Work on paper.

I seem to be working on several things again, and I’ve been going back and reevaluating my old work on paper. I’ve always loved working on nice paper. Drawing requires good support material, and I’ve always been a sucker for a beautiful sketch book. One of my favorite brands of sketch books is the Moleskine sketch book. It has good quality paper, comes in several small formats, and fits easily into a pocket.

I like paper that can take a lot of erasing so you can build up many different textures and increase the mood of a line. I find that Rising Stonehenge is an affordable good quality paper that has a very forgiving surface, it is also good for some print making techniques.

For water colour painting the only paper I recommend is Arches water colour paper. It really is a fantastic paper; the surface is very strong and can be worked very hard without damage, and compared to other brands the price is very reasonable.

I always check to see that the paper is at least neutral ph and I try to always buy paper with 100% rag content. These papers will last forever, and will give the best results.

I still find that the best brand of water colour paint is Winsor & Newton artist quality paint. I have tried several leading brands; but I still find the colour intensity and lightfastness of this paint the best. I don’t find imperfections in the grinding of the pigments that I have found in some other brands.

January.

I have been a bit lazy with my blog this month, and I must try to post regularly. January is such a hard month in Prince Edward Island, and when I think of all the summer vacationers who think of themselves as Islanders I find my disdain is limitless.

To put it simply January kicked the shit out of us, lots of endless snow, cold temperatures, and then a thaw that only brought an ice storm. Those of us in Charlottetown have had it easy. There are still people in areas of the Island who have had no power for a week, they are cold and isolated.

It is remarkable to see trees bent to the ground, and power poles broken in long rows by the dozens. The repair crews are working hard and doing a great job, but the wreckage is extensive and another storm will be a disaster.

The part that many people complain about is the difficulty of being housebound. The streets are deadly, and the sidewalks are a broken hip in the waiting. Most people just want to get out in their gardens, or take a lazy walk in the warm sun. Oddly I find being indoors so much hinders my painting, I lack energy and it is only February. Only five more months of terrible Island weather to go!

Painting is not…..

Painting is not fast. I spend a large amount of my time watching paint dry. I paint with oil colours and I could probably work with acrylics if I wanted to shorten my paint-watching time; but I really love working with oil colours. So I do amazingly boring things such as waiting, looking, standing, and cleaning brushes.

Painting is not clean. Most of my clothes have some form of paint stain on them, the form of the stain being either large or small. I have even on occasion managed to get paint in my hair, on my teeth, in my ear, and up a nostril. I won’t even mention fingernails.

Painting is not healthy. I spend a large amount of time indoors out of the sun so I either have a deathly pallor or a sun burn from those occasions when I do venture into the sun. I also spend a lot of my time around things that have labels with skulls on them, and that say warning may cause shrinkage…

Painting is not safe. I have on occasion actually hurt myself while painting. I once tilted my head to one side and leaned over to better see what I was working on and put my back out. I do a few repetitive movements over and over and it has taken its toll. I have cut myself with pallet knives, probably the least sharp of knives. I have fallen over paintings, tripped on drop cloths, and poked myself in the eye with brush handles.

Painting is not stylish. I own no cool clothes. I often wear the first thing in my clothing rotation so I sometimes feel and look like I’m colour blind. (As far as I know I’m not.) I don’t wear cool eyeglasses. The pair I wear is bent (the danger of having a one-year-old), or smudged with either fingerprints or the paint.

Painting is not really about conversation. Most of my friends are artists so many of my conversations are about cerulean versus cobalt blue or some great deal on canvas or some really cool new angled brush or even, on some really exciting times, conversations about ways to make paint dry faster.

Painting is not sexy; maybe I should have been a plumber.

New Work at the Guild.

I have an exhibition at the Gallery at the Guild in Charlottetown this month. It is interesting for me to see the work up on the walls. When I’m in my studio it is very difficult to get a good sense of my progress or lack there of. I feel I can see some directions I want to go, and I can see the dead ends which are better left alone.

The odd thing about having an exhibition is that feeling of let down I always get afterwards. I spend a year or more getting the work done, then I go through the work of organizing the show, sending out invitations, press releases, etc etc. And then it’s over, what’s next? Take down the show, edit a few pieces, put the rest in storage until I can maybe sell them, and start making new ones.

I’ve had some good comments, but not the critical feed back which I really need. The problem of living in a small community is we all tend to be nice. Most artists spend so much time in their own heads, we don’t tend to visit one another’s studios, or go to one another’s exhibitions unless we’re friends. Luckily my partner is a good critic. As a writer she can approach what I’m doing from a trained critical vantage point. And I know she’s telling me the truth when she comments on my work. She is also excellent on really explaining with precision her opinion, none of this “thats nice” stuff that I often find myself saying to people. Yes I am guilty of precisely what I complain about!

I often need someone to light a fire under me; get me mad; make me work harder. I have that ” I’ll show them mentality. Not my best trait, and also one of my better ones.

A walk around Charlottetown.

Charlottetown, down low, up close. These are a few photos I took on Charlottetown’s waterfront and in front of the Basilica. The colours today were beautiful in the low autumn sun.

I’ve often noticed the effects of light and moisture on this dock, the high tide line has created an interesting and subtle colouring.

The colour of the old stone on the Basilica has lost some of it drama since the restoration has sandblasted the grime away. But I like the fact that the stone at the bottom of the stairs has so far been left alone. I wonder if it’s beyond repair?

Welcome to Painter’s Progress

I am a visual artist in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In the past two years I have embarked on a series of new work that is quite different from my previous work, of the past twenty years.

I want to use this blog to present exploratory works in progress and to comment on works I have seen, what I am reading, and materials I am using.