Friday, March 29, 2013

New Art Journals in Shop

 photo 2013mpeacockHerringboneblog_zpscc388058.jpg

Surprise! I was at the store getting a fun new product to try out so I bought a few sheets of paper to make a couple of new journals. They're a little wacky inside. 

 photo 2013mpeacockHerringboneblueblog_zpse362d962.jpg

Check out some more photos here!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

ArtSpacific 2013

 photo 2013mpeacockturmoilframedblog_zpsbe0078ec.jpg

If you're a local reader and would like to see Inner Turmoil in person, it will be shown at this year's ArtSpacific show, so come check it out!

Where: Firehall Centre for the Arts, 11489 84th Ave, Delta BC
When: April 1 - 13
Reception: April 5, 7pm-9pm

Just like last year I will be doing a sit-in on Tuesday April 2nd, 10am-12pm.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Maggie Painting

 photo 2013mpeacockmaggieblog_zps2a2855c5.jpg

Is it just me, or did this week just fly by?

I have been seriously itching to have fun. Serious painting fun. Perhaps I need another artsy playdate? In the meantime, I thought it wasn't fair that I painted only one of my cats, and so I decided to paint my other cat on a full sheet of watercolour paper.

 photo 2013mpeacockmaggieblog2_zps806703d1.jpg

I ended up tearing around the edges of what I had painted, and glued it onto an old canvas board panel I originally used seven or eight years ago! This currently how I combine watercolour with other media: watercolour first, then paint around it.

 photo 2013mpeacockmaggieblog3_zps7ff62622.jpg

I watched an art journal video on youtube, which featured something called "absorbant ground" which I absolutely HAVE to find. From what I hear, it is a kind of gesso, that can turn other surfaces into an absorbant one for watercolours. What a concept! Is it true?

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

View from the Desk

 photo IMG_8815blog_zpsfd9030aa.jpg

Thought I'd take a snapshot of this totally unstaged ridiculous mess of a desktop! Eeeuuugghh....

Lots of people really like the REALNESS of the messy desk. I don't know... I kind of like the perfectly organized, clean, fresh, sunlit art studios!

I'm halfway through a painting of my cat Magellan that I will recycle onto an old canvas or something for our bedroom. It's sitting on a box of pencil crayons I pulled out just so I could use ONE of them. Three days ago. Good grief.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Last Chance Sale

 photo coverupetsy2blog_zpsa51fc4f1.jpg

I keep my paintings in a big binder which I rarely look through. Some paintings are wrapped tightly in a frame and I forget they exist. Many, I even forget have been sold and I feel momentarily sad that I will probably never see them again.

Sniffle.

Some of them have stuck around for a while, when I was first getting back into watercolour painting. They're kinda sweet, like a distant memory, and wouldn't mind having them on my wall.

So I've decided to add a little "Last Chance" section in my etsy shop, and added a few of these older paintings at a discounted price. If not, I have my eye on a couple of them for keepsies. Heh.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Torrent of Envy

 photo 2013MPeacocktorrentblog_zps596a6267.jpg

During a social event, rain fell. It flowed across the streets in miniature rivers and streams. The rain bubbled up from the drains like little volcanos and threatened to overtake our basements. I sloshed through, my socks taking in a bit of rain here and there. It was deceptively dark and deep.

 photo 2013MPeacockmacroblogtorrent_zps200420a3.jpg

I found myself collecting from this insane torrent of envy. I found myself wishing, wishing, wishing... walking through aisles of creative inspiration yet taking nothing. Imagining success but reaping none for myself. An active mind detached from a lethargic body.

 photo 2013MPeacockmacro2torrentblog_zps90ec8e8b.jpg

Sometimes I think I'm doing everything I possibly can for myself but that can't be true. Dreams can be dangerous, because one just might never wake up. Dazzling images dance in my mind, but really, I am standing still and collecting rain.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Top 6 Reasons To Love Watercolours

I sent a version of this in a recent newsletter, but wanted to expand on it a little bit.

I've played with a lot of different media including pencil crayon, acrylics, water-oils and the like, but I always seem to come back to watercolours. Here are my top six reasons why!

 photo IMG_8787blog_zps7761b8ba.jpg

6) Overall Cost
A little can go a long way. I'm currently using a tiny little travel box of Cotman watercolours that I purchased a few years ago. They are still going strong! You do need watercolour paper if you want to get the most out of the paints, but any heavy weight papers will do the trick. They cost significantly less than stretched canvas and oil paints.
Con: They need to be framed, which is a whole new beast to tackle.


 photo IMG_8789blog_zps9284bb84.jpg

5)
Easy Storage
Acrylic paint was fun, but my biggest regret was having to store all of those huge canvases in my tiny apartment! Switching to small watercolours meant I could paint to my heart's content and store them flat inside a binder. If something doesn't work out, they can be easily recycled or used in my art journal. Mailing them is a cinch!

 photo IMG_8790blog_zpsc228a6eb.jpg

4) Portability
Well, ok.
There was a time where I was carrying around a little cup and looking for a place to fill it with water (oceans & rivers, heh). It was certainly awkward. But then a good friend bought me a waterbrush which is such a wonderful invention! Watercolour on the go! No awkward cups filled with sea water anymore. The travel boxes often cost less than their full sized versions and click safely shut before storing in a purse or bag. Water soluble crayons are an even better option for travel.


 photo IMG_8791blog_zps30b19595.jpg

3) They're Relatively Safe

While you should not underestimate their ability to stain clothing, watercolours are a pretty safe medium. Unlike oils, there are no unpleasant odors. Unlike acrylics, they don't entice the artist to paint with his/her fingers, which means there is much less chance of cadmium, lead or other bad things soaking into your skin. Just don't place your cup of water next to your cup of tea or you might drink the wrong one!

 photo IMG_8792blog_zps6513ff56.jpg

2) Rules Are Easily Broken

When my mom bought me tubes of watercolour during high school, I wasn't sure how to use them. In fact, I still prefer to use dry cakes because of how familiar they are to the paintboxes from elementary school. I played with them in the same sketchbooks I'd use my pencil crayons, and that sketchbook got so wet over time that the spine fell off. My first official lesson was in a high school art class. We taped with the awful brown tape, we soaked the papers in the sink, we practiced all the different "methods" of painting and colour overlays and what not. I hated it. It was so controlled and boring that it's no wonder so many people feel intimidated by watercolour!

I never got consistent results from the brown tape so I switched to masking tape. I never soak my papers. I don't paint wet-on-wet or use plastic palettes to make little diluted puddles. It's as if all of those rules were just begging to be broken!


 photo IMG_8793blog_zpsd353da0a.jpg

1) Most of All - They Are Beautiful No Matter What!

People have asked me: "Watercolour is impossible to control... what is the secret?"
Here's the secret: don't control it. Play first! When using good quality materials, even an accidental splash of colour will yield the nicest textures. I don't know what it is about watercolour, but I love all of the doodles I make with them. If I dab them with a paper towel, the pattern in the towel will be left behind. If I flick water onto the wet paint, it will create pretty little waterspots (less messy than using salt, anyway). Simply spray with a bottle or drip down a page - you'll love it, I promise.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Work In Progress - Torrent

 photo 2013mpeacockblog1_zpsbafdc253.jpg

A peek at a painting during it's halfway stage...

A lot of my ideas come to me while I'm away from home, and so I keep a tiny notebook in my pocket to sketch out ideas and lists with a black pen. The thing is, I love the sketches... sometimes I love them more than the finished work. So this time I'm holding on to the sketching look a little bit, and I'm not entirely sure if I like it yet.

We'll see. 

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

DIY stencils from acetate

 photo IMG_875blog5_zpse0517632.jpg

I bought a box of projector transparencies a long time ago. You know, the plastic pages teachers often use on mirrored projectors. They can be handy for some things. Because they are plastic, I like to cut stencils out of them.

 photo diamondblogl_zps3832b239.jpg

They are not easy to work with, however! They are difficult to cut, so it's better to use a pattern that can be easily cut with scissors, as my knife blades don't work very well.

 photo hexagoblognl_zps54672d6c.jpg

The alternating herringbone was definitely the easiest!  They are not perfectly cut and I'm still finding little pieces of transparent plastic poking around... I think next time I might try cutting from cardstock and then applying gesso or some other coating to them!

Monday, March 4, 2013

Group Playdate

 photo 32154_10151272106227217_177623291blog3_n_zpsb2b48a69.jpg

This weekend I got to attend a little meet up with a bunch of lovely art ladies! We mostly played in our journals. Here I am, playing with a fantastic stencil (which I am tempted to make myself) and some acrylics and neocolours.

  photo 2013mpeacockkeenblog1_zpsa8c468f3.jpg

My page turned out significantly more colourful than I expected. Below are some other pages created that day!

 photo 2013mpeacockkeenblog4_zpsbdb598e2.jpg

I need to get some stencils and inks! They're amazing.

 photo 2013mpeacockkeenblog2_zps9da66f61.jpg

Since this happened on Saturday, I have been just exhausted! The weather went from insane rainfall with drains flooding all over the place to the brightest, clearest sunny days literally overnight. All I want to do is sleeeeeep. 

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Mini Painting Video - Riches



This little painting can be purchased here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/125114445/miniature-3x3-painting-riches