Artiface

Paintless

2012-01-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

In the midst of painting my old dog Buddy's portrait for the art show "Dog Show" in being held in March, I ran out of paint. Black paint, a mixture of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna. It gives a nice rich black. I was out of Burnt sienna and almost out of the blue.
"Just go to the art store and buy more" you might say. We have two art stores in London and they don’t carry Alkyd Oil paint, so I will have to order it. This kind of paint is not popular with artists despite my constant encouragment that people try it.

W&N Griffin Alkyds were developed in response to oil painters' requests for a product that dried quicker than traditional oils but slower than acrylics. In 1976, Winsor & Newton responded by launching Alkyd Oil Colors, a range of fast drying genuine oil paint

I heard Currys Art Store is new London, on Southdale road, so off I went to see if they carried it.
Their new store is all clean, pristine, and well layed out. They have a display of alkyd oil ... they are out of sienna. Disappointed I ordered it in and have to wait to finish Buddy.

Here he is half done. I kind of like him like this.

I also was blessed to have a self portrait picked for the show Identity Transfer show at the St Thomas Public Art Centre in St Thomas Ontario. The reception was on Saturday, the show runs January 14 to March 3, 2012. http://www.stepac.ca/home.html

My Lucky Dog

2011-12-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

Lucky, our new foster dog is demanding a walk. Actually he is just sitting there and I am feeling guilty that he needs a walk He walks pretty good on a leash. Luckyis black Shetland Sheep dog (Sheltie), you can see his herding traits.
7 years old timid, gentle dog loves to chase a ball and kill his stuffed toy. And Jerry has taught him 3 tricks already.

Here is slide show of Lucky killing the raccoon

He will lick himself all over and then cough up fur. "Lucky" I say, "You are not a cat" I think he may have lived with a cat and picked up bad habits.

But back to the walk, I can imagine Lucky in the right place running free and going like the wind. I painted a little picture of him as I imagined.

I think I will paint a series of lucky as I imagine him.

Squares

2011-06-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

This summer is all about squares. My art can be seen at "Sunday on the Square" http://www.coventmarket.com/art-on-the-square/ at the Covent Garden Market on some Sundays, this summer. I did this last year and had a blast meeting all the skateboarders, strollers, bikers, walkers and rummys who love London downtown. The market is open from 10am to 4pm. There are all kinds of artists, painters, sculpters, potters, photographers and jewelry makers.

My garden is in squares this year, We planted brussel sprouts, carrots, beans, tomatos, zuccinni and more. I love watching those tinny plant struggle up thru our clay based soil. We already had a feed of lettuce.

Speaking of squares, I am enjoying a book about the painter Chuck Close. by Christopher Finch. Chuck does portraits in a grid system. Tiny coloured blocks that when you stand back make a giant face.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Close

My friend John asked me to do a pastel portrait of him. His wife had her prtrait done in 1969 and John always regretted that he had not been painted as well. I used and old 4x5 black and white photo, just finished John. He is in his 60s now so it was fun painting him so young.

So as we said in the 60's be ther or be square...see you on Sunday

Diane Dobson's art blog

2011-03-12T07:35:00.000-08:00

My friend Diane Dobson just started her first art blog at DianeDobsonsartblog.blogspot.com I am so excited for her. She has three of her great paintings on the site already. My favourite is miniature of a walk in the country.

Diane and her husband have gone camping with us several times over the years. The painting reminds me of those vacations in Ontario's north. We love to paint together and hike on the trails of places like Killarney Park.

Diane is a birder and is always pointing out this and that bird to me. Our greatest find for me was the Sand Cranes in a field in Manitoulin Island. Possible for their red crown but also becouse of their large size and funny walk.

Check out Dianes blog. Here is a photo of her at Bon Echo park painting in damp, cold, weather. That's dedication!

Let it snow?

2010-12-25T07:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas day and the snow makes it perfect. Every one wants snow on at Christmas. Right? Accept in Australia where sun, sand and surf part of the festivities. Can you imagine a summery Christmas? What would you serve for dinner. Fire up the barby..
Gifts of hat and scarfs would give way to beach umbrellas and sun hats. Would I miss the snow as I lay on the beach in Australia, probably not but I like snow here at Christmas.

Here is my painting of Port Dover Beach. Is that Santa I see sunning himself?

Dog Art

2010-11-28T06:29:00.000-08:00

What a great show "Friends of Portside Gallery"! Big turnout for the reception dispite the rain. I felt privledged to be among the artists.

I will have a booth with my "dog art" at the Animalert Bazaar and rummage sale.

Sale is at Western Fair Canada Building, Satuday Dec 4th - 10 am to 2 pm. Hope you will come and see the foster dogs I have painted.

Happy Howard!

Go big or go home

2010-11-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

Go big or go home was my first impression of Donna Andreychuk's art show at the Arts Project
203 Dundas St. London, Ontario. Donna has hung a show of fabulous paintings. The huge
canvases shown at their best in the Arts Project gallery space. So often artists don't take
advantage of the gallery's size.

I think Donna used every color in her studio on this show. There was lots of the vibrant landscapes she is known for and spotted among them some more subtle mauve and grey pastels.
Donna definitely has a style that one would recognize anywhere. This year I noticed she was moving more to abstraction, letting the viewer interpret the painting.

If you are downtown to see the show, Donna also has two pieces in the Museum London Jass Show, one of which won the grand price.( The show runs to Nov 21)

The show at the Arts Project runs to Dec 4^th, 2010. Don’t miss this show, I give it 5 stars.

Don’t miss the Friends of Portside show at Portside Gallery Nov 25 to 28, 2010. 187 ½ Main St Port Stanley, Ontario. Reception Thursday Nov 25^th, 7 to 9 pm.

Judging Art

2010-10-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

Entering art shows is always a nervous time for artists. We make our art alone with little or no feedback. Sometimes a relative or friend will comment on the piece and even that can be traumatic. But to enter a show with your peers is very unnerving.
There are two types of art shows, juried an un-juried.
A juried show is one in which a special person is selected by the show and looks at all the entries, selecting the ones they think would make the best art show. The criteria for the choice may come from the people putting on the show, but the juror makes the final choice. For instance, space may be limited and the juror may have to be ruthless in choosing the art. The juror may prefer landscape to portrait or watercolour to oil.
A good Juror would try to pick each piece on its own merit. There will always be a bias no mater who picks the art.
Did you know that in the majority of art shows the artist pays an entry fee to have their art juried. This fee is to cover costs of putting on the show.
A non juried show will still cost an entry fee but will always be accepted. In this type of show the art may be judged by an expert and ribbons and prizes received.
Either type of show is still nerve racking for the artist. "Will my art be accepted. Why wasn’t it accepted. Why did they accept my art last year and not this year. "
I entered two juried art shows this year and the Jass London Juried Art Show at Museum London accepted one of my pieces. This is the first time my art was accepted at this show. It is a fund raiser put on by the Volunteer Committee of Museum London Ontario.
Show date is November 10 to 21, 2010. Reception is Wed Nov. 10 7-9 p.m. Tickets are $10.00

Here is the entry that was accepted. Hope you will come and judge my art too. or maybe not....

Or Look here at all the art https://jasslondon.ca/catalogue.php

Dog Art is not real art.

2010-09-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

When I first saw Francisco Goya's Dog painting I felt like crying. Goya was an often violent man and this painting for me shows that trait. The little dog is cowering in the shadow of a figure you can almost see looming over him. Goya painted this on the wall of his home in the plaster. Was the dog right in front of him with the fire light catching the his outline? See for yourself in the photo attached.

I love painting dogs. Capturing their personallity is a challenge just as are portraits of humans. The gestures they make with their bodys tell quite a tale.

Today I was taking video of the Jack Russel we are fostering. I was trying to capture her running gate. Her legs fly every which way when she runs. I hope to make a painting of her later.

Here is one of Mama a chihuahua we had for a while. She loved to lie on her back and get a belly rub.

Will my personality show in my art as did Goyas?

Attention to Detail

2010-08-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

Looking at Andrew Wyeth and Robert Batemen books on art always inspire me. To see their paintings up close is to see such attention to detail. And yet I long for the ability to rip one off like Van Gogh or Tom Thompson. Those artist make it look so easy.

I suspect it is somewhere in the middle for both styles of painting.

I once saw Robert Bateman mix up a cup of white acrylic paint and throw it on what I would have thought was a finished painting. It gave the raging elephant a look of kicking up dusty. It was perfect.

While painting with my friend S’ine and Diane at Waterworks Park in St Thomas on Thursday I felts the excitement of painting en plain air. Rushing the work, I forgot about detail and thought only about capturing the colour before the light changed. It was exhilarating

Here is the finish sketch and a photo of the place. How did I do?

Becoming an old fart

2010-08-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

How to become an old fart

Tomorrow is my 65th birthday. It is a time to become a senior citizen. But what does that mean for my art. Will I suddenly start painting like Romance or Kincade. Old fashion paintings with sentimental themes.

My friend Sandy says she changed after 65, not taking any guff from people and standing up for herself in difficult situations. I think I will follow that path. no more excuses for my art. Love it of leave it, it is what it is.

I like dogs so I paint dogs. I like people for the most part so I paint people. I like realism and old masters and Harley Brown. I will do commissions my way from now on.

Tell me what you think of my art but don’t be surprised if I tell you what I think of your comments.

So move over Romance and Kincade here comes Cutting.

Becoming an old fart