For those who don’t know me, I am a Canadian painter living
in Ottawa, Ontario. I fell in love with watercolors a bit more than 10 years ago after having
spent more than 20 years as a fiber artist. I now work more often in mixed
media and acrylics, but watercolor remains my first love!
I have been asked to answer four questions regarding my art
and my process.
1. What am I working on?
In the past few weeks, I have been getting ready…or at least
trying to get ready…for several November shows. The main one, the Nepean Fine Arts
League Show, will run Nov. 28
th, 29
th and 30
th.
It is always a fun show with great sales…unless we get freezing rain or a snow
storm! With only a few days left, I have several paintings
that I would like to finish in time for the
show. Here is part of one of these paintings: a 24” x 30” palette knife acrylic
landscape. This is only my fourth palette knife painting ( and landscape, I
should add) and I love the process…so there should lots more in my future.
 |
| WIP-Detail - Acrylic, palette knife, landscape |
I am also working on a 24” x 24” hand embossed pewter and
acrylic painting of an Etruscan horse designed from a tiny bronze statuette I
purchased in Greece. This one will certainly be finished for Friday!
I have also been working on a series of acrylic paintings of leaves in negative painting technique. In the past two years, I have taken several workshops with well-known artist, Linda Kemp, who is often called the "Ambassador for Negative Painting"; I am not sure if Linda would totally approve of my negative paintings, but I really enjoy creating what I call mazes! Some of these paintings are on Ampersand Claybords and others on regular canvas.
 |
| "Forest Glow" - Acrylic - 16" x 20" |
2.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Tough question! First, I think my work is a proof of
multiple personalities:-)
I work in at least three different medium, I paint tight watercolours, I work
with sheets of metal, I enjoy creating mixed media abstracts and now textured acrylic landscapes.
However, my watercolor is perhaps where my work is most
different at least in its source of subject. I love painting stone carvings and
statues.
Below is a large painting of
part of Neptune’s Fountain in Florence.
 |
| "Neptune's Sea Horses"- Watercolor -"15 x 31" ( before framing) |
I have also painted a series of Venetian “Mascaroni”, carved
stone heads found especially in Venice over palazzo archways. These are
probably not the best “commercial” subjects I could choose, but I am really
moved by these stone faces that have survived so many centuries and still look
so noble!
 |
| "The Protector" - Watercolor - 21" x 24" |
Closer to home, I have painted a series of commissions for
an Ottawa company of master stone carvers and stone masons who are currently
doing restauration work on the Canadian Parliament Buildings. The gothic façade
of the Parliament Buildings are also a great source of inspiration for me!
3. Why do I create what I do?
I have always felt a need to express myself creatively and
to keep my hands busy. I dream of colors …the transparency of watercolor, the
flow of water and paint on paper really give me joy! I am often attracted to
subjects showing great contrast of light and shadow that watercolor can convey
so beautifully
I also love textures
( after all, I was for a long time a fiber artist!) : this probably explains my
attraction to palette knife painting,
pewter
embossing and mixed media where I can play with all those incredible acrylic
gels and mediums now available. My Midnight in the Enchanted Forest with its
gel textures, hand painted paper, cheesecloth, copper, gold leaf etc…seems like
the work of an artist gone crazy about texture, don’t you think?
 |
"Midnight in the Enchanted Forest"
12" x 12" |
4. How does my creative process work?
Once in a while, like in the case of my Mascaroni, a subject has called
out to me so strongly that I could not wait to get home and start painting it.
Most of the time though, it takes me a long time to decide on a painting
subject: day after day, I look through all my thousands of photos, I think
about colors and textures and can’t decide on what to paint. Once I have finally decided on a subject, I
will spend again lots of time deciding on size and on composition. For
watercolors, I will prepare a very detailed drawing that I will then transfer
to my paper, Fabriano 140 lb Soft Press. I don’t like large washes; I try to
imagine that every square inch of the drawing is like a mini-painting and I
focus on that small area, often until it is completed. I move through the
painting in a systematic way, from the top left, working across and down.
After a large, complex watercolor painted this way, I feel a need to
play, to experience the freedom of a mixed media or acrylic painting where I
work entirely intuitively without any planning.
Upcoming World Blog Hop Participants:
For next week’s post in this Blog Hop Around the World, I have invited two artists that I
have been following and admiring for years: Laura Leeder, a fellow Canadian
from British Colombia and Mary Paquet, from California.
Laura is a wonderful watercolor painter who, like Deb Ward, paints
beautiful lace! One of her other favorite subjects is delicate porcelain teacups.
Her art always shows such mastery of the medium! Laura is not only a great painter, she is a
delightful person. I hope you will visit her blog soon and won’t miss her post
next Monday!
Mary Paquet is a mixed media artist specializing in figurative,
landscape, cityscape, and still life. Mary says that her inspiration comes from
living life to the fullest. I believe her! I am always amazed by all the workshops
she attends and how she then thoughtfully integrates the new skills and
techniques in her own original art.
I hope that you will continue to follow this Blog Hop around
the world and in the process discover new artists that will eventually become
valued blogging friends!
