Dabbling

You all know about my scratchboard... mainly because I never shut up about it (and I do have a couple of new pieces coming up that I'll put on the blog soon! Yay!).  However, I do also continue to dabble in acrylic painting as well. I started it last year and blogged about it in my 'Finding your artist's voice' series of posts here. 

I love working in acrylic for many reasons that are very different from the scratchboard, and yet the things I learn with acrylic painting I find I take back in a translated form to my scratchboard work.  I think for an artist, work in any medium will reverberate onto other media and increase your overall skill and technique.  Truly no learning is ever wasted unless you let it be!

The things I seem to be drawn to in acrylic painting that differ from my scratchboards are:

Subject:  I love painting people, whereas in scratchboard I greatly prefer animals.
Colour palette:  For some reason I'm drawn to high contrast and opposing compliments, specifically blue and orange, for reasons I cannot explain.
Texture:  The more the better!  I will even used modeling paste to built up extra texture.
Tools:  I find that I actually prefer a palette knife over a paintbrush!

"Inner Thoughts" 16x20" acrylic, (c) Pam Boutilier

Even though those things are very different than my scratchboard work, there are some common threads.  One is incorporating bright and/or deep colour, another is my attraction to off-kilter framing or cropping.  An interesting trait though is that I love artwork that makes sense from a distance, but when inspected more closely you find there is actually MORE to see.  As much as I appreciate a good impressionist's ability to create the illusion of detail from value and colour, I like it even more when there's something new and different up close. 

With my scratchboards I try to have the detail just as impressive from 12 inches away as the overall image is from 12 feet away.  With my paintings I try to create depth and interest in the colour and texture that comprises the subject and their background.  There is detail in the directions of the palette knife cuts, in the shadows... some of which you can't appreciate unless you get up close and personal (and sadly does not come through very well in a photograph).

I'm just a n00b at this painting thing (really I'm a n00b at scratchboard too, but at least I have a few years of that under my belt) - but being a n00b is very exciting and in some ways an advantage.  The fact that I've not had extensive formal training with painting does mean I'm learning tonnes with every painting (and probably making mistakes, but at least I'm finding it very exciting).  However it also means that I'm too dumb to know what I shouldn't be doing, and sometimes that works out in my favour!

So I hope you enjoyed this piece.  I have a couple more paintings in the works that I will post in the next couple of months, interspersed with my scratchboards.  I welcome any comments on my painting ventures!

Random day at the Museum...

So here's the first post of my non-art blog. What's it about?

Art.

I am going to choose to ignore the irony of that and push onward.

I am only going to be in Chicago for a limited period of time, and one of my goals this time around is to not repeat my own history of living here for years and not partaking of the city itself. I adamantly do ~not~ have a 'bucket list', because although I love lists, I really don't use them properly. That being said, one thing I ~did~ want to do was take the Metra from the burbs where I live to the City (that's City with a capital 'C' mind you) and go dink around the Chicago Institute of Art.

Going to the museum by myself was awesome, and also interesting. I will ask you this - do you know how you would experience a museum if you were in complete control of the pacing and route? If you do then share it with us in the comments section. If you don't know, I urge you to go by yourself someday and let loose, then observe what you do and report back here!

My pace and pattern can best be described as... erratic.

I had looked at the website in advance and I knew I wanted to see the Arms and Armour exhibit. What? I love fantasy, so sue me. So that's where my feet took me first, straight there without so much as a slow-down for what lay between me and my goal. I was a woman on a mission. It turned out that the Arms and Armour was a bit disappointing - a bunch of polearms and a few suits of armour.

The armour was interesting enough, I found myself wondering how much of the pieces they had were ceremonial or if they truly put that much craftsmanship on every footsoldier destined to have his spleen poked out with a sword.

The polearms were actually fascinating... I recall diagrams from my old D&D books of the different types of polearms, which various male friends actually paid attention to while I was (and am) content to lump them all together as 'sharp bits on long stems for enemy-poking'. I'm sure my husband will not be surprised to read that, but possibly just a tad disappointed (sorry hon!). What I can say, after today, is that a halberd looks like this:


I still don't know if it's just the pretty shape that makes it a halberd, but I guess I am of a peculiar generation that I have to remind myself that these items were used for slaying enemy humans long before they were used to slay orcs.

So the arms and armour section didn't take much time (actually I have no idea how long I stook there sketching.. it could have been hours for all I know). Then I really didn't have a plan.. so I wandered. And when I started wandering with my no-plan I began to just follow my eyes. I stumbled into rooms with italian paintings from the sixteenth century. Well, I love me some Caravaggio.. my eyeballs dragged me from room to room - and that's how I discovered my pace.

After blowing through two or three rooms (man, people walk slow in museums!) I would come across something that piqued my interest and spend 15 minutes studying it. Like "Still-Life with Dead Game Fruits and Vegetables in a Market by Frans Snyders, 1614".


It is huge! I was first was invited into the painting by the very amiable merchant and proceeded to look over his wares, marveling over the textures in the fur and feathers and the handling of light and shadow around the collander on the right. I couldn't help but note that the game was all so clean and pristine and the blood, where present, was very fluid and light red (none of this dark, congealed clotty stuff or other 'liquids' that would in reality have been present). Then I see the cocks fighting. Then oh! There's a sneaky cat looking at me. Clearly he's seen that I spotted him and is watching to see if my eyes move on. Then I spot the pickpocket on the left. Oh cheerful merchant, you will be cursing whatever epithets were appropriate in 1614 when you realize your day's profits have disappeared into thin air!

Though pure morbid fascination caused me to pause my steps to look at several medieval pieces, and appreciation of beauty paused them in some other areas, I wasn't really brought to a halt again until I stumbled upon Jules Adolph Breton's 'The Song of the Lark'. I promptly sat down and sketched:


Now clearly my quick sketch doesn't do justice to the original piece by any means. Sketching the painting was almost a way to commune with it, to really 'see' it. Looking over it inch by inch, paying attention to the proportions even as the repeated viewing helped me to figure out what it was that captivated me.

(Thanks to Art History Daily)

The obvious things - I love the color palette, her pose is lovely and has a spiritual feel to it, and she is beautiful in an unpretentious way.

Then I realized that she is doing something. Later I noted that I was attracted to paintings where the subject is doing something mundane. The heroic poses of the biblical paintings of the renaissance are very intriguing, but this girl walking and singing I liked even more. I was also drawn to Camille Dissaro's 'Woman bathing her feet in a brook' (even if it is impressionist).

Then it occurred to me that the girl is entirely in shadow. The colour palette is muted. The whole thing creates an effect of serenity and quiet. You can almost hear her voice cutting through the soft quiet of predawn with the first birdsong of the day. I more often encounter this time of day when I stay up way too late than actually getting up early, but that does not make me appreciate it any less.

And finally I realized that the rising sun, painted in almost fluorescent colours, draws your attention to the upper left of the painting which causes you to see her face in your peripheral vision. I wonder if that was intentional? Using averted vision to see the low contrast of the subject differently?

I'm probably reading more into it than necessary. But suffice it to say, I enjoyed sitting with one painting for the better part of an hour much more than I would have dividing that time among many other works that didn't intrigue me as much. I also have a new artist to add to my favorite list and will have to look over the rest of his stuff.

I was getting a bit tired by that point though. After some aimless wandering through the impressionists (beautiful, yes, but just not my cup of tea). I was kind of lost and stumbled into the Alsdorf Galleries containing a collection of Indian, Southeast Asian and Himalayan art. I didn't really have any intention of doing more sketching at all, except that Ganesha called to me.

This was an Indonesian sculpture of the God, and the serenity of his face is what made me pause. Then after looking at it a few minutes I had to sketch it. And as I started sketching I read the plaque that identified Ganesha as the 'Remover of Obstacles'. Well hot damn! I do have a few obstacles that need removing. He is also the Lord of Beginnings. This just gets better and better.

Here is my meagre homage to Ganesha:

So overall this was a very pleasing day. I figure it's a good thing this isn't an art blog anymore. It's nice to explore 'other things' :)

~ Pam

Pet Portrait Desktopper WINNER - September #1 (of 2)

As you might recall I've had several things on the go this summer, not the least of which was moving - and so July's Desktopper contest was postponed and instead I decided to do TWO pets for September.

Here's the official announcement of the first of those - meet Havoc!


Here's what Havoc's owner, Jennifer has to say about her!

This is my 8 year old cat Havoc. I adopted her from the SPCA when I was working there. She is a himalayan mix and I've been told by a cat breeder that she is a 'poorly marked blue cream'. Regardless of her colouring, she is very dog-like in personality, which really isn't a surprise considering her housemates are 3 big furry dogs! She is just cat-like enough to irritate me sometimes and just dog-like enough to make me keep her!

Thanks for entering the contest Jennifer! Watch for your Desktopper portrait in the mail!

The second Desktopper for September has been selected and will be posted soon! In the meantime the contest is still open, you have until September 20th to have your pet's photo in the hat for the October contest! Remember the contest rules are on my website here. Any of you who have entered in the past, remember that your pet's photo will remain 'in the hat' unless you wish it to be removed, so keep watching as the new winners are announced!!

In other news - I've got several pet commissions on the go that will be completed over the next few months. I will post some work-in-progress posts on those ones. Also the Glenwood Springs Fall Art Fair is coming up soon! If you are in the area I will have works entered as well as things available in the 'bargain bin' sale.

Desktopper Contest WINNER for JUNE!

Better late than never, right?

The studio is currently 1/3 in the new place, 1/3 here and 1/3 in the truck (I'm taking a load over this afternoon). So instead I went to a local coffee shop today to finish off the piece!

"Who Me?"

The winner for June is Red, an English Cocker Spaniel owned by a fellow artist Karen Hendrickson. Red was actually the first entry I received - and his solemn, wise eyes caught my attention immediately. The title of this piece (chosen by Karen) is 'Who me?'. She said that Red can't jump on the counter anymore so he used the chair. She had just asked him 'What do you think you're doing?' when the reference photo was snapped, and his response is perfectly clear!

This is what Karen told me about Red:

This is Red, my heart dog. He has a recurrence of anal gland adenocarcinoma with mets to his lungs. He's 12 years old and I'll say goodbye when he no longer feels he's invincible.

Well he sure looks like he's enjoying his senior years! Congratulations Karen and thank you for giving me the opportunity to get to know Red in a small way!

Because this move is a bigger disruption than I had anticipated, not helped at all by getting sick in June, I am going to make a small one-time change to the Desktopper contest and thereby hopefully preserve the tiny bit of sanity I was allotted in life. There will be no drawing for July, and instead I will draw TWO in August (to be posted Sept. 1st). The deadline is August 20th and you have double the chance of winning.

I've also decided that I like all the entry photos so much I'm just going to keep them in the 'hat' and carry them over month to month (and I apologize if I've already announced that... getting old and senile you know). So if you've entered previously you are still in the running! You are welcome to enter another pet though (one pet photo and description is considered one entry). If for any reason you don't want to be kept in the running then just send me an email and I'll remove your entry, no questions asked!

So jump on in and enter for August's draw! And once the studio is all moved and settled I do have some things I'll be blogging about. Until then...

~ Pam

Desktopper Contest WINNER!

First - thanks to everyone who entered the May contest!

Second - I'd like to happily announce the winner (by random draw) of my first Destopper Pet Portrait contest....*drumroll*.... Bailey!



Bailey Page is an adorable boy owned by Jon. Jon actually found my little contest in his endless search for things to enter - be sure to check out his website, it's highly entertaining!

According to Jon, they rescued Bailey from a shelter where he was slated to be euthanized. Here's what Jon has to say about his friend:

"My wife and I are convinced that he is a person trapped inside of a pup's body. In addition to his many outstanding qualities, such as destroying couches, we love his most obvious physical characteristic: his right-ear-up, left-ear-down combination."

I love it too - Bailey was a joy to paint, his personality just shines through!

Now since by the time I got my website updated and the blog posted last month there wasn't much space before the deadline, so I am going to carry the May entries over to June (you know who you are!).

And for anyone who didn't enter - now's the time, you have until June 20th! All you have to do is send an email to me with a few lines describing your pet and a photograph. The drawing is random and the next winner will be announced July 1st! Full details are on my website here.

(Hey, I think I can count Bailey in my 100 dogs challenge too!! Yay!)

Things I'm working on

I am working! Which is why I haven't been posting too much recently. Works-in-progress are really only fun to post after they are finished (but I am saving WIP shots of the current projects, so when they *are* done I can do a few play-by-play posts.

But just so you know I didn't fall in a coffee cup and drown, here's some sneak peaks of what's currently on the go in the studio....





And the painting for my first Desktopper Pet Portrait contest is underway! The winner will be announced on Tuesday and the painting will be posted. It's exciting! I absolutely loved reading the stories that came with each of the entries. And every single one of them was beautiful - they were all dogs this first month (though they don't have to be... cats, horses... heck, I could probably manage a gerbil if I had to... all are welcome!).

So check back in on Tuesday!

~ Pam

Desktopper Pet Portrait Contest!

Who:

Anyone can enter. You can enter once per month.

What:

The prize will be a free 5x7" ink painting of your pet based on the photo you submit. These smaller works fit into any standard 5x7" frame or mat and are the perfect size to sit on your desk!

When:

Once a month, every month, starting immediately! The deadline is the 20th of the month and the winner will be announced by the last day of the month.

The first deadline is May 20, 2010!

Where:

To enter just send an email to pam@catinaboxstudio.com or via my website contact sheet here. Include a digital photo of your pet and a short (like three lines) biography of your pet. If you have more than one photo you wish to send, go right ahead (but indicate which is your favorite!). If you don't have a digital photo then just send an email with the name and biography and I'll let you know where you can mail a real photo (don't worry, any real media images will be returned to you).

Why:

Why not? Truly, it's a fun way for me to drum up some interest in my website. It's also fun to have a little deadline to keep me on track!

And most of all, the whole reason I do pet portraits is based in my love of the human-animal bond. I find it so much more inspiring when I know the name and the 'story' behind the animal I'm painting. This contest is a way for me to get all kinds of wonderful stories!

Wait.. what else is there to this??:

Nothing! You don't have to subscribe to my newsletter or blog, you won't go on a mailing list, you will retain all copyrights to the photos you send and your information will not be given to anyone.

Now of course I'd like you to follow my newsletter or blog and tell all your friends to do so as well - but I don't care as much about numbers as having people who enjoy following my work involved, so this is really a means to try to get people to take a peek and then they can decide if they want to see more!

100 Dogs Challenge #8 - Little Frenchie

French bulldogs are the breed of the month on WetCanvas for February - this little guy was so cute he prompted me to try something I've been thinking of but haven't done, painting with my Ampersand inks on paper (*gasp*).


This is ACEO size (2.5 x 3.5) on archival matboard. He was tremendously fun to do, though I have to get used to the different feel on paper compared to Claybord.

Thanks for peeking!

~ Pam

Alamosa bound!

It's an exciting evening for me - tomorrow morning the hubby and dog and myself pile into the car and drive 5 1/2 hours through the mountains to Alamosa, CO.

This is my first mention of it on the blog - but two of my pieces have been accepted to the Adam State College Invitational Scratchboard Art Show in Alamosa, Colorado. The show officially opened Jan 19th, but the official Opening Reception is tomorrow, January 22nd. I'm very excited as this is the first time for me having my art shown in a gallery, but also I will get to meet some people I've known for more than a year and yet have not met in-person. Here's a brief moment for me to put out a plug for WetCanvas.com - a great online artist community of which I can say at least the Scratchboard art segment are a great bunch of folks! Many of the artists showing in Alamosa did a show last year in Indianapolis, and I am proud to number among them in this show (and so lucky that it's close enough I can actually attend!).

So here's a peek at the pieces I have in the show, in case you aren't close enough to stop by:

"Ben" 11 x14" Scratchboard and Ink

Detail shot:


Some of my blog followers may remember this one from the initial sketch here, or the sneak peek here. This was a beautiful boxer I met at the Basalt Sunday Market last year. It's one of the first coloured scratchboards I have done and presented a few challenges that were a definite learning experience. I am glad that I was able to represent this beautiful dog, and the pose and lighting were an artist's dream to work with. I love working from my own reference photos when I can catch the exact image I want - perhaps that is why I take 30-40 photos for every one that I choose to use for a scratchboard. :D

"Ben" 16 x20" Scratchboard

Detail shot:


This was (is) my beautiful Belgian horse. This is my largest scratchboard yet, and even so it is not as large as real-life, in reality if he stuck his muzzle in my armpit I could just barely reach his poll (the tip-top of his head). He is a wonderful horse - when my veterinary career advanced I had to move across the country we had to sell Ben, but he went to a wonderful farm where he could be around other horses and finally decided that with a friend the harness wasn't so scary.

I hope you like these pieces, and if you happen to be in southern Colorado please stop by - the show is at the Cloyd Snook Gallery and runs from Jan 19th to Feb 19th, 2010. You can find a little more information here.

I'll put out a new Newsletter with photos from the show after the fact, and the first glimpse of my newest whiteboard, so if you haven't signed up for the Newsletter yet consider doing so (link in the upper right!).

Good night, wish me luck on the snowy mountain roads tomorrow!

~ Pam

100 Dogs Challenge - #6 (and #7)

This is a quick ink sketch/painting I did this evening. It's in my wee sketchbook which is not at all the appropriate paper for ink washes, but I felt like just doing something 'quick and dirty' (the scratchboard is not being my friend tonight).

Next time I get the urge I promise I'll go dig out my watercolour paper :)
(And I'll actually work on getting accurate colours instead of having fun with ink mixing)

'Roughly Buffy' 5x7"

And sick of the brush I kept doodling with a ballpoint pen and lo, sketch #7 happened:

'Gromit' 5x7"

Remember one of the stipulations of the 100 dog challenge is that I post 'em all - even the rough ones!!

~ Pam

Late Harvest

So it's getting a little late in the season for this theme - but it's technically still autumn, so here goes.... this is a little painting I did for a project on WetCanvas.

For any artsy folk out there I have to put in a plug for WetCanvas - it's a fabulous site and a great resource for just about any kind of art! Check it out!

Back to the corn - for this puzzle project I received a tiny little image, it's 1/16th of a larger image (which we have yet to see as I write this). Quite obviously some harvest corn. I decided to do it on a piece of terra cotta Canson paper I had around. I haven't worked on Canson in awhile - it's very different than the Wallis paper that Bells was done on. Not better or worse in my opinion, just different.


Here's the preliminary sketch in charcoal - I've marked off quarters around the margin, I'm trying to keep the proportions really exact in this as it has to line up with other people's pieces. The original image is exactly what you see above. My painting will be 6x6" (this sheet of paper is 8x8" to leave a margin for working):


And starting with color... first I block in the dark purple and red kernels. Because further layers of pastel will lighten I want the tone I use here to unfluence the final color - but it isn't what the final color will be:


Next I continue by working a bit more on the weird shapes in the background (upper left) and blocking in the lighter kernels:


Now to give these guys some depth - admirably avoiding the black pencil I used mostly blues for the darker kernels...


And purples for the yellow kernels, with blue-gray for the very pale kernels. I start to smooth out the red kernels:


Next I smooth out the dark purplish kernels. They get layers of the ruddy brown base color with blues in the deep shadows and a pale mulberry color for the highlights. A color shaper helps to smooth the color gradations together and just a light touch of white at the brightest highlights makes them really pop!


I continue, smoothing out the yellow and white kernels, deepening their shadows and brightening some of the highlights. The corn is really getting some depth. I've gone back and futzed with the background a little too - I have to admit, it's frustrating for me not knowing what it is... if I were working from a high resolution photo I could reproduce it, but since I'm blowing up a very tiny image I end up filling in the gaps with my imagination (a dangerous thing):


And there's the finished piece! (It looks little different because the last shot is always scanned and cropped (as opposed to taken under easel lighting with the digital camera - this is closer to the actual appearance of the painting in real life)


Hope you enjoyed this one! Although it started as a little project I quite like it, it will look lovely with a wide museum mat!

Next post I'm thinking we'll be back to the doggies, I've got a few good things cooking so stay tuned!

Update: Napping

A progress report on Napping (gosh this is a big piece).  I'm actually having more fun with this painting than I anticipated  - it occurred to me that all three kitties are fairly monochromatic - white, white and gray, and  gray.  But as I paint them, trying to stay somewhat true to the reference photo, it occurred to me that the play of warm and  cool tones within that limited spectrum is one of the things that made me fall in love with this picture - albeit, admittedly on a subconscious level.  

Michael, the white kitty, is the most neutral - he has subtle yellows and blues in his coat but the color  'temperature' balances out nicely.  Dufus, the middle kitty, is decidedly cool (in color, believe me in real life he's the biggest dork on earth).    The dark parts of his coat are underpainted with deep blues and the pencils used were predominately in the cool gray series.  Nessie, the latest addition, on the other hand is very warm (which is amusing, because in life this kitty is an ectotherm who likes to crawl into bed with us at night and plant her tiny ice-cube feet on any exposed human flesh she can find (like your face)).  When I roughed her in you can see the use of pinks and tans under the warm series of grays...

Another value check...

And here is where we are currently.



I have taken a little artistic license and deepened the hues of their eyes, as well as brightening the highlights, compared to the reference photo.  I feel justified in doing so - I live with these guys, and their beautiful eyes are like jewels in reality which just wasn't caught well in the photo. 

(Detail - this is close to the actual size of the painting)

The next step will be the foreground blanket (oh why aren't they on a solid-color blanket?).  I was actually really excited about the blanket when I started this picture, now I am so close to finishing it that I just want to be done!  That'll teach me.. interesting objects are for still-lifes, not portraits!

Hopefully my next post on this one will be the finished piece!  'Cuppa' is almost finished as well (I was able to salvage it).   And then I'll have easel space for the next run of projects, including 'Sarah and Harley' which I haven't forgotten about!

Status Report - "Hey, we're napping here!"

Well - posting has indeed helped light a fire under me on this piece.  I decided to work on the second kitty (his name is Dufus.. believe me, he earned it!).  I wasn't getting his face just right so I flipped my page upside-down.  If you read my earlier post referencing Betty Edwards this may seem like a reasonable thing to do.  But in case you're not familiar with such exercises I'll explain a bit.  

Often when what we draw doesn't look the way we want it to it's because we're not seeing the subject properly.  By putting both our reference picture and our artwork upside-down we force ourselves to truly look at it - not as Dufus the cat, but as shapes, values and lines and their relationship to each other.  This, in essence, forces a shift to right-brain mode and generally results in a much happier artist when the work is turned back rightside-up.    

My initial blocking in of Dufus:

And the current status (his face isn't completely finished - I still need to do a value check and add whiskers.. but I save those for last, they're my favorite!!):

While I had the image upside down I decided to tackle the 'problem' I mentioned earlier.  I had used a really cheap pastel for the curtain, and although it doesn't show well on the image if you look close you can see that it doesn't completely coat the paper ('fill the tooth') leaving a grainy, dull appearance.  Terrible!  I honestly just wasn't thinking when I grabbed the pastel stick - but I've learned for myself what so many have told me - always work with the best materials you can afford.  This is so true of pastels... had I worked much with those sticks initially I think I would have gotten very discouraged indeed!

So to fix the problem my plan was to remove as much of the pastel as I could - using a small foam 'brush' (the kind you get in the hardware store painting section) I started to gently whisk away the white.  To my surprise the cheap pastel came right off!  You can see in this picture the upper left corner that is still white, which I whisked as well - but that part was done with a higher quality white pastel pencil.  The fix was much easier than I'd anticipated.  After I whisked all of the old white off I coated it with a better white which fills the tooth nicely and stays put!!

So here's the current status of the picture - I've also made changes to the first kitty's eyes (Michael).  Dufus' body will be next, then it will be time to tackle Nessie and the blanket under them.  

But before I go back to it - it's time for a value check!  In Photoshop I desaturate the image so I can see the values without worrying about color, compared to the reference photo it is easy to pick out places where the values are 'off':

The cushion behind him needs much lighter highlights, and the right side of his nose could stand some deeper shadows.  His eyes are a little different than the reference - that is actually on purpose (sometimes you need a little tweaking to make the 'real life' picture look good).

I think that's enough posting for today - I'll catch you up when I've gotten a bit more done!  Thanks for watching!