Awash With Colour

Watercolours speak to me the way no other medium does.  I specialized in it -along with drawing - at art school, and I've been hooked ever since.    I love the flow of the paint, the fluid washes of colour, and the brilliancy of the paint itself, especially when the bright, white paper is shining up through it.  After all these years, I know it's tricks and idiosyncracies, and I feel very much at home with it.

I agree with what I've read and heard about the various colours.  For the most part, the earth colours, the blues, and the yellows are quite friendly and agreeable, although the granulating colours within those groups can get a bit tricky.  But the greens and reds can be bullies if you are not careful.  Green can get over-GREEN or go acid very quickly if you are not careful, while red can get very heavy very fast, and it's also rather mobile if you accidentally sweep the edges with water, and you'll end up with colours running where you don't want them.  True of any colour of course, if the situation is right, but I've had the most trouble that way, with red.  Handled skillfully, these colours glow, and I am still working on getting a glorious, glowing red.  Baby steps - red insists on taking baby steps.

With all the juicy colours dancing on the palette, it's tempting to boldly sweep it everywhere, but some restraint is necessary if you want your subject to stand out.  You have to make a difference in the colour and amount of detail if you want any one thing to become the main focus.  And the eye needs a place to rest - a place where the colour is quieter and the detail fades away.  You want to dazzle the viewer, not blind them :D

I'm still working on these things and I always will be. There's always something new to learn and something you can do better.  And isn't that GREAT!!
Cheers,
Heather
www.heatheranderson-animalart.com

It's About Time

I've always said that TIME is somewhat irrelevant, and I still think it is.  It varies depending on where you are in the world, the season you are in, and even, historically speaking, the culture you live in.  I know, a bit of a quirky take on something that we all live by. Time is a magician, it makes years vanish in one gulp, or so it seems as we get older. Older, I said, not OLD!  And Time changes us; the way we look, the way we feel, the way we connect with things and people, the things we want. For creative people, it changes the way we do things too. The photo below, is the Me I was  . . . well, some time ago.  I loved dressing up, going to the theatre, and to large, rather sophisticated parties, and I put a lot of thought about how I presented myself at work. I had an image of myself that I wanted to maintain.

That was at the beginning of my art career when I was still only painting at nights and on weekends.   I was still searching for the path I needed to take, the subject, style, and mediums that were best for me.  I decided to go with the subject that was deeply a part of my heart, the things I felt I needed to paint even though they were 'hard sellers' - the dogs, cats and horses that I loved. I couldn't have made a better choice!  I've been so happy painting these little characters, but my style has certainly changed.  Back then, I focused on the animal, and just the animal.

It was a nice, clean way to work, but as time went on, I needed more from a painting.  Time changed my life too -  the way I lived, my views on things, the things I wanted, and my image of me.  Today I live in the country, something that I always knew at some level, was the right thing for me.  I seldom dress up, or go to  parties, and I work at home.  I'm more often found wearing  dog hair, paw prints, and paint than pearls, and standing in a field taking photos than at the theatre, and I LOVE it!  

 I could never go back to the old me, even though I was happy with my life at the time.  My painting has changed so much too.  Now the animal isn't enough, unless of course, I'm doing a straight portrait.  Now I want to tell a story, and the back ground has to be as imporant as the subject.  (Not as dominant though, and I'll talk about that next week).  

Time has a way of putting us through a crucible, to refine us and hone our spirit.  If you can embrace the changes it brings, both in yourself and in your work, especially if you work in the arts, life can be very good.  Oh, and I still wear my pearls :D
cheers,
Heather
www.heatheranderson-animalart.com

Water, water, everywhere . . . .

I'm sure Coleridge had enough of water, judging from my title line borrowed from his poem,  but when it comes to painting, I'll never get enough of watercolours.

                            Shetland Sheepdog

I love the clarity and brightness of them, sitting as they do, on white, white paper that shines up through the often translucent paint.  I love the challenge of them.  They are not an easy medium to master - not that I've done that yet, but after so many years, I have a pretty good idea how to make them behave and do what I want.  There is still a lot for me to learn though, as it is a tricky medium full of surprises.  So I study the works of some of the major watercolour artists, - two American and one British gentlemen in particular to see what they choose for colours to create atmosphere in any given scene and how they apply the paint.  Then without any sense of copying, (horrors!) I struggle to apply what I've learned from studying their work, to my own paintings in such a way that I am creating my own path through the water world.  Life is an ongoing lesson, in paint and in real time.

                            Australian Shepherd

I love the wonderful washes of juicy colour I can achieve with this medium, and it's just as great at doing the detailed work I love to add to each painting.  
Occasionally I dip into another medium for a change to help keep me fresh, but I consider myself a watercolourist first and foremost.  It's only by putting in consistent, long hours that you can move forward with something - anything, that you want to do well. 
The only thing that bothers me just a tiny bit about watercolours is that in some circles, it is looked on as a slightly inferior medium . . .  that artists who paint primarily in watercolour are not "as much an artist" as those who choose oil, acrylic, etc.  Well, I politely DISAGREE!   Watercolours are quite permanent if they are done with quality pigment on a high quality linen "paper" such as Arches (or a few other fine watercolour papers), and if  they are properly framed/stored.  We (collectors and museums) still have some watercolours from the 1700's when the medium first became popular and advances were made in the paint's production. This medium takes skill and dedication to master, and though I don't feel I'm quite there yet, that's where I'm heading, or as close to it as I can get.  It's a demanding, challenging medium that tests the mettle and skill of the artist and totally enchants me, and I hope I can pass that enchantment with them on to you, the viewer.  I'm a Water-girl, and proud of it!

Cheers,
Heather Anderson
www.heatheranderson-animalart.com

Looking At Winter,

Are we tired of Winter yet?  I'm tired of the cold and the wet and the grey.  In the words of one of my favourite authors, (Albert Payson Terhune) ". . . . there comes a time in late winter when the cold stops thrilling and begins to hurt." Oh yes.  But although I 'm shivering and wishing for Spring like everyone else who lives in a cold climate, I never get tired of the incredible beauty Winter brings us.

Wake up one morning to a world covered in Hoar Frost and you feel that you've awakened in Faeryland.  You must get out quickly to enjoy it, because as soon as the sun is high enough in the sky, the icy magic will vanish.                                                                            The light on a late Winter afternoon, when the sun is low in the sky, and just before he begins  his descent to below the horizon is often nothing short of spectacular.  I love being out between 4 and 5 o'clock in February when the show begins.

And night brings it's own  frosty beauty.  That's when the deer slide out of the dusk to come to our garden for food.  They are amazing creatures.  One minute they are there, and the next they have become part of the shadows again. (This photo was taken just at dusk, but they usually come later in the evening as well.)

And the Winter moon is incredible - icy white and shining down, spilling silver across the fields and lighting the night with enchantment.

 It's looking for these lovely images that helps me get through the freezing times, so I'm not tired of Winter's beauty, but am I ready for Spring?  Oh,  YES!!

Cheers,
Heather
www.heatheranderson-animalart.com

Line by Line

There's a new painting on the drawing board today.  I love that - "the DRAWING board".   I love to draw, always have.  And I'm good at it.  Put a pencil in my hand and I'm happy.                                

It seems to be the fashion today for many artists to say, 'well I know I can draw the image, so I'm not going to waste my time, I'll trace/project it instead.'  Well,  . . . . OK.  If that's what works for someone, go right ahead.   But for me, that would feel wrong, and it would take away at least half the fun and satisfaction for me.  I take pride in doing something that I worked hard to learn how to do.

When I draw something, putting pencil directly to white paper, I am able to connect with the subject in a way I couldn't do if I was confined by tracing paper or a projected image.  Oh, I do my initial drawing on newsprint (finally learned it's better to beat up a sheet of newsprint getting the image right than to ruin a sheet of watercolour paper!) and then, when the image is finally correct and the way I want it, I transfer it to the watercolour paper, so yes, there is a tracing step for me, but I'm tracing the image I've just put hours, sometimes a day or two, into drawing.

I love the painting process too, I'm addicted to soft, juicy colour and love to sweep watercolours onto paper to bring my image to life, but I need to think out the entire painting before I begin.  I didn't always do this, I'd be very careful with the main image and let the background take care of itself, but once I started to take the entire image seriously and draw everything but the tiny details before I started into paint, my overall painting took a leap forward.

So I willingly take the time to draw my images for a painting, I draw to work out ideas, both in art and in life, and I doodle or sketch when I'm waiting on the phone or as passenger in the car.  I'm enchanted by lines.  Pick up a pencil and have some fun :)

Cheers,

Heather

www.heatheranderson-animalart.com

ART AND MORE

Gosh, it's another very cold day here.  This winter has been fierce.  It's not personally terrifying like last year, but the winds howl, ice coats everything, and it's bitterly cold.  Still, I'll take it over last year.  To banish the lingering dark memories of last winter, I decided to try to really focus on good things, and to help myself get there, I went to my sketch book.  I spent 15 or so minutes sketching  things that bring peace and contentment into my life.  It's set it up where I can see it often and when I look at it, I consciously relax and think good thoughts.   It's not a finished painting or even a decent drawing - it's rough in the extreme, yet it has become something important that I enjoy looking at and that gives me something I need.  Maybe this is part of  what Art Therapy is.          Art is so much more than just a decorative image hanging on your wall.  If you choose something that you love, it will give you comfort, joy, and a pleasant thought every time you look at it.  Naturally, most of my wallspace has my work hanging there, but over the years I've bought work from different artists -small originals from  friends and prints of work from the past of artists I admire, especially the Impressionists and the Pre-Raphaelites, and each piece says something to me.           
 Most of the time when I paint, I want a good, clear, clean, accurate image of my subject, I want to apply the paint carefully so that it enhances the image and is put on correctly, and I want the narrative of my painting to be clear to the viewer.  The 'feeling good' sketch I did has none of these things, yet it speaks to me, and only to me, of things I need to hear.  So the near-as-possible-to-perfect  painting (at this time) is not the only way to go to produce something that has value to me, and that has been an interesting lesson.
But now I'm back to my usual work, and loving it as much or more than I did last week. (Before the 'Revelation' :D)  I'm still painting Dreams and Dogs and Horses, but now from time to time, and just for me, I'll be painting personal emotions.  There is so much more to Art than you would think.

Cheers,
Heather
www.heatheranderson-animalart.com

JUST BREATHE

I'm looking forward to getting into a new painting that has been bubbling in my mind.  One of several I'm eager to work on.  But just at this moment, I'm not worried about producing something that someone will buy, or pleasing a client, or entering a show.  The first two will be important again  of course, but as for shows and competitions, I never enter them any more.  I used to, and was accepted in my fair share and won awards, but the stress and the work involved in framing and shipping was not worth the time lost in painting and family time - to me.  And of course, in my case, there's the border.  There are few shows in Canada where my work (animals) would be suitable, and the potential hassles involved in cross border shipping when the painting will likely come back can sometimes be a bit of a nightmare.   (No problem with donations, sales or commissions that are only going one way.)
Right now, after a whole lot of stresses, I need to once again find the peace that painting can bring me.   I need time to just BE, to just Breathe  I'm going to paint something that makes me smile, and look out my studio window for long minutes at a time, watching the snow shadows and the birds that come to the feeders.

I'm going to spend some time just drifting and dreaming of a peaceful, beautiful place - not necessarily any place I would actually go, but a place I can go to in my mind.

May I suggest that in this hectic world, we all take a few minutes now and then to relax, look around at what is there to sooth one's spirit, and JUST BREATHE.

Cheers,
Heather
www.heatheranderson-animalart.com