Impersona-Ted

 Bears hold a special part in the childhood memories of so many.

The world of the teddy bear is an innocent one, a world that gives delight and hurts not, a world that appeals to all generations and all nationalities.  Gyles Brandreth

  

The Teddy Bear is a symbol that all is right with the world if one simply believes.

 This was a fun painting to do. I wanted it to be filled with a sense of light, warmth and homeliness as well as convey a sense of innocent joy....something which would re-kindle those childhood memories of wanting to be part of that special 'bear family' that so many of us dreamed of as a child.

I hope you have all enjoyed entering into the lives of the bears with the competition too. I know I have enjoyed reading your ideas for captions. Picking a winner has been so hard that in the end I have decided on joint winners :) So Congratulations to Shirely Scoble and Verena Murvin for your wonderful Captions. A teddy print will be sent to you both very soon!

Ona

Competition Finalists!

Thank you to everyone who contributed comments for my bears here on this blog on facebook and on Art Colony. I had such fun reading them all.

Here are photos of the 5 that made me laugh the most for you all to enjoy. Click on the photos to see them larger

Cecilia Nutley

Verena Murvin

 

 Lance A Tischauser

Patricia Adams Spivey

 and Shirley Scoble

I wish I could send all of you a giclee print but, as always with competitions, there has to be a winner and the winner is.......


well I'm actually going to keep you in suspense for one day longer........I will let you all know tomorrow when I post the finished painting I promise :)

It's Competition Time!

I've now finished painting all the teddies so I just have the one mystery 'teddy impersonator' left to paint. My Ted 'models'  gathered round this evening for another look at my progress. Your challenge is to let me know what each of them is saying. Imagine each has a speech bubble.... what would you write inside?

The person whose ideas make me laugh the most will win one of my small -Ted themed giclee prints.... how's that for an incentive to have a go :)

The competition will run here on my blog, on the Art Colony blog and on my Facebook page. Just add a comment with your ideas to any of these or e mail me at ona@onak.ca. I will announce the winner at the weekend.

A special thanks to Gill for the idea.

Ona

Impersona-Ted WIP 1

I've had a tough couple of days trying to cope with the side effects of the next stage of medication increases so thought I would start painting a fun, cuddly, feel good painting to cheer me up... I get to cuddle teddies as I look at them and paint too which can't be bad:)

Yes, I'm playing with the -Ted theme again ... this time using the word 'Impersonated'. At the moment the painting is still very much a work in progress but i couldn't resist sharing this  fun photo of my teddy models inspecting the painting so far... I hope they approve :) Can you guess from the shapes left still to paint who or what the impersonator might be? :)

The painting is a gallery wrapped watercolour stretched over 12 by 28 inch stretcher bars. I expect my progress will continue to be closely monitored as I finish this painting :)

Ona

John Singer Sargent Award at TWSA 2012 Exhibition!

I had a phone call today to tell me that my painting 'Baby on Board' has won the John Singer Sargent Award and $1000 at the Transparent Watercolor Society of America  2012 Exhibition!

John Singer Sargent (January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was the most successful portrait painter of his era, as well as a gifted landscape painter and watercolorist....what an honor to receive an award in his name.

Ona

People's Choice Award

The ballots have been counted and my painting 'Interes-Ted'  won the 'Luminosity Peoples Choice Award'. My other painting 'Comfor-Ted' came in a close second in the voting.

Its so lovely to know that the public enjoy my paintings  :) Thank you to the all the people  that voted for one of my paintings and for all your lovely comments. Both the vote of support and the comments mean so much to me.

Ona

BWS 'Luminosity' Best in Show

It was wonderful to meet Birgit O'Connor this week at the BWS 'Luminosity' 2012 Exhibition.
She awarded my painting "Comfor-Ted" the Framing Depot Gold Award for Best in show. Thank you Birgit and thank you also to Steve at The Framing Depot for his kind generosity is sponsoring the award.

It is also a week in which I have been awarded signature membership of the North West Watercolour Society NWWS and today I formally receive my elected membership of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour CSPWC at their AGM in Toronto. WOW! What a week!!!

Ona