Recent Projects for Fall and Canadian Thanksgiving.
Fall weather has arrived in eastern Ontario in time for Canadian Thanksgiving. The temperature has taken a dramatic dip from last week’s blistering heat.
A hot cup of coffee is very much appreciated on cool fall days. A creative barista added a creamy heart design to this cup of java. I love the greens but I struggle with the broad strokes in this painting.
Milk and cookies in a jam jar.
Chocolate chip cookies hot out of the oven are served with a cold glass of milk.
At first, that glass jar reminded hubby of our clothes dryer! He was right. I worked on it a bit more and I think it now looks like a jar being used as a drinking glass. As I said, I am learning to use broader strokes, and allowing the background to peek through for added interest. It’s a learning process which takes time and practice. Obviously, perfection is not the point. I love getting lost in this process.
New techniques learned this year.
I continue to practice mixing colours from 8 or 9 Golden acrylic paint colours.
As I deplete my stock of paints, I will not replace the many costly tubes of reds, blues, yellows and other colours that I purchased in the past. I love mixing my own colours and it is much more economical to work this way.
Behind the scenes …
Swatches duplicate flower colours in the summer garden as part of the learning process. I notice in the swatches that the darkest values are not nearly dark enough to match the deepest shades within the flowers or the leaves. It is something I must remember to check as I continue learning.
Impressionism in art.
Over time, I have come to appreciate a degree of impressionism in painting. In other words, I am allowing the shapes of the brush strokes to suggest the subject matter which is still easy to identify.
As an example, this pumpkin with flowers is painted with the appropriate colours but is still general enough that the viewer can easily see that it is a gourd with flowers of some kind.
The various colours and marks add to the effect of representing the subject without being precise and detailed.
Same technique for pet portraits.
I also apply this same method to pet portraits. In Portrait of Two Inseparable Cats, I have used broad strokes to suggest the shapes of this pair of adorable cats on 9 x 12 watercolour paper.
Suri, another cat, was chosen by Uppercase magazine for publication in its summer 2023 issue. Published quarterly since 2009, this made in Calgary, Canada magazine, features the inspiring and eclectic work of creatives from around the world.
Pet Portrait Commissions.
At this moment, I have a waiting list and cannot guarantee that your work will be ready for Christmas unless it is a smaller portrait such as on a wood slice or glass ornament. Please contact me for more details if you are interested in having your pet painted by me.
For larger portraits, I require clear, well-lit photos in order to make it easier to capture your pet on canvas or paper. In this post, I offer tips for taking photos of your precious fur babies.
On this Thanksgiving, thank you, my readers.
Thank you to my loyal readers and followers.
I know exactly who will read this post right to the end. I am so grateful and appreciative for each and every one who stops by and reads my posts or even glances at the photos I include.
I know time is precious. I am thankful for you who spend a few minutes reading my long winded (at times) posts, and for your emails or messages. Thank you to special friends (LS) who check my posts for accuracy. And thank you to those of you who are silent followers. You surprise me with your unexpected message, usually on Facebook Messenger...it's always a pleasure to hear from you.
A reading suggestion: A few years ago, my American friend, LH, gave me A Simple Act of Gratitude - How Learning to Say Thank You Changed my Life, by John Kralik.
I was supposed to pass it along...and I did. Eventually, the book came back to me and I reread it every now and then.
Kralik is a lawyer whose point of view changed drastically when he went through traumatic and life altering experiences. During this challenging time, he set himself a goal to write 365 thank you notes. His memoir documents the ways in which his life changed for the better while writing these notes.
Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends and family.
It’s not surprising for your painting to be selected, Louise. It’s very powerful with some surprising colour shifts. I like the blue above the left eye.
Thanks Graham.
Such wonderful paintings, Louise, and congratulations on having your artwork featured on the cover Uppercase!
Thank you! Needless to say, I was thrilled!
Great that you were featured in the Uppercase magazine. I bet you were very pleased with your Siri painting.
I was very excited, Vivienne, as I have never had anything published internationally. I subscribe to the ad free magazine and I continue to be awestruck by all the ways artists and artisans have found their creative niche. It is very inspiring.
Happy Thanksgiving Louise. I love how you have shaped your journey and finding what you are the most comfortable with. My writing is overtaking my painting, but I do have two projects ready to start.
I would be bored if I didn’t have a few painting projects on the go. I think you also enjoy keeping yourself busy with different creative endeavours. Thanks for reading my post Sally.