Lucie Duclos Showing Off my Collage Papers Book

Lucie Duclos has a new class available on SkillShare (I LOVE this site for all kinds of learning). SkillShare is the inspiration for a new format of online classes I am exploring: the series of short videos, without the written lessons.

Check out Lucie's video sample from her class:

You can buy my book here. Or make your own hand-painted papers.

Here is my project for Lucie's Class. TOTALLY inspired by Rex Ray.

Vancouver Island Art Workshops, back in April

Here is a funny video from one of the students in my Composition and Contrast workshop in Nanaimo, BC last April. It is really just still shots, but put into a "theme".  I actually did a little bit of editing and changed the music:

Here are a few more pictures of student work:

Check out Vancouver Island Art Workshops.

More Color Mixing

I am working on some new downloadable workshops that will be shorter, and they will focus on more bite-sized topics. Color mixing will definitely be one of them, and I might even divide it into two separate workshops.

This video is a sample of what one segment of such a workshop might look like. Each workshop may have twelve to sixteen short segments like this.

Please comment to let me know if there are any particular topic you would like me to address in a workshop that is formatted in this way.

A New Gel Plate

I just recently discovered this 12"x12" gel plate from Gel Press. I love the size, and also the tightness of the corners.

12"x12" Monoprint Collage#1

12"x12" Monoprint Collage #2

 Thanks for visiting!

Two Available Spots at OMEGA Workshop

I am teaching Monoprint Collage at Omega in a couple of weeks, and there are a couple of spots available. Here is a sampling of student work from previous classes on this topic:

And a video:

For details and registration, click here.

Lucie's New Class on Skillshare

I posted the preview of Lucie Duclos' new class a couple of weeks ago. Now it is available on Skillshare. Click here to see it! It is a fun little demonstration of watercolor, called Watercolor Field Trip. Here is what I did in my sketchbook using Lucie's technique and inspiration:

I did not use all of the techniques Lucie demonstrates, but a few. I found this to be a very accessible introduction to watercolor, a way to explore the material without the pressure of making something you want to frame. Enjoy!

I used Koi Watercolor Pocket Field Sketchbox, 24 colors
Sakura Micron Pens
and for the white lines, Posca Paint Pens

Student Work from Gloucester

Last week I was teaching Monoprint Collage at Northeast Art Workshops in Gloucester, MA. I had a great group, who created some fabulous work. Here is a sampling.

Gorgeous papers made with a hand-cut stencil

a prolific palette of papers

Soft neutral colors

A grid format, with each element a different size

Hand-cut stencils and masks on the gel plate

Another bold grid format piece

Central Cluster format series, beautifully spare

A New Class by Lucie Duclos

My friend and fellow artist, Lucie Duclos, is offering an online class on Skillshare, coming later this month. I had never heard of Skillshare, but it is a great site for learning.

That is me playing the ukulele in the background!

Lucie is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Victoria, British Columbia.

Pigment Sticks, Oil Pastels, and Other Drawing Materials

I've been experimenting with pigment sticks (like oil paint sticks), oil pastels, water soluble crayons, and colored pencils, on paper with several different grounds. I am using these with a couple of oil paint mediums: alkyd resin gel and odorless mineral spirits. This is not a tutorial, as I am pretty much a novice with the oil media, though I've experimented with it over the years.

I hope you enjoy this video of my explorations:


If you are interested in the materials I'm using, check out the links below. I have just ordered a few more mediums, and will also try cold wax with the pigment sticks and oil pastels. I am interested in finding new ways of painting, seeing what happens to the imagery when using different materials.

R&F  Pigment Sticks
Arches Oil Paper
Gamsol
Alkyd Resin
Prismacolor colored pencils
Caran d'Ache NeoPastel oil pastels
Holbein oil pastels
Sennelier oil pastels
Sandable Hard Gesso
Absorbent Ground
Caran d'Ache water soluble crayons

I also like to use 300# smooth (hot press) watercolor paper.

Mentoring Workshop at ACA

Last week I was at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, FL, with twelve mentoring students. This is an independent study workshop, in which everyone (including me) works on her own work, and I offer individual critique and facilitate group discussions. We used the dance studio, which has beautifully high ceilings, lots of natural light, and plenty of space for us each to have an 8'x8' wall to work on.

Here are a few studio shots:

A couple shots of my workspace:

And some of my works in process:

24"x24" on panel

20"x20" on canvas

36"x36" on canvas

24"x24" on panel

20"x20" on canvas

36"x36" on canvas

19"x25" on paper

19"x25" on paper

19"x25" on paper

19"x25" on paper

19"x25" on paper

19"x25" on paper

I began by working on larger canvases and then smaller canvases and panels. Then, for the last two days I worked on paper. For the whole week most of us (including me) worked on multiple pieces at once. Our housing and meals were right there on campus, so we had no obligations other than to paint!

Late Stages of a Painting

This piece is 20"x20" on wood panel. It has gone through many stages in a previous life, and then resurfaced to take a new direction. Here is the latest:

This is many layers after it came out of hiding.

Flattened out the top area with a grey-green

Added a bit of gray pattern in the middle and emphasized the gray circle on the right.

Painted over the drippy over in the top right, marked the gray circle with graphite and paint, and added some orange stripes inside the big orange orb on the lower left.

Toned down the gray circle on the right. Looks like I also tweaked the turquoise.
This may be done, or very close. 

From Sketchbook to Canvas

This is just one painting in process that I've begun using my sketchbook page as a starting point.

This work in progress is 36"x36".  It may change completely as it evolves, but you can see the influence of the sketchbook exercise in it.

This is the sketchbook page that I created as a "mood board" for the painting.

I never work on just one piece at a time, so I do have other paintings in the works that are similar in feel to the above. The one shown here is the one that most directly reflects the sketchbook starting point. I have no idea where it is going!