My Inspiration

This is a photo of my Grandma working at the Royal BC Museum in the late 1970's as an illustrator for the Archaeology department. She worked there as an Illustrator and Archaeologist for 30 years. A very inspiring and ambitious career for a young mother of 3 children to pursue in the 1960's.  She once had a pen and ink illustration of a cedar basket Haida artifact published on the cover of an Archaeological magazine.

Later she became the collections manager.

Pigeon Feathers

At last I have managed to complete another feather painting, this time of Pigeon feathers.  I have just recently moved house, thus my studio has been backed up and then in a state of chaos while unpacking.  I am so glad things are slowly coming back into order.

The Pigeon feather is the most common feather I find lying around on the street. There are many variations of colours and markings on them, which is nice.

While unpacking I finally found the feather collection my Grandma gave me that she had been compiling for years.  There are some exciting speckled feathers, that I think may be from a woodpecker, and a fabulous Hawk feather showing the bars and markings.  I am still trying to keep up with at least one feather painting a month though it is tricky sometimes to get down to painting while juggling working full time.

Has anyone ever found a Stellar's Jay feather?  I would love to find one myself, so far I have never seen one laying around.

Once again I primarily used different mixes of Winsor & Newton Watercolour in Payne's grey, burnt sienna, and light red for all the colours used in this painting.

Magpie Feathers

It has been ages since my last post.  At last a new painting!  This Trio of Magpie Feathers is painted in pure watercolour.  I have donated the painting to the Vernon Public Art Gallery to use in the auction at the 28th Annual Midsummer's Eve of the Arts Benefit Event.

I am really excited about painting feathers right now and feel they suit my style well.  I have some other feather paintings in the works right now, so stay tuned for more.

What kind of bird feather would you like to see painted next?

Poppies & Cornflowers Complete

At last a nicely edited copy of my mixed study for assignment 12 of the SBA Diploma.  Here it is, the most prominent bit of constructive feedback was to make the Poppy petals more papery and delicate.  I will certainly try to achieve the thin papery texture on my next paintings of Poppies.  I think taking advantage of a fine tipped brush and layering thin striations in between many thin layers of red glaze would be a better approach.  A few strong washes of wet in wet to start off with and then focusing more of dry brush technique rather than just wet washes and lifting highlights.  As I progress in my skill these are things that I am keeping more in mind on all my paintings.

Working in the Field, SBA Assignment 10

It has been a while since my last post.  This assignment was a lot of work as there were so many different subjects to study and paint.  Focusing can be a challenge in the middle of summer as there are so many things going on  that cause distraction.

I want to get out and enjoy the sun and our very short northern summer.  However at the same time I need to keep working on my paintings and get the course work finished.  Not to worry as apparently autumn has arrived here now.  The temperature dropped from 30 degrees celsius to 10 degrees in a matter of days.  I went from not being able to sleep due to the heat to putting flannel sheets on the bed.

I hope you like the painting, it is crazy how long it took me to do.  Though I have to remember this is a learning process and every time I finish a painting I look at it and think, now I could do a whole bunch of things better.  Of course time does not allow for it and that is part of the learning process. All the more reason to be excited about the skills I will have gained when I complete the course and get my diploma.

From top left going clockwise, Indian Paintbrush, Soapberry, Saskatoon Berry Blossoms, Wild Rose, Wild Rose Hip,  Pineapple Weed dissections -  horizontal cross-section of flower head, lateral view of leaf, and lateral view of root, Pineapple Weed shown in its natural  soil medium and litter layer, and finally Creamy Peavine.

My Sketchbook Progress

I have been working hard on my current assignment for the SBA.  The subject of this one is to study wild flowers and berries from a defined local area and then create studies of them in my sketchbook and finally create a painting of at least five different species.

Here are some of the pages out of my sketchbook.  Currently I am just starting the good copy painting.... lots to do yet!

Art Studio Storage Ideas

Lately I have been thinking of ways I can make my studio space a little more functional.  I actually had a hard time finding ideas online as most of them are for sewing supplies or kids craft areas.  However I did find these nice images below and I think that they would definitely make my space easier to manage and my supplies easier to store.

One of the hardest things I find is storing large sheets of paper because when you roll them they take a while to lay flat and you risk creasing the paper if you try rolling it the opposite way to even it out.  I say this because it is exactly what happened to me last time I tried this.

Have you seen or thought of any creative storage ideas lately?

Image sources:

1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/heathashli/2366767351/

2. http://www.art-boards.com/art_storage_system.htm

3. http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/storage%20ideas

4. http://www.gnibo.com/efficient-diy-storage-solutions-for-everybody/