Happy Spring! to all, and I hope this find you all well and enjoying the season.
I Like Red ......................................oil on panel 3.5" by 2.5"
I Like Red detail view
I feel that each viewer is entitled to his/her own opinion of artwork, and I like to let the images speak for themselves. That said, I know I'll be asked about these subjects:
..........--the cigar box treasures (Keepers) include a rare old and yellowed photograph--it was interesting to paint--it is my father in the RCAF during the Second World War, sitting on the wing of an airplane (either a Lancaster or a Harvard, for any aviation buffs). That part of the painting is smaller than a dime, and the face is about the size of a sesame seed, so it was a challenge.
..........--I think it's probably a very g'day when one can stay up until the wee hours playing/listening to live music (and the strings of mandolin and fiddle are tuned to G-D-A-E which seemed really appropriate to me)
..........--the brilliant colours, and even the aroma, of crayons bring back childhood memories of days spent creating (I Like Red). We would have thought we were rich indeed to have more than 8 colours, and paper too (even if it was a brown paper bag), so this painting has something to do with joyful abundance!
.................................................................................................................................................................
There's been some watercolour paintings too--here's a couple of samples. These are 1 inch square:
Celtic Dragon 1" by 1"
transparent watercolour on Arches paper............ Celtic dragon, detail view
Lord of the Pond 1"x1" transparent watercolour on Arches paper ............... Lord of the Pond detail view
The miniatures above (plus others) have gone out to shows in Pennsylvania, Washington State, and North Carolina, and these shows are listed on the right or on '
Events'. Some galleries' shows are online too. There will be other gallery-type shows this year.
I'm often asked the difference between small paintings and miniature paintings (I do both). When one magnifies a small painting, there is not a lot meant to be seen--one can usually just see impressionistic blobs of paint and brushstrokes. Conversely, miniature paintings are designed to be viewed through a magnifying glass--then there suddenly appears more details and surprises to explore, and the comment often is, 'Oh my gosh, look at this!' This detail is mostly not visible unless one has the original in hand. (The detail views here might help somewhat, but come nowhere close to the original paintings.)
Art in miniature is an ancient and unique art form. Not everyone is 'big into small', but there are ardent collectors who travel to see works, and who even have their own special magnifying glasses. Some say that they love this format, as they can have a world-class collection of original art that also hangs in a very small space. Portraits (of people or homes) are often arranged, just as was done in the 18th century; some miniatures from that era owe their survival today to the fact that they are so small and easy to transport.
I enjoy painting miniatures very much, and love 'impossible' challenges. Nevertheless, this is very intense work and can be physically hard too, so I prefer to keep some sort of balance
between doing those and the larger works. I feel that looser, more impressionistic work has its own beauty as well. This year I plan to continue larger (studio) works on a couple of series, and when the weather gets nicer, to get 'gloriously' outside again and do some location work ('plein aire').
.....................................................................................................................................................................
A happy decision has been made to no longer exhibit at outdoor shows, which were taking up far too much painting time. I will keep the Buckhorn Fine Art Festival, a very high quality all-fine-art show; I believe it will be my 15th year there. This year Buckhorn is planning a Canadian Masters exhibit too, which should be intriguing with originals from Casson, Loates, Dumas, Danby, Bacon and Bateman, among others. I'll have my home studio show, here in Aylmer, at the end of October. (We are right in the messy middle of extensive renovations, so the house may look quite different than the online photo!) For those of you who are spread around the globe, I will try to keep up postings on the blog as paintings are completed.
...................................................................................................................................................................
Other newsThat little
time lapse video that I filmed (while I was painting a small oil study) has had 8300 views now! Visual art truly is an international language.
The webpage and Facebook Page will all be updated soon. The 2010 newsletters won't be done until July this year as there are some paintings I hope to do first if all goes well. (Those are the newsletters that I snail mail, or send as .pdf online--or there is a Scribe link to them too, through the website or on the right side of this page.)
Following are more art quotes, and I am glad that so many enjoy them. I like to collect the ones that make me laugh, or think, and pass them along to you.
All for now!
Cheers, Judy
Quotes for the day
(I laughed out loud when I read the first one...oops, been there!)
...................................................................................................................................................................
the watercolour painters' list:
1. coffee on the left.
2. water on the right.
~Nina Allen Freeman
.........................................................................................................................................................................
A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts. ~Joshua Reynolds
........................................................................................................................................................................
Culture is the passion for sweetness and light, and what is more, the passion for making them prevail. ~Matthew Arnold
........................................................................................................................................................................
I am still learning. ~Michelangelo
.........................................................................................................................................................................
The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark. ~Agnes de Mille
........................................................................................................................................................................
Only through art can we emerge from ourselves and know what another person sees. ~Marcel Proust
.......................................................................................................................................................................
If the world really looks like that, I will paint no more! ~French Impressionist Claude Monet, flinging away a pair of glasses for which he had been fitted to correct a severe astigmatism
......................................................................................................................................................................
I think an artist cannot speak about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture. ~Jean Cocteau
.......................................................................................................................................................................
Beware of artists, they mix with all classes, and are therefore dangerous. ~Queen Victoria
