Studio Tour Time! Version 2014!

Well, I've been remarkably bad at keeping up with the blog, and have failed to post about a couple of recent shows, but at least I'm not missing the studio tour.  The fall colours here on the Niagara Escarpment are is full swing, so it's a great time to take a drive to the country to see some artwork!  My neighbour Tina Newlove and I are a mere 500 metres apart on the same laneway, so catch both studios! It's a great place to start off the tour. 

For more information, please feel free to contact me, or visit the FASM website.

A Little Victor

Caution:  wet paint!  ;-) Work in progress.

Little paintings really shouldn't take as long as I'm taking with this one.  This is the little study I started the other night, and then wiped off.  I was happier with my second drawing attempt, though  I'm still making adjustments as I go.  So much for trying to be quick and loose! Clearly I have some kinks to work out.

A better start.

This one is 6 x 4 oil on Raymar cotton canvas panel. So far I've limited my colours to Venetian Red, Ultramarine Blue, Titanium White and a bit of Cad Yellow Lemon and Gold Ochre. 

Ridiculously tentative work.  :-D

A Jubie Retrospective

"Dreamy"  8 x 6 oil study on Raymar panel, sold.

I went to visit Jubie at her new home this past Saturday.  Now called Raeleah (Rae), she is living the life in paradise.  She has been such a wonderful model, I thought a little retrospective of the work she's inspired was in order!  Not that I'm done painting her, yet! 

Definitely paradise.

"Firstborn," 14 x 11 oil on Raphael linen panel. Sold;  reproductions available!

"Jubilant"  11 x 14 oil study on Raphael linen panel.  Available, framed, $500.

"The Bond (or, You Still Love Me, Don't You?" 14 x 11 oil on Raphael linen panel.  Sold, reproductions available.

"These Eyes," 6 x 8 oil study on Raymar panel.  Available, $100.

Complements

"The Plans I Have For You," 18 x 24 oil on canvas

A lot of artists have a hard time taking compliments.  I know it took me a long time to learn to say "thank you" rather than put myself down.  This post isn't about that, however.  I'm talking colour, not comments!

My palette is usually pretty limited.  Just like I don't wear bright colours, my paintings are generally pretty down to earth....literally.  Every now and then, though, I break out a little - at least for me!

Way back in Grade Nine art class, we learned about complementary colours.  A colour's complement is the one on the opposite side of the colour wheel. Even though I know what is where on the colour wheel, I still keep one tacked behind my easel!  Saves having to think too hard some days!  Then, back in 2009 when I took a workshop with Val Hinz, we did some paintings using complementary colours for the underpainting. For a horse, you have to extrapolate a little, of course:  bay = red, so complement is green;  chestnut = orange, complement is blue, and so on.   I really like the result, and have done a few paintings this way.  This quick study below was one:

"The Yearling" oil on canvas panel, $75.00

Skip forward to August 2013.  While having lunch with my friend and fellow artist/photographer Renee Fukumoto, we decided we needed to do some kind of "challenge."  We settled on using one of her photos of her very handsome Standardbred, Remi.  The photo was absolutely gorgeous.  I decided on my crop, then thought hey, maybe I'll try that old complementary colour underpainting for this.  It was kind of fun posting the crazy in-progress photos on Facebook.  He was my Martian horse for a while!

Of course, the finished result was very different!  While on the one hand I'm disappointed I defaulted to going very realistic, it was, at least, a fresh way of getting there.  The painting is 18 x 24 oil on canvas, and the title I settled on is "The Plans I Have for You."

(Thanks Judy Wood for the gentle smack upside the head on my word usage, haha....I should know better!  And now I will never forget again!  ;-) )