My blog has been a bit of a dead zone for the last couple of months-- sorry about that-- I've been working away at a new website for my artwork that is more all-encompassing as opposed to piecemeal. I should be able to share it with you soon once I test out a couple more switches.
I've also started up a small illustration business under my alternate handle, "musicgeekstress". It's a departure from my realistic painting work but something that I feel equally passionate about. There are a couple of places you can see (and purchase) that work:
www.musicgeekstress.tumblr.com
www.society6.com/musicgeekstress
www.redbubble.com/people/musicgeekstress
That's all for now!
Christine
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Sunday, December 02, 2012
Meeting MP Olivia Chow
I participated today in a Art Show being held at MP Olivia Chow's constituent office during her annual holiday party. It was pretty much grab a painting and set up anywhere you can but it was just such a great opportunity to show your work and gain exposure at a high profile event. The turn out was amazing and I got a lot of interest in my work which was a (much needed) boost to my ego. Part way through the event I had the idea of propping up my iPad next to my painting in order to showcase a lot of my other work and that really seemed to get a lot of peoples' attention just by the innovation alone. As one of my art teachers once said, 'never leave home without your portfolio because you never know when you're going to need it'. That proved especially true in this case.
Meeting Olivia Chow was indeed the highlight though. I have so much respect for her and the devotion she's given to making Toronto, and now Canada, a better place. She is an inspiration to me and I'm just so grateful to her for giving artists this opportunity to show their work and just really taking the time to shift some focus on the value of the arts.
Meeting Olivia Chow was indeed the highlight though. I have so much respect for her and the devotion she's given to making Toronto, and now Canada, a better place. She is an inspiration to me and I'm just so grateful to her for giving artists this opportunity to show their work and just really taking the time to shift some focus on the value of the arts.
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| Me with MP Olivia Chow |
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| Packed! |
Monday, October 22, 2012
What I'm Working On
It's been awhile since I've been able to update the blog. The piece I've been working on has been more of a challenge than I was anticipating. It's also larger than I usually work and I'm discovering a whole new set of obstacles-- though I don't really like calling them that-- more really just observing issues-- like when you paint this big it's harder to get away with minor mistakes but you also get to wield a bigger brush which is always fun. As you can see I've strapped my iPad up beside my easel so that I can quickly reference my photos (the zoom feature is very nice to have). I'm speaking heresy to other landscape painters, but that's why I don't hang around other artists that much anymore. I find I'm more productive that way.
I'm depicting the forest that's behind my apartment building during sunset one February afternoon. I wanted to make this a large painting so that when you stand in front of the painting you feel like you are there-- that's actually quite tricky, but I'm always problem solving along the way. I hope I can show off the finished piece soon!
Monday, September 24, 2012
"Young Mother" info-graphic
I've really been getting a kick out of info-graphics lately so I thought it might be fun to share this informal info-graphic assessment I drew up of my last painting. It's a fun way of reviewing and self-critiquing a painting once I finish with it to highlight the though processes and weaknesses for improvement. As you will see below, I'm not entirely sure if I want to finish the bottom if the painting or not. Leaving it unfinished would nod to one of my painting idols Mary Cassatt so I may just leave it. This is a very experimental piece for me so it was a very enjoyable piece to work on.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Black Coffee
Hello! Another season, another blog post from yours truly. It's been a relatively quiet summer. I did however manage to finish working on a long-standing unfinished painting (which you will also observe at the top in my snazzy new website header) of none other than my regular model Lyrea.
Also, a quick FYI: my artwork on display at Le Commensal has been extended for a couple more weeks while the artist who will follow up my display is arranging the transfer of her own artwork back from New York. So if you haven't yet had a chance to see it you still have time!
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| "Black Coffee." Oil on Canvas. 24x30" 2012. |
Also, a quick FYI: my artwork on display at Le Commensal has been extended for a couple more weeks while the artist who will follow up my display is arranging the transfer of her own artwork back from New York. So if you haven't yet had a chance to see it you still have time!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Last Rites
I did this painting today of this path that was close to my old house and which I always found to have a romantic quality to. I feel I am becoming more confident with landscapes-- because believe it or not, I'm actually quite intimidated by them; it's all those minute details that really make me nervous. I've been studying the paintings of other artists and pouring over my book on the Group of Seven and Tom Thompson and I was able to pick up a few little hints here and there on how to go about staking out the different areas of the painting without them over-lapping into a giant mess.
What I especially enjoyed when painting this piece was experimenting with different tones of black for the bark of the trees-- actually they look more brownish-- and that's because I balanced between concoctions of ochre, ultramarine and alizarin crimson with just the slightest bit of black. I find the different tones give it a more realistic look.
I painted this landscape over a canvas primed in red and burnt sienna acrylic wash, which really helped give the piece that warm quality-- you can see some of the original red peeking out in spots in the finished piece. I started out by just drawing in the dark elements with a thin wash of black and then proceeded to add other areas of generalized colour, building up towards light.
***
I'll just toss in another painting here at the end that I forgot to mention in earlier posts which I also did recently, but in acrylic.
This piece is much larger than I usually work at 24x30" but it was also a rewarding experience. Also I don't have as many city scapes in my portfolio and I was also just salivating at the chance to paint a rainy scene with all those delicious reflections of light. I worked very fast in laying my elements down, working very rough and expressively. I find acrylic to be a lot easier to do this with because if you make a mistake you can literally paint over it in seconds. Once all the basic elements and colors were down I was able to focus in on finer details, which is how I love to work. I also painted this over a canvas primed in a number of wacky colours akin to an abstract painting and some of these colours worked to great effect, such as the smear of red to the right which looks like reflected light in the wet asphalt, and the windows on the building to the far left which I merely painted rectangles around and edited as little as possible. It helped to contribute to the overall vibrancy and looseness of the painting. I certainly hope to churn out a couple more pieces like this before the summer is through. The feedback for this painting has been really positive. I'd like to see if I could pull off something similar using oil paints instead because my only criticism of acrylics is that they dry darker and seem to lose some of their vibrancy in the process.
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| "Last Rites" Oil on Canvas. 8x10" 2012. |
What I especially enjoyed when painting this piece was experimenting with different tones of black for the bark of the trees-- actually they look more brownish-- and that's because I balanced between concoctions of ochre, ultramarine and alizarin crimson with just the slightest bit of black. I find the different tones give it a more realistic look.
I painted this landscape over a canvas primed in red and burnt sienna acrylic wash, which really helped give the piece that warm quality-- you can see some of the original red peeking out in spots in the finished piece. I started out by just drawing in the dark elements with a thin wash of black and then proceeded to add other areas of generalized colour, building up towards light.
***
I'll just toss in another painting here at the end that I forgot to mention in earlier posts which I also did recently, but in acrylic.
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| "Rainy Afternoon, University Ave." Acrylic on Canvas. 24x30". 2012. |
This piece is much larger than I usually work at 24x30" but it was also a rewarding experience. Also I don't have as many city scapes in my portfolio and I was also just salivating at the chance to paint a rainy scene with all those delicious reflections of light. I worked very fast in laying my elements down, working very rough and expressively. I find acrylic to be a lot easier to do this with because if you make a mistake you can literally paint over it in seconds. Once all the basic elements and colors were down I was able to focus in on finer details, which is how I love to work. I also painted this over a canvas primed in a number of wacky colours akin to an abstract painting and some of these colours worked to great effect, such as the smear of red to the right which looks like reflected light in the wet asphalt, and the windows on the building to the far left which I merely painted rectangles around and edited as little as possible. It helped to contribute to the overall vibrancy and looseness of the painting. I certainly hope to churn out a couple more pieces like this before the summer is through. The feedback for this painting has been really positive. I'd like to see if I could pull off something similar using oil paints instead because my only criticism of acrylics is that they dry darker and seem to lose some of their vibrancy in the process.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Updates
I've made some updates in and around my website to make it easier to access my work. The following adjustments have been made:
Greeting Cards - I've streamlined the process of ordering cards by broadening the order form to accommodate any size order, whether you want to order just one card or one hundred. You can now enter the number of cards you want to order and select between the option of paying for cards individually or by sets of 10. Cards are now also priced at $3.50 and sets of 10 cards sell for $30, but shipping is now free.
New Etsy Tab- I've decided to let Etsy do all the heavy lifting by allowing visitors to my site to purchase original work from their website. I've added a new "For Sale" tab to my list of pages where you will find direct links to the paintings I currently have for sale on the Etsy website.
Prints - Likewise, I've decided to let RedBubble do the heavy lifting when it comes to making prints. Click on the "RedBubble Prints" tab to view a selection of work available for purchase as prints. You can also order my artwork as cards through this site though delivery is a little slower and the cards are not personally signed.
Pinterest - You can now follow my artwork through Pinterest. There is a direct link on my right side panel for future reference.
Facebook For followers on Facebook I've also added new tabs for Etsy and Pinterest on my fan page for easy and direct access.
I'm really excited by these new additions. Please let me know if they enhance your experience and make things easier to access. As usual, for any inquiries, please email me at chirtescu@gmail.com.
Greeting Cards - I've streamlined the process of ordering cards by broadening the order form to accommodate any size order, whether you want to order just one card or one hundred. You can now enter the number of cards you want to order and select between the option of paying for cards individually or by sets of 10. Cards are now also priced at $3.50 and sets of 10 cards sell for $30, but shipping is now free.
New Etsy Tab- I've decided to let Etsy do all the heavy lifting by allowing visitors to my site to purchase original work from their website. I've added a new "For Sale" tab to my list of pages where you will find direct links to the paintings I currently have for sale on the Etsy website.
Prints - Likewise, I've decided to let RedBubble do the heavy lifting when it comes to making prints. Click on the "RedBubble Prints" tab to view a selection of work available for purchase as prints. You can also order my artwork as cards through this site though delivery is a little slower and the cards are not personally signed.
Pinterest - You can now follow my artwork through Pinterest. There is a direct link on my right side panel for future reference.
Facebook For followers on Facebook I've also added new tabs for Etsy and Pinterest on my fan page for easy and direct access.
I'm really excited by these new additions. Please let me know if they enhance your experience and make things easier to access. As usual, for any inquiries, please email me at chirtescu@gmail.com.
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