Art in the Park

Here are a couple of photos from this year's Art in the Park. The temps were over 30 C with wind gusts up to 50 km/hr. Not the best weather for it. But lots of visitors to the tents. The first photo is my tent set up and the second is some of the other tents. I did shop as well as sell this weekend. :)

Sunflower finished

I finished this painting while sitting at Art in the Park this weekend but high winds kept me from starting another one. I am finding orange/browns very difficult to properly photograph. The bottom petals are a very warm burnt sienna/pink/orange colour. This is as close as I could get it.

Reference photo by Mustcreate from the image reference library at http://www.wetcanvas.com/.

I'll post pics of Art in the Park in the next couple of days. I am exhausted and I have to work tomorrow.

Art in the Park this weekend

Painting has taken a back seat to preparing for our local Art in the Park this weekend. Most of my supplies are packed and I'll set up my tent tonight. I'll be finishing the Sunflower painting while there and maybe others as time permits.

The event is much bigger than the first one last year. There will be 22 artists with tents as well as many community organizations with displays. It is also in conjunction with the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge (2 days of races on the river beside the park). Live performers on stage and food and kids activities round it out with a beer tent for the adults in the evening. The weather looks like it will be perfect so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the forcast is accurate.

If anyone is in the Timmins area this weekend, come and check out the event. http://www.thegreatcanadiankayakchallenge.com/art-in-the-park-ii/

Sunflower - a quick painting - step 1

Actually, this is the second day I've worked on it but I didn't take photos after the first session. I started it as something quick to work on at my local art club's open studio last Sunday. I got another hour to work on it today.

It is very difficult to get a good photo today as it is very grey and dark out. The next one will be better. I have a lot more glazes of colour on this to do. These are just base coats to decide on colours and start getting closer to the dark values.

This Too Shall Pass - finished

I'm calling this one finished. There isn't a lot of details but that was purposefully. This is not a painting showing architectural details. It is showing them as symbols of each civilization. I was happy that I decided to include the sphinx as well as the Statue of Liberty to add some human quality to what would otherwise just be buildings.

step 3

I started using the pale browns on the architecture and worked some more on the statue. I want to keep the buildings fairly pale and transparent to indicate they are fading in time.

step 2

I started picking out some of the darker values and worked some more on the statue.

This Too Shall Pass step 1

Our art club's show in Nov has the theme signs and symbols and it took awhile for me to come up with something that fit the theme. This one needs a little explanation I guess.

Throughout history there have been many civilizations that grew to dominate the world of their time. They thought that their civilizations would last forever and grow stronger. Each have diminished and were replaced. In this same evolution of culture and values, our civilization will also follow the same course as the ones before. A hard reality to accept.

For this painting I could have chosen many more cultures but I wanted to keep the painting fairly simple and show the progress over recorded history. I chose the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and our own picking icons from each that represent each one and are immediately identifiable. In step 1 I started painting in a sky background that will unify them and started with a few of the darker areas of the statue.

Seeking the Light - finished

I think this one is finally finished. I'm having trouble getting a good picture of it though. I'll frame it tonight.