New painting drying in my studio at the Williams Mill in Halton Hills. It is the second oil painting in the Dreaming of Summer Series. Night brings a surreal look to the canoes tucked away for the evening. There are 9 paintings planned for this series, but who know how many more will be dreamed of along the way.
new painting
Dreaming of Summer (or a cottage would be nice)
Like many places across Canada, the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) hasn't been having the greatest weather. A lot of dull skies and rain. My secret (well, not so secret) longing to own a cottage with which to enjoy nice weather inspired this 48" high by 36" wide oil painting - still wet on the easel.
One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other
The large 48" x 48" cat painting seen at the top of the photograph is an original oil & oil stick painting entitled "Who's For Dinner?!"
This graphic painting with a bit of dark humour to it, has received so much positive attention from visitors to my Williams Mill studio in Halton Hills that I am now offering a giclee reproduction on canvas print of it.
The original painting "Who's For Dinner" is 48" x 48" . It is a black, silver & white oil stick and oil painting on gallery mount canvas. The edges are painted black. Please feel free to contact me about the original painting's price.
There are two sizes of giclee.
36" x 36" giclee on canvas is at the introductory price of $300 Cdn + HST. The slightly metallic silver oil paint looses this metallic sheen in the reproduction, but as you can see above, the two are remarkably similar. The print is also on gallery mount canvas and the edges are black. Only for the original will be 48" x 48".
12" x 12" giclee on canvas is at the introductory price of $79 +HST. It is also on a gallery mount canvas.
Perhaps, the poor Golden Lab "Guilty", should be "Concerned".
What do you think?
heARTs & Cold Wax Oil Painting
It has been a while since my last adventure with cold wax and oil painting (Read more about it here).
Experiments that I had begun since that time didn't seem to set. I wondered if I had received the wrong Dorland's wax product, or if I used too much oil paint in my ratio of wax to pigment. But as it turned out, I had my work too textured, and the under layers could not dry. When I shaved off the thicker parts the drying process began.
So, the other day, I decided I would put some left over paint to good use and mix in some wax. There was enough for one little small panel. But, like trying to eat one just one peanut , next thing I knew - I had pretty well used up my little stockpile of prepared wood panels (i.e.panels were gessoed, sanded, & their sides masked). A whole series of pink, white & silver of heart & Valentine's Day inspired works lay drying in the studio - hearts emerging from the clouds, floating over the falls ("falling in love" get it?), hearts rising. A couple of bouquets too.
As the cold wax process uses a lot of oil paint - the cost of artist quality Winsor & Newton oil paints does limit how much I can afford to experiment. With Valentine's Day in mind, I added Permanent Rose (what better colour for true love), and Silver to the Dorland's cold wax.
First I dolloped the oil and wax mixture on the panels with a palette knife, then used the Wilton Dough Scraper spread and smoothed it over the surface. I also used the scraper to remove and push the wax mixture to create my texture, and values. The light pink is the stain from removed wax. The darker pink is where the wax is thicker and smooth.
A week later, some of the areas still weren't setting fast enough for my liking. Out came the palette knife to remove areas too thick. I accidentally scratched a piece with the sanding paper I was using to clean up the back of the work. Hmmm. I liked the way that looked, and next thing I knew, I was dramatically changing some of the 3" x 4" blocks by incorporating sanded away texture. Isn't that what experimenting is all about?
Below you see the Wilton Dough Scraper I bought at the Janice Mason Steeves cold wax workshop.
Last Painting of 2010 - Looking Forward to 2011
I finished this 30" x 40" oil painting December 2010 - the last painting of my design before I began my commissions due for Christmas. This figurative painting is of the model, daughter, visiting my studio at the Williams Mill. This painting symbolizes many changes. It features my new studio, one of the few times I've painted an interior. My daughter, my model, is usually painted in casual summer get up.
Happy New Year!
"Who's For Dinner" at the Dragonfly? It's Art.
If you are up in the Orangeville area - just north of Brampton and north-west of Toronto, be sure to drop into the lovely "Dragonfly Arts on Broadway". My larger than life oil and oil stick painting of a cat , seen from the viewpoint of "something" much smaller, is featured in the window there until Halloween. I have heard great things about the Dragonfly Gallery over the past couple of years, but had never been there myself until last week.
Broadway is the "main" street accessed directly off Hwy 10, so the gallery is easy to reach. This main street is attractively maintained, has a variety of shops and eating establishments and the parking is free!
"Who's for Dinner?" - a huge attraction in my studio - is the latest in my big cat series. I don't paint with decorating in mind, but with its dramatic scale, use of black and silver, I have not been alone in imagining it over a leather couch or over a server in a contemporary dining room. See it at the delightful Dragonfly Arts on Broadway Gallery http://www.dragonflyarts.ca/ until the end of October.
New Painting
A new painting - a 20" x 20" oil painting study of a child created for "Second Saturday Collectors Special" at the Williams Mill where I have my studio. Admired but still available!
Now You Know How the Mouse Feels
Finally! I finished the third in the series of "Big Cat" oil paintings. Although visitors to my studio especially love the Big Cat 1 painting and it inspires many a conversation, I have great fondness for the humour behind this work. Wouldn't want to be the mouse. I envision this painting in someone's dining room over the sideboard. It's really title should be " Who's for Dinner?"