsqart.com/ArtMagazine/za_46.htm

Work in Progress - Copper Jar Part 3

2008-03-09T15:46:00.004-04:00

The jar is now painted. I did an undercoat of the copper colour and then added some shading and highlights. This still needs to be refined. I don’t really like the hard edge of the shadow on the lower left and need to blend it in more. I also feel that the background in the upper right-near the jar should be a little lighter. I also plan to have the jar damaged in some way and add a little patina around the rim.

Work in Progress - Copper Jar Part 2

2008-03-08T13:59:00.007-05:00

I did some more work on the background added in some pictographs to the cave wall. I used burnt sienna, burnt umber, titanium white, thalo blue and ivory black. I don’t normally work with black out of the tube, I prefer to mix my colours to get a good dark, but I need it for mixing the copper colours in the jar and felt it had to be used elsewhere in the painting. The black is mixed with the burnt umber so it is not in its pure form.

Website Tips

2008-03-07T15:48:00.001-05:00

I just finished reading an article in this month’s (March 2008) edition of The Artist’s Magazine-Top of the Web by Lisa Hazen. She uses the sites of 5 artists and says there is “something to learn from each of them”. Ms. Hazen critiques these sites and points out what works and why it works for each of the artists.

She has some great tips, some of which I plan to use in my website which is currently under development.

The sites that she reviewed are:
www.jeanpederson.com
www.ryankapp.com
www.leefenvisual.com
www.eugeniafoster.com
www.coandco.ca/ray

Copying Artists

2008-03-05T23:10:00.004-05:00

Has anyone tried to copy an artist’s painting and then use that same technique on one of your own? This was an exercise I was required to do in one of the continuing education classes I took.

I was working in oils at the time and I wanted to try something different so I chose Frank Kupka’s Plans par Couleurs.

This painting is huge! I reduced it to a 16 x 20. It was an interesting exercise trying to determine the colours he used and his techniques just from a picture. It took a lot of work on my part but I tried something different and learned a lot in the process.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franti%C5%A1ek_Kupka
Original

Work in Progress - Copper Jar Part 1

2008-02-29T20:16:00.001-05:00

Well, now that I’ve got the Watercolour Jewels finished, its time to start on the one waiting in the wings. I will be working in acrylics for this one. I decided to paint my copper jar on one half sheet of 300lb cold press watercolour paper.

After sketching in the jar I coloured in the background using black, burnt sienna, gold and gray conté. I then glued on crushed white tissue paper using matte medium. The idea is to mimic a cave like texture in the background. The background worked up quickly but it is by no means finished.

Competitions - Artists' Statements

2008-02-27T14:10:00.007-05:00

On the competition trail I found that I am in need of an artist’s statement. I had written one before about ten years ago for a continuing education assignment. But within the past ten years, I have changed, my artwork has changed and my audience has changed, so I guess it is time for my artist statement to change.

Of course, before I do anything, I research it. I check out other artists’ statements just to get a feel for what is expected and how the other artists are handling this. I also check out “how-to” Internet sites. There are some great sites out there that:
1. Explain the need for an artist’s statement, and
2. How to go about writing your statement.

Here are some that I found.
www.mollygordon.com/resources/marketingresources/artstatement/
www.artbusiness.com/artstate.html
www.painting.about.com/cs/careerdevelopment/a/statementartist.htm

Work in Progress - Part 6

2008-02-26T19:37:00.002-05:00

Well I have finally finished! After scanning this painting, I see that I might have to do some minor adjustments, perhaps tone down some of the pearls on the one brooch. Before I do that though, I will prop it up where I can see it every day for about a week. Who knows, I might change my mind and leave it as is. Anyway, I’ve signed it so in effect it is done.

The New Creative Artist - A Book Review

2008-02-23T11:42:00.002-05:00

The New Creative Artist by Nita Leland is a great book and one to add to your library. I’m adding it to mine.

Ms. Leland has themed the titles of her chapters as though you are going on a road trip. And in fact, she takes you on this trip of creativity. You are introduced to various artists and types of art including quilting, weaving, altered art, sculpture and digital art in her chapter entitled Art and Craft: Highways and Byways. Another chapter Design: Mapping Your Route lets you play with the elements and principals of design, while Abstraction: Off the Beaten Path takes those same elements and principals and encourages you to search out alternate routes.

Along the way, she lets you get out of the car and participate in over one hundred different activities that will help jump start your creative battery. I have already selected several activities that I want to try out.

This is a library book and needs to go back to the library today. On my way home, I plan to stop off at a book store and buy a copy that I can keep. I have to be selective in the books I purchase so I borrow from the library first. I’m selecting this book to add to my own personal library.

The New Creative Artist: A guide to developing your creative spirit
Copyright 2006 Nita Leland
North Light Books an imprint of F+W Publications
ISBN 978-158180-756
CDN $39.99 (US $29.99)

Competitions – My First Pick

2008-02-20T23:11:00.000-05:00

I selected one of the two juried shows I plan to enter this year. This show is with the Alberta Community Art Clubs Association. I will be entering my painting(s) in the Zone Show. My zone is Central Alberta. If my painting(s) should be lucky enough to be selected during the jury process for an award, they will be sent on to the Alberta Wide Show and then re-juried for awards at that show. Also, award winners from all three zones will go forward to the Visual Arts Alberta Association show. That’s a potential of three shows, just by entering one.

The deadline for the Zone Show is April 15. I can enter up to three paintings at $7.00 each (well within the maximum I decided on).Next step for this is deciding on which paintings to enter, getting them framed and delivered. I think one of them will be my current WIP-Watercolour Jewels.

I've got a new brush!

2008-02-16T09:26:00.002-05:00

A momentous occasion you ask? Well, for me it is. This new brush is replacing one I had for over twenty years. My favourite! I’m sure I used it for every watercolour I did. My old brush isn’t going into the garbage though; I will hold onto it and use it for washes only. It wasn’t an expensive brush. It was just the best brush I could afford to buy at the time.

My new brush is a 14 round synthetic. It’s replacing a 12 round natural hair. Did you know that a number 12 natural hair and a number 12 synthetic brush are not the same size? Synthetic brushes are generally two sizes smaller than natural hair brushes. So a number 12 natural hair is the same size as a number 14 synthetic.

Take care of your brushes, whether they are natural hair or synthetic. You can use hair conditioner on them if they start to look a little dried out. If they are a little frizzled you can also bring them back to a point using Gum Arabic. Dip them in the Gum Arabic and point them up, let dry for a few days and then rinse the Gum Arabic off. This doesn’t work in all cases, but it’s worth a try.

A Collage

2008-02-14T19:53:00.001-05:00

I would like to introduce you to my Uncle Harold. I did this collage of him using all the papers I could find on him. I have included copies of the telegram my grandparents received when he was MIA; the Book of Operations of the flights he took part in; his obituary etc. I included a photo family photo. He is the little boy standing in front of my grandfather.

The photos are mounted to a 16 x 20 board of masonite with matte medium. I didn’t have a brayer so I used an old rolling pin. I used glazes of acrylics to push parts of the collage into the background and bring parts forward. I enjoyed doing this collage and will do some more on other family members.

Competitions - My Criteria

2008-02-13T22:25:00.003-05:00

Well, I’ve looked over a few of the submission requirements for some of the competitions I discovered. Some are so far out of my expertise or the deadline for submission is too close. I figure I need to determine what my criteria are for which competitions to consider and what my goals are.

To start with, I think I will restrict myself to two juried shows for this year. So my goal is very simple. Just be accepted to the shows.

I am going so far out of my comfort zone just by trying for competitions there’s no need to add extra pressure on myself by trying something new at the same time. So my fist criterion is that it must be in a medium I work in and a subject or theme that I am comfortable with.

I need thinking time to work out a plan of what I am going to do so the deadline must be a minimum of 6 months away. I also am pretty good at procrastinating so I don’t want the dead line to be more than twelve months away or I will keep thinking I have lots of time. Depending on the medium I use, I need time for the painting to cure before sealing it.

If there is a submission fee it cannot be over $50 each for a total of $100. I want to keep my financial risk at a minimum.

Work in Progress - Part 5

2008-02-12T12:30:00.000-05:00

There is only one brooch left to complete. Once I have this done, then I will glaze in the shadows and fade out some areas to make them less prominent. Hopefully, I can get this finished soon.