Living Cafe

A new cafe has opened up in the busy Steveston Village area of Richmond, the Living Cafe, and I have just delivered a painting to them for exhibit in their new space.  This is a great spot that offers gluten and peanut free options alongside vegan and paleo options.  As they have just opened their doors the full menu is not yet available but it is growing and to have another business that supports local artists is fantastic.

If you are in the Steveston area go by and check them out:

Living Cafe

#240 - 1240 Second Avenue 

Richmond, B.C.     V7E 3L8

604-441-3663

Facebook /mylivingcafe

The piece I have on exhibit at the cafe is "Blossoms on Blue - panel" and is available for purchase for $155.00

New Work: "Periwinkles Creeping"

I recently finished up a few new pieces for the Burnaby Artists Guild Spring Show.  This is one of the new ones.  Another little one, 8" x 8" like "Coastal Strawberries".  I find that size a nice one to work with when I want to do a study of a subject.

Finished project

Here are the finished pieces to the blossom panels that I have been working on.

Commission continuation

Now that the branches are complete for the four panels that I am working on I can begin the blossoms.  I prefer to wait until the branches are finished and dry to the touch as this makes it easier from my end to work on the flowers.  I don't have to worry about putting my hand on the canvas to steady my brush, or that I might accidentally smudge something.

This is an example of how I start each individual blossom.  I use a purple / blue to divide the inside of the flower by marking off the edges of the petals, the dip in the middle of each petal and the centre.

I then use a cleaner brush to gently blend the white of the petal with the purple of the divisions.

I will then go back and add more purple to the original divisions.  I may do this process a few times, gradually darkening the centre area of each flower.  Most of the time the resulting blossom looks quite messy close up, but once I back up a few feet that messiness is not noticeable.  I have to keep this in mind when working on these as I can get in the habit of working very close to the canvas, trying to make the flower perfect from a few inches away.  This is not realistic for a painting as the viewer is likely to be standing at least a few feet away, so while I am working on it I must repeatedly back up and view the work from a distance until I am satisfied with the detail and depth in each blossom from that distance.