Lavender fields

Last summer while visiting family in Langley we were surprised to hear about a Lavender farm.  I was delighted to be able to visit this farm south west of Cultus Lake just steps north of the Canada-US boarder.  Since then I have found that there are a number of lavender farms scattered around BC.

I've tried to paint this field in acrylics - using two different techniques - one, using a paint brush and you can see this is quite 'smooth' and the other with a painting knife, referred to as impasto.  The first takes much longer and requires a lot of blending while the impasto I find much quicker but it takes longer to dry so changes may be delayed which adds time.  It is also more impressionistic. Both are on board which is new to me as I generally paint with acrylics on canvas.  These are small - 6 x 6" and I did enjoy doing them.

Musing about landscapes...

A few days ago a friend was looking through photos of my paintings and it occurred to me that I really do not stick to one theme when I paint.  For which I mumbled a bewildered 'apology' to her.  Her response was to never stop painting a variety of topics. This was encouraging and helped me in overcoming my phobia of not painting in a particular way or being consistent in subject matter.

Last week an artist in our group came with oil paints to give away saying that she was sticking to acrylics from now on.  Since no one else wanted them I gladly put them in my bag.  In fall I was going to "learn to paint with oils." At least I am hoping to take a class to teach me the process.  But on Saturday I stopped at the art shop and purchased walnut oil and a turpenoid cleaner and I just might open up those oils soon.  So not only will I paint a variety of subjects, with a variety of techniques but I may soon paint with watercolours, acrylics and oils.

In the meantime I've spent several weeks working through Peter Fiore's dvd titled River Bend.  While he paints with oils I've been plodding through this with acrylics and have come back repeatedly to subdue the brightness and to blend the colours.  I think I am almost finished.

River Bend .1  22 x 28 acrylic

I am encouraged by those who tend to paint in a less detailed manner - less realistic but not abstract.  Impressionistic - perhaps one might call it expressionistic because there is movement and a sense of place in many of these. Well I am working at it! 

The two paintings below which I've just finished are quite different.  This first of the prairie landscape is done with a larger brush using looser strokes.  I have tried hard not to be 'too fiddly'. 

Prairie Landscape  12 x 12"  acrylic

Below is a rather turbulent water and sky scene done with my favourite palette knife using lots of soft gel medium.  With this method I tend to play a lot with the paint and medium and gradually form an image.  I like the brightness of the colours and the movement that happened.

Rough Waters 12 x 12 "  acrylic

mock orange

Today I had coffee with a friend who has been living in India. We sat in the sunshine on the outside deck of the cafe and I could feel the sun's warmth seeping into my chilled bones!!  It has been another long winter.

Soon though I think the wind will come and explode open the buds on the ornamental crabapples and our streets will be full of pink and white blossoms.  Soon after that the mock orange will open and spread its very special fragrance through the garden - well, actually in one spot in our garden and that being near the compost so it is a welcome presence… not that the compost smells or anything, it is just the old and the new, the dead and alive, the scented and the decaying contrasts - those contrasts that make our lives so interesting.

This is a small watercolour [~9x10] of a few of last years blooms on our mock orange.

Today's Colours

 Celebrating the colours of today…

market purchases today

At the market I purchased a few garden plants, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, and a most beautiful April Cornell 'vintage' tablecloth!  I absolutely love the colours.

We drove out to PineView Farms to buy chickens and then on to Valley Meats for sausage where we came across some delightful scarecrows!

 

I love the city lights in the evening. This was taken a few days ago.

Today's Sketches

It has been tough to settle down and paint recently but I went to art group today so 'had to come up with something!'  Today's sketches are done but very different from each other and definitely only sketches.

The watercolour was done at our "group" where sometimes I have a hard time concentrating with all the chatter [which is always great but… unless I plan ahead, what I end up with is a surprise] and today I did not plan ahead. I cut off the top of the sky because it was "too busy" but wanted to keep the centre part because I do like the glow in the sky. I'm getting more familiar with producing this type of glow which I think is important in watercolour.

Then mid afternoon I did this acrylic on watercolour paper.  I was told that you could paint with acrylics on watercolour paper and decided to try it on a watercolour that did not turn out.  I had washed off the watercolour a few days back and it was dry so I painted over it!  The result is rather bright and hopefully 'impressionistic' and a huge contrast to the watercolour above which was done on a hot pressed paper which is very smooth and soft. The acrylic is on a heavy rough paper.    

Inspiration: moving forward...

There is nothing like something new to get one moving forward!

On Saturday I attended a brief talk by Craig Berry [you can find him here http://atelier2302.com]
on the Munsell colour theory.  Well, I knew this was coming up and I have been checking out a few sites to see if I could get a handle on it.  It seems complicated but since I have never really tuned in completely to the traditional colour theories I thought this might help me with colour. After the talk I ordered the book - mistakenly ordered it under the quick delivery - and it came today! So here I have hundreds of little colour chips to fit on to charts while schooling myself in Hue, Value and Chroma.

I've been thinking that I need to do some small paintings to help me understand the subtle changes in colour so I purchased a few 9x12" birch panels and set to it.  The first one I gave up the brush on and finished it with the palette knife. This is the painting I posted in the last post.  Finally, I persevered with the brush and finished this painting this morning.

I absolutely love John Hammond's painting so since I was struggling with acrylics I got out one of his books and began reading. Because my first "sample" painting ended in a fit of "palette knife  expressionism" [how's that for keeping positive!] completely different from what I had initially planned I encouraged I was when I read, "As far as the actual painting process is concerned, while I place much importance on first-hand observation of the subject and making reference drawings, I prefer not to plan the work too thoroughly.  When talking about how I work, I often make an analogy between painting and taking a journey - I know the destination, but I have not plotted the precise route.  Normally I have a good idea as to what I want to achieve in the end, but I am always willing to consider - and possibly respond - to happy accidents and other events that may develop during the painting process.  Having a sort of blueprint for the painting that you must adhere to is very restricting, and it certainly will not encourage free expression!"  I simply must work my way through his encouraging and insightful book….

The book is:

John Hammond

An important book that gives artists the best advice on freely expressing themselves in acrylics. It is not enough to learn just the techniques but to understand how to choose the right technique to express what you feel or how to interpret what you see. It is also important to paint the right element of what you see to give real impact. Using your instinct to simplify and exaggerate, the book shows you how to have freedom of expression with a paintbrush. Leading acrylics painter John Hammond focuses on an increasingly popular medium which has terrific potential to deliver images with impact.

"Now I become Myself…"

I was introduced to the desire to seriously consider 'who I am' when someone mentioned Parker Palmer's book, Let Your Life Speak.  Since then I have tried to understand what my deepest longings tell me about myself...most days I am still trying to figure this out.  I'm thinking that it will be a lifelong quest.

Who we 'are' is often influenced and sometimes created by others.  May Sarton wrote,

Now I become myself.

It's taken, many years and places.

I have been dissolved and shaken,

worn other people's faces…

And Parker Palmer writes,
"What a long time it can take to become the person one has always been!  How often in the process we mask ourselves in faces that are not our own.  How much dissolving and shaking of the ego we must endure before we discover our deep identity - the true self within every human being that is the seed of authentic vocation."

When our youngest son was in grade 12 we dutifully went to his final parent-teacher interview.  His psychology teacher said, "What can I say about David?" (Pause…) then, "Besides having a unique sense of humour, David is very comfortable with who he is."  My thought was - Wow, that's more than I can say for myself!

Well, I have made some progress along the way towards discovery of what makes me tick and how I can be comfortable with the person I am. I ponder what gives me the deepest joy and the greatest regret  -  and I'm learning to add more of the former into my life... Even when it takes time and may be difficult, and even on those days when I long to create art but it turns out totally different than what I envisioned it to be and took much longer than expected!