The Trees are calling…

I do not know why, but the spirit and essence of the trees seem to calling. Perhaps it’s because with winter in the air the outside world seems to be getting sleepy. For whatever reason, I’ve been hearing the siren song to immerse myself in the forest. There is something very special about trees…not the re-newed forest plantings where they all stand at attention in straight lines (although the benefits are uncounted). No, I am referring to those big ginormous old trees that you would be hard pressed to wrap your arms even part way around. Where the needles lay a blanket of scents for you to find your way around in the undergrowth as the tops are so much reaching to touch the sky. The grand old maples that used to line my old lanweay, or those glorious pines that edge the rocky shorelines in northern Ontario. So, I have been playing with trees right now; I suppose I should say I am trying to capture “essences” and emotions, since realism is not my forte. That feeling when one gets while sitting in a forest of old growth pines, where you can see the sky….the warm feeling of the old maple where I am sure generations of little ones have attempted to climb to the highest branches…their connection between air and earth and the human soul…anyhow, I have two in progress…still trying to get it just right, or right enough…and for some reason an iceberg lept onto my page, maybe to remind me of global warming and how if we do not do something, we may indeed see them that far south…be patient, they are all in my soul now, so all will be completed…I hope :o)

Oil On Canvas

Oil on Canvas
24 by 36
In Progress

Art Auction to Benefit students…

While everyone is frantically dashing around shopping, clanging of Christmas tunes piped through their brains, and the grinches of commercialism and marketing are rubbing their hands with glee, tis the time of year to remember that not everyone can indulge in this frenzy. For some, it is a struggle to meet the basic needs that many of us in Canada take for granted. Shocking isn’t it? While we run around wondering which IPad, which Furby, which this that and the next thing, there are many in our own local communities who are wondering which bill to pay (should we have heat or water this month), which child to clothe, which meal to forgo.

So, in keeping with the original intent and spirit of this glorious season, the “elves” at my school have put together a series of events to help out those families in need right in our very own community. To aid with that, I’ve decided to auction off to of my paintings. ALL of the proceeds will go to help students and their families.

The auction begins today, December 10th and will run until December 20th at 12 pm.  Bids will be updated twice a day. good luck! Be generous and bless your hearts for helping someone else this season.

Annie

Inspiration everywhere…

Last week a friend I went to highschool with posted some absolutely stunning photos of the Northern Lights taken from her back deck in Whitehorse. The colours, the movement and the power of the pictures were impressive. Of course, I was inspired to paint them. of course, I was intimidated. I mean, how on earth do you capture one of Mother Nature’s most stunning phenomenons? Palette knives in hand, I did my version of one shot of the lights above the trees, contrasting the blended movement of the lights against the harsh outline of the pines. The other, is a total fabrication of my mind, using the photos as inspiration, of the lights as they dance above a shoreline.

And then, there is the Garden Abstract. That one popped into my head after a conversation with friends about master painters and a photo of a garden. Again, done with palette knives, this one was fun, but I think on the next one, I’d like to intensify the colours a bit to bring it more into keeping with my own preferences…the problem with photo lighting is a whole other matter since it kind of washed out and pastel-ized the overall effect…sigh…eventually I will get the hang of lighting my art for photos.

 

Northern Lights
Oil on Canvas

Northern Lights Shoreline
Oil on Canvas

Garden Abstract -Detail
Oil on canvas
16 by 20

 

Garden Abstract
Oil on Canvas
16 by 20

 

Garden Abstract-Flowers
Oil on Canvas
16 by 20

 

 

 

 

 

Tricky, tricky…new challenges and discoveries

For the past month, I have not really been painting much. Kids back to school, organizational nightmares and all that have taken hold of the house, so painting time gets fit in when exhaustion doesn’t win out.

And when you leave your work for days, it changes the approach you take to your work. Normally, I paint wet on wet. I get a canvas, sit down, mix my paints, turn on the music and voila…the inspiration spews from within and things take shape on the canvas. The exception is my Northern Series where the bold lines need the paint to set before adding colours of definition. Even so, I rarely leave it more than a day before adding the next layer. There is still a certain bit of natural blending that comes along with it even if the paint is semi-set. Due to the recent time constraints (ok, big baby that I am was too tired and not motivated to get back at it right away), I ended up leaving the new massive piece for days at a time….wrong move…at least for me. I became so accustomed to a certain feel and flow of the brush that it really, really, threw me off when I tried to put the next layer and lost that silky flow of paint. Ugh. And Damn. I did not like that scratchy feel when I tried to edge in the defining strokes. I did not like the way it looked. It felt too forced for lack of a better term. Ugh Ugh Ugh. I went back over this painting I don’t know how many times and there is still something about it that pisses me off. Now, when others have looked at, some have said it’s perfect, they can’t see that’s wrong with it…but as any artist knows, when something gets under your skin, well, it stays there lol.

On another note, I had one of my first commissions where I tried to paint what the client liked. A couple who is getting married came by to tour my works to commission a painting as a wedding gift. Very cool. So, they got to walk through ALL my works, the realistic, the abstract, the lilies etc. As they went through, we discussed what bits they liked and what features they didn’t, colours, movement and so on. We determined that it would be a “lily” series, but this time it wouldn’t be the paint or music or internal inspiration moving the knives. This time I had to take into consideration, her love of white lilies, his love of red, her love of blue water, his of green, and the bold sky I had done in an entirely different series…challenging? You bet! But it was a great exercise for me, to see if I could encapsulate everything they wanted, while staying true to myself all the while exuding the creativity that must be part of the process. At first I though it was perhaps just a bit too busy, but upon greater reflection I realized I actually like it!

So, one I like, and one…well…hmmm….still not sure what I want to do with that one :o) How often are you totally satisfied with ALL of your works?

 

Northern Series-large canvas Oil on canvas

“Wedding” lilies Oil on canvas 24 by 24 Commssioned

New “Spirit of the North Series”

I took a break from palette knife work and spent some time with brushes over the past couple weeks. The Northern Lights have always fascinated me, the lore, myth and magic surrounding them. Ok, so when you watch the science program and hear the technical blah blah, it makes you go “oh, so that’s what they are”, but I still would rather approach them with the eyes of a child and appreciate the auras in wonder, revelling in their mythology and mystique.

Brush, knife, brush, knife…trowel?

So many ideas floating around in my head right now and the weather, being absolutely gorgeous is not helping, but the pull to the canvas calls again yet I can’t decide what/which to do first.

My Fire Dancer turned out well (another “Annie process” piece) and the reaction was so positive that I might try it again. It was, however, one of those inspiration born out of frustration moments. You know, when you are working on a piece and no matter what you do it does not want to come together? It was soooo frustrating that after playing with various knives, I actually tool a notched plastic trowel to it and started creating various patterns and designs, until I was satisfied with it (and no longer wanted to throw it out a window lol).

The other piece was my dream forest-my sort of salute to Canadiana. I rarely work with a brush anymore, but when I do, it usually ends up in this style. I have a fantabulous idea based on a similar style, using the pine, the water, the northern lights and an Inukshuk.

And then I finally have some very cool extra long narrow canvases which I’d like to maybe to do another flower field with the knife, or maybe long bold brush work, or, or, or….ugh