Aussie Violet & Facebook

I've had a lot of fun with my Aussie Violet piece and like how it's turned out, although getting an accurate picture of it is near impossible for me! The red is a rose red and quite beautiful.  Not sure what to name it?  Since my last post I've made progress on the Triptych and have gotten another commission for a 3 piece that I am really excited to start work on it.

For the sake of making things easier for people to find and follow my artistic endeavours on Facebook, I've created a fan page.  I have a badge on my left sidebar that will take you to it and from there all you need do is click the 'Like' button for my artists page to show up in your news feed.  Although I've made my personal Facebook page open to the public they still had to go through the process of sending and waiting for approval of their friend requests, pain in the you know what!  Anyway, I've uploaded pictures of more recent works with details now co-ordinated with my 'Art Gallery' page here on my blog.

I don't know if you ever get use to the wonder of having people not just like your work, but who are willing to invest in it and in effect in me.  It's very humbling and gratifying and in truth I hope I never loose this sense of wonderment.

"The creative spirit demands persistence." S. McNiff

It's a Start!

Although progress has been slow this month, due to my health, I did manage to get started on a few canvases.  But before I share those, I want to thank all the wonderful artist bloggers who stopped by and left words of encouragement and some helpful insights into this whole concept of being 'stuck' or blocked artistically.  I appreciate the greater wisdom of the whole, it keeps me grounded when the pain levels get to be more than I can handle.

Got a new commission for a triptych, 24 x 44" I'm finding I really enjoy creating pieces with my clients impute in mind. Knowing what they love about various pieces I've done, having some idea of preferred colour palette, all helps to make it an enjoyable experience.  I've altered some of the glue lines on the left since taking this and am letting it set so I can move on to the next stage of texturing.

In the meantime, I jumped in at the deep end and started painting a canvas I'd had textured and prepped for a few weeks.  It's a colour combo I've never used together before and it's proving to be a very dramatic piece.  Matisse Transparent Umber, Q Nickel Azo Gold,  touches of Van Dyke Brown  and for punch, Australian Red Violet! Matisse has created a line of paints that reflect the unique shades and vibrancy that is Australia.  From here I'll begin layering in details and highlighting focal points.

Speaking of Australian, Kel of The X Facta  posted a great entry on making time for the things we love.  She's a diversely gifted artist, writer and woman, so do check out her blog!

Oddly Stuck

I feel stuck!  A new year is suppose to be about fresh starts, renewed energy and determination.  Blogs and articles abound on tips, hints, motivations of how to get yourself going in 2012.  But I'm afraid I've hit the skids instead, and of course when that happens you start looking for reasons why, because hey we all want to at least 'feel' productive :-)

It doesn't help that my body has been going through an intense time of flare ups, the pain is acute, sleep is brief. (that's why I'm writing this at 3:30 in the morning)  There are a number of artist friends out there who suffer from various chronic conditions, like fibromyalgia, arthritis, back/neck pain and others. Living with chronic pain is a challenge to our artist endeavours, and I wonder how others handle these intense times when everything seems to slow with the pain?

The desire to create bubbles away inside you, but you have little energy or directive to begin and I'm trying to be okay with that for now.  This battle is fought and won in the mind and spirit so I focus on keeping them strong until my body begins to quite down.

These are not new pieces, but when bringing them home from Bistro 610 (formerly called Fusion) this is how I choose to put them on the wall and was quite struck by how they 'go' together without having been painted to do so.  In fact it was a potential client who brought my attention to how well they complement each other.  Which now has me considering doing a series of individual pieces that will co-ordinate with each other.  I know not a new concept to most of you, but this is my third year of painting and something I've not consciously done to date :-)  Something to let percolate.

"The creative spirit demands persistence."  Shaun McNiff

Interview & New Painting

24 x 24" acrylic & ink on canvas

Time to let this one sit a spell.  I've got some issues with this little piece, and when I do, I like to take some photos and let it hang out in my studio where it will catch my eye , stirring my subconscious to figure out the solution.  I find the photo taking very helpful in gaining perspective and noticing issues in certain light or angle that I don't always see while standing in front of it.

As I think about it, that seems to be the way most things get worked out in other areas of my life as well.  I have to let things rest a bit, mull it over, see it from different angles and then illumination will come.  Interesting, the things you discover about yourself, your own inner workings when considering your creative process.  I've said it before, many times actually, I love the process of creating. It works on me, while I'm working on it.  Speaking of process and understanding yourself and your art, Crystal Cook recently interviewed me for her blog and in the answering it makes me think more deeply. Chrystal is an amazing water colourist, creating portraits that are luminous with life.  You can check out my interview with Chrystal here, and see her amazing art as well.

First Canvases For A New Year

Just finished this 24 x 48" piece that will serve as a headboard.  I delivered it to my daughter this week and it's going to look great in her room, and in time she will have pictures that I can share I'm sure.

Love how the crackle turned out on this (see below) I used it along some edges and corners as well as in the various circles.  Though my pictures don't do it justice, I quite like how it turned out and again using colours that are not my usual colour palette.