Symphony Series / Crow

A new bird painting! This one is meant to be a companion piece to the Cardinal I did a little while ago. http://tempeststudios.blogspot.ca/2011/11/symphony-series-cardinal.html

"Crow Nocturn"
20 x 20 inches.
Acrylic on canvas.

For sale at the Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond, AB.

Lacombe Art Exhibit and Sale / April 20,21,22

This year I will be returning to the Annual Lacombe Show. I will be displaying my work with fellow artist Jeri-Lynn Ing, so check it out! Its always a great show with lots of great art, and many people wait all year to buy art from the local artists represented during the weekend.

http://www.lacombe.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1892&Itemid=101

" The 13th Annual Lacombe Art Exhibit & Sale will be held on April 20, 21 & 22 at the Lacombe Memorial Center 5214 – 50th Avenue in Lacombe. Featuring the works of over 70 Alberta artists, this event runs from 1 – 8pm on Friday, 11 – 5 on Saturday and 11- 4 on Sunday. Admission is a mere $4.00! "

I will have some of my bird paintings, some of my Foliage work, a whole bunch of my miniature illustrations, PLUS greeting cards.

See you there.

Almost ... there ...

Website is almost done. Thankfully since I decided to pare things back and simplify the process the few bumps along the way have not caused too much of a time investment.

I have changed a couple of design elements during the process, from what I originally wanted. I hope in the end the site/portfolio is straight forward and user friendly.

There wont be anything fancy about it, but you have to work with what you've got, right.

I feel this.

I just had to share this artwork. It so perfectly tells the story of my life at this moment.
"Hell or High Water"
Laura Bifano
http://biffno.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=0#/d493ytj

Website Blues

Ugh. Im slowly moving forward on my newly designed website. Things are going pretty much according to plan, but there are a couple of things I cant seem to get quite right, and a couple of things I want to do, but might not be able to do.

I have serious limitations where web design is concerned. I dont know HTML and codeing, and I know that if I knew this it would be a lot easyer to get exactly what I want. Plus, im poor so I cant hire someone who knows this stuff to do it for me (which would be ideal!).

Anyway, im getting closer to the re-launch. Step by agonizing step.

Twists and Turns

So, every once in a while you get a kick in the pants as an artist. My kick came when a few days ago I discovered the artwork of painter Terry Gilecki. http://www.artwanted.com/artist.cfm?artid=15002

This amazing artist shares my affinity for Koi and the Koi Pond. I have created quite a few mini illustrations of my favorite subject, but when I looked at Terry's work I realized how much further I could push myself.

"Aspen"

2.5 x 3.5 inches.

This is the first piece I have created after seeing Terry's koi paintings. I really think I have pushed myself on this compared to my previous work. More depth, more light, and I just love how it turned out. I cant wait to get to work on the next one.

Swap ATC's

All of these illustrations were created for various themed swaps over at Illustratedatcs.com.

*Click on an image to magnify.*

Snow Queens and Goddess's / Jan 2012
-Snow Queen
-Snow Princess
-Ice Maiden

Spring Pick a Theme / May 2011

All the participants pick a subject they would like the others in their group to create.

- Lady of the Waves
- Tears for the World
- Shipwreck: Lantern

Art Deco Ladies / July 2011

- Out to Sea
- Tamara (after Tamara De Lempicka)
- Golden Nike

Kites and Balloons / Aug 2011
- Bumblebee Kite
- Japanese Kites
- Butterfly Kite

Art Card Dump: Fish

A whole bunch of atc's and aceo's that I have created recently. Some of these were created for trade and some are available for purchase through my Etsy site.

- Holiday Koi II
- The Bubble Counters (traded)
- Holiday Koi I (traded)
- On the Up and Up
- Cool Winter (traded)
- Cold Water Fish
- Koikeeper
- Tiny Bubbles
- On The Edge
- Against The Wall
- A Fish Called Cookie (fish bowl series)
- Water Wings (fish bowl series)
* Click on an image to magnify.*

New Website Design

I am pretty certain that I want to completely re-design my website.

Its about time that I did this, since I designed it, like, 7 years ago. The process is daunting however. I have gotten so used to the clunky thing, but its old, and too big, and lots of parts are unnecessary, PLUS the fact that I just dont update it ... at all anymore.

It takes soooooo much time to do.

Anyway, I have started making my wish list for all the changes I want to make and planning how im going to stream line it all. I am no longer attached to the idea that ever single piece of art I have ever created needs to be represented on my website. Some sites, of other artists, that I really like only have minimal artwork in the gallery. The best of the best. I LIKE THIS IDEA. Why am I wasting energy presenting artwork that isnt my best. The website is supposed to be a virtual business card, a portfolio, a first impression and I want it to show off my BEST. Plus I have new plans, new directions that are not the same as the ones I had 7 years ago, so my website should reflect that too.

Its going to be tough letting go of a lot of it. There are quite a few pieces that I wont show anymore, even though I really like them. How does one decide?!

Happy Belated New Year

I hope everyone had a great holiday season.

My holidays are always very busy, punctuated with moments of quiet. My family is very small so its always a relaxing few days over Christmas and the New Year. Not much goes on in the household except movie watching, sleeping and eating. I recieved some very nice gifts, which I am really looking forward to using, watching and reading. :)

I have some new artworks to show, which shall be posted soon. Just getting back into the swing of things. I always find my January is about organizing and tying up loose ends. So not much actual artwork gets done.

The weather has been absolutely outrageous. So warm and mild and sunny! Thats very strange for Alberta in the Winter. It's been plus 10 degees some days. I think it might have hit 15, but generally hanging around 0. The weather man keeps talking about all the records being broken. What snow we have is shrinking daily, and the flowering bulbs are trying to grow. Bizaarr.

The big news is that I have moved my art studio out of my home and into a space downtown. This is going to be a big change for me since im a bit of a night owl, and now im going to have to change my shedule to painting during the day. I think it will be good though. More will get done without those distractions that are inevitable when you work from home.

Girls / December

Two new mini artist trading cards!

More Creepy Girls. I cant get enough of their sad, dark, and deathly faces.

- Frozen Girl
- Chucky Girl

These will be listed in my Etsy shop for sale, as well as be printed for reproductions (which will also be for sale).

*click on an image to magnify.*

Portraits modled by http://ladystardustxx.deviantart.com/

and http://create-stock.deviantart.com/ . Thanks ladies.

The In Crowd

More miniature bird portraits.

I always seem to paint a bunch of these during the holidays.

"Max Wing"
"Jack Junco"
and
"Bluebell Jay"

5 x 5 inches each.
Acrylic on massonite board.

These are also available at the Bluerock Gallery. http://www.bluerockgallery.ca/

*Click on the image to magnify.*

Bird Nests

Here I thought I was giving myself an easy chore in these two paintings. Not so much. They were much harder to paint that I first thought.

Lots of layering. Lots of shading. Lots of colour mixing to make them three dimensional. Also, a surprising amount of pre-planning had to take place in what went where. It was a bit frustrating, but the second nest was a tad easier, since I had worked out many of the bugs on the first.

Robin's Eggs / Cedar Waxwing Eggs
10 x 10 inches each.
Acrylic on canvas.

Available for purchase through the Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond.

Symphony Series / Cardinal

I am now calling my bird paintings "Symphony", because I have used classical music lables in all the titles. :)

This is the newest edition to the series. A sunny day cardinal.

"Cardinal Choral"
20 x 20 inches.
Acrylic on canvas.

It is for sale through the Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond, Alberta.

*Click on the image to magnify.*

Creativity?

I often have moments (and I think all artists do), when I look at another artist and wonder how they can have such great ideas. Then, I wonder why my ideas are so boreing.

The grass is always greener right?

The artists that I really admire always seem to have lots of creativity and imagination. Tackling subjects that seem so much bigger than the real world, and giving them a style that is a little left of center. I love fantasy for this reason. Its totally made up. Who can make that stuff up?! Where do those ideas come from? From the outside it seems like a really magical process. Just as magical as the finished artwork.

I have to battle my own sense of the mundane. Thinking that my own work is to reality based, and to simple.

Im being too hard on myself of course, aren't we all like that.

Im pretty sure William Morris felt the same way when he compared himself to some his contemporaries like Dante Gabrielle Rossetti. Morris is one of my absolute favorite graphic designers. He did things with simple flowers and plants that made them so much greater than what they were in real life, and yet showed how amazingly inspirational they were. Its such an interesting juxtaposition. A wild rose is so fascinating, so simple, so run of the mill when you see it everyday. Yet, so complex, so whimsical, so beautiful it could stop your heart. Who wouldnt want to reflect that in their art.

Is this the cross we all have to bare as artists? Constantly trying to be as good as nature? That wierd and wonderous realm where everything is possible, even when its impossible.

Always striving to be better, to be grander, and more original?

Am I just thinking too much?

Maybe its okay to be boreing.

Halloween ATC Weekend

This Halloween weekend I participated in a big trading session on Illustrated Atc's (dot) com. It was an organized event where everyone had the chance to make atc's (during the weekend) in the theme of Halloween or Fall.

These are the cards I made, and traded with other members. :)

*click on the image to magnify.*

-Pumkins and Gourds.

-Candy!!!!

Devil Girls / Aceo

The most recent additions to my Creepy Girls series.

Two Devils, one red the other black (well, purple really).

Both of these ladies were modeled by DeviantArt Stock artists. Thanks for letting me use your faces! :)

Find their galleries here ...

http://cynosurexstock.deviantart.com/

http://twiggxstock.deviantart.com/

Awesome Week

... so far. :)

Not only is the weather totally awesome (20-30 degrees and sunny and warm and all Fall like), but I have been given a couple of great pats on the back.

First, my Bluejay Aria painting sold at the Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond. I was sooooo happy that my blue friend finally found a home!

Second, the same painting (Bluejay Aria) was also featured on Deviant Art as one of their Daily Deviations. :) For those of you who dont follow DA, its a huge accolade as it gets placed in a premium spot on the website and many, many, many people are exposed to your (in this case my) art.

http://tempeststudios.blogspot.com/2010/03/2.html

My gallery has had over 2000 visits since the painting was featured. Thats pretty swell in my book. Not to mention the painting being sold gives me a big boost of self-esteem and motivates me to get painting (not to mention the nice boost to the ol bank account).

Birds and Feathers

4 of my newest paintings.

These were created as sets. I have more in the works. More birds with feathers, and a few with butterflys. :)

Pheasant and Grouse Pair - "Sir Grouseman" and "Pheasant Present"
Peacock Pair - "Me Sexy" and "Sex Appeal"

5x5 inches each.
Acrylic on recycled massonite board.

They are for sale in my Etsy shop at the moment.
*Click on the images to magnify.*

New Girls

More additions to my "Creepy Girls" series. Halloween is coming so im really into this theme right now.

Here is a link to the other illustrations in the series.
http://tempeststudios.blogspot.com/2011/05/girls-atcs.html

- Day of the Dead Girl(s) one, two and three.
- Scarecrow Girl

*Click on an image to magnify.*