Genlisae

Done a bit more work on this one. Have just started the glazing to detail the flower petals with a long way to go yet.

I ran out of white just as I started the flower. This was not a good thing. It seems all our local stores have been put out of business by a certain craft store chain while the local branch of this craft store has nerfed their stock of acrylics. I met another lady there when I went in for more paint and we both ended up just kind of standing there shaking our heads and saying “All I wanted was a tube of titanium white!”

This lead to something of an online paint adventure. I didn’t have time to order it, couldn’t gaurantee anyone would be home to receive the order what with daily trips 85 kilometers away to visit my brother in the hospital. It was all looking very dismal.

Then I found Island Blue, conveniently located a mere 9 kilometers from Victoria General Hospital. Along with their very well stocked supply of the usual suspects for high quality acrylics, acrylic pigments, mediums, brushes, easels, supports,  etc. They also have a wonderful private label, made in Canada, very reasonably priced and they ship for those times I am not in a rush and just can’t make it down to Victoria.

I went in for a simple tube of titanium white and left with a mixing set of velvety smooth, medium body Island Blue acrylics, two brushes and a bottle of glazing medium for less than I would have paid at the craft chain store for 3 tubes of paint!

The entirety of the flower has been painted with the new paint and I am loving it.

I am a very happy painter today!

I have learned to paint water droplets!

Last week, my brother suffered a massive cerebral aneurysm. Thankfully after hours upon hours of surgery he is expected to recover. His personality will most likely be altered and he has lost some motor function however, he is alive and moving about so really he is very lucky.

In my typical fashion of distraction rather than panic, I started this painting. 16 x 20 inches on Canvas Board.

This is a rather ambitious project for me. I have never even attempted to paint water droplets before. I struggled with one drop all day (10+ hours) yesterday and hated what I had done. this morning I painted over it and tried again. It worked!

I wish I could share the “big secret” but there isn’t one. Just had to wrap my head around what I was seeing in the reference and then simplify it to get the essence of the water.

Once finished, this painting will be a gift for my brother. He has a long road ahead of him and much of it in hospital. Something cheerful to look at while he recovers.

Transcendence by =genlisae on deviantART

Yesterday, I mentioned a discussion taking place on the WetCanvas forums regarding child prodigy artists. Are child prodigy artists really all that gifted or just children practised in their medium? It is an interesting debate.

As a study, members of the forums where posting paintings their children had created. My daughter was eager to “show the world what I can do” and created an abstract painting. I created a work-in-progress slide show depicting her creating “The Science Project” (which can be seen here).

At the end of the presentation, she set to work on a second abstract which she has titled “The Present”.

Now presenting the completed works!

The Science Project

The Present

Is she a prodigy? I have no idea and wouldn’t put that sort of pressure on her if she were. I do know she has an incredible eye for colour though and I would never dream of discouraging her creative efforts.

There has been some debate over on the art forum I frequent (http://www.wetcanvas.com) about “child prodigy” painters. Quite a fascinating topic. you can read the discussion here and here.

I know my daughter is very creative, the question was raised “Could your kid paint that?” in regards to abstract art witn intent.  So my daughter set out to find out! Wedged in the corner between the water cooler, the birds and the recycle bin (hey it’s where I paint as well!) she set to work with acrylic paint on watercolour paper.

I recommend full view on the following slide show.

*note* She has Strabismic Amblyopia, thus the eye patch. It is helping immensely, and the vision in her weak eye has improved greatly in just a month.

The Making of “The Science Project”

May the new year bring you contentment,
and the old take with it your woe.
May joy be your constant companion,
and follow where ever you go.

Greetings – 2009 by ~genlisae on deviantART

My daughter saw her first snowflake tonight; she will be eight years old in 3 months.

Now it’s not that it doesn’t usually snow here, far from it, it snows every winter. It has been snowing for the last several weeks off and on. We currently have over 2 feet of snow with another 8-14 inches expected tonight and tomorrow. My daughter has been out playing in this snow since it started.

Yesterday, I sent her out to `go play in the fractals`.

`Mom` she said, `you are a dork, snow isn`t fractals!` That was when I realized that out of all the time she has spent playing in the snow, she has never actually seen a snowflake. continued

I have always been an artist at heart. Somewhere along the way the idea that artistic endeavours were a waste of time and “not what grown-ups do” got embedded in my brain and that is the place I have been working from ever since. That place no longer feels comfortable to me. Actually, it never did.

I am taking a new direction, and this website will be taking a new path with me.

Thank you to all who read and commented previously. Your words have been safely stored for an archive to come in the future. I hope you will join me in this new direction. Your support is, as always, very much appreciated.

Here’s to new beginnings, taking chances and most importantly, believing in yourself. Because if you can’t believe in yourself, you can’t believe in anything.