NEWSLETTER

As I have said before (see older posts) in this blog I have found it freeing to paint over other paintings. Sometimes after painting something new I let the painting sit for awhile and if not satisfied I go back into it and try again. Other paintings I have had around for awhile, sometimes for years and there may be parts of the painting I like but I put it aside for awhile and then pick it up and try something new. 

The first in each set below one is the latest painting 

There is not much in left in the original painting that you can see in the new painting called Bodacious Bottles but some small  parts especially on the right side and in the bottles still remain. 

The thing that I liked in the old painting below was the checkerboard pattern and so I kept that and changed up most of the rest but there are still other parts of the old painting showing through. 

The new painting is titled "Take a Chance on Me"

The last information I sent out from my website was early April so thought it time to send out a short update. So here are some of the highlights of the last 6 months.

In the spring I received a 4th Place Award for my Painting "Playing with Shape and Colour" from the International Society of Acrylic Painters. 

Much of my summer was spent taking an online art course. While I did a number of small "studies" I did not complete or post many paintings - my focus was on experimenting.

In late September I did a Workshop for the North Shore Artists Guild called " Putting the YOU in your Painting". It was a new approach for me but I was fortunate that the participants were a great group of people who were willing to share and try out some new stuff and reflect on their own art practice. 

Late September, early October I was very lucky to go to PARIS. Wonderful city. First photo below is the Ceiling of the Paris Opera - a Chagall painting and the second a van Gogh at the Musee d'Orsay and the last a photo of Saint Chapelle. So many amazing things to see. 

Yesterday I had a call from the FCA to let me know that I was awarded 2nd Place for one of my paintings in the Shape and Form Show.  The Painting is called "Loving the Blues" 

Today I finished (I think) a painting that was painted over another painting. I took me a while to do because I kept changing things up especially the colours. It is a Mixed Media painting on a large 36" x 48" canvas.

Thats all for now.

Hope everyone is having a lovely fall -- it is a wonderful sunny day here on the West Coast of Canada. 

www.lindabell.ca

Two of my paintings have been accepted into this exhibition

I just got back from Paris and thought I would share just a few of the photos I took. 

Sainte Chapelle - absolutely stunning structure built in the 13th century by Louis 1X. Constructed between 1242 and 1248. Beautiful during the day and at night. 

Notre Dame Restoration - taken from the left bank. (Fire occurred in April 2019) 

The Lady and theUnicorn Tapestry (one of 5) at the Cluny Museum. Believed to have been done around 1480.  The colours and details are incredible. 

Paris Opera House Ceiling - Amazing ornate building - the ceiling painting was done by Chagell. 

Musee d'Orsay --- Loved loved this Museum. We concentrated on the Impressionists and post impressionists. It is a wonderful place - everywhere you look famous paintings you can walk right up to. The second painting is a van Gogh -- Bedroom in Arles - and I am standing in front of one of my favourite paintings by Cezanne. I don't look very happy in the photo but believe me I was thrilled. Wish we had more time and stamina - it was terrific. 

I have added a new gallery that shows some of my paintings in Virtual Rooms - check it out.

I finally finished this one. It is 30"x36" on Canvas and has many layers. I needed to put it aside for awhile because I was bothered by something but was not sure what to do. I finally calmed down the centre of the painting and although I liked some of the marks and colours it was too busy and created problems for the whole composition. 

It amazes me how much time a couple of small 12 x 12 panels can take. Normally I don't use a lot of yellow but an orange/yellow appears to be taking over right now.

This is week 8 - Texture Week and I spent most of yesterday doing this 4 12" x 12" panels. I have learned a few helpful techniques in this course but at this point what has been most helpful is working on several small paintings at a time and just experimenting - not being too concerned about the outcome - make a "mistake" and just paint over it again. I hope I can hold onto that approach when I do larger paintings in the future. I like some of the panels posted below - unfortunately 3 of the 4 are are on thin wood panels which are hard to frame or hang so I may need to buy some cradled panels instead. 

I have just posted 2 new things on my Events page -- the POTE show at the FCA Gallery on Granville Island and a 2 day Workshop at the North Shore Artists' Guild in September. Check them out. 

I have been taking an online course called CVP - Creative Visonary Program and we are on week 6. Like a lot of artists I sometimes feel a bit "stuck" and have difficulty analyzing my own work. I am still ambivalent about how helpful it will be but other artists have found that it makes a difference in their paintings. So I am posting the 3 12 x 12 panels that I did this week. 

By the end of Week 8 the panel have gone through more changes. The paintings below are done on top of panel number 3 above. It is getting easier to paint over these panels and try something new -- trying to let go is not easy.