Creative Composition Workshop!

Yesterday I was the instructor for a 'Creative Composition Workshop' for our local Watercolour society members and friends.

One of the members very kindly allowed us to use her fabulous garden as a base for our workshop and I donated my time so that meant that all proceeds could go into BWS funds.

I think I will be the envy of all art workshop instructors because the setting was just AMAZING!!!

 

During the workshop the class had the opportunity to discover and explore many different compositional rules that could turn the ordinary into the unusual... the everyday into something much more visually grabbing. They learnt about fibonnacci and the harmonic triangle.... they were amazed how much math was linked to our interpretation of Beauty :)

Here is one of the class reading more about about each of the rules that I had discussed in my introductory session 

The class were then given time to try out  each of the compositional ideas for themselves through sketching...

and photography

I encouraged them to look from unusual angles...

...and of course I had to demonstrate the effect that could be created. One of the students sneekily snapped this shot as I was doing so :)

Then it was their turn to get fun, visually grabbing references :)

These are a couple that I took as demonstrations of the effects you can create with a little creativity

  There was plenty of fun and laughter throughout the day and I was well taken care of with cool iced drinks, brownies and an assortment of yummy snacks as well as a comfy place to sit when i needed a rest :)

Lastly we  came together to look at each others work and I helped them to see how the references or sketches could be modified and then used for possible paintings. I hope they share any paintings they create with me when they have done them.

Wasn't it a wonderful venue!

TWSA Celebration Day!

  I have had such a wonderful time meeting so many amazing artists here in Kenosha at the TWSA celebration. To be able to see such magnificant paintings in person and be able talk to artists such as John Salminen, my fellow Canadian Harold Allanson, Robin Berry, Ken Call, Cheng-Khee Chee,  Lennox Wallace, Debbie Rankin, Joe Garcia and Donna Jill Witty and Kelly Kane Editor of Watercolor Artist magazine to name just a few was inspiring to put it mildly.

I also had the chance to spend some time with a few of my art Colony friends, Chris Beck Mary Jansen and Kaaren Oreck. Chris and Kaaren had paintings in the exhibition aswell.

 I spent a couple of hours just looking around the exhibition with  Mary, Kaaren and Chris and chatting to the public. Its always such a pleasure to just listen to their comments about the paintings.

To receive the John Singer Sargent award from Jill Witty at the celebration dinner yesterday evening topped off a wonderful day.

 

Ona

Watercolor Artist 2012 Ones to Watch

I had an exciting e mail a couple of days ago to let me know that I have been  selected as one of the  'Ones to Watch' for a feature article that will be published in the December issue of the Watercolor Artist magazine. It will hit news stands on October 23. Can't wait to get my copy :)

Ona

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

Time Warp

As you can see below, I finally finished the painting today.

I ended up cropping slightly on the edge behind the oldest Alex as compositionally it just felt better as this crop leads our eye more into the painting and at the same time leaves the idea more open that the spiral could continue on. You would never guess that red is his favourite colour would you :)

Anyhow. Here is a close up of the winking face so you can see the freckles and facial hair :) I think he enjoys doing the Time warp :)

Ona

Time Warp WIP 6

Well... it is a HAIR dryer after all ;)

I couldn't resist sharing this funny photo with you all. Doesn't it look as if Alex is looking out at us and winking?  I haven't dried his hair in years (grin)

Hopefully I will have the painting finished in a couple days.

Ona

Time Warp WIP 5

I haven't got nearly as much as I had hoped painted this week, It's been a tough week and events just conspired against me, but at least I have made some progress.

As you can see, I have finished the 5 faces and am now working my way back out the spiral painting in the hair and clothing.

I wanted the  smallest face almost to merge into the clock mechanisms... sort of symbolic of the way our memories merge into one another and become less clear the longer ago it was, so as well as using the same colour palette that I used for the cogs I also added in a light wash of Burnt umber/ um blue mix over both the young child and the cogs to help recede them both. The next youngest is painted using the same clock colours that I used for the first but with a little more detail and I have tried to create the appearance of his arm just beginning to come out of the clock workings. My aim is to gradually develop this idea more as I finish the next two portraits by increasing the colour in the clothing and adding in more detail too... they are still part of the passage of time but clearer and more well defined as the spiral moves closer to now.

Ona

Time Warp WIP 4

I have really enjoyed painting the biggest portrait over the last two days. I still have some defining to do on the far ear and to paint in his eye lashes, eye brows, and facial hair, but its great to now have that  mischievious face looking at me as I paint. He just seems to set the mood of the painting and this will hopefully help me bring out the fun element in the other four portraits too.

 

A long way to go yet but its beginning to take shape.

Ona

Time Warp WIP 3

It`s a good feeling to have finally finished the clock section of this painting and I`m now really looking forward to starting the portraits...  I`m longing to do the big one :)

 I have kept to a really limited pallette so far, mostly using the golden/orange/brown quinacridones with the compliment ultramarine blue to create the greys. I will need to add in and strengthen the shadows on the clock cast by the portraits as I develop them but this is easier to visualize once the portraits begin to take shape.

 Ona