The Fall Season is upon us. A great line-up of classes is scheduled at Neilson Park Creative Centre and Visual Arts Missisauga. I'll be teaching Figurative Drawing, Pastel, Intro to Drawing and Intermediate Drawing this term.

Up The Hill

Water Soluble Graphite on watercolour paper. 

September

I'm looking forward to mounting an exhibit in the Emily Carr Gallery at Visual Arts Mississauga, Riverwood (https://www.visualartsmississauga.com/contactus.php). 

I've been working on new drawings and paper sculptures and will be showing them as well as some recent large paintings and pastel pieces. 

Kickstarting the Fall Season!

Short Poses

I've been working with water-soluble crayons in class, then playing on them with water when I get home. Liking the effects of various applications. 

5-minute drawing in blue pastel.

Water-soluble crayons.

Playing with Media

I was asked to teach a Figurative Drawing class at Neilson Park Creative Centre with a mandate of exploration and experimenting with different media and addressing artistic ideas - concept, design, etc - something right up my alley! This is the second session and I'm having so much fun. These are pieces done either as samples or growing out of the experimenting. 

Derwent Inktense watercolour sticks on watercolour paper. The image was drawn on dry paper and I used water once I was able to control the media back home in my studio.

Pastel on raw canvas. I used very soft Diana Townsend and Sennelier pastels - really like the feel of them on the canvas. I ironed over them with a steam iron on a piece of scrap cloth to set the pastel into the canvas. I plan to explore this technique more fully when time allows.

Warm colours in the foreground, cool colours in the back. Pastel added to fast gestures after the fact. Soft pastel (Rembrandt) on Manilla paper.

Inktense sticks on watercolour paper. I saturated the paper with the crayons as much as I could (dry) so I could get really dark areas when I wet the paper. Then puddled the water and blew the colour into the white areas of paper. I enjoy the feel of drawing with the Inktense and then playing with it as watercolour in the studio.

 Late Blooms

A pastel piece of the hollyhock that finally bloomed by my back door. 

Two sample pieces for a demonstration on Pastel Techniques using sgraffito. It works best when there is a strong contrast between the paper and the pastel colour. A fun technique that can be very adaptable.

Spring Pop-Up Workshops

This weekend, April 5 & 6, two great days of Pop-Ups at Neilson Park Creative Centre. Then, four Saturday afternoons of Pop-Ups at Visual Arts Mississauga

Take your two-dimensional paper art to the next dimension!

New Work

I've been working with a standard format of 5.5 inches and backing the pop-ups with a finished cover. They work well displayed on a small easel, pinned to a flat support so they stay open. I currently have a piece on display at Neilson Park called 'Fortress' for the Etobicoke Art Group's Gap Show. 

Pop-Up Lecture

I am very excited about my Pop-Up Lecture coming up in March. Honoured to be asked by the Etobicoke Art Group. It will be a bit of Pop-Up history, a lot of artists and book artists who are currently working in the medium and some demonstrations of my own work. I'm looking forward to a fun evening. 

For those who want to try making pop-ups for themselves, I will be doing a two-day workshop at Neilson Park Creative Centre on April 5 & 6, 2014. For more details contact Rena Sava through Neilson Park

or through my Artist's page on Facebook.

 Gesture Drawings

One and two minute poses done in pastel on newsprint.

 Quick Drawings

These are from five and ten minute poses - pastel on white paper.

Quick Drawings

Spruce Blue pastel on newsprint. Different colours of pastels have different physical features...something to do with the chemical make-up.  I love the tactile qualities of Nupastel blues.

Funky Paper Packing a Punch

Anticipating upcoming Pop-Up Workshops, I've been enjoying a summer of playing with paper. What else can you call it? The studio is awash with painted, printed papers and punches, while I divine what colour/shape/texture needs to go where and trying to put more POP into the pop-up! This is one in a series where I've been working in two standard formats just to narrow down my options. 

Here's the link for the VAM workshop, 'Book Art: Pop-Up Book Sculpture': https://www.visualartsmississauga.com/class_info.php?class_id=1462

 Pop-Up Book

Some new Pop-Up work inspired by Green Man. I will leading a one day Book Sculpture Workshop at Visual Arts Mississauga on October 26. 

Tidal Pool Pop-Up

A trip out to Vancouver Island and some beautiful sea-side walks inspired this series of small pop-up sculptures. The wonderful colours, textures and shapes of pot-holed rocks and tide pools gave me lots of new ideas! The papers are a mix of Japanese, commercial and hand-painted. 

Painting Class

Today we had an afternoon painting session with a few friends. I haven't painted for a while, so I was really pleased (and surprised!) with my results. It needs a bit more work, but I wanted to post it 'as-is' after a 3 hour class.

This is one more in a series of portraits (some are on previous posts) from this wonderful model - it's always a pleasure to work with her.

Sketch of My Daughter

She is very patient with frequent requests to sit for my classes. Her forbearance is rewarded with gratitude and occasionally lunch at a favourite restaurant =).

Quick  Sketch

A former student kindly agreed to sit for our Thursday night Drawing Class at NPCC. This was done on the fly between making my rounds. I was pleased with the likeness.

Sergio

 Seated Nude

I've been experimenting with intensely coloured papers. This was an accurate but rather stiff rendering which I attacked one day in a fit of re-vision. Much happier with the results and the under-drawing holds it together.

Shel

Shel is a wonderfully expressive model. I caught this pensive pose on a pad of Staples Flip Chart paper with pastel. I like the feel of the pastel on this paper - it's inexpensive and not archival, but I really enjoy working on it.

Seated 

Same model, two views. In Pastel, the second one is on 'citrine' hemp paper.

Sleeping on the Job...

Three drawing of reclining figures. I love the challenge of the foreshortened views. The top two are pastel on a mid-tone ground. 

Spring Art Classes

Spring is here and a whole new opportunity to take Art classes starts up in April. I am scheduled for several Drawing Classes here and here. From Beginner Drawing to Intermediate, Explorations in Drawing and Introduction to Pastels. Looking forward to an exciting Spring!

there be dragons...

Recently I discovered that a local arts & crafts store stocked a variety of plastic dragons. I have been collecting one a week for my drawing classes and so far they've been a hit because who doesn't love dragons?

 Pastel Nude

 Sit!

Paul

Exhibited at NPCC for the Etobicoke Art Group's "Family" Show.

 Pastel Study

 Pencil Crayon Study

Pencil Crayon Study

I enjoy building up the colours for these fall leaf studies - the rich colours beg to be drawn.