Hidden Exposure

Pastels, 26" x 19", NFS,

Collection of GG

Magical Myra Canyon viewed from underneath trestle # 12. One of the very few landscapes I have painted and what an utter joy it was, for many reasons. The location is very close to my heart as it is a special getaway. Although just 20 minutes away, Myra Canyon is worlds apart with it's majestic beauty and encompassing serenity. Ravaged by the 2003 firestorm, the trestles are magnificently restored now. What a mammoth task and a job very well done. Fortunately I had the pleasure of visiting Myra canyon prior to the fires during my short visit to Canada and with so many trips since then, am still mesmerized by it.

Orange Nude

Pastels, 26" x 19"

$500

Done from a life study. As much as I enjoy working in wide spectrum of colours, limited palette is equally appealing to me. Since the entire surface is so warm, I added one of my favourite colours, ultramarine blue as a colour surprise.

Painting and Seasonal Disorder

Fall is upon us here in beautiful southern British Columbia.
Leaves are changing colours into fiery hues, temperature has dropped dramatically and we are getting less sunlight with cloudy skies and shorter days.
My first winter here, 2004/2005, I noticed something strange about my behaviour. Four or five days without any sunshine, I was a different person, reduced to tears for no apparent reason and a loss of my go-go attitude. Well it must the adjustment process for a new immigrant, I would tell myself and braved on.
Next winter same scenario. Zainab, my daughter had no issues at all with the lack of sunshine. It is then I discussed my sorry state of feeling so low when I talked to friends and aquantences that I discovered seasonal disorder. Having lived most of my life in the tropics, I had no clue of it, thought I had had enough sun for the rest of my life after being in the Arabian desert for more than a decade prior to my move to Canada.
I discovered my solution to seasonal disorder, works great, lists my spirits and ever so simple. I check the weather, if we are heading for a cloudy few days, I start a new painting, sometimes more than one. Painting process for me is so involving and intense that it remains the focal point of my day to day dealings, I am not even aware of the weather. Fortunately here in Kelowna, overcast periods dont last long......... in about a few days the sun is shining again and I end up with new work(s).
Creativity is indeed a gift, delights the soul under every condition.

Myra Canyon - Limitless Temptations

Acrylic on Canvas, 14" x 18"

This painting goes on display on 24 oct, 2008, at Kelowna Art Gallery's 4th Annual Members' Show.

Drawn to the magestic beauty of Myra Canyon, each visit is has been as soul satisfying as the first one for me.
This is a painting within a painting, reflecting the touching vastness that encompasses me inside and outside with no bounderies or borders.
The serene cool hues in the reflections are sharply contrasted with the warm colours in the rest of painting. For obvious reasons, this was painted from a photograph. As with all my paintings, once the topic is selected the next step is the colour scheme. This could be triggered by a random thought, sound, sight, emotion or a long thought process - major players of the palette are rounded up.
Due to my affinity with pastels approach to this painting is similar to that of pastel painting allowing a lot of the base coat to remain untouched. To keep the focus of the painting in the panoramic reflections, including the photographer, treatment of reflections is detailed as opposed to the remainder of painting.

Helen

Pastel on Canson paper, 17" x 22"

NFS

This pastel was selected as a finalist for the Open International Portrait Competition in Toronto in 2003 organized by Portrait Society of Canada.

What a thrill it was to get the notification of the selection. I was still living in the United Arab Emirates and was asked to attend the conference with my entry.

I could write a book about my frustrating ordeal for obtaining a visit visa to Canada. I made three trips to Abu Dhabi, the capital city about 250 km away. Although it was spring season, point to remember is, it was the Arabian desert, temps in high 30s.

Each trip to the Canadian embassy made me more anxious as the date for the conference/exhibition got closer and all my travel plans depended on the visa. Finally, I made it to Toronto, my first ever trip on my own, right in the middle of peak of SARS outbreak. The conference was at Art gallery of Ontario in the heart of Chinatown. I braved it all. My adventurous spirit got me to Kelowna for 10 fabulous days once the show was over. I simply fell in love and made up my mind, if I ever move, Kelowna will be home. The following year, 2004, I made the big move, infact, tomorrow, 12 october will be 4 years for me in Kelwona. I am glad I made the move, perhaps the happiest time of my life.

Pepsi Dude

Acrylic paints on life size fibreglass camel.

Pepsi Dude is one of the 4 camels I painted in Dubai in 2004 for Camel Caravan, a public art project. As the name suggests it was sponsored by Pepsi.

What a memorable experience it is for me to be part of the Camel Caravan. We painted our camels in an air conditioned tent in a park during the harsh summer of the Arabian desert. The organizers, Patricia and Ken Palmer went to great lengths to make the artists very comfortable taking care of our need for meals, coffee, soda, snacks, water, you name it. Up and down ladders, paint splatters in hair and skin, listening to music was the norm, sometimes the day would be as long as 15 hours. There were deadlines to be met as the camels went for auction.

Pepsi Dude was a joy to do, in his jeans and tie-n-dye T-shirt. His bandana and sunglasses put a smile on faces of all that viewed him. Please dont miss his tattoos, Zainab, my daughter had to guide me as to the designs which were "in" as opposed to some random patterns I had in mind.

After the Show

Collage on matt board, 21.5" x 31.5"
$ 950

Today I was informed, "After the Show" was accepted for the show Art Visions 2008.
This show is being organized by the Central Okanagan Chapter of Federation of Canadian Artists.
More than 325 images were submitted out of which 50 were juried for the show starting on 25 oct, 2008.

Dorothy

Chalk Pastels on wet Stonehenge paper,

14" x 21"

$ 300, SOLD

(Dorothy purchased this painting earlier this morning, 7th oct).

This is one of the 3 studies from life I did of Dorothy about four days ago at the Rotary Centre for the Arts here in Kelowna, BC, Canada.

We are a group of painters who get together with a different model for each session and paint in mediums of our choice. As we are passionate about portraiture, anyone is welcome to sit for our 2.5 hour session. There is an interesting display of some of these portraits at the Rotary Centre showing the individual styles of each artist.

Resting

Chalk Pastels on wet Stonehenge paper, 14" x 19.5"

$ 300

Grey tinted, wet Stonehenge printmaking paper used as a surface for this pastel study of model from life. As she gently leaned away from me, overhead lights caught the top of her head, I just had to throw in the orange, the colourist in me couldnt hold back. Flat strokes of white pastel in the background were used to add to the serene mood.

Cats 1

Pastels, 17.5" x 23.5", NFS,

Collection of Dee

A life study of model done up as a character from "Cats" musical. She lay on the platform allowing me to explore this unusual angle for a head study, done on the very enjoyable craft paper.

Flamenco Passion

Mixed Media, 11" x 15",

Commission

When lorely Griffiths commissioned me to do this painting, her only requirements were, size and the theme of Flamenco.

This mixed media is on watercolour paper, started with a wet-into-wet wash of watercolour, once dried, chalk pastels used for finishing. Choice of vibrant reds and sweeping strokes in this montage composition were used to convey the passion of Flamenco.

By the Window

Collage with found paper, 16" x 22"

$ 1,300.

An exercise in patience, is how I describe this experience.

The model again, is Gwyneth, as she sat by her livingroom window.

There is no paint or pastels used in this work, the entire painting was rendered by meticulously sticking pieces of paper on watercolour board. Most of the paper is from magazines and a bit of handmade paper is also used.

Once the initial drawing was done on the watercolour board, the labourous task of getting the right colour in the correct value was undertaken. My worktable looked like a paper shredder dump. With fingers covered with layers of glue, was frustrating and comical at times, as I went about bulding up the image. For some of the smaller pieces of paper on the face, particularly the eyes and spectacles, I had to resort to using a pair of tweezers.

Braving the Desert

Pastels on Canson paper, 18" x 24"

NFS

Rendered in a limited palette. Application of pastels move from very heavy to lose, allowing untouched paper to work into the portrait.

I took a lot of breaks while doing this painting as I didnt want to overwork. I simply walked away from it from time to time and as with most of my works, was done standing at my easle. This eliminates the tendency to fuss over unnecessary details.