Artists In Italy

I am busy working on some paintings for this show and organizing the ones I have already finished.It will be so great to see everyone again and to see what they have produced since we got home. It will be fun to revisit sketchbooks and work done on location too.

On Location In The Snow

I have been working up my courage to sketch and paint on location in the snow. Previously, I have hiked out to various locations in the snow to shoot photos and then used them as reference material. Yesterday I went out with a friend and finally worked on location in the snow. To keep things simple, I decided that I would sketch in pencil for this first attempt. It was really not much different than sketching on location in warmer weather. We had a beautiful sunny day to walk through the grounds and find a location. Next time I will bring along a small paint box to paint on location ( and perhaps some toe warmers, my backpack for supplies and my walking stick to make the uphill and downhill paths in the snow less of a worry ).
The sketch to the left was done down by river on the Elsie Perrin Williams Estate. The water was running quickly and combined with the sound of birds singing and the barking of happy dogs being taken out for a walk by their owners, background music of a sort kept me entertained. I must admit that when I returned to my car I very much enjoyed the thermos of hot cocoa waiting there for me!

Weekly Sketching

This is my pencil sketch.

My friend Cheryl and I get together once a week to sketch together. We have been doing this for about a year now. This week we decided to meet at Dundas and Richmond in the Starbuck's coffee shop with the intention of sketching the view through the windows of the buildings across the street. It was snowing heavily and many people were scurrying through the cold and snow as well as waiting just outside the window for their bus. Needless to say, our view was pretty much obstructed. After chatting for quite a while  we decided to do a 5 minute sketch of the people inside the shop. While it was fun, I didn't produce anything much. I had taken some photos through the window and on my way back to the car too. Most of them were pretty uninspiring, but when I severely cropped one I ended up with something I wanted to sketch. I did a pencil sketch first and then the next day I began a small watercolour painting which I finished today. I am now considering painting a larger piece in acrylic on canvas.

This is the small watercolour.

Art Exchange Miniature Juried Show 2012

Island of Burano, Italy

 

This is one of my entries into the Art Exchange Miniature Show. It is a watercolour painting of the reflections on the canal on the Island of Burano in Italy. Burano, famous for the handmade lace made there, is located near Venice. We were fortunate to have beautiful weather while on the island and enjoyed walking and wandering.

I have spent the last few days with a wonderful book by one of my favourite watercolour artists, Mary Whyte. Although I have never seen one of her paintings, I have fallen in love with several of her paintings in photographs in various locations.The book is titled An Artist's Way of Seeing.

She writes:
" Art does not have to be something intended or something with a price tag. Art can be the way we set a table, lay a brick patio, teach a child to fly a kite or sweep a floor. It can be as simple as the way we cook a meal or write a postcard. When we are truly engaged in the experience of living and are not concerned with worldly expectations, the fruit of an artistic expression is inevitable.It will happen in spite of ourselves."

and
" Subject matter is neither pretty or ugly, as the beauty of a painting lies in the work itself. It is about seeing.... with the heart and soul as well."

and finally
" I've learned that painting from life can be one of life's greatest pleasures.....They all contribute to the soul of the work. And to my soul."

The delightful thing for me is that Mary Whyte writes the same way she paints, with gentleness and poetry and an abiding respect for the world and people she paints.
This is a book I will return to again and again.

Pen Sketches

This sketch is done in pen. It was done from a photo taken in old London North. I love the views you can sometimes see between houses in the older areas of  London . I think the trip to Venice has me looking for areas "between places" that remind me of the views down the small canals.

This sketch is also done from a photograph. The house is on Piccadilly Street in London and it used to be my grandfather's home. This time I used India ink, pen and water.