Always Learning Something New

Petunias on Green Gingham

Acrylic

12" square

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Although I've used acrylic paint longer than I can remember, it was rarely for fine art and usually for decorative purposes.  I decided to paint this image from photos I had taken at the end of summer 2016 using acrylics instead of oils.   The lighting was adding quite a bit of interest to this arrangement.  I enjoy painting white flowers in particular and petunias have such a flare and flounce that make them fun to paint.

Older Work, New Inspiration

Probably about five years ago I did a series like this of acrylic on water-colour paper with Prismacolor pencils for details and a slightly abstract background.  My go-to medium is usually oil for framed paintings and water-colour for illustration work but I think I'm ready to go back to using
acrylics on paper again.  Maybe because I've been doing some collage work and that would blend so well with the type of painting above.  It's nice to be able to re-visit my own work and get inspired rather than looking elsewhere for that spark.  This one is under glass as you can see by the tiny areas of reflection at the top and over the handle.  Perhaps this time I might work on wood panels because of the smooth surface and see if I can get that "pastel painting" effect I got from working with velvety acrylics and pencil on paper.

Switching Media

  

Porcelain Garden

Acrylic

 12 x 16 inches on wood cradled panel

I've used acrylics a great deal in the past and now and then revisiting them.  I used them more for

decorative painting but now and then I come back to trying them out as a fine art medium.  I don't

paint the same way as I would with oils but this time I thought I'd make a concentrated effort to use them this way.  I have a friend who runs a tea room and florist shop so it's always so tempting to

re-arrange her wall of teacups (little works of art on their own) and take pictures.

This will be part of a series.  How many are considered a series?  Hopefully more than three.  Oils

are a pretty strong call for me but acrylics and watercolors give me joy too.

I will be adding a closeup photo later today.

Re-arranging the studio space....

and found these in a drawer, looking up at me as if to say, "where have you been?"  At the moment I've been working mostly in oils but these two faces were done in acrylic on watercolor paper.  Somehow I'm going to make time to do more.  I had fun working with a mixed media approach, creating interesting backgrounds and working in layers.  These early months of a new year are great for experimenting and playing and if I'm really enjoying myself, some of the discoveries become part of my body of work for the rest of the year

Painting my way through summer....

I've literally had to dash out into the garden on these super cold and rainy days to pick the tulips and lilacs before they're gone.
But once the flowers are inside, I get busy photographing them and forget what's happening outside. After the paintings
of flowers from Easter and Mother's Day (see the Bonne Maman and Rose paintings from earlier posts) I am now able to use
what grows in my garden. I have lilac trees but the one I planted three years ago was my favorite. A Burgundy color with
large florets that begged to be painted. I was so disappointed when they failed to bloom for two consecutive years and so last
Fall I dug it up and moved it. That did it....this Spring I had eight clusters. So I have my photos to last me until next year (minus the glorious scent). I think I'm done with painting tulips for the moment in favor of the aforementioned lilacs and Irises that I have yet to photograph. I do enjoy the silhouette of Irises.....they're so distinctive....and as I'm looking out the window, I'm thinking that I should arrange them with some white bleeding hearts.
Pictured here are tulip paintings new and old......

The pink watercolor tulips are almost finished. A format that I enjoy, taking photos from above on an assembly of objects
patterns and textures. The framed red tulips were just delivered and is in the same room as the painting of red tulips
on the doors of their armoire. The white tulips were painted with acrylic in a favorite vase, and the final pic is of a still
life in my temporary studio in the village. A studio I've had since February and will have until the end of July.

Hudson Scenes

This used to be one of my favorite little shops on the Main Road in Hudson. Now occupied by offices, it lives on in my
memory with this little painting.

It's Spring Somewhere.....

From a series of paintings that I did in the naive/primitive style. This scene is just the color/subject matter I need right
now to focus on anything but the winter weather we're still having. I will have this image available as greeting cards within
the week. Just email me if you're interested....

Studio Cleanup

I've been taking it sooo slow in this week between Christmas and New Year's but thought it was time to start sorting through
my studio and decided to list this painting on my Etsy shop. See the very first link at the right to get there and view the description and purchase details. It was a fun little painting meant to explore the capabilities of a texture medium and how to
use it.
I'll post a few more small scale paintings in the near future.....

Calendar Image

A nice surprise a short while ago when I received a cheque for the use of one of my paintings from the Galerie Jeannine Blais in the Eastern Townships. The pharmacy chain "Proxim" used one of my paintings in their calendar for 2008. Today I received my copies of the calendar and they were beautifully done; nice format and quality of paper. Exciting news for me!