I'm not sure if transparent would be the word to describe my second model for the Beautiful Women series. You can't easily see through her, as transparent may suggest, but she is definitely open, and honest about where life has taken her. Today, as I was interviewing Marcie (an important part of my pre-portrait process) I asked her if I could share the story of when we met. She agreed.

This past summer my son played baseball and being new to the community, I didn't know any of the moms. I sat near Marcie, another mom eager to cheer on the team. She asked a bit about our family, and I told her of our move to Alberta. Not small talk, but the details of our journey to this new province, and the ups and downs of change that accompanied that. In return she shared with me her story of separation from her husband. The struggles that she had endured, and the effects of change on her family.

I was surprised that she had opened up so much with me on our first 'hi-nice-to-meet-you' encounter. With little hesitation, she had entrusted me with more than I would have expected or asked for. It was as though she was giving me a piece of her soul, and trusting that I would handle it with a delicate respect. I have absolute respect for Marcie.

I tell her now, as our friendship has grown, that her openness is what makes her a beautiful woman to me. Her beauty is in her honesty, her brokenness, and vulnerabilty. It takes a strong woman, to reveal her weakness.

The week ahead will be one of pure joy as I commit to painting this portrait. Thank you so much Marcie, for sharing your heart, your hurt, and your hope with me.

The definition of vocation as told by the writer and theologian Fredrick Buechner ... "the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."  A long-time friend of mine shared this quote with me yesterday. She is someone that truly understands my need to be creative. We are actually very different personalities, and characters, but she 'gets' me. 

I'm curious, what keeps us from doing what we love? 
What keeps us from answering the call of our hearts? 
Why do we work at jobs that give us little reward?
When are we going to step out of the box?

I don't know if the world has a deep hunger for my artwork, but creating gives me deep gladness, that is for sure. 

I asked a friend, possibly the second model for my Beautiful Women series, if I could paint her. Her reply to me was " I would be honoured! " As I go about planning for this next piece, and putting to paper the image that evolves in my mind, I don't expect to fill a deep hunger, but I do hope to return the honour to my dear friend, who is in my opinion... a very beautiful woman. I don't want to just make 'great paintings', I want to inspire and encourage others.

If you've continued reading to this point (thank you, you're my favorite) I will leave you with a quick pastel tip...The following seems to be a no-brainer, I know, but believe me, there have been many times where I have not followed through with this one task and regretted it.

The pastels to the left were used to paint a section of skin on my last painting. I pull them from the bin, and leave them out for easy access. If I put them back in the bin before I'm finished, I waste time digging for them, or I use a wrong colour. This keeps the colour of skin on my picture consistent through out.

Do you have a pastel tip? I would love to hear from you!

Colour has such a large impact on my everyday life. I look for it, I see it, I study it. If I could describe my sight, the only thing that comes to mind is that my eyes are colour-sensitive. I see colour in things that I am certain no one else does. Especially black. It absorbs so many colours, sometimes I wonder if I could see them all if I tried hard enough. Weird, I know...
Of all my children, I would say that 2 in particular are as visual as I am. My youngest in particular has a strong interest in creating and she will often sit with me and draw or paint. She's the only one who will actually hang out with me in the studio and work on her own projects. It's like watching a 'little me' and very sweet. I will regularly tell her to use her 'artist eyes' when looking at objects. How many colours can she in one single colour if she studies it enough? Slowly she will catch on, but for now, "pink is just pink mom, and nothing more!" 
Now purple .... it is the ultimate colour in my opinion. I see purple everywhere. It is the perfect blend of warm and cool (red and blue). It is in every shadow, and every ray of light. It has always been my favorite and my bedroom growing up was always a shade of violet. I understand it is also a colour that inspires creativity. If that is true, a childhood full of purple has nurtured a girl in love with creating.
As I have been working on the first in my series of beautiful women, I am again reminded of how much I use purple. 

I took a picture of the purple that I was applying to the skin of the painting I am working on. Just so that you know, I am not an artist that names my colours. I can place it on the colour wheel in my mind, and know generally how warm/cool the colour is, but couldn't tell you if it is called violet, mauve or the like. I actually find names confusing, as one persons idea of mauve could be slightly different than another's. Anyhow, as I have painted skin over the years, I realize more and more the variety of grey shades that are present. This purple is a tint, and has a rich grey colour to it. 

I'm not finished the painting yet, but I am happy with the face and have moved on. I look forward to heading out to the studio after lunch to continue. I chose the picture above as it is a progression of my previous post. I know the photo is small, but if you look closely, the purple I am writing about is evident to the right of the nose, it is in the fold of the skin just right of the mouth, as well as in the lips and below the lips.  Hopefully this is just enough to cause curiosity. Are you interested in seeing the full picture? Are you wondering who this woman is? 


Don't be shy.. what is YOUR favorite colour, and why? 

Ah Mondays! They are busy for a number of reasons but I so look forward to them. I always spend a good chunk of the day cleaning up from the weekend. Replenishing the 'cookie container' and cooking more food for the week. BUT Mondays are also time back in the studio after a weekend of hanging with the family. I really look forward to getting back into my creative realm.
My interview with Sarah was on Friday, that gave me 2 and half days to think about how I was going to go about the first painting in this series.
I went through my photos, deleted the ones I didn't like. Stared at the others. I had 2 opposite looks to choose from and finally decided which I would focus on. Played with the picture, cropping, adjusting, and finally came up with a composition I was happy with. And, so, off to the studio I went with my reference material.

So, first things first - what paper am I going to choose?

I have alot of Canson MiTientes but I didn't think they were appropriate for this painting.
So, I had (from L-R) LaCarte, Wallis, and a purple sand paper... smoother than Wallis...
Well, I had never tried the purple brand before but really like the colour, it's a neutral purple - not too dark, not too cool.... I'm going with it!

Next, I draw out the picture in pencil on a sketching paper. I like this stage. It is the stage that I really familiarize myself with details, contours and tone. When I feel like I have enough information on this rough draft, I then transfer it to my sand paper.

When drawing the picture on the paper, I loose alot of detail. That is okay with me, as long as I get the proportions correct. The detail comes in the layering of the pastels. In this pic you can see the paper colour a little bit better also.

I was able to get the back ground colour started as well as some skin. I'm letting you have a 'sneak peak' at an arm there...

One of the wonderful things about pastels is that I don't have brushes to clean, or palettes to wipe off. I can work away at a piece all day, and when it's time to head back into the house, I just turn off the light and walk away.
It's a good thing I made those cookies this morning, they'll go perfectly with a tea, and another visit to the studio tomorrow.

Don't be shy, leave a comment!

This week I met with my first model (or as I teased her, my first victim). I want to complete a series of paintings of women. As I get to know them, and paint them, I hope is to discover and reveal what makes these women beautiful.
I have never done anything like this before. I haven't been brave enough to do something like this before. I am pretty much a 'keep to myself' kind of person, and although I have grand ideas of what to paint, I never would have invited myself to someones house. I think it was even me that suggested we have tea. I asked a couple pages worth of personal questions, and then asked her to model for me. If you ever want to get to know someone, and not sure how to go about it, may I suggest this route *wink*. Well, I can't guarantee that they WON'T think you're crazy. I have the benefit of already carrying that label... soooo, maybe it only works for me. Let me know how that goes for ya!
I have been debating whether or not to share the names of my models as I blog this project. Some of you in our small town will know right away who I'm talking about. I've decided that that's okay. If I didn't name my models, it would be hard to write about the experience. So, today I met with Sara, and it was lovely. She was open, honest, and real with me. I learned so many things about her that I didn't know before. That said, some of her answers to my questions were expected. 

Beauty: the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind...
Wow, sounds like my feelings toward chocolate! 


I have been contemplating the word beauty for the last few weeks. What makes something beautiful? Is beauty merely physical attributes? Is it really only skin deep? 


As an artist, I am always on a quest to find beauty. Like Ansel Adams and his quest to photograph scenes of great beauty I suppose. I want to paint what is beautiful to me. The problem is, I find people to be very beautiful. I've said this before, and if you know me well, I'm sure I've warned you. When you talk to me, I can get lost in your facial features. I'm probably having a hard time listening to you.(yikes!).My thinking switches to right brain mode and I start to consider the shadow under your nose, the colour of your cheeks, the direction of your wrinkles. But what is it that makes a face of great beauty to me? 

It is interesting that in facial study, symmetry is what determines physical beauty. I even teach my students in the Portrait Workshops, if they are working from a photo of someone who has one eye higher than the other, or one ear larger than the other (it's okay, most of us have this oddity) the nicest thing to do for them is to even those out in the portrait. Make them balanced, symmetrical ... it makes the pictures more 'beautiful' if you will.

So is it symmetry then that defines beauty? What about the people that are closest to me. The ones that (like so many of us) are just average. You won't see them on the cover of 'Vogue' or in the latest music video. But they are beautiful to me. I know them. I know where they've been in life, and where they want to go. I know that they have hurt and that they have overcome hurdles. Why would my friend, with average features, and average clothes, and hair that may not always be clean (okay, taking it a little too far maybe) why is that person ALSO beautiful to me? Is beauty defined by relationship? I don't know. 

I do know that I want to dig deeper into this beautiful puzzle, and see what pieces I can fit together. I am on a quest to paint beautiful people... physically beautiful? Possibly. Emotionally beautiful? Maybe. Spiritually beautiful? Perhaps.

I'm curious... how would you define beauty? What is beautiful to you? Share with me... maybe we can figure this out together!

I love the feeling of having just finished a painting. My head is often racing with creative ideas and to finish one project allows me to move on to the next. My closest friends know that for me, everything in my life doesn't work like that. Infact I just finished painting the walls in our entry way that have sat 'half-painted' for months now. My husband even teased me that he was actually starting to like the 'half-finished' look... yah, thanks ;). With my art, I'm a little more structured. Probably because I know that if I wasn't structured, I would have an immense feeling of defeat, and just give up. I can't give up painting!! That would be terrible! I have loved it since I was little, and have only ever dreamed of 'being an artist' (and a mom).
So, here is the finished painting. I am going to title her 'Windswept'.
I love the way the wind is blowing her hair, and the sun is 'caught up' in her curls. This is my youngest daughter... she has always been easy to photograph. She is a little older now, but the reference photo I used for this painting has been one of my favorites and long been on my 'must-do' list.

I was originally going to use waves of colour in the background to give the piece more movement, but in the end found it distracting. I quite like the various textures in the piece. The sweater is a soft fuzzy feel, the bear is wearing corduroy, not to mention her fluffly fur, and the dress itself has a sheer quality to it.
What's next you ask (okay, maybe you're not actually asking, I'll ask for you) ... well, I want to express beauty. I aspire to capture the  beauty of women, and am in the beginning stages of an exciting project. I will document it as I walk this 'Beautiful Journey' and share my findings with you.
If you're an artist and interted in pastels, feel free to leave me your feedback, or questions. I am always learning, and will gladly share what I have learned.

I know many women who love their shoes. Oh, not the ones on their feet right now, but the growing collection of shoes in their closet. I once knew a girl who would go on a shopping spree for new shoes whenever her heart was broken  :'( I must confess, I am not a 'shoe-girl'. I am, unfortunately, too practical. I have a pair of runners, winter boots (much needed in Canada), rubber boots (needed in the country) and a nice pair of shoes that could work with any pair of pants. That's just me. Being visual, and overly observant though, I WILL notice the lovely shoes you may be wearing if I run into you.

Today I finished the shoes of the girl in my painting. White Mary Janes. I love those shoes on little girls. And with those white socks that slip down, or wrinkle up? What could be more cute? I espeially enjoyed painting them because the sun hits her feet so nicely showing off that white has an array of colour in it. The perfect finish to an enjoyable painting!

In response to a previous post, today I documented the layering of pastel while finishing the dress of my latest painting. I have to confess, I'm not one of those painters that meticulously strive to copy details to a tee. I want to, but then my impatience kicks in and I'm okay with the 'idea' or 'impression' of the pattern, rather than photographic realism. But lets be honest, I also don't want the viewer staring at the wonderful detail in a dress, and forget that the painting is really about the expression (in this case) of the girls face. So, keep that in mind while looking at the photos...

Pretty sloppy looking at this point, it is a mix of a bright blue tint, soft blue/violet, and a brown for shadow

A closer look at that left side of the dress, I work from left to right so my hand doesn't smudge what I just put down. I am adding in some light pinks, a brighter red/violet and dabbing a bit with a light blue to build a flower pattern.

I realize at this point I don't actually own the exact pastel colour that I want to use to build the violet tone (that's okay, my birthday is coming soon) so I pull out a dark blue and use it to both blend and add detail. I've also added some light yellow/green detailing to build leaf patterns.

A closer look at the pattern. Getting the glow of the sun on the fabric to really 'shine' by very lightly adding a vibrant pink.

And there it is... I also put in the leg of the bear but don't have the shoes/socks complete yet.

Almost finished with this painting, I am always excited to be done and move on to the next project. I have far too many ideas in my head and the sooner I can 'capture them on paper' the happier we all will be. =)