Undesignated Direction

Which way up?  A painting with subject matter like this could go any which way.  Which do you prefer?  By the time this post goes up, the painting will be finished but the way up will still be up in the air…

This way looks airy and draws attention to the grouping of three in a row.

No, this doesn’t work. None of them look right side up necessarily, but this one looks upside down for sure.

I don’t like the movement in this one. Some kind of shuffling dance jerking to the right.  On the bright side, the flower on the left looks quite striking.

This is right side up according to the original plan. It has the advantage of the light being at the top and all those shadowy stalks moving upwards.

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Cozy Tea Party

Something about tea in crystal is exquisite.  Carolyn took many pictures in the middle of a dessert party.  But just look how pretty it is!

A Crop of Miniatures

Carolyn has completed a new set of miniature books.  Stock begins to run low and its time to get back into the paper, leather and glue.

Drive by Cloudscapes

Painting Expedition

Wind.  Rain.  Just really cold.  Welcome to painting in the great Alberta outdoors!  Still, it must be done.  This is really good for bulking up one’s artistic know how.  The thrill of painting in the elements is unmatched by any studio experience.  The paint and paper and water doing uncharacteristic things builds patience, technical skill, and the acceptance of mistakes…  sigh.  The practice is what makes it perfect.  This is our first plein air expedition of 2019.

Painting at a local pond along the highway and railway tracks, there isn’t much to choose from as far as subject matter goes.  The train was colourful and horizontal.  Judy managed to fit the historic NAR building in as well.  Actually, just now there is quite a dirt pile around the building, which is still under construction, so we have both made the dirt browns a little nicer than they are.  Both Carolyn’s and Judy’s sketches are done in pen, then painted with Cass watercolourcolours.

It always helps to have a critic.  Once the camera started coming out Pip took off for a walk around the pond.  Spying a muskrat, he jumped in the water up to his belly and enjoyed himself very much.

Joshua’s Show

JK’s first solo show is opening Saturday, only about three years after he started painting.  Bravo Joshua!

Water Web in Blue

Carolyn is going dotty again!  This was one of those careful, tedious paintings that was created with micro pencil strokes, minute blobs of masking fluid and a tiny brush.  Of course all that work pays off in the end! I like the runny, wet in wet effect in the back to show the rain versus the tight, crystal clear droplets.  That’s a strange phenomenon: that individually perfect orbs become something that obscures light and clarity when they mass as rain.  I like the way the background runs upward, counter intuitively, to compliment the reflections that turn the world upside down.