"Larches in the Rain on a Late Autumn day"
16" X 18"

Acrylics & mixed media on canvas

I love Larches.

They are tough as nails, capable of almost bending in 1/2 during a wind storm,
and
straightening right up once the wind has passed.

Beautiful green, and Spruce like.

They have needles that turn gold in the Autumn and drop before the Winter sets in.
(Unlike Spruce and Pines.)

My children are fortunate enough to have a shelter-belt of Larches fronting their property.

Larches in  Canada are also called"  Tamarack"

'Tamarack' is from the Algonquin word 'akemantak' which means "wood used for snowshoes".
        Historically, tamarack was widely used in wooden ships, for timbers, planking and to join ribs to deck timbers. Native Americans used the roots to bind seams of birch bark canoes, the wood for arrow shafts and the bark medicinally.
http://www.larchwoodcanada.com/what_is_a_larch_tree

They have a "Special" feel and look.

They are quite unique in that they are
deciduous.

Most coniferous trees are evergreens, but some deciduous trees are evergreens as well. Evergreen trees keep their leaves in all seasons, lose them gradually as the weather cools

 The needles on a Larch are never quite as stiff as on an Evergreen.

This painting is  done on a base covered  randomly with molding paste to denote trunks .
It is over painted and the trees emerge.
 The photo below highlights the ridges of the paste after painting.

I hope you like this.
I kinda do!
~~Kathleen

"Fourteen Trees on a River Walk"

Acrylics on Canvas
12" X 12"
(SOLD)
An exercise in light where you have a daytime painting with no sun!
No sun means no obvious shadows, not an easy task.
But with variances in colours (blue & white only)
I did it!
Actually in this painting I have used only three colours.
Phthalo blue (Green Shade)
White  & Paynes gray

"There is always Love"

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE.

I have been working on this pair for a while now.
I am very pleased with how they turned out.
A very different style from what I usually do!
"Tryst"
12' X 12" AND 12" X 14"
ACRYLICS AND MIXED MEDIUM
On canvas.
"SOLD"

This pair is unusual as the background of both paintings is very 
defined and not smooth.
I chose to place the shiny gels atop a Matte painted canvas for contrast.
The end result 
is
striking.
(A real statement of love)

Side by side

~~Kathleen
All comments welcome.

"How on Earth was that done?"

"The Beginning"
Acrylics And Mixed media
Birch Panel
24" X 24"

Today's entry is not about my art.
It is how the art forms of others make me better at what I do.

It is about the wonder that surrounds those of us 

that ask

"How on Earth was that done?"

A lovely friend of mine is an author.

She is dedicated to her work and has worked 

(sometimes agonizingly)

passionately on her manuscripts.

Through her, I have learned that if we do not take time

 to appreciate the intensely dedicated work of others to complete a project,

we will fail to complete the roles we have assigned ourselves in any good fashion.

For any Artist, be you a Baker, a Shoemaker, a Nurse, a Teacher, or an Author,

unless you realize and appreciate the trials and tribulations

 of others creations, craft, or profession,

you cannot appreciate the fabulous standards your own works have to live up to.

The people surrounding us (often unknowingly) are all artisans in their own right.

I put paint and other mediums on a canvas.

when I am finished one I am either pleased with the work 

or

 so dissatisfied that I will completely change it, 

or  junk it and begin anew.

Without the proper tools we use to craft in our chosen profession

we are left floating in nothingness.
Sometimes the proper tools are what we see
when we look at other people going about their daily life
 and completing certain tasks.

Everything we do goes way back in time to when someone said,
"I have an idea on how to make this work, 

I will craft it and share it with others,

 so they can utilize it and create something new with it."
We, in turn use the tool, improve on it, 

and often turn it into 

 something totally different.

I cannot tell you how many times that the end result of an  Art-work

 that I present to the public is a totally different concept from what I had in mind at the beginning.

Authors revise, edit, revise and edit more.

Nurses  & Teachers are constantly improving on their profession.

Everything changes constantly

and

if we do not stop and ask
"How did that ever get done?"
The true meaning of  the tools we use in our everyday lives

are useless,

and what we do becomes meaningless.
~~Kathleen

Wasted Leaves, Resurrected"

"Wasted Leaves, Resurrected"

Acrylics/mixed medium

Birch Panel
24" X 24"

The other day, while taking out the garbage, I tripped over something in the snow.

I used my foot and uncovered the object.

I was saddened to see a part of a book.

Looks like someone, for whatever reason, tore the pages out of binding
and
ripped it into sections..

I had tripped over one of the sections.

The pages were in reasonable shape, it was too cold for any moisture to 

damage the leaves.

I picked it up kinda slapped it against my leg to knock the snow off what was left.

Such a waste.

The beautiful words inside were lost ,
The binding was lost, a tree was lost.

Nothing good would come of it ever again.

I took it inside with me, lay it on my work desk and let it dry for a couple of days.

All the time wondering how I could do something to

make it better.

A hopeless task to be sure.

I love books.
 They were my constant companions when I was young,
And all throughout my youth. 

They were my refuge.

I owe Books so much.
 As, who I became, how I acted, and what I knew,
 came from reading books.

When the pages were dry, somewhat stiff and marked,
I saw them as an artwork desecrated, and incomplete.

The idea for this work of art formed slowly in my mind 

and

Kind of came together on its own.

I was saving some of the pages, and reforming them.
I gave them life with colour.

This work of art emerged slowly.

I documented my progress and present it to you here.

I hope you like it.
I have saved the rest of the unused pages.
For another time, another use.
All is not lost, and in my mind,
I paid homage to a once beautiful book.
and helped it become something incredible again.

~~Kathleen

 The cut outs from the pages in the first application of colour.

Final paint and the leaves drying.

Detail of the words on the Leaves

Rough arrangement of the leaves

Glueing each leaf down

Drying after the top glaze is done

~~

"Red Flowers"

"Red Flowers"
Mixed Media 

on
Cradled Birch
20" X 20"

 I love experimenting with new things, and I love taking these products out of their comfort zone and making them work for me in different ways.

The other day I was at the Art Store....
And, I noticed a product by "Pebeo"

It is a glass paint with a high shine, (like glass) LOL

so I picked up a couple of bottles of it.

If it shines it is a perfect product for me.
Yes I purchased a few things while shopping.

More gold leaf,
some new paint colours ,  Pipettes that drop paint where one wants it.
So much stuff, so little time.
Then on to the hardware store to get 1/4" birch panels.
(One 48" X 48"  panel cut in quarters)

at one tenth the cost that they would cost in the Art store.
and finally,

a Palm sander (to finish of my substrates smoothly)
One is never finished adding to the supplies needed to produce Art.

When I got all my new treasures home I really wanted to dive into using the Pebeo colours.
I prepped a 20" X 20" Cradled birch board with Grey Gesso.
Once the Gesso dried I took some Molding paste and spread lines of it down the board from edge to edge with my flat edged palette knife to cover the board with uneven gaps between the lines.

I let the paste dry until almost tacky and applied  Gold Leaf randomly on the bottom  2/3 of the base.
I left 1/3 untouched at the top.

After everything was dry I got my Pipette out (I really like these little tools),
And started drawing lines of Pebeo Apple green Vitrail over the whole board smoothed it out with a very soft brush and let it kinda streak so I had light and darker colours of green.
(Darker where the substrate was not touched by the molding paste)
I used Tar gel to draw  various sized lines dropping from the top to a little more than 1/3 of the way down.

this is what the panel looked like at that point.

I then drew on random "Flowers"  with the Tar gel and let that dry
once dry I started filling in the flowers with Goldens fluid Acrylic in Pyrrole Red.

As you can see from the glare on the painting so far , the Vitrail dries incredibly shiny (like glass LOL).
The yellowish areas on the bottom is the Gold Metal leaf overpainted with the Vitrail.

the above photo shows how mottled the background is with the differences between where the molding paste is and just the Grey Gesso is.
Here, as well you can see the red paint puddled inside the shapes of the flowers.
I, as well added one flower that has fallen to the bottom of the painting.

 The Red flower on the bottom with the stem.

Almost finished, but it did not seem balanced, so I added a bud on the bottom stem and a row of gold leaf pieces (not over-painted),  just above the fallen flower completed the painting.

 Notes:

Working with Pebeo Vitrail is fun. it is very adaptable to any substrate, and a little goes a very long way.
The colours are intense, and very fluid, actually very much like coloured water.
It did not sink right into the molding paste and never lost any of the original colour.
It is highlighted very well depending on the colour it is placed on top.
(In this case Paynes Grey & White molding paste, as well as Gold leaf)
I did buff some of the colour off places where there was Gold leaf, and while it did lift, left a hint of the green.
The colour is very intense.
I can see myself using this product a lot in the future.
I hope you enjoyed my journey with this painting.
~~Kathleen

The light scattered

"The Light Scattered"

Acrylics & Mixed Media
On Birch Panel
24" X 24"

I find that working on Birch Panels  more pleasurable than on Canvas.
Every Artist has their own preferences.
One is not necessarily better than the other, it is just a matter of personal preference.

I like painting on wood because the substrate is  less likely to move under pressure.

Again a personal preference.
I have painted many works on Canvas, and am sure I will do more paintings on Canvas, for now I will stick to the Birch Panels.
The above painting  is depicting a star that has blown up in a Galaxy far, far away.
What appears to be White, in actuality 

Silver leaf.
The effect is quite pleasing, I hope you like it.
~~Kathleen

"It is Just a Matter of Time"

Acrylics and Mixed media

On

Birch Panel

24" X 24"

(These photos are not enhanced/Photoshopped in any way)

Many times I have posted photos of my Art and followed the picture up with the comment 
"It really gleams".
Of course we all realize that shine and gloss do not show up in a photo without looking like glare.
Because of this, photographs never depict what a painting really looks like in person.
And that is a shame.
I worked on this piece for almost three weeks
 Laying down the silver leaf, over-painting that, and buffing the paint down to a thin film that allows the shine of the Silver leaf below to push through the colour.
Using many many layers of greens and blues. each buffed to a beautiful finish. 
Paint reacts on Leaf in a very different way. While you can buff off the greater part of it,
in itself, a hint of colour is always left to shine with the Silver leaf  underlay lifting it upwards.
I have posted two photos of this painting that were taken at different times of the day to show how interactive

 using Silver (or Gold) leaf is and how it reacts to different levels of sun.
Hopefully this will help you understand my often commented....
"This painting just gleams."
Thanks all
~~Kathleen

"And Then Came Fall"

"And Then Came Fall"
Acrylics and Mixed media
Birch Panel
24" X 24"

The Seasons change and life goes on.
There are beginnings and endings amongst these times.
We have new things to look forward to and old things, now to be remembered.

Time passes and each day has many wonderful and sad things to offer us.
How we deal with these things is up to us.
I am a positive thinker, I always have been.
I look forward to the seasonal changes.

Fall has always been my favorite season of the year.
It is crisp, warm, colder and fresh.
There are less bugs/insects, and the air is always refreshing.
And the Joy of colour it offers us.
Nothing can beat the beauty of Fall.
I hope you like this one.
A simple reflection of how I feel about September this year.
~~Kathleen.

"The Sun Rose Behind The Trees"

"The Sun Rose Behind The Trees"

Acrylics and Tar Gel
Birch Panel
24" X 24"

The Sun rises Behind the trees, and the whole scene lights up like they were illuminated with Gold.
In Northern Manitoba along the lakeshore, for the most part, the trees are Poplar and Birch.
They are never so thick that they cannot be walked through but in all tend to be pretty dense.
When looking East one often can see patches of the sky behind them, and the trees while fully grown,

 often have very tall trunks before the branches spread outwards.
The tops of these trees reach for the Sun.
Those that don't get that high die off.
When the Morning Sun appears it casts a glow and enhances the green leaves on the canopy, and highlights the trunks.
It is almost magical.
I hope you can see what I was trying to express in this painting.

"...And then there were Flowers."

"SOLD"

..."And Then there Were Flowers."
Acrylics and Mixed-media on Birch Panel
24" X 24"

I have always loved the muted colours of the Impressionists.
I love abstract works that have wonderful colour.
That being said, I love Art-Deco.
With this painting I have tried to combine all three.

This is a

 multi-media work that took a very long time to complete because there were so many stages to it.

Initially I saw the woman on an Art-Deco site that I frequent.
She was a pen Line drawing in black on white.

 I knew that I wanted to do something with her so I printed her off in order to make a gel 

overlay of her.
(With permission)
Once the overlay dried and I removed the paper backing, I painted in the background of the gel and then

re-applied a few more coats of gel so as to give the image some depth.
The gel of the woman took four days to dry in all before it was workable and able to be removed from the glass substrade.

I then cut her out on the edges, lifted her carefully from the glass,
and rolled her in Parchment paper so it would not stick to itself.

I began working on the panel for a background.
Initially I painted the background all silver.

Paint does not readily adhere to any  metallic background.

My intention was to create a background of soft muted colours that ran together and pooled in some areas.

so after I poured washes  on the panel, and dropped Blue and Ochre spots,
i waited for them to dry a bit.

 I leaned the panel on a block so one edge was much higher than the other and sprayed it all with a fine heavy mist of water so it would drip down taking the colour with it.

When I had the background as I wanted it, I lay it flat and

let it dry.
Then I coated the whole background with an Acrylic Glazing Liquid  (satin)

 and waited for that to dry......

I then added strings of coloured Tar-gel to represent stems and flowers.

and let that dry.

I then over-painted the flowers and adjusted the Ochre tar gel.

I let that dry.

Finally I added the woman to the painting.

I find the end result of this work very pleasing.
There was an enormous amount of time spent waiting for the mediums to dry between each step.
It is a larger work and shows beautifully.


I hope you like it.
~~Kathleen

"And Then Comes Spring"

"And Then Comes Spring"

Acrylics and Mixed media on Canvas
16" X 20"

Living in Southern Alberta, Canada poses some problems with the Weather.

The Winters can be unpredictable and  oftentimes they tend to drag on.
But when Spring finally arrives,

 what a joy.

I celebrate our diverse weather
We have been known to have

Snow in September, Sun tanning days in the middle of December

snowflakes on a hot day in August 

and

nothing, no matter how unusual

tends to surprise us.

Spring brings green.

Fresh breathable air without frost

sunshine and a sense of well-being.

I created this work in honour of
The Season of re-birth.

 I base-painted the canvas with a deep blue and affixed 

Silver metal leaf squares.

I then colour washed over the silver another wash of blue.

the blue was applied in splotches, 

let sit and then gently buffed off 

so as to leave a hint of the colour and tone down the silver.

All colours are "Golden Fluids"

Once the blue dried, I did the same thing with Green Gold.

creating a fabulous contrast.

when everything dried fully, I then scumbled over the whole canvas

distressing some of the paint down to the silver and through that at times.
then I washed over the whole thing with random Blues & Green gold.

the base was finished.

I used a template and Molding Paste to add the vines

let them dry and over painted the plaster a few times to get

a not too perfect colour.


Detail:

 I had fun creating this work.
I do hope you see the joy in it.
~~Kathleen

Happy Valentines day. (a wee break from the norm)

For Valentines Day, I send a special message to you all.

Japanese art of Kintsugi follows a different philosophy.
Rather than disguising the breakage, kintsugi restores the broken item incorporating the damage into the aesthetic of the restored item, making it part of the object’s history.
Kintsugi uses lacquer resin mixed with powdered gold, silver, platinum, copper or bronze, resulting into something more beautiful than the original.
~~
For all my friends that may have been "Broken" at one time or another I send you hope.
I send you the hope that you will know that now you are more valuable and treasured.
If you have never been "Broken" please know that in my heart
I will try to be there and patch you up
with Gold if
 it happens.
I treasure you all.
~~Kathleen

See how this person made Kintsugi work for her when a whole shipment of Pottery arrived broken.

http://www.moraapproved.com/blogs/news/7799489-the-new-kintsugi-repair-kit-turning-tragedies-into-opportunities

"The Night The Northern Lights Surrounded Us"

"The Night The Northern Lights Surrounded Us"
Acrylics and Mixed media on Canvas
16" X 20"

I did this painting after a Hoar Frost settled into my world the other day.

Every blade of dried grass, every branch every electrical wire was covered in a delicate Hoar Frost.

When this happens and we are lucky enough to have no wind, the frost will stay on everything until the sun shines. Fortunate for us the day was overcast, so we had this beauty all day.

The following evening was  magical, one one in which the Northern Lights danced in just a glorious display.

They were so bright that the trees covered in delicate frost shone in the dark contrast to the sky in all its magnificent colour.

Hopefully I have somewhat captured this magic on my Canvas.

Detail;
This photo actually shows the true colours of this painting.

I hope You can see the Magic in this painting, it seems touched with electricity and just gleams.

~~Kathleen

"Sunset at September Lake"

"Sunset at September Lake"
Acrylics/mixed media on Canvas
16" X 20"

Every once in a while something good comes from a disaster.
The other day I was going through my 

"Paper53" app on my IPad and I was checking out my doodles.
(Things I have composed while watching TV )

I really liked the effect that the colours made when I would go to the next line down and continue a sky line.
The tone on tone created a wonderful effect, and I wondered if I could translate this 

small work to Acrylics on canvas.
I mixed up a watery (watercolour style) blue green for my sky and started.

needless to say I failed miserably!

So, here I was with a canvas covered in blue/white cloud like lines that did not work.
 I did what any well intentioned Artist does in this situation, I grabbed a bottle of Fluid Acrylic

("Goldens Yellow Oxide")
and poured it over the canvas atop the blue/green mess!
and then I smoothed it over the canvas with a fine wide brush.

and
VOILA!
I had the most gorgeous canvas in various hues of yellows and reds, and greens!
Now this was a canvas I could work with, and in colours I liked.

I decided that somehow the sky would be of a Sunset.

So I needed a tree line.
And 

then
I remembered

that

I had just stocked up on Metal leaf.

Not just the regular Gold/Silver/Bronze leaf

but a new hue 

that was

a Variegated Black.
I had never worked with it and needless to say, I was itching to work with this new colour.

It is a product  put out by a company called

La D'ORE

and just gleamed.

So, instead of highlighting a painted tree,
I got the bright idea to paint the trees in with sizing and just use the leaf.
Different and kinda hairy because once dry, I would not be able to see what I had painted.
But, I persisted and ended up with this;

 

Yes, that is metal leaf, 

just photographed so as not to see the glare from the sheen.
And, I liked the results tremendously.
while I liked it, there was nothing defining the trees, so

again, I decided to draw trees "ATOP" the trees already there.

(again blind.)

I let this sizing dry and then layered Gold Leaf atop the black metal leaf and they looked wonderful.

Basically, not a good photograph, but this one shows the great difference between both colours of

the metal leaf.
I had depth.
And the contrast between the two colours was so pleasing.

A detail shot to show the leafing.

I had a hard time deciding to do the lake in the front of the tree line.
would the sunset be behind the trees or in front?

Because the colour was so vibrant, I decided that the Sun would be behind the viewer.
The whole effect would be balanced with the reflection of the Sunset on the water.

so how to do that?

More metal leaf of course!
And that my friends

is how a disaster can actually turn out to be a pretty pleasing Painting!
Thanks for being here, I appreciate you taking the time to

read and view my blog so much!
~~Kathleen

The Basics and the beginnings of an artist.

"Calla from the top"
(SOLD)

When I began painting a few years back, as is with everyone

I started with a theme.
I had no idea about what I was good at, and had very little
Self-expression show in my paintings.

I think for any beginner this is the case.
We see a scene, a flower, a sky

and think 

"I would love to paint that."
We have no idea about mixing colours, perspective or shadowing.
We just know we want to translate it onto canvas.

"Dandelions"

One of the first flowers I ever painted was
"Dandelions"
(Sold)
A little canvas celebrating the first bouquet that a child presents to their
Mother with much love, and showing what this gift looked like  to the Mother.


After that I proceeded to venture into different shapes and colours

"Dogwood Blossoms"
SOLD
My first serious foray into shape, form and shading.

"Botanical"
SOLD

This one started my love of the background.

After that I explored colour shape and style.
backgrounds and sizes.
You can see here that I did not allow myself adequate room for the roots coming from the bulb.


"The Wedding is Off!"
A whimsical Painting.
Mr. Froggy is keeping out of the rain.
No Wedding for him today.
This (I think) is the only painting in which I attempted to actually do Rain.
It can be scary, you complete  (at that time)
a perfect painting and you just know
That the first stroke signifying rain has to be perfect
or the whole thing is lost.
I lucked our on this one.

"Cassa"
SOLD
An art Challenge from
a participating forum on "Wet Canvas"
One of my all time favorite florals.
My favorite part is actually the way I painted the
stucco wall.

"Lily"
SOLD
Ruffled Asian Lily
I worked very hard to get depth in this painting.
At the time I thought I had it.
But looking closely, I achieved a good depth on only one Petal.

"Lily2"
SOLD
An all time favorite of mine.
Simple lines portraying elegance.

"Daisy"
There is much beauty in the simplest of flowers.

"Poppies"
SOLD
Again, here I worked on shading and tonal values.

Here I attempted to do a "Red" painting.

While Not specifically a Floral, this painting
is the first that I achieved pleasing results with
a collection of plants.
SOLD

"White Flower"
SOLD
I liked the background of this one very much.

Every step I have taken in teaching myself how to paint

has gone through phases.
And with each painting I learned.
I perfected a certain style and method of application.
I have had many many canvas that I have painted over
(Or as my friend Diane calls them "Wall leaners")
....put in a corner on the floor, leaning on the wall

to be forgotten or painted over.

But with every painting I have completed I have taken away something new.
I have learned when to put my brush down
and
"Leave it alone"

What colours make each other Pop!
How to load a brush with paint

and countless other things.

One fact that I learned very quickly was that I
had no propensity to paint people/faces or animals.
I do not enjoy painting these subjects.
The one exception to this rule was the painting I did of a couple of Pelicans
(But then again birds are not people or animals)

"Pelicans"
(SOLD)

Actually, any attempt in that genre has resulted in frustration, anger
and a feeling of hopelessness.
So I just do not even try them. LOL

I think these things have made me a better Artist.
And hopefully I will continue to enjoy the learning process
of creating art.
~~Kathleen