Winter on Bannerman Road

It's been ages

I've been neglecting my blog in the most horrendous way. I tend to go for long periods of time where I will write nothing at all and then I'll write pages and pages. The last of the leaves have fallen from the trees and there is a coating of frost on the ground in the mornings. Summer faded into Fall in the blink of an eye and Winter is just around the corner.

Latest Painting

Here's my latest watercolor painting.

Illustration Friday -- Smitten

I am smitten with the technique I used to create this painting of an abandoned house. I stained the paper with tea and I used pen and ink with a watercolor wash to complete it.

Latest Piece

Here's my latest mixedmedia piece. Now it's time to switch gears and get started on a watercolor.

Perfect Day For Pinecone Collecting

Leaves are falling from the trees in basketfuls this morning. It's a perfect day for a walk in the park to feed the ducks, collect pinecones and take photographs. For now, I'll have to forget that idea and paint all day.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

I love spending time with my family and that's exactly what I did yesterday. We had a delicious meal with all the trimmings and talked about what we are thankful for which are so many things. Today I'm feeling like a slug because of all the food I ate yesterday and I'm trying to persuade myself to get up from my computer and do something useful. It's cold and gray outside and I would just like to curl up on the couch with a blanket and watch movies all day.

Illustration Friday -- Trouble

Leaving the ladder standing against the building like that is just asking for "trouble"

A Room With A View

Here are a couple of photos of the view outside my studio window. One is a closeup of the gorgeous Maple leaves changing color. I've been spending a lot of time in my studio creating mixedmedia/collages for my Etsy store. I also have a group exhibition coming up and I have to get started on some new watercolors asap. It's a joy to finally be in this space and I'm making the most of it. :)

Her Life Is Her Own

This is my latest mixedmedia/collage piece.

Lovely Autumn Day

Yesterday was the perfect Autumn day. The air was cool and the sound of ducks, geese and swans could be heard as they were fed handful after handful of seed.

Illustration Friday -- Quiet

My Studio Is Finished

Except for a couple of small things left to be done, my studio is finished. I've been working in there since last week and I love it.

Illustration Friday -- Phobia

Fear of Disappearing

Illustration Friday -- Change

Autumn is my favorite time of the year when leaves change from green to the most beautiful colors and chestnuts fall from trees and lay on the ground for the kids to find. Crisp, cool air and the smell of wood smoke bring images of evenings curled up in my favorite chair with a warm blanket, a good book and a cup of tea. Nighttime wind sends leaves past my window as little creatures scurry to get ready for the long winter ahead.

Update

My studio is very close to being finished. We put on the first coat of paint today -a soft, creamy color that looks beautiful. The workspace will be installed next. So exciting! I should be painting in my studio in a couple of weeks.:)

Uncertainty

Illustration Friday -- Farm

This is a barn on a farm that I used to pass on my way out of town. I love the soft, silvery-gray color of the weathered wood.

Studio Progress

I've been so busy working on my studio that I haven't had time to finish the watercolor I've been working on. The walls have been plastered, the electrical is done and the door has been framed. John and I fall into bed exhausted every night from all the work that we've been doing but it is so worth it. We are on schedule and we should have the studio finished in a couple of weeks. I can't wait! And I get to keep the original door that I bought for it. Yay!

Inspire Me Thursday -- Paints

Although this isn't a newly created painting, I decided to enter it in this week's challenge anyway. Typically, I paint interesting(to me) architecture using watercolors, but I wanted to try a landscape using oil to challenge myself. What I wanted to convey to viewers with this painting was a feeling of peace and tranquility and a little mystery. When I look at this piece I can feel the foggy mist against my face and I can smell the Spruce and Pine trees that gather on the shore. This painting is titled "Hush" and measures 24"x36" on stretched canvas.

Inspire Me Thursday

I'm inspired by interesting architecture. I love to paint old structures with lots of character. This is a watercolor of a house made of stone that I had passed many times when in town and just had to paint.

Illustration Friday -- Match

These windows match.

New Painting

I thought I would post my progression through a watercolor painting. Here are the beginning stages. It's a painting of two different kinds of plant life growing from beneath the stones on a beach.

Oh Lovely Sky

While at a friend's house the other night for supper, I took this photo from the back deck. I thought it was a lovely picture, despite the power lines and pole. I love how the houses and trees are silhouetted against the sky.

Soap Making

I made some plain, unscented soap yesterday. We were down to our last bar and I had to make some quickly so I used the hot-processed method. I made it in the crock pot which took about an hour from start to finish; it was ready to use this morning. I used soybean oil and olive oil as the main oils and a couple of ounces of castor oil. The result was a lovely hard bar with lots of creamy, lathery bubbles.

More Progress

We've done some more work on the studio. The subfloor has been laid, some gyprock has been put up and the strapping for the other two walls is up. My husband tends to over build so he used two by four for the strapping.:) I'm very excited! I was lying in bed last night trying to figure out exactly what I will need in my studio. I want to make sure I get it right the first time. Plenty of workspace, lots of storage and good lighting. Special shelving for large pieces of matboard and paper is a must...

Fungus Art

Isn't this cool? It's fungus that was growing on a piece of wood outside my house. It looks like a tree in a dark landscape.

Illustration Friday -- Play

The play of shadow shapes against the warm sand.

A Leak!

I have a minor problem with my studio. There's a LEAK! Right above my window. Its been pouring here incessantly for a couple of days and I thought I had fixed the little leak problem, I quess not. Now I have to wait for the rain to stop so I can go and tar up that spot again. We can't put any gyprock up until it is fixed...

Framed Up

After a long day and a few mishaps along the way, we finished framing up my studio. Yes, I'm very excited! Although the space is small (I lost a foot of space) it is all mine. The door that I picked out for it two years ago( a really cool french door with a an old-fashioned key)is too big.:( I have to hunt around for something equally as cool or cooler and hope I can find something. I decided that whatever the door I will paint it a really funky color. Our goal is have have it finished by September, so keep checking back for updates and progress pics.:)

My Studio

The last couple of days were spent cleaning out the garage to make room for my new studio. I'll have a really nice spot in the corner with two windows, one facing north and one facing west. I can't wait to finally have a place to call my own where all my art stuff is in one place and not scattered all over the house.:) My workspace and shelving units will be custom made by my awesome husband, John, making the most of the 10x13 foot space. I'll have working surfaces along two walls where I'll have a place to paint and a place to matt and frame my work. I make my own frames so I'll need lots of room for that. I'll also have a cozy, little corner with a comfortable armchair to sit and reflect and recharge my batteries after all the creative frenzy.:) The image is the way it looks now. I will be posting progress pictures so stay tuned.

Inspire Me Thursday -- Black and White

Here is a photo I took of my cat, Cleveland, who happens to be black and white. He was a little wary at first about having his photo taken, but soon relaxed and enjoyed the attention. Hermione and Roman Emperor, his siblings, are black and white as well. Unfortunately, they got wind of the photo shoot and were a no-show.:)

Illustration Friday -- Capture

With this watercolor painting, I tried to capture the lovely colors and shapes of the beach rocks as well as the shadows cast by the sun.

More Pages

My First Altered Book

Here are some pages from my first altered book. Blogger won't seem let me post any more images today so I'll post more pages later.