The Art of Working in a Small Space

Mini-Studio

I'm still adjusting to painting aboard our sailboat - I admit at times I feel constrained by the limits of the space. I also miss not being able to make a mess, this is our living space after all. A major clean-up is necessary after each session.

I miss actually standing at the easel. Of course, now that I must work small, due to the size of the cabin, I crave working on a large canvas...

I do, however, love that I don't have to hop on a bus or ride my bike for 30 minutes when I have the urge to paint something "now"! I can drink my coffee while staring at my work to assess my next step, crack open a tube of paint and just begin...

 

Playing With Colour (Inspired by a sketch in "An Illustrated Life")

Leaping (Reference: Anatomy for the Artist)

Porltand Island Resident

The Joy of Sketching

I like the angular quality  in the figure on the right. It's something I have struggled with a lot, while drawing the male figure. I still do.

I sat on a concrete block in December, drawing a store front. The most interesting thing in the drawing is this telephone pole. I tried to capture the details in a very loose way. It feels a bit odd. I usually only get like that when I'm life drawing.

Now, I just begin drawing; not wondering if it's a worthwhile subject to draw, I just do it. The cormorant was fun. I was cleaning the cabin in preparation for our Christmas, on the 24th. He just sat there on the next dock, waiting out the gale force winds. So, I grabbed my sketchbook, and started sketching. He stayed in one position too long, meaning I got finicky; but then he kept darting here and there. The second and third drawings, are more fluid as a result.

Working on a small painting in the cabin.

Art That Makes My Heart Sing

Le double portrait au 
verre de vin by Marc Chagall

I saw this image, (a tiny thumbnail), on the Bau-Xi Facebook page and didn't realize it was a Chagall painting.... It drew me in instantly. His art has done that for me in the past too, apparently I'm a fan of Chagall's work.

Icarus I by Jylian Gustlin

I am continually inspired by Jylian Gustlin, (I've mentioned her before.) She's an artist from San Francisco... Check out her site, it's a feast for the eyes! She works in so many mediums: From digital, to fiber, to mixed media, even photography.

Primary Concern by Michael den Hertog

Michael den Hertog is a Vancouver artist. I have met him and found him to be genial, he also allowed me to pick his brain about the business of art... I own a print by him. Maybe one day, I'll have an original. See his current works gallery here.

Ne me quittes pas by Ken Flett

The first time I saw this next Canadian artist's work, was when one of his pieces was used by the Belfry Theatre on the poster for a production a few years ago. I liked it so much, I searched for more of his works. It's raw and beautiful. I also couldn't help but love the title of this particular piece on the right, as it's a nod to one of my favourite singer songwriters, Jacques Brel. Ken Flett's works must be seen in person to really be appreciated.

Study For A Saint About To Fall by Rachel Berman

I spend a lot of time, looking at art. I'm one of those people that loves art history as well as visiting my contemporaries' studios. When an artist's style varies greatly from mine, I still find inspiration in their technique or their vision. I can count many artists among my friends. Each one is unique. I remember laughing with Rachel Berman in a bookstore, (a fabulous and inspiring artist), about how we just loved talking about art but that it was hard to get to work right after conversations about it, because we get too wound up in our excitement!

Illustrating Life

I can spend hours browsing in a bookstore... Luckily, both my partner and I are like that, so there's no one waiting impatiently. It's a time we both relish.

Last week, I wandered alone into Munro's Bookstore. I'd been looking for something in particular. Of course, I ended up in the art section. This book caught my eye immediately.

“An Illustrated Life: Drawing Inspiration From The Private Sketchbooks Of Artists, Illustrators And Designers.” by Danny Gregory

I picked it up and started looking through it. I was met with a wide variety of sketches upon sketches. Some are very loose, others are little gems of detail. For this compilation, Danny Gregory  interviewed some 40 artists about their process. He includes plenty of examples from their private sketchbooks and illustrated journals.

Playing with textures

How fabulous is that? Very fabulous when you've spent the last few months struggling with creating art, and not finding the joy in it. Then you see how these artists of every stripe just go on filling journals with sketches, good or bad, doesn't matter. It's about doing it. Period. What it comes down to is, it just keeps you limber, like physical exercise. I'd forgotten about that.

Reading in the Cabin

Yes! I thought. I can do that!(I have done that.) No rules? Even better. (I am however, choosing to not rip out pages. I don't want to focus on the product, only the process. There is so much freedom in that.) Just draw what you see, what you're thinking, what you wish you could see, ideas, whatever. It was worth the 20-something dollars I spent on this book, if only to be reminded of what I already knew. And as I sketch, I am grateful for that serendipitous moment, when this book offered itself up to me.

Hm. Pentel brush pen or graphite pencil today... If only making decisions was always this much fun.

Not Just a Blog

I am in love with this blog...

 Missed Connections 

Through the Lens

When my life as a sailor began, I discovered the joys of spontaneous photo-taking. What I mean is, I started shooting anything and everything. My introduction to living on the water opened me up to a whole new visual way of experiencing life, nature, and myself.


I am by no means a "photographer" in the proper sense of the word. But I am an artist. I view the world through my slightly skewed and unique perspective.

Taking photos allows me to play with composition, colour and even abstraction. Happy accidents often inform future paintings or drawing, in ways I hadn't anticipated.

Last night, after an evening with friends, between the rainfall, fog, and lights, I stood in the cockpit of my boat, camera in hand. I continued taking photos once back in the cabin.

This is a glimps of that magical moment.

Words that Inspire

Today's offering... A poem by one of my favourite poets.

Starlings in Winter

Starlings in Winter

Chunky and noisy,
but with stars in their black feathers,
they spring from the telephone wire
and instantly

they are acrobats
in the freezing wind.
And now, in the theater of air,
they swing over buildings,

dipping and rising;
they float like one stippled star
that opens,
becomes for a moment fragmented,

then closes again;
and you watch
and you try
but you simply can’t imagine

how they do it
with no articulated instruction, no pause,
only the silent confirmation
that they are this notable thing,

this wheel of many parts, that can rise and spin
over and over again,
full of gorgeous life.

Ah, world, what lessons you prepare for us,
even in the leafless winter,
even in the ashy city.
I am thinking now
of grief, and of getting past it;

I feel my boots
trying to leave the ground,
I feel my heart
pumping hard.  I want

to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.

(Mary Oliver)