WORKING WHILE AWAY

In my last post, I told you that we had returned to the Calgary area for a time to help my son with some house renovations. We only have a couple of days left... and of course, the renovations have taken much longer than anticipated, but quite a lot got done. The "boys" are happy with the results, to say nothing of my daughter-in-law, and the grandsons!

The weather has actually been really good, for the most part! Only a couple of cold, snowy days - the rest has been those bright blue Alberta skies and temperatures between -5* C and +8* C. Comfortable for sure.

I brought some artwork with me - a charcoal/pan pastel commission. It is to be a wedding gift for the couple in the portrait, based on one of their favorite wedding photos. It is coming along nicely, and after I work on it some more today, I think I will be ready to start with the details. ("The devil is in the details!") I'll wait until we return to Vancouver Island before I start on those, as I require really good lighting, which I have in my studio.

Here are a couple of pictures of the progress. I began with the bride side and worked it up to a certain point, then moved to the groom side and worked until it was at a similar point of completion. Today I will finish working on his clothing, and refine some of his features, then move back to the bride to adjust some of the value in her face. I know they look weird without eyelashes, but I tend to leave those until the end, as part of the detailing.  I'll show you the completed piece once I am home and have finished it. (Have I told you how much I enjoy doing these charcoal commissions? Really fun to do!)

You can see how I cover areas to protect them from smudging while I work. You can also see I wear gloves.

These are layers which will be adjusted as I work more on the whole piece.

CHARCOAL PORTRAITS - A LASTING LEGACY

I have shown you some of my charcoal portraits before, and talked about how they are what I term "heritage" drawings. By that, I mean the portrait can be handed down from generation to generation. 

This portrait just arrived at its home in Calgary. I have done her two older sisters at about the same age, so all 3 are hanging in this clients' home. One day, each girl will receive these portraits from her parents, and be able to show her own family what she looked like at this age. And, of course, one day, many generations down the road, someone will be able to show her family what "great-grandma" looked like back in 2014 (the year the photo was taken from which I worked). I love the idea of art traveling down the years, and being treasured through all those generations!

9" X 12"
charcoal/pastel portrait

THE LAST TWO

Here are the last two charcoal portraits of the 5 grandchildren I did for my friends in Calgary. I used the same process that you saw in the first 3 portraits. The 5 framed pieces are hanging together in the grandparents' home for everyone to enjoy - for now. One day, in the distant future, when the kids have grown up, each one will receive his or her portrait as an inheritance. They can then show their own children and grandchildren what they looked like in the year 2013. What a privilege it is for me to be a part of this heritage item!

Charcoal on toned paper
9" x 12"

Charcoal on toned paper
9" x 12"

VACATION IS OVER; TIME TO PAINT!

I am both happy and sad to say that our vacations are over for this summer! I saw a quote just the other day that sums it up quite well:

"Don't cry that it's over; smile that it happened!" Dr. Seuss

I am smiling at all the adventures of our trip to Spain, as well as our more recent glamping trip in the Ucluelet and Tofino area of Vancouver Island. (For those of you who don't know what the term "glamping" means, it is glamorous camping - in a YURT!) I will be posting pictures over the next several weeks of the highlights of our trips, but for today, I am showing you a charcoal portrait from the drawing stage to the finished piece. (And yes, I am back into the studio as of this afternoon...working on some special things!)

I did this drawing in the spring of last year - just before we moved. This is one of the portraits of 5 grandchildren that I did for some friends of ours in Calgary.   Each of the pieces is now hanging side by side in their home, and will one day be handed down to each of the children. 

It is SUCH a thrill to see the painting come alive as I work on the facial features! It is at that point that I get excited for how the work is progressing. :-) So here are the stages that most of my charcoal portraits go through, from beginning to end.

9" x 12"
charcoal on Canford paper

BABY DELIVERY

While we were visiting in Calgary, I got to deliver this portrait to its new owners. They were pretty excited to receive this charcoal drawing of their second girl, who is now 2 years old. I had also done a portrait of their first daughter when she was about the same age. And we were pretty excited to see their new daughter who was 11 days old the day we visited them. Looks like I will have a third portrait to do for this family. I call that "job security"! :-)

portrait of Berlin,
charcoal on Canson grey paper

BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS

FINALLY, I am able to tell you that 3 months after selling our acreage, of living out of suitcases, of changing beds 18 times, we are in our new location!!!! As I am typing these words, I am sitting at my kitchen counter, with the fireplace warming the air, looking out over a calm ocean to the islands in the distance. What a journey we have been on over the last while...an ending to our life in Alberta, to our living in the country on an acreage, and so much more... but a beginning as well - to living by the ocean, in British Columbia, on an island (even though it is a huge island, and feels more like mainland!).

Our furniture arrived almost a week ago now, and we have been madly unpacking. So far, we have our kitchen, bedroom. living and dining rooms unpacked and arranged. Now, we have to attack the second bedroom, and then my studio. It is piled high with boxes - a most daunting task for sure. But I am itching to get back to my easel, so I will tackle it with gusto! :-)

The end of September, we attended our nephew's wedding, and what a wonderful and joyous occasion that was! My husband and his sisters commissioned a charcoal portrait of the couple as our wedding gift to them. It was such fun to do - I LOVE it when the faces begin to "come off the page"! Here are some photos of them opening the gift, and one of the completed portrait. I can't wait to do more of these charcoal gems, portraits in oil, and to begin a beach series in watercolor. Guess I had better get to work putting together that studio as soon as possible. 

Pictures of our house and our view will be coming soon. Until then, thanks for waiting for me to return to this blog. Happy fall.

GREAT NEWS!!!

Since my last post, I have been quite busy with a commissioned portrait, and with a trip to Vancouver Island to look for a new home. After living out of suitcases since July 9th, we are in the "home stretch"!!!

This last week, we purchased a place to live which has an ocean view, and is minutes from beach access. We did not buy in the area we had been looking at/dreaming of for 2 years, which TOTALLY took us by surprise. But none of the 13 houses we looked at in that area really appealed to us (at least the ones we could afford), and when we extended our search to include other areas, we found the one home which captured our hearts. It will be a great place to downsize (a lot), and to enjoy year-round ability to be outside. 

This is the view from the patio off the kitchen

We are super excited, and a bit "concerned" as well.

You see, we only have 15 days until the closing date, and possession is October 1st. In those few days we have a TON of things to accomplish, as well as a family wedding to travel to, a sibling gathering, and I have a commissioned portrait to start/finish THIS WEEK! We are praying that it all comes together without glitches. :-)

Before leaving to go to the coast, I completed this little baby girl's portrait in charcoal. I had done one of her sister a couple of years ago, and the parents wanted one of this little sweetie as well. As you can see, it is still on the drawing board here...soon it will be framed and delivered to her parents. I sent them a photo of it, and they have already said that they like it, so I am pleased.

So....I will post the next portrait when it is finished, and then it will be moving time. Yikes! I will keep you advised as to how my new studio works out for me. It will be about 1/3rd the size of my last studio, so I MUST be organized. I'll also post pictures of the place when we are in and somewhat unpacked.

Till then, I hope you are enjoying the last few days of summer before the weather really cools into the crispy days of fall.

CHARCOAL PORTRAIT ON CANVAS

So this 16" x 16" charcoal portrait on canvas is pretty much done. I have a couple of touches to add, but I decided to post him today rather than waiting. There is a little bit of the hat and shirt cut off in this picture, but it's good enough to show the face and hat. For detail, just enlarge by clicking on the picture.

I did this piece from a photo that I took around 8 years ago, when my daughter and her family were here with us, visiting from Mexico where they lived at the time. This is my grandson who was around a year of age, maybe a bit older. "Mats" as we call him, always loved his grandfather's hats, and when there was one similar to Grandpa's for sale at a mall nearby, my daughter bought it even though it was rather large for Mats. He wore it all the time, and eventually grew into it. (The hat was a deep blue corduroy.) Don't you love how very young children's proportions are so different from adult's? The big ears, the huge eyes, the chubby cheeks...all gone now as he grew into those features and beyond. Time flies, but I am grateful that we have memories both in pictures and now in painting.

CHARCOAL ON CANVAS PORTRAIT

This is another charcoal portrait, done on canvas. I am enjoying this one more than the first, as I am more familiar now with how the canvas takes the charcoal than when I did the first one. I hope you don't mind that I am showing the progression of the portrait. It is 16" x 16", so takes some time to complete, especially as I want it to be quite realistic. And of course, life always happens, doesn't it? So here are the first stages, after the prepping of the canvas to accept the charcoal.

After the background is in, as usual, I begin with the eye.

Once both eyes are in, and I am satisfied with this beginning, I move on to the next step...placing highlights.

 Once I have located the highlights, I tend to work from top left across the canvas (because I am right handed).

There is a lot of work that will go into just the hat, let alone the face!

VIENNA ROSE

Vienna Rose
9.5" x 11"
charcoal on Canford Dreadnought Gray paper

Vienna Rose is this child's name, and she truly is as sweet as you could ask for! Her parents are friends of ours, and are currently expecting their second girl, who should arrive in late summer/early fall.


This was such fun to do in charcoal. The smocking on her jumper took a while to do, but it reminded me of when I sewed a smocked jumper for my daughter when she was little. Now THAT was a lot of work!!!


I really love the effect this Daler-Rowney Canford Cardstock paper gives to the portrait, and how easily you can blend on this paper. It is fairly thick, so stands up to some wear and tear better than others. You can also get it in various colors...I order mine from online Dick Blick Art Materials. 


This is the time of year that the yard and garden is calling my name. It is so wonderful to be able to go outside without having to wear 3 layers because of the cold! I'll soon be on my bicycle again, putting in those 25 km rides most days. As well, it is the perfect time to get new photo shots to work on throughout the long winter months. I love summer!!!

WORKING ON BABY GIRL PORTRAIT

My husband and I leave later this afternoon to fly out to Vancouver Island. I won't be posting during that time, but I thought you might like to see the charcoal portrait of a baby girl that I am currently working on. She is such a beautiful little girl in every way, and I love how this portrait is already showing her sweetness. She was around a year old when I took the photo that I am working from, and that day her fine hair was not cooperating, but flying out from her head. In the sun, it was like a halo. 

When we return from our little trip, I will be finishing her up and presenting the piece to her parents the end of this month. I am pretty sure they will love it. :-)