Latest Abstract: Exuberance

Exuberance 24" x 24" x 1.5"

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Painting: Acrylic on Canvas

 The title of this vibrant abstract says it all! Exuberance! Exuberance expressed with colour, with movement, with energy and life. I love painting abstracts: painting them gives me a feeling of freedom, of joy and of surprise. I don't get tired of looking at this finished artwork...there is always something new to discover and to respond to. 

I hope you will enjoy this painting as much as I do. This painting is on canvas on an extra sturdy double wood stretchers that will prevent any warping. I have painted the edges black; the surface has received a light coat of varnish to protect it from dust; I have wired the back. The painting is ready to hang and enjoy.

I hope 2017 has started very well for you.
Let me know what you think of this painting.

"Gatineau Hills Ballet" -

"Gatineau Hills Ballet" - 24" x 24" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

My obsession with negative painting continues with this latest addition to my "Leaves" series. This is the largest painting of the series so far; it is 24" x 24" on a deep gallery wrapped canvas.

 My neighborhood has dozens of gorgeous old oak trees and during my walks I always find myself admiring their beautiful leaves... and when I return home, I find myself wanting to paint them.  These days I am also obsessed with painting swirls, mazes, tangles.....I hope all of these don't make you dizzy:-)
I will be offering prints of this painting on Fine Art America for a short while in ..landscapes art.This painting is too heavy to ship:-)

Let me know what you think.
I hope that you are enjoying nice autumn weather where you are. Best of all, take care!

Yet Another Painting of Leaves....and My First Dog Portrait

I thought my obsession with leaves and negative painting was over, but it seems I was wrong. Hopefully, you are not too tired of these... This painting is a small 8" x 10" acrylic on Ampersand panel. I love the textures that can be achieved on this surface.

Autumn Leaves- 10" x 8" - Acrylic on Ampersand panel

I am finishing a large watercolor commission that I have had for months. To relax in between watercolor painting sessions, I have been playing. Last week, I painted my first dog portrait and had fun making it very colorful:-)

Chleo, the Bassett Hound - 10" x 10" acrylic

I am pleased that I have managed to post more regularly lately.
Wishing you a great week.

Forest Light: Another Negative Technique Painting

"Forest Light": Another Negative Technique Painting

Forest Light

Note: on my monitor, the painting is much brighter than in real life on this site, while it uploads closer to the real values on Facebook. Strange!

I have just finished another acrylic painting of leaves in negative painting technique. I think this will be enough leaves for a while at least:-)

The painting is 16" x 20" and I have painted the sides blue. I am not sure yet if I will leave it as is or get it framed since it is not on a gallery wrapped canvas.

Now, I will go and work on a watercolor commission and think about what I will paint next.

I wish you a great week!

Textured Semi-Abstract: Blowing in the Wind

Blowing in the Wind

Here is another acrylic painting on a 16" x 16" gallery wrapped canvas. I intended to paint a textured abstract, but it quickly became more of a semi-abstract with some subtle negative painting suggesting branches or stems.  I had a lot of fun creating the various textures on the canvas. See some close-ups of the textures below:

Blowing in the wind - detail

Blowing in the wind - detail

Let me know what you think.

Dreaming of Canadian autumn:-)

Dreaming of Canadian autumn:-)
A small 6" x 8" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas all done in negative painting technique. It shows the subtle dance and shimmer of autumn leaves carried away on the surface of a stream.
Currently available online on Daily Paintworks :
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/christiane-kingsley/canadian-autumn/242548

I got fascinated with negative painting techniques last summer after taking a workshop with renowned watercolor/acrylic painter Linda Kemp, who is often called the "ambassador for negative painting".  I will be taking more workshops with her this year.  I find negative painting totally addictive!

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.

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.

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!

A Textures Study: Midnight in the Enchanted Forest

Midnight in the Enchanted Forest

This 12" X 12" mixed media abstract is the result of a study in textures. Over the past few weeks, I kept trying out a mixed media technique in one corner of the pine panel, then a few days later, another technique in another spot. I really did not have a finished painting in mind...but yesterday, while looking at the panel, I thought that somehow all those separate elements were somewhat coming together and  I saw " an enchanted forest at midnight":-).

Apart from the fluid acrylic paints, I have used heavy textures with modeling paste, lighter textures with crystalline paper, rice paper, various acrylic gels and medium.

This has given me ideas for other experiments that I want to do...

I really enjoy these experiments that are so much without any pressure...pure fun!

Let me know if you do see an enchanted forest....something else...or nothing :-) in this painting.

Enjoy your weekend.