When I was little I fell in love with ballet. I read about the great ballerinas, looked a pictures for hours, dreamed. I also collected pictures of Degas' paintings of the ballerinas at the Paris Opera. For a while, I lived in that imaginary world as a "petit rat"--the term for young students at the Opera-- myself.

Today I can paint my childhood passion; I still have the postcards of Degas' art that I got in the various galleries.

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

In between translating some heavy-duty medical material, a little art break.

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Yesterday I met an artist whose work totally captured my imagination and heart. When I saw this piece on Etsy (click on the link in the caption), I had a moment of recognition in more ways than one, not least of all the sense of humour in it. And the bonus was that the artist lives right here in Toronto. The painting was within my means, so I purchased it without hesitation.

"Bouffée de chaleur," by Melissa

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

The sheep's in the meadow....

Gouache and watercolour.

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Weekend painting

My wee rabbit migrated onto a coffee pot, and being in the mood I painted a couple of tea pots too. Putting a creature on the handles was inspired by Julie Whitmore who makes the most charming pottery; the handles to her cups are frequently things like strawberries, butterflies, etc.

Watercolours and gouache on w/colour paper.

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

The fire alarm went off the other day. So we dutifully got out of the building. I noticed two young women sitting on the grass with ... a rabbit, a beautiful big rabbit. Many of the residents have pets, but I've only seen the dogs and cats. So I joined the girls and they let me pet the rabbit. Let me tell you, I never looked at rabbits twice, but this one was the sweetest creature in the world.

It reminded me of my childhood, and a song my aunt used to sing to me along with gestures telling the story. It went like this:

In a cottage in a wood
A little man by the window stood
When a rabbit (la la la, I forget the words)
Knocking at the door.
Help me, help me, help, he said
All the hunters shoot me dead.
Come little rabbit, come to me,
Happy you shall be.

And it inspired this work in progress.




Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Friday's child

I've written about antique, tattered, mended little canvas bags before. I've seen the real thing in a collection and it's fair to say I was completely smitten by the look. To me they are art. I've made my own bags from antique cloth etc., but this time I started with a brand-new white canvas bag I found at Michaels.

I coffee-dyed two bags, removed the nylon cord, and let them dry. Then I scrunched the bottom, added a little rough stitching; next, I poked a hole through the canvas and darned it. Finally, I heat-transferred images and stamped numbers and words with rubber stamps and ink.

Love.




Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

My friend came over to play today.
We played with rubber stamps.
The End.

(No art today; I'm working on some medical translations.)


 Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Anatomy of a painting.

When I paint, I don't think, I just do. With this painting, I paid attention to the process. Here's how it went.

I started painting a red sky. It didn't feel right, so I turned the canvas upside down. It began looking like a mountain or a volcano. Better. I was going to have an antique airplane fly over it. It could have worked, but I didn't feel it was right (notice that I go by "feeling" as well as visual). I added more red paint, more strokes. Then I let it rest.

When I went back to it, I turned the canvas on its side, and I saw a wing. I could have left it that way and called it Red Wing, but I felt it wasn't finished. After another break, I cut out a silhouette, painted it and placed it on the canvas. It felt right, but I didn't rush to glue it down. I felt that a third element was about to make itself known. and sure enough, red string connecting the silhouette to the wing.

I would have included a photo of the painting, but Blogger just isn't functioning that way. Lately it's been a struggle adding photos. And right now, it's just refusing to do so. I'll try again later.



Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Still painting. I had to go and get more canvasses... Here are four of them, 12 x 12 inches, all candidates for the exhibition. When I've finished the other two, I will pick three or four of them for the show.

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

I spent the better part of the weekend painting. I have a couple of possible entries for the AWOL Show, but I also painted smaller pieces that I collaged.

Available in my Etsy shop

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

 I'm making my fishes for my sister's birthday next month. It's OK if she sees this because I asked her to choose something and, being fond of my fishes, she requested them. She already owns some of the fishes I made for Somerset Life. I scattered them around the Stampington offices and my friend Julie's kitchen, when I was in Santa Barbara a while back.

Speaking of which, that article, Catch of the Day, is being featured in Handcrafted which will be published July 1. It's one of my favourite articles that I've written for the magazines.

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

This morning, I walked from St. Clair & Yonge all the way to College St., stopping on the way at Curry's to buy canvasses and paints that I needed. I'm entering the AWOL Gallery's Square Foot Exhibition, and I have all kinds of ideas for the two paintings that I want to enter. Once the ideas starting coming, I got really energized, so I'll be painting all weekend...

I also stopped at the little branch of (the Drake Hotel) General Store at Rosedale to pick up a bag that I wanted -- a gift to myself for being so good and sticking to my tight budget to pay off my debts (and now I'm debt-free). The shop-person had promised to bring one up for me from their other store and sure enough, there it was. It's completely up my alley...this bag will get a lot of use.

CBC mobile recording kit bag

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Friday's child

Dear Post Office People on Both Sides of the Table,
Please resolve your problems quickly and get back to work.
Change what you can, and accept what you cannot.
Many people rely on your services for their living, myself included.
Thank you.

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

 This is one of those quilties that take a few days to make because it's my stitching-while-watching-t.v.  It incorporates a transfer of my painting of a birdie that started off as a robin but ended up as not-really (beak is too long, for one thing). Most of my birds come from my imagination anyway... that's the fun of it. They tell me they don't mind; they find it amusing...

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Pen and ink on kozuke paper. I resisted crushing this one.
I love the act of writing, slowly, largely, dipping my pen into the ink and forming the letters.

The words are by Michelangelo. His poetry was part of my university course, Italian language and literature being my minor. They are as moving as his art. Roughly translated, they mean "in me is death, Love, in you is my life .... whether my life be long or short..." Michelangelo, of course, wrote in the Italian of his time; my version is modern.

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

String theory

 String Theory: see previous post.

"In the last few decades, string theory has emerged as the most promising candidate for a microscopic theory of gravity. And it is infinitely more ambitious than that: it attempts to provide a complete, unified, and consistent description of the fundamental structure of our universe. (For this reason it is sometimes, quite arrogantly, called a 'Theory of Everything'). 
          The essential idea behind string theory is this: all of the different 'fundamental ' particles of the Standard Model are really just different manifestations of one basic object: a string."

(Courtesy of www.nucleares.unam.mx/~alberto/physics/string.html)

Official string theory website


Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

I've been collecting words all my life. I have notebooks filled with words; they (the notebooks) span the last 20 years of my life. When I was writing full-time, I filled my notebooks with expressions, ideas, observations, and words that I liked.
Now I'm sewing them:

and stamping them:

And enjoying every minute.


Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Altering postcards is usually about painting and sanding the postcard, then adding artwork over it.
For me it's more about adding to the postcard than altering it, and telling a very brief "story". I truly enjoy doing this. This is the story of the antelope that wanted to fly...to do so, it also needed better eyesight to avoid accidents (since there is no Control Tower for flying creatures)...

And -- because I can't help myself: a collaged painting, Running towards her destiny...?

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Continuing the kozuke paper experiment: Writing poetry (in this case a line from Valéry), and stitching photos/notes.

Experimenting

 As I mentioned yesterday, I bought a couple of sheets of kozuke paper from The Paper Place. I cut one sheet lengthwise (about 36 inches long) to create a panel and stamped it with one of my rubber stamps created for my line at Stampington. I let it sit for a while, to make sure the ink was completely dry, then I scrunched it up thoroughly and smoothed it out -- it almost felt like fabric. At the top I stitched in down and inserted a twig (I didn't have a dowel). Result: a panel for a window or the wall, or a space divider.

I also tried using the whole sheet of paper. I used black gouache, really testing the paper, and it worked really well with no paint penetrating the back of the sheet.

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Friday's child

Tags; I don't think I could live without them...

Yesterday I brought home a couple of huge sheets of Japanese kozuke paper from the Paper Place on Queen St. West. I have a plan for them that I hope to execute this weekend. Stay tuned!


Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Be good to yourself, so that you can project it onto others.

Speed of Light -- Detail

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

The City of Ottawa's chief medical officer issued a heat warning for today, with temperatures above 30 Celcius and a Humidex reading over 40 C. I can just about manage 30C but 40C is downright nasty!

And I have to go out to an appointment. But then, I don't want to be cooped up indoors, either. Sunscreen, hat and slow movements...

Or find a toadstool and sit under it until it's all over.

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

New Paintings

Otherworldly

Flight Formation

Available in my etsy shop

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Small heavy kraft paper bags are very versatile. I cut out the sides to use for backgrounds, and the top makes a perfect hanger for a stitched paper collage.

These little velvet buds add the perfect touch to a mini-quilt. I got them from Stampdiva.

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

The rain watered everything and now it's all sunny and warm. When I'm watching the birds, I notice that robins tend to stand still and stare ahead. I never know what they're looking at [maybe they're meditating]. but this white bird is looking at the bunting...

Detail from "A Banner Day"

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Friday's child...

 ...has her head in the flowers clouds.

And then there's hockey, eh? Stanley Cup!

Have a very pleasant weekend!

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Published

This month, my work is in

 and

Happy reading!

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Experiment: draw with ink; brush with a little water to move ink around; let dry; stitch. (Sometimes I don't know when to stop!) This is essentially a what-if thing, what if I did this, and then I did that.

Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.

Concepts I live by.

Finish things. Complete them, whatever they are. Loose ends are great for art, but not for life. They create all kinds of emotional problems, and why would you want that?

Think outside the box. Put some fun in your life.

Speak clearly.
For example: Blogger says they have "issues". I say they have problems; that's the issue.
[issue: an important topic to be debated or settled]
[problem: something that is difficult to deal with]
I write this as I try and try and try to upload photos....it may take a while. That's what I call a problem.


Be good to your friends -- Kevin Bacon.