Tag Archives: acrylic on canvas

30 in 30 challenge, Available Paintings, Painting in a day, Small paintings

Orange 3 – 30 paintings in 30 days, #11

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Orange 3, 6"x6", acrylic on canvsas, © 2014 Donna Grandin. $100.
Orange 3, 6″x6″, acrylic on canvsas, © 2014 Donna Grandin. $100.

This is the third painting of my Orange mini-series. It felt a little silly just painting a single orange, but I envisioned a trio, so I needed this one to complete it.

Don’t let its simplicity fool you … each of the paintings I’ve done for the challenge so far – regardless of subject or style – has taken an average of 6 hours to paint. Which is twice as long as I’d hoped, considering each day I also have to spend a few hours photographing the work, editing it in Photoshop, writing the blog post, getting the word out on social media, and then start planning the next painting.

I do enjoy the process – everything except the photography – but I am already feeling a little burnt out and sleep deprived! AND, after working so tightly for the last few paintings, I’m really looking forward to letting loose on something big soon. I do have a 48″x48″ stretched canvas ready and waiting for me to paint next month. Smile.

Here is the collage of all three Orange paintings…

Oranges collage, acrylic paintings by Donna Grandin

See my larger gallery paintings on the Available page on my website. Many of them are currently in galleries in St. Lucia, Barbados or Burlington, ON, but if a gallery is not listed next to the painting, then it could be available directly from my studio in Burlington. Contact donna@bluerootsartstudio.com

30 in 30 challenge, Available Paintings, Painting in a day, Small paintings

Orange 2 – 30 paintings in 30 days, #10

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Orange 2, 6"x6", acrylic on canvsas, © 2014 Donna Grandin. $100.
Orange 2, 6″x6″, acrylic on canvsas, © 2014 Donna Grandin. $100.

When you cut down the center of an orange this way, the view is very unspectacular at first glance. When I stared at it a little longer though, I saw an image within an image.

I won’t mention what that image was, because once you see it, you can’t unsee it – and on your own, you may actually see something different than I did. That is a very common reaction to art.

Feel free to let me know what you come up with though …. donna@bluerootsartstudio.com.

 

 

30 in 30 challenge, Available Paintings, Painting in a day, Small paintings

Orange, 30 paintings in 30 days, #9

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Orange, 6"x6", acrylic on canvas, © 2014 Donna Grandin. $100.
Orange, 6″x6″, acrylic on canvas, © 2014 Donna Grandin. SOLD

There is something simple, and yet striking about the cross-section of an orange. Maybe it is the pattern.

It makes me think of sunshine. In fact, it is a very cheerful image. The colours help, but I think it is also the round shape, the symmetry.

Take a look at my 30 in 30 page, I started it when I first did this challenge in January, but then I added a few new paintings, replacing some that had sold. These make great gifts … birthday, wedding, retirement, housewarming etc.

I will have a selection on display during the Art in Action studio tour – the first weekend of November – come do a little Christmas shopping!

 

30 in 30 challenge, Available Paintings, Painting in a day, Small paintings

Tomato Still-life, 30 paintings in 30 days, #8

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Tomato still-life 3, 6"x6", acrylic on canvas, © 2014 Donna Grandin. $100.
Tomato still-life 3, 6″x6″, acrylic on canvas, © 2014 Donna Grandin. $100.

This is the third tomato painting in this series, they can be hung/purchased individually or as a group.

I don’t think I’ve ever painted tomatoes before, they were fun to paint. So I will probably be doing more fruit and vegetable paintings in the future!

Here they are as a grouping …

Tomato still-life trio, based on original acrylic paintings by Donna Grandin

I really enjoy using Picmonkey.com to create collages with my images. Give it a try, it is so much fun, you’ll want to use it for everything!

 

 

30 in 30 challenge, Available Paintings, Painting in a day, Small paintings

Tomato Still-life 2 – 30 paintings in 30 days, #7

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Tomato still-life 2, 6"x6", acrylic on canvas, © 2014 Donna Grandin. $100.
Tomato still-life 2, 6″x6″, acrylic on canvas, © 2014 Donna Grandin. $100.

Last night I sliced the tomato from the previous painting, and painted this composition. What do you think of fruit & vegetables as subject matter? I’d like to try citrus next. I had a couple more tomatoes in the fridge … but they seem to have disappeared!

One week of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge down, and three more to go – I am so happy to be back to painting every day.  When I am in between projects my to-do list grows into this big monster, EVERYTHING seems important! A regular painting routine gives focus to my hectic day,  helps me put things into perspective, and keeps me (and by extension my family) sane.

Can you relate to this – do you have a creative practice? Or does regular exercise do it for you?

I think gardening and cooking are also great activities for connecting to your inner self, there is a certain amount of repetition which is necessary for getting into that spiritual zone.

Contemplating art can also focus your thoughts, and serve as a reminder of what is important to you. Is it creating delicious, meals, and entertaining your friends and family? Do you grow your own food, or shop at Farmer’s Markets to ensure a supply of healthy ingredients?

I think paintings of fruits and vegetables are appealing because they celebrate both Nature’s bounty, and the comforts of domestic life.

30 in 30 challenge, Available Paintings, Painting in a day, Small paintings

Tomato still-life – 30 paintings in 30 days, #6

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Tomato still-life, 6"x6", acrylic on canvas, © 2014 Donna Grandin. $100.
Tomato still-life, 6″x6″, acrylic on canvas, © 2014 Donna Grandin. $100.

Looking through my digital photographs last night, I could not settle on something to paint. I wanted to do something simple and fast because I was starting late, and the images that were appealing to me were detailed, more appropriate for larger canvases. So I decided to grab something from the kitchen, to try painting a still-life arrangement from life.

The longer I painted, the more I saw to paint. The thing about realism is that it is seductive. I did not plan on doing a realistic painting, but it is such a thrill to add a highlight or a shadow and see the image in front of you appear to have volume, it’s like a magic trick. And the longer you look, and paint, the more realistic the painting becomes.

I will have to make a conscious effort to avoid this tendency if I want to do more semi-abstract art. Some artists put away the paintbrushes to achieve this … working with a palette knife, or another medium.

You’ll just have to wait to see what happens next. I am really liking the idea of working in multiples of 3’s for the rest of the challenge. So, I could do 2 more tomato paintings.

 

30 in 30 challenge, Available Paintings, Painting in a day, Small paintings

Coubaril – 30 paintings in 30 days, #5

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Coubaril, 11"x14", acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $200.
Coubaril, 11″x14″, acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. Sold

It has been a busy “back-to-school” week, every day the kids brought home more homework for ME – an endless stream of forms to fill out, checks to write, shopping to do and appointments to make. So, I am no longer “ahead” when it comes to the challenge.

Today I attended a meeting at Burlington City Hall, to discuss the Culture Days event that I will be participating in on Sept 26, 12-9pm. They are providing me with a canopy, table & chairs, and I will be painting my heart out in public, in front of City Hall! Of course I have painted with people around many times before, but this is the first time I’m going to attempt to start and finish an actual painting with people coming and going (and filming and photographing). And, it’s outside!

It will be a very full and fun day, “featuring activites and performances from musicans, dancers, filmmakers, poets, fine artists, photographers and more!” The Burlington Fine Artists Association plein air group will also be setting up wherever they find interesting spots, to paint the goings on. If you’re in the area, add this date to your calender, I look forward to seeing you there!

Today’s painting is from a photograph I took of the view from my Godmother’s house a few years ago. Coubaril is an interesting neighbourhood in St. Lucia, as a child I always felt as if we were going somewhere special and magical when we entered the area. The trees form a canopy overhead and the road is narrow, so it is like you are going through a tunnel.

Anyway, many of the houses are on sloped properties, and there are also a lot of these black rocks in the gardens. I’m glad I don’t have to cut their lawns, it must be quite the workout. On the other hand, as a kid, it is great for playing hide and seek!

 

Available Paintings, Landscape

Moody landscapes – new acrylic paintings

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Behind the garden gate, 30"x40", acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $1800.
Behind the garden gate, 30″x40″, acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $1800.

This painting is inspired by a photo shoot I did at The Pink Plantation House Restaurant in St. Lucia. The family that owns the property have both cooking & gardening in their blood it seems. They also know that maintaining the gorgeous gardens brings value to their business just by adding to the atmosphere. You can’t help but have a positive experience surrounded by all that nature. And, as with their other businesses, the artwork of one sister Michelle Elliot can be found all over.  This is just one of the places I visit when I go home to St. Lucia, to gather inspiration and reference photos for my paintings.

Perception, 24"x36", acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $1400.
Perception, 24″x36″, acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $1400.

This is actually another view from the grounds of The Pink Plantation House. There is just something nostalgic about a tire swing.  What memories or feelings does it bring up for you?

Stepping out, 30"x36", acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $1600.
Stepping out, 30″x36″, acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. SOLD

This view is looking out of the original stone archway to the King Louis XVI mineral baths at the Diamond Falls & Botanical Gardens in St. Lucia. I love these old stone buildings, especially the ruins, covered in tropical foliage. Not for what it stands for … the turbulent history of man on the island … but for the reminder that Nature overcomes by outliving us all.

If I’m looking at the same landscape that my ancestors did hundreds of years ago (I belong to the 5th generation of my family born in the Caribbean) … then it puts all the fuss & worry over everyday modern life into perspective.

We are but flowers blooming for a short time on this planet.

Let me know what you think of the recent landscapes, I think of them as moody or magical, someone said “dreamy”.  I am enjoying this expressive way of painting, compared to my more realistic paintings of hibiscus etc. It is nice for me as an artist to be able to go in either direction, depending on my subject and my mood.

 

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