Tag: joy

The Process

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My previous blog post was a great video about the process of a castle, this wont be anywhere near as fancy or put together but showing the process of my then super secret commission I painted this winter. It was a gift for my nephew from his parents, recapturing a special memory of a father & son canoe trip. This is another glimpse into my creative process.

This was a first for me, my first painting with a human in it! For some, figure drawing or portrait painting comes easy, but it is not my favourite thing to do so I generally avoid it. What scares me about portraits is the symmetry of the face and body; faces in general are no my current strength. Nonetheless I did not hesitate, I said yes pretty quickly.

The scenery was spectacular so I had no reservations about capturing the mountains or the water. His easy, releaxed, taking-it-all-in pose is what I knew I had to capture. I was sketching within minutes of getting off the phone. I committed to sending off a few so they could see that I could capture what they were looking for. A few days later I sent them off for approval.

I was happy that I had the canvas in stock and could begin right away. My intention was to grid the photos; gridding is a tool used by artists that places a 3×3 grid over the reference image to help balance scale and perspective. I am a huge fan of gridding, it allows me to accurately recreate the image in proportion as I learn to be more comfortable with perspective drawing/sketching. If you saw my previous blog post, I returned to the grid reference after every stage to keep it proportioned. This one, as it turned out, was very different.

My process generally looks like this: evaluate the image, pick a canvas, prime it, grid it and get to work drawing. With this piece I was combining 2 images of the landscape with his relaxed easy pose. When it was time to grid it, I didn’t.

It was the first time I could actually see the shapes on the canvas! So one Saturday night I sketched the whole thing on the canvas using my watercolour pencils. In one 45 minute session, the guts of the painting went down on the canvas! It was an amazing and unexpected experience.

The sketches can look wonky but I knew it was ok, a base of lines to work from.

Last year my nephew purchased a mountain scene and at this point I decided to match the colour palette of the 2 pieces so they would be complimentary to each other.
So now it’s blocking in colours and shapes all the while keeping the shape of him steady. At this point I stepped back and redid the skyline where it meets the trees.
Slowly but cautiously, the layers are unfolding. Skyline, clouds, mountain and water. I always work from top to bottom and from background to foreground, so it was more of that for many sessions. I had premixed most of my paints so I didn’t have to worry about remixing and not matching. FYI The underpainting of the hills is the same greens from his the final layer of his painting; adding to the cohesiveness of the 2 pieces. When the sky was in I did a little happy dance in my studio..it was exactly how I wanted to it to be.
Trees, water and that pinky/red/purple lifejacket. I had fun with that one! The second photo is the ugly stage of the painting and alot of artists get stuck here. I have gotten stuck here a few time myself so I recognized the feeling. What kept me focused was the sky..it was great to me. We are in the final stages now.
This was the sneak peak photo that I sent to my brother. I knew at this point it was about 80% done. From here on in it was slow, easy changes to the proportion of his body oh and I was totally in love with the hat!
I only worked on this commission during daylight hours, to ensure that my colours were true, so my weekends were for this piece! I looked forward to those weekends! Seeing it unfold in the afternoon light is part of my process and because of Covid, my weekends were free!
At this stage, I took a break from it for 2 weeks to recharge for the last push.
Sometimes the sudden realization that I am done catches me off guard! I feel like I come to a screeching halt! All that was left now was a few tweaks and checks; a few last minute panic fixes; but I knew it was done.
In a check in with my brother, he asked if I loved it and my response was this: “I give it a high five every time I walk by it!” Every day until I wrapped it up, I would come at sit with it and I was overjoyed with how it turned out.

I loved the challenge of this piece and I am very proud on how it turned out. It was wrapped with TLC and delivered on time and in time for his birthday.

I hope you enjoyed a little insight into my process and the evolution of this special piece.

🎨 on!!

More from The Garden Series

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Looking for a unique Mother’s Day gift? I might be able to help!

The collection is called Mom’s Garden and they are mainly 8”x8” acrylic on canvas colourful garden scenes.

Mom’s Garden #2 8″x8″ Acrylic on Canvas$65

Check out the available artworks menu on my website for all the current pieces. I will be uploading more as they are completed so be sure to check in often.

Shipping within Canada can be arranged in time for Mother’s Day. Please don’t hesitate to contact me through the website or on Facebook.

I’ve also uploaded a few more pieces in Garden Series too! Prices and sizes are with each piece!

If you are looking for a custom piece from either collection please get in touch to discuss your options!

http://www.annescanvas.com

🎨 on!

Everything Old is New Again

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Early in my art life I created a couple of floral paintings: nothing elaborate, because I didn’t know how to be elaborate but using techniques I learned at a Paint with Janet class. To my surprise, they sold!! And ever since, at irregular intervals, the purchaser who happens to be my massage therapist, would suggest I paint more, that she receives lots of compliments, and she was sure they would sell. I thought I was done with that style. To say I was hesitant and resistant 😏 would be an understatement.

In January, I was wondering what was next; Christmas was over and I was looking for my next idea and Amy’s words rung in my ears. A few weeks before I had reworked a few repurposed highly textured canvas and I thought they’d make nice backgrounds. So I dug out my old brushes, and some colours that I haven’t used in many years and got to it.

In one afternoon I created these 2

  • The Garden Series #3 Sold
  • The Garden Series #4 Sold

And a new/ old series was born. I have since made 5 more. (One is enroute to its new owner so I can’t reveal it yet)!

  • The Garden Series #8 11″x14″ Acrylic on Canvas $125
  • The Garden Series #9 12″x12″ Acrylic on Canvas $130
  • The Garden series #7 12″x12″ Acrylic on Canvas $130
  • The Garden Series #6 Sold

I love painting landscapes but I learned over the last month that I also need to play and create joy-filled pieces and this series, with their pops of colour on rich backgrounds; really do fill me with joy as I create them.

My available artworks gallery has been updated with the 3 remaining pieces of this series. I will be making more, no worries there! I’ve got an idea for Mother’s Day so stay tuned!