A few more shadowboxes....

I thought of this too late but I should have used plexiglass rather than glass so that these could be easily shipped to my online buyers. As well, I've added a sheet of Masonite on the back behind the foam core to give stability and firmness to the back inner seam.

 

These 2 pieces are currently at www.impresariomarket.ca , email info@impresariomarket.ca    It's a cool little art shop in Cobourg, Ontario, 37 King Street West...right on the main street. Look in if you in the area!

Morning Near Ida

 ...many of these roads are wonderful to travel. You never know where you will end up, and you find some beautiful properties...even better if you find a Saturday garage sale with some rare books. These hills are always enchanting....in this case the sliver of light green on the distant hill was compelling. Acrylic on matteboard gessoed both sides, 8 x 8 inches.

Little Trailer (SOLD)

 ....the shock of some white in the fresh green of early summer....yesterday the trailer was there...today it's gone. Acrylic collage painting on unprimed single ply matte board, 8 x 9.5 inches.

Rice lake Morning, North Shore

Rice Lake in the glorious, still early days of summer! 9.5 x 10.5 inches, acrylic on single ply matte board.

Morning Light, 2 versions

Sometimes they are a bit more abstract, sometimes a bit more realistic, or closely matching a visual reality....it matters not. It's all part of the same thing. You live and you receive sensations...you notice things.....so many in a day....and in some ways these sensations ARE the day. The picture making is one way to reference something that has gone on that seems worth noting. The picture is not a record, or an equivalent, but there is a relationship between the experience and the making. It seems important to not say too much and box yourself in......or at least it is an advantage to be able to get out of your own box. The process loses its charm if there isn't constant reinvention.

The sketch on the bottom was left purposely vague, to reference only the sensation noted here...the light on the road and the coolness of the shadow in the trees....the freshness of the summer sky. I made 2 painted versions.....This short series might continue today.

Echo

Play time means play time! The collages are often a chance to rethink initial guidelines. Any rule or rule of thumb may be broken. Some ideas may be harder than others to discard. Space will always be suggested, for example...not really interested in giving that up. The image may or may not resemble visual reality.

Acrylic collage on single ply matte board, 7.5 x 9.25 inches.

 I like to get a bit of alternation going in the style or process so I don't 'settle in' too much. I might do another collage tomorrow or maybe a painting.....I'll decide on the morning walk. The collages are more open ended, and therefore feel liberating, so I usually do more than just one....usually 2 or 3 in a row.

June End, Evening at Garden Hill

Diagramed last night....a very hot and hazy evening, and painted today. I stopped to make this drawing but I was on my way to Richardson's Lookout...high ground which is very close by...you can see for miles in 3 directions. This painting is 8 x 8 inches, acrylic and pencil on matte board gessoed both sides.

Shadow Box Framing

I like this method of presenting my small works. The shadow box is made with a deep moulding. Archival foam core is cut for the side and glued to the wood (a few drops of rubber cement). The back sheet is white foam core that sits on top of the side pieces of foam core. I use mirror clips and small screws on the back to make for easy reframing. If the piece that's showcased in the frame is rather heavy I use drops of rubber cement as the adhesive. For best results reapply 2 or 3 layers of cement, let dry between coats and press down (I use a stack of very heavy books to apply weight). You can easily remove rubber cement for reframing, without any damage, and it doesn't mess with any of the archival materials.

I like the look of these framed, and perhaps one day I'll do shows again, but for the moment I'm happy to send these off in the mail unframed to my customers who find me on Etsy.

Heat Wave

Almost too hot to venture outside today....the first heat wave of 2014. Acrylic and pencil on matte board gessoed both sides, 8 x 8 inches. I'm quite happy to be preparing the surfaces this way. There is no warping of the surface over time...almost like painting on panel, but it's still paper.

To Lake Ontario

Another gorgeous late June Day. About 5 miles north of Lake Ontario...looking south. Acrylic and pencil on unprimed single ply archival matteboard 9 x 9.5 inches. Listed on Etsy today and sold half an hour later. I like how this one turned out. The diagram for it was more sketchy and general than normal, but I had a strong memory of the scene. It's very improvised.....almost more drawing than painting. This one felt different....and I look for the differences and shifts in my procedure because they very much keep me going and interested.

Snow Shadows

It's always my habit to look far into the distance....blue snow shadows, later in the day. Acrylic and pencil on single ply archival matte board, 8 x 10 inches.

Click here to view or purchase available Stooshinoff works.

March 10, Hedgerow

 

I changes procedural things very regularly. This piece is only 8 x 8.5 inches and is on single ply archival matteboard, unprimed. The pieces just previous were on slightly bigger paper. In this format, every little change makes a large difference.

 

Click here to view or purchase available Stooshinoff works.

Ice Forms

Click here to view or purchase available Stooshinoff works.

Far Flag and Snowy Hills

I stood on a table in the school studio to get a distant view eastward. The flag flies over the elementary school next door, with snowy hills beyond. I usually paint in daylight, but this was started at 6:30....dark already.

Click here to view or purchase available Stooshinoff works.

Cold Spell

January Snow on Hope Hill

Click here to view or purchase available Stooshinoff works.

 

Acrylic and pencil on gessoed Whatman paper, 10 x 15 inches.

 

Trail on Lost Dog Hill

Click here to view or purchase available Stooshinoff works.

 

Lost Dog Hill in the deep of winter, 11 x 15 inches, acrylic and pencil on unprimed, archival paper. After days of freezing temperatures, today it's lightly raining and melting...but very slowly.

January Afternoon....Lost Dog Hill

Click here to view or purchase available Stooshinoff works....

Acrylic and pencil on gessoed Whatman paper, 10 x 13.5 inches. The last painting from Christmas holidays....... (Sold)

Remember........

Click here to view or purchase available Stooshinoff works

January Evening, 2014, the coldest days of the year so far, 11 x 15 acrylic and pencil on gessoed Whatman paper (sold).

It helps to make 1000s of pictures. This is a continuum. It helps to remember past days and painting sessions from all areas of earlier experience. In this case, I was remembering a work session from ages ago. I was a student at the University of Saskatchewan. It was winter....very cold....I was in 2nd or 3rd year fine arts. It was a fairly arduous journey to get from where I lived to my workspace on campus. To put in evening painting sessions after classes you had to really want to get there! I always preferred to work on the floor, and I sometimes would work on 2-3 pictures at a time. Sometimes paint was poured. Very little was predetermined in the picture, and anything could change quickly. Even then, visual surprise was always searched for. In the evenings, there was usually no-one in the studio...maybe me and one other person, maybe one professor....you could count on some very pleasant solitude and maybe some insight from the other person if you went in search of it. I remember learning things in those evening sessions....understanding one or two things about painting. But mostly I remember how fresh the experience felt. It can help to remember......

Elizabeth O'Reilly

 

For a long time now, I've been very impressed by the work of Elizabeth O'Reilly, both the small oils and the collages made with cut up watercolour sections. It is this old idea of seeing the world very figuratively, but also understanding and showing so eloquently, that everything is a wonderful abstract arrangement. And of course, there is also the idea that small paintings are just fine...in fact, they may be bigger, than big paintings.

 

Click here for Elizabeth O'Reilly's Web Page