New blog post destination

I have been working on a new blog posting spot on my website: KarenOliversFineArt.com  in a tab instead of having 2 destinations to go to. This hopefully will be easier for me to post and for people that are interested in following my art journey. I am grateful for everyone that is and has been interested as I started this blog to be able to watch my art journey unfold. Please click here to go to my new work/blog post on my website.

I will leave you with a photo of our new Grandpuppy "Freddie". My husband Gord developed allergies to dogs and cats as an adult so our kids were never able to have either to call their own. We had guinea pigs, fish, gerbils etc. instead. This is our daughter and son-in-law's new love. We were able to spend the first couple of hours with Freddie after they picked him up from his previous owner. What a bundle of fun and love! Freddie is a heart full! This photo might be a future painting.

A Wonderful hand made thank you!

You can imagine my sheer delight when I opened the large envelope to find this wonderful thank you card made by a grade 3 class at Louis Riel Elementary School in Calgary. I made book marks I call "Art Marks" from my original painting that I cut up. Doris ("Grandparent Volunteer") asked if she could have some for her class and I was more than happy to oblige. The wonderful gift I received was this thank you card that looked like the bookmarks and each child signed their name with one word to describe the bookmark: as blue as the ocean, artistic, awesome, beautiful, gorgeous....can't you just feel my happy dance.

Meandering

This is a typical view of hiking near the Canadian Rocky Mountains with the river valleys. We have wonderful hiking within 1 - 2 hour drive from Calgary.

I go on an annual hiking trip with a group of ladies and take all kinds of photos to inspire me later. The ladies generously share their photos as well so it is great to see different
perspectives and what interests them in a landscape scene.







"Meandering"
16" x 20" Oil on canvas
#20011319  For Sale

Sticky Show

Wow, I have been having fun! There is a show coming up in March in Vancouver, B.C. called Sticky Show. You can draw, paint etc 6 to 10  3" x 3" "sticky notes" by 3M or other brands. 

Well I had never done anything but write or doodle on these stationary supplies so I thought why not try. I used everything I could get my hands on to see what it would do on this thin paper. I tried to apply acrylic medium to thicken the paper (did not work well, curled the paper up as it dried), water colour, ink, acrylic, alcohol ink, pencil, pen etc and the results are above. These fun pieces will be for sale with a zillion others at the "Sticky Show" at The Arts Factory in Vancouver B.C.

The deadline to have the art received is Monday March 25 so there is still time if you want to give it a try! The great thing is they just fit in a regular envelope and one stamp, how easy is that! The website and information is: http://hotartwetcity.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/sticky-show-guidelines.pdf Hope you have as much fun as I did!

Gratitude

I received a wonderful email message from Kristy and Jeff after they bought my painting from L'Originals in Salmon Arm B.C. It absolutely made my day as Kristy wrote  "Thought I would pop a quick email to you. I just love my  new gorgeous work of art (I treated myself today). It is on the wall next to my bed and it makes me feel happy when I see it. Thank you for sharing your love of colour and texture!" So grateful I leave a business card on the back.

It absolutely made my heart sing that Kristy felt the same about the painting as I did painting it.

Awaiting Delivery

These hay bales were very interesting to paint. Trying to make the round shapes actually look like a bale. I am always surprised when I start on a blank white canvas that a recognizable subject comes alive in a painting I love the contrast of the warm and cool colours with the flecks of red flowers peeking through.

"Awaiting Delivery"

Oil on canvas  9" x 12"

#20020219

Frozen

My husband and I went on our annual cross country ski trip with 7 of our friends. As we were skiing, we kept getting glimpses of the frozen water falls up on the mountains. Unless the sun was shining on them, they were really hard to spot. We skied part way to Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park and were really enjoying all the beautiful winter sights. We stopped at the top of the switch backs   (see photo below). Going up was work but going down was fun and fast. I painted this abstract from the memory of all the beautiful  ice colours and rocks peeking out.

"Frozen"
Acrylic abstract on water colour paper
16" x 12"     #20011219

"Another Golden Day"

This painting is based on a photo reference I took while biking along the Cambie-Solsqua Road in Sicamous, B.C. It is a beautiful and peaceful ride with a large variety of views (including trains, farms, old barns, Eagle River and hillside views). This is one of my favourite bicycle rides.

"Another Golden Day"
Oil on canvas,  16" x 20"
#20007219

Just a reminder there are only 8 days left in my painting sale (over on Feb 14) on my website. See January 30 blog post.

Rest Stop View

"Rest Stop View"
8" x 10" Oil on canvas board
#20003219

This painting is based on a photo I took at a road side pull over. I had to climb over the rock fence and down a bit to get this view. The town of Banff would be out of the picture plane on the left. I love the colours and sunny feel with the Rocky Mountains overseeing the warm view. Another painting celebrating our varied Canadian landscapes.

My art sale is only until Feb 14 so email me if you see something on my website you are interested in. https://www.karenoliversfineart.com/ 

Painting Sale

Special pricing from Feb 1 until Feb 14 - all paintings still available on website will be 1/2 price plus shipping and $10 for packaging. I am revamping my art studio and website. Please email me at karen.oliver @outlook.com (no spaces). This does NOT include paintings in shows or galleries (first come/first served).

https://www.karenoliversfineart.com/

The Spirit Of Nature Reflecting

"The Spirit Of Nature Reflecting"

12" x 12" Oil on Gessobord

#20030119

I haven't painted on Gessobord for a long time and forgot how smooth and slippery it was. I really enjoyed painting this one with the early morning colours as the mist was lifting. The photo reference was along the Eagle River in Sicamous, B.C.

Long Pose

"Long Pose"
12" x 12" Oil on 1 1/2" thick canvas with painted sides (framing not required)
#20024119

The still life reminded me of how difficult it is to be a model posing for artists and how setting up a still life lets you have all the time you need.

Heart Filled Journey

Heart Filled Journey
Oil on canvas with thick 1 1/2" painted sides (no framing needed)
24" x 30"       #20012119


The painting reference is from one of the many hikes I do with my ladies hiking group annual get away. Our time together is always filled with laughter, a lot of talking and sharing, good food, wine and beautiful vistas.

Siesta Time

"Siesta Time"

16" x 20" Oil on canvas

#20001119

HAPPY NEW YEARS to you. To the artists, I wish you an exceptionally creative year. To others interested in painting, I hope you find plenty to feast your eyes and find treasures you enjoy every day.

I have continued to add to my boat series. This one is based on fishing boats that were resting in the mid day sun in Spain. This painting is quite textural and I learnt a lot trying to work with thick paint and not getting to detailed in our studio class with Doug Swinton.

Bright Shade

This painting is from a reference photo taken on a beach in Mexico. The beach was busy with umbrellas, restaurants and people walking and playing. I loved the movement of the trees, umbrellas, people and water. The photo reference had a grayish sky and I struggled with the colours until I changed the sky and it finally made sense. This painting was really different and challenging for me as I don't generally paint people and the photo of the beach was so busy with details.

"Bright Shade"

12" x 24" Oil on canvas in black drop in frame

#20127218

Small Beneath The Sky

"Small Beneath The Sky"
24" x 18" on 1 1/2" thick canvas with painted sides (no framing required)
#20123218

I was inspired to try painting with a palette knife again after watching Neil work on numerous paintings. We joked that he would have to sell his paintings by weight instead of size they were so laden with thick luscious paint. You can see some of Neil's beautiful work on his Facebook site.

I loved working on this mid-sized painting with the palette knife. It was a very physical painting loaded with thick and thin paint and I love the result.

Early Morning Rain

"Early Morning Rain"

6" x 24"  Oil on canvas, in a black drop in frame

#20119218

I wanted to try a different format and loved painting this size - narrow but long. It was nice to be able to put more of a vista in a painting rather than crop off so much. I bought this canvas in a frame and loved that it was so easy to see what it looked like framed.

Buen Dia Cafe

This painting is from a reference photo of a lovely restaurant in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. We stopped in to have a coffee and watch people walk by. While we were enjoying our coffee we were serenaded by two young musicians playing a violin and an accordion. SMA is always full of wonderful surprises.

"Buen Dia Cafe"

13 1/2" x 10 1/2" water colour 

#20115218

Sketch book travels, SMA #7

I joined the San Miguel de Allende Urban Sketchers on their weekly sketching outing. We went to the beautiful gardens of the Hotel Posada de la Aldea. I was intrigued with the bell tower and so made that my focus.

There were 11 sketchers spread over the beautiful gardens and you can tell by their sketch books that they were inspired by a real variety of personal interests. I started a 2nd sketch in ink and went back after a group coffee invite to finish it. If you are in SMA and would like to join these lovely artists, look up their Facebook page and ask for the info on the next meeting (Tuesdays at noon). I had a wonderful time.

Sketch book travels, SMA #6

We went on a Sunday hike, first meeting the group at a local gas station, breaking into groups for the different hikes and car pooling. This time and last time we were lucky enough to get a ride from Tizianna. It was so beautiful, I took so many photos of the "Canada de la Virgen" hike that I could do a whole series of paintings. This is a sketch of the red ant hills that were piled high with the same sized rocks that the ants had broken down and pushed out the hole to make quite a pile, I was wowed by the feat! There were also some flowers blooming all around to create quite a contrast.










This sketch is an urban sketch (done on location). We usually have a happy hour game of crib and from my vantage point I get to see beautiful sunset colours in the sky out of our rental front room window. After crib I sketched this then used water colour and ink. This is not done in my sketch book but on water colour paper that fits in my book. I can't blend colours in my sketch book and wanted to get the beautiful orange to blue sky.