Vancouver Painting to date

As you can see from my painting, it is now progressing. Top images illustrate the basic colour scheme and as I went along I made adjustments, added detail and I am finally coming into the final phase . The only thing I am not 100% convinced with is the water, it may get changed again!

Stephanie Matthews

My New Art Station

It has only taken me years to get a desk with draws designated for painting and kids arts and crafts. All from Ikea and I built it myself with some help from my little ones. Plus Ikea has a  deal on, if you spend over a certain amount you get 20% off, I was well chuffed.

So here is my desk with some art materials tucked away in the draws for easy access. Kid won't need to ask me where things are and I will be able to find stuff.

I will be able to paint on this desk without worrying about marking it because that is what it is for, making a mess. My poor new dining table will now be used for its purpose and hopefully no more pen marks.

In celebration to my new art station :)

Stephanie Matthews

Opus Art Supplies

What artist doesn't like an art shop? Shelves filled with colour, canvas, sketch books and new and exciting tools.  Shops filled with toys for artists who want to explore, create, try something new. One of my favourite go-to art shops is Opus in Vancouver, I particularly like the Granville Island location, it is near Emily Carr University and the most fabulous art library I have ever come across. The store layout is very well organised and doesn't feel cluttered or unorganised, everything has its place. Their website has some great tutorials and information about products and how to use them as well as featuring artists.

Here is a video about one of their products and visit their site.

Work in Progress Painting

I have been working on this painting for quite a while. It is an image of the sails in Vancouver among other landmarks. It is progressing slowly. I have to do a lot more work on the water, smaller brush strokes and light paint. I almost overworked the sails and the water but I am happy with the colour chosen, red, they look less like mountains. I do intend to place mountains in the background even though they are not strictly there but the background is what makes Vancouver's scenery so wonderful.

I hope to have the end result soon.

New Art Gear

I have been wanting a Sta-Wet ever since I saw one of my friends using it in her art studio. So I am so pleased to be able to have it and limit the amount of paint wastage. Now I can mix my paints and use as much as I need and needn't worry about them drying out.

Also with my little purchase is a size 8 flat brush by Simply Simmons, it cost $4.99. I really like using flat brushes, I find them easier to control and blend paints nicely. I like to mix and blend quite a lot in my work so this is ideal for smaller areas in my work.

Sennelier Acrylique

  

My lovely package of paints from Sennelier. I have the heavy body acrylics it's perfectly packaged and in handy travel sized 21 ml tubes.  

Here is some more information about these paints.

Ramblings to date.

In the summer this year I did another cross-continental move back to Canada. I must be insane moving like this, it's an expensive affair and incredibly stressful moving away from family. To manage with the move and to get a balance in my life I have gone back to yoga, you can read my blog here. I practice Bikram Yoga, I enjoy it because it is demanding and it does not go into spiritual healing and chanting which kind of scares me a bit. I have also been working on a number of journals, like Keri Smith 's Wreck this Journal as mentioned in a previous post.

As I get older I like big personal change least of all, or at least moving around. I want stability and a home but most of all I have what is important to me more than anything - my family. Since I love art I want to pass my passion onto my kids, or at least explore it. I mean what kid does not like playing with paint, clay, coloured pens etc? So during the summer I wanted my kids to experience art without worrying about making a mess. I signed them up to a mixed-media course at 4Cats, it's the perfect studio, in fact they encourage making mistakes and getting messy, you never know what these things can lead to.

Because there has been a lot of change I have not been painting at all. I was doing some doodling and sketching but nothing serious. I also seek inspiration, where I live is so inspiring however, I am not ready to pursue my work at the moment due to other pressure but I am signed up to attend a Photoshop course which I think will help in so many ways; with business and with my art work. I have also been doing a lot of reading, knowledge based reading. How to improve my writing skills, keeping up-to-date with social media platforms and so on.

One of my favourite places to shop for art supplies is Opus Art Supplies in Vancouver. A huge selection of artist materials, it is like a toy shop for artists. Recently I had the pleasure of receiving acrylic paints from Sennelier  in France. I signed up to test their packaging and reviewed it, in return they sent me an unexpected box of paints as a gift. I was thrilled. I have always wanted to try out their paints. I am a lucky girl. So when I get back to painting they will be the first things I play with.

The nights are drawing in and it makes me think more about art, I think it is because when I started painting properly, it was during this time of year. Inside, painting and creating.

Soon, I hope to produce a work of art and post to the site. In the meantime, I will ramble or maybe not post a darn thing until I have something worthy to say.