What’s with Mass? Can you really draw with it?

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

I like to draw. 

I like to work with line to develop my pictures, adding details as I go.

 But working with mass!  

I never really thought about how that works with a line drawing.

  

Just recently I took a workshop with Dawn Emerson. http://dawnemerson.com    She does great stuff with pastels, mixed media and paint and she incorporates lots of drawing in her work.  It was a great to work with her.

Our subject was four pears but seeing how they came alive with each approach was very interesting. We started off with drawing using line, definitely my comfort zone and but then we drew them with a different tool.

My Pears drawn with a brayer  (it is like a roller, about 1 inch wide)

Next we focused on the mass.  This is something I never really connected with my drawing, always being a "line guy".  To do this we covered the paper completely with a mid-tone and the shapes were lifted out or darken to develop them.  It really made me feel the connection of drawing with painting. 

   My Pears, starting with the mid-tone

The next project was working with space and shapes.  Really different for me but I did find it kind of neat.  I particularly loved the short fat pear in the middle.  He seemed to have real personality!

My pears with shapes and space

Before I knew it I was working away with charcoal and pastels, building shapes with mass, no lines in sight!! Quite a new experience for me.  My final project was this squirrel, developed with charcoal and pastel.

My Squirrel - Steve loved this one!

 As you can probably tell the whole workshop was a great source of inspiration for me.  I am anxious to try more work with the pastels but also incorporate this sense of mass into my drawings and paintings. 

Have a great day and hope your next workshop is an inspiration for you as well, 

Wendy 

Poppies in the Spring

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

POPPIES IN THE SPRING - 20 x 24 Framed $800

Have you see the Poppies this Spring?  They have been beautiful.  Their lovely bright colours, large petals and wonderful lines make them very popular with artists everywhere.  This picture is my latest and uses a new technique I have been working with: Texturing Paste with Watercolour. It really creates the heavy brush strokes that thick oils and acrylics have but allows the colours to blend and  change in a way only watercolour can do.  The best of all worlds!
I will be demoing this technique at our show Paints'n Bloom tomorrow, Friday, June 14 at West Coast Garden Center.  Audrey Bakewell and myself are the featured artists in the show.  Her demo "Using the Elegant Writer Pen with Watercolour" is at 11:00am and my demo "Texturing Paste with Watercolour" is at 1:30pm.  The show runs Friday and Saturday, June 14 & 15, 10-4pm. It is in support of the Alzheimer Society of British Columbia.  Donations will be collected and a percentage of the art sales goes directly to the Society.  A large selection of information for Alzheimer Resources in the community will be available.  See you there.
West Coast Garden Center: 1420 172 St., S Surrey  ( They are working on 16 Ave. so access off 24 Ave or 8 Ave to 168 St., detour is marked on the roads)
To see more of Audrey's work: www.audreybakewell.com

Journaling for Travel and Life is Fun!

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

Have you ever been traveling and wanted to save those memories? Do you like to journal your thoughts and feelings? Scrapbook? Just paint or draw for fun?  Whether you capture a moment or make it part of your daily life, journaling is a great way to release those creative juices. I guarantee that trying some of this stuff will really put new excitement into your create voice!!

I have always journaled in my own humble way on all our travels, taking my book and sometimes filling it and other times not.  But it has always been a part of me.  As preparation for this workshop I went to workshops on journaling and read a few books; I have learned tons of new and interesting things.  A whole new world has opened up for me and I am really excited to share it with others.  When you experiment in your journal it doesn't feel "real" and so you have that sense of freedom to try new things.

 My 'oyster page' was one of those experiments.  I did some drawing and a bit of painting and then I decided to try the molding paste, just to see what would happen.  I was really excited with the results and my picture "Romancing the Rose" came out of that.

On April 27 & 28, Audrey Bakewell and myself will be offering a weekend of journaling. On Saturday we will be focused on the journals themselves and then Sunday the focus is Plein Air painting, either for your journal or just to paint.  Pre-registration is required so drop me a line or give me a call. If you can't make this weekend let  me know your interested as I will definitely do more! It is just way too much fun!! (See my website for contact info www.artbywendy.com)
 

Visiting Yellowknife and Marketing More

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

Yes, Yellowknife has called me back!  I was there in the summer last year and I heard so much of the winter adventures I had to return and see for myself.  Already it is my last day and time to go home, where did my time go?  I have been out every day, roaring down the lake on a snowmobile, sitting in the sun having a snow picnic (yes a snow picnic) and of course viewing the Northern Lights.  I went Scottish Dancing and I spent all day as part of the safety crew for the FrostBite 45 cross country ski race.  Lots of fun and all at temperatures I could hardly imagine!!
One of the most artist experiences I had (besides the incredible snowscapes) was to run a Marketing Workshop for a couple of artists here in Yellowknife. Shawna and Lynn are moving forward with their art business and we had a great evening working through the Marketing World together.  Having the opportunity to meet with artists in other areas is such an valuable experience.  To see Shawna's work http://dancingravenstudio.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/thursday-emerging-artist-marketing/ 

I will be home soon and pictures of Yellowknife will soon follow.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

THE WATER DRAGON - 13 X 21 Available

Yes this is the Year of the Dragon, the Water Dragon specifically and this only happens every 60 years so this is a special year.  It is a year of courage, prosperity, love and cooperation.  To honor this day I have my fellow artist Becky McMahon’s Water Dragon which she has painted specifically for this New Year and has graciously allowed me to post today.  According to Sung dynasty manuscripts, the Dragon is described as having the "head of an ox or donkey, eyes of a shrimp, horns of a deer, body of a serpent covered with fish scales, and a feet of a phoenix," and it usually clutches a pearl, meant to symbolize its supernatural powers.  I think her dragon has this and more.  If you would like to see the original it is at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens in Vancouver, BC for the next six weeks.  To see more of her work www.triskeltreecreations.com

We have just returned from a wonderful trip in the sun, Hawaii and I have lots of new things to share in my upcoming posts.  Until then “Happy New Year” and remember to wear red, look for songbirds and don’t wash your hair on  Chinese New Year’s Day.   

Positively: Ready for the Picking

Stage 1: After the Pour
Negativity Rules!! Yes, working on this picture has been an eye opener for me. I have really been horning my negativity skills. As you know from my previous posts I took the watercolor pouring workshop with Leslie Redhead and these grapes were one of our projects. We did this as a practice before we took on our ‘major picture’ of poppies. (No, you haven’t missed that picture as it isn’t finished yet!)
Stage 2: Starting Negative Painting. Course is over and I am on my own!!
Stage 1 picture shows what it looks like after the pouring and then in stage two I started to define leaves and grapes by stressing the negative rather than the positive aspects of each leaf and grape. At first I really didn’t know where or how to develop things but as I worked I began to understand how it worked. I thought I could move around the picture and you can see isolated grapes as well as clusters in the stage two piece. I quickly learned that you must ‘move out ‘from the defined area so you can build and connect things. Fortunately they are non-staining transparent colors as I was doing lots of scrubbing out and redefining those isolates. I also made the mistake of not taking my colours to the edges of the paper. I took a deep breath, said good bye to my hard work and repoured the bottom half of the picture; I think it turned out great!! Then with a little creative cropping to fit it into a frame, I was suddenly done.

Ready for Picking - 7.5 x 10.5 - Available

(I did it!!!)

Great Workshop with Leslie Redhead

The Main Lodge at Painters Lodge, Campbell River, BC

Wendy pouring the grapes, our practise picture.

Becky, finding the negatives to create her leaves around the poppies.

Talk about an inspiring three day – Becky McMahon, a fellow artist and I have just returned from a three day workshop at Painters Lodge in Campbell River. We had a really good time. The workshop was wonderful, pouring watercolours with floral, the food at the Lodge was a gourmet delight, the rooms were lovely and the ocean view was breathtaking. If you are looking for a nice little getaway check out Painters, they also offer many different types of 3 day events that are also fun to do: painting, photography, and yoga are just a few.
For our class, we were pouring watercolour. First we masked out our main flowers and then poured away. We were blowing, spritzing , and using our fingers to move the paint around. I am not much of a finger person but I did get my fingers dirty!! Then it was painting the positives for our flowers and looking for the negatives for our leaves. We did a practice piece with grapes first and then on to our poppies. I really enjoyed the class and I really stretched myself. You will notice at the end the size of the picture I am holding, that is just HUGE for me. I have never worked on such a BIG piece of paper. Of course we didn’t finish but I am going to plug away and see what I can do with my grapes and poppies. Leslie does lovely watercolours and you can check out her work at http://leslieredheadart.blogspot.com/ . Becky's usual medium is chinese brush painting on rice paper and you can see her work is at http://www.triskeltreecreations.com/

Becky and Leslie, definitely happy with the results.
Wendy and Leslie, can you believe this is a half sheet??!!

The Ups and Downs of the Art World

KEEPING WATCH - 3 x 3 - SOLD

The first picture to sell, are we surprised?!

Well my exciting art weekend is over; it was a whirlwind of fun and adventure. Saturday was the reception day for my show “A Walk on the Wild Side . . Or Not! featuring Margaret Mah and myself. We were set up and ready before 1 pm with such anticipation. Things were quiet, we waited, two ladies arrived and of course we pounced on them, settled and pulled back. We waited a bit more and then they came. We had people pouring into our little gallery, talking, looking and yes buying. Then in the middle of it all the photographer arrived from the paper and we had a photo op (that really makes you feel important). It was great fun.
Margaret and Me with our pictures

On Sunday, I had my marketing workshop for artists, and it was a full house as well. We had a really productive day, the synergy produced by such an event is amazing. I am not bragging when I say everyone left just bubbling with new ideas and goals for the future. I find that each time I have run the workshop we all feel empowered, there is just no other way to describe it. I know to from previous sessions that this empowerment not only shows up in the marketing skills of the artists but in their work as well.
Well those were the “Up’s” of the weekend and of course you are wondering what could possibly be the “Down’s”. Well my application for Signature status did not go forward. There was 38 of us that applied and 11 were accepted. I have comfort in the fact that I am in good company. I must admit I am not too down; I am pleased that my work has got to the level that I can apply and as Arnold Schwarzenegger said “I’ll Be Back!”
PS. I just got my official call from the Federation and I missed by 2 votes!! I am must admit that made my day. I know that I am on the right track and next time I will be there. Have a good day.

Winter Friends

WINTER FRIENDS - 2.5 x 2.5 Watercolor

Isn't this a great little piece? Every winter the ducks and the mute swans are visitors to the southwest coast of British Columbia and when I was over to Victoria for New Years I was very fortunate to see them. It was a sunny day at the lagoon and lots of people were out to see them and feed them so it was easy to get some great pictures. I was so excited at seeing these big birds that I immediate made some plans for a series on the swans/ducks which you will see in my next few posts. I can hardly wait to get on with the next one.
On another note, I had my first Marketing workshop in my studio and it was a great day for all of us. Everyone left feeling inspired and ready with new plans for 2011. It is amazing the synergy that is produced when you spend a day with a focus group. I have one more Marketing workshop planned in February and it is already shaping up to be a good group.

BC Artists Volume II is Here!!

I want to wish you a

Merry Christmas
and all the best for the coming year!

I also want to share with you some exciting news: I have been published in a book and here it is!! BC Artists Vol. II, features artists from BC, it is a great opportunity to learn about some of the many talented artists on the coast. I am very honored to be part of it and excited and pleased to get the book before Christmas. If you are interested in a copy they are available at Chapters, Opus Framing Supplies and of course I just happen to have a few autographed copies by one of the artists in the book!!

Exciting New Things are Happening in the Studio

Rusty & Me Ready to Work

Workshops and classes! Yes, my new expanded studio/gallery now has space for small workshops and classes. My first foray into workshops will be in Marketing Art. I have two dates set, January 23 and February 27, 2011, just in time to get things set up for all the Spring shows. The plan is to have a group of 6-8 artists and work with them on marketing art work. Each one day workshop will be a 4 hour session with a lunch break which should give us time to get to specifics and allow some networking time as well. I have already done a half day workshop with a larger group and it was so exciting to see the energy that was created. We all left with a buzz and lots of plan. My advertising has only just begun but already January's date is half full!

In the Gallery

In addition to my Marketing workshops I will also be offering private drawing lessons. Working with beginning and intermediate artists is a great experience and I think a natural consequence of my years as a teacher.

Gift certificates are available for both workshops and drawing lessons.