It’s been so long since my last post, I am almost shy to start again. I feel like a stranger, lurking around on my own site! A few things happened since I was here last (that was last July, in case you were wondering). So this is a story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down, and I’d…
So you want to be an artist, eh? 😉 Because we don’t live in a black-and-white world, let’s start with getting an understanding of how colours work together and how a tool most artists still use all the time, the colour wheel, came into existence. In 1666 Sir Isaac Newton was the first to develop the colour wheel. He saw…
I am pleased to announce that my pastel painting, Skater Boys, was accepted into the 2nd Annual Online Pastel Artists Canada Member Juried Show. In total over 130 entries were submitted from 55 members, so the competition was very high. The calibre of work accepted by our juror, Susan Ogilvie, was exceptional. The exhibition will be posted on the PastelArtists.CA website…
Today I spent another 3 hours or so on the ‘Ballerina in repose’ oil painting, at Attic Studios, my ‘studio away from home’. Essentially today I ended up spending most of the time trying to mix the right colours and tones for the skin colour on her legs and arm. Skin tones are a challenge! I also spent quite some…
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of having my teenage niece and nephew stay with me for a week (along with their little 4-year-old sister and mom and dad), and it reminded me of the busy, cheerful house my sisters and I grew up in. There was always activity, people everywhere, and if you needed someone to talk to,…
Since we’ve arrived back in the Low Country of South Carolina (Fripp Island, to be precise), I just love being surrounded by the marsh landscape. The marsh, the sea and the countryside here is just teeming with life. Crabs, fish, dolphins and of course birdlife galore. Wading birds like the little sandpipers that run all over the beach, resident Ibis…
Recently I read a BBC article about how artists’ brains are actually structurally different, compared with non-artists’ brains. Participants’ brain scans (full research report here) revealed that artists had increased neural matter in areas relating to fine motor movements and visual imagery. But the authors reported that training and environmental upbringing also play crucial roles in their ability. As in many areas…