When is your Painting/Drawing Finished? - Painting & Drawing Tips

When is your picture Done?  Finished?
 What does DONE mean to you?
 How do you tell when your picture is finished?

VARIED THRUSH: DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAINS
 12 x 15 Varnished Watercolour on Board $400

For me,  the question is 'have I said what I want to say?"  I have goals for my work.  My first goal is to my subject, My Wildlife. I want my viewers to experience a special moment with my birds and animals.

I do a lot of hiking, boating and beach combing.  For me there is nothing more special then turning the corner on the trail and seeing a Varied Thrush perched on a branch, a heron fishing the tide line or a deer resting under a bush.  Somehow it is a piece of Magic to experience nature in the wild.  I want to present that moment to my viewers. Make them feel how special that is.   

But that is only part of my goal  . . .

VARIED THRUSH, DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAINS: WIP 1
(I tend to work already my picture so I can get a feel for how my plans are working

I have goals as well, about the type of work I am doing.  My favourite mediums of choice are graphite, ink and watercolour.  I work with them separately and together.  As many of my readers are aware, my pen work has been drawing me more and more.  Combining my ink with watercolour is something I really enjoy doing.  However, usually it is my watercolour that shines and my pen work takes a back seat.  

My pens are not happy about that . . .

VARIED THRUSH, DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAINS: WIP 2 
I decided I needed a few more branches in the background as I wanted to leave the back white

This has lead me into several directions.  My abstract work combined with my ink work is one direction that I have followed. See Juncos at the Feeder below.   (See more in this series here)

JUNCOS AT THE FEEDER - 8 x 10 Vanished watercolour on Wood Cradle - $200

Another way of mixing my pen work with watercolour, is my more realistic drawings in ink surrounded by watercolour. See Pacific Harbour Seal: Sunbathing below.   In this series, only the setting has been painted.  The birds and animals are untouched.  I liked this, as it really brought my inkwork into the more primary role. (See more in this series here.)

PACIFIC HARBOUR SEAL: SUNBATHING - Matted 8 x 10, Ink & Watercolour.  $130

In my picture Varied Thrush: Down from the Mountains, (at the top of the post) I feel I have taken things one step further. Both my ink and watercolour are given staring roles.  And, there is a bonus.  It feel like you get a peak at the creation process as well.  I love this kind of feel. Its like you can see and feel the back story to the piece.  

So yes, I feel Varied Thrush: Down from the Mountains is finished. How do you feel?  Finished or Not?  In the end it is personal, the Artist makes the call. 

NB: Learn more about Vanish Watercolour on Board here

Have fun with your art work and see you in 2 weeks.  I will be busy next week with my show.  See Below.   ↓↓↓↓

Looking to move your Drawing Skills to the Next Level?

Book a 3 Pack of Private Lessons with Me - 3 Lessons 2.5 hr each $225

Drawing lessons in graphite, carbon, ink, watercolour, watercolour pencils or coloured pencils.
Based on your Schedule at my Studio, N. Surrey. 

Gift Certificates Available 

Christmas Comes early at Art by Wendy:Thurs Dec 5 to Sat. Dec 7, 10-4pm

Paints’n Bloom Workshops & Show & Sale

Mandeville Gardens, 4746 Marine Dr, Burnaby.

Featuring Artists Wendy Mould, AFCA & Audrey Bakewell
 in Support of the Alzheimer’s Society of BC.

See you there!!

My Etsy Store is always OPEN: Etsy - WendyMouldsArt

Originals, Prints, Commission Work and Instant Printable Cards for all Seasons available.

Be sure to like and share my posts to keep me coming into your box, 

You won't miss a single post if you Follow by Email or Like my Facebook Page.

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy

Ta-Da!! My Inktober Tangle 2019 Collage is Done!! Painting & Drawing Tips

Yes, I have finally wrapped up my Inktober Tangles 2019!

PAGE 1 & 2 - INKTOBER TANGLES 2019
It ended up being 4 pages!!

As many of you know, I have been diligently working away on my Intober Project. (Read more on my Project here)   I know, it is not October anymore.  But really, who has time to do this, Every Day... 

PAGE 3 & 4
Started to try a bit more colour and worked in a bit of white on black

Yes I am one of those Crazy Pen Artists that just loves to see the crisp sharp line on paper.  It may seem strange to others but I enjoy the flow of Patterns and Marks as my pen skips along. It is often a moment of wonder to see how a shape evolves.  No,  it is not all about copying a shape and moving on.  

This pattern, Maryhill, looks so plain until you start adding colours and shadows.  

There is a sense of MAGIC. . . .

A tangle or shape will change and grow depending on: Where you place it.  How you embellish it. What you shade with.  Even the support you use.  You know how we thirst to take something and make it ours.  That is what happens with Tangling.  You take a shape and immediately change it up to make it your own shape in your own space. It is interesting to look and also interesting to see how others work with patterns.  Two of my favourite artists to study are: Utabar_34 and Jane_happyart on Instagram.  

This pattern called Abundies can be changed/embellished in so many ways.  I really loved the curves and and circles in it. Note the change as it moves into black and becomes white. 

Working/Studying this art form makes me realize things about myself and my work. 

I love black ink, other colours are nice but it certainly calls to me.  I love the movement of curves and bends.  There are many who work with linear patterns but they don't create the same passion in my pen.  I love the power of shading.  It takes a flat intricate shape and moves it to a new level.  More powerful and more interesting to the eye.  

I loved the googlie eyes and movement that can be worked into a collage with this little pattern, Tunnelvizion.  So simple but can express so much.

The Power of a Mark . . .

Whether drawing or painting the focus is always on Mark Making.  Each stroke is evaluated.  Is it in the right place? Is it the right colour?  The right value? The right shape?  But how often do you look at the mark and really see what it creates.  Not evaluate it on your standard.  ie. how it fits into your design.  But what is it telling you about what it can do.  It might not be the right mark for that spot in your design but it may be a great mark for somewhere else.  

The Simplest Mark, a dot or tiny circle can have huge impact. Take a look at my 4 pages of collages.  They are really a mish mash of shapes but notice the tiny little circles in the open spaces.  Yes they are randomly placed but note how they tie the 4 pages together into one united unit.  Awesome, eh?!

This to me is a classic tangle, simple but intricate when I add my own colours, embellishments and weave it into my piece.  It even has an interesting name "Well, Well, Who".  

How does this carry my work forward ? . .

Good question.  I have spent hours on my Inktober Tangle 2019 Collage.  Is it a marketable item? No. But then does everything have to be "A Masterpiece"?  Actually, to me it is a masterpiece.  I enjoy looking at it.  It makes me feel good whenever I think of it.  Each time I view it, I see new things.  I feel I learned so many new things from it.  What more can you ask?

In my earlier Tangle Post I talked about the things I done with Tangling.  (Read more here) Now that I have finished the collage I have one more item to add to the list. I realized I forgot to mention my cards.  I use my tangles in my Fine Art Work but I also create cards for various occasions with my patterns and teach classes with my own design ideas.
  

LET'S RIDE -  Part of my set of 3 different horse pictures -Available as Instant Downloads Cards at my Etsy Store 

Right now I have Bookmarks, Valentine Cards and my Horse cards available as Instant Downloads at my Etsy Store .  Of course more is always available from Art by Wendy Studio.ie. Christmas Cards and All Occasion Cards.  I even have a mini Doodle Christmas Colouring book.  ( I know, I get a little carried away, eh?!)

 As you can tell, I do have a lot of passion for my Pen Art. The real test is  I  know if I was stranded on a desert island, I would definitely want black pens and paper.  What about you?  What would be on your list for that desert Island. 

See you next week with my latest creation, Ink & Watercolour United BUT in a new WAY!!

Looking to move your Drawing Skills to the Next Level?

Book a 3 Pack of Private Lessons with Me - 3 Lessons 2.5 hr each $225

Drawing lessons in graphite, carbon, ink, watercolour, watercolour pencils or coloured pencils.
Based on your Schedule at my Studio, N. Surrey. 

Gift Certificates Available 

Christmas Comes early at Art by Wendy:

Thurs Dec 5 to Sat. Dec 7, 10-4pm

Paints’n Bloom Workshops & Show & Sale

Mandeville Gardens, 4746 Marine Dr, Burnaby.

Featuring Artists Wendy Mould, AFCA & Audrey Bakewell
 in Support of the Alzheimer’s Society of BC.

See you there!!

My Etsy Store is always OPEN: Etsy - WendyMouldsArt

Originals, Prints, Commission Work and Instant Printable Cards for all Seasons available.

Be sure to like and share my posts to keep me coming into your box, 

You won't miss a single post if you Follow by Email or Like my Facebook Page.

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy

The Creation Process: Idea + Effort = Success NOT!! - Painting & Drawing Tips

As Artists we are all familiar with the Creative Journey, it is one we travel often. And with a great deal of enjoyment.

However, the Creative Journey is not always filled with joy . . .

Organized my colours, clean my water and I am READY TO PAINT!!!

You know what I mean. Every Creative Journey starts with a Big Idea.  It is tossed about in your mind until the urge to follow through can no longer be ignored.  Then you begin. . . 

Everyone's journey is different. Some fast. Some slow.  Some methodical. Some haphazard.  There is no right or wrong.  We each have our own method.  

As you know I started my picture of the Ring-Necked Pheasants  2 weeks ago and I blogged about the planning stage.  (See here to read more) I did more planning than usual because I was trying something new, molding paste.  

Close Up of painting on the molding paste.  See how the colours are changed by the paste.  Lines forming where there are ridges in the paste.  Does make for interesting texture. 

Well, I am here to tell you, the Creative Journey is not always filled with joy . . .

There can be challenges.

1. I was really being good and first did colour swaths to make sure of my colours.  Well, that didn't work as I soon found out.  The paste tends to grab the pigment sometimes making it more opaque than when just on paper.  Colours didn't mix on the pasted area properly.  Sometimes they ran along the lines created by the molding paste and showed up somewhere else.  

Tried out different colour combinations to see what I liked.  Little did I know that they would not look like this when I painted them.  

It took awhile but I learned: no big wet washes.  For a real splash of colour, brush had to be fairly dry.  

After Painting the background I was excited but a little worried.  (Blue edge on birds is the frisket) 

2. The foreground just seemed to be a out of control.  

I took a picture and changed it to the grayscales to see if it followed my Notan sketch.  It did but still  . . .(See Notan sketch on other post here ) 

I really found I had to be patient.  I needed to work with the patterns of grasses in the foreground but I needed my pheasant painted in before I dealt with them.  The foreground would not make sense until the pheasant were there to give it some meaning.  But it was hard to leave it alone...

As the birds began to appear the foreground begins to make more sense.  I have started to add a few darks in places to suggest grasses and small bushes. 

3.  Glazing colour over another colour, something I love to do, was very hard.  It was easy to lift pigment off the molding paste so that really helped in making corrections and changes.  But when it came time to glaze over an area to create depth there were problems.  Brush too wet, colour underneath lifted.  Worked an area too much, colour underneath lifted. Underlying pigments not dry when glazing, colour underneath lifted.   Fiddle with a spot (not that any of us would do that), colour underneath lifted.  Needless to say I painted several areas more than once.  

Yes, I did have moments when I was frustrated and discouraged.  The joy was not with me.  However, my idea was still burning in my head.  Once I painted that first pheasant in the back I was hooked.  I was determined to finish.  I wanted to see how my idea would play out.  

RING-NECKED PHEASANT IN THE FIELD - Matted 16 x 20, watercolour.
 Very pleased at how it turned out.  Lots of interesting things happening in the foreground, glazed several times to change the colours.  (note around the head of the middle Pheasant) even reshaped the background a bit.  

I really started to listen and pay attention to my materials and try and learn how to work with them instead of fighting them.  That lifting thing turned out to be really great.  I was able to lift off lots of pigment and really start again in parts of the background that I felt had gotten too dark.  I did glaze. A lot.  I made sure things were really dry before moving into an area.  I was patient.  (sometimes it is best to just take Max for a walk and let things get good and dry.  Max loved that part).  I tested my brush constantly to monitor how wet/dry it was. I even started to feel the joy again. 

Black & White Study of RING-NECKED PHEASANT IN THE FIELD
Always intersting to see the finished picture in black and white. I can really see that there are lots of interesting shapes to balance with my Pheasants. 

And best of all, I finished it.   

Are your Creative Journeys full of turmoil and challenge or do they run smoothly?  

Next up, my Intober Tangles 2019 Collage - didn't quite finish it in October, but Wow! Wait until you see it.  

Looking to move your Drawing Skills to the Next Level?

Join me in November and December to Make Christmas Cards using Doodles and Candles.  See info below ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

Contact Me to Register ↓↓↓↓

Get Ready for Christmas!! with a Fun Way to Improve your Drawing Skills

This year's theme is Candles, Holly and Poinsettias - Samples of things you can do with them

Christmas Card Classes 

Saturday, Nov 16, 10-12pm. Art by Wendy's Studio, North Surrey

Wednesday, Dec 4, 1-3pm. Gardenworks at Mandeville, South Burnaby

Treat your Friends to a Special Christmas Greeting

All supplies Incld $40      Contact Wendy  Gift Certificates Available 

OR

Book a 3 Pack of Private Lessons with Me - 3 Lessons 2.5 hr each $225
Drawing lessons in graphite, carbon, ink, watercolour, watercolour pencils or coloured pencils.
Based on your Schedule at my Studio, N. Surrey. 

Gift Certificates Available 

My Etsy Store is always OPEN: Etsy - WendyMouldsArt

Originals, Prints, Commission Work and Instant Printable Cards for all Seasons available.

Be sure to like and share my posts to keep me coming into your box, 

You won't miss a single post if you Follow by Email or Like my Facebook Page.

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy

What?!! Paint it Again?! Painting and Drawing Tips

Yes, Paint that Picture Again!!
Hey, I get it. You painted the picture, you expressed your idea and now you're ready to move on.


Amphitrite Point Lighthouse, Uclulet, West Coast BC - Plein Air Painting

I don't mean do this every time.  But once and awhile just try the picture again.  Use a different pallet, try a different layout, change it up.  This isn't meant to be a laborious task but more a learning experience.  An opportunity to try something different and see how your original idea might look if expressed in a different way.  Or revisit and old idea/subject and try it again.  (Read more of the story of painting this original Plein Air painting here)

VanGogh painted over 30 self-portraits between the years of 1886 - 1889.  He couldn't afford models and felt portraits would be a could source of income so he used himself to practice.  It is interesting to see what he did: different poses, different expressions, different pallets, different styles even different props.  You can certainly see growth and changes in his work and understand how his style developed.  Read more about his self-portraits here. 

I am not suggesting you paint a picture 30 different times but maybe try it 3 or 4 times.  I teach drawing and painting skills in private lessons.  In the session we do side by side drawing.  We each have a sketchbook and we each draw the same thing.  I find this way I can discuss the steps in the drawing with my student as we progress.  Whenever there is a problem/question we stop and discuss it and look at ways to solve it. 

Sketch #1 of my Lighthouse Practice - The rocks were painted first and set my pallet.  I really enjoyed how the colours worked out in my rocks.   

There are several pictures that I use for reference over and over again as they offer special opportunities to focus on specific skills.  As a result I often end up painting and drawing the same picture several times.  

I can understand why VanGogh painted himself, over and over again.   

Some of my thoughts on my repeated  Lighthouse Paintings: 

1.  Each time I painted the lighthouse I noticed more things in the setting.  For example the different bushes under the tree.  At first I simplified them so much they weren't there.  Later I realized there were several different types.  It is surprising how you can study a place, paint it and yet never notice little things.  The pattern of the colours in the bushes,  different types of plants, the relationship between shapes, little things.  

2.  Change the lighting.  In Lighthouse Sketch #1, I accidentally added too much pink when painting the rocks.  The sketchbook paper did not allow for me to change things so I decided to go with it. It meant I had to include that colour in other areas.  All of a sudden I had a rosy sunset kind of picture.  It really intrigue me how that was created.  I know that I can take that idea into new work.

Sketch #2 of my Repeated Lighthouse Practice - Red as a dominate colour is not something I usually do.  However, I did like the way it worked into my rocks.  

3.  Changing the palette caused big changes in the picture.  In my original Plein Air painting the colours are cold.  There were really no warm tones and that might have been that it was an overcast day.  In my Lighthouse Sketch #2, I repeated the red from the lighthouse in my rocks. To me the rocks hold way more interest than my first one with just the blues and purples.  Maybe because I don't often use a lot of red.  I quite liked the results. 

4.  Try different layout/compositions.  This I found very interesting.  Each layout told a different story.  I found the landscape picture (Sketch #1) very pretty and interesting but the portrait pictures seemed more dynamic with their strong lines.  

Try a few small painting/drawings/sketches of one of your latest paintings.  See if there are new things your subject wants to tell you.  

Note to my Regular Readers:  

I know you are probably wondering how my Ring-necked Pheasants are coming along from my last post.  (Read here)  With all the Halloween Fun they are moving slowly. They're not done yet but I will certainly have something for you next post.  

Also

Inktober Tangles 2019 is over.  (Read more Here. ) I am not quite finished my 31 Tangles, I am on #27.  That has turned out to be an adventure of its own so I will report back to you on that as well next post.  

Looking to move your Drawing Skills to the Next Level?

Join me in November and December to Make Christmas Cards using Doodles and Candles.  See info below ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

Contact Me to Register ↓↓↓↓

Get Ready for Christmas!! with a Fun Way to Improve your Drawing Skills

This year's theme is Candles, Holly and Poinsettias - Samples of things you can do with them

Christmas Card Classes 

Saturday, Nov 16, 10-12pm. Art by Wendy's Studio, North Surrey

Wednesday, Dec 4, 1-3pm. Gardenworks at Mandeville, South Burnaby

Treat your Friends to a Special Christmas Greeting

All supplies Incld $40      Contact Wendy

OR

Book a 3 Pack of Private Lessons with Me - 3 Lessons 2.5 hr each $225
Drawing lessons in graphite, carbon, ink, watercolour, watercolour pencils or coloured pencils.
Based on your Schedule at my Studio, N. Surrey. 

My Etsy Store is always OPEN: Etsy - WendyMouldsArt

Originals, Prints, Commission Work and Instant Printable Cards for all Seasons available.

Be sure to like and share my posts to keep me coming into your box, 

You won't miss a single post if you Follow by Email or Like my Facebook Page.

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy