A new year, a new look.

My website has stayed the same for a couple of years so I decided on a slight colour change.

The weather is grey, the sky is grey, but there is snow on the trees again (better than the pouring rain we had this morning).

Grey is a nice neutral colour to display my paintings so check out my new website look.

http://www.paintingthenorth.com

Pam

I Feel Good...

I'm in one of those moods tonight....I FEEL GOOD....



Tonight I finished "Cruising"

and I'm well on my way with the deck painting, soon to be named "After The Rain". :)

More to come tomorrow.
Pam

MERRY CHRISTMAS

It's Christmas day!

I will be celebrating with the whole family shortly but wanted to say that I have a new furnace, and heat, for xmas. :)

I'll be painting later today while the turkey cooks on my brothers deck painting. Not ready in time for xmas but they will be here till new years. No furnace put a strain on my last week, worrying about electric heaters, blowing breakers and the potential of freezing pipes. I'm glad to have everything back to normal.

Have a GREAT CHRISTMAS DAY!

I'll post the deck painting as I go this week.

Evening Update:

Well...the presents have been opened, the food consumed, and now I'm starting to paint again. Here is step 3 of the deck.

Pam

The Last Night Without a Furnace....WHEW!

The repairman is coming a day early so we'll be in the middle of a furnace installation all afternoon and evening tomorrow. At least we will have life back to normal for xmas eve. :)

All the xmas shopping is done and I take my MOM out to get her hair done tomorrow, last thing. Then relaxation, presents, chocolate, stockings all mean CHRISTMAS will be here at last. I'll be painting during the holidays so stay tuned.

From my family to yours, HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY XMAS EVE!

Pam

-37 deg. Celcius and NO FURNACE......

Well, it's been interesting, to say the least. Our funace wasn't working yesterday morning and the repairman had to shut off the furnace until he can install a brand new one. We have been blowing breakers with portable heaters trying to keep all the pipes above freezing and keeping us warm. We have to turn off a heater to turn something else, like the washing machine, on.

The temperature went to -37 deg. C. on our deck early this morning and was 14 deg.C. (58 F.) in the house before turning on the oven to warm it up. Thank goodness the sun is shining brightly and we have passive solar heat through our windows.

The problem is the repairman can't come till the Dec 24th!!! Hopefully we can celebrate xmas eve being warm. I have to get a painting finished but I'm so tired after running up and down stairs and into the sub-basement to check the pipes that I'll have to sleep before painting today.

Cross your fingers and maybe Santa will send me a furnace repairman as an early present! :)

Pam

Xmas is Coming...

Xmas is coming...and so is the family. I'm on the countdown to Christmas, 8 days to get ready. Time to get the house in order.

I had one of those days yesterday where everything goes wrong so I didn't try and paint. I decorated the house for xmas and trimmed the tree. :)

Now I better do my xmas shopping. :(

Pam

Almost finished.

The weather is terrible, slush and freezing rain, now blowing snow. It's a good day to paint. :)

I'm almost finished "Cruising", the paint was too thick and taking time to dry so I started on the next xmas gift painting of a deck.

The drawing of the deck painting. 18 x 24" on canvas.

There are two chairs and the x railing post that won't get drawn in until I paint the sky, water and deck base.

Step 2:

A quick splash of water on the deck and a tropical looking water beyond the railing.

Pam

Xmas Baking

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AAAHHHH.... the smell of Cinnamon Buns baking for Christmas Day breakfast. Mmmmm!

My contribution to our family get-together. I'll be baking my standard loaves of bread tonight and while they rise and bake I can paint. I'd like to finish the fishing boat painting for my husband if I have time. We'll see how much I can get done.

More to come tonight....

Pam

Foxes and the Mail

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Well, yesterday I dropped off a finished xmas present to a friend, renamed "Hunting Partner".

I fed my young fox this morning. It is the healthy one, I am also feeding a poor little fox, with no fur on it's tail, on my deck during the day. With temperatures close to -30 deg.C. at night, I'm not sure it will survive. This young fox is really healthy though.

Also, I worked on "Delivering the Mail". One of the Timmins History paintings I am planning.

After that I made an apple pie. Sorry, no picture, we already had a snack. :)

Pam

Hunting Partner

The weather is deep into winter with snow laden trees, cold temperatures, and north winds. It makes for a very Christmasy landscape through the window but hard on the back when shovelling.

Here is the finished version of "Hunting Partner". A xmas gift for a friend.

I'm also having fun doing some anatomical drawings, here is a sample.

Next to finish is the fishing boat.

Pam

Old Friend almost done...

Here is step 3 of Old Friend, 8 x 10". I will finish it today and go on to something bigger.

Pam

Old Friend step 1

This evening I wanted to see if I could paint a small painting, start to finish in 2 hours, without any drawing or gridding.

It didn't get finished in the 2 hr. time frame but I got a long way. The white in the colours faded and darkened as the paint dried so I will have to go over them as a second coat. Other than that, I am pleased with the progress and basically have the face and toes to do. Not bad for a quick painting.

Here is Old Friend step 1, an 8 x 10" xmas gift for a friend.

Step 2:

Put a second layer of colour on the tile floor and dog coat. Will do the head later today.

Pam

Cruising, step 4

Finally back to painting, I am trying to finish "Cruising". The smell of homemade spaghetti sauce in the oven is distracting me. :) Spareribs, chicken and partridge spaghetti sauce! I can't wait for supper...YUM!

Back to the topic.


Here is step 4.

Staring on the water reflections and deciding how to finish the bush. Lot's of work yet to do on this one.

Pam

Step 3: Copy a Master

Here is step 3 in the Copy a Master Challenge.

I am doing the underpainting with all the colours in darker shades than the final. Don't worry about the eyes. I want the skin around the eyes to look right before finishing the insides. I work with large brushes so I can't do the skin after finishing the eyes.

Pam

Copy a Master: Step 2

Here is step 2 of the Copy a Master challenge.

I am following the way the original artist, Bouguereau tackled the painting.

LINK to the original work.

Pam

Copying a Master Painting

I have been challenged to Copy a Master this October for our local art club.



I have chosen Portrait of Gabrielle Cot(1890) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

Not my style at all but it is just for learning purposes. I'm doing it slightly smaller than the original on a 14 x 11 canvas.



Here is the first step:

Gridding out the painting and drawing in the facial features.

Pam

Finished new owl painting.

Here is the finished version of "Nodding Off".

A juvenille Great Horned Owl.

I worked on this one with a looser style than usual. I will be trying more experiments as I find a STYLE of painting that I am pleased with. Although I love looking at realism art (like my sister does), my favourite painters are Robert Kuhn and Richard Crozier.

Pam

Wins Award

Well...surprise. I won an award!

The Yvonne McNeil Award, for "Forest Inspiration" at the 52nd Annual Juried Exhibition of the Northern Ontario Artist Association on Sept.13th/08.

It will travel around Northern Ontario for the next year in the exhibition. I wasn't even going to enter this year. :) A nice surprise.

I'm finishing up the owl painting to mail to The Owl Foundation at the end of the week. Will post the finished product.

Pam

Junvenile Owl step 2.

Step 2:

Just working on the owl, but I decided to change the name to "Nodding Off".

Pam

Winking Owl

Well...I don't know if this Great Horned Owl chick is winking or having a daytime nap, but I am creating it for The Owl Foundation's event this September.

Step 1: Getting the proportions correct.

It is an oval acrylic painting on wood, approximately 18" long. I better measure it but my cat is playing with the measuring tape. :(

Check out the unveiling date of The Horse Gift mural for Mural Mosaic.

Pam

A quick update.

Just a quick update on the progress of one small painting.

"Delivering The Mail", another in Pam's history series.

Step 1:

Step 2:

Pam

Seagull Finished

This is "Seagull", a quick one done for the Summerfest sale.

Pam

Tree Fall Bear

I've completely changed the look of the bear drinking painting.

It is now, "Tree Fall Bear" and it is finished. :)

Two more to finish tomorrow and then a weekend of rest.

Pam

Another busy day.

I'm working on too many paintings at once, (laughing out loud) but I have only 4 days to prepare for the Summerfest Festival and sale. I'll be glad to sit at the sale and relax for two whole days this the weekend. :)


I'll just post one step and show the rest when completed.


"Seagull", OR "What's that....food?"


Step 1:

Step 2:

Pam

Cleaning the Palette

You would think cleaning the paint off my palette would be a quick and easy job....not so.

Because I use acrylics, applying the paint directly to gessoed (primed) canvas makes it damp and stretches the canvas.

When I have to clean my palette, I use the leftover paint to seal white canvases from any water penetration while painting. I search the house for all my stretched canvases (which are stored in every available nook and cranny) and collect them in the dining room for priming. I just give a quick mix to all the leftover paint in the tray and spread it on the canvases. It usually takes two coats and on a damp day like today they take forever to dry. :(

It really doesn't matter what colour they become. The sealer won't show through when I paint on top.

If I have a difficult perspective or position of a person or animal, I will block in areas with different colours. It makes it easy to keep the proportions correct when I paint over the areas in detail.

I don't make a detailed drawing on my canvas. It gets covered in opaque paint that I can't see through. It's funny, I always said I couldn't draw with a pencil, but I can draw with a paintbrush. I must be using the left side of my brain. My right brain thinks of math when I pick up a pencil. (Laughing...)

Then I can throw away the parchment paper and wash the sponge in my Stay Wet Palette.

I'm all ready to paint again. :)

Pam

A few updates.

Here are a few updates on small paintings.


"Drinking on the River's edge"

"Glass Lantern"

"Le Frog"

Pam

Finishing up "The Landing"

I'm just finishing the landing painting today and then switching to the bear drinking. I didn't feel good enough to paint last night and read a book instead. It's summer, why not? :)

Here is step 3 of "The Landing":

Pam

Finally some sunshine. :)

After a month of rain, rain and thunderstorms, (several per day) I finally have sunshine. I am taking advantage of the beautiful weather and painting outside on my deck. My cat "Dipstick" has to help. :)

Here is step 1 of "The Landing", another in the Historical mining series. Just a 5 x 7 " painting.

and step 2.

More to come later.

Pam

Cruising

Another boat painting started. I love vessels. :)


Cruising: Step 2

Off to do some shopping before continuing. It's my BIRTHDAY, .... YEAH!

(Don't ask my age.)

End of the day update.

Bear Drinking, need a better name for this one.

Pam

The Last Day

Well, it looks like I'm going to be painting on my deadline day. No problem. My old dog is limping less, I had a good sleep and I'm ready to work. :)

Just the horse to finish. I added the fence in front of the barn and changed the colour of the sky.

The before:

And the afternoons progress: Colouring the horse and changing the shape of the face.

And the finished version:

On to the next painting. :)

Pam

AAARRRRGH!.

I was tired and discouraged last night, I usually get that way at this point in every painting. Just before the last push I always wonder if I am on the right track.

I went to bed and was kept awake half the night by a house party going on close by. Somewhere around 3 a.m. it ended and I was able to sleep. AAAAARRRRGH!

Anyway, after a few hours of uninterrupted rest, I awoke ready to tackle the painting head on. I put down the brushes and started to finger paint. The result is a correct colour on the right and left.

Now for all the details. I need to pump up the body colour of the horse again to make it pop out of the painting, add all the body and face details and introduce some detail to the barn.

I have until tomorrow to finish and then varnish. YIKES! Better get moving.

Evening Post:

More aggravation! My 14 year old dog hates thunderstorms. A noisy one this afternoon gave him the idea of hiding upstairs. This is something he hasn't done for years because his legs have a difficult time navigating stairs. I heard him head for the stairs and before I could get out of my chair I heard bump, bump, bump. Not a great sound but he walked back into the living room with a slight limp. Now, a few hours later he is really limping and I have a heating pad on his leg. I was able to get him outside before night but I don't know what the morning will bring. :(

On to the painting:

The background has changed and I'll start on the horse after I correct the golden sky colour. I don't like the way it has darkened when it dried.

Pam