Sold at Opening Reception of the Holiday Fundraising Art Sale

My highly textured " Happy Dance of The Weeping Tree" sold last night at the opening reception of the Ottawa School of Art (OSA) Holiday Fundraising Art Sale. After I bring in a replacement piece for this one, I will have three more paintings in this exciting show. The funds raised from this sale go toward the Ottawa School of Art’s bursary programs to provide free art classes and materials, while maintaining their high standard of instruction.

The downtown campus of the OSA is located at 35 George Street, Ottawa.

An Acrylic Abstract and Another in Aquatic Series

I have just had my aquatic series framed. The only one that you have not yet seen is "Fallen Angels" inspired by a WetCanvas photo. It is on Ampersand Claybord and measures 12" x 9" without the black floating frame. I tried to create a veil of mystery especially on the left-hand side where a small layer of water and mist are covering the leaves. I hope I succeeded.

Fallen Angels

The next painting is totally different.  It was started in Vermont at the beginning of the month when I took an acrylic workshop with Linda Kemp: we played with all the Holbein acrylic products. During the workshop, we simply created the textures and I painted the 11" x 14" canvas last week.

I don't have a title for it yet. Any suggestions?

I wish you a wonderful weekend.

More on my acrylic journey

I have to admit it: I am totally hooked on acrylics! I am also hooked on negative painting!

Here are three paintings I have done in the past two weeks:

"The Dancers Below the Surface"

 

 

This 12" x 16" painting on canvas went through many transformations. I started with reds and oranges and ended up with these muted blues.

"Shimmer on the Pond"

As you can see, I have also developed an obsession with leaves and water:-) This 9"x 12" acrylic painting is on a cradled gessobord made by the Ampersand company.

"The Last Waltz"

This 3rd acrylic painting is 8" x 10" and is on Claybord by Ampersand. This glass-like surface does not photograph well; in real life, it has a wonderful glossy surface. It requires getting used to, but it is wonderfully different.

I love to experiment and the last few weeks I have felt so energized by my new journey with acrylic paints. I hope that you will like these paintings.

I hope that you are all enjoying these summer days.

More Acrylic Fun: "Underwater Fantasy"

"Underwater Fantasy"

I seem to be hooked on acrylic and negative painting these days. Here is my latest done spontaneously apart from drawing one leaf shape to start. I should pay more attention to the composition, but creating all these seaweed shapes was so much fun!
This is 12"x 12" on a flat Ampersand Claybord panel.

New Show at Angelina Cafe 11 Murray St. corner of Sussex Dr. Ottawa

New Show at Angelina Cafe 11 Murray St. corner of Sussex Dr. Ottawa

My great artist friend, Luminita Lou Serbanescu, and I are excited about showing at Cafe Angelina in July and August. We will be at the Cafe on Monday to celebrate Canada Day. Weather permitting, we will be outside with small pieces of artwork for summer giving. I will have some of my jewelry, my "Little Gems" and both Luminita and I will have miniature paintings. Inside, we will have somewhat larger paintings.

Cafe Angelina will be right in the middle of the action on Monday since it is a few feet away from Sussex drive, the National Art Gallery etc...I believe Murray street will be turned into a pedestrian street for the celebrations.

Come and celebrate with us!

Neptune's Sea Horses juried in Selections 2013

I was thrilled to find out yesterday that my latest watercolor painting, "Neptune's Sea Horses - Florence" was juried in Selections 2013
 
This annual juried art show will take place from September 26th to October 22rd, 2013 in the Trinity Art Gallery at the Shenkman Arts Centre, in Ottawa. 

 This year, 60 original works were selected from the 321 submissions.

FOREST WHISPERS

"Forest Whispers" - 8" x 10" acrylic on 3/4" ampersand cradled panel

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am becoming addicted to this negative painting technique, at least on this slick ampersand panel surface.  I started with the main leaf in the foreground, then "found' new shapes around and behind the this leaf as I intensified the values. Then I tried to imagine the criss-crossing of stems and twigs on the forest floor as well as little openings of light through the vegetation. This is so much fun!

I varnished the painting and painted the sides black. The painting does not need to be framed. However, I tried it in a black floating frame and it really made the colors pop.

Let me know what you think.
I am offering this painting through my Daily Paintworks site.

Still Playing...but learning at the same time

"Sea Waltz" - 5" x 7" x 7/8" on Ampersand panel

This weekend, I experimented with Ampersand Claybord panels that I had purchased in NYC two years ago. I used acrylics and this "structured and tight" painter  tried her hand at intuitive negative painting without any preliminary drawing or even a plan! My, what is happening to me???

Well, I had fun! I think by the end of the painting I was totally hooked on creating those little bits of light through and between the free-form leaves. I tried to stop before I had drilled a huge whole through those plants to reveal only the blue water:-)

What have I learned through this play? Well, I am better at understanding the concept of negative painting, I am more aware of what "lies behind or beneath", and I am starting to appreciate the surface of the claybord.

I think I will try something similar on a lager 5/8" thick Ampersand panel that is hiding somewhere in my studio.
Have a great weekend....and don't despair...I will return to my "serious" paintings before long.

What I've been up to

Time is just flying by...Why is it that the days seem to be getting shorter every month?

I was in Montreal last week for a few wonderful days, I've had house guests since, I have done computer work as webmaster for two local art organizations, etc.

What about painting? Well, I've created a few more of my "Little Gems Collection" pieces; several are now at the Ottawa School of Art Boutique Gallery in downtown Ottawa along with my new "Polar" series ( I forgot to photograph them before bringing them to the gallery:-(

Here are a few of my recent fun pieces:

"Rushing to the School Meeting"

I created this piece on a 16" x 16" gallery wrapped canvas on which I had collaged a few pieces of textured rice paper last year. One of the pieces of rice paper ( top left corner) reminded me of a fish; another looked like a jelly fish...so, recently, I decided to play some more with this piece and continue the sea theme. The resulting painting has a lot of textures from various acrylic gels that I embossed, carved into, pushed through stencils etc. What a lot of fun that was! At the same time, I was working on a tight, structured and complex watercolor, so this piece was great to unwind.

If interested, check my mixed media page ( see menu at top) where you can view close-ups of some of the textures.

"My Sweet Friend"

Above is another of my "Little Gems Collection". This glass-like or porcelain-like acrylic piece is on a 4" x 4" gallery cradled panel with sides painted black. It is highly textured and is a totally whimsical piece. My friend and great artist Luminita Serbanescu and I will be having a show in July called "Stunning Gifts" and the focus will be on small, reasonably-priced  artwork perfect for giving.

In another post, I will soon show the latest hand-made, hand -painted jewelry on watercolor paper that I have completed.

Now, I am going back to a large watercolour piece that seems to take forever to finish...but I think it will be worth the time spent on it.

Wishing you a wonderful week.

NEW "LITTLE GEMS COLLECTION"

Summer is the time of  fun in the sun, colorful butterflies, thanking those patient teachers, congratulating the young graduates and smiling with the newly-weds. What better time for my new "Little Gems Collection".  

I have been having fun creating these small pieces. These whimsical, highly textured and affordable acrylic and mixed media pieces are full of reflecting light and colors. They are painted on gallery birch panels that can sit on a shelf, on a desk or be displayed on the wall. These small paintings have layers and layers of color, of acrylic medium and are finished to a hard, shiny surface.


 They will cheer up any corner and any heart:-) They certainly make me smile as I work creating them:-) . My next one will have spring flowers most likely.

  They will soon be offered through various art galleries in the Ottawa area and perhaps online, but here are two that are available for the time being directly from me. See close-ups on my Mixed Media page.
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Do let me know what you think of them.
 Have a super creative week!

New 2-Women Show: "From Heart to Stone"

"From Heart to Stone": Two-women show at Cafe 111 Lisgar in the Ottawa City Hall.

My friend Luminita Serbanescu and I invite you to visit our new show, "From Heart to Stone" at Cafe 111 Lisgar situated in the Ottawa City Hall. The show will run until the end of June with a "Meet the Artists" reception on Thursday, May 9th from 1 to 3.

Luminita's main sources of inspiration are the ever-changing and intangible human emotions while I am attracted by the solidity and permanence of stonework: carvings, gargoyles and the Green Men created by so many different cultures. The surprising element in this artistic meeting is that we find a common ground:Canadan and the City of Ottawa is a backdrop of many or our paintings and our shared love of nature becomes a transitional thread between us.

Please note that the Cafe is open weekdays from 7 am to 4 pm.

Award and upcoming show

I was thrilled to learn that my latest painting, "Neptune's Sea Horses" won the Viewers Choice Award in the show "March Break" that ended on Easter Sunday at the Foyer Gallery.

 This weekend, I will be at the Nepean Fine Arts League Spring Show at 1000 Byron Avenue in Ottawa, Canada. If you are in the area, do try to drop in: it is usually a fabulous show!

Three-Artists Show at Foyer Gallery

If you are in the Ottawa area between now and March 31, I invite you to "March Break", a show at the Foyer Gallery in which I am participating with two other artists, Luminita Serbanescu and Terry Cowan. We try to bring you the magic of that long-awaited March Break with its sunny destinations and its feeling of joy and freedom after the long winter months.

Try to make it for the opening reception Saturday, March 16, from 1 to 3. Hope to see you there!

Neptune's Sea Horses - Finished...for now

"Neptune's Sea Horses, Florence" is finished for now. It measures 15" X 31" and I will take it to the framer's this weekend. It's from my own reference photo taken last fall in Florence, Italy, and it represents, at least partially, three of the four marble horses of Neptune's fountain started in the 16th century.The horses seem to be jumping out of the water and pulling Neptune's throne.

I now have to go back to my large commission of a Green Man and hopefully some smaller pieces for three upcoming shows in March, April and May respectively.

I hope that you like this painting. Take care.

WIP -Neptune's Sea Horses, Florence

I have temporarily put my large commission aside to work on another large piece. My "Neptune's Sea Horses" above is about 75% finished and it measures 15" X 31" on Artistico SP paper. It represents three of the 4 marble horses of Neptune's Fountain in Florence. I took several photos of it last fall and was just itching to paint it. Hum...not a very easy task:-) But, a fun task nevertheless. I have simplified the background on the left-hand side and have to decide how much detailing I will use at the top and between the two horses on the right. I still have the head of the horse on the right to finish.
My reference photos were taken on rather cloudy days, but I wanted a sunny and colorful effect. I hope that you won't think that I overdid this.

Tell me what you think.

I hope that you are all doing well and will have an early spring.

Art Show at Cafe Angelina

Feed your body and your soul with an art show at Cafe Angelina, near Sussex Dr. in Ottawa.

A very good artist friend of mine, Luminita Serbanescu, and I are thrilled about showing some of our artwork at Cafe Angelina in downtown Ottawa.

We are showing a total of 20 paintings in this cozy environment where patrons can sip one of the best cappucino coffees in town while looking at our art.  On Saturday, Feb. 16th, we will have a "Meet the Artists" from 3 until 5. If you are in Ottawa for the last weekend of Winterlude, do try to drop in.  The food is excellent and Luminita and I would love to see you.

Two miniature paintings

I am currently dividing my attention between two types of painting: a large commission and small miniatures that I want to include in a three-week, three-artists show to be held in March.

Here are two small watercolors I have painted in the past 10 days. Both are on  6" x 6"  X 1.5" paper-covered wood panels and will be displayed without glass. The first one is already varnished, the second one will be as soon as I give a last coat of black on some of the lines.

Pond Queen

For "Pond Queen" , I used a reference by Stephie on WetCanvas. On my monitor, it really looks like the colors could have been turned up a bit more...

It's Lunch Time

The butterfly painting has not been varnished yet. I will go over some of the black lines again, although they are darker than they appear under the lights used for the photo.  I was pleased by smooth  my background. Thanks to Jacqueline Gnott for her great tips on painting smooth watercolor backgrounds.

Working on paper that has been adhered to a wood panel requires getting used to. The paint does not flow as it usually does on watercolor paper; the water dries very quickly and the paints don't mix on the paper very well. Nevertheless, if I want a varnished watercolor painting, I prefer to attach the paper before painting rather than risking ruining the finished painting when it's time to glue it to the board. Believe me, it hurts when you ruin a 16" x 16" painting at that stage.

I hope you are all doing well and are having a creative and healthy January.

January Art Shows

January is going to be a busy month for art shows. On Wednesday, a new group show is starting at the Foyer Gallery: Brush with Colour. On the poster above, you may recognize my Abe Lincoln posterized portrait which I have never displayed in a show before. I will also be showing 2 Venetian cityscapes: one photographic work and the other, a photo-based digital artwork. I am currently working on a large commission and at the same time preparing smaller pieces for a big show in March.

Venetian Life - Photobased Digital Artwork

The Venetian Way -  Photography

At the same time, I have 3 paintings at the Civic Hospital Mall Gallery until the end of January. The Rothwell Gallery Miniature Show where I have several paintings ( including the Inukshuk in the invitation poster above and some of my painted earrings) continues until Jan. 16th. I am also showing a large varnished watercolor, The Independent Ones,  at the Ottawa Little Theatre with the Ottawa Art Association. And, of course, I continue to show my jewelry and small pieces at the Ottawa School of Art, downtown campus....My house is starting to look bare with so many of my paintings on the road:-)
I hope that your 2013 is off to a tremendous start!