A Special Goodbye

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

WALKING BUDDIES

As the year comes to an end there is always a moment of reflection and good bye to special moments.  This year ends with a special goodbye for me.  My little companion, Rusty has finally succumb to cancer. We said our last goodbyes this week.

The painters life can be a lonely life at times. You spend hours in the studio or the field pursuing that moment of inspiration.   Even my husband will abandon me in the bush, as I capture that special light as it reflects off the trees or the sun setting on the water.  But Rusty has always been there. 

He was happy to wonder for miles on the trails as we searched for just the right spot. Clamouring over logs, slugging in the mud, well okay.  He didn't really go for the mud and for that matter he wasn't a big fan of blackberry vines either.  I carried him over that.  But the rest of the time, he was there.  We would find a place and set up.  As long as he had his spot, usually on my lap, he was happy.  Did I mention he was a lap dog?  I think he could have written the book, How to be a Lap Dog.  He know all the tricks.  We would settle in and I would get to work.

Now this can be a dangerous time for Plein Air Painters.  (See my blog-  Beware: 5 Health Hazards of Plein AirPainting).

You are obsessed with the project.   You know what I mean, 'in the moment'.  Time stops. You see and hear only what relates to the goal. You are oblivious to anything else: bug bites, sunburn, thirst,  coyotes, you name it.  Rusty was my watch dog.  After a few hours, he would tell me: time to drink, time to stretch, time to move out of the sun and oh yeah! Time to move, that noise I had been ignoring was a group of coyotoes, howling in the bush.  They were kind of close, definitely time to move!!

Back home in the winter it was studio work for me. Rusty wasn't much of a lap guy in the studio but he did like to sleep there.  He had his own bed, well actually, 3 beds.  When I worked at my drawing and painting stations he curled up and slept.  I could always hear his soft  snoring as I paused to reflect.  His other beds were at my computer desk.  I think he liked the one at my feet because it was close to the furnace vent.  In the evening he would curl up there while I worked on my writing.  In the daytime he wanted up on the counter where his bed faced the window.  He was a real taskmaster then.  Telling me to hurry up as we needed to get out for our walk before the sun was gone. You know how short the days can be in the winter.  Important to get out there as the weather can change in an instant. 

 

So to my little guy a special good bye.  And don't worry Rusty, I have learned my lessons well. Painting or drawing, take time to stop, reflect and stretch.  And of course go for a walk every day. RIP little guy. 

Rusty - 1996 - 2015

 Be sure to like and share my posts. You won't miss a single one if you follow by email or Like my Facebook Page. Keep up with all the art events by joining my email list (see sidebar) Have a great artful day, Wendy

Snowy Owl Visits Vancouver WIP

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

SNOWY OWL VISITS VANCOUVER - 14 x 18

My first project of the year had to be the Snowy Owls.  They are settled out on the Delta Mud Flats amongst the low brush for our winter.  It is very unusual for them to come this far south and in fact the last time they were here in these numbers, was in the winter of 2005/6.  I was so excited with seeing them over Christmas that I just had to get started on a picture of them.

I wanted my owl to reflect their regal appearance and to integrate him into the surroundings.  I tried several different formats, but it was hard to include the brush and logs and yet give a real sense of his size.  (They are one of the biggest owls.)  This is my final set up and now it is peddle to the metal to finish him (or her) up. 

PS.  Note the picture size, this is my largest drawing. 

Ready for the Show

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

READY FOR THE SHOW - 10.5 x 14.5 - Available

The snow is covering the ground, just a light coat, but snow none the less and Christmas is in the air.  It seems like a long ago time that I captured my reference material in May for this picture.  At that time we were in Fort Langley watching the May 24^th parade and looking forward to the warm days of summer.  There were a number of horses in the parade and I was itching to work with horses and looking for ideas.   The parade got held up, as parades do, and this group was standing ready to move.  The horses on the right were patiently waiting but not the other one.  He and his rider seemed to be ready and wanting to move out.  Like me, anxious to move forward and sometime forgetting to enjoy the moment at hand.  This picture was a good reminder to me that this holiday I am going to try and be like those horses and enjoy the moment.  I hope your holiday preparations are going well and things are in order for a good Christmas holiday.

Taking Turns gets into a major show

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

TAKING TURNS - 11 X 14 - Available

Yes, I made it into the "Annual International Representational Show - AIRS" which is being held at the Federation Gallery on Granville Island in Vancouver.  The show runs from October 4 -23 with the reception Thursday, October 6, 6-8pm.  This is the second year that the Federation of Canadian Artists have held this show and my second year of getting in!!  I am just over the moon.  If you make it to the reception be sure and say hi, I will be the nut walking around with a grin on my face!!

(My picture of the sandhill crane, Stepping Out, was the successful picture last year.)

STEPPING OUT - 14 X 11 - Available

HACKED AND BURNED -- STARS ARE BORN

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

THE OLD GUARD - 5.5 X 3.5 - AVAILABLE

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK - 5.5 X 3.5 - AVAILABLE

These two little gems are products of one of my soul searching periods that ended in a hacking and burning of a lovely picture.  I completed the original picture of my finches “Out for Dinner” in the spring;  it was well drawn (I thought so anyway) , lovely birds, great bird feeder and the composition was a bit unusual, almost symmetrical.  But it didn’t do it for me!!  I felt those little finches were not happy. 

Out for Dinner

 I have looked at that picture and mulled over it for months.  Suddenly in the middle of the night a few days ago it hit me, crop it tons, there is just too much empty space.  (I know I need to get a life and do other things at night but. . .that’s another story)  It took a day or two to get the courage but then I took my paper cutter and let her rip.   After, I added a few extra touches to give more sparkle and Stars were born.   

With Determination and Reassurance, I will start the weekend!!

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

DETERMINATION - 10 x 8 Available

Yes, this is a big weekend; I am part of The Langley Art Studio Tour. This is a very exciting event for me, my first studio tour.  No, I haven’t moved to Langley so it won’t actually  be in my studio but I will be with a group of 5 other artists at the Fields & Flower Farm, 900 232 St.  We will be one of the “Stops of Interest”.  The tour will have 43 artists, 17 working art studios, 6 ‘Stops of Interest’, a range of mini-workshops and demos, and plenty of art to see.  It really looks like it will be a great event.  Best of all it will be over two weekends to give everyone a chance to poke around a bit at their leisure.

REASSURANCE - 10 x 8 Available

Places I would love to check out are Susan Falk’s studio, she is a tiny lady and does huge paintings, her studio set up would be very interesting to see.  www.susanfalk.ca   Down the road from us is Flowers from a Country Garden, a u-pick flower garden.  This sounds like a really novel idea and I would like to see how it works.  She had flowers for our reception last night and the bouquets were stunning. www.upickcountryflowers.blogspot.com

The tour dates are Sept. 24 & 25 and Oct. 1 & 2, 10am – 5 pm.  This is a self-guided tour and all the details and maps can be found at www.langleyartstudiotour.ca  I will be doing one of the demos, “Drawing Animals in Graphite” at 2 pm each day of the Sept 25 & 25 weekend.  Of course my new pictures “Determination’’ and “Reassurance” will be there to greet you. 

I wish you all could come and check out the tour but for those that can, it will be great to see you.

TEA FOR TWO

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

TEA FOR TWO - 8.5 x 6.5 - Available

A sunny day and fresh homemade suet, how can a bird go wrong.  It really is Tea Time. 
We had lots of fun this winter watching all the birds at our bird feeder. (I know we need to get a life but really it was interesting!)  A friend had given us an easy recipe to follow and believe me they really did love it.  Three days was a long time for it to last.  We had lots of the usual birds: chickadees, finches, juncos and sparrows but also a few of the woodpeckers: Northern Flickers and Downy Woodpeckers.  We really started to become a bit of an expert on our little group. Now that it is warm out, well some of the time anyway, we have a peanut feeder out there and we are hoping for bigger and better things. 
My little chickadees are still my favourite, they are so friendly, quick and familiar; just like an old friend come to visit.

THE TEA PARTY

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

THE TEA PARTY - 8.5 x 12 - Available

My tea party is now in full swing.  The red winged blackbirds were buzzing around the feeders out at Riefel Bird Sanctuary when I was there last.  Their colours and songs really caught my eye.  I was particularly happy to capture the sprayed form of the one in the center.  He was busy calling to the others and seemed to be running the show.  The old feeders have lovely old fashion lines and I thought they made a great mix.  As you can see it is graphite except for that the touch of colour, that is watercolour pencils.  I am not really interested in doing the entire picture in colour pencils but I do like that touch to bring it to life.  It seems to be my ‘thing’ right now and I am just chaffing at the bit to do more.  I have so many ideas floating around in my head; I can’t keep up with them right now!

Help!! Swans are taking over my life!!

FALL REFLECTIONS 9 x 13
Yes, I have been on a big swan kick, painting and drawing them in all shapes and sizes. I couldn't help myself. This winter we had such wonderful viewing opportunities so of course I took a ton of pictures and now I want to use them. I think I am done for a while; here are a few I wanted to share with you. The first one is a pair of trumpeter swans that were settled in the water in the marsh area at the mouth of the Courtenay River on Vancouver Island. I juiced up the colors a bit and turned it into more of a fall scene. There were ducks, geese and swans everywhere but this pair were just settled quietly in their own little world. For me it was everything: love, caring, rest after a long migration and even a sense of safety, if that is even possible in the animal world.
MUTE SWAN 8 x 6
This second picture is of a mute swan. They're slightly smaller than the trumpeter swans and also gather here along the west coast in the winter. She, well it just has to be a she for me, was gathered with a group of swans, ducks and geese looking for handouts from the people walking along a lagoon near Victoria. I loved the arch of her neck and the sparkle of the sun on her head and beak. I wanted to try drawing her in graphite without a background and still create that sense of white. (I know, I need to make easier challenges for myself.) It was a lot of fiddling with values because of course I complicated it a bit with the color but I think she worked.

Northern Flickers

NORTHERN FLICKERS - 11 x 15 - $450

Aren’t they great!! This pair of Flickers, well I think it is the same ones all the time, came to our bird feeder most of the winter. They were the highlight of our day. (I know we need to get a life but really, aren’t they something?) We first saw the male hanging upside down off our little suet feeder trying to get what he could and then pretty soon he brought a friend with him. It was so neat how first one would feed than the other; each taking a turn waiting patiently on the branches nearby. When they were done, off they would go. Sometimes we would only see them once a day and other times they were back several times. The other little birds would just perch on the trees and chirp away until they were done. It was like royalty had come to town and they needed to be taken care of first. We thought they were huge birds because all we were seeing was chickadees and juncos and then one day the crows came by and we realized they were not such big fish in the pond after all. Still we were happy to see them in ‘our pond’. The lady at Riefel Bird Sanctuary says they will head up to higher ground soon so we won’t see them for the summer but we will sure look forward to their return in the fall.

WIP: Kona – The Baby

Yes, we have a new grandpuppy in the family; Kona, a sister for Sierra, our other grandpuppy. (See Post for January 4, 2011) She is a Tibetan Pomeranian, like her sister, great looking dogs and smart as a whip. Of course I have to draw her!! We were puppy sitting last week so I took lots of pictures of the two dogs. On Monday, I was teaching a class on drawing animals at My Art Corner in Burnaby and I thought little Kona would be a great subject. She has lovely colored fur lots of darks and white so good opportunities to show working with both. We had a great class, the time just fly we were all so focused on our work. Now I am anxious to finish her as she is coming along so well.
Our first day as Artist in Residence, yesterday, went very well. Things started off quiet at first and Becky and I wondered if that was going to be the order of the day but then people started to arrive. We had two very persistent artists from Maple Ridge that persevered and found their way after we sent out invitations with the wrong address on them (We sent out corrections yesterday afternoon so hopefully everyone knows for next week). They had brought a variety of pieces of work for critiquing and then we had a very productive conversation on pricing artwork. Others arrived to talk about art, brought books and pictures to share and things just took off from there. Before we knew it, we were packing up and our morning was gone.

Here Comes Trouble - On Its Way

HERE COMES TROUBLE - 9.5 x 12.5 -$350
Things have been moving and shaking these days and I feel a real buzz happening in my Art World. I finished my picture Here Comes Trouble just in time to enter it in the artSpacific juried show in Delta. I am happy to report he got in and is already off to the show. The show is at the Delta Firehall of Arts and runs from March 15 to April 15. It is a great show so stop by if you have a moment.
Meanwhile I have been busy meeting with the Surrey Arts Council and I am happy to announce that Becky McMahon and myself will be starting a Visual Artist in Residence program at the new Newton Cultural Center starting Tuesday, March 22 - June 14, 2011. We will be there from 10-12 each Tuesday, to talk about art, critique work, mentor and demo our mediums. This is free to anyone that wants to stop by. Plans are also underway for us to run lessons and workshops. A really high point from all of this was when we had photo shoots with both of the local papers in one afternoon. How to feel valued!! There is already a Writer in Residence and a Theatre and Drama Person in Residence at the cultural center so bringing us on board really rounds out the program.

A Really Big Day

A Case of Curiosity - 10 x 14 SOLD

Pictures Gone and Fingers Crossed!!
Today was a really big day for Art by Wendy, I had two major events. First thing this morning I was off to deliver my pictures for my application for Signature Status in the Federation of Canadian Artists. My picture “A Case of Curiosity” was one of my originals from my group. You need to submit 10 digital images and then 3 originals from that group of 10. The jurying will be done on Sunday so I will have my fingers crossed all weekend.
Margaret with her load, where to begin!
After we left Granville Island Steve and I motored over to Burnaby to the Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Ave. Today was the day to hang the show “A Walk on the Wild Side . . Or Not!!” (a 2-person show) featuring myself and Margaret Mah. Our show is a walk with a twist. Margaret images are a real contrast to my realistic birds, animals and landscapes. It makes for a very interesting and dynamic combo. The reception is this Saturday, March 5, 2-4pm. The show runs to March 26. On the last day of the show March 26, I will be doing a drawing demo from 1-3pm . So as you can see, it was a really BIG DAY today!

Lots of excitement as the pictures get loaded up!

HERE COMES TROUBLE - WIP

HERE COMES TROUBLE - 9 X 13 inches
You have to love goats. They are kind of cute, very mischievous and inquisitive and lots of fun to watch. They have their down side of course but not being a farmer or owner I am able to ignore that. I met this little guy out at Kilby Historical Site in Harrison Mills. She just seemed to be looking for trouble and I thought she would look great in one of my pictures. I also took some great shots of the old machinery there. This old hayrack has lots of interesting parts and shapes and the two just seemed to be a perfect fit.
I have finished laying out the machinery and the goat and now I am trying to decide how much of the foreground to develop. This is where I can get too carried away so I am trying a more cautious approach as I begin to fill it in.
On the side, this weekend my marketing workshop for artists is on the go. We have a full house so there will be lots of interesting marketing plans emerging from the group. We are all going in the same direction and yet there are so many routes to take. Registration is also going well for my last workshop this winter on Sunday, March 6.

VADER

VADER 5.5 x 6.5 SOLD
Vader is my latest commission and he was a real treat to draw. Vader lives in Australia but has friends here in Canada. They asked me to do the picture as a gift for Vader’s owner. She had both a good picture of him plus this great silhouette shot that she had taken. The challenge was to try and incorporate both of them into one picture. Photoshop really saved the day. Instead of spending days on drawing different scenarios, I was able try many different situations and size ratios but it was still surprising how long it took to come up with a good combination. I really love how the silhouette of his face catches your eye right away when you look at the picture, it implies so much of the character and personality of the dog and then it moves you into the picture and the dog himself. Also the contrast of the roughness of the background with the smooth sleek fur of the dog really takes the picture over the top. Needless to say I was very pleased with the final results.

Justin

JUSTIN - 5 x 6.5 SOLD

Justin is one of the commissions that I completed for Christmas and I just had to share him with you as I think he is fabulous. (Okay, I am prejudice but my client thought he was good too!!) We settled on this rather off beat image which I cropped for the portrait. The end results turned out to be quite effective full of life and character. The owner really felt that Justin's personally was captured in the drawing. He was so pleased he ordered Christmas cards with Justin's portrait which he promptly took to family and friends in London. Not every picture goes international so quickly!!
I have a new show coming up in March, A Walk on the Wild Side or Not which I will be presenting with another artist Margaret Mah. I am starting to put that together so I will share some of those pictures with you in the coming posts.

The Many Faces of Sierra

Daddy's Girl - 5 x 6.5 - SOLD
Happy New Year – The first blog of the year so I wanted it to be special!
Sierra was one of my Christmas commissions and now that the secret is out I can share the pictures with you. Sierra is a beautiful little Pomeranian Tibetan Spaniel cross. She is the cutest thing with wonderful colouring and smart as a whip. She is only 6 months old but you can really get an idea of what a great adult dog she will be. The commission was to create 3 separate images of her that would fit in 8 x 10 frames and could be hung as a grouping.
Who Me? - 5 x 6.5 - SOLD
The picture "Daddy's Girl" is when she was only 2 months, "Who Me?" was when she was about 4 months and "The Sweetheart" is about 6 months. Needless to say everyone was very pleased with the results and they were a real surprise at Christmas.
The Sweetheart - 5 x 6.5 - SOLD

Diamond - All Done and Ready to Run

Yes, I must admit she really came together well once I got my cloth and tortillon working. I was very pleased with how well she worked out. She is now on her way to her new home.

I have had several people ask about some of my blending tools. I use the standard tortillons of various sizes but my favourite tool is a 'color shaper'. It is great for blending in very tiny places, doing that little fluff of hair off the side, etc. It has a foam type tip that you can use to burnish the graphite and you can draw with it once it has picked up a bit of graphite. It fits beautifully in your hand and is great fun to work with. Shapers can be found in the paint section of most art supply stores as they are used to move oil and acrylic paint around. There are several tip shapes and sizes. I find the point and the chisel are the best shape and I get size 0. They are relatively inexpensive, approx.$8-10 but well worth it.

Diamond – WIP

Short white hair, can it get any harder!! This is the kind of challenge I really enjoy. Drawing Diamond was going to be fun.

I decided to put a bit of a backdrop to set off her whites but I didn't want to do too much. It is so easy to make a black and white mess. I usually start by playing around a bit with different parts of the picture to get a feel for where I am going. For Diamond, I found the secret was to first of all get over the 'white thing'. When dealing with white, no matter what, there will always be a slight degree of shading. Once that was settled things really began to fall into place. Yes, there will be white but only on her forehead and nose area to really develop the focus on her face.
The second secret was to use both a cloth and tortillion to burnish my pencil work; this really makes her coat sleek and lifelike and gives many levels of subtle shading. I am very pleased with the results and anxious to finish her up. Things are really starting to come together eh?

Meeka and a Dog Show

Isn't he a fabulous looking dog? This is a memorial piece for a wonderful family dog. He lived to be a great age for a large dog and was definitely well loved. I really enjoyed working on his picture as he has so much life to him. Not to say he didn't have his challenges, all pictures do. I find that the fun is trying to work out the how I will depict different parts to make it a realistic picture. It is always a wonderful feeling to see things come together. My next challenge is a short hair white dog, Diamond!!

In between drawing I also went off for three days to a major dog show. It was my first trade show and my first dog show. What a fun event! I came home just high with excitement. There were so many beautiful dogs and all so well trained. They were in shows, dances, agility and Halloween costumes, what a sight! The vendors that were close to me were a wonderful group of people and we all had quite a good time. Of course many people commented on how wonderful my drawings were and that is always good for the ego. Here is a picture of my booth, and as you can see it was a really nice spot.