milkweed

Today was lovely, sunny, snowy-a blank canvas. I was craving  a quick fix. 

I don't know about other artists, but as much as I enjoy all that the holidays entail, I find it a wee bit disruptive when it comes to my art-making routine. i.e. there is no time to delve into sustained painting projects in the studio. 

Taking an hour a day to get outside and interact with the natural world allows for some art satisfaction until I can get back in sync when the holidays end. 

 milkweed continues to intrigue me.

I don't understand why it is considered to be a weed.

art-making and tools

Tools are an important, and personal, part of making art. Our attachment to them is so interesting-we all have our favourite brush, knife etc. Any time that I introduce a new tool as part of my process I will try to use it -and only it- in the initial stages of a  painting's unfolding. I want to not only push it, but I want it to guide me in order to explore new possibilities. This is emphasized in my classes but I am planning to introduce a new workshop that will focus entirely on tools in making art. stay tuned.

 November, Niagara Escarpment, oil on canvas, 20x30in, 2012, available

 Other than laying in an initial  thin under wash with a large house painting brush, the image above was rendered with one brush- a number 12 bright.

Unfortunately I was too impatient to put another coat of gesso on the canvas before starting. It's been sucking up the thin layers of paint so there will be a few areas to be touched up, but I will stay with the same brush size.