…. mackerel sky
January 29, 2016
There is an Old English saying about weather which goes: “Mackerel scales and mare’s tails make tall ships carry low sails”. ‘Mackerel scales’ refers to Altocumulus clouds which (to some) resemble the markings on the sides of mackerel. ‘Mare’s tails’ refers to Cirrus uncinus clouds which–according to the saying–must, like mackerel scales, indicate strong winds, though the two types wouldn’t likely appear together in the same sky.
The subject is taken from a view of the British Columbia coast, beaten down by the effects of storm after storm. Having lived on Vancouver Island at one point, the weather forecast for the most northerly tip seemed to nearly always call for wind and rain which made me thankful we lived on the most southerly end. We received quite enough rain as it was. However, seldom was it ever a pelting, all-out soaking torrent–which made local people say to tourists complaining about the constant drizzle, “Yes, but it’s a dry rain.”
This was painted on treated illustration board.
ocean study
August 22, 2015
For many years I lived in Vancouver, B. C., which is considered one of the top 3 ‘most livable’ cities in the world. One of its best features is being surrounded by water on three sides. On one occasion I was painting a view from Locarno, one of the many beaches, and was suddenly overcome by a summer storm. It seemed to descend out of nowhere.
As I was not going to escape getting soaked, I soldiered-on and managed to get as much as I could onto paper without the deluge completely washing away everything while working.
‘ocean study Locarno Beach‘, Vancouver, 13cm x 18cm (5″ x 7″)
Fortunately I had some sort of makeshift shelter–even so, rain splattered onto the painting as I worked.
Painting on location has its rewards as well as its hazards. In those years, I wouldn’t paint at all unless it was outdoors. I was something of a purist, and felt watercolour was meant to be done on location–its immediacy and qualities almost demand it being put to use that way. But bad knees are what they are, and now I almost can’t imagine having to go do that again–which is really a shame. Working from photographs is not my idea of what watercolour should be about.
standard-bearer of watercolour
August 15, 2015
Touted often as being the most difficult of mediums, and sometimes even as ‘the medium of mediums’, not everyone holds watercolour in such honour. Indeed, oils are deemed the zenith of painting mediums.
‘Blowing the horn’ about watercolour as the ‘medium of mediums’ is a bit rich, perhaps. That is, until one tries to master its elusive qualities and discovers how the more it is controlled, the less it is allowed to be what it is: a medium set free by water.
Perhaps no greater example of the power of watercolour allowed to find its own way through minimum control is by the hand of its greatest advocate, J. M. W. Turner.
‘Incident At The London Parliament’ 1834
“If I could find anything blacker than black, I’d use it” is a quote which highlights Turner’s love for the power of contrast, which is what watercolour achieves spectacularly when the snow white of the paper is allowed to breathe while then bordered by the darkest dark.
‘Duddon Sands’ circa 1825-32 Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851 Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Joseph Mallord William Turner is sometimes referred to as ‘the father of the abstract’. It is possibly due to the apparent pleasure he took in allowing the medium to run wild, catching it back at just the right moment to indicate location.
a Venetian watercolour, ‘Untitled’, JMW Turner
Somewhere there is a story about how Turner was very guarded over letting anyone watch him work. But at some sort of gathering Turner asked a young boy if he wanted a picture of something he liked. The boy asked for a Spanish Galleon, and the artist took him into his studio, and not too long afterwards the boy immerged with a small and perfect depiction of a great ship in tossing waves.
Grilled by others about how the master had gone about producing it, the boy dazzled them in claiming Turner was very fast–almost phrenetic–using one unusually long fingernail to rather frantically scrape and tear at the paper for crests and foam of storm-thrown waves.
painting pickles
May 7, 2015
CAMPING ALONE along the Oregon Coast–that fantastically alive strip of ocean wonders–provided many outdoor painting pickles. . . .
PICKLE #1–mosquitoes and bugs. Surely some art restoration expert somewhere has discovered kamikaze mosquitoes embedded in the impasto of Impressionist art. French curses likely filled the air, Claude spending as much time squashing bugs as trying to capture the light. Imagine the fog of mosquitoes waiting for him up beside those water lilies;
PICKLE #2–the wind. Big, dramatic, vividly-alive ocean waves are that size because of the wind. The wind along the Oregon Coast is permanent and robust. It carries away notebooks, sketch pads, laptop easels, flimsy plastic pallets, kolinsky brushes, art pencils, and tissues. And, as one panics, dashing after them, fresh water rinse containers are spilled (of course, the nearest fresh water source is at the damn parking lot bathroom), and then (naturally) there goes the lawn chair, too–end over end, heading towards the box kite-flying couple smirking at the Mr. Bean imitation. Everything rescued, finally sitting, easel anchored with one determined hand, brush swishing about in the water jar, a sudden gust throws sand over everything, and the stupid tilley hat Christmas present (guaranteed to age a person 20 yrs, whether 25 or 55) is seen sailing out towards the surf, the wind carrying away the muttered sounds of ‘good riddance’ along with it.
PICKLE #3…..time and tides. Outdoor painting (forget this en plein air crap–it’s called painting outdoors) isn’t done in studio time. It’s done in real live time. The tides never stay put. So the grand, thundering waves are either constantly retreating as the scene is being depicted, or–this is nabob of stubbornness–they are approaching at an erratic, yet ever-constant rate, until the-I’m-staying-put painter sees his supplies (pallet, paint box, little stool, brushes, tubes, you name it) suddenly sucked out into the collapsing surf of an unannounced, really big wave–a REALLY BIG WAVE–which is about to be followed by another.
PICKLE #4…..no supplies left…..
cliffs near Newport Beach, Oregon
….. and sketching is suddenly the preferred medium….*sigh*… and geriatric Charlie Brown decides to go find some fish and chips–and a local art supply store.
…..and maybe a therapist. or a bar.
commissioned work . . .
April 28, 2015
I HAVE NEVER TRAVELED to Europe, except through the amazing blogs of those I follow. The countries I have had the privilege of visiting have been confined to Canada (10 of the 11 Provinces); The United States (45 of the 50 states); Israel (1989); Taiwan (2002); and The Philippines (2003,04,05).
OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR’S FAMILY comes from Italy and she went to visit the cities and places which mean the most to her, and asked me to paint a watercolour based on the photos she provided me with upon her return . . .
Campanile de San Marco
33cm x 50cm (13″ x 20″) watercolour on 140 lb. Arches Hot Press Paper
‘Award of Excellence’, Federation of Canadian Artists, 2013
IT WAS A PRIVILEGE being able to work on this scene for it allowed me to be there, even though I wasn’t (smile).
the stuff of watercolour
April 22, 2015
WATERCOLOUR is simply a mixture of pigment (ground-up minerals: organic and synthetic) held in a semi-solid form by a binder (usually gum arabic). In days of yore (not that long ago)–this was sold in little square cubes, called pans or cakes. The pans are ‘activated’ by adding a drop of water to them, causing the gum arabic to dissolve enough for the pigment to loosen and adhere to the brush tip.
TODAY IT IS DIFFICULT (for me) to find the pans, which have only pigment and a touch of gum arabic in them. Today everything is sold in tubes. This isn’t because tubes are so superior. No. It is because the painter gets stuff like water, glycerin, corn syrup, and who-knows-what-else, and only then, some pigment. . .
I HAVE PANS (winsor newton) which are 40 years old and just as good and useable as ever.
DO YOU THINK my pallets are messy? Have a gander at the pallet of one of the most renowned watercolourists, ever–Winslow Homer . . .
FROM THIS MESS he painted this . . .
“Boys In A Dory”, Prouts Neck, Maine, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Winslow Homer, 1873, 25cm x 35cm, watercolour on paper
The only comparison which has any remote bearing is the messiness of our pallets. Other than that, watercolour painters of my calibre only stand in awe of his eternal greatness.
BEFORE YOU GO, do have a look at another of Winslow Homer’s delicious watercolours . . .
“Shore and Surf, Nassau”, Winslow Homer, 38cm x 54cm, 1899, Metropolitan Museum of Art
WOW. This man did not paint over top of washes (except to strengthen the intent of the line) allowing the whiteness of the paper to pass through, dazzling the eye. And adding even more punch, Winslow Homer did not shrink from placing great and deep darks right beside the lightest lights, thus heightening the power of the contrast. What a master. Wow.
ACEOs (Art Card Editions and Originals)
April 20, 2015
ARTIST TRADING CARDS aka ART CARD EDITIONS AND ORIGINALS are popularly known as ACEOs. ACEOs are the size of baseball cards–65mm x 89mm (2.5″ x 3.5″) and are purchased and then traded and sold the way sports cards are. The ACEO movement originated in Switzerland in the 90s but grew in popularity through eBay, where art cards are now sold and bought on a 24hr basis.
They require precision and are very enjoyable to do. But then, who wouldn’t be fascinated by the challenge of painting tiny things (smile). The subject matter can be chosen by the purchaser, and the painting done accordingly.
The Federation of Canadian Artists’ National Show
April 7, 2015
THE FEDERATION OF CANADIAN ARTISTS had its beginnings in 1941, and had as its goal the unified representation of all Provinces through one organization. Canada’s premier artists, The Group of Seven, were instrumental in organizing The FCA, with A. Y. Jackson as the Ontario head, and Lawren Harris in charge of the West Coast region.
TODAY THE FCA has become largely a Western Canadian organization with most of its activity within the Province of British Columbia. The hub is Vancouver [www.artists.ca] with regional Chapters throughout B. C. and Southern Alberta. The Thompson Nicola Shuswap Chapter (which I am a member of) has been hosting two Annual Art Shows for many years, with the 2015 National Show being mounted this coming Wednesday, April 8th.
THE NATIONAL SHOW is open to any qualifying FCA member, but submissions for jurying are limited to 3. Digital images of a member’s work are submitted to Vancouver and juried by three Signature Artists who use a point system to arrive at which pieces will be accepted and which will be declined. Of the 130+ digital entries, only 85 pieces are selected for inclusion into this National Show.
MY OWN SUBMISSIONS (two) have been juried, one being accepted–
‘Approaching Storm, Sechelt’, 25cm x 35.5cm (10.5″ x 14″), Watercolour on board
It is considered an achievement simply to get into this Art Show, while Opening Night, Friday the 10th, will be the occasion when $2800.00 in Prizes are awarded by another set of Jurors for those paintings which stand out as the best of The Best. Only once has a piece of mine ever been awarded a prize.
SENIOR MEMBERS OF THE FEDERATION have these paintings being considered for The SFCA Prize, with only one receiving top honours.
NEARLY ALL THE WORK submitted by artists for these Shows is rendered in acrylics or oils, with some pastel, and a few watercolours, and fewer still graphite drawings. Watercolour, generally, is not the preferred medium of most painters. It is considered difficult and problematic because of its demands and limtations.
Moral: don’t mess with Mother Nature (or the Ocean Man).
~~~~~
Aneleise (Ane) at her Grandparents’, age 8. . .
. . .’why the moon glows’ by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 31, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 30, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 29, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 28, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 27, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 26, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 25, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 24, 2015
……’why the moon glows’, by Ane Jones (age 8)
March 23, 2015
‘Why The Moon Glows’ by Aneleise Jones
March 22, 2015
MY GREAT NIECE, Ane, age 8, was lying around with brother Levi making up another of their stories. Because their parents judiciously decided their home would be television-free, Aneleise, Levi and Caleb make up a lot of stories and sometimes act them out as well. That particular day, I told Ane that if she wrote out a story for me to take home, I would do the pictures for it.
She grabbed some lined notebook paper and a pen. Fifteen minutes later the pages were in my hands in time for Ane to join her brothers going crazy outside in the hammock. So this– Ane’s own grammar and spelling kept intact for future smiles–is her story (which–though made up between herself and her brother–she declared in front of him is OWNED by her)…..
Third Beach
January 19, 2012
Ten percent larger than New York’s Central Park, is Vancouver’s Stanley Park–1001 acres of enormous cedars, Totems, hidden pathways, creeks, ponds, ocean views, as well an amphitheatre and The Vancouver Aquarium. It was named after Lord Stanley, the Governor General of Canada in 1888 (and also the person who donated the famous Stanley Cup for the emerging hockey teams of the day to compete for). Lord Stanley became the first Governor General to visit British Columbia when the Park was being dedicated.
This painting was done on location within the Park while sitting on one of the many available sand-encased logs. The spot is known simply as Third Beach, and looks out towards a very distant (not always visible–and not in this painting) Vancouver Island.
'Third Beach, Vancouver'
It took most of the day, and while there a baby seal washed up on shore. Being tied down to all my spread-out gear, I called out to those closest. Mobile phones weren’t as prevalent then as now, and it took the gathering crowd quite a while before attendants from The Vancouver Aquarium came to rescue the little guy. They have an adoption program which results in a release later on after the animals have matured.
Sunshine Coast
January 11, 2012
Taking the 40 minute ferry from Vancouver one reaches Gibson’s Landing, the beginning of the 85 km. stretch known by British Columbians as The Sunshine Coast. The road leads North towards Alaska, but ends at Powell River–the furthest major city on the coast–and visitors simply have to either turn around and come back, or decide to permanently stay.
This watercolour was painted on location on a section of the Sunshine Coast near the town of Sechelt. The wind was blowing across the Pacific, creating large breakers and bringing in a bank of fog which made it difficult to dry my paper enough to keep going.
"Breakers"
weisserwatercolours 
