It's been great fun....

...in the studio this week, with more to come.  Good friend Meg Nicks has been here from Canmore and she's a tearaway with a paintbrush!

She's started half a dozen canvasses, 

stained some papers, 

and started a plastic wrap canvas to boot.  I can hardly wait for her to pull the plastic off as it's one of my favourite techniques and Meg is experimenting with heavy body acrylics on it.

 Meanwhile I did some more work on the 3 x 4 panel,

and it's starting to look much livelier.

We've got two more days together, so I can hardly wait to see what evolves from this whirlwind visit.  It's a pleasure to share the space again, and to watch the master in action!

What a colour-full week this has been!

I received a fabulous package in the mail from my dear friend Meg Nicks in Canmore, filled with a plethora of mouth-watering hearts and a gorgeous card, as well as a poster of Canadian birds for John.  What a wonderful lift it was!

There are dozens of magical abstracts in these hearts, aren't there?

I've been adding bits and pieces to my recently-constructed books this week, from securing them to decorating which added some more colour.

As always, the feast goes on and on, and I consider myself fortunate indeed.  How about you - where did you find your fortune this week?

Colour drooling...

 is always part of my day, and it was a constant over the weekend.  With Alice Saltiel and Meg Nicks (along with their hubbies) in situ, I got my fill.

We got a foil demo from Meg as she worked on this piece

Meg's foil demo

Foil demo close-up

 and I turned my test blobs into flowers. 

Alice's request to start with (before Meg and Paul arrived) was a spate of paper painting.  I somehow missed getting photos of any of hers, so I took one of mine.  We were going to do this every evening as we finished for the day, but that plan flew south with the geese.

After long days in the studio, it was time for a glass or two!

Meg starts happy hour

Meg is the queen of texture as you can see from this work in progress.

I (again) neglected to get a photo of this lovely plastic wrap background when finished, but it was awesome.

A too-pale combination background of cobweb and plastic wrap begged for a redo, so I slathered on some paint and did a plastic wrap of my own.  I wonder what will happen with this background...

We leaf printed up a storm (Bill included),

Alice and Bill are leaf printing

Lear printing on top left - first print on the gel plate
Top right direct printing with painty leaves
Bottom centre - ghost or haunt print from gel plate

Had I been the least bit on the ball, I would have dozens of photos; the production was prodigious and the experimentation wild.  I'll be testing techniques for months as I integrate all that learning!

And on another note, I get to tell you that the winner of the draw on September 15 was Angela!  Given she's halfway around the world, I suspect that one of the 8.5. x 11" pieces will be on the way to her soon!  Thank you all for playing along, and feel free to send any more love quotes you find; they will come to a good end, I suspect!

Happy week all you artsy people - feel free to drop a comment and let me know what's up in your art world! 

Art friends...

...are the best!  These past four days were chock-a-block full of experimentation, food, wine, laughter, colour and extraordinary fun, not necessarily in that order.

Alice Saltiel and Meg Nicks , along with their other halves, 

Meg, Win, John,  & Paul watch Bill pull a Gelli print (Alice is behind the camera on this one)

spent the last few days in Creston, where we crammed in as much studio time as possible. Alice and Meg, both consummate artists, demonstrated some fabulous techniques and, as always, I learned a ton from each of them. We traded stash supplies, tips and new and exciting products.

Alice painted and tested an embossing technique (to say nothing of creating some luscious backgrounds):

while Meg primarily worked on her fabulous organic paintings in preparation for a 20-minute  upcoming paint-off benefit.

She got a bit of time to add layers to some other paintings-in-progress and tested the embossing technique as well (missed a photo of that).

We also managed a walk over to Skimmerhorn Winery to check out how the grapes were coming along (really!!!),  

a fabulous lunch at Real Food Cafe, and several other food comas. In other words, we got down and dirty in Creston, BC.

Meg and Alice

As always, it was sheer delight and I look forward to a return engagement.

Crackle...

...I'm in love with it.  Kroma Crackle is such a wonderful creativity tool, I'm seriously considering buying it by the case.

I was introduced to it by Meg Nicks, co-owner of the Sunny Raven Gallery in Canmore, and she's got me hooked.  This particular piece is partway dry (the dark splotch in the top middle is Kroma Crackle still wet from the bottle over top of black gesso), and it has me mesmerized already.  It's on a lamp base I scored at Gleaners for $ .50 - John has replaced the fittings and I'm playing decorator.

I've used this crackle  in several pieces, and love the width of the crackle lines, which clearly show the colour underneath.

'Confluence' detail 

'Confluence' mixed media on cradled wood panel 10" x 8"  © Win Dinn

The dried crackle, once fixed with liquid medium, readily accepts drybrush, Inka Gold, and other juicy colour.

'Treasure Box' detail  (Full view here)

When heated during the drying process, it provides additional gnarly texture.  In fact, the only drawback to this tool is the comparatively slow drying time (the top piece is in its second day of drying), and for the results garnered, even I'm patient enough to wait!

'Islands in the Sun' mixed media on cradled wood panel  © Win Dinn

I am wondering, however, if it's quite sane to be salivating at the way it looks...is that a 'normal' artist thing?  What's your current favourite toolbox necessity?  Comment below, and let's take a look!

Going out to play...

...is always a fun thing to do, and a weekend trip to Claresholm to visit Alice Saltiel-Marshall and her husband Bill was no exception.  

When John and I visit there, I spend an inordinate amount of time wandering their lovely home, salivating over the artwork and generally soaking up the atmosphere.  Alice's studio, a tiny room (aka The Anne Frank Room) tucked under the stairs in the basement, fairly quivers with opulent colour and visual candy.

As you walk towards the door, the light jumps from the lime green walls to frame a feast for the eyes.

To the left, a shelving unit holds a photo of Bill, a pair of tiny cowboy boots gifted Alice by her muse, Kari Lalek, and a field of butterflies dancing in a painting-in-progress.

On the right, the wall sings with a trio of lilies, a jazzy cat (Alice's own) and a mountain panorama by Meg Nicks.

Around the corner to the right is a shelf hosting more in-progress paintings next to Alice's desk.

The shelf above the desk is another visual feast, filled with colourful tools, photos, mementos and more paintings.

How could one be anything but inspired as one views a collection of the 'who's who' of Alberta fine artists everywhere one looks?

by artist Sarah Kidner

by Alice Saltiel-Marshall

by Alice Saltiel-Marshall

by Liz Wiltzen

I count myself lucky to have spent some time in this wonderful studio while we visited, although I must admit I spent much more time viewing than playing.  Watch for some studio action in the next post.