No photos on this one but a good quote

It has been a while since I posted but I overdid things and have had to rest and take a bit of time
I am trying to slow things down and adjust to an entirely new life with some health issues that are difficult
Painting is difficult for me physically but wonderful for the soul and spirit although I have to paint in little bits ...

Painting and Knitting are my passions - and my work is selling and people are loving it all - so I am grateful because I truly just want to paint and make the artwork and it is so rewarding when people tell me how much they appreciate it or how beautiful it is and gratifying to send it off to a new home where it can be enjoyed

I've been painting and reading and knitting and of course, walking my dog and spending time with my husband ... I just have not taken the time to blog as I wanted to post photos of my paintings and have had trouble taking the pics of my work. FB and websites and emails all take time too ... so I have been trying to focus on slowing it all down and that will give me time to produce the work and rest. It all takes time so hopefully this quote from a lovely friend will be enough for this blog post - In the meantime I will be trying to take photos of my art and painting so you can see it and enjoy it too!


Here is a quote from Vincent Van Gogh as written in the book--Hand That
Paints the Sky.

"You do not know how paralizing that staring of a
blank canvas is; it says to the painter, You can't
do anything.....Many painters are afraid of the
blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the
really passionate painter who is daring---and
who has once and for all broken that spell of
'you cannot.' "

And so it is with life.
I like this quote and although I have not read this particular book, I have thoroughly enjoyed numerous books about Van Gogh and other artists and their lives ... fascinating reading for me, especially when I am resting and not able to paint, it is fun to read about the artists - Happy Painting to you

New Works busy busy busy!!

New works as Fall approaches, working on a new Fan Page for Facebook so I will have two of them, and painting some lovely new pieces of art
Each day is getting cooler and the sunsets are spectacular - found a little dead bird the other day on our walk and was able to capture a beautiful Monarch butterfly
Every day is different - here is some of the new art I am working on

Of course there are a lot of colours again - this is a mixed media piece with acrylics, pastels and collage and is almost done
There is a "double" one that I am doing on wood panels using GOLDEN light molding paste and a palette knife and sponges here

They will not be the same, but will be a set and I really like the 3D effect we can achieve with the molding paste

On a recent weekend I was able to capture this DOUBLE RAINBOW which was so beautiful and only lasted for a few seconds... it was just wonderful 

Hope everyone has had a great summer - I am looking forward to some great photos this Fall and some good painting and will keep posting for you on the blog - thanks for all of your lovely comments and support

More Colour, Monet, Abstract and Soccer 2

New artwork finally, I was having trouble getting decent photos of the work
I am excited using all this colour is wonderful and I have sold some art with some very enthusiastic responses to it all and am so pleased!!
In keeping with the Rainbow colours theme, I have added two Monet impressionist type works and an abstract work
With some bright colours in a peaceful setting, this was painted with Monet in mind
Here you go !!!

This one is Monet Woods
with my daily walks to inspire me (the scenery is so beautiful walking through the woods and by the water... This is 14x18 acrylic on regular canvas with the sides painted - Original SOLD but prints, giclee canvas in many sizes, framed work, cards and coffee mugs

The other one is Monet Woodland (really creative, I know - maybe someone can think of better names) and it has SOLD also.

Not done yet - what do you think of this abstract - same colour theme but more of a cityscape - this (to me) shows an explosion and chaotic stressful busy street with buildings rising up and a hustle bustle kind of feeling  - I have called it "City Street Explosion" as that is how the city feels to me - This one has SOLD but prints, cards and gift items available here

I have altered the soccer painting to please the purchaser (who wanted more RED which is really FUN)  now I have two versions available as prints for sale - the original is sold ... Here is the new version with more red 

Which one do you like better? The one in the previous blog post or this one?

I actually LOVE this one... and it really is that colourful - this took so many layers and has been weeks of painting little bits at a time but I am so pleased - a little boy's soccer dreams on the wall of his room and they love it 

Have a wonderful week!! If you would like to purchase any of my work, please visit my Artist Website or shop through Facebook in the "SHOP" tab at the top of my Facebook Page Thanks for all of your support and positive remarks, it means a lot to me and I am grateful

Two Exciting Ones (in progress)

Hope all of you are having a wonderful weekend - I have two more works in progress...

This is a Native American theme... painted to "Dances With Wolves" songs with John Barry - mostly Dunbar's theme and Fire Dance

See the fire spirit crawling away? It will be finished soon and posted onto the websites

So do you see why I am painting both of them at once? One on each easel... as one colour dries I am working on the other painting, then switch back - the music is awesome and very inspiring

This one is for Kyle... he loves soccer and he asked for a soccer painting - with the World Cup, I decided to make the soccer balls into "world balls" as my son Jeff used to call them (the globe) and a progression of young boys playing - going up to a full adult standing on top of the world - symbolic I guess - I am working on this still, but happy with the colours (Kyle wanted a lot of red) - so hope these added some colour to your weekend - I will try to keep going but can only paint in little bits

I have had a lot of pain over the past week - but these are happy paintings and progress is being made - hugs and happy creating to you - hope you like these

Two Abstract Works for you

OK Folks... its been a while but we have to enjoy this summer weather while we can and summer will be over soon, so have been doing a bit more outside lately
BUT of course, still painting and creating...


Here is an Underwater Seascape with lots of coral and 3D effects using acrylic techniques - it is 9x12 on canvas board - can you see the fish in there? There really are a couple of fish but very subtle as the coral and seascape was my main focus here

I am working on quite a few things at once so a bit distracted

This is the second abstract - it is available as prints or cards only from my different sites

This is NOT a digital picture, it is a photo of my original acrylic painting - luckily I took a photo at this point because it was "done" to me

Then I woke up the following day and decided to change it...  I ended up completely altering the work

Do you see a feather coming out of the bottom corner and flowing up diagonally?  I painted this with FEATHERS from the path outside on our walk... Different sized Canadian Geese feathers and of course some other acrylic techniques but I used feathers to paint most of this art and it was fun to do - Don't be afraid to be creative and try something new with your art - I enjoyed doing these two different pieces

Hope you have a great creative day!

This is so cool... Abstract "Cosmos" painting

OK people... I have another one that is really abstract - it is 16x20 acrylic on canvas and I have called it "Cosmos" because it looks like the universe to me or space with all kinds of things happening out there - lots of layers in this one and colours and gel mediums with metallic pens and paints and just had a fun time making this

Am working on a 3 canvas set abstract right now and also have commissions to do - it's all coming along nicely - today is a gorgeous day and I need to take a break and get outside and enjoy the sunshine! Happy "SUN"DAY to all of you!

You can buy the original or get prints and greeting cards at a lesser price - if you go to my website you can just order from them and the quality is spectacular -go to http://claire-bull.artistwebsites.com and you can order what you like there

New Artwork with new camera

My dog and I were frog hunting and I fell in... camera was toast and I have been waiting for the new camera - finally able to take pics of my latest art and show you what I have been doing while I waited!!

Excited to be doing pencil work again after a bit of a break 

Here is my latest progress on (guess who) - I put it on my Facebook page in previous stage and three of the ladies guessing got it right away! That is gratifying as it means I must be doing it accurately enough to portray the real person (www.facebook.com/ArtbyClaire) 

I have also been working on my acrylics and florals - a new one of Spring Daffodils, Original has SOLD but  I think this would be a pretty Mother's Day card or notecard set -  It is my sixth floral in the floral series - I love doing these - I miss my garden... so this is my way of getting my flower fix !!

We used to have two acres of gardens... I spent hours out there - but life is about change, isn't it? And now I have a lot of walking trails and beautiful woods and LESS cleaning, LESS maintenance and MORE art, more free time to walk the doggy and spend some together time with my DH and of course, to PAINT and CREATE - so all is good... (it was a tough adjustment)

I have always painted flowers... My favourite classes in school were Biology and Art - so maybe that has something to do with it 

So one more for now...

I hope you all get a chance to paint and create and enjoy the sunshine !!

She Cried....

So yesterday was a great day... my lady came over to pick up the commissioned work of her dog - and when she saw the painting, she cried - she grabbed me and we hugged and then I started to cry too - she said the work was so much better in person than it was on the internet (I had shown her photos of the work) and she was soooooooooo pleased!!! I used pen and ink on the whiskers and tongue and eyes and acrylic and it was 3D fur and she said I had captured him perfectly!
When you work hard on a painting or a mixed media piece of whatever you are trying to create, it is so gratifying and such a pleasure to get a response like that and see their face light up - and to actually have all that emotion and cry upon seeing a piece of art that you have created... as an artist, that is the ultimate reward (to me) - It was a beautiful day ... showing her my art studio and my other work - she said I "think differently" and I tried to show her what I was making and she said it was so different and creative and she was flabbergasted by it all
Then a neighbour walked by and saw some of my paintings on the front porch (I was varnishing) and he wants a painting too - so basically in one day I had two sales and positive positive hugs and excitement!!
It was a great day
I hope every one of you has someone who cries with you today... in a good way ;)))))) I am working on a few more right now (a few at a time) and outside varnishing and putting some gesso on boards and even figured out how to be a seller on ebay and set up an auction of three of my works!!
My ebay store - with auctions!! Yay I figured it out
and a Zazzle store with some coffee mugs (with my art on them - so pretty - nice Mom present) binder, notecards, Tshirt, womens shoes - it's fun doing all of this!
My new Zazzle store
I hope you  have a lovely fun day too!!

So Excited and Honoured!!!

Guess What??? My artwork is featured on Imagekind in the Abstract Art Group as the group avatar and a glowing review of my work by the group leader! I am so pleased and honoured... this is great and very exciting to wake up and read her review and see my actual painting as the group image
Apparently I am a breath of fresh air - hmmm... that is lovely to hear, isn't it? I fell off my chair - now that I have figured out how to set up some websites with my work, the people out there in Cyberland are actually loving what I am doing and it is so gratifying and encouraging and just makes me want to paint and paint and paint!!!
Here is the art work and the review - you can visit my sites and see my work (or buy originals, prints, cards) and comment too! I have also updated my Facebook page so it is now
Claire Bull Fine Art on Facebook - making great progress with all this web stuff and painting too - more photos coming up - almost done three more works!!! Thanks to all of you for your support - I am flying with this ;)))

Claire Bull hails from Toronto, Ontario Canada. Her art is like a breath of fresh air to me. In her worked entitled I See Birds she has managed an optical illusion. I was a bit slow on the uptake but when I focused and saw the birds I was so delighted! What a great effect! Her colours set the mood sometimes fiery and others light and breezy. So glad she’s joined us on IK and in our Abstract Art group! Thanks Claire and Cheers!   I SEE BIRDS find@ artbyclaire   SUNLIT FOREST find@ artbyclaire   ORANGE find@ artbyclaire

Websites - This is just the start

OK - so FINALLY I have figured out the websites and how to set them up ... I am excited
I have a few - am trying to work on all of them and do blogs on them and make these paintings and mixed media creations available as originals and prints and cards - it has involved a lot of photo work and cropping and uploading with internet problems and learning how to work a website
It has certainly been a learning experience and taken a lot of time and effort but a necessary endeavour as I want to be able to sell my work online
So I have a few site links - and am working on adding photos and making things available for purchase through Paypal - also painting each day and meeting a lot of new artists on internet networking sites and Facebook so this is fun and interesting...Please let me know if you have any comments or any trouble with the websites and what you think of the progress so far (or if you want to purchase)
Thanks for all of your support, it means a lot and very encouraging, I appreciate it

ImageKind website - prints and cards

Claire Bull Fine Art

My Artist Websites site

My Artspan Link

and working on some more sites - as well as ebay and Etsy so I will be ALL OVER the web and you can find me in lots of ways - Thanks guys!!! Making progress.... off to paint for a while

Long Time Passing but Life is Good

Hi everyone - just celebrated my grandmother's 105th Birthday! What a wonderful family celebration and so great to see everyone ... I have been painting and working on a website so not updating the blog - trying to work with Photoshop and figure that out too - lots of computer time and not enough studio time
Here are some of the new works and within the next month I will have a website up where you can purchase originals and prints - it takes time
Am enjoying meeting fellow artists through the internet and seeing all of the wonderful art work in the meantime... walking my dog in this beautiful summer weather and seeing family and friends - Life is GOOD  - love to all of you

Some beautiful roses - acrylic on canvas 24x24 gallery size - this is like a Monet painting impressionistic and palette knife was fun for this - It is so pretty

My friend's dog "Rufus" he is such a beautiful dog, we would walk the trails with him and he has grown into a gorgeous dog - on your left is canvas board and on the right is an 8 x 10 on canvas - this is mixed media and I used acrylics and pen and sponge - this is a commissioned work and both SOLD to a lovely lady so her dog is immortalized forever and he is so beautiful - it was my pleasure to do this

I have called this one "Walk With Me" - this is out of my head... no reference photo - but it is where I walk each day with my dog... it is my impression of our daily walks and how I see the world - I love it here acrylic on canvas

This one is so pretty - like a Spring Meadow - it is full of wild flowers and I have given this one away as a gift to a very special lady... she just about died and her wonderful husband said it will have a special place in their home - I am blessed by their love and am so pleased to give them a treasure... this was a fun painting and very beautiful - prints will be available on the website

I think I will add a photo from the family celebrations this weekend - this is unusual for me as this is an art journal but turning 105 is unusual too 

This is a wonderful lady who has been a huge part of our lives and we all adore her - part of another era... she has lived through a CENTURY of changes and has so many stories - always a positive person, full of love and laughter and hugs... calling us "dearie" and supporting us all - this lady is so special - here is a photo of my grandmother who will be 105 years young tomorrow - love and congratulations to this beautiful woman

Love and Congratulations to my grandmother on her 105th birthday

Updated Art and New projects

Its been a while... revised some work and started new projects - internet was down for a few days so I took advantage of that and lots of new photos from long walks
Am pacing myself a bit more with the painting which is frustrating (as I would rather paint 24 hours a day) but necessary due to my back and neck injuries and the Fibromyalgia and arthritis sometimes won't allow me to paint the way I want to or do other things...

Updated the previous version of the abstract artwork with the eye - it has a lot more colour and not as dark now
This painting has SOLD but prints cards and reproductions available here

Also updated the Orange canvas I had done previously - this painting is sold

It was great to work with the bright colours and this has a lot of copper glow to it

And a few more but this is enough for today - am working on a website and it is frying my brain - Happy Painting and have a great day 

Orange Featured Art of the Day

This 24x24 acrylic abstract was awarded Feature of the Day on Milliande's Art Community - I am honoured

It is bright and beautiful - it reminds me of the sunsets here - hopefully it starts off your long weekend with some sunshine

I am working on a collage right now (3D effects) and some impressionist series
Hope everyone has a good weekend

Something Different

Decided to try something different - this one was painted entirely with my fingers

I am calling it my Spirit Tree ... acrylic on canvas 18 x 24  - it was healing and therapeutic, totally creative from my imagination 

This next one is Mystic Circles - can you see the theme here? It is brightly coloured acrylic on canvas 14x18 using a gel medium so it has lots of texture and gloss 

I am experimenting and creating and you can expect the unexpected ... it feels good to be able to do this 

Please email me if you have any requests - some of you have been wanting my artwork which is great - am so happy you like it

Peonies on 30x40 canvas

This painting was difficult for me physically but creatively I had a great time with it ... this is totally from my imagination - I wanted a fun floral featuring Peonies in soft tones
It is the largest canvas I have worked on and my neck, back and arms are suffering for it so am resting now
I have to pace myself a bit better - smaller paintings are difficult because I cannot bend my neck or back over to sit and work on them, and this size was good because I could stand and use my entire arm rather than wrist and hand motions but it took hours or work and I am mentally and physically exhausted so I think I was a little too enthusiastic about it - this painting is for a very special lady who loves Peonies and has a birthday coming up soon

I hope you like this ... I miss my peonies so this painting is really fun to look at each morning 

Floral progress

The floral acrylic canvas is coming along - building up with sponges and light washes and background

Above is a close up of the flowers being put in and the background leaves starting to come along
There are quite a few layers of work here and I have been experimenting with different items to get more comfortable = amazing what you can do with a canvas and some paint - this painting is not from a photo reference - it is being painted with music and my imagination which is the way I love the most
Thus no predicting how it will turn out and I do not feel locked in to any particular way of painting -- there is more freedom of expression and creativity this way
Here is the painting in full 30 x 40 inch canvas

Remember this is an Art Journal, so I post progress pics and am keeping this as a journal of my work as it comes along - Today is classical music I think - for a nice change
Thanks for all of your support and hope you are enjoying this - also wondering if the lighter background is better for you - A happy day to all of you

Laying down the Base for the Floral Peonies

Hi everyone - I have read that people prefer LIGHT backgrounds on blogs with dark text... rather than the black background that I had -Will be playing around a bit with it but would love some input
Also have some recent progress pics

In the previous post I showed you the setup - did a wash of acrylics in a really "watercolour" fluid without mixing so it had pinks lilac darker purple all flowing into each other

then a sponge with some more purples and pinks and mixed in a bit of soft yellow

Now I am doing the saran wrap again....

just along the bottom so the green leaves (see how some of it is pale yellow and different shades of green - I mixed and drizzled and sponged and then put on the saran all wrinkled) and it dries like that so I can't do much now... I guess I have to go make dinner and knit - but fun to see it tomorrow and how it turns out 

Also used some masking fluid tracing along the previous stems formed with the saran wrap - and glazed over with another shade of pink  - I want it to be soft pastel but the music today - Supertramp - is dictating otherwise and we are getting lots of fun colours - the brush and the music paint the canvas, and today the music was adding some great colours - DREAMER played quite a few times... I wonder if that might be relevant and the music is talking to me - I know my teachers used to say I was a dreamer ... hmmm... I don't actually have a problem with that 

Let me know what you think of the brighter blog - maybe it is easier for you to read - apparently a lot of folks prefer it 

Thanks to all of you for your comments

New one 30 x 40 inch

oh my goodness.
starting off with a wash of light purples and pinks so it mixes in with mauve and lilac - pinks showing through
then while wet, I applied saran wrap all over in crinkled bits - so it will dry with patterns I can work with - I am thinking a "floral with PEONIES" for someone very special ... my grandmother will be 105 and her favourite flower has always been the Peony - this will be a tribute to her and how wonderful she has been to all of us...this lady... I could tell you some wonderful stories

You can't tell the size of it from this photo but it is the largest canvas (30 x 40 inch)I have ever worked on - more freedom to experiment - so this is the canvas covered in saran wrap all crinkled up in bits
here is a close up of what it does to the colours ...

See how it pushes the colours around and then leaves stems and shapes as it dries - I just peeked and there are little bumps and circles of purple and it is all working perfectly - no rules - I LOVE NO RULES

Also today I joined a women's art community and met some wonderful artistic creative ladies from all over the world - some of us are freezing cold, some of us are boiling hot, some of us were going to bed and some of us were just waking up - technology is great - we can now connect with people and share ideas and resources and inspiration - I am excited to have a whole new world of friends out there - thank you all for being part of this art journey with me
I am working on setting up a website so I can sell my art online - right now am working on commissions and you can just email me if you would like anything and we will discuss canvas size, prices, colours etc - THANK YOU to all of you

Exploring Creativity PART 2

Finished...
This is 20 x 24 mixed media on canvas - acrylics using sponges and random materials out of my imagination
Part 1 showed you how it was coming together - this is the final piece
If you enlarge it, you will see words floating in the painting and a butterfly and a man (wearing a scarf for those of you who knit out there, that is important) with a horse - I love how the glow of light is coming from the door and the lattice work and fence were made with masking tape and an old credit card
The music made this one happen for me and it was great fun!!

Exploring Creativity

Exploring creativity and art expression through exciting new techniques means taking a leap of faith

This piece (20x24 inch canvas) is being created as a collage with acrylic (Golden OPEN) and gel transfer

I have masking tape, paper towels, saran wrap, magazine pieces and found items

using pen and acrylic and sponges to paint this

Lots of great music playing as usual... today the music is from the GLEE cast - all the songs just keep comin' and the inspiration from them

The music makes the painting for me


Yesterday I spent hours cleaning up the studio and cleaning brushes and organizing

 What do you think?? I have two easels - the Mac is fabulous for the music and reference photos - the lace table hides my printer and cleaning products - it is finally organized and I am free to explore - I would rather be painting and creating so off I go... This studio is my favourite place in the world