I felt like I needed to have some fun and two things came to mind right away - being outdoors (currently cold here) and cycling. Looking through my photos I found one that I had taken on a holiday. There was a dark brick wall behind the bike which did not suit my mood. I started with a painted drawing, then added a colourful underpainting (1). Building the brick in and defining the bike (2) then took a black and white photo to check the values. The finished painting is now on my drying rack (bottom photo). Hopefully this looks as fun as it was to paint, just what I needed! I will have cards made of this painting with a blank inside so it can be used for anything fun or celebratory.

"The Beginning And The End"
16" x 20" Oil on canvas, #20126120    For Sale under "Just For Fun" tab
​#paintingmakesmehappy #oilpainting #paintinglife, #canadianartist #originalartwork #karenoliversfineart #happyart #bicycleoilpainting

​Oh this was fun! I was working on an underpainting and this one painted itself. When I was done, removed the tape and turned it around, there was a white dog looking at me. It immediately reminded me of our daughter and son-in-law's dog Freddie. Freddie follows commands but "wait" is hard for him as he gets so distracted by anything and everything around him. Freddie is completely black so it was fun that this dog is white and very similar in looks.

Now that we are in cold weather again, my thoughts turned to my "snowbird friends". This would of been the first winter we could of gone away for an extended time. The cold swirling air around my "homebird" while looking shocked at me from the end of her branch is the internal view I have of this situation.

 "Snowbird, Now Homebird"
Mixed media on water colour paper, 6 3/4" x 10"  #20116020
#karenoliversfineart  #colourfulart #mixedmediaartfun #paintedimaginarybird #canadianartist #colourfulartwork #originalartwork #mixedmediapainting, #snowbird

For Remembrance Day, sketching while thinking of Flanders Field and those that are or have suffered through war. 
#RemembranceDay #familyandfriendsinwar #sketchbookmemories #Doodlewash #KarenOliversFineArt  #inkandwatercoloursketch

This painting started with an abstract underpainting using Quinacridone Burnt Orange, Yellow Ochre, Phthalo Blue, black and white. This is a mixed media piece that also has pastel and pencil. As I was working I was thinking about how great it was to have time in my studio and on the flip side, how difficult it is for everyone to figure out how to fulfill their obligations during this pandemic, hence the balls in the air. The juggling is uncomfortably high and my person is looking forward with no time for looking back.
​

"Balls In The Air"
​Mixed Media on water colour paper, 8" x 10", #20110120
#karenoliversfineart  #colourfulart #mixedmediaartfun  #canadianartist #colourfulartwork #originalartwork #mixedmediapainting

"Sit (Check), Now Wait?????"
Mixed Media on watercolour paper,  10" x 8"   #20119120
#karenoliversfineart  #colourfulart #mixedmediaartfun #paintedimaginarydog #canadianartist #colourfulartwork #originalartwork #mixedmediapainting

This fun abstract painting really painted itself. I was working on an underpainting and when I was done I saw a white dog. It reminds me of our daughter and son-in-law's dog Freddie. Freddie will follow commands but "Wait" or "Stay" seem especially hard as you can see how distracted he gets by everything around him.

This was fun to do and out of my comfort zone with no end result to work towards.  Day 4 was "Play", What colours are right for me? Obviously bright and happy colours are my go to. One colour I played with that I love is Radiant Turquoise. This was a colour I purchased as I loved it in an artist friend's work but did not incorporate it in my art. I played with colours, lines and shapes. The first photo below is the way I painted it but when done, liked it turned around as well.

Day 5 Discernment and How can I create more of what I love? I found the questions Nicholas asked us and the painting lesson on our own work was very inspiring. I loved painting in this fun, abstract and physical way but felt like I wanted it to have more of a story. The red colour and circle marks made me think of our fruit tree that we had to cut down this summer so I went with that. 

"La Fruta"
Mixed media on water colour paper 10" x 8"  #20107120
#mixedmediapainting #colourfulart #canadianartist #contemporaryartist #karenoliversfineart #originalartwork #colourfulartwork #mixedmediapainting

I enjoyed a free 5 day online class which includes an email with thoughts to consider and questions to answer for ourselves to fill in on our "compass" sheet he included. We then post on a group Facebook page and comment on other's work especially if they are asking for input. Nicholas does a daily talk and paint to show us his process and thinking, usually around 30 minutes. I have been painting as he is talking/demoing  then end when he ends. It feels brave to put these tidbits of learning out "there". Day 1 - 3 in order.

Day 1 After journaling on our "compass", we were to make marks of any kind, and with any tool, I keep a 36"x12" hanging in my studio that I put left over paint or to try different things so I decided to use it with paint I had on my palette. Low and behold I saw 2 faces looking back pensively at me so I painted around them, what a fun surprise.

Day 2 (on left) "Where have you been and what made you happy as a child", Day 3 (center and right) "Where are you now and what inspires your creativity". So far all were "play", very messy and felt "child like". We were also journaling each day to questions on our "compass" journal page.