August 31, 2010

Patience is a virtue

So, you're probably wondering where I'm at right now with my Montreal 2 piece. Well I've completed all the photo sorting yesterday and all the material is at the copy store right now so come tomorrow it will be all about the gel again, which is actually pretty good timing wise because we're having a house guest till next tuesday so not much creative time to be had then, but I can slip in some gelling. Next well we'll be heading for the Netherlands for about a week so the gel will be nice and dry when I get back so I can finish my piece then. I know, I know, not as fast as you were hoping but you know what they say, good things come to those who wait and I promise, the waiting will be worth it! And who knows, I might even have time to visit some nice Dutch cities and shoot some material there for a future piece.

August 26, 2010

Montreal 2

Last week I spent an entire day strolling through Montreal taking pictures for my second piece on this city. This is part of an experiment I started when I moved here, I will be making 3 pieces of this city over the time period that I spent here, each time I will make a new batch of picture to work with. The goal is to see how my view on this city changes over time, already I took more pictures this time and I went to more specific spots that have meaning to me now that I've been here a year and a half. My tour through the city last week was therefore a bit longer then I had in mind, I started out at ten in the morning and walked till 4 in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day so it was an amazing experience, Montreal is a beautiful city that has a lot to offer, it has amazing architecture and very charming little streets. The thing about Montreal I found out in this past year is that you really have to know the spots, some things look awful from the outside but when you get inside there's this beautiful restaurant or great little patio. Montreal's most charming spots are hidden and you really have to get to know this city to get the most out of it. That's also why this is a great little experiment, because it means that each piece I do on this city will be like uncovering more of her secrets. No time like the present I say! Let's start Montreal 2!

August 24, 2010

Quebec City


I finished Quebec City yesterday, that was quite a journey that piece! It has a lot of different elements and details but I think it has paid off. I'm very happy with the result, I love how it gives you a glimpse into the city without going there. It is like all these murals they have in the city where you can peek into peoples homes. This piece gives you a chance to peek into the lives of ordinary people on the streets of Quebec city, doing ordinary things. Because it has so much detail you can look at it endlessly and discover new things about it. It was even like that for me when I was creating it, because I had used so many different photographs I kept discovering little details I had not seen before. That's why I love creating these pieces, they're give me the opportunity to journey back to a place I've visited and discover it in a whole new way, taking in so many more details that pass you by when you're just walking past them. So it's not just a journey of creation, it is also a journey into my memory and into the unknown. I snap so many pictures when I'm on a trip, and I take them quite quickly so I catch things on camera that I didn't even notice at the time. 
Quebec City is like a fairytale town. It has an old citadel which was built high on the cliffs looking out over the Saint Lawrence river. When you walk past here and look out over the old town you see Chateau Frontenac, a proper castle in which you almost expect to catch a glimpse of Cinderella or her handsome prince.  And this is just the first glimpse, this city has a whole range of buildings that excite your imagination. Well placed murals offer you glimpses into past and present, offering the opportunity to do what we all like best, sneak a peak into other peoples homes. All in all the perfect city for me to explore.

August 23, 2010

Not quite finished yet...

Ok, so I haven't quite finished 'Quebec' yet but I'm close. All pieces are in place and it's down to the painting bit. It's just that it's a pretty big piece with loads of different elements that there are many details that have to be painted in so that;s why it is taking a bit longer. I am pretty confident that I can finish it today though. I will just have to because I want to be able to start another piece this week and get it into the gelling phase before the end of the week. We'll r getting another house guest next week and after that we will be in the Netherlands for 10 days so that's enough hold up already! Got to stop writing now, need to paint!

August 18, 2010

Back in my studio

After all the craziness and the traveling it is finally time to get back into my studio and finish my piece on Quebec. I'm about 2/3rd into cleaning up the gel pieces and attaching them to the canvas. I suspect to be able to finish it today, at least thats the plan now, at 9 am, you never know for sure with these things. It is a big piece with loads of elements so I'm probably going to need a lot of time in the painting phase, there's a lot of detail work to be done on it. I do love this part, it's the stage where the whole piece comes together, the phase where I can just loose track of time. All of a sudden it will be 9 pm and the piece will be finished...

August 16, 2010

Price Changes

For those of you who follow my work regularly you might have noticed that my prices have changed. I was represented by a gallery in TX for over two years and they set my prices for me, but in those two years I never sold anything. Now that my time with this gallery has come to an end I have reevaluated my work and come up with a new pricing system that I feel comfortable with and that will stand the test of time. From now on I will be pricing my work by size. Pieces on canvas will be prices higher then pieces on board and prices will be set by medium. I know I have been inconsistent with my pricing and I know that that is a bad thing to do as an artist. I am still new to the art world and I am still trying to find my feet. Recently I have found some clarity about art pricing and how to go about such things so things will be better from now on. I want to thank all of you for being patient with me. From now on my prices will be consistent weather you buy at a show, in a gallery or online. 

Crazy Weekend

Ok, so I've got to tell you guys about my crazy weekend. I spent my weekend flying up and down to San Antonio TX to pick up my art work. As most of you probably know I used to live in TX and I was represented by a small gallery in Corsicana, about an hours drive from DFW. When I left TX in early 2009 I left about 15 pieces at the gallery to be shown. But now it was time for them to come home so I contacted the owner who had since then moved to Rockport, a small village on the Gulf Coast of TX, near Corpus Christi. She picked up my artwork at the gallery and dropped it off at the local UPS store in Rockport to have it sent over here to Canada. It all seemed to go according to plan until I heard that it would cost me about $700,- to have my paintings packed and shipped. Since I don't really have $700,- lying around I decided that it would be cheaper to use some of my collected miles to fly to TX and pick it up myself, so that's what I did.
On friday morning I was at the airport at 4 am to catch a flight to San Antonio, TX. I arrived there around noon, picked up my rental car and drove 3 and a half hours to Rockport where a lovely lady at the UPS store helped me load all my stuff in the car. I then drove all the way back to San Antonio where I spend the night in a hotel in downtown. I managed to grab a quick dinner on the riverwalk before I went back to the hotel, I did after all, have to pack 15 paintings so that I could take them with me on the plane without paying a huge amount for extra baggage.

August 02, 2010

My Dutch Spring project is finished


I finished my Dutch Spring project on Friday so now I can start a new piece while waiting for all that gel to dry. I haven't decided on a topic for my next piece so that will be my next challenge. I will go back to all my pictures to see which project jumps out at me today.