January 2016 – Painting to see : Peindre pour voir

Sketches / Drawings / Paintings, Urban Sketching

Painting & Eating :: Peinture & bouffe

2016-01-242016-07-13by Jane Hannah2 Comments

You little dumpling…
So fluffy and endearing, floating on that sea of brown,
appearing as a bloated whale.
I won’t be interfering with your buoyancy.
Won’t even be peering into the pan.
I’m waiting for the moment when you, dumpling, are dumped upon my plate,
plumped by the gravy and surrounded by meat
for me to eat. — Francesca Johnson

It was nice painting again with the Montreal Urban Sketchers today as I had not joined them for a very long time. We met at the Restaurant Kim Fung in Chinatown and I sat with people that I had never met, had a terrific brunch with all kinds of exciting dumplings and some that were very mysterious looking and then came back home to prepare for my classes for the week. As always, when I start sketching with a big group of people I am overly excited and dip into too many colours and sometimes my paints get muddied… but no matter, it was fun. For those of you who have never eaten at this place, it is really worth a visit.

Comme toujours c’était super plaisant de peindre aujourd’hui avec les Urban Sketchers de Montréal. Nous nous sommes retrouvés au moins 20 personnes pour manger et peindre en même temps au Restaurant Kim Fung dans le Chinatown de Montréal. C’est tout un de ces défit, je peux vous le dire. Si vous aimeriez vous joindre à nous, nous nous rencontrons à chaque 4e dimanche du mois et l’endroit est indiqué sur le site.

Paper: Travelogue Series
Watercolours:Aureolin Yellow, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Alizarin Crimson & Cobalt Blue
Fountain pen: Pilot Prera F
Ink: Noodlers Lexington Grey
Location: Restaurant Kim Fung — 1111, rue St-Urbain, Montreal, QC, Canada

Musings & Thoughts, Sketches / Drawings / Paintings

:: Throwing clay ::

2016-01-162016-07-13by Jane HannahLeave a Comment

Sensory perception is the silken web that binds our separate nervous systems into the encompassing ecosystem.
— David Abram

We went to a pottery workshop today and it was very very nice! I had never “thrown” clay before, and it was very interesting. I woke up this morning at 6:15 am to wash, make coffee with my Corning percolator (which exploded on the gas burner, which I never figured out why) and left for 7:15 am to pick up my very good friend Hélène at her house and then drive off to Hemmingford for Ronald Pothier Potier’s Workshop that was starting at 9:00 am. He gave us a course on the history of clay vs pottery, how it is found in nature, gave us several demos on how to make balls and center our pieces in order to create something. I went in this workshop just wishing to learn the process with the result being secondary… even tertiary. To close one’s eyes and just try to centre the piece was worthy of a whole month’s work… just centering the piece gave me an immense sense of satisfaction. I knew though that I needed to try and create something in the short time frame. Throwing is difficult as it is physically demanding in the sense that wishing a piece to go upwards is very different than just letting a piece go up…? By the end of the 6th piece, it just happened. Easily, without physicality and the piece created itself… and me, sitting there… looking at its form emerge, just tweaking it the way that I thought that it wanted it to go… and it was a piece! I think that I created a candle holder -)))

What I cannot get over is the fact that I did not take any pictures whatsoever of the beautiful space, place, pieces and people. How could I have forgotten to do that? So instead of showing you one of my pieces, I just did a quick sketch of my husband watching TV and he just turned into a woman’s profile. I do have problems with profiles — haha! — I must be tired -)))

Sketches / Drawings / Paintings

:: David Bowie’s flowers ::

2016-01-112016-07-13by Jane Hannah8 Comments

I had to resign myself, many years ago, that I’m not too articulate when it comes to explaining how I feel about things. But my music does it for me, it really does.
— David Bowie

These flowers are for David Bowie and one of his songs that reached out to me the most was Life on Mars.

Did you know that tomorrow we will have gained 20 minutes of sunlight since December 21? Perhaps that is why I am painting flowers… hum. It has been a very mild winter up to now and thankfully everything is still deep in snow in my neck of the woods as there was less rain here than in Montreal. I am still following Reid’s videos and having fun doing so and as I am a very detailed-oriented type of person, he is loosening me up. Don’t get me wrong, I am really struggling with less details as sometimes I get totally lost in my painting… can’t figure out what is what anymore and I just go “what the heck” and trudge on, so you can see that for some flowers I was really really lost. Luckily the song “Life on Mars” was accompanying my lost sensation -) I am really learning and I feel that I have to hurry and do as much as I can for now as school is starting next week and this week meetings galore so I will not have as much time to paint. This coming Saturday I am going to a pottery workshop given by Ronald Pothier with my friend Hélène and it should be very interesting especially that it will be a first for me!

Paper: Arches CP 6″ x 9″
Colours: Aureolin Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, Deep Sap Green, French Ultramarine
Location: Rigaud, Québec, Canada

Musings & Thoughts, Sketches / Drawings / Paintings

:: Learning: never too late ::

2016-01-102016-07-13by Jane HannahLeave a Comment

I have to feel an empathy toward the subject, and desire to form a relationship with it, as I am inevitably affected by the feeling or mood.
— Dion Archibald

This is so funny as when I saw Shari’s post today I could not help myself from laughing as we must have been on the same wavelength as we painted the same subject today. Quite the subject I might add as this is a painting of my oldest brushes that I have in one special container that I bought years ago in Cuba. As you can see some of these brushes are haywire and not very usable, but still, they stand proud. I am still practicing the techniques that I have learn recently in Charles Reid’s DVD. It is funny as being a teacher, sometimes you wonder “how could the students not get this?” after many explanations…. and sometimes the answer to this is that they are not ready to receive that info, they are not mure enough… as was I many years ago when I was hearing some of these principles. Everything in its own time I guess and it is never too late to learn.

Paper: Arches Paper CP 6″ x 9″
Colors: Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna Raw Umber, French Ultramarine
Location: Rigaud, Québec, Canada

Learning Watercolor Brushes — Jar of watercolor brushes

Sketches / Drawings / Paintings

:: Forgot the title ::

2016-01-082016-07-13by Jane Hannah2 Comments

If you slightly squint your eyes, you will see that at least 2 and possibly 3 values of color make up any object in the natural world. Practice creating entire paintings with no more than 3 values on any object. Paint a few of those and you’ll discern a rhythm between areas of 1, 2 and 3 values. It’s a fun game.
— Cristina Acosta

Continuing on Charles Reid’s DVD, here is another watercolor painting where he explains tonal values. This is why you see numbered values from 1 to 6 at the top of the painting and this was very helpful to me as this is what I find the most difficult in painting. Sometimes my paintings have only high tonal values and sometimes they only have low… He also mentions that we should start painting with the mid-values as opposed to starting with the highs or lows. Anyway, another DVD viewing that was helpful, to me -)

Paper: Arches 6″ x 8″
Colours: Raw Sienna, French Ultramarine, Perylene Maroon
Location: Charles Reid’s DVD in Rigaud

Sketches / Drawings / Paintings, Urban Sketching

:: Another promise fulfilled ::

2016-01-062018-11-14by Jane HannahLeave a Comment

— Donated to JACFA —

I was obliged to be industrious. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed… equally well. — Johann Sebastian Bach

They say that Johann Sebastian Bach worked at least 60 hours a week on his music. Pablo Picasso painted 18 hours a day. If you wish to excel in something, you just need to get going and do it -) I had promised my union JACFA that I would paint two watercolours for them… and here is the second one.

I went to Hachem’s today that opened last November in Vaudreuil and they have a wonderful array of watercolour paints and many more items. The only thing that I found lacking was the quality of watercoloru brushes… they have many low end brushes, but not many high ends. What I was looking for was another brand of Cerulean Blue as I have not been happy with the Winsor & Newton brand nor the Daniel Smith brand as they are very granular (some prefer that granular quality). I bought a Holbein and Sennelier version of these paints today and I am happy, even sooo happy, with the Sennelier version. The Holbein is quite respectable too and much less expensive. So if you would like to see how the Cerulean blue mixes well with other paints you can see it on the side of the tent, in its full glory.

Paper: Arches CP
Colours: Q. Gold, Q. Rose, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna & French Ultramarine
Location: Drawn on location in Ste. Anne de Bellevue and painted in Rigaud

Sketches / Drawings / Paintings

:: Singing flowers ::

2016-01-052016-07-13by Jane Hannah5 Comments

If I shall sell both my forenoons and afternoons to society, as most appear to do,
I’m sure that, for me, there would be nothing left worth living for.
— Henry David Thoreau

Charles Reid’s video was just what I needed… he takes his time, and really shows us how to dip our brush in the paints and how to put it on paper. Actually it is one of the first times that I am happy with flowers that I painted as they seem to be singing away.

When I started to paint I decided to erase haphazardly some pencil lines as I found that they were too strong (see yesterday’s post). Then what is amazing is that Charles Reid paints with the tip of the brush facing downwards towards you… I really liked that idea. The other thing that I really enjoyed was continuing the object’s color into its cast shadow, as with the small jug on the left hand side… The perylene maroon is a very strong staining colour but I love its’ intensity and vividness!

The quote from Henri David Thoreau rings true for me, as when the sun sets it is a time that permits me to fulfill my own dreams and pursuits (most of these lie within the realm of painting, reading, thinking and organizing the house). Daytime is a time that is given to others or for others in order for them to fulfill their dreams and pursuits. In a way it makes sense as a teacher I spend most of my days thinking of my students, working for my students, preparing and correcting my students. Do not get me wrong, I am constantly thinking of how I could improve my teaching so that my students get more out of it too… but when night time arrives, I shift gears and think of my own needs -)

Paper: Arches 5″ x 8″
Colours: Q. Gold, Perylene Maroon, Cobalt Blue mostly
Source: Charles Reid Flower DVD

Musings & Thoughts, Sketches / Drawings / Paintings

:: Contour drawing ::

2016-01-042016-07-14by Jane Hannah2 Comments

The only way to have a friend is to be one. — Ralph Waldo Emerson I bought Charles Reid’s DVD (downloadable) on painting flowers and he shows us his method of drawing with connecting dots without lifting the pencil, very very slowly. Here is the LINK if you are interested. The first image was a practice one for me and the second one I will be painting it in tomorrow. You will notice that in this contour drawing, when there is a shadow it does not delimit the edge of the vase to the shadow…. it becomes one big shape. And the shadows are all drawn in (something to remember for me). In the end, I find that the thickness of my lead pencil 4B is too thick and I should have used either a 1B or a regular HB… for next time -) We will see the result tomorrow… I was so glad not to be teaching today as I prepped for two of my classes and finally got two course outlines down pat and ready for my review tomorrow. I have promised myself that for the coming 2016 year not to worry about my painting/drawing works, if they are good or bad, worthy or not, saleable or not, frameable or not… none of that! I intend to enjoy the fact that I can paint and that I will paint, rain or draught, sun or overcast, plein air or in my car, in my kitchen studio or in the living room, I just will.

Vase contour drawing in pencil — Contour drawing

Contour drawing in pencil of flowers — Flower pencil drawing

Musings & Thoughts, Sketches / Drawings / Paintings

Happy New Year :: Bonne année

2016-01-012016-07-13by Jane HannahLeave a Comment

Happy New Year :: Health, love, wisdom & a long life.

Here in Rigaud the winter light is crisp and we are under a foot deep of white snow and even the birds seem to be rejoicing. At least 12 goldfinches are perched on one feeder and the constant to and fro of the chickadees and nuthatches makes looking out the window a marvel of fluttering wings. I love this.

I will not be talking about resolutions for the new year but a bit about continuing to do what I do well in life and stop doing what I am not very good at… This past semester was a difficult semester for me and I had to fight against low energy levels and lethargy and I am becoming more mindful of the energy required to create on a regular basis. If I am to create on a regular basis, I need to keep my energy levels high and not get caught up in the drudgery of deadlines and meetings at school, which become futile in the long run for me in these senior years.

Je ne parlerai pas de résolutions personnelles pour la nouvelle année mais plutôt de continuer à faire les choses que je fais bien dans la vie et d’arrêter de faire les choses que je suis moins bonne — ou au moins essayer de m’améliorer. Je voudrais atteindre une régularité artistique. Je deviens de plus en plus consciente de l’énergie nécessaire pour créer de l’art sur une base régulière, et ceci veut dire que je dois garder mes niveaux d’énergie élevés et ne pas me laisser prendre dans la turbulence de réunions dramatiques et de la corvée des échéanciers à l’école, qui deviennent à mon âge, futiles.

Paper: Moleskine Watercolour Sketchbook
Colours: Q. Gold, Burnt Sienna & Indanthrone Blue
Location: Rigaud, Québec, Canada