J'ai fini

A few weeks ago, I met a lovely lady named Wilma at the Art Bites gallery in Waterloo Town Square. She had a selection of paintings on display, and one work of particular interest had been covered with a mammoth coat of clear resin. She was good enough to send me the product details (thanks Wilma!) and I finally found the time to use the goop this past weekend.

EnviroTex Lite is a two part resin that's primarily used to protect wood surfaces. It couldn't be any simpler than "measure, mix, pour" but I was a little wary of dumping it over my mixed media work on paper, especially since the materials were water soluble. With fingers crossed, I sprayed the work with a matte sealant, mounted it onto its plywood frame, and poured away. Et la voila! J'ai fini! I also used the same treatment for this piece, and the two look quite fantastic side by side. Pencil crayon, Speedball ink, acrylic paint and a whole lotta EnviroTex Lite on paper/plywood. What shall I call this one?

Sometimes...

...you just don't get what you've ordered.

In the works

I'm trying to minimize the hangups I have with creating less than perfect art. I hide my work until I'm ready to show it, and if I'm not completely pleased with it, it often gets scrapped. In effect, it takes forever for me to finish a piece. (Not-so-much good when you have an art show just around the corner)

Every now and again, I'll visit Keri Smith's blog to injest her insightful musings on creative living. She's a fantastic writer/illustrator with a great deal of wisdom, but sadly, I've yet to be convinced that a bad painting is anything other than a bad painting, even if it can be viewed as a stepping stone to something better. Does that make me honest or negative? I can't decide.

Part of the reason I began this blog was to encourage me to create more often, and to muster up the nerve to share those creations. It's been a slow simmer, but encouragement seems to be trickling in. This past spring, I received an inquiry from the AGH Rental Shop, and last week an invite from A.K. Collings Gallery to pop in and show them my work. (wow!) Karin from Whip Up was kind enough to link me on their site, as was Jen from Toronto Craft Alert. Perhaps once started, these things take on a life of their own.

(image above. not nearly finished. bold move)

September

I'm neither squirrel nor student, but Labour Day weekend always finds me eager to make preparations for the season ahead. My thoughts of sharp pencils, Chrysanthemums, and crisp leaves underfoot usually mean that autumn is just around the corner. Time to haul out the paint brushes, and find some inspiration. This time of year, a little Jim Guthrie or Hawksley usually does the trick.