Because my project is to be a gift, it was deemed prudent to wait until after it's all finished and delivered before posting any more about it. So I removed the last blog post.
I assure you I'm working very hard on it and it's going along at a good clip.
Posting here may be a little sporadic as I also have a couple of other things I'd like to fit into my schedule if at all possible.
One is the lone surviving puppy from a litter picked up by our local dog catcher. Soon after the pups were taken to a rescue organization foster home, all but one contracted Parvo and died. Such a heartbreaking thing to have happen! I saw photos of all of the puppies and they were sooooo cute!
The other project is a painting of a magnolia blossom. Our hot, humid climate is made bearable by the fragrance the Southern magnolia bloom releases under such oppressive (to us) conditions. We had to cut down 2 relatively large Magnolias last year when we built our house but we have one large one left down by the barn and it's in full bloom right now. We also rescued 2 seedling trees from beneath the trees we cut and replanted them in a better location. Magnolias are messy because the large leaves are tough and leathery and take forever to decay once they fall. Even though the Southern Magnolia is evergreen, the older leaves will fall from time to time to be replaced by new ones. It's kind of like human hair, I guess, & I'm glad neither the leaves or the hair fall all at once! lol
Anyway, I like working on my big project but if I need a change of pace, the puppy and the magnolia are next in line!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Accelerated Time
I don't know where the time goes any more. Back when we were kids, time just dragged, but now it flies by so quickly that it seems there are more minutes missed than remembered.
But, it's summertime here. Summer is the time for gardens and being able to get outside more with more things requiring our attention. It's been HOT here though for the past week or so with daytime temperatures being over 100 degrees and night temps being in the 80's. That's hot for this time of the year even for a region that is normally hot and humid.
Yesterday the official high temperature was over 100 degrees at the airport about 60 miles from us. Our thermometer read 116 degrees on the north side of the house during the hottest part of the day! And yesterday was the day the horse hay was cut and baled and we had to go pick up the bales out of the field.
Last year there was a hay shortage and we paid an outrageous price for really junky hay from upstate New York or somewhere out of state. It was old and weedy and only barely acceptable to feed my horse. This year, we wanted to get enough hay to last the winter from the first cutting as it appears that there may be another drought this summer. Usually we buy part of the hay needed during the first cutting then buy the rest from a subsequent cutting to try to keep our hay as fresh as possible.
Anyway, my dear husband is the one who actually picks up the hay from the field while I get the easier job of driving the truck between the rows of bales. The old truck isn't air conditioned so even the easier job isn't that pleasant!
Both of us were hot and sweaty with bits of hay and chaff stuck to our wet skin. My hair was more than just damp and was sticking up in spikes from where I kept "fluffing" it to try to cool off. It's times like this when you know you've chosen the right man to marry if he still turns to you with a big hug and kiss in celebration of the completion of a downright nasty job!
But, it's summertime here. Summer is the time for gardens and being able to get outside more with more things requiring our attention. It's been HOT here though for the past week or so with daytime temperatures being over 100 degrees and night temps being in the 80's. That's hot for this time of the year even for a region that is normally hot and humid.
Yesterday the official high temperature was over 100 degrees at the airport about 60 miles from us. Our thermometer read 116 degrees on the north side of the house during the hottest part of the day! And yesterday was the day the horse hay was cut and baled and we had to go pick up the bales out of the field.
Last year there was a hay shortage and we paid an outrageous price for really junky hay from upstate New York or somewhere out of state. It was old and weedy and only barely acceptable to feed my horse. This year, we wanted to get enough hay to last the winter from the first cutting as it appears that there may be another drought this summer. Usually we buy part of the hay needed during the first cutting then buy the rest from a subsequent cutting to try to keep our hay as fresh as possible.
Anyway, my dear husband is the one who actually picks up the hay from the field while I get the easier job of driving the truck between the rows of bales. The old truck isn't air conditioned so even the easier job isn't that pleasant!
Both of us were hot and sweaty with bits of hay and chaff stuck to our wet skin. My hair was more than just damp and was sticking up in spikes from where I kept "fluffing" it to try to cool off. It's times like this when you know you've chosen the right man to marry if he still turns to you with a big hug and kiss in celebration of the completion of a downright nasty job!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Bender and Patch Hodgson
I've been working some more in pastel pencils and am getting somewhat more comfortable with them. The only thing I don't like about them is the mess and I will make a mess more times than not no matter how hard I try to keep from doing it.
The first painting posted today comes from a reference from the Wet Canvas Reference Image Library and I thought it was very sweet and appealing and wanted to paint it. My paper was getting so smudged and grubby-looking that I finally called it finished and put an electronic "mat" around it to hide the smudges. This scan is kind of washed out and there is some slight shading in the white of the fur that doesn't show up well.
"Bender"
©Jan Gibson
"Patch Hodgson"
©Jan Gibson
The first painting posted today comes from a reference from the Wet Canvas Reference Image Library and I thought it was very sweet and appealing and wanted to paint it. My paper was getting so smudged and grubby-looking that I finally called it finished and put an electronic "mat" around it to hide the smudges. This scan is kind of washed out and there is some slight shading in the white of the fur that doesn't show up well.
"Bender"©Jan Gibson
This second painting is on some very textured paper and I also had trouble with it smudging as well as difficulty in covering some of the white areas.
"Patch Hodgson"©Jan Gibson
Is there some way to keep from getting a pastel work all smudged up? I've used a paper sheet under my hand, a mylar sheet and even worn gloves to no avail. The pastel doesn't seem to want to let go once it's smudged either. I've tried a kneaded eraser, a regular eraser and tape but it's almost as if it's permanently stained.
Well, these are practice pieces and I guess I'm learning more each time I paint with the pastel pencils so I'll probably continue with them - at least until the pencils are all used up! lol
Well, these are practice pieces and I guess I'm learning more each time I paint with the pastel pencils so I'll probably continue with them - at least until the pencils are all used up! lol
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Joys of Country Life!
I know that even with the photo enlarged that you won't be able to tell what the arrow is pointing to, but let me assure you it's a skunk! And I certainly won't apologize for not getting a better photo as I wasn't about to get much closer!
I was just finishing up a new commission when I glanced out of my studio window. I couldn't tell what kind of animal this was but I had seen a skunk yesterday mid-morning as I was leaving the farm and wondered if he had returned. I got the binoculars and, sure enough, either he/she had come back or had a friend who was checking out the place!
It's highly unusual for a skunk to be seen in broad daylight so I wonder if this one was rabid. This is the season for skunks to give birth and it could be that mama skunk is having difficulty finding enough food right now. The thick pine forest beside us was thinned recently and I'm sure some skunk habitat was destroyed. However, I wouldn't think that a skunk would need to be out in the daytime to find food around here. It's kind of suspicious to say the least.
A couple of weeks ago, I saw a gray fox right before dusk and it was acting rather strangely also. At this time of the year especially, it's just best to be on your toes when it comes to wildlife.
I was just finishing up a new commission when I glanced out of my studio window. I couldn't tell what kind of animal this was but I had seen a skunk yesterday mid-morning as I was leaving the farm and wondered if he had returned. I got the binoculars and, sure enough, either he/she had come back or had a friend who was checking out the place!
It's highly unusual for a skunk to be seen in broad daylight so I wonder if this one was rabid. This is the season for skunks to give birth and it could be that mama skunk is having difficulty finding enough food right now. The thick pine forest beside us was thinned recently and I'm sure some skunk habitat was destroyed. However, I wouldn't think that a skunk would need to be out in the daytime to find food around here. It's kind of suspicious to say the least.
A couple of weeks ago, I saw a gray fox right before dusk and it was acting rather strangely also. At this time of the year especially, it's just best to be on your toes when it comes to wildlife.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Modern Egg
A cracked eggI really like to experiment with different art media, techniques and crafts and was recently inspired by Deborah's Pysanky eggs when she posted photos of them at Let's Make Art. I don't have the years of experience and patience Deborah has so I actually planned to paint the eggs instead of dying them then I wanted to add some gold leaf details.
We aren't big egg users in our household so I had some slightly out of date eggs from the grocery store that I thought would do just fine for experimenting. As an old country girl, I should have known better as modern egg production gives consumers a super thin shelled product.
After being soooooo careful to get the perfect holes for blowing out the contents of the egg, and blowing until my head ached to remove all of the contents, I found that I had also blown hard enough to crack the egg so that it became unusable! (See the photo above.)
Fortunately, several people around here have free-range chickens and I'll be able to get some thicker shelled eggs if I want to try to do this again. I just don't know if my poor head can take all that blowing again!
We aren't big egg users in our household so I had some slightly out of date eggs from the grocery store that I thought would do just fine for experimenting. As an old country girl, I should have known better as modern egg production gives consumers a super thin shelled product.
After being soooooo careful to get the perfect holes for blowing out the contents of the egg, and blowing until my head ached to remove all of the contents, I found that I had also blown hard enough to crack the egg so that it became unusable! (See the photo above.)
Fortunately, several people around here have free-range chickens and I'll be able to get some thicker shelled eggs if I want to try to do this again. I just don't know if my poor head can take all that blowing again!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Green, Green, Everywhere Some Green!
It's a good thing that green is my favorite color (you know - like the green of US money!) as we certainly have an abundance of it (the color, if not the money! lol) this spring.
An online art friend had read about all the vegetables in my "What To Paint" blog post and suggested that I paint some items from the garden. I got as far as getting all of the "pickings" put into my dough trough but it was green as far as the eye could see! A veritable sea of green!
There were pea pods from the snow peas (a sickly pea green of course) and there was an olive green in the asparagus and a bright yellow green in the leaf lettuce! Yes, I know, a variety of colors but I've heard that a lot of green in a painting assures that the painting will sit in your studio and gather dust! Even with green being my favorite color, I didn't even want to paint a green painting!
As I said above, green really is my favorite color. I was joking (well, half-way joking) about it being my favorite because it's the color of money but it's really my favorite because it's the color of growth.
Seriously, with our climate and being in the country, it doesn't take long for everything outdoors to become lush and almost tropical looking and overgrown with green. There's growth seemingly overnight around here and it gives a richness to the landscape that nothing else can give.
That's what I want for myself - I want to grow in my art as well as in my spirit quickly and lushly and be able to show forth a definite result of the tending that I've done in my personal "garden"! If only I could get the results that Mother Nature gets as quickly as she gets them!
An online art friend had read about all the vegetables in my "What To Paint" blog post and suggested that I paint some items from the garden. I got as far as getting all of the "pickings" put into my dough trough but it was green as far as the eye could see! A veritable sea of green!
There were pea pods from the snow peas (a sickly pea green of course) and there was an olive green in the asparagus and a bright yellow green in the leaf lettuce! Yes, I know, a variety of colors but I've heard that a lot of green in a painting assures that the painting will sit in your studio and gather dust! Even with green being my favorite color, I didn't even want to paint a green painting!
As I said above, green really is my favorite color. I was joking (well, half-way joking) about it being my favorite because it's the color of money but it's really my favorite because it's the color of growth.
Seriously, with our climate and being in the country, it doesn't take long for everything outdoors to become lush and almost tropical looking and overgrown with green. There's growth seemingly overnight around here and it gives a richness to the landscape that nothing else can give.
That's what I want for myself - I want to grow in my art as well as in my spirit quickly and lushly and be able to show forth a definite result of the tending that I've done in my personal "garden"! If only I could get the results that Mother Nature gets as quickly as she gets them!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Kelpie Puppy
by
Jan Gibson
This is a colored pencil painting of a little Kelpie pup from a photo reference posted for a WDE (Weekend Drawing Event) at Wet Canvas. This little fellow tugged at my heartstrings and I decided to use the photo for practice with colored pencil on drafting film.
I guess it came out fairly well for not being able to get many layers on film. I think the hardest part - and the one just beyond my expertise with cp - was the abrupt change of direction of the puppy's fur. It would be going in one direction then suddenly change and go another direction.
Another learning curve was getting the lighter fur to appear to lie over the darker fur. It's almost impossible to put a lighter color over a darker color especially with the drafting film as a support. I couldn't erase nor would Scotch tape lift enough color to allow me to rework. So, it was a planning issue. I had tried to put my lights in first but would invariably miss them later and work over them with a darker pencil! The white cp just doesn't seem to show up well on this drafting film even with a darker paper under it.
This is some film that was given to me and is unlike the Duralar that I purchased some time ago. This is a brand called Chartpak and it's adhesive on one side with a peel-off printed backing sheet. The printing is a little distracting even though it blends in somewhat with the film. I usually do my sketch on this side and it will show through to the other (working) side. This keeps me from having to erase sketch lines as I work.
It works as well as the Duralar but can only be used on one side. It's also tricky to adhere it to your colored support paper as air bubbles are often left behind. It's great for practice though & I'm grateful to have it. The Duralar is very expensive and since I'm not that proficient with cp's, having the Chartpak for practice is very nice indeed.
Oh, the paper under the drafting film is Mi Tientes and I left the honey-comb side up for the added texture and because I had hoped it would deter air bubbles. It must have worked as I was fortunate not to get any.
I guess it came out fairly well for not being able to get many layers on film. I think the hardest part - and the one just beyond my expertise with cp - was the abrupt change of direction of the puppy's fur. It would be going in one direction then suddenly change and go another direction.
Another learning curve was getting the lighter fur to appear to lie over the darker fur. It's almost impossible to put a lighter color over a darker color especially with the drafting film as a support. I couldn't erase nor would Scotch tape lift enough color to allow me to rework. So, it was a planning issue. I had tried to put my lights in first but would invariably miss them later and work over them with a darker pencil! The white cp just doesn't seem to show up well on this drafting film even with a darker paper under it.
This is some film that was given to me and is unlike the Duralar that I purchased some time ago. This is a brand called Chartpak and it's adhesive on one side with a peel-off printed backing sheet. The printing is a little distracting even though it blends in somewhat with the film. I usually do my sketch on this side and it will show through to the other (working) side. This keeps me from having to erase sketch lines as I work.
It works as well as the Duralar but can only be used on one side. It's also tricky to adhere it to your colored support paper as air bubbles are often left behind. It's great for practice though & I'm grateful to have it. The Duralar is very expensive and since I'm not that proficient with cp's, having the Chartpak for practice is very nice indeed.
Oh, the paper under the drafting film is Mi Tientes and I left the honey-comb side up for the added texture and because I had hoped it would deter air bubbles. It must have worked as I was fortunate not to get any.
It seems that every medium has it's assets and disadvantages. I know I don't have the skill level for great cp work nor the patience for learning it. There are subjects that work for me in cp but I truly think that either watercolor or pastel pencils would have been a better choice for this little fella. Nonetheless, I'm fairly pleased as it is recognizable if not a masterpiece!
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