Gushul Art Residency: Open House

 To Win a Watercolour Sketch painted in the Rocky Mountain Foothills: comment on my blog or Facebook posts during Sept 2015.  I will make the draw the first week in October. Good luck!

Gushul Studio Open House, Blairmore, AB
 Sat, Sept 26 from 4-6 pm
Karen Arrowsmith, myself (Eileen Gidman), and Kristen Lyttle warmly invite you to attend and view their art:
watercolour paintings, painted textiles and Maori weaving

I'm in the third week of my art residency and I continue to paint plein air everyday rain or shine. This week it seemed to be about cows.

The DU ranch has a preserved log homestead on their land. After painting for the morning, it was a delight to walk down the hill to the log cabin for a close up viewing. Can you see the cows far in the distance?

Yesterday, in order to get the cows this big in my painting, I had to sit on the edge of a secondary highway. Amazingly when you are painting, it is easy to ignore the distractions of the zooming vehicles. Someone from Washington stopped to ask for directions and I am happy to say I was able to help them. I'm getting to know this Crowsnest Pass. They didn't even ask to see my painting. Hmmm..... 

This is what I painted today. I thought I would switch the colours up and I chose a split complement: purple with yellow-green and orange-yellow. What do you think?

After a three hour painting stint, look who decided to show up!

Rocky Mountains Plein Air Series: Aspens and Fernie Art Station

To Win a Watercolour Sketch painted in the Rocky Mountain Foothills: comment on my blog or Facebook posts during Sept 2015.  I will make the draw the first week in October. Good luck!

 Completing a Painting on Location:

Yesterday I finally completed a watercolour painting on location. Well... okay it was 99% completed on location. I glazed back a few white trunks in the studio to draw attention to the aspens in the front.

 Monday's Plein Air Painting:

After visiting the Fernie Art Station on Monday, I decided to try a change of location and plein air paint in Fernie. Here is my set up: a folding chair and a TV tray. I was near a well used biking trail and had many bikers and dog walkers going by. Lovely to experience such an active community. 

 

 

This is as far as I got before the rain started. When beginning I thought I would sit for an hour and see how far I could get. Two hours went by before I could even consider it done enough to finish in the studio. I completed the painting in the studio this afternoon.



Title ? (I am open to ideas)
11" X 15" (fits a 16 X 20" frame with mat)
Watercolour by Eileen Gidman

Rocky Mountain Foothill Series: Field Patterns

To Win a Watercolour Sketch painted in the Rocky Mountain Foothills: comment on my blog or Facebook posts during Sept 2015.  I will make the draw the first week in October. Good luck!

Plein air painting in the Rocky Mountain Foothills:

Another longgg... view. The patterns of the far fields were captivating as were the dusty silver coloured shrubs in the foreground. This 11 X 15" watercolour painting is, so far, untitled. I'm happy to hear ideas.

Set Up for Plein Air Painting:

I had a comfortable set up for painting on one of the days last week as the other painter and I were parked along a road and thus close to our vehicle. It was very windy so I huddled down beside the car for some protection. This folding chair has a little table attached which fits my palette and water dish. On the ground you can see a metal case that holds my supplies. Once I get everything out, it makes a nice table for extra things. If I don't take an easel, I rest the board with the watercolour paper taped on it, at an angle, on my knees. To the left of the photo are other essentials: rain coat, water and bear spray!

Dusty silver coloured leaves dotted the foreground so I chose to highlight one of them in my painting.

The fence post was smack right in the middle of my view. Why didn't I move? Well the wind protection the car provided that day was really necessary. After awhile though, I totally forgot about the fence post.

 Another Day's Set Up:

 

A different set up on another windy day. As we packed into this field searching for a view and protection from the wind, we found it was best to sit low to the ground. The one flattish spot, on the side hill where I was, had two dry cow patties on it. I decided it best to place my foam insulated square and my cushion on one and my hard side case on the other. The case on the ground then became a table for my palette. I am pretty sure that was a long john day.

The following paintings, shown in previous posts, are now titled and ready for sale. For further details, email me at eileengidman@kootenay.com

Watercolour painting: 'Nestled in the Rockies' - 11 X 15
by Eileen Gidman

Thank you to the viewer who gave me a title that I think perfectly suits this painting.
Watercolour painting: 'Tree Tessalations' - 7.5" X 11"
by Eileen Gidman

Week 1: Painting in the Rocky Mtns

Watercolour by Eileen Gidman painted on location in the Rocky Mtn foothills
Any title ideas?

 Day six today! The days, of the month retreat, are taking on a routine. Out painting by 9 for about 3 hours. Home for a warm lunch as the days have been very cold and some were rainy. Do you see the snow on the top of the mountain in my painting. That happened this week and there were even a few snow flakes in the valley! The afternoons include a rest period and finishing that morning's painting in the studio. The weather is supposed to be better this week, so the other artist and I plan on getting out a second time in the afternoons.  I might end up with a stack of paintings that need finishing!!!

 

 

This is a photo of the view I was working on today. The watercolour painting is so far from being finished I won't post it. I like the way the tops of the trees show so much movement. I would like to capture that but don't think I have thus far. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

To Win a Watercolour Sketch painted in the Rocky Mountain Foothills: comment on my blog or Facebook posts during Sept 2015.  I will make the draw the first week in October. Good luck!

Day 1 & 2: Painting in the Rocky Mountains

The time has arrived! This is day 2 of a one month sojourn of painting in the Rocky Mountain Foothills. Excitement and trepidation are two of the feelings I've had, thinking about this much anticipated event. Following in the footsteps of former Canadian artists I have admired, I wonder if I can measure up. Not so much painting skill wise, as we are all on our own artistic journey but rather I wonder if will I have the fortitude to maintain the focus necessary to paint continuously? Somehow I've always imagined this is what it takes to be real artist. After one month will I feel the same? Will I stay focused all month?

Day 2 Painting on Location

Photo of the wind tortured tree trunks I've been thinking about painting all year.

Today I turned my paper to a landscape orientation to capture the various layers of the scenery. At some future date, I plan to interpret some of my paintings onto fabric by painting with dyes. With that in mind I want to be cognizant of patterns in the landscape.

 

With this month's blog posts, I hope I will inspire you to start planning your own creative retreat as A. M. did for me.

 

To Win a Watercolour Sketch painted in the Rocky Mountain Foothills: comment on my blog or a Facebook posts during Sept 2015.  I will make the draw the first week in October. Good luck!