Today in the garden: rabbits, squirrels and a lone iris

I do believe I've found my small animal to fill a large space!

The Thames Art Gallery is presenting a Community Arts Initiative this summer with the theme: "Big Spaces, Small Animals".  It opens June 18, 2010 with the opening reception on June 19 at 8pm. Now, I've thought of various ways to respond to this, but I keep coming back to this one idea: fill a large space with a small animal.

When I went outside this morning, I found a rabbit collecting grass for her nest. Of course, by the time I got my camera out she spotted me and refused to gather more grass. I just got "the look" as anyone who's ever come across a rabbit in the garden knows all too well.

Deer in the headlights? You better believe it.

Anyway, as it happens, I have a few 20x30 watercolour canvases sitting around idly, not earning their keep at all. One of them is now earmarked to showcase Mrs. Rabbit, up close and personal.

Of course, I couldn't put the camera away without taking a few pics of the garden, and wouldn't you know it but Sparky the Squirrel was hanging around hoping for peanuts. Sparky has been living in our yard for over a year now, and he has a most handsome white patch on his tail, like it was dipped in white paint.

And there's a lovely couple of Robins who are expecting babies this year. They've built a beautiful nest above my kitchen window:

Not many blooms on the Irises this year - but here's one that finally opened up. I hope spring has sprung in your neck of the woods!

Painting Audrey Hepburn in wine video

There was a little glitch recently that affected me in a very big way. Kindle and Penguin have not been able to come to terms about the e-book pricing, which meant that as of April 1st, 2010, there would be no new Penguin books for the Kindle (until an agreement is reached, I guess).

Considering that Dead in the Family was released on May 4th, this had a huge effect on my reading habits.

It wasn't until yesterday that I came across something quite by accident. It's available for download in Canada (at the typically inflated rate that we've come to expect).

Now I've read some blogs and found most folks aren't willing to pay $16.27 for an ebook. I, on the other hand, will pay almost anything for my Sookie fix. I figure it's good Karma somehow, for all the ebooks I've downloaded (and enjoyed) for free (legally, of course - there are always free books to choose from at the Kindle store)

So now I'm a happy camper, ready to stay up all night reading about the latest goings-on in the Sookieverse.

BUT WHAT ABOUT ART??? you ask....

Here. I made a little video for you today. Yes, I know it's poor quality. Yes, I know it's a mirror image. But I made it especially for you. Thank you for hanging in there while I didn't post for 2 weeks.

(and remember - your comments get you entered in the monthly giveaway - your chances are pretty good this month what with only a few posts!)

Vintage style art in progress for RetroFest

It's RetroFest time again in Chatham, Ontario. According the banners and posters, we are the Classic Car Capital of Canada. It makes sense, as we are home to super cool RM Classic Cars.

But seriously, doesn't it feel like just yesterday that I was painting "A Slice of Bugatti"?

By golly, it does to me!

I want some new vintage-style buttons and mirrors in my shop, so I've been sketching some kitschy peeps.  I thought you might like to see some of them before I add the ink and erase the pencil lines.

I start the old-fashioned way by sketching an upside-down egg for the head, and giving myself the guidelines as you can see. Quite often I'll do the hair first, before the features. It's easier to get a feel for the character once the hair is in place.

The poodle just kind of snuck in there.

Personally, I'm liking the top right girl. What about you?

(remember - your comments are entered into the monthly portrait giveaway)

Pointe Shoes painted for Tchaikovsky's birthday, Stampbord giveaway.

"Pointe Shoes on Indigo"

watercolour and ink on claybord

purchase or view at christydekoning.etsy.com

Today would have been the 170th birthday of the Russian composer, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky who created several of classical music's most popular works, including Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and the 1812 Overture.

To celebrate, I painted something simple yet dramatic.

Pointe Shoes sketched in ink on 2.5 x 3.5 inch Stampbord (claybord).

Bold washes of Daniel Smith watercolour dripping with indigo and crimson hues.
Expressive lighting.

The surface of Stampbord is very smooth (unlike the pebbly texture of aquabord) which lends itself to fluid movement. It's not unlike painting on Yupo - colours drip and run if they are very wet, or stay put when used in full concentration. For those of you who love to stamp, it is marketed as:

"an incredible art and craft surface, developed by Ampersand Art Supply, that allows clean, perfect rubber stamp impressions every time. The surface is correctable and erasable, great for jewelry, custom boxes, magnets, altered books, ornaments, embellishments, scrapbooking & more!"

*****

More Gifting!!!

A little treat for you: the first 3 commenters who tell me they'd like to try Stampbord will receive one sample in the mail. Make sure you leave contact info (if it isn't in your blogger profile)

*****

Another reason to celebrate today.... it's time to announce the winning commenter for April:

Jan Pope, come on down!

Jan has won a custom ACEO portrait of her choice, with a single subject. 

Each and every month I draw a name out of all the comments from the previous month. The winner receives a custom ACEO portrait (teeny tiny miniature painting). You can check out all the details here.

Pin Up #8 work in progress

Amid the portraits I'm working on, there is nearly always something else on the go. In this case, it's "Pin Up #8". This one was inspired by a black and white photo of Rita Daigle in YANK - the army weekly. Because YANK was published by the armed forces, the content is in the public domain. So for me, it's a great source of retro inspiration.

When I'm sketching out a Pin Up, there are usually a lot of pencil strokes that need erasing. What I like to do is mix a light cool taupe wash and use a very fine brush to go over the lines I want to keep. Then, once it's dry, I can safely erase all the pencil lines.

"Pin Up #8" - stage 1

work-in-progress

I like to dive right in and suggest form during this stage. Sometimes I have no idea what colours I'll use on the clothing until I actually begin painting. Not much for planning, I tend to jump in headfirst.

For example, when I started this I was going to make my model a blonde. But I changed my mind about the direction of hair flow after I'd started (originally I sketched the hair falling straight down, as in the reference photo, but after I'd drawn in the arm I decided it looked better with her hand under a bit more hair). I don't like to "scrub out" too much on hot press (smooth) paper, so I just went darker instead, to keep it looking clean.

"Pin Up #8 - stage 2"

work-in-progress

After the first stage is finished, it's all about glazing. I try not to use too many layers because I live by the motto "only as many brush strokes as necessary" - it's what keeps everything fresh and vibrant. And let's face it: this is a painting, not a photo, so I want the viewers to be able to see brushstrokes.

There have been so many amazing pin up artists that I've drawn inspiration from, however one stands out for me: Alberto Vargas. I love to paint subjects, and I hate cluttering up my paintings with unnecessary background information. Vargas was so innovative and dramatic when he placed his figures without representing any furniture or background. This, to me, makes the figure more fluid - all you see is the beautiful lines created by the woman, without any distractions.

Rita Daigle in an issue of YANK army weekly magazine.

Above - the reference photo. Not much to go on, being so small and low resolution - but it's a fun starting point!