lush – heatherdawnfineart

These two Irises are among some of my favorite paintings because they were done in “premiere coup” style…that means first strike or first blow.

The process for me is I intentionally decide the color, the direction of the brush stroke and the pressure of the brush stroke all before ever touching the brush to the surface that I am painting on.

As I make each brush stroke I leave it exactly as it was when laid down on the canvas or board without retouching or reworking it. This means that the process of each stroke is done in my mind first, it is a contemplative practice that can be very freeing and in many ways healing.

This direct painting method that has no underpainting layers and no drawing, it is simple, intuitive and fresh… from me through the brush to the surface. .

I think it is similar to Chinese painting in some sense because of the immediacy of it.

You will be able to see the brushstrokes in the close up photos below.

Thank you for visiting my page, I hope you enjoy it.

The new painting that you see below is titled “Trees at Night”; it is done with thick painterly strokes using a palette knife and brushes. Take a close look, the colors are deep and lush, mimicking gems, they are alive with rich, vivid pigments.

There was a flood that caused a lot of damage in Calgary last June. [see link below] One place that is still affected is Bowness Park.

Bowness Park was one of our favorite parks to go to on a weekly basis; they were hit hard by this flood. I was at the park one night while there was still snow on the ground before the flood; I was taking photos of the trees. I shone my headlights into the trees to see what effects it would have in my photos, this painting is inspired from those photos.

I have fond memories of Bowness Park and those times were special to me because it was a place where I could go to have some quiet time. We would often walk the paths and there were sections of the park where we felt as though we were not in the city….almost.

There will be many more paintings to come from the inspiration and impact that Bowness Park had on me and my family.

Painting this yesterday was very freeing for me. I have been in somewhat of a holding pattern lately because I desire to go out and paint but it is not always possible, especially right now with the weather being so cold. Hopefully one day soon I can take the Westy Van out to do some plein air painting from it with the heat on.

Style: Impressionism

Oil on panel

10″ X 12″

Available.

Contact: Heather at homestudio1@shaw.ca for pricing, questions, requests or commissions.