Aug 27, 2012

A Still Life Stage

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY
Still Life

The Framework Revealed
Steve, my faithful, underpaid, Art by Wendy employee, has just completed this wonderful still life stage for setting up a still life. (The whole thing is made from ¾ inch PVC pipes and two pieces of plywood.) I found the information and plans for it on Carol Marine’s blog, http://carolmarine.blogspot.ca.  You can buy a ready-made one or watch her free tutorial on how to make your own.  Her husband designed hers and once I saw it I knew my husband would want to take up the challenge.  Of course he made a few changes, as all builders do, but the main principle of Carol’s is with mine.  It is wonderful to have ‘good’ lighting to practice still life drawing with my students and it great for setting up a still life to paint with.  It is not bad for taking a picture of a still life, as well, as you can see from my pictures.  One of the main changes Steve made was to glue the top pieces together and the bottom so it would be easier to move around but the side pieces slip out easily so it will fold up flat like her’s.  Good luck with your Life Stage.
Enjoy the last days of summer and as always matted prints of all my pictures are available for as little as $7.00.

Aug 19, 2012

BUDDY

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY
BUDDY - 5.5 X 7.5 - SOLD
Buddy is one of those cats that the poster “ I learned everything I need to know from my cat” was based on.  He owns the house that my brother lives in up in Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories.  He is an inside cat so he has lots of time to look after the house and to check into everything that happens there!!  My sister-in-law, Cindy, likes to quilt and Buddy feels it is very important to supervise her every move: quality control.  As soon as she heads for her quilting room he is off and running, settling in to a good spot for the day. 
I am on a real cat kick this summer; don’t tell Rusty, my dog.  (Deep down I am a real cat person but because of my allergies I can’t have one as a pet.)  I have one more cat to do and that is Scout, Buddy’s partner in crime.  Scout is all black and will be a challenge.  For black animals you need good lighting for the reference pictures so there are lots of shadows to define the features.  On a winter day up north it is a little challenging to get the right light and Scout was really not all that interested in having a photo shoot when I was there.

 As always matted prints are available of all of my work starting at $7.

Aug 7, 2012

BIG MAN ON CAMPUS

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY
rooster,graphite artists,pencil artist, commissions,farm animals, pet portrait
Big Man On Campus - 5 x 7 - $130 unframed

A beauty eh??  Isn’t he gorgeous, well in a rooster kind ‘a way.  I was out to Kilby Historical Site, near Harrison Hot Springs and this fellow was wondering around on his own, looking for the hens I guess.  His walk and manner just seemed to say “I am the head honcho” and of course I had to photograph him.  It was great fun drawing him.  I was working on him down at the Painter’s Square at White Rock and I guess it seemed a little funny to be drawing a rooster at the beach but you know sometimes you just have to do that drawing no matter what . . .  !
If you are out in the Fraser Valley, check out Kilby Store and Farm, it is a reminiscent of the early 1900’s and actually built in 1908.  The store is on stilts, probably more than 10 feet in the air as it was a train station for the Harrison Mills area and had to be up high because of the yearly flooding of the Fraser River.  Today of course, with the dike systems,  it doesn’t flood.  I have been involved with Kilby for 7 years now, they use a number of my pictures for their promotions and I have a nice display in their gift shop and cafĂ©.  http://www.kilby.ca
As always matted prints are available of all of my work starting at $7.