So you think you want to paint....

I have a number of friends who have said they have tried watercolour and would like to do more....  but.... and there it ends.  People are just too busy and let's face it, painting takes time! Lots of time.

And patience, and endurance, and preparation, and well, it is quite simply more difficult than one might think.

While watercolour can be rewarding it also requires a lot of dedicated plodding. At least for me it does.

These past few weeks have been filled with two paintings.  The lilies, I think I have finished, but I'm very disappointed with it- and will consign it to my learning pile.  As I worked on it I learned a few lessons.  One being that where light falls on a flower in your photo is important but is not always conducive to making a good painting.  Two, trying to improvise after the fact is difficult.  Three, when painting a flower in a more or less realistic rendering I need to draw it out carefully. And four, hot pressed smooth paper, even though a heavy weight, seems to 'pil' with the slightest amount of water.  I have more of this paper but I will need to try a different method on it because I found using this paper for this painting to be very frustrating.

There are other things about watercolour which one must keep in mind.  One - it is very difficult to get the colours you want without a number of washes.  So, one goes over and over a petal a number of times before it is actually done!  But, you need to know when to add colour if the paper is still damp or you need to add colour when the paper is dry, in which case, you need to know how to draw out the colour or add a wash without lifting the paint which is already there.

Also, it takes hours and hours to do a painting like the "Roses" painting shown here.  I can work about 1 1/2  - 2 hrs and then I need a break... sometimes it is discouraging because I've only worked on 2 - 4 petals and I know that when they are dry I will need to come back in with another wash.

Photos of your work in progress are invaluable.  They will help you see things you miss close up or even simply looking at your work.

For you my friends who wish to pursue watercolour,  I would like to encourage you but also caution you because it takes time!! If you want a quick finish this may not be for you.  I have had many frustrating moments and if I didn't feel some calling to do it, somehow drawn to create this way, I would have given up long ago.  Every so often a painting develops which makes all the hard work worthwhile.

I am hoping the rose painting will be one of these!

The Lilies:  a few progression photos - you will see that the light caught the centre petal but did not look right as it was so large a white space, so I have filled it in with some colour.  But, at this point I am still not happy with it.

The Roses:  Besides photographing the roses, choosing a view I was happy with by cropping and adjusting, hours of drawing it out using a grid, I have spent about 6 sittings with it.  Add that up and you get about 18 hours so far.  I'd say there is likely another 20 or more hours to go.  Guess the next few weeks will be dedicated to these roses!

       

Sunset 360º

Sunsets have become a greater interest for me since leaving the acreage of our friends one winter evening.  As we left the yard turning towards the east the entire sky was pink!  It seemed like the sun was setting in the east!  I quickly looked towards the west to check out the sky there and it was pink as well and indeed the sun was setting there.  Amazing and beautiful.

Sunsets and sunrises have been remarkably 'pink' recently and the reflections from both seem to fill, to varying degrees, the entire sky.  I have mulled over trying to paint a few sunsets for some time and since recently beginning to use oils I decided it was time to give them a go - so here are a few.

The first two paintings are of the sunset as we left our friends driveway.

Quiet

Quiet           

[Frederick Buechner, from Whistling in the Dark: A Doubter’s Dictionary]

An empty room is silent.  A room where people are not speaking or moving is quiet.  Silence is a given, quiet a gift.  Silence is the absence of sound and quiet the stilling of sound.  Silence can’t be anything but silent.  Quiet chooses to be silent.  It holds its breath to listen.  It waits and is still.

“In returning and rest you shall be saved,” says God through the prophet Isaiah, “in quietness and confidence shall be your strength” [Isaiah 30:15].  They are all parts of each other.  We return to our deep strength and to the confidence that lies beneath all our misgiving.  The quiet there, the rest, is beyond the reach of the world to disturb.  It is how being saved sounds.

A few recent oil paintings from my remarkably "quiet" studio.

"artist of our days..."

“Each of us is an artist of our days; the greater our integrity & awareness, the more original and creative our time will become.”  John O'donohue

In the busyness of our days it is usually difficult to see any connection between the awareness of who I am and the creative use of my time... I seem to float blithely through the days oblivious to my deep feelings and with little awareness of how I might better use my time and energy.  

It would be nice to be more attentive, to have developed this attitude of attentiveness towards myself, others and the world in which I live.  Being an artist, being creative, takes a good deal of time and attention to the subject, the medium, the colour palate, the size and manner one will paint with, etc.  In other words there is a lot involved!  I wish my "days" would reflect more of the careful awareness and creativity painting demands. On the other hand, my days are good and when a bit of creativity shines through it is a delight. 

A few small paintings I completed this month...... Naming paintings is one of the most difficult things for me in the entire process!! So...no names on these..... yet!

One more lily...

My 'studio' is once again set up and I am enjoying the space and light!  We brought in an old drafting table we have had for years, set it by the window, and bought a high 'bistro' stool. Now I sit by the window and paint in the natural light during the day - love it!

I also have a few plants, storage closet and cupboards, a relaxing chair and even a TV to use if I need the break.  One of my easels is up - and the room doesn't even feel crowded!  All in all it is a nicely repurposed bedroom. Now to keep it tidy!  

Because this room is on the second story I look out at the sky and trees - and the birds flitting around in the Mountain Ash today as they peck away at the berries.  And who could count the berries on such a tree!  Or even want to!  Amazing world of nature God has created.

Speaking of amazing, flowers are incredible.  There are such a variety and they bring so much beauty and peace to a garden. In ours - which is always in need of further work but now resting under the snow for the next four months - we have a lot of lilies, because that is my husbands favourite flower and he buys one or two each spring!  It is hard to really portray their beauty but every so often I try.

This is a larger watercolour [14 x 22 inches] of a peachy-orange lily which has taken a while to do since there are a lot of washes on its various parts.  But as is usual, there comes a time when I am finished with a painting - when I can't or don't want to do any more - and the time has come for this one.  So as we say good by to the bright colours of the fall here is a final offering in shades of orange, pink, and yellow.

Sketches

I think that life just might settle down a bit by Christmas! Well maybe mid-January!!

It seems with renovations, work, family and other considerations painting has been relegated to the 'odd moments here and there' and although I am working on a larger watercolour at the moment most of my watercolours have turned into sketches for what might become paintings.... I've learnt something from each one although there were times when I threw up my hands in despair and wanted to pitch each of them into the garbage.  However, I didn't and have added them to my pile of miscellaneous paintings.  Here they are:)

The first is the Delta Bessborough Hotel, a Saskatoon landmark, and the second the "Ice Cream Bus Stop" which is across the street from the hotel.  It is always busy in the summer.  There are two paintings which are landscapes from our trips west. The final one is of a lily from our garden.

A new medium

What a long and pleasant autumn we have had!  I am sorry that I had to spend much of it indoors as I was working for Elections Canada from mid-August to October 23rd.  Just as I finished that though I had a treat - a two day workshop in painting with oils.  It has been many years since I used oils... like about 45! The class was a good introduction to the medium and I look forward to learning more and producing a few worthwhile paintings in the near future.

In the meantime this is my "First Oil Painting" :-) after the tweaking finally stopped.  I have put it away to dry now and will try not to look at it for a week at least.  Need to get on with setting up a small studio in our newly renovated second story.