Wacom Cintiq
I just saw this on You Tube, and I am dreaming of the day I own one of these.
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Ode To January
This is the time of year, when I go through all of my supplies and get rid of stuff I no longer need or want. I found dried up tubes of acrylic paint, empty ink bottles, and a couple of very sad looking brushes. Afterwards, when I had finished, I treated myself to a nice cup of hot tea.
I find winter is a good time to contemplate, reflect and observe the busy world slow down a bit. It’s also a time when I bring a little bit of nature into our home, flowers, potted plants, and my favorite seed catalog, daydreaming of the first signs of spring. It won’t be too much longer now…
“There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of any winter. One is the January thaw. The other is the seed catalogues.”
– Hal Borland
I took some photographs in the afternoon, and discovered this beautiful tree near our home. A perfect ode to January.
Ode to January (C) 2008
Swans
I’ve been working on my Gallery site, we have the first image up at my homepage, so go check it out. Hopefully we will be able to get the Gallery up and running as soon as possible.
I also Spent some time working on the small canvas today, I applied more texture with color, and added some symbols etc…
First draft
Second Draft
Beautiful Day
We had a beautiful day, the sun was shining and I decided it was time to tackle my painting room. We moved some furniture around, and set up one of my floor easels, because my makeshift table easel just wasn’t cutting it.
After I finished, I worked on a small 6″x6″ canvas. Now, I always thought large canvases were intimidating, but this tiny little thing almost got the best of me. I must of stared at that little blank canvas for a good hour.
I finally got into the swing of it and covered it with some gesso, tissue paper and set it aside to dry. I decided on a swan theme and I will continue with this project tomorrow.
Afterwards I sat down and did a quick sketch of the woman below. Lately I have been revisiting some of the Arthurian tales of the Lady of the lake, and have started coming up with ideas for a painting.
“You do not know how paralyzing that staring of a blank canvas is; it says to the painter, You can’t do anything … Many painters are afraid of the blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the really passionate painter who is daring, and who has once and for all broken that spell of ‘you cannot’.”
Vincent Van Gogh
Sacred Moments
Finding meaningful moments as we hurry along in life, distracted and focused on a hundred different things is difficult.
It is when we stop to notice the love and beauty all around us, that our perceptions shift and change. Only then, do we become fully present in the moment, alive, and aware of the sacred in our lives.
Today I grabbed my camera and decided to take some photos. I played around with some of my favorite gemstones, crystals, journal, and some fabric.
In the process of arranging these objects, I felt a sense of peace and stillness wrap itself around me. This is the shot I ended up with.
Everyday is full of sacred moments waiting to be experienced.
Sacred Moments (C) 2008
“The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life, and in elevating them to art”. -John Ruskin
The Mask of Gaia
Creating paintings of masks has been a life long passion for me. I also like making masks out of paper mache, plaster, ceramics, etc…
I have a series of mask paintings I have been working on for several months. Below is one that is almost finished.
The Mask Of Gaia (C) 2008
“The hypothesis of Gaia is the idea that we may have discovered a living being bigger, more ancient, and more complex than anything from our wildest dreams. That being, called Gaia, is the earth.” James Lovelock
Lunch Break
I visited Jan Worden’s site this morning and got all fired up about creating a mono print. I can’t wait to get started.
One of my dearest friends Margie, taught me how to make one after we had visited a small gallery featuring some of her mono prints.
I was very impressed with the whole process. She used found objects like coke bottle caps, twine, feathers, anything she thought was interesting.
Margie would use these to create images in the ink or paint, and continue with this process until she was satisfied, then make a print. The whole experience was so magical, I could sit and watch her for hours.
Just finished with lunch and now I have some time to make a mono print. This is going to be so much fun! I have never made one using acrylic paint.
Our Lunch Today Pizza & Salad
Shaylee Update
Worked several hours on the Shaylee painting today. It takes me anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months to finish a painting, depending on the size, detail involved, and time available.
The size of this painting is 11 x 14″. You are viewing only the head and shoulders portion of the painting.
Shaylee (C) 2008
“Happiness… it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort”.
Vincent Van Gogh
Corel Painter IX.5
I use Corel Painter 7 and IX.5 along with a Wacom pressure sensitive tablet when creating my digital paintings. My first Metacreations Painter 6.0 was a Christmas gift from my husband.
He handed me a pretty packaged paint bucket and said Merry Christmas! When I learned it was a digital painting program, I was skeptical that I would actually use it.
I have been hooked ever since. I love it! I can paint to my hearts content, no mess, no cleanup, and no chemicals. Best of all, I have an endless supply of canvases.
The only drawback is a steep learning curve, I finally had to take some classes to be able to really work with it. Other than that it’s been a great journey.
Below is a digital work in progress. First I made a sketch, then scanned it and moved it into Painter. I began developing the fairy woman’s face, hair and the background.
This is a rough first draft of the painting, and I decided to call it Shaylee. A Celtic/Gaelic word meaning fairy princess of the field.
Shaylee (c) 2008
“Gay are the hills with song: earth’s faery children leave,
More dim abodes to roam the primrose – hearted eve.
A. E.
Calla Lily
Today has been cold and dreary , but I did manage to work on some of my paintings. When the weather is like this I just want to crawl under a nice warm blanket with a good book.
When I stepped out earlier for some fresh air there was a light drizzle, and I noticed our calla lilies were looking kind of sad. They are usually blooming by now.
Well it’s time to get back to work. A nice cup of chai tea should lift my spirits.
Calla Lily ” The muse of artists for centuries”
“Earth laughs in flowers” Ralph Waldo Emerson