Art

“Be your own painter…”

July 2, 2016Art, Landscapes of the Imagination, Painting, Photo Essay, UncategorizedArizona, Art, Art studio, photography, postaday, saguaro tree, watercolor, worldwatercolormonthAndrew Seal View all 12 comments

Arizona remembered I 2.7.16

The title of today’s post is taken from Tony Smibert’s quote in Exercise 3 of Landscapes of the Imagination, which I am working through this month, “Be your own painter and adapt what you want to your own work”. This exercise is all about graduated washes and includes maneuvering the board upside-down as the secondary washes are applied.

The quote was all the inspiration I needed to apply the exercise to memories of our memorable trip to Scottsdale, Arizona, where we stopped before continuing on to that never-to-be-forgotten visit to Antelope Canyon.

That night we walked on the McDowell Sonoran Reserve after sunset where the Saguaro cacti were dramatically silhouetted against the evening sky. It was thanks to Laura Macky that we included this in our visit and her wonderful post Painted Saguaro is one that I recommend you all visit. Thanks once again Laura 🙂

Arizona remembered II 2.7.16

Worldwatercolormonth Day 2

landscapes from the imagination

July 1, 2016Art, Landscapes of the Imagination, Painting, UncategorizedArt, Art studio, photography, postaday, watercolor, worldwatercolormonthAndrew Seal View all 10 comments

Happy First of July everyone, and to my friends in Canada a very Happy Canada Day once again. Today is the perfect day to start a new project and what better project could there be than a month of watercolor painting as part of World Watercolor Month, thanks to Charlie O’Shields at Doodlewash.

This time a year ago I was part way through all the watercolour exercises in the book by the great Australian artist Tony Smibert, Lessons from the Great Masters, which my dear friend and always-inspiring Debi Riley happily introduced me to on her blog. Some of you may well have followed my journey on thechangingpalette through those four weeks last year. I thought for these next four I would work my way through another of Tony Smibert’s books, Painting Landscapes from your Imagination, something which I often love to do.

So for Day 1 of World Watercolor month I undertook the first exercises in the book and am now eagerly looking forward to making progress in the coming four weeks.

I will certainly endeavour to paint everyday, but on those days when I’m visiting my beautiful granddaughter, which will always take precedence over everything else, I will plan to post some of my favourite paintings from last year’s Lessons from the Great Masters. Today’s exercise working with washes was an encouraging start to the month. I hope you agree 🙂

a bouquet for midsummer’s day

June 20, 2016Art, Painting, Uncategorized365, Art, Art studio, bouquet, Monday Bouquet, photography, postaday, watercolorAndrew Seal View all 8 comments

a midsummer’s day bouquet 20.06.16

The Monday Bouquet makes a special return appearance today
with which to celebrate the summer solstice.

For those of you new to thechangingpalette I posted a bouquet every Monday during 2014
which you can enjoy here at A Year of Monday Bouquets.

the y of yellow

June 18, 2016Art, Paintingabstraction, Art, Art studio, colour, watercolor, weekly photo challengeAndrew Seal View all 12 comments

…meets the curve of black
whilst red stands
sentinel

A second in response to this week’s Photo Challenge from Cheri who asks us to:
“Find inspiration in the curves around you.”

Bon Voyage

June 16, 2016Art, Painting, UncategorizedArt, Art studio, bon voyage, photography, postaday, watercolorAndrew Seal View all 12 comments

Patos Island Lighthouse, San Juan Islands, US State of Washington – 15.6.16

A bon voyage gift to a special someone wishing her every success and happiness
sailing the new seas that lie ahead.

go figure

June 11, 2016Art, drawing, UncategorizedArt, Art studio, figure drawing, nude studies, photography, postaday, slideshowAndrew Seal View all 5 comments

In Part Three of The Photinia Story I described how drawing with the photinia branches reminded me of my figure studies from over thirty years ago and led me to burrow through my bottom drawer in the studio and bring out old friends I hadn’t seen in years. It also provided an opportunity to photograph and document them, the results of which I hope you will enjoy.

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the point of yellow

June 9, 2016Art, Paintingabstraction, Art, Art studio, pen and ink drawing, photography, postaday, watercolorAndrew Seal View all 9 comments

the point of yellow I 9.6.16

the point of yellow II 9.6.16

the point of yellow III 9.6.16

From Yardwork to Artwork: The Photinia Story Part Three

June 8, 2016Art, Pen and Ink, Photo Essay, Uncategorized#discoverWP, Art, Art studio, pen and ink drawing, photography, postadayAndrew Seal View all 13 comments

branch lines I 6.6.16

After the success of From Yardwork to Artwork: The Photinia Story Part One and Part Two, today Part Three will feature the photinia branches themselves that I have discovered make such versatile drawing tools.

One branch in particular has become a favourite as it takes on so many roles as you will see in the video later in the post. The wonderful marks it can make depend on so many factors. They can be either broad or fine depending on the angle at which it is being held it, and opaque or transparent depending on the pressure exerted. Plus the extra bonus is the frottage that the underlying wood of the drawing board produces within the lines themselves.

I think I’ll let the bough take a bow.

Why not find your own branch, buy some drawing ink and paper, and make your own branch lines. Let me know how it goes.

branch lines II 6.6.16

branch lines III 7.6.16

over my shoulder IV – the making of branch lines III

If you would like to see more over my shoulder videos here are the links:

The texture of the lines reminded me of figure drawings of mine from over thirty years ago, which I have now taken out from a drawer in the studio and pinned to the studio wall. Here’s a sneak preview of what’s coming next.

figures i

Finally, I’m linking today’s post to this week’s Discover Challenge: Origin Story for two reasons.

First, The Photinia Story Parts One, Two, and Three are all about the origin of an image and the story behind how it is created.

Second, and the main reason with Father’s Day so close at hand, is to dedicate this post to the memory of my late father who set me on the path of making art from a very early age. He was an amateur artist himself and this painting of his hangs proudly in my office at home. It is a constant reminder of the true gentle man that he was.

Thanks Dad

a day like no other

June 5, 2016Photo Essay, photography, UncategorizedArt, Art studio, blogging, Colitis, Crohn's Disease, gutsy walk, photography, postaday, weekly photo challenge, WPDiscoverAndrew Seal View all 36 comments

Today has been a day full of honour, gratitude and inspiration.

Where to start?

Perhaps I’ll use the words of Dylan Thomas from the opening of his great poem Under Milk Wood, “To begin at the beginning…”

The day began with a message from WordPress Discover on Twitter that my post “From Yardwork to Artwork” was being featured today as an editor’s pick.

discover iii

I had received an email a week ago from Krista, one of WordPress’s great Editors, informing me that she had made the selection and I wrote back to thank her and to say how honoured I was. Her weekly photo challenges are always so enjoyable as you all know, so a big, big thank you once again Krista.

This week’s Photo Challenge is all about Numbers, which certainly applies to today with my reaching over 1000 followers on The Changing Palette…

1000

…so I extend my gratitude to all of my wonderful followers for staying around for so long, and to those of you who have joined today in response to the post on WordPress Discover, a special welcome. I will be replying to all of your great comments over the next few days, so stay tuned.

Finally, the inspiration today was from all those taking part in this year’s Gutsy Walk for Crohn’s Disease and Colitis. I walk every year and wouldn’t miss it. This year it was held at Trout Lake in Vancouver on an unusually hot Sunday morning, but as always everyone was in the greatest of spirits. A special thank you to all of the volunteers, organizers and sponsors.

It really has been a day like no other as you can see.

sometimes the smaller the better

June 3, 2016Art, Painting, UncategorizedArt, Art studio, landscape painting, watercolorAndrew Seal View all 7 comments

a mini landscape of the imagination 2.6.16

On my trip this week to Opus Art Supplies, my favourite art store here in Vancouver, I bought some new paints, which included a much appreciated free gift of a tube of Cobalt Blue.