Just a memory of spring on the farm in Maxville ON. No birdies, but a ton of water!
Last class of the winter session this week! Then a couple of weeks off to re-organize my suitcases of art supplies before the spring session. The suitcase is an interesting piece of gear for me. Over the 10 or so weeks of classes it gets heavier and more cluttered with things that get added for a specific class and then tend to stay until the end of the session... thus spring cleaning is mandatory! You'll also hear a lot of "Oh, that's where that went!" as I sort it out!
Lots of new stuff happening this spring... I have booked a new retirement residence for twice monthly classes, starting in May. It's Governor's Walk Retirement Residence in New Edinburgh. I worked with them when I was on staff at the Nectar Centre, coordinating programs between the residence and the centre. A great team to work with and I’m looking forward to it!
I have a new commission for a painting that will coordinate with my client’s formal dinner ware, for her dining room. The dishes have a small floral print in pink, yellow and blue. It's very pretty and didn't take long for some ideas to form in my mind. In fact, I just sent off a preliminary sketch to her for approval before I proceed to the next step. It's important for the client to give input and feel like she has helped create this very personal piece of art.
And still with more news... this week I'm meeting with a potential corporate client who is interested in learning more about leasing my art for his location of collaberative space for small businesses and startups. It’s called Collab Space and is at 70 Bonguard Ave, just off Merivale Road, near Slack Road. I am also exploring using the space for workshops and classes in the west end of town. You can check it out at https://www.collabspace.ca/en.
Speaking of classes and workshops, I have my spring program ready to go… please check out the programs page on my website www.susanashbrook.com/ to see what is being offered… the workshops are getting excellent response so if any of them interest you please let me know right away to hold a space for you.
Today’s Painting Tip: Seeing Shapes
I am often asked by students how to paint or draw something, and for me it is simply a matter of looking at the object and painting what I see. But this comes from years of learning to see and respond as an artist. Recently at my beginners painting class I was asked how to draw/paint flowers, which made me think how one could teach others how to paint them. After some analysis it became clear that it’s all about shapes. For example, a daisy is a circular centre with a circular array of petals radiating from that centre. Okay, so let’s look…
Lots of new stuff happening this spring... I have booked a new retirement residence for twice monthly classes, starting in May. It's Governor's Walk Retirement Residence in New Edinburgh. I worked with them when I was on staff at the Nectar Centre, coordinating programs between the residence and the centre. A great team to work with and I’m looking forward to it!
I have a new commission for a painting that will coordinate with my client’s formal dinner ware, for her dining room. The dishes have a small floral print in pink, yellow and blue. It's very pretty and didn't take long for some ideas to form in my mind. In fact, I just sent off a preliminary sketch to her for approval before I proceed to the next step. It's important for the client to give input and feel like she has helped create this very personal piece of art.
And still with more news... this week I'm meeting with a potential corporate client who is interested in learning more about leasing my art for his location of collaberative space for small businesses and startups. It’s called Collab Space and is at 70 Bonguard Ave, just off Merivale Road, near Slack Road. I am also exploring using the space for workshops and classes in the west end of town. You can check it out at https://www.collabspace.ca/en.
Speaking of classes and workshops, I have my spring program ready to go… please check out the programs page on my website www.susanashbrook.com/ to see what is being offered… the workshops are getting excellent response so if any of them interest you please let me know right away to hold a space for you.
Today’s Painting Tip: Seeing Shapes
I am often asked by students how to paint or draw something, and for me it is simply a matter of looking at the object and painting what I see. But this comes from years of learning to see and respond as an artist. Recently at my beginners painting class I was asked how to draw/paint flowers, which made me think how one could teach others how to paint them. After some analysis it became clear that it’s all about shapes. For example, a daisy is a circular centre with a circular array of petals radiating from that centre. Okay, so let’s look…
There are also other flower forms… foxgloves for example, which are conical flowers that grow downward along a vertical stem. And not to be out-done, hyacinths are also cone shaped flowers on a vertical stem, but they look in a number of different directions from the foxgloves.
Think about the shape of a cat’s face… rather triangular, with triangular ears. This will give you your basic shape on which to refine your drawing. Basic shapes are a place to start and will make it much easier to develop a more refined work.
Seeing like an artist is something that is learnable and, for those of you that are interested in learning the skills, I am offering a workshop "Awakening Your Artist Eyes" on Sat Jun 17 from 12:00 to 4:00 PM at my studio. Let me know if you are interested.
Painting Update: Winter on a comeback
Don’t worry, winter is finally over here, however my winter piece is now developing the way I wanted, after a false start!
Having had the background fabric become transparent, disappearing into the colour of the wood panel when applied with the fabric hardener, I started again by applying white paint to the panel, where the fabric would be applied. It worked! The fabric has maintained its colour and also the beauty of the moiré pattern.
Then I painted the white face mask blue and added some blue interference paint to create a shimmery, winter feeling. To glue the mask onto the panel I used some of the background fabric with the fabric hardener and created some shimmer on it with the interference blue. I love the effect because it changes as the light does, or as you move around the piece.
I also worked on the masks for the fall piece. I went with the strong colours of Burnt Sienna and Quinacridone Violet… because I felt like it! (No ‘splainin’ when it feels right to an artist!)
Seeing like an artist is something that is learnable and, for those of you that are interested in learning the skills, I am offering a workshop "Awakening Your Artist Eyes" on Sat Jun 17 from 12:00 to 4:00 PM at my studio. Let me know if you are interested.
Painting Update: Winter on a comeback
Don’t worry, winter is finally over here, however my winter piece is now developing the way I wanted, after a false start!
Having had the background fabric become transparent, disappearing into the colour of the wood panel when applied with the fabric hardener, I started again by applying white paint to the panel, where the fabric would be applied. It worked! The fabric has maintained its colour and also the beauty of the moiré pattern.
Then I painted the white face mask blue and added some blue interference paint to create a shimmery, winter feeling. To glue the mask onto the panel I used some of the background fabric with the fabric hardener and created some shimmer on it with the interference blue. I love the effect because it changes as the light does, or as you move around the piece.
I also worked on the masks for the fall piece. I went with the strong colours of Burnt Sienna and Quinacridone Violet… because I felt like it! (No ‘splainin’ when it feels right to an artist!)
By the way, I am looking for names for my four-season pieces. Something more interesting than Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. I was thinking of Snow Queen for winter, Prince of Leaves for fall, but Spring and Summer have me stumped. I would appreciate any suggestions that you might care to offer. The subject is the season personified as a character, muse or magical being. I will offer a small gift for the chosen name for each of the four pieces, so if you have ideas, please let me know, either in the comments section or by email.
Thanks for taking the time to enjoy the blog. As always, I invite you to comment, make suggestions and share your thoughts.
Best wishes,
Susan
Thanks for taking the time to enjoy the blog. As always, I invite you to comment, make suggestions and share your thoughts.
Best wishes,
Susan
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