ideas

 Some ideas are brilliant, others are fine and well some ideas should just remain ideas, not something that actually gets acted upon. 

In recent weeks, this Iris piece that I did several years ago came to mind. I was thinking about how I always liked the look of it - especially the tooth of the paper and how it responded to the pigment that was applied. So after some thinking I headed to my closet to check out my paper stock. I knew this was done on Strathmore paper so I dug up a pad of their 500 series Bristol medium surface paper. Why not do my next piece on this? Good idea.This would be perfect for what I wanted to work on for my next idea.

Now I think this idea falls into the fine category - I am starting to create a series of what I am calling 'minis'. Working small will give my collectors a new purchasing option. Lots of people today are downsizing. If potential buyers already have an art collection well under way then it can be hard to find wall space for larger pieces. Of course smaller translates into not so costly to buy. Not everyone is willing to spend a fair bit of money on a large work and some people simply can't afford a larger piece. In this case, a smaller drawing is perfect. Less money also brings the art into a gift buying price range. Finally, having mini works on the go gives me something to work on while I am in between bigger projects or when I simply wanting a break from the larger works. 

The picture below shows one of my bigger pieces, how I normally like to work. The two pieces below are minis that are works in progress. Well the left rose is a work in progress. The right one is trash. That idea to use the Strathmore paper - turns out it was an idea that wasn't a good one after all. As soon as I started to work on it, I disliked the paper. I persevered, remembering how much I liked the iris piece. Yet I finally had to call it quits. I found the paper got gummy with hardly any pigment down, it was 'dirty' (pencil grime was harder to brush off and forget trying to lift pigment with tape, yuck). I was left grumbling at my muse - or whatever trickster entity influenced my thinking (it couldn't have been me that can up with that daft idea). Obviously I stopped working on that paper years ago and for good reason! Duh... So I am re-doing that wee rose on Stonehenge. Ahhhh!!! Bliss from the moment my first pencil hit the paper.

To give an idea of size, the two minis below, once cropped to the final size, would be smaller than 4 inches by 6 inches.

big rose with works in progress mini roses

Please note my disclaimer - artists are very different in their likes and dislikes, especially when it comes to materials and tools. Just because my experience with this paper wasn't one I liked, it is not my intention to prejudice a reader away from trying their own experiments with it. Oh and my muse had the last laugh...I later checked my records and the iris was actually done on Stonehenge! I had it all wrong. :-)

I hope this idea is a good one. Above you can see a small tub of Blue Haze Colourfix Primer. I bought it a year ago but somehow I never got around to using it. Well now seems like a good time so I have primed a 9 inch by 12 inch cradled birch panel with the product. I applied three light coats, sanding off any stray hairs or whatnot between coats. I think this would make a lovely surface for a cloud piece. Remember all of that cloud watching I did last summer? Well, I have some good reference photos to work from. The panel is ready and I shall get at this piece soon. I have the two mini roses almost done and I will show them in my next post. 

I am excited about the apples you see in the picture. I have plans to do an apple piece, just a row of apples nothing fancy, but it won't be a mini - yippee! I just have to get a drawing worked up. I spent some time yesterday afternoon posing the apples. I love that green colour!!!  

This next idea was an excellent one...just ask the goats! After Christmas my husband hitched on our trailer and headed out to two neighbouring subdivisions. The purpose? Why to nab some tasty goat fodder of course!!! Goats are like deer and they prefer to browse off of shrubs and trees as opposed to grazing like cattle. They love to eat pine trees! Now we have a great recycling program here in Ottawa. All used Christmas trees that are put out at the curb on garbage day are picked up and put through a chipping machine. Mulch is created for the city gardens and parks.

But we had a different sort of recycling in mind...Including our own tree, we ended up with 20 trees for the goats to supplement their diet with over the next two months. Trees do add a variety of nutrients that goats don't get just from eating hay and corn. Of course, everything else is covered in snow and/or dormant right now. In these pictures a new tree is being dropped into their field.

yum, yum...

Below, in the picture on the left you can see Dukah and Jonah butting heads (a favourite goat activity)...this one was a rather lazy confrontation, Jonah is still chewing on his twig. The little guy on the right is my precious Noah. I worked hard to save him last summer. When he was born, he was sick and needed bottle feeding. Some antibiotics and many up in the night feedings got me a pet goat extraordinaire! He thinks I am the greatest thing since pine trees were created (or corn chips) and he follows me everywhere expecting lots of attention. He gets it. :-) He has the sweetest disposition and is truly adorable.


 

coloured pencil rose finished, updates

Rose Center # 2, 18.5" x 8", Coloured Pencil on Stonehenge

Copyright Teresa Mallen

Here is the finished rose, number two in my series of rose center close ups. Due to its foot and a half width it looks quite dramatic when I look at it from a distance. I have it taped to my studio wall so I can see if there are areas I wish to tweak. Whew, number two is done and you know what? For a gal who doesn't like to work in a series, I think I even have a third rose in me. Wouldn't that be something?! My apologies to those of you who are following my blog who do not like floral art. I do other subjects as well. Please hang in there.

Okay, updates: well woo-hoo, I nearly fell off my chair this morning when I checked the status of my Chard's journey. I had had no new info since 3:30 a.m. Friday morning when it had left Syracuse and to be honest I wasn't too hopeful that all was well. Yippee, it has made it to the state of Georgia. Not only that, the scan says that as of 11:00 this morning it was in Doraville. I did a google map check and good ol' Doraville looks like it is about a half hours drive from the gallery! Can you believe it? Surely in the next 48 hours my funky chunk of chard can be transported just a few more miles. Surely...If it doesn't get delivered by Wednesday morning, I shall hire a taxi driver to go pick it up. So close I can taste it...

As for the adorable Miss Bambie, well if the big furry marmot didn't chew some flowers last night! Grrrrr....Not just ordinary lilies but the exotic ones....more grrrrr....I hope they gave her indigestion. We have a motion detector sprayer and while it can't cover the whole garden, I will make sure it is on tonight and in the area of the lilies. No doubt she will just enjoy the shower! :-)

New update: My tracking info is now showing a 3:04 Destination Scan! Destination, as in the gallery?!! Somebody pinch me or fetch some water, I think I have gone into shock. Time for a happy dance!!! Can you dance and be in shock at the same time? Let's see...Woo-hoo, woo-hoo, woo-hoo...

Rose wip, a lovely blogger gift and shipping woes

center of a rose, wip, cps on Stonehenge, 18" x 8"

copyright Teresa Mallen

Here is how my rose looks now. I still have petals on the right that don't have any colour yet and I am about half way along in developing values elsewhere. I haven't had much time to work on it as I have been busy getting my painting framed and ready to ship. I also wrote my newsletter last week and I had to prepare for my Beyond the Basics course which I started teaching Saturday. I have great students and I had a wonderful time with them on the weekend. I have also been out of town again cleaning out my parents' house (my on-going summer project). I shall have more studio time this week than last, so I hope to be able to finish this rose image soon.

Here is a picture of my Swiss Chard Mosaic piece now that it has been framed. I thought you might like to see the scale of the work as it is hard to judge things from a compressed image of just the art. I had to frame it in acrylic as it is being shipped to the CPSA International Exhibition. Acrylic is painfully expensive. In fact the acrylic cost more than the shipping fee.

I packed it up and shipped it off last week. It hasn't gone very far. In fact my art is stuck in upper New York state in some sort of governmental limbo land. Prior to shipping, I spent 45 minutes filling out shipping forms and customs documents for the US, and for reentry back into Canada (for this purpose I am both a shipper and an importer). I even knew my International Harmonized Code for a work of fine art (I spent two hours on the internet trying to obtain this info). I didn't use it last year but hey, I figured the more info the better!

The art has cleared customs but I have been informed that it is being held by a Non Customs Government Agency. From what I can find out on-line, it would seem that after clearing customs, my package has to be cleared by the Agency Task Force. I guess they look for bombs and guns. I would think a simple scan of my box would determine that there is just a painting inside. It was to arrive in Atlanta tomorrow but right now my painting seems to have slipped into a black hole. My tracking info shows no new developments. I have one week to get it to the gallery, after that paintings are not accepted. So I sit and fret....

On a happier note, look at what I received in the mail last week.



Fellow blogger, Beth Macre mailed out gifts to those of us who commented on her blog. I am so delighted with my clay magnet. I love the colours and of course my big T. I think I may just convert it from a magnet to a pin so I can wear it! You can also see two cards that have examples of her work. Beth has wonderful clay houses, tiles, and other art available at her etsy shops. To see more of her work and to make a purchase visit www.bmacre.etsy.com and www.hearthomes.etsy.com. Thanks again Beth!

new peony piece and art to share

'Crinkled White' Peony, reference photo

copyright Teresa Mallen

Peony WIP, 20.5" x 5.5", Coloured Pencil on white Stonehenge paper

Copyright Teresa Mallen

Here is a work in progress image of my newest piece. The photo reference was taken last summer. We moved last year and 2008 was my first summer here. I had no idea what plants would come up in the perennial bed. I had lots of wonderful surprises. Several varieties of peonies appeared much to my delight. I did a quick search online to see if I could determine what variety this one could be. If you like peonies, I recommend a visit to peonies.net as they have a lovely catalogue you can scroll through. I believe the variety in the photo is 'Crinkled White' (they spell crinkle with a K but that sort of thing bugs me so I am using a C).

As you can see in the lower picture, I am cropping the piece such that only a portion of the peony shows. I am focusing on the lovely yellow stamens. The photo doesn't show much but I feel like someone who has had to run across town in order to get to the starting line of a marathon. My running across town being all the work I have done to create the line drawing - and I haven't even started the marathon! Today I transferred the line drawing and I started finding my way around the stamens. I am placing in my darkest values so that I have a road map of sorts in order to orient myself.

In each piece, I look for something that will be challenging. In this piece my challenge will be to draw the stamens (done) and to colour them in such a way that the individual stamens are distinct and that they have a strong three dimensional quality.

I am delighted to be back working on Stonehenge. My last two pieces were rather large and they were on sanded paper. There was so much pigment flying around that I felt like the Peanuts character Pig-Pen. I am enjoying the subtleties that the layers of colour give on this paper. Downright yummy.

I have art I would like to share with you. One of the nicest benefits of blogging is that I have had the opportunity to see wonderful art and to make friends with other artists. Christine at Creative Life Studio is one these friends and I would love for you to see her latest piece. Click here for the link. To really appreciate the drawing, click on the image in order to see a larger version. For me this piece has that something special that artists hope for. I see a lot of art that is technically well done. I also see a lot of art that I find very enjoyable to look at. But a piece of art that moves me emotionally isn't as common. Christine's piece is technically well done. She knows how to handle graphite! The image is composed well and the subject is appealing. Yet something else is conveyed. The control Christine used in handling the graphite yielded a tender mood to this piece. I sense the preciousness of this infant, his vulnerability and the love with which he is cradled in the hand. So allow me to add beauty to your life today by referring you to this beautiful art. I hope you are as moved by it as I am.

Stargazer Lily - it's done

Stargazer Lily, approx. 6" x 6"

coloured pencil on Stonehenge

copyright Teresa Mallen

I am finished with this little flower blossom. At least for now. I may tweak it before it is framed. I have several wannabe paintings waiting in the wings but the next one will be a basket of tomatoes on a sanded surface.

I didn't get any studio time yesterday as I had to be out of town. My sister and I spent the day in the village that is located about 1 1/2 miles from where my Dad lived. We managed to get through appointments with the funeral director, lawyer, bank manager, two insurance companies as well as the post office to redirect his mail. Fortunately due to the excellent planning of my Mother, my parents' affairs were very organized and well thought out. Settling the estate is turning out to be relatively easy. As for the property, we are not selling the farm, at least not for now. My husband and I moved to a hobby farm some months ago and we are going to be moving several pieces of machinery here (including two tractors and a four wheeler). I have no idea where we are storing all of this! We hope to get this 'big move' done next week. As well, we are going to be traveling to the farm on Sunday to pick up a few trailer loads of furniture and other things. It is going to be a busy Fall!

I am now off to do some shopping for some items needed for my workshop this Saturday and I am also going to put out some advertising for my November Portrait classes. Maybe I will get some time at my drafting table tomorrow...

Stargazer Lily WIP update

Stargazer Lily Work in Progress

Coloured Pencil on Stonehenge

copyright Teresa Mallen

Here is how it looks now. I still have to finish a petal and the background isn't done yet. After that I just need to deepen some values and it will be done. I'm liking the softness of this piece and my goal is to not overwork it as I don't want to lose this effect.

Also on my agenda for today is to create some advertising for my portrait classes in November. I am delighted that I have a new printer. This job should go a lot smoother than the last time I created ads. :)

Stargazer Lily, coloured pencil work in progress

Here is a look at my current work. It is a small 6"x6" lily, on white Stonehenge, that I started last month. I was staying at my Dad's and I needed something that was small and portable. I also wanted something that wasn't too challenging as life was challenging enough at the time. I didn't get too much done on it while I was there but I did manage a bit of time on it last week once I returned home. I shall keep you posted on my progress.

Tulip on Pastelbord

tulip, copyright Teresa Mallen

Coloured pencil on Pastelbord

This is a small tulip piece that I did last week. It is 5 x 7 inches on a panel of tan coloured Pastelbord. The lower picture is obviously from when it was a work in progress.

This sort of work is great for sales. I don't know why, but tulips are my best seller. People also usually like the smaller format because these pieces are less expensive and they can fit anywhere in the home.

I have enjoyed working on these small Pastelbord panels but now it is time to work on something different. For my next painting I shall return to white Stonehenge paper and something not quite so small.

I haven't had too much studio time as I have been busy on the business end of things. I have been doing up some advertising as well as refreshing my inventory list. Yes, I took my own advice. I realized as I wrote the post on inventory lists that it had been quite a while since I had worked on mine. I also have started a rough draft of a press release.

Now I need to get back to writing my June newsletter. I hope to have it finished in the next 24 hours. I have to get my studio cleaned up and set up for teaching this weekend and I have some material to get ready for the students.

And yippee the new frig did arrive and it is purring away as I type. Guess that means I have some grocery shopping to do! Our kitchen is now a cooler free zone!!

Rose blossom on Pastelbord

Rose Blossom II

Coloured Pencil on Pastelbord

Copyright Teresa Mallen

Here is the finished rose blossom. I enjoyed working on the white Pastelbord but I did find it a bit frustrating at the end as the surface was getting saturated. The board didn't want to take any more pigment and I wasn't done tweaking the piece.

One would think that a toothy surface such as Pastelbord or sanded pastel paper would take a lot of layers but in fact they don't take as many layers as Stonehenge paper. This piece is done for now. I will display it in my studio for a while before making any further adjustments. I shall post more pictures of these small Pastelbord paintings once they are framed.

Next up, waiting on the drafting table, is another small Pastelbord piece. And yes, another flower - a tulip this time. After that I am heading back to paper for a much larger work. I am looking forward to that!

Rose blossom on Pastelbord, WIP

Here is what the rose blossom looks like now...

Unfortunately the photo doesn't capture the essence of the piece. The grainy texture of the Pastelbord is giving the rose a soft, dreamy quality which I like a lot.

I haven't had too much time to work on this piece as I am busy typing up the May newsletter as well as the instructions for the reflections kit. I had to tear myself away from my studio this afternoon as my husband and I had to do an airport run to pick up relatives returning from a trip.

I will post the finished image as soon as I get it done.

Rose blossom on pastelbord, WIP

Ah, the adventures in my studio...

I started a new piece this morning. I had my drawing on a piece of tracing paper and I was ready to transfer the lines to my Pastelbord. I inserted my transfer paper only to have an oops moment. Without thinking, I had inserted a piece of white transfer paper but darn it all, the Pastelbord is white. Just wasn't going to work...okay it was early and I hadn't even brewed coffee yet. Now the real problem sets in - I don't own any graphite transfer paper. I have never needed any. When working on white paper, I am able to use my lightbox to transfer the line drawing but as this is a board, it isn't see-through.

I needed a plan B. I grabbed my Wolff's 2B carbon pencil and I created my own graphite transfer paper. I rubbed the carbon pencil over the back of the tissue paper and voila! Worked like a charm.

About this piece: it is on a 5 x 7 inch panel of white Pastelbord (which has a sanded surface similar to pastel paper). While some of my work is small in size, I don't normally work this small. I purchased a package of four 5 x 7 inch Pastelbord panels so here I am doing a rather small rose blossom. The finished size will be smaller than 5 x 7 as I am saving room around the edge to allow for framing. I have read that people using the white Pastelbord don't like it, especially when compared to working on the other available colours of Pastelbord. So far I am enjoying working on it. The only negative so far, is that I find it harder to keep the areas that I want left white clean (especially when compared to working on Stonehenge paper). .

I like it when the tooth of the paper shows through in a work and I do like the toothy nature of this sanded surface. I am applying the pigment in the old fashioned way in that I am just laying down layers of coloured pencil. In this piece I am not filling the tooth with the use of Neocolors II crayons, watercolour pencils, solvent or colourless blender. My goal is for the the tooth to remain visible. Already I find that this adds to the delicate, soft look of the piece. I am using Prismacolor Lightfast pencils.

This is a fun piece for me as I like working on white objects. This may be a white rose blossom but by the time I am done with it, it will have quite a bit of colour. I 'see' so much colour in white :-) ...for those of you who have taken the Beyond the Basics course with me, remember the white tea cup and cloth project? I have a white peony blossom in the header of this blog. Further evidence that I love to add colour to white!

As you can see from the top photo, I am working at establishing my darker values first. I intend to crop the piece more on the right than the left so keep in mind that compositionally, the image will change.