Off My Nut...

Busy, busy life, and I'm off my nut.  Whatever that means.  It's simply an expression that comes to mind and seems to capture the essence of my current reality. 

I've jumped in with both feet.  I've set the wheels in motion on The Little Gull - a small (from home) art studio.   I came up with the byline:  "A small studio created with childhood in mind."  I've found two stores that will sell my paintings.  Three that will sell cards/bookmarks. I've met with an art printer, and scanned four of my favourites.  I'm planning to order art cards soon.  And bookmarks.  And prints.  And magnets.  And whatever else will make The Little Gull fly.


I have seagulls fluttering about in my belly right now, and wonder where this gumption came from. 

I will be proposing to the local Down syndrome Society that I sell the artwork with a portion of proceeds going to their music therapy program for children.  I hope they say "go ahead" - and that I can write on the back of the cards/bookmarks about the program. 

I hope they say yes, because I don't think I'd have the nerve to approach businesses if I was doing it for just me.  I also hope they don't think I am using their name to sell for myself.  I really truly just want to give back, and this is the only way I know how right now.

So.  There it is, all my nervous energy written in a blogpost.  Ahhhhh. Cathartic.

Hot off the Easel

Another yellow submarine - this time for my friend's baby.  Karen's husband is in the Navy, so it seemed right that she chose the yellow submarine.  It was fun, but the best part...

Was passing it on to this sweet little pumpkin:

I am thoroughly enjoying the painting process.  If I win a lottery I'll take painting classes and see where I can go from there.  Until then, I'll do my uneducated painting best.

Almost finished...almost

It started like this:

Then some changes:

I was liking some of the changes, but the trees...the trees were just too....hmm....elementary? 

I decided to have another go; painting sky behind branches and three rows of hills in the distance:

 

And now I`m not sure which version I like best.

James (my husband/would-be art critic) thinks there is too much sky....

It's hanging on the wall (the painting, not James) so I can live with it a little longer before I decide what to do.

Emily Carr-Inspired Paint Party

Six days ago we went to the 4Cats Arts Studio to find our inner Emily Carr. It wasn't easy, I quickly discovered. Emily's whimsical approach to landscape is misleading...whimsy does not equal simplicity. There was a large painting on the wall that I tried to replicate - in fact, several of us in our Group of Twelve tried to paint the same scene...and each painting looks different.

I think I strayed the furthest. I started with an attempt to do the big swirling sky and the simple-looking trees...but somewhere along the lines I started dabbing with the flat side of my brush and couldn't find my way back to the swirls.   

Yesterday I was tempted to paint over the whole thing and start again.  Really, I was that frustrated. Then James and I went for a drive along the ocean, and we were amazed at all the wild daffodils we saw in the parks.  "My painting needs daffodils!"  So, a few hours ago I put some in (while Aidan was in the tub - yes, I painted in the bathroom).  Then I made some hills in the distance, and changed the sky a bit with more flat dabbing (not sure what the technical name is for this) and did one more layer of darker green over the trees.  PHew.  Not sure if I'm done yet - I have to walk by it several times to see if something jumps out at me.  Already I'm bothered by the trees...they look like a kindergartener's version of a tree (not that I'm against kindergarteners...)

We'll see what tomorrow brings.  In the meantime, life's good; paint dries, and acrylics are forgiving...or so they told me at the art store :o)

pARTy Planners

My friend Chris and I are planning a paint party at the 4Cats Arts Studio. I can't wait - we're so hyped. I went to meet the curator/owner of the studio and she's lovely. I had Aidan with me, and she was very welcoming (which gave me an idea for an event for the local Down syndrome Society).

Anyhow, this paint party is for a group of moms...we need a night out! When I was at the studio I had to choose a theme - they model the paint party after a well-known artist, so some of my choices included: Vincent Van Gogh, Georgia O'Keeffe, Emily Carr, Jackson Pollock, and Norval Morrisseau.

Chris said I could choose...can you guess the artist I picked? That's right, Emily Carr. I love her whimsical paintings.

Again with the Owl and the Pussycat

I guess I get a little obsessed with things.  I've been working on two more paintings of the Owl and the Pussycat.  This time with a purpose:  baby gifts for a friend and a colleague.

First Attempt with Acrylics

This one I started first and finished last:



What I like about this painting: 

The piggy wearing a sailor suit (a happy accident - the way I initially painted it, there was a sloppy bit that looked a little like the tie on the sailor's shirt).

The islands in the background.  Originally I'd painted a lighthouse at the left, but felt it was too much, especially so close to the owl.

The pussycat is drinking tea from a china cup. 

What I did not like:

The owl - I could not decide whether he should be a snowy or a great horned owl.  I've been struggling with him the most.  I debated about a pair of spectacles, but refrained. His head was too big initially so I had to rework it.  I know the owl could  be better, but for now - I give up.

This second painting is different in that it is done on stretched canvas as opposed to canvas board.  I've only painted one miniature on stretched canvas, so this was a fairly new venture.



What I liked about this version:

The boat worked out quite well.

I didn't have to struggle with the owl.

The water has a different shade of blue that I thought worked out well.

The clouds were fun to create.

I also loved the depth of the sides allowing me to extend the scenes to the sides:

That's it for now.  I know the photographs aren't the best, but they serve a purpose anyhow, I suppose.
The boys are waking up now, have to go be a mom now. . .

He said he had a Red Canoe

I attempted to learn from a Tom Thomson painting, The Canoe (painted in the spring or fall of 1914)- only I changed the colour of the canoe from birch-bark white to red. Sacrilege, I know...but,  I did this as homage to the red canoe my husband had when we first started dating.  We went out on the Saskatchewan River on one of our first dates, and I fell in love (with James the nature boy, not the canoe).

Now, about the painting.  I have worked on the water and sky over and over again.  It's taken several "re-writes" to get it to a state I think I'm happy with.  The two tall trees in the foreground at the right, I like.  The third, smaller one, I don't.  I might just paint it out.  In the original there are more trees in front of the centre of the canoe, and I might attempt to put them in later if I'm brave enough.  As for the canoe itself, I'm really not happy with it.  The shape/perspective is wrong and that bugs me to no end.  It will have to wait though, I'm putting this aside until the time is right.