Halfway

Following one more critical assessment it is time to separate the sheets that I have painted and remove the first panel so the last one may be set in place and the drawing completed. Having had the experience of ripping pieces by accident in previous undertakings I move more cautiously carefully easing the edges apart. The acrylic paint makes a good glue. I had used a little sticky putty to hold the pieces together. Some of these had received a coat of paint too. Eventually I laid the first panel on the table and went about removing the residue before rolling it up. Stored until the installation day. It takes considerable patience to move and realign the drawing on each panel. I added more clips just to be sure my new arrangement would not move. As I attempted to install the last panel I saw that the grid did not allow for enough overlap, the eight inches are about right to accommodate the irregular edge once it has been cut. I took the panel down and laid it on the table with the intention of redrawing the grid. Once on the table I noticed that I had been lining the other panel up against the wrong marks. I had to laugh. Back up the ladder and the job was done. I stepped back to admire my work. Then it occurred to me. Another occasion for laughter. I had been so proud of my overlap solution. I had even thought of a way to avoid the underlay straight edge which will inevitably show up once the pieces are glued to the wall of the building. There was only one thing I had forgotten….there are horizontal cuts as well. There is no overlap on those…. I am sure there is a solution… there always is.

Slippage

This would not happen using four by eight foot sheets of plywood. I still prefer the fabric. The mural I am working on presently is too large for my support structure so I am doing it in sections. This takes a little planning. I have four of the five panels hanging at the moment. I have finished the gridding and established the center of the piece. I completed the logos and drew the separations from the center to the corners on the left side of the mural. I so did not accurately calculate the time it would take to draw. I had not considered the precision required to copy logos, establish correct proportions and perspective on buildings and the chain link fence. Oh yes, there is only so much leeway that one can get away with on these items. And I forgot about the lettering on the signs posted on the fence….. Sigh. I tried to get away with more than I could on the chain links. In the end dissatisfaction drove me to do better and I now have something with which I am pleased. Integrity is time consuming too. The moment had arrived: I was to cut the adjoining edges. I had decided to do an experiment. The sheets of fabric overlap for about eight inches. This gives me plenty of room to remove the straight line edge following the drawing in order to hide the join. I began to cut the first panel and realized that I had been very fortunate in that the two panels had remained in place during the drawing phase. I was careful to line up the next two panels before cutting while I still had an edge to line up. That is when I noticed the slippage. How am I going to fix this? Well, that remains to be seen. I know one thing: I am not redrawing the logo! Once I have the two and half panels painted I will remove the first panel, move everything over and add the last panel, beginning with the drawing again. I think I will add more clips this time….

Less Traveled

I am back at it again. Lacey patterns created with negative space in between the stems and leaves of the grasses. The hayfever got to me. I chose to sound a retreat and set up my painting station on a small desk in the  corner of my room at the retreat centre. It was sparce, the furnishings, but adequate. I had a bed, a desk and a sink with the window sill wide enough for storing small items like toothbrushes and cleaned paint brushes. I took another antihistamine and sat down. The hours passed quickly as I danced through each space dropping in various colours to create the variety so necessary in landscapes. Yet each negative space relates to another so they appear cohesive. I used a base colour of cobalt blue for the shadow areas and dropped in vermilion orange or burnt sienna, or cadmium yellow or yellow ochre and sometimes red. In the areas of sunlight I used a base of yellow ochre and reversed the process. It is fun watching the watercolour create the magic on the paper. With the en plein air paintings I do in watercolour I now use watercolour pencil to draw. Usually I select a colour complementary to the overall end result and since the forest is predominantly green my favorite drawing colour is red orange. It is in the drawing where I spend most of my time, that is, if I avoid the lacey. Lacey is time consuming and totally engaging. Once the drawing is complete I float base colours in a carefully painted area and drop in others on top watching the patterns form. Lots of fun.

Bastions

I am a rather outgoing, bubbly personality who, some say, likes to dominate the conversation… There were inferences taken when I told some friends that my husband had recommended to me a weeklong silent retreat in the foothills of Cochrane. I am thankful my husband and I usually understand each other and I took his suggestion to heart when I booked my week away last week. A week of silence sounded like just what I needed. It was just what I needed. I would recommend the very comfortable accommodations and grounds of Mount St. Frances Retreat Centre to anyone who wishes to reconnect, relax and reflect. The schedule of prayers, scripture meditation and meals gave some structure to the otherwise free time. I filled my hours with painting ‘en plein air’, reading, walking and just gazing out the window at the beautiful view. The property extends far enough so the invasion of dwellings will not interfere with the panorama of the distant mountains. The spruce and the Douglas fir, hundreds of feet tall, block the development to the north, some of which can be seen through the bastions of peace. My favorite refuge was along the trail in the woods. Some of the trail struggles between hedges of quack grass in bloom. Yes. I bought some more antihistamines and a box of tissues to complete my repertoire. Atchou!