100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #19

Title: Setting Sun on the Ice

Medium:  Acrylic

Size: 6x8

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My posting for today is rather late - My son Ben had an accident on the Robert Campbell Hwy. on the way to our property.  Thankfully it was not serious!  He walked 8 km almost to Magundy.  Not one person picked him up.  Then a kind soul did when he almost got to our acreage. The roads are really slippery in patches out on the highway.  

I had started this painting earlier today - I was trying to achieve the effect of ice.  I may re-take the photo tomorrow morning and replace this one because the lighting was pretty poor. 

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #18

Title:Impression: My Sunrise

Medium: Mixed Media

Size: 6x8
Monet said:  "I've caught this magical landscape and it's the enchantment of it that I'm so keen to render.  Of course lots of people will protest that it's quite unreal, but that's just too bad."

Monet is one of my favourite impressionists and the other would be Cezanne.
I love Monet's piece: Impression: Sunrise.  The term impressionism was taken from this piece.  This picture was underlaid with acrylic and then I used oil sticks to finish off the colours.  It is rather pointillistic with all those dots.

We have a light dusting of snow and this should drive away the winter blues.

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #17

Title:  Lichen and Bearberry

Medium:  Acrylic

Size 6x8

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Today I head back to Faro.  I have a whole bunch of shopping to do and then a 4 hour drive. Over the years I have actually come to enjoy the long drive.  It gives me time to think and I listen to lots of music which always lifts me up.  I have my new winter tires and the weather is good. 

I hope to paint many more works with this type of subject matter.  I love the boreal forest and I have taken many photos from Magundy of the forest floor. Lots of mushrooms, deadfall, moss and flora.

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #16

Title: Aspen Pond - Robert Campbell Highway

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 6x8

"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast"  

Lewis Carroll

This shift completes my week  at Yukon Artists At Work it has been truly great to be involved.  I enjoy communicating, exchanging ideas and supporting my fellow artists and meeting all the people that walk in the door. 

I used to think "Oh - I can't do this because....."  or "Oh -I couldn't be an active member of YAAW because I live so far away and I have too many other priorities. 

Anything is possible if we make it so. 

I think the creative person needs a balance between solitude (to create your work) and community and collaboration with other artists 

(to feed the artistic process and make you a part of something bigger than just yourself). 

Even Cezanne found the impressionists in the end.

I am looking forward to going home to see my lovely family and to my solitude.

But I look forward to coming back to be a part of my new artist family!

This painting is done from memory and imagination.  My husband, Jeff and I went for a walk across the Highway from our acreage along the cut-line and we came upon a spot like this.

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #15

Title:  Blue Sky and Wind

Medium:  Mixed Media

Size: 10x14

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We had a great crowd of people at YAAW last night.  John Boivin's show was a success.
This morning I am on my way down to the Baked Cafe in Whitehorse and then back to the Gallery.

The painting above was done from imagination.

It has a breezy feeling and as my friend Connie Meade says " your signature leaning tree"  is in the painting.

For some reason it reminds me of Bennett Lake.

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #14

Title:  Faro Peak - Golden Sunset

Medium: Acrylic

Size:  6x8
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Yukon Artists At Work has a busy day today.  The opening of John Boivin's show is today. Beautiful bold colours and incredible detail - if I were to try to define his style it would be impressionistic realism and there is a rhythmic flow to his paintings- the opening reception is at 5pm.
In the last few days  I have met some of the artists, tonight I will meet more at John's show.  I want to do to work at the gallery regularly I feel it is really important.  

There is lots of molding paste mixed with the paint to create texture on this newest painting. I used a sgraffito technique to scratch into the paint in the foreground to create a very textured look as well.  

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #13

Title:  Where Eagles Soar

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 6x8

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Well, What can I say! I guess I love orange I just can't help it.  It is such a warm fiery colour it gives me a lift.  I have been in Whitehorse for a couple of days now and all is going well. Although the roads are pretty slick with the temp. hovering around  freezing. My first day at YAAW was truly great !  I am so happy to do my part and helping out makes me more apart of it.  I really like the energy at YAAW - I feel there is a real sense of community and sharing.  Harreson Tanner and I took down Nicole's show and today John Boivin's show goes up.  He is an acrylic landscape painter. The opening for his show is tomorrow night and I look forward to being there.
The gallery has a solo show every two weeks and all the artists help the other artist whose turn it is for the show.
Walking around the gallery yesterday and just visually drinking up all the beautiful art was so inspiring.

Another Quote for the Day:
"But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40: 31
"

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #12

Title: The Pond at Magundy

Medium: Acrylic

Size 8x10
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I head down to YAAW today - Whitehorse looks like a winter wonderland!
Very pretty.

This pond is along our Lane and it is one of the most peaceful places on Earth.  It has many personalities and I could probably paint a hundred paintings of it alone  if I put my mind to it.Thoreau had his Walden pond and I have mine!

It seems appropriate to quote Thoreau now as he is one of my favourite visionaries:

"I have learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances
confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours"

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #11

Title:  Faro Peak Sunset

Medium: Acrylic

Size:8x10

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Today I leave for Whitehorse.  From Wed. Oct 12 to Sun. Oct.16 - I will at Yukon Artists At Work and working as the Gallery Attendant.  We all have a required amount of shifts as members.

If anyone wants to come and visit me, I will be painting everyday while there and posting from Whitehorse.  The location of the gallery is 120  Industrial Road.  If you go down Two-mile Hill  you turn left about half way down and the gallery is on the right hand side in a small strip mall.  It is really worth a look -we have a great line-up of artists and Nicole Bauberger's  Solo Show is up right now.  She is an Encaustic/Oil painter and I am really looking forward to seeing her work.

I will do a few sunsets this week :)

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #10

Title: Sunset - Lapie Lakes
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 8x10
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Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I have decided to finish the South Canol area with a Sunset.  I would like to do a suite on Sunsets as well but  need to change my colour scheme a bit with my sunsets.  I always gravitate to brilliant oranges and yellows.  I am starting to relax into this process of painting and am really enjoying these small pieces.
 I mentioned Robert Genn's Newsletter in yesterday's comments and I would also like to share with you that I, for the first time decided to send in a comment about another topic that was presented.  I will post my comment here as it may not be selected

The topic was"The Plight of the Undiscovered Artist"

AT THE END OF THE DAY

Jackie Irvine, Faro Yukon

Is art about sales, marketing and money?  The fundamental question is “Why do I paint?” Is it a means to an end? My end is not the Money! At the end of the day I have come to the conclusion that if I didn’t make a dime at my painting for the rest of my life - I would still paint.  Why?  Because I love it and it makes me happy.  I do it because when I don’t, my dreams manifest the images for me and end up waking me up in the middle of the night. I believe there is an archetypal artist that paints because they feel called to do so.  It is an intrinsic part of their psyche and regardless of any hardship that is presented they  remain passionate about their process.  Do I want to make money from my art? Of course! But this is not the reason I paint.

That’s another story.

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #9

Title: The Rose River, The South Canol

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 6x6

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It was nice to paint a different area on the South Canol. I enjoyed the Lapie Lakes area

but needed a change.  Rivers have a lot of movement and you can see the bottom in areas. I have a painting in Yukon Artists At Work of the Magundy River which is a lot bigger (3ft x 4ft) than this one and found the water quite a challenge.  I subscribe to a twice weekly newsletter by Robert Genn and there was a recent discussion about painting big works. It was very helpful information to me because the basic concept of the discussion was to use small paintings to work out your big ones and to translate to scale what is in the small to the big painting and resist filling the areas in with "stuff".  When I am done this project I will have some good reference material for larger works.

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #8

Title: On the Way to Lapie - The South Canol

Medium:  Acrylic

Size 6x8

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Well I guess I made it through my first week.  I  have two more paintings to do if I want to reach my goal of 10 for this area. The South Canol Highway which is about 60 km from where I live is closed in the winter as the road is not maintained. It can even be treacherous in the summer if there is a lot of rain. But the drive is "oh so worth the views".  I think I will paint some rivers from the area tomorrow and the next day. The Rose River is very beautiful and I have some nice reference material for it.

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #7

Title:  Lapie Lakes #2, South Canol

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 6x8

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I had to use a different camera to take this picture and I notice a big difference in the quality of the photo.  (This one is better quality) I have an old fuji digital camera and it does not want to upload the pics anymore.

I will be in Whitehorse next week starting Wednesday Oct. 12 at the
YAAW Gallery (Yukon Artists At Work).  As a member I am required to do a quota of shifts every year.  I will be at the Gallery every day until Sunday.
One of our members Nicole Bauberger has a solo show starting tonight and it runs for a few weeks.  I am looking forward to seeing her work.
Good Luck Nicole - wish I could be at the opening tonight!

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #6

Lapie Lakes, The South Canol

Medium:  Acrylic

Size: 8x10

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This is a pretty well-known spot on the South Canol as you are approaching the lake you can see it from the highway.  I may be coming to the end soon of paintings of this area.  My goal is to have 10 paintings of the South Canol.  

I love the fall colours!

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #5

Title: South Canol Reflections

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 8x10

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I am learning a lot about how to use acrylic paint.  It is so much more forgiving than watercolour which I used for years. There is more freedom because you can make a mistake and just change it over and over again.
In 2004, I wanted a change so I bought all the supplies for acrylics and away I went.  It has taken some time to learn how to use it and at times I have felt frustrated. I am looking forward to taking a workshop with an acrylic artist. There are tips and techniques that you pick up that you can't get from a book that make it so much easier!

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #4

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Title:  Evening Light - South Canol

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 8x10

"Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others a yellow spot into the sun"
Pablo Picasso

When a painting has light it comes alive.  I love the light and I realize that the more I mature as an artist the more aware I have become of it.  John Singer-Sargent was a master of light and he classified 5 different kinds:  These being light; midtone; shadow; accents; and reflected light.  I  think it is worthwhile to know how each works in a painting and incorporate them in my paintings.  Only problem is I don't really think about it!  But I think it's like anything else in life in order to do something without thinking  you have to be willing to do it very intentionally, slowly and even mechanically at first until it becomes second nature.  IIt's like when you learned to ride a bike or tie your shoes"

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #3 / Oct.3, 2011

Title: Lapie Lake, The South Canol

Medium:  Acrylic

Size: 5x7
SOLD

After painting 8x10 's this painting sure felt small.  I had to work on the water quite a bit to get the reflection.  But I like there to be movement as well. This is a lovely Lake and I will paint this as a Sunset in the weeks to come. 

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #2

Title:  South Canol Autumn

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 8x10

I really liked the light in Nina's photo and I tried to recreate this in the painting.  Easier said than done.  I have worked from photos lots and what I have discovered is that they rarely show the true value of what is actually there in real life. I therefore often change colour and values lots and I find that Shadowed dark areas cannot be translated literally.

I also add elements to the painting that were not there at all; in this one it is the dead tree leaning across the middle.  

100 PAINTINGS IN 100 DAYS #1

Title:  South Canol, Yukon

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 8x10

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Well I have officially begun! 

I was really excited about the approaching date of this major project that I am undertaking. One of my favourite places to go in the Yukon is the South Canol Highway and in the next few days there will be some more paintings from this area. I love the fall colours.  My friend Nina Toeller has taken quite a few beautiful

photos and she has given me permission to use any of them for inspiration. 

Thank you Nina

I have to e-mail my Life Coach and tell her that I have begun.  Her name is Liz Wiltzen and she is also a wonderful artist and I believe that it was meant to be that I found her.

 It's perfect an artist coaching an artist.  

 Her Website for her paintings is:  www.lizwiltzen.com

Her coaching website is www.liveattuned.com
(If you don't understand what life coaching is it is really worth a look just to see)

She has also painted 100 paintings in 100 days (alas I am not the first!) 

I am so GRATEFUL that I can paint and that I have something in my life that gives me such JOY! 

"A HUNDRED PAINTINGS IN A HUNDRED DAYS"

Title:  Spring Break-up, Yukon River

Medium:  Acrylic
Size: 24x36

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated 

through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, 

this expression is unique. And if you block it, 

it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. ” 

― Martha Graham

The "writing"  part of this blog has never come easily for me.  I like to post my paintings and let them "speak" for themselves.  The only problem is that lately I haven't been painting a whole bunch but on the inner landscape there have been some revolutionary changes taking place  and this will soon manifest with action in my outer world

(complete with paintings!).  

On October 1st I start my 100 paintings in 100 days 

and I intend to post them daily.  

People have asked me: "Why this and why now?"  or "What is the point of doing this?" 

Well there is no simple answer.  But there have definitely been some changes in my life lately that have precipitated this event

.  The first big one was that I decided to hire a life coach to help me to focus on what I really wanted to do. ( I will share more of this in another post)

 I have reached the ripe old age of 47 (almost) and I feel a need to do the things that I have always wanted to do.  Wow how crazy does  that sound?  Any of you mothers out there will surely relate.  But it is timely, my children are growing up and I have more time to self-actualize.  All the years I spent homeschooling my three children and developing our acreage with my husband on the Magundy River were wonderful years but now I feel a calling to delve deeper into my inner self and to find a new direction. I have also worked for the Town of Faro for the last 7 years but this chapter seems to be closing as well and I feel a need to forge ahead and start with a new beginning. 

This "new chapter" is not totally known to me and that's ok. 

 I am starting on a path and I don't know exactly where it will lead me. 

I intend to embrace the "unknown" and to work 

towards mindful goals on my new journey. 

You know those dreams you had when you were younger - for me it was to become that artist that I have always envisioned myself as being.  So I am setting goals and working today to make this vision become reality.  

A hundred in a hundred is about process and practice. 

 If I paint daily I will get better at what I am doing I will be on that journey 

"Let The Adventure Begin!!"

Also it is a message to "self" that I matter, that I am a priority and that I can indeed do this 

I hope you will share my journey.