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As some of you know I’ve been drawing some sketches for the purpose of being coloured by children (or children at heart). I’m pleased to have an example to show you of someone’s colouring! Teenager Erin, of Huron County area in Canada enjoyed colouring this splendid multi-coloured yarn project at her public library. She did such a great job I really wished I was making these socks right now!
Multicolored Sock Knitting, colouring page example
If the yarn was just a bit thicker I would knit this with it:
Malabrigo yarn cowl, image via here
It’s been a busy few weeks for me and I’m glad to be back to the blog.
I enjoyed a lovely closing reception at Runnels Gallery on Friday and want to thank everyone who came out to see the art and show their support in general. I really appreciated the feedback and great turnout.
I have some pictures of the evening to share with you!
First, there was the food (That is warmed caramel dip… mmm)!
Although we didn’t manage to document all the goodies, we couldn’t miss the crazy cupcakes!
There were so many great people who attended (and yes, I am poised to devour this cupcake)…
…and there was discussion of some alternate hilarious interpretations of the art:
The guest book filled up…
and the art was appreciated by all ages…
almost as much as the cupcakes! 
I’ve decided to try and refrain from painting on weekends to give my body a rest. I will share with you on those few days a week my more elementary practice of sketching. You’ll see more experiments, more works in progress and more simple observance or records of the life around me…
Blueberry Bagel at the Do Drop In, graphite in sketchbook
This first sketch is a true testament to my dedication. You cannot imagine how much I wanted to scarf the remainder of this blueberry bagel with cream cheese. But I resisted… just long enough to record it and then it was gone. Inhaled like kibble at a labrador’s schnoz.
Do Drop In, graphite in sketchbook
This is the exterior of the cafe where said blueberry bagel was consumed with gusto. If it seems a little hastily recorded, it is because the morning was quickly heating up and I was eager to retreat to the air conditioning and rest my eyes from the bright sun of a New Mexico morning.
Waiting for a sandwich, graphite in sketchbook
This light sketch was done in just a few minutes when this man grabbed a paper and sat down to wait for his sandwich “to go”.
For those of you following me into the woods, here is a sketch worked from graphite into watercolour and finally pastels and ink. I enjoy the wild energy of the foliage contrasting with the calm pools of light and shadow at the base of the tree as well as the pose of the person whom you may or may not notice at first…
Embrace, mixed media on paper, 12 x 12"
Here is today’s painting with some detail pictures because it’s been a while since I’ve worked in a larger format.
Fox and I, oil on canvas, 24 x 30"
Fox and I, detail
Fox and I, detail 2
Here is another painting in my new body of work on the theme of merging with the natural world. It is a lot more subdued and calming in person but I needed to photograph it with more light to catch the detail.
On the Pond, oil on canvas, 16 x 20"
On the Pond, detail
Theresa the Tree, oil on canvas, 10 x 10", SOLD
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…
Sleeping Willow, oil on canvas, 16 x 20"
I’m working on a group of paintings (well, at least a pair of paintings): sleep-walkers, sleep-swimmers, sleep-paddlers caught in the middle of their dreaming when you wander out with a flashlight to see just where they’ve floated off to. To me these paintings are strongly connected with the paintings Cedar Falling and Desert Girl from yesterday’s post.
Today’s painting is a thank-you to artist Peter Doig, whose canvases fill my dreams on a regular basis. Who has painted many canoes, star-flecked skies and pudgy, dancing pine trees.
Thanks is also due to Canadian musician and poet Gordon Downie whose music and lyrics filter into my mind (and heart) on a near-daily basis. The songs Starpainters and Lofty Pines were particularly influential in the making of this painting, and the next painting that I will aim to post tomorrow.
Thanks also to my brothers who pasted the constellations with tiny glow-in-the-dark stickers on their bedroom ceilings growing up. And who continue to dream big, lofty dreams with white paddles flashing with silver…
Under Star Stickers, oil on canvas, 16 x 20"
And here is a detail:
Under Star Stickers detail
Sometimes the process of making a painting is over in a blink. The ideas come to me in an instant, I make the time to plan, sketch, set up the colours and dive in. My body cooperates (no headaches or back aches) and hours later I stumble out of the studio in a dehydrated daze trying to remember when I last ate… I’m happy when I peek back through the door and see a new creation staring back at me… I’m excited, often surprised as I stare at it… the painting almost seems to be saying, “What? Did I get the wrong address? Isn’t this where I’m supposed to be?”
But quite often, this is not the case. Sometimes ideas germinate for a long, long time. I sketch, I plan and nothing develops out of my efforts so I leave it alone and move on. Often I let the ideas go forever (there will always be more) but some are more potent than others and I keep thinking about them from time to time, curious and hopeful that they might still one day grow.
Cedar Falling, oil on canvas, 38 x 48"
I made Cedar Falling a few years ago and it has since been waiting for a “sibling” painting. I had many ideas in mind and never found the time between my four part-time jobs to test them out, always afraid they wouldn’t turn out and I’d have wasted my time. For the past two months however I’ve been walking past the imposing 38 x 48″ canvas of Cedar Falling, which I set against a wall in my living room – a constant reminder of those ‘loose ends’ in this story.
So for the past two weeks I’ve been piecing together more of the imagined narrative and have three new small canvases in various degrees of completion. Below is the first one that I finished today. Hopefully the other siblings will also find their full force and I’ll post them here… maybe they won’t. It’s a mystery. Stay tuned.
Desert Girl, oil on canvas, 16 x 20"
