Day 11, and a cold

I discovered it is hard to figure simple things out when you have a headcold.
But tapestry weaving is a low energy way to get through a cold. I am weaving this in the spare room. Early this afternoon the sun poured in the room, I was needing a nap due to feeling blah so, my dog and I had a nap in the sunshine for a couple of hours. Progress is being made.

Calming the Ping Pong Brain

Today is day 7. It is Saturday, there is a crew chopping down a tree in the front yard. My DH is watching hockey and I have nothing to do. This Tapestry Diary is great in calming down my busy brain. For over a year I have been in business mode. Get things done, deal with this, deal with that, what do people need. Today feels like lightness. I am sure the business will return but for now I am calm.
I have made it a practice of quiet while I weave. No radio, no music or TV. Just my thoughts and thinking about the warp and the weft, the colours, the textures.
I am learning constantly. One yarn has completely frustrated me. It is a lofty single and breaks nearly upon breathing. I will use it sparingly but maybe I will add twist to it on my spinning wheel.
As I am weaving my mind is creating and building tapestries. It is good for me to slow down and focus on this one piece.

Warp and weft, combined
Feeling fiber, soft and coarse
Slow Art calming me.

Criteria Change

Because this is my challenge, my tapestry diary, my daily practice, I get to change the criteria. The demarcation of my daily work in grey is no more.

Day 4 of my Tapestry Diary 2017

I must say I am enjoying this immensely. My 15 minutes turned into close to 2 hours.
I am battling perfectionism and my need to have a road map. There areas I like and some not so much. But because one of my criteria being I cannot change something the next day, I need to incorporate those iffy areas into the rest of the piece. We shall see.
Still working on refreshing my technical skills. New goal: to know these skills well enough and to gain muscle memory so I can create and get lost in the idea and image.

January 2nd. Day 2

I am back to work after the Christmas break. It was a clean up day in preparation for the children tomorrow. My body is sore and I am tired. I sat down to weave working on just basics and weft direction. It was very relaxing.
I moved the loom out of the studio and am weaving in the spare bedroom which is a funny little room with 1970's wood paneling. I love this room, it feels like a nest. It faces south and can get some amazing sunshine. It just seemed like the right place to weave.

The Palette

Happy New Year!

I have gathered a small portion of my Handspun plus a bit of other yarns from my stash to create my palette for my Tapestry Diary. I see that I am lacking in greens. Okay I have a great swack of green wool but it is tagged for a sweater, so I am not touching that. I see I will need to dye some yarns or scrounge.
One of my goals for this year is to not spend too much on craft/art and to use and or finish up some ufos.
I have been thinking about my personal criteria for my tapestry diary. Width will be based on the amount of seine twine I have but no wider than 20". It turned out to be 16" wide. No cartoon(under drawing), priority of yarns will be Handspun but other yarns are 100% okay. I can change alter at will during my weaving  session but cannot alter a previous day's work. Each day's work will be marked by a woven line of colour (as yet to be determined). My emphasis will be on learning technique all the while thinking colour and design.

And most importantly no judgement. This is a journey.

Tapestry Diary 2017

Well it has been some year. My father was ill and passed away in April. My father in law followed in August. With grieving and care of my mother, my creative life has been nonexistent.
To gain some of that back I am going to start a daily practice. But painting right now has no pull for me.
To get me through this past year, I have been knitting. Fiber calls me and I need to slow down my ping pong brain. I had been starting to think about tapestry weaving. I have done a little in the past but need to refresh my skills and gain confidence. But I was wavering. Then a dear friend challenged me if I challenged her back. So I am going to start a Tapestry Diary. I plan to blog my efforts here. I have some criteria to follow but other than that, I will weave for a minimum of 15 minutes a day.
In preparation to starting,I cleaned up my studio and warped my big pipe loom. The warp is 16" wide and nearly 4' tall. Weaving will start soon

Colour Vibe

Starting a new painting. It is in acrylic and is 36x48. My daughter ran in the colour vibe run and I took photos of the dance party. Loved the blue and yellow powder fog and all the hands. I am using glazing to push hands into the distance. As always I am painting back to front. The things in the distance  get painted first and the foreground  is last.
Happy Painting
Chris

Established 1802

I did it! I achieved my two mains goals. Finish this in time for my show and complete it in acrylics. As oil is my go to medium; which I have painted in since I was 13; when I was challenged or just feeling tired and lazy I wanted to opt out and reach for my oils. Perseverance and the deadline looming made me stick with it. By the end of the painting, I had developed a bond with this medium. I have found a system that worked for me but this does not come without guilt. Guilt you say to a medium, to a style? Or is it maybe more a bit of remorse and embarrassment for discounting acrylics for so long. And what about my affiliations? Must I now not call myself an oil painter? As artists do we really need to be defined by the medium we use or even a defined style for that matter? As artists, are we not drawn to create by an internal need, a vision, and do we not continue to create through the very act itself? The joy of colour, the texture of the medium, the complete and utter immersion of self into the act of creating? I love most mediums (I haven't tried them all). Each has it's own beauty and utility. 

i muck about in ~ oils, pastels, everything ~ no subject defined

Silver

Slow going. But making progress. Silver teapot is 50% done. Working in acrylic is getting easier. It is a hot day and my air conditioning system is not working. The paint is drying wickedly fast. Spraying it with water like crazy.
I am working one section at a time. And treating each section like an individual painting. I will make sure it reads as a whole painting near the end.
I really like big ongoing projects and things that offer me a challenge.

The Last One For My Show Started

While at TOSH 10 these past few days I started the last painting for my show. It is 40x40". It is in acrylic. So far I have drawn it out on a black gessoed canvas and started colour blocking it. Today I was working on the kettle but had to stop as my tablet where my reference is,  ran out of power. Then it wouldn't  charge with an extension cord. Oh well too many visitors in the gallery to really get immersed in painting.
I think it is serendipitous that I have chosen to paint the image of my still life prop box. Most of the things in this painting have been included in the other paintings for the show.
My desire is to grab my oils and paint over the acrylic. But I do not have time for oils to dry and I am determined to complete a big realistic painting in acrylic. It is about a positive attitude.  And perseverance.
Growth happens when we challenge ourselves to rise to new heights. Oils are my comfort medium. Acrylics  and I are still getting acquainted.
I will be posting my progress.

From Sketch to Painting

On Sunday morning I sat outside  in the glorious sunshine having my coffee. My mind was wondering to painting and painting in acrylic.  I decided to capture  a little vignette in my yard and the neighbouring heritage yard in a little sketch. My yard is no show place but I  wanted to show there is beauty everywhere if you take the time to look.
These planters and pots have been long  neglected and are now homes for weeds. I didn't include the chain link fence separating the two yards.
My challenge was to make a painting only from the sketch. I did a bit of  cropping to come up with a common ratio. I painted  this on gessoed paper which I can mount onto a 12x24 canvas in the future. I am not completely comfortable with acrylics as my main medium is oils. I tried not to get fussy and used a 3/4 flat for most of the painting. I still have palette bug issues with  acrylics. Wet palette or dry. Today's painting was used with a dry  palette and a spray bottle.
It was a fun experiment with a sketch to painting and in acrylic with moderate satisfaction on the finished painting.

Another Abstract

I was procrastinating today. I should be working on another formal still life for my show. But a newly primed canvas was calling my name. I liked doing the last abstract so much that I wanted to try it again. My daughter came over after her night shift of work and crashed on the loveseat. I couldn't give myself over to 2-3 hours to do a detailed drawing today knowing she was here and going to wake up soon.

I think I will call this series Windows in the Sky, this one is Twilight.

Back in the Saddle

The things we do to ourselves as artists. We aren't very nice to ourselves sometimes. 2014 was not a good year for me art wise, a fair amount of rejections accompanied by being in a muddle. Not sure which caused what. 

This year has been so much better for my creativity. I did something that took my creativity to new places and heights. I was costume designer for a local and long standing theatre group. Les Miserables with 39 cast members. A huge challenge and undertaking, and I pulled it off with huge success. Please do not dismiss community theatre costuming as trifle. The budget was substantial, and I had 10 seamstress along with myself all working furiously. And all for an understated look that was 'period perfect' as the local arts critic said. This show got 5/5 stars and people said it was the best Les Miz they had ever seen.

Another big thing I did was get off Facebook. It was doing nothing for my self esteem. I do not miss it in the least. I am reading more because instead of surfing FB, I spend that down time reading. 

So I am back in the saddle, confident that I have a brain that works, I am still creative and the petty BS that comes in the art world is unimportant to who I am. I am working towards my solo show this summer, the Old School House (TOSH), Qualicum Beach, BC, August 10- September 5. Formal still lifes.

 

I am also enjoying painting abstracts. I am seeing some of my own unique style emerging. Mark making. I just wanted to share a bit, I guess in a small way I miss that about not being on FB. Happy day all.

Fingerpainting adventures

I am starting this painting. I will be combining a realistic subject with fingerpainting.  Working from a photo I sketched in using black gesso and a brush. My goal is to created an impressionistic painting.  A marriage of abstract and realism.

Auntie (anti) Muse

Today I stamped my feet, got mad and told auntie-muse to leave me alone.
I will ride with the muse sisters.
As an artist our hearts, passions and vision are guided and encouraged by the muses. I have been struggling these past few months with direction and focus. I felt like I have lost the passion. I had let rejection, comments get to me. This morning I realized auntie muse had wrapped me in her arms, soothed me and whispered false niceties in to my ear. I liken it to falling off a bike. Instead of being forced to get back on  and ride even stronger I was wrapped in a soothing blanket and told I wasn't ever going to ride a bike and to come inside and play with dolls. I would be content to play with dolls and riding a bike should be left to others. But I CAN ride a bike and it was only a wobble. Sit up straight, eyes where I am going, build strength and be confident.
I will ride. Push hard on the uphills and  laugh with glee as I feel the thrill of the ride. I know auntie muse is always there but when she sees how well I ride maybe she will go inside and play with dolls.

Daisy Trio

 

 

 

 

 

Daisy Trio

12x12

Oil on Canvas

$275 

 

 

Last summer I purchased a new camera. That evening, as I played with the features of the camera, I took many photos. Daisy Trio came from one of these photos. My garden was a mass of self seeding daisies which grew among the other plants. My garden has now undergone a radical makeover and the daisies are no longer there. It was fun to paint these daisies using transparent oil colours and glazes. 

 

 

 

 

 



 

'32 Goddess of Speed Nearing the Finish Line

I like obsession and having a large project. I have been able to get into the studio a lot this week. Sometimes only for 30-45 minutes, sometimes for much longer. I love painting in the early morning.
A different approach with this painting is I am having to work flat so the glazes don't run. They really don't run but the do move a teeny bit which I don't like at all.
I have learned a lot doing this painting. Doing another in this style requires a very fine surface. A higher grade of canvas and more gesso that has been sanded smooth. Hmmm maybe oil paper.
'32 Goddess of Speed is nearing the Finish Line. I want to let it dry and touch up some line work. And I need to stare at it to check values and whether it reads true. So far I have added no opaque paint. I may add a touch or two if I need to pull anything forward. While it dries On to my next project. I have a smooth board.......

30 in 30 Check

As people know I thought I would do 30 paintings in 30 days and unwisely chose non-representational paintings. So NOT me. So I nixed that plan.
But I wanted to say that although I am not producing a painting a day, I have been in my studio painting everyday. My challenge is to complete this painting in glazes using transparent oils. For a detail lover lile myself it is great. It also forces me to slow down and focus on small changes in colour and colour temperature.
Still a long way to go. Deeping values. And the car only has the first glaze.
Cheers
Let us all be happy and content with our own challenges and artist journeys.

Building Form

I am starting the 3rd glaze layer. The goddess of speed is slowly taking form. When you glaze in watercolour you can time the moisture of the wash and drop in new colours or intensities of colour. With glazing in oils this is limited. I like the luminosity I am getting from this technique.