Summer Plein Air Tuesdays

I was all set to write my first of six blog posts about my summer "Plein Air Tuesdays" in Ottawa, however, I am sad to report that our first date was cancelled.

Initially, it was the weather that dampened our enthusiasm.

Ottawa weather forecast June 16-29, 2015

But we planned to have our inaugural session at one of our rain locations - the beautiful Rockcliffe Pavillion in Ottawa! It's a beautiful open-air gazebo sitting high on a bluff overlooking the Ottawa River just east of he prime minister's residence. It was constructed in 1917 and is a "recognized" Federal Heritage Building because of its historical, architectural and environmental values.

Source: Wikimapia

As it turned out, the rain actually held off but the class was cancelled nonetheless for reasons beyond anyone's control.

Because I was fully packed and ready to go, I thought I would devote this blog post to writing about my plein air supplies.

My General Supplies

My french easel and backpack loaded and ready to go!

• a collapsible stool for full days of painting. 
• an umbrella for protection from the sun, or rain. 
• a backpack that has water in sealed containers (if not near water), hand wipes, insect repellant, sunblock, my Tilley hat, sketch supplies, spray bottles, paper towels, garbage bags, lots of bungee cords (to strap umbrellas, hold papertowels etc)  

My Palettes

My two palettes

Palette #1: Liquitex Heavy Body

• Hansa Yellow Medium PY73 WARM 
• Napthol Red Light PR9 WARM 
• Quinacridone Magenta PR122 COOL 
• Indanthrene Blue PB60 WARM 
• Phthalo Blue green shade PB15 COOL 
• Burnt Umber PBr7 WARM Phthalo 
• Green yellow shade PG36 COOL 

Palette #2: Winsor & Newton*

• Ultramarine Blue PB29
• Dioxazine Violet PV23 (*Golden)
• Cadmium Yellow PY35
• Cadmium Orange PO20
• Perm Alizarin Crimson PR177, PV23
• Cadmium Red Med PR108
• Ivory Black  PBk9

For the planned grey rainy day, I had chosen palette #1 so that I could experiment with these three grey formulas:

Three "Rainy Day" Grey Formulas 

Titanium white added to:

Burnt Umber PBr7 + Indanthrene Blue PB60 

Quinacridone Magenta PR122 + Phthalo Green yellow shade PG36 

Napthol Red Light PR9 +  Phthalo Green yellow shade PG36 

Sketchbox tools

Portable Painting Easel

I have two french easels and this is my smaller, newer version that was a gift from my family. It is not as worn as my older, larger french easel. I thought about purchasing the newer lightweight tripod easels,but I actually love old french easels and doubt I will ever change.

My french easel and collapsible stool
(attached by a bungee cord)

Backpack

My backpack is quite heavy to carry with every pocket bulging. But it makes walking and climbing and descending so much better with free hands. I witnessed a scary tumble at the Kilbear plein air outing last fall because someone was descending a rocky path and had no free hands!

My bulging backpack!

Between now and next Tuesday, I hope to venture out with my ready-to-go supplies.

Weather permitting?

FemArt: In Appreciation of Emily Carr (1871–1945)

 Emily Carr in San Francisco,
(age 21 or 22, c1893.)
Photograph:Royal BC Museum, BC Archives

While researching 1945 newspaper archives online today, I came across this lovely article about Emily Carr in the Windsor Daily Star. She had passed on earlier in the month of March and writer Valerie Conde paid her tribute.

"Canadian culture suffered a serious blow this month in the sudden death of Emily Carr, famous Victoria painter and writer who won belated recognition as one of the Dominion's most original and important artists."

Emily Carr was 73 when she died and it "was not until she was 60 that public opinion began to appreciate the value of her work"

I have gathered pictures of Emily with her beloved pets and animals, two of my favourite Carr paintings,  and I have also included the rest of the 1945 Windsor Star newspaper article below.

Source: The Windsor Daily Star - Mar 24, 1945

Emily Carr raised sheep dogs to make ends meet
Photo Source: The Guardian website
"Prince Pumkin, Lady Loo, Young Jimmy, Adolphus the cat, Kitten, Chipmonk, and parrot & self in garden at 646 Simcoe St., 1918", (Emily Carr and pets), 1918  British Columbia Archives  C-05229

Arbutus Tree c. 1909

 Indian War Canoe (Alert Bay), 1912

Sources & Links

Newspaper article: The Windsor Daily Star - Mar 24, 1945

Photo of Emily Carr: Emily Carr House

Emily Carr at Dulwich Picture Gallery – in pictures

Emily Carr Quote: Painters Keys

Emily Carr with her Dog, 1930
Source: McMichael Website

Emily Carr is interred in the Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria

The History of Plein Air Painting

I was delighted to find a plein air painting video (embedded below) online today. It tells the history of plein air painting in forty minutes. The documentary focuses in large part on America plein air artists and I especially enjoyed the history of the Hudson River School.

I will devote an entire blog post to the historic Canadian plein air artists at a later date.

"Outside The Lines" narrator Walter Fari says, "What started a hundred years ago when men and a few women took their easels outdoors to paint has turned into a huge world wide movement today."

Quote from Plein Air documentary

Enjoy this inspiring documentary on plein air painting. (From the Publisher's of PleinAir Magazine.)

Ottawa Plein Air Painting - Summer 2015

I have been bitten by the "plein air painting" bug. I love that plein air painting takes me outdoors for hours at a time and that my painting skills are challenged. I love that you must paint very quickly to catch the light.

Me carrying my plein air gear last fall
(Source: Top blog posts from 2014

My Plein Air Teachers

I have been blessed with the amazing generosity of some great plein air painting teachers in my life:

• Miss Kertesz at Caledon Hills in the fall
• John Alexander Day in Ottawa
• Helen Walter and Keith Thirgood of Wilson Studios at Killbear
• David W. Jones in the Ottawa Valley

I have registered for my first ever "Plein Air Paint Out" this August (2015) and I am both nervous and excited.

Links from the video worth visiting:

• Anastasia Dukhanina 
• paintoutside.com by PleinAir magazine

"Value Does All The Work - And Colour Gets All The Glory"

Below is a quote that I have pasted into the front of my Strathmore toned paper sketch book as a reminder to never skip the basics:

"Value does all the work
and colour gets all the glory"
(author unknown)

Patterns: focus light, focus Dark, light "baby" and light "mama".

Group 1 Value Patterns grid

I created this little grid in my Strathmore toned paper sketch book to remind myself to play with the value pattern configurations. The value patterns are the "bones" of the painting.

Often when I am feeling quite lost, or if my painting is losing what I was aiming for, a quick review of my value sketch is incredibly helpful and quickly puts me back on track.

My art journal: Practice sketches

My art journal: Practice sketches

My art journal: Practice sketches

My art journal: Acrylic sketch based on value sketch

Links to Other Artist's Pages

• Color Theory - Tonal Value (***)
• Book: "Your Artist's Brain - Finding interesting value patterns in your photos"
• Book: "Watercolor Simplified - Value Painting from a Sketch"
• Artist David Kessler; Value Studies: The Artist's Essential Tool
• Artist Jim Oberst: Artist Tip #18 - Design Guidelines: Value Patterns, Part 2
• Artist Linda Blondheim: some tips about using Notan to find values
• Blog: Making A Mark: Composition - why tonal values and contrast are important (***)
• Blog: Making A Mark: Sally Strand's Val -U - Viewer
• Blog: Watercolorists of Whatcom: Tonal Value Pattern
• Blog: Life Plein Air: Observation 7: Value Values

(***) My favourites

Tools from my sketch kit

Welcome Halfway Month of the Year - June!

Art journal illustration: water colour and ink
Cindi Moynahan-Foreman

I love the above quote from L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables: 28 A June Evening.

I also love the following quote by Aldo Leopold:

Aldo Leopold: author, scientist, ecologist, forester, conservationist, and environmentalist.

More quotations for the month of June for poetry lovers, gardeners, artists, walkers, etc

The Essential "Fallow Times"

I have just realized that my last blog post was March 31, 2015. Two months ago!?

Excerpt from my art journal
(mixed media)

Thankfully, it was not the last time that I opened my art journal(s) to sketch.

"My Guest House" April 2, 2015
Art journal (graphite and water colour)

My art journal pages for the last two months have been quite scant. This happens to all artists every now and then for a number of reasons. In my case, these past two months have been periods of great transition and all my energy was needed elsewhere.

Artist Quote: Catherine Stock

After reading a review by ParkaBlog I decided to purchase, "Daily Painting: Paint Small and Often To Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Artist"


This book is fabulous and I cant wait to get started!

It has only been in very recent times that my lifelong practice of daily creating has been put on temporary  hold. And that's okay.

Artist Quote: Emily Carr

Artist Quote: Georgie O'Keefe

I feel the "fallow times" drawing to an end. Now I must go and sit with Carol Marine's inspiring book and a cup of tea! And see what happens next!

My Art Journal: "Me and My Bookshelf"
(water colour and ink)

Artists and Their Canine Muses

Art journal sketch: "Lexie's First Snowfall"

This week's blog post is dedicated to exploring the subject of artists and their pet muses, particularly of the canine variety.

The word "muse" (myo͞oz) has its origins in Greek mythology. The Greeks believed that inspiration or "enthusiasm" came from the muses. "Muse" today is generally used to describe a source of inspiration for an artist. 

"Throughout history, artists have been inspired by the presence of certain other beings in their lives that motivated them to create their best work."  (Source: Alison Nastasi,'s Artists and Their Cats)

Many books and articles have been written about artists and their canine and other pet muses. (See my links at the bottom of this page and make sure you visit the blog www.oscaratemymuffin.com)

My Canine Muses

My art journals are filled with sketches of my black, chocolate and yellow labrador retrievers over the years: Willow, Codie, Bo and Lexie.

April 5: "Rainy Day" Bo and Don
Art journal sketch

Bo, pictured above at thirteen, grew quite ill in his later years. He stopped climbing the stairs to lay at the foot of our bed. He stopped running and playing. He never complained though. We kept him as comfortable as we could. We kept him in this world longer than we should have because we couldn't imagine life without him. After he was gone we believed that no other dog could ever replace him.

Then, there was Lexington...

Then Lexington (Hatja and Bauer's puppy now known as "Lexie") was born on the 6th of April 2012 in Arthur, Ontario and life has not been the same since. She is my constant companion, my muse and the frequent subject of many of my daily sketches.

Lexie and me sketching
Art journal sketch: Beauty Triumphs

As I work on my art, solitary, silent, and relatively still, Lexie is there, sometimes on top of me as  I sketch and paint. She is always by my side. My daughter is constantly taking pictures of me with Lexie - usually when I am not looking - and I love to sketch those precious moments into my art journal later.

Lexie thinks she's a lap dog!
(Art journal sketches)

Lexie snoozin'
(Art journal sketch using marker)

Ex Libris from my art journal
featuring Lexie

"Dogsitting" (art journal quick sketch)
Lexie and her bestfriend Samson

November Comes: "Lexie Walk"
Art journal sketch (graphite & watercolour)

My children have known only a brief period of time when our house was without a dog. Every other day of their lives, a dog was their constant companion, source of comfort & unconditional love and protector.

Art journal sketch: "Wisdom Teeth"

Art journal sketch "Snoozin"

Best in Show Art Exhibition

  Canine Muses Elsewhere

• FemArt: Beatrix Potter's Animal Muses
• Artists and their animal muses
• Artists and Their Doggie Muses
• Famous Artists and Their Dogs
• Cesar Milan's: "600 years of dogs in art"
• Cats and Dogs With Their Favourite Humans
• The Gate: The model as the muse
• Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton, and Emily Brontë 
• Brain Pickings Review: The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs
• Brain Pickings: Dog Songs: Mary Oliver on What Dogs Teach Us About the Meaning of Our Human Lives
• Brain Pickings:Cats, Dogs, and the Human Condition: The Year’s Best Books about Pets and Animals
• Brain Pickings: Three Delightful Poems About Dogs from E.B. White
• Blog: Oscar Ate My Muffin

Lexington ("Lexie") in the backyard
(Winter 2015)

Blessed are the Weird People

Art journal page: watercolour & chalkboard art
Artist: Cindi Moynahan-Foreman

This art journal page was inspired by the chalkboard canvas art below and a 1921 photograph of the Krazy Kat club in Washington. 

I was surprised when my "Blessed Are The Weird People" flickr page received over 6,000 views in less than 24 hours?! It was my daughter who discovered that the photo had been featured on flickr explore (which explains the higher than average viewer count on my flickr page). 

I am so grateful to have it featured on flickr explore and so happy that folks enjoyed my art journal page!

Blessed are the Weird People
Chalkboard Canvas Art
$40 at Dream Weaver

 Krazy Kat club in Washington
(1921)

Smile

Byward Market on Sunday (mixed media)
Artist: Cindi Moynahan-Foreman

"No mud, no lotus"

"No mud, no lotus"
(2009 mixed media)

I have been looking through some older artwork and came across this older mixed media piece that I created after reflecting on a beautiful 2009 Thich Nhat Hanh podcast where he compared lotuses and mud to suffering and happiness.

I found a photograph of a lotus and I loved the pattern of the stems underwater and the colours of the lotus flower and leaf floating on the muddy brown water. I created this using ink, watercolour and gouache.

About the symbiotic relationship between the lotus and the mud, Thich Nhat Hanh wrote:

Excerpt from book: "No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering" By Thich Nhat Hanh

I am troubled by the fact that I haven't managed to do very much painting or sketching lately. I've been stuck in what Thich Nhat Hanh calls the "mud of life".

The good news (according to Thich Nhat Hanh) is that "if you know how to make good use of the mud, you can grow beautiful lotuses".

I hope to be posting more "lotuses" (creating more art) over the next few months.