'Meh' wins award in PWS member exhibition!

I had notification yesterday evening to say that my painting 'Meh!' has won an Honorable Mention and a $75 award in the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society  members exhibition.

The juror commented


"Remarkable rendering! The delightful expression on the child's face makes me smile. The detail and delicate values used are wonderful."

You can see the on line exhibit by clicking on this link  There are some amazing paintings in the on line gallery  so I'm very proud and pleased to be selected for one of the 10 awards 

Ona

Time Warp WIP1

The idea for this next painting began with a photo of Alexander that we took last summer.  I knew as soon as I saw it that I had to paint it. I wanted it to be a fun painting with a twist because of his quirky facial expression I guess, but I just didnt know what to do with it so I put it away and put the portrait on my future 'to do' list.

Then the other day...maybe it was because I was looking at the work of Escher recently or maybe it was my  muse deciding to have some fun but early Sunday morning  I woke up and just knew what to do with the portrait. I wanted to play with the Droste effect creating a spiralling background in which I could put Alex in a time warp back through his childhood. I spent most of Sunday curled up on the sofa looking through photos of Alex for my other references and then yesterday and today drawing it out.

If you look closely at the outline you  hopefully can see more than one Alex  as the clock spirals back in time.  But how many are there? Its hard at the outline stage I know, especially as you only have a small jpg to look at but have a look and see how many you can find.

Many people ask me where I get my ideas for paintings from. I love the play with words and phrases as a stepping stone. I also use photos I've taken to inspire me. Sometimes its just a concept or emotion... there isnt one single way in. For this painting the stepping stone was the photo of Alex but the actual idea came from thinking about the droste effect.

Of course ideas never appear on demand. Usually you try and try to develop an idea and it just doesn't materialize and then when you are least expecting it... there it is ... as clear as day. I call my muse my pixie because she loves to tease and then give me ideas at the most awkward times.(Its easier to blame a mischevious pixie when I get ideas at strange times (grin)  I've learnt to always carry a small notebook and pencil with me so at least I can write the ideas down even if I can't do anything else right then.

So I suppose my advice to artists is... don't blinker yourself to ideas by just thinking that a photo is the only 'way in'. 'Life' is your way in, in all its shapes and forms. Everything happens for a purpose and could potentially be your stepping stone to a new painting. It's exasperating, confusing and exillerating working out how to use what life throws at you but fun too.

 Ona

The trials of framing big!

James has been busy framing again today. Its amazing the technical difficulties you run into when framing big... no where is big enough to work on easily, your arms aren't quite long enough to reach the full length of the mat cutter, the measurement guidelines run out before this size and theres more surface area to aquire dog hairs and fluff which you dont realise are there until just after you have put the points in the back of the frame! But he triumphed in the end!

So as promised here is a photo of Rebecca with the painting 'Imagine'. The frame is a warm silver.

Ona

Tessella-Ted

 I couldn't resist playing with this idea. The hardest part was definitely working out how I could tessellate Teddies! This painting is a smallish one at 22 by 13 inches.

I wanted a fun feel  so based the colour palette for this painting on the compliments blue/orange and purple/yellow.

I was thinking about all those times that children are asked to create tessellating patterns at school as I painted this! WOWWW its hard to do! 

Bear is busy creating this masterpiece when little Ted decides she is just the right size to become a Tessella-Ted :)

Ona

Two framed, One to go!

My husband James has been working hard this weekend getting 'Baby on Board' and "Spinning a Tale' matted and framed. He took this photo of me with both paintings once he had finished.

I'm really pleased with how they both look. Thanks to Steve at 'The Framing Depot' for cutting the frames for us.

James will frame the last painting 'Imagine' next weekend.

Ona

'Imagine' selected for NWWS 72nd International Exhibition

Mail from the US to Canada takes so long... I still haven't received the official letter yet but the exhibition chairperson Charlette has confirmed by e mail today that my painting 'Imagine' has been selected for the North West Watercolor Society 72nd International Exhibition. I'm so pleased.

Ona

Flyers for Juried show and Finished Commission

Here is the flyer for our local watercolour society juried show. Its very exciting to see them. Do you recognise the painting on the front? It's great to see one of my paintings put to such a good use :)

I also finished painting a small commission this morning. Its a challenge to be able to create something that you know will be so cherished but at the same time something that you are not emotionally attached to as an artist. When I paint my children or my dogs or someone I know, so much emotion goes into the painting...I really do paint from the heart not the hand, but when I paint for a client I try instead to paint from their heart. It is their vision and feelings that I try to convey from what they tell me about the animal or person and what I can see from the reference photos.

This is a small gallery wrap of a dog called Zoe. She is 20 years old now. I wanted to capture her love for her owner. Eyes truly are the window to the soul. Zoe's eyes might be clouded with age but to me they show such unconditional love but at the same time that young spirit at heart who still wants to play.

Ona

Louisianna Watercolor Society 42nd International Exhibition Acceptance

I'm busy working on a small commission at the moment. Hopefully I will be able to share it with you towards the end of this week. Its of a very loved dog called Zoe who is now 20 years old.

In the mean time I wanted to share some good news that I received today. I had an e mail today to let me know that 'Spinning a Tale' has been accepted into the Louisianna Watercolor Society 42nd International Exhibition. This was well timed as I was planning to visit my frame supplier tomorrow to choose frames for Baby on Board and Interes-ted. Now I have a third to add to the list :)

Ona

Baby on Board in the TWSA exhibition

I had confirmation today that the painting that has been selected for the TWSA 2012 Exhibition is Baby on Board!

I guess I will need to invest in a bigger shipping box  :)

I'm still working on the background for my new painting but I also have a commission that I am working on too so my progress is going to be slow. Hopefully I will have something to show you in the next couple of days.

Ona

Published in Canadian Brushstrokes Magazine!

I had some more good news this morning. My painting 'When you need a Friend' has been chosen as an award  finalist and is published in the latest issue of the Canadian Brushstrokes Magazine... This is a great start to the day!

TWSA 2012 Acceptance!

I had an exciting e mail this morning informing me that one of my paintings has been accepted into the Transparent Watercolor Society of America's 2012 Exhibition! I will get the details by regular mail sometime next week but I couldn't wait to share the news with you all.

I'm now waiting.... not so patiently... for the mail so I know which of the two paintings I entered was accepted.  Whichever painting it is I'm very happy. 

Ona

Interes-Ted

Positioned in his favourite reading spot, this small child is engrossed in his favourite book about bears. His faithful companion, Ted, is also carefully seated beside him, raised up on cushions so he too can see the story about his friends the bears. There is nothing quite like sharing your favourite story with your favourite bear.

What is the title of this painting ' Interes-Ted' referring to though? Is it referring to the child who is so obviously interested in his book about Teddy bears, or is it referring to his well loved friend Ted? Maybe Ted is even raising his arm to ask a question about his furry friends in the book or is he just leaning on the cushion as he listens... I guess we will never know :)

Encouraging a love of reading in children is one of the greatest gifts, apart from your love, that you can give to a child. Not only does it open up a world of information and knowledge to them but it can also help develop their imaginations and encourage more creativity. Sharing a book can be a lot of fun too.

Ona

Interes-Ted WIP 2

Its such enormous fun developing light in a painting. I have been working on the child. I wanted to really develop both the light from the window on his hair, skin and clothing and the reflected light  shining up on his face from the white pages of the book.

Since I wasn't aiming for an exact likeness in this painting, I also changed the expression on his face slightly to make him appear more engrossed in the book.

I will probably work on the window seat next.

Ona

Interes-Ted WIP 1

Yes, I'm still on the theme of teddies :) I have a whole selection of ideas  to paint  so expect to see several on a teddy theme scattered throughout the year. This is another 'feel good' family orientated one that I hope will be a popular locally.

The idea for this painting began when I found a snapshot of my son when he was a lot younger sat by a window reading a book. I loved the effect of the sun light pouring in from the window behind.

The actual window behind him though was a little modern for the atmosphere I wanted to create in my painting and the rest of the background pretty distracting. I wanted more of an oldy worldy feel so I looked through my photo libaray and found this photo of a window. The shelf would need to be emptied but I liked the style of window.

The lighting direction would also need to be changed a little but the window had the right feel for the effect I wanted.

I also decided to mirror the squares of the window and create some warm wooden panelling on the wall instead of the colder feel of the stone and then add in a window seat below for my child to sit on.

Then I chose another of Rebecca's  teddies  and took some photos of him as if he were  sat beside the child looking across at the book...It was hard work getting him to sit in position so I needed to hold him in place as I took the photo. I will need to develop his character a little more as I paint him but at least this photo gave me the basics to draw an outline from.

 Using multiple photos to create an idea can be a challenge as it is unlikely you will get both lighting and perspective correct in all the photos but with a little adaptation you can get a much more pleasing composition.

The background is now completed on my painting. I stuck to a very limited palette and mirrored the colours used for the interior wood for the view outside as I didn't want it to be distracting but at the same time felt it needed something. I have now removed the masking which was protecting the child and teddy off so I am  ready begin working on the interested child and the Interes-Ted...

Ona

Feeling very Honoured!

I had a phone call last week to say that I have been selected for Election as a signature member of the Canadian society of Painters in Watercolour CSPWC. I then had to take my paintings for verification by one of the selection committee which went really well. Now I’m just waiting for the paperwork and then I need to take the completed forms with the selected painting down into Toronto to be included in the National collection. Then I will be able to use CSPWC after my name. I feel very honoured.

When I was told which of my 6 paintings had been selected for the National collection it brought a tear to my eye because it is the one of my very good friend Denis who is sadly no longer with us. He had such a love for watercolour and his wish in my last phone conversation with him just before he died last year was that I use the painting of him as part of  my application this year. He would be so thrilled to know this painting will now be part of the permanent national Canadian collection of watercolours.

 Denis was so supportive of me when I was just starting out in watercolour and always believed in me. Thank you Denis. I can feel that you know this exciting news and are smiling.

Ona