Sometimes you just know....

A couple of entries below this one, I posted a finished painting based on a childhood

memory of chasing fireflies in the moonlight and running through Grannies Marigolds while doing this.
(please scroll down to see the completed painting)

It is one of the fondest childhood memories I have.
Granny thought that children should never be chastised for following their dreams, so we did not get into trouble for running on her small flowers.

The original finished work was very well received .

Many,many people saw what I did in the painting.
Yet, something held me back on signing this work.
So I set it aside.

A few days ago, I got the idea that the painting lacked movement.
But how was I to add movement to this type of painting?
The painting as it was, consisted of many layers of applied acrylics, using many different methods.
This painting was a wonder of texture and colour.
Anything added to it had to be abstract yet definable. (is that a word?)

I decided on a type of free form Sprite for my figures.
I posed them in a Joyous dance pattern.
As if abandon was the norm and peace and happiness was the main goal of these two figures.
They are painted in the Yellows and Ochers that I used for the fireflies.
They have definate shape and form, but look as if they could change shape in a second, and dance more.
Like children chasing after Fireflies in the dark.

This painting (to me) represents Hope and Joy.
This painting represents love of a grandmother that understood the significance of allowing children not having to worry about Marigolds that get trampled while chasing a dream.

I hope you like the final outcome of this painting.
It pleases me to no end.
~~Kathleen
Please note, while being almost impossible to photograph in true colours, I was finally able to get one photo that is true to the original colour of this painting!
so I present;
Marigolds and Fireflies
16" X 20"
Acrylics on canvas
Click on photo to enlarge

When you need the best....

"Lawn Boys"
Gayle Vogel Kirby

20" X 20"
Acrylics on wrapped canvas

For the longest time I have wanted to paint my grandsons.
Not just paint them, but create a work of art that shows the devotion these brothers have for each other.
I have to admit, first and foremost I am not good at painting the human shape or form.
But I was willing to attempt to do this.
So I tried, and tried, painted over and tried again.
Nope this was really not my forte!
Accepting the inability to do some things is not a flaw.
doing mediocre work is.
So I stopped trying.


Instead, I decided to travel a new avenue.
Yep, I called the big guns and asked for help.
I contacted an artist friend of mine.

Gayle Vogel Kirby is an accomplished portraitist.
This lady has a wonderful talent in the way she depicts her subjects.
She brings out the colour/life and essence of everyone that she paints.
She sees in colour and paint what we could only dream of.
and she sees so well.

Please take the time to view her blog and enjoy her wonderful art.
I am honoured that she accepted the request I put to her.
I am more-so honoured that she depicted my grandsons
with such sensitivity.
Thank-you Gayle, so very much.
~~Kathleen
Gayles Blog can be seen here:
http://gaylekirbyart.blogspot.com

"Marigolds and Fireflies"

I have been working on this for a long time now!
Everytime I think it is done, and put it on the rack,
Something draws me back to it.
And I "fix" it a wee bit more.

I think now that it is done.
It is representational of a childhood memory
A memory of my brothers and I chasing Fireflies in the evening.
I remember that once we ran through Grannys Marigolds and her response was that
"Everything was fine when children chased Fireflies"
To her, in her advanced age, Fireflies were Magic, and children should chase them in the evening.

This painting really says a lot to me.
It shows the magic of the night and the wonderful
lights of hope that come with the dark.
~~Kathleen

Re anonymous comments

I have received (over the course of this blogs life) many anonymous comments.
For the greater part (99%) they have been very positive, only three have been hateful.
I do not publish anything that is Anonymous because I believe in putting ones money where your mouth is.
I have a few loyal followers, that as well, blog on Blogger. Some that do not.

I believe that this is a fair attitude, and I want to treat everyone as equals.
So, while I do appreciate your taking time to read this blog, then commenting, Yes, even positively, without a name or a reference blog in return, I will not make your words a part of this site.
Be well all
~~Kathleen

"In My Opinion Only!"

I know of a few artists that trace.
That is, they find a photograph they like, use their enlarger projector, and trace each and every detail onto the canvas to paint.
Now while I feel that this is a perfectly acceptable method for Faces & bodies/birds/botanicals, I do feel that for the most part originality is severely lacking when this method is used in landscapes and paintings of the sort.
What one ends up with is a perfectly executed copy of a photograph that has no passion of the artist in it.
Every blade of grass, every leaf, every stone and every tree is perfectly copied.
They might, just might add a stone, but for the most part that is it.
anything more for these artists (sic) would be all too much of a deviation from transcription.
For all intensive purposes, they copy. (Again, my opinion only)

If you cannot be original when you paint landscapes, and have to copy why bother?
Why not use this tree, that field, another sky and that dog, put it all together as a totally original work of art?
And, No, I am not speaking of using a grid. Using a grid still means that the artist has to use originality, and for the most part the end result will always show changes from the original reference work.


If you are scared to try and let what you actually see (and feel) show up in your art, why bother?
Everything that I (and many artist friends) paint is a compilation of many ideas/images that I (we) have in my (our) mind(s) and from photographs that I (we) have taken.
Just look back in this blog, and you will see some terrible paintings that (at the time) I was proud of! :)

At the moment I have two full computer discs of clouds/skies/sunrises/sunsets that I have taken over the years. I often use them for reference. But I never trace them. I figure out how I want the blues to look and work from there. Same goes for trees/grass and buildings/mountains and the like.
I have many many landscape photos that I have taken on disc, then there are the birds/animals and people that I have on disc as well. All are photos that I have taken each is different and grabbed me at the moment for one reason or another.

The florals that I do are supplied by Rachel (whose virtues as a photographer are extolled much earlier on in this blog)
For my self, re imaging, the one exception has been Florals. All the singular florals that I have done are very much in the image of the original photograph. I do not trace them and never sketch them on to the canvas before I begin, as I am terrible with a pencil. My rough sketches usually begin with a brush and I work from that! Refining the flower as I go! Actually a lot of times I have changed the colour of a botanical as I worked on it.

Which leads me back to my original thought......

Why bother?
I suppose for some, originality is not an important issue, but for me lack of original thought shows a total lack of passion in the completed work.
There is a gentleman artist friend, Mike Baxter.
His art can be seen here....
http://baxterpopart.blogspot.com/
whose blog I follow, that paints incredible works of Pop art and women.
Some of these works can be semi erotic, but they are tasteful and fabulously painted.
I know that Mike uses a projector, but for his style of art this method not only works, it is essential.

Passion in art is essential, the buyer sees the lack of this, the viewer sees the lack of passion and the end result of the lack of passion is a well rendered technical use of paint.

I have been experimenting with new art styles of late.
I have finally got my studio comfortable to work in and now I can sit (or) stand and paint with comfort and ease.
I have a habit of painting backgrounds on Canvas' long before I have any use for them.
I do this mainly because I dislike beginning any painting on a white canvas.
So, often what I end up with has no relation to the original background, and as well the background is totally different in the end .
But for me it is a starting point.

I have never painted any fabric before. At least not any that has been recognizable as such.
The painting below is in the very early stages for me, and hopefully it will end up as an admirable work. It is a compilation of different images that I have collected, and while the end work cannot be attributed to any one factor, each and every element is a new thought.
Mind you, after years of a childhood growing up beside a lake, the image represented here could have been a part of any day of my life as a child.
I can only strive to do as best that I can with these ideas.

I like to try new things, and am never sorry for anything that I have attempted. There are quite a few works that I have done that do not exist now, as I really thought (before I painted them over) that the end result was not acceptable, was not really of a standard that I wish recorded for posterity.
Yet, I have never hidden my Faux Pas' from people, I just tire of them, paint them over eventually, and go on with the learning process.
It is from them that I learn.

Originality and Passion are essential to good art.
Individualism is essential to good art.
New ideas and methods are essential to good art.
Transcribing a picture is not.

~~Kathleen

ADDENDUM:
Just to clarify, I often use Ratios to ensure that the translation of a floral photographic image
relates in direct proportion to the size of my canvas.
While I do this, it is only with registration marks at the top middle and bottom as well as both sides.
The rest I do by instinct.
~~K

I have begun again!!!!

I have had a hard time painting since I have moved. It is a compilation of many things, but again, I have to adjust as well. Placing blame anywhere is not productive, so, I am instead, looking for solutions.
Up 'till now I painted when the whim hit me. Now I am regulating times for this. If I paint longer so be it, but I am not going to paint any less than the time I have prescribed myself.
I got a wonderful book from the library the other day.
It is by Chinese Artist Lian Quan Zhen.
The book covers the art of Chinese water colour techniques for painting flowers!
(ISBN #978-1-60061-088-2(hardcover paper)
Using some of the advise from this book, combined with lessons from a class taught by a friend Kathy, I have begun this:
A Dragonfly on foliage.
It is acrylic on Canvas
16" X 20"
I will post updates as I complete each stage from here on in.
Have a good one all!
~~Kathleen

Digging/Building/Tearing down & Putting up!

Well, here is where we are now at!

The builders are here to replace the roof/build a wrap around deck, and all the good stuff that comes with this type of work.
Needless to say, both the kids and myself are rather excited about this. They have planned on it for a long time, and the final result will be very pleasing.

New Art!
I have been working on perfecting florals in different colours now. This week it is Reds, and getting the shading so as to be pleasing is not all that easy. But I am getting there though!
Here is a pic of the "Martha Washington Geraniums" that I am working on.
A long way to go, but it is really falling into place stroke by stroke.

Hopefully the pics here will be okay, as I am still not on my own computer, and working with a program that I am not familiar with is trying to say the least.
Be well all I promise to be more diligent from now on in with my postings here!
~~Kathleen

The good things in Life are worth waiting for.....

FIRSTLY;
I am not on my own computer, so I apologize for the photos here.
All can be viewed much better by clicking on them! K.S.

At last, I have painted a new work!
In the last month I have moved, flown to Winnipeg (for almost a week) to attend Bonnie & Aarons wedding (that just about didn't happen, but more on this later,) Visited with my family there, and returned to Alberta, and the calming peace of where I now live.
The new painting....
Field Poppies
Acrylics on Canvas

12" X 14"

I apologize for not cropping this picture, but I am not on my computer, and cannot figure out how to do it on the kids computer.
But one might think that a bit is better than nothing.
I am proud of this one, as the delicacy of the Poppies really shows in this work. I used four colours here.
Burnt umber/fire Red/light green and sap green
the effects were quite pleasing.

THE WEDDING;
Now Bonnie and Aarons wedding ......
If ever planning paid off for a momentous event, this time it did.
everything was in order, the colour scheme, the gowns/tuxedos, the flowers and the venue.
The colours that they choose were chocolate brown and the softest mint green.
and they were stunningly coordinated, even down to Bonnies bouquet which had green and cream roses in it.

The morning of the wedding which was to take place at Elmhurst Golf course (at 4:00pm)
began Sunny, and turned to clouds and then to showers and then to a downpour and then to torrential rain.
By the time for the bride to arrive at the venue, all the power was knocked out and the whole area was without light/electricity and a sea of water.
the food for dinner was waiting to be cooked, the cocktail hour was cancelled as there was no way to serve them and the guests waited patiently in the beautifully decorated dining room.

Luckily for the kids the power company was on the situation, and the guests were patient.
At 5:30 pm the Justice of the Peace said....
"We came for a wedding, and a wedding we will have" and proceded to comandeer the bar of Elmhurst that had wrap around windows, moved a squillion candles into that area and moved everyone into that room for the ceremony!
And what a beautiful ceremony it was.
Through all the adverse conditions Bonnie and Aaron were married finally.
One wonders of the Powers that Be, and what is the meaning of signs, as in the middle of the ceremony the lights finally flickered on went out only to come on for good finally!
Yes, we not only had lights but we had complete power.
Cocktails were served as the Chef and his many wonderful helpers got to work on dinner, and eventually dinner was served, and again, it was excellent.


Bonnie was lovely in a wonderfully beaded strapless gown of white Peau de sois.
It had a princess train and was so befitting her and her personality!
Of course Aaron looked wonderful in his chocolate brown Tux. (He complimented Bonnie so well)The wedding cake was fondant covered Red Velvet cake and in itself was a work of art.
With dinner done and after the speeches while cocktails were being served familys all bonded to enjoy thenselves so very much and join two into one.
Well done Aaron & Bonnie, everyone will never forget the wedding that was determined to happen and the wonderful union of two people that we all love dearly!
Bonnie dancing the first dance with her dad,my wonderful brother-in-law Glen....

Later when I am back on my own computer, I will upload family pictures, and photos of the wonderful 65th birthday party my brothers & sisters threw for me when I was in Winnipeg.

It was good to reconnect with my brothers & Sisters and their families.
Time is all too short, and as an addendum, I got to meet Great Nephews and Nieces that I had not had the pleasure of seeing before.
What precious little people you all are.
What wonderful parents you have and how well they are doing with raising wonderful little human beings.

For the time being, I do want to thank Cheryl and Bernie for the wonderful stay that I had with them during my visit.
You both made a week of my life more meaningful!
Love to you both.
~~Kathleen

I am Offlcial as of tomorrow.

Yep, I am officially a Senior citizen tomorrow!
My life is good, and not for a nano second would I change a moment of it.
I contemplated what and how I would approach this day here.
What could I say that had meaning?
I decided to re-post a blog entry from a while back about a
"Self-Portrait" I was challenged to do of myself.
Everything (in my mind at least) remains the same as the words below!
I hope my next 65 years are as good.
~~Kathleen

"Self-Portrait"
(Acrylics on canvas 8' X 10")


My comments re the unusual design:
"I had a very hard time with this, I do not look at myself"

"I see my hands, the Moon, my Grandsons, but I do not see me.

I see the art that I paint, what I sew and design, I see my family and am proud of them, and that is me.

At this time in my life I see myself as at peace with the world, free, happy, and contented.

Learning to be a good Buddhist is important to me.

I hope that others see me this way as well.

'A person that loves, is loved, likes her lumpy body, and is happy in her own skin, and cares not what others think, when she dances naked underneath the moon.
~~Kathleen"

A new painting a new direction....

Ruffled Parrot Tulip
12" X 24"
Acrylics on canvas
I am so sorry for being so lax in posting lately, but I have been in a state of great change.
My children & I have decided that I will move out to the acreage and live there with them.
This will be a positive move for me, as it will bring me into daily contact with my favorite two little men daily,and, allow me to enjoy the blissful peace that living under a canopy of stars nightly brings.

One can sit outside and hear nothing but the birds, frogs and bees going about their daily lives in peace and serenity. While I like where I am now, I know that this will be so very much better for the artistic side of me as well.

So as of the 15th of June I will be there.
This means packing and changing addresses etc. A bother but a small one.

Today I finished a White tulip for Barb, my Son-in-laws wonderful mother.
She has a dear friend that is a gardener extraordinaire.
Carol did all the flowers for the kids wedding when they married, and from what I hear her flowers are second to none.
It was a fun paint, and offered very little challenge, as it seemed to paint itself.

I hope you like it.
Be well all.
~~Kathleen

Red Oriental

I painted this flower at least ten times before I got it right.
And still, I don't know for sure if it is done.
But, for what it is worth, here it is.
Hope you like it.
~~Kathleen