BOO!!

Your chance to direct me in every little nit-picky detail
for the creation of your very own custom ACEO can be bid on here.
"Time to Play?" ACEO - Private Collection
Copyright Rita Woodburne

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

I dunno what happened. For some reason on Monday I thought that Halloween was on Thursday and clearly I was wrong. So no art post for today and instead I spent the day carving pumpkins (see, I was still being artistic), cleaning the house and being just oh so giddy with myself because tomorrow is the QAC Gallery Opening for November and December as well as the start of the Art Walk in downtown Belleville and guess what? The art of yours truly was chosen to grace the front of the e-mail newsletter that's sent out to hundreds of members.

Tickled, just tickled I am!!

So, tomorrow I plan on stuffing myself full of left over Halloween sugar and going to the opening reception from 4-6 pm. If you happen to be in the neighbourhood pop on by the QAC Gallery (at 36 Bridge St. E in Belleville) and say 'Hi' as well as get a gander at all the other artists displaying their talent on the Art Walk. Heck, I'm pretty sure they'll even let you buy some art, should you feel so inclined. ;)

If you'll excuse me now I have to go prepare dinner and get ready for the hoardes of little people that will be coming to my door soon requesting that I throw candy into a bag.

Home Sweet Country Bumpkin Home

"Inquiring" WIP, 11x14" coloured pencil on Colourfix
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Welcome back, dear reader!

So, the Other Half and I survived the trip to the "big city". Trips like that really make me appreciate living in the country and also serve to remind me why excessive exposure to crowds of people are bad for my blood pressure.
On the Saturday we went to one of those Super Wal-Marts to look for a board game (the weather was poopy so we had to restrict ourselves to indoor activities). There's 2 things in that previous sentence that let on to impending disaster. The first being 'Saturday' and the second being 'Super Wal-Mart' since any good shopper knows that unless you happen to be completely out of your mind or trained in hand-to-hand mortal combat you simply do not venture into such a place on that particular day of the week. We pulled into the parking lot and I don't know if it's the excitement of Halloween that makes people abandon their common sense but I can't even tell you how many people just walked blindly into oncoming vehicles or were walking willy-nilly all over the parking lot. I was half tempted to roll down the window and yell at them: "For the love of God...PICK A SIDE!!!" We hadn't even gotten into the store yet.

Once we secured a parking spot we went into the store and for those that are unfamiliar with Super Wal-Mart it's basically a self contained city. The only thing they're missing is a movie theatre and emergency services. I'd like to suggest to the good CEO's of Wal-Mart that if they're going to make a store that size the least they could do is install some traffic lights or something so there's some sense of order and people aren't bumping into one another. Perhaps a traffic cop or two wouldn't hurt either.

Anyway, we found a board game and managed to get out of there without incident and I didn't have to go all 'Chuck Norris' on anyone. The week-end was fun and I stayed up waaaaaaaay past my regular bed-time. :)
I'll be back on Wednesday with an art related post after I've gotten over my city culture shock. I think bringing in some firewood for the wood stove should take care of that. Until then!

Frightful!

"What Lurks Behind the Scratching Post" ACEO can be bid on here.

Copyright Rita Woodburne

"Al- The Gentleman" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne
(Is it good when I giggle at my own artwork?)

Happy Friday- before- Halloween, dear reader!

As regular readers will know, I'm a fanatic animal lover and with Halloween almost being here and with the number of Halloween themed parties that will be happening this week-end it's important to remember the safety our fuzzy friends when we light those Jack-O-Lanterns and put out that candy for folks to eat. Make sure your furry friend doesn't get singed by an errant flame from a candle or dive face first into that bowl of chocolate bars because let's face it, no one likes to have to make a trip to the vet while in the middle of an intense apple bobbing competition.
More importantly concerning pets at Halloween is the rapidly growing, and disturbing, trend of dressing one's pet up in a costume. Yes folks, this is serious stuff. Pets all over North America are being robbed...of their dignity. That's saying a lot for animals that lick themselves.

As evidence of this phenomenon, I provide you with these images (Caution: may be disturbing to some viewers):

Group abuse? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm sure those dogs were coaxed into doing this with the promise of fast food treats which will do nothing to help their cholesterol.

Welcome to the Dark Side, indeed.

Avast! Is that dog wearing a puffy shirt?

What would Christopher Robin say?

This cat's expression says it all: "Please, take this off me before I shred the furniture...or you."

This dog was obviously drugged. I mean really, who wears pink satin nowadays?

This dog simply passed out from embarassment.

Johnny Depp in the next life??

Halloween can be scary enough for pets, what with sugar buzzed children running around and all, is it really necessary to add to their fear and frustration?
When asked what this cat thought after seeing these pictures he had only one response:

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

Speaking of scary stuff, the Other Half and I are heading to Toronto this afternoon for the week-end so if you happen to e-mail me I just wanted to let you know that you won't hear from me until late Sunday. I'm not ignoring you...really.

Have a great week-end!

Wookie Woogums...done!

"Mustang 5- Young & Restless" ACEO can be bid on here.

Copyright Rita Woodburne

Hello there dear reader!
So today I'm posting the finished commissioned piece "Otis". Before I do that I'll post where I left off which was, as is my habit, the point where I start waffling about the background:

And now for the final piece (pardon my cropping of the picture):

"Otis"- Private Collection
Copyright Rita Woodburne

So there it is. I opted for a grey bg to keep it simple. This little guy already has a lot going on in his coat and on his face so I think a bg with colour in it, any colour, would've been too much to look at. Even though I'm calling this one done, until I actually give it to the client I'm reserving the right to tweak some more things should I feel so inclined.

There are a few things that, if I were to do this one over again, I would change. First being that I would've liked to have his body in a different position. This is more for the sake of including all 4 of his feet or to have just the two front feet showing. The second thing I would've changed would be having his face at a different angle. The markings on his nose make his face look somewhat skewed in terms of proportion. This won't be an issue with the client because it's her dog and she knows what he looks like, etc. and I know what he looks like as well, but for someone just looking "as is" it may not be obvious.

So there you have it. I have another WIP already on the go but I'm going to try posting it in a different format...just 'cause I can. :D

I'll be back on Friday with some tom-foolery and more ACEO's!

Things that go bump...

"Onion- The Jester" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

"Bill- Little Devil" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

I don't know what it is about the approach of Halloween that makes my imagination go into hyper mode. I don't mean creatively either. I mean that I just start imagining things that simply aren't there. Shadows that look like people lurking around in the dark, sounds of things dropping or doors mysteriously opening. Or people screaming...oh, wait. No, that's actually happening next door where my neighbour does daycare with toddlers. I think one child just ran over another child with a Tonka truck.

Maybe it's from the excess sugar that I consume around this time of year (why do they start selling the candy a month and a half before the actual day of Trick-or-treating??), maybe it's the shorter days or maybe it's just because I have too much stuff to do and I'm not getting adequate sleep? After all, I have commissioned artwork to complete, patio furniture that needs to be put away, a chimney that needs to be cleaned, book-keeping that I'm about 2 weeks behind on, 3 more art shows to get ready for and 3 paddocks that need to have manure spread in them. Quite frankly, I don't have time to hallucinate.

At the same time, there's really just something about Halloween and all that spooky nonsensical stuff that's just plain old fun (even if I do think I'm losing my mind). Just today I read that Halloween ranks only second on the list of events that people spend money on for parties/ celebrating, ranking just behind New Year's eve which was in first place. I also heard on the radio that 15% of people in North America believe in vampires and a whopping 60% believe in ghosts, which provides me with consolation that I'm not the only one who thinks they're seeing and hearing things.

So on that note, once I get my chores done I'm going to indulge the supernatural a little bit and find out just what was it that went bump and who is lurking in the shadows.... you know, before the men with the white coats come to take me away.

Home Remedies

"Sushi- The Angel" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Time for silliness, but with a practical slant. I got this in an e-mail awhile back and have to admit that some of them are...well, tempting. >:)


Here are your Amazingly Simple Home Remedies:

1. If you are choking on an ice cube simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. Presto! The blockage will instantly remove itself.

2. Avoid cutting yourself slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold while you chop.

3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.

4. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.

7. You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.


And there you have it. I've really got to remember number 2...

Happy Week-end!

Wookie Woogums WIP Part 2

"From the Shadows an Onion Springs" ACEO can be bid on here.

Copyright Rita Woodburne

Well hello there! I didn't post yesterday because when I went to upload pictures it gave me an error message. Kind of hard to do an art post without pictures, isn't it? I had very little sleep last night so if this post is riddled with typos or nonsensical strings of words my apologies in advance. On with the show!

I'm back with the second portion of Otis' WIP. Here's the third stage:


All I've done here is filled in more of his body and markings on his face. At this point I'm thinking about starting on the background because it will help me put the rest of the piece into perspective as far as determining values and how far I need to push them. So, with that in mind...


Here's the start of the bg and I've started to "fill him out" more.
The bg for this one is going to stay pretty basic and I'm waffling between keeping it in grey tones or if I should add in some blue just to give it something to tie into the colouring of Otis' coat. From this point I'm also going to pay attention to light and shadows because it needs to make sense visually and because when I cobble pictures together that's something that I tend to forget as I get working.

Below I've included some close-ups of his eyes just for the heck of it:




So that's the WIP for today. Next week I'll wrap this one up because I've already got another WIP on the go, although I may try a different format for the next one.

Anyhoo, in the interest of me not passing out on my keyboard I'm going to go back to bed now. Back tomorrow with silliness!

Look Ma, no change!

"A Crabby Duo" ACEO can be bid on here.

Copyright Rita Woodburne

Guess what? My blog looks the same. This week-end was far too hectic for me to actually sit down and work on this so it's been bumped into this week...along with a whole bunch of other projects that didn't get any attention this past week-end.

So today I'm going to stray a bit off topic. Today is an environmental Blogger Day of Action (I know, it sounds so "official"). I wouldn't normally address things like this, but I'm a self confessed tree hugger so I feel that even if I just do a teeny weeny bit that's better than nothing at all.
The title for my post also alludes to this issue because while there are lots of things that have changed, such as replacing various power sources such as nuclear and oil with solar and wind or the fact that hybrid cars are becoming more commonplace, there are still folks out there that haven't gotten the memo. I'm far from the perfect environmentalist but I know I'm doing as much as I can right now and I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate more earth friendly things into my daily routine.
I'm not going to climb up on my soap-box for this post but I will provide you with a few helpful tips to help reduce our over-consumption of resources:

- Turn off lights in rooms that no one is using
- Set your thermostat lower by 2-3 degrees
- Make sure your windows and doors are in good condition and properly sealed. Many houses use up excess power just from furnaces and air conditioners that are doing double time for air escaping through cracks in doorways and window seals
- Drive a vehicle appropriate for your lifestyle. If you live in the city, unless you're a construction worker that needs to tote tools around, you do not need an SUV or pick-up truck
- Carpool when possible
- Dry your clothing on a clothesline during warmer months
- Use a cold water cycle to wash your clothing
- If you're on a septic system, use liquid detergents for washers and dishwashers. Granule detergents clog up your pipes and can cause appliances to run inefficiently
- When using a dishwasher, make sure it's actually full before running it
- Instead of going out and buying a new _____ (insert whatever happens to be broken) try fixing it instead of throwing it out.

And for the love of all things good and green...

RECYCLE!!!

I can't tell you how many people I know that still don't recycle or only recycle the basics. There are sooooo many items that can be recycled nowadays and the fact that so many people still don't do it is the kind of thing that makes me want to bop people over the head with a blue box.

So there you have it, my little online contribution to trying to save our planet. Remember, it's a privledge for us being able to live on this planet so let's not treat the Earth like a giant toilet, okay?

If anyone else out there has any other earth-friendly tips feel free to post them and I'll be back on wednesday. Now, go hug a tree!

Follow the instructions on the label

"Light Piaffe" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Happy Friday, dear reader!

So, as I mentioned before, Friday's are reserved for silliness. This was sent to me by a relative and the title for it was "Blame lawyers for some of this". The fact that some of these warnings/ directions even exist make me wonder how we've survived as a species this long and I've got to say the Japanese food processor and Swedish chainsaw ones really had me scratching my head...


On a Sears hairdryer -- Do not use while sleeping.
(That's the only time I have to work on my hair.)

On a bag of Fritos -- You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside.
(the shoplifter special?)

On a bar of Dial soap -- "Directions: Use like regular soap."
(and that would be???....)

On some Swanson frozen dinners -- "Serving suggestion: Defrost."
(but, it's just a suggestion.)

On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom) -- "Do not turn upside down."
(well...duh, a bit late, huh!)

On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding -- "Product will be hot after heating."
(...and you thought????...)

On packaging for a Rowenta iron -- "Do not iron clothes on body."
(but wouldn't this save me time?)

On Boot's Children Cough Medicine -- "Do not drive a car or operate
machinery after taking this medication." (We could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents if we could just get those 5 year-olds with head-colds off those bulldozers.)

On Nytol Sleep Aid -- "Warning: May cause drowsiness."
(...I'm taking this because???....)

On most brands of Christmas lights -- "For indoor or outdoor use only."
(as opposed to what?)

On a Japanese food processor -- "Not to be used for the other use."
(now, somebody out there, help me on this. I'm a bit curious.)

On Sainsbury's peanuts -- "Warning: contains nuts."
(talk about a news flash)

On an American Airlines packet of nuts -- "Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts."
(Step 3:- say what?)

On a child's Superman costume -- "Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly."
(I don't blame the company. I blame the parents for this one.)

On a Swedish chainsaw -- "Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals."
(Oh my God..was there a lot of this happening somewhere?)


Enjoy your week-end and stay safe!

Wookie Woogums WIP

Welcome back dear reader!

For your perusal today I have the first part of a WIP post to share with you. The subject for this one is a commission I have for a client's dog, an Aussie named "Otis". I've had the distinct pleasure of meeting Otis on several occassions and, being partial to Aussie's myself (I have one of my own), I have to admit that he's a cute little fellow who I'm sure will get into lots of trouble.
The piece is being cobbled together from several ref pics and the pose is not a typical one that you'd find for a portrait. The pose itself is a deviation from an ACEO I did last year of my own Aussie, Rosebud, titled "It wasn't me". That's the ACEO below:

"It wasn't me" ACEO
Artist's private collection
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Otis' owner saw this one and liked the idea because it just captures that "I ripped your expensive leather boots apart but you can't punish me because I'm terribly adorable and I wiggle my bum at you when I'm happy" type of Aussie personality.**

** Truth be told, Aussie's really aren't that bad, but they will find something to do it you don't give them something to do...they're happy little work-aholics.

The pics of Otis that I have to work from are puppy pics, he's still only about 9 months old, so he still has all the puppy fluff and oversized ears. I'm sticking to capturing him "as is" because when it comes to portraits I don't believe in embellishing the subject. It's your decision as an artist and at the discretion of the client as to whether or not you'd like to do that, but I'm quite up front in letting people know that their portrait will be "honest". I'm an artist, not a plastic surgeon. So let'd get started:


My apologies for the yellow-ish cast on the image but here's the first part. Otis is a blue merle which, right from the get go, I know will make this an interesting piece to do. Kind of like doing Appaloosa or roan coloured horses, it'll either work...or go horribly wrong. As with all my portraits I've done his eyes first and blocked in a few of the darkest darks and lightest lights using Black and White, respectively. For the "tan" parts on his legs I used Yellow Ochre, as well as for his eyebrows which were touched up with Cream.


In part two, which is more 'true to life' colour-wise, I've blocked in more of the lights very lightly with Warm and French Grey 10% and I've blocked in some of the darks very, very lightly with Black. I've established some of the mid-tones, such as the shadowing on his legs and where parts of his coat overlap using French Grey 50%. I've filled in more of his legs and I did so using more Yellow Ochre and then worked them over with Ginger Root and Putty Beige.
I've also added some Periwinkle to his body to add some interest to his coat (he is a Blue merle, after all) and added some Yellow Ochre to his ears and face so I can establish the basic facial structure. To his face I've also added more of his markings, mainly around the eyes.
That's it for this part of the WIP. I'll resume this one starting next week because Friday's are reserved for silliness.

Also, I don't want you to think that I've forgotten about the face-lift I was supposed to give this blog, oh.. about a week and a half ago. I'm still doing that and I suspect that next week will be when it finally happens. I'm a little rusty on my HTML and Blogger has already shown me its tempermental side... far be it from me to upset the delicate balance of proper coding.

Back on Friday!

Rested and Full

"Complimentary Collection" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

"Pumpkin Protector" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

The long week-end is over and now it's time to get back to reality. The week-end was nice and I ate too much turkey and stuffing. I did no art whatsoever, so I'm itching to get busy again which is good because I have a few commissions that really need to be finished up. I also have a large (16x20, that's huge for cp...I mean HUGE) piece that I'd like to get wrapped up by the end of this coming week-end.
It's funny because I thought that October would be a fairly quiet/ relaxed month for me considering that I don't have any shows that I'm participating in. As per usual, I was wrong. I suppose, though, that's it's much better to have lots of work than nothing at all, right?

In other art related news, I'm getting the urge to break out the oil paints again. Like the whole still-life thing, there seems to be something about Fall that makes me want to paint as well. Maybe it's the colours of the season, maybe it's the desire to cut loose and smoosh paint on the canvas or maybe it's the possibility of getting a bit tipsy off the turpentine fumes...who can say? I've started looking over my slew of reference pics to see if there's anything that grabs my eye. If I can't find anything I'll probably pick a day this week to go out with my camera and just start snapping away. So stay tuned, dear reader, since there might be a few oil paintings popping up on this blog in the near future.

With that in mind I'd better get back to working on art. After all, the paper and canvas aren't going to fill themselves now are they?

Long week-end amusement

"Empirical Trio" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Happy Friday, dear reader!

So here I am, sitting here watching the tumbleweeds roll by. Actually, there's no tumbleweeds, but it's unusually quiet this afternoon which is odd considering that it's a long week-end for us Canucks. You see, it's our Thanksgiving long week-end and you know what that means? Time for me to set the oven on fire again. If you'll recall from last year, it was my first time cooking a turkey and while there was no incident during the actual cooking of the turkey, I did manage to start a small fire while cleaning the oven the next day. Far be it from me to isolate exciting cooking activities to one day.

Potential housefires aside (my insurance is paid up) I do enjoy holidays like this that involve lavish dinner spreads and the potential to eat so much that you still feel full the following day. There's just an overall relaxed feeling to the whole week-end and that promise of an extra day to indulge in lazy behaviour (as a result of Turkey Syndrome, of course) just makes one giddy with...well, giddiness.

For me it means finding nonsensical ways to amuse myself, as if I don't do that enough already. There was a post I did sometime last year (I tried to find it but got lazy) about Avon samples not being the most entertaining way to amuse oneself on a Friday afternoon. Today at lunch I had a memory lapse as I was flipping through the Avon catalogue. I came across one of those "rub your wrist here" pages that promise you a scent that will whisk you away to olfactory paradise. Not being one for perfume (I go into convulsive sneezing fits in the perfume section of department stores) I paused for a moment. Then I did it. I rubbed my wrist on the page. Then I sneezed into my soup.

It was a messy ordeal to say the least but I recalled my wisdom of not succumbing to the temptations of free samples in Avon catalogues...unfortunately my revelation came to me about 30 seconds too late. Now I have this scent, the name of which I can't even recall, permanently etched into the cavities of my nose. I suspect the only thing that will rid me of this odour is the delightful aroma of a well-basted turkey. Good thing it's the Thanksgiving week-end, eh?

Have a super week-end and our regularly scheduled programming will resume on Tuesday!


PS- I opened an eBay store so if you want to check it out you can...right here.

One...more...to go.

" Mustang 4: Fast Heat" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Well, I'm back, fully rested and recovered from the art show last week-end. That show was the second last show I have this year where I actually have to be in attendance and this year proved to be the one where I discover which shows are worthwhile, which ones aren't and what I need to do to better plan and market my art for next year.

Last week-end's show, being only in it's third year, is a show that I felt had potential should they decide to continue it. My only nit would be to really advertise the heck out of it because it's hard to make it a big draw against a family event (Applefest) which has been going on for the past 33 years.

Like all the other shows I've been in over the past year I made a point of listening to what folks (both artists and visitors alike) had to say about my work. Doing that has helped me determine what parts of my art really grab/ appeal to people, where I should be showing my art and how I need to think about marketing as well as pricing my art.

I also made a point of talking to as many people as I could and chatting with the people I knew from the other art fairs throughout the year (again, artists and visitors alike). Talking to folks, or "networking" as the big kahunas call it, is one of the simplest and most effective ways of making sure that people remember you. If you're like me and you fancy yourself as capable of being amusing and/ or charming from time to time, making people laugh doesn't hurt either. Being a jovial artist is much more appealing to folks than being a snobby artist.


On a personal level it really drove home what work I'm really throwing myself into and where my passion for art is coming through, which in case ya' hadn't noticed, is horses. I had my landscapes and florals and wildlife work there as well, and while the wolves garnered quite a bit of attention (they're just wild wookie-woogums to me, so I love them) it was the horses that people "ooh"-ed and "ahh"-ed at. To be perfectly honest, this is something that I've really struggled with over the past year and a half. That is to say that I wasn't sure I wanted to be known as primarily an "equestrian artist"...but y'know what? I love drawing/ painting horses and I reckon I'm not stopping anytime soon because there's just something about them that can't be ignored...any horse person will tell you that. ;)
I'm also happy to say that some of my colour project pieces have sold which tells me that not only are they appealing to me but that others are getting something out of them as well. The only kicker is that I didn't get a picture of two of the pieces before I took them to the shows they were in (it wasn't this week-end's show) so I doubt I'll ever be able to post images of them for others to see. Poop.

So hopefully my run-down of my art show experiences is of use to other artists out there in Blogger-ville. I've still got another show to go and I hope I actually learned something too so next year is a bit more...focused.

Back on Friday!

Is it nap time yet?

"Ready for her close-up" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

"Golden Boy (Mustang 3)" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Welcome back, dear reader!

Just a quick post today since I'm veeeery tired from this past week-end and I need to recover my energy for a full month of art-ing! I also found out when I got home last night that the glass on one of my frames broke in transit so now I need to get a replacement for it.

Y'know what? With each broken piece of glass, that Pastelbord is looking more attractive all the time...

PS- I wound up keeping some of my apple ACEO's to list on eBay, so you can expect to see some more apples over the next few weeks!