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!

Absence, study and interview

First, please excuse my absence from the blog world these last few weeks. Our main computer died a sudden death, I was busy with Xmas sales and was busily painting a study for a large commission piece.

Here is the almost completed 12" X 16" study for a commission; this Green Man will be third and largest piece of a trilogy also including Pierre the Green Man and Angus the Green Man. The final piece will be about 20" high and about 40' wide before framing; the part I have done as a study is just part of the middle section - there will be more carved leaves forming a top horizontal bar across the entire width of the painting while the head will be flanked by warm colored stone walls with just a simple carved date in Roman numerals. This piece will be called Scottie: the symbolism includes the thistle ( national flower of Scotland and maple leaves, symbolic of Canada).

The eyes are blank in this sculpture and I struggled to avoid too much of a scary look:-) In the painting itself, I may have to go lighter in what are the top corners of this study; otherwise, the top horizontal bar which is also partly in the shade will not show up any details....I hope that the client will like it!

Two weeks ago, I was at the Nepean Fine Arts League winter show. Below is a photo of part of my booth at that show.

The weather was bad that weekend: very cold the first day and freezing rain the next. Consequently, the attendance was quite down from last year. However, I managed to make a few sales.

I was very surprised when  Liana Voia, a clinical hypnotherapist, asked me to do a videotaped interview with her for her blog on Contemplative, Expressive and Imaginative Arts. I usually refuse any interviews since at this point in my life I feel I can avoid that type of stress.  However, Liana is so friendly and engaging ...so I was interviewed:-) If you promise not to laugh too too loud, you can view the interview here on YouTube.

I wish you and your families all the best for the Holiday Season.

Winter show this weekend

I will be at the Nepean Fine Arts League Winter Show this weekend, Nov. 30 to Dec.2. This show is usually great fun and the quality of the artwork is very high.

I have just finished in time for the show a few paintings in my Polar series. They are small ( from 6" x 6" for the small panels to 12" x 12" for the largest). This series has been very popular and I hope some of my new pieces will go to a good home this weekend:-)
The pieces are on cradled gallery panels; the background is layers and layers of acrylic and the designs are made with metal sheets or metal foil and all kinds of various gel mediums. They are so much fun to make. However, because of the metal, they really do not photograph well.

If you are in the Ottawa area, I would be so happy if you could drop in.
Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

Back from Italy and Miniature Show

Flooded San Marco Piazza

My husband and I have just returned from 2 weeks in Italy. Naturally, I wanted to spend most of the time in my beloved Venice. We had rather nice weather, but the Acqua Alta ( High tide) alarm sounded three times while we were there and the first two floods were almost fun and offered great photo opportunities ( see above0.  Our last day, Sunday, we basically " escaped" from Venice when the city had its 6th worst flood since 1872; high winds from the Adriatic violently whipped sea waters into the city and the tides were 5 ft above sea level. Our hotel manager told us at 5 am to leave "now, right now" if we did not want to swim to the bus station.We left early in the morning and walked in the dark to the bus station for our transit to the airport. The water was rising by the minute and we could no longer tell where the street ended and the canals started. We were lucky to leave early as we did; later on that morning, the water was waist high in many areas of the city. It was an adventure for us, but an almost scary adventure. I feel sorry for the people whose homes and shops were flooded on Sunday.

On a happier note, I am pleased to say that I returned home with 1500 photos of Venice, Florence and Rome to provide me with enough inspiration for months of painting!

In my previous post, I mentioned that my work had been accepted in the Rothwell Gallery. On Nov. 17, I will have 4 paintings in their 33rd Christmas Open House and Exhibition of Miniature Paintings. The show will continue all of November. Do you recognize my Inukshuk on their poster?

I hope that all is well with you. I hope to have new work to post within a week or so.

New show and new gallery representation

I will have three pieces in the group show ACTION at the Foyer Gallery  from Oct. 24 to Nov. 11: a watercolor painting, a mixed media painting and a photographic work.

The first is my latest watercolor in the Canadian Parliament Building carvings series: " Ethelbert Keeping an Eye on the Politicians". Some people say that if Ethelbert looks depressed it's because of the tough job he has:-)

My second piece in this Foyer Gallery Show is the mixed media "The Happy Dance of the Weeping Tree":

And finally, my third piece in the show will be a photograph I took at the Brooklyn zoo last year: "Koi Joy" and framed to 16" x 20" - I thought it went so well with the theme of the show. I may also paint from this reference one day.

I am also thrilled to announce that I will be showing at another gallery starting in November: the Rothwell Gallery, an Ottawa gallery that has been established for over 30 years! I will provide more info and pictures in the weeks to come.

Latest Watercolor of Canadian Parliament Carvings

This is my latest watercolor painting of a Gothic carving on the facade of the C Parliament Building in Ottawa, Canada. This carving is actually right in the main entrance of the Peace Tower. He is not a pretty fellow, but I loved his medieval look. I think I will be calling him " Ethelbert Keeping an Eye on the Politicians". I have not found official names for these carvings anywhere...so I am inventing them.

This painting is a departure from my usual style. It has the look of a vignette and I basically used a two-color palette with only a hint of pink and purple simply for my own need for color ( although these colors are really not visible unless you get extremely close.

"Ethelbert" is about 14" X 18" on 140 lb SP Fabriano, from that 11 yard roll that I bought and wanted to try before starting to work on a commission that requires extra-white paper. I was quite happy with the paper and its "whiteness". Sigh of relief...

I hope that you are all having a wonderful fall and that you will find something that you like in my "Ethelbert".

Textured Mixed Media and News

I had a lot of fun creating my last mixed media: The Happy Dance of the Weeping Tree.

The colors are somewhat less bright than they appear on my computer, but you can probably see the various textures on this piece. I have some tissue paper and rice paper on the background and various gels and mediums on the tree itself. 

It's painted on a 16" X 16" birch panel and the sides are painted black. I intend to leave it unframed for the moment: it looks good that way!

I hope that you like this painting.  My objectives with this painting were to create interesting textures and to suggest some movement in the branches. I think that it's a serene, happy painting...thus the title:-) I am falling in love with mixed media and the freedom it gives me,

On the marketing side of my work, I have some great news: my hand painted jewelry on watercolor paper is currently available at the Boutique Gallery of the Ottawa School of Art in downtown Ottawa. They will also be displaying some of my smaller mixed media and watercolors with an Ottawa or Canadian theme. Do drop in if you are in the area - it's a great little gallery!

New Foyer Gallery Show: Flash

The latest show at the Foyer Gallery where I am a juried member, is of photographic works. I will be showing four of my photographs that I have been offering as prints on paper, canvas and even metal, on my FineArtAmerica website.

However, I don't intend to sell more than 1-2 prints of each photograph in order to keep them really special:-)

Here are three of the photographs in the show:

I meant to paint these three scenes, but sometimes I feel that it is very hard to improve on the photograph:-)

If you are in the Ottawa area, do try to drop in for the reception at the Foyer Gallery on Sat. Sept. 22, from 2 until 4. You will love the artwork!

Parliamentary Dragon: Carving from Canadian Parliament Building

Here is my third watercolor in the series of carvings from the Gothic facade of the Parliament Building in Ottawa, Canad.

This little 8" X 8" dragon is on paper-covered gallery-wrapped canvas and has been varnished for display without glass. It is square, but on my wide monitor it appears absolutely regular...I certainly hope that it will show properly on most monitors:-(

This is my third experiment with the paper-covered canvas and this one is getting close to the results I want: at this point, I can feel a very slight warping of the paper at one spot.. in the middle of the dragon where there is little paint. Strange, since the paper was totally wet before stapling and the paper was tight as a drum while I painted...Perhaps as the varnish dries more, this minuscule hill will disappear. I hope so! The colors are very vibrant, the texture is nice...I like the option I now have even for varnished watercolors: I can wrap the paper around a canvas or I can continue to glue the paper to a wood panel as I have done several times.

This is on Arches 140 lb CP natural white. I think that I now prefer the whiter Fabriano Artistico ..I hope that I am right since I have just bought an 11 yrd roll of the Fabriano SP in extra white.

I hope that you are all doing well and that your month of September will be great!

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.

Searching for next painting...

I don't have any new painting to show today. I do have two commissions to work on, but I have also been looking through my photo references looking for my future paintings. Since I am always attracted to architectural pieces, I naturally love reviewing my photos from my trips to Venice. I have painted quite a few over the last few years: mascarone, gondolas, doors ( many, many doors :-).
Here are a few of my Venetian photos to let you dream with me:

Doge's Palace

Heart of Venice

Venetian Reflection

This last photo is one that I would really like to paint one of these days. Meanwhile, I have uploaded several of my venice art photos to FineArtAmerica where you can see thousands of photos of Venice. It is a bit humbling to see how other photographers and artists have captured the magic of this unique city.
I am hoping to go to Venice for three or four days at the beginning of November and, if so,  I intend to take hundreds and hundreds of photos for a lifetime supply of photo references.

I hope to have a new WIP to show you soon. Happy painting!

Lion King -Completed for Now

The Lion King : Canadian Parliament Building Carving

My Lion King, a painting of a stone carving of the Parliament Building in Ottawa, Canada, is finished for now.  It was a very enjoyable painting to work on. It's on Fabriano Artistico 140 lb CP and is approx. 14.5 X 14.5 before matting and framing.

I like it ( I don't say that very often) and I hope that you do too:-)

New WIP: Parliament Building Carving II - The Lion King

I've been working on a painting of a second Canadian Parliament Building carving. I am calling it, at this point, The Lion King. It's certainly a lion, but with very human eyes! It's on Fabriano Artistico 140 lb CP paper and is about 14" X 14". I am fairly pleased with it so far even if I used more darks than usual in the botton sections - I am always afraid that layers of darks will look too heavy or chalky.

The picture was taken inside with a flash...the colors are not absolutely exact: the top portion is less red IRL than it appears on my monitor.

I hope that you will let me know what you think of this so far....

Have a great week.

Parliament Building Carving I - completed

I have just completed the  Parliament Building Carving I. It's only 7.5" x 7.5' approx. on Fabriano Artistico SP. I went for  a sun-drenched look contrasting with shadows in the recessed areas where I created  a lot of textures.
I will have to live with it for a few days before I can decide if i like it enough to continue with my intended series of such carvings.

New WIP - Small Parliament Hill Carving

I have started over the small painting of the Parliament Building carving. It's only 8"x8" and the face is probably smaller than 4" high. I am using Fabriano 140 lb SP  - not stretched, not adhered to canvas or wood panel - just plain approach this time:-)

So far, I like it better than my previous effort. I still have to remove some masking and paint around the nose before I start the more colorful background. The face will remain mostly unpainted as it is now with just the deep shadows.

I hope that you like this start.
Happy Sunday and a great week to all of you.

Playing and Experimenting

During the last few days, I have played and have experimented.

Midnight Stroll On Broadway -SOLD

My first new piece is an abstract called " Midnight Stroll on Broadway" where I tried to suggest the lights, the colors and the movement of the ever-present Manhattan crowd . It  is in watercolor, but with the paper wrapped around the edges of a canvas. I still have to varnish it, but so far, I liked working on this surface. I used lots and lots of water to test the surface, and there is only one small spot (the dark blue figure) that seems to have warped ever slightly - I may be able to flatten it out with weights, but it is really not noticeable. I will see how my framer can frame this. The next time, I will use a gallery-depth canvas and will thus have the option of leaving it unframed. It is only 8" X 10". I am looking forward to trying this on a larger canvas.

Because of  the heat wave that has been hitting Ottawa, I have been dreaming of snow:-)Consequently,  I created another "Polar Bear" mixed media painting on a wood panel. Unfortunately, it was very hard to photograph because of the metallic reflections. I used all kinds of acrylic gels and medium: pumice stone texture, gold mica flakes, molding pastes. I also used layers of metallic foil for the bear and embossed it; the sun has metallic paints, the little stream has cheese cloth for additional texture.
"Land of the Midnight Sun" is 10" X 10" X 1"

Land of the Midnight Sun-SO:LD

                                                                                        

Do let me know what you think of these experimental pieces.

I hope that you are also  finding some time to "play"

Tech Activity Update

I have had great house guests for about ten days; consequently, I have done little painting. I managed to find some time though to play on the computer:-) Here is an update of my "technology" activity of the past two weeks.

FineArtAmerica:
Although I had joined this site over a year ago, I had never uploaded anything. I discovered all the great possibilities of this site this week and have started to upload a few images. I have received such a warm welcome: I have already received two features ( for my Coconuts and for my Queen of the Pond).

Red Bubble:

I am still having fun on Red Bubble and they continue to be very kind to me. My cherries and lace were featured in the Canadian Artists group.

My Inukshuk was featured in Painters Universe group while my Coconuts were featured in the Art Universe group.

On my own blog, I have added a few new earring images to my "Jewelry Page".

As of Monday, it's back to painting. I want to experiment with other ways to mount my watercolor paper in view of eventually varnishing the painting and displaying it without glass. Stay tuned.

Wishing you all a great weekend.