oil paint – heatherdawnfineart

Videos of Paintings

Impressionist Painter., Portrait Painting

Cheryl

Well I have been a busy bee painting and making videos. I am planning some online classes that I am going to launch soon. In the meantime I have been busily creating videos of paintings that I did some years ago. I recorded the videos because I had intended on doing these online classes all along but never got around to dong it.

You can contact me via my website. http://www.heatherdawnfineart.com

I am actually very excited about creating these classes and I am looking forward to seeing what kind of paintings I will do as well as the paintings my students will do.

I would really appreciate if my work could be shared.

Thank you so much.

Here is the link to the latest video on my channel:

Wallpaper Paintings

Portrait Painting

As long as I can remember I have absolutely loved different types of papers, textures, cards and books. When I was younger I would spend as much time as I was able to inside the store looking at and touching all of the greeting cards. While I was attending Art College one of my favorite places to be was in the college’s art supply/bookstore selecting out art supplies. They had sample books with paper samples in it; that was just something that I liked doing. Another favorite place for me is the hardware stores, I know funny…but the smell of wood just catches me in a nostalgic way and I could linger strolling through a hardware store forever. They also have samples of paint and wallpaper…oh my wallpaper is so rich. I don’t really like wallpapered walls, but wallpaper itself is fun to experiment and play with; when I say play I mean to collage with it or paint on it. I have a few rolls of different types of wallpaper that I have been collecting over the years and finally decided today that I would like to paint on pieces to see what effects I can get. Of course one of my favorite subjects to paint is the human face. I plan on painting many quick sketches on pieces of this beautiful textured wallpaper and then after it is dry my plan is to mount select ones onto these walnut framed panels that I have. I have a feeling this project might take some time but I think it is well worth it. The photo of the painting below is my first “Wallpaper Lady” which I did today.
I painted it in oils and my colors are Titanium White, Raw Umber, and a touch of Phthaloe Blue in some areas. The subject is from an old black and white (sepia colored) photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron from the 1800’s

Vintage Wall Flower

Red Blouse

Impressionist Painter.

My latest portrait is titled Red Blouse. What I so love about this painting is that the red from the blouse has reflected onto my model (Cheryl) not only under her chin, but also the lower lip, the nose and eyes. This was so appealing to me and I am very happy with the results.

20160224_204153cropped final

I am including two progress images.

Until next time, thank you for stopping by, please feel free to share this post.

latter stage

mi-stage

Scars With a Purpose

Impressionist Painter.

Scars With a Purpose

We attract to ourselves the people, things and experiences that we are drawn to. I know it seems cliche to say this, but I don’t know how else to explain it. I had seen a portrait of a Nuer man on a friend’s Facebook page. I’ve seen him share this photo before and I found it to be so stunning. As a photographer and painter of portraits, it drew me in, the intensity of this portrait and the light was so stunning. I made a comment that I wanted to paint that portrait, my friend was more than happy about that. I searched the internet to see if it was a copyright image and I couldn’t find the source. I did paint it and of course posted the painting on my Facebook page. When all was said and done I discovered the source/photographer of the portrait. The very day that I had spoken to my sister about it, she asked me if I had given him credit, I was feeling apprehensive because when I painted it I had no idea who it belonged to. Then he (the photographer) sent me a message, he is kind to say the least, I did include his link on my post of the painting but in case you don’t see it there, here is the website of this photographer; all I can say is WOW his work is so amazing. http://www.mario-gerth.de/ I am certain that you will like his work.

Here is the information about the significance of the scars.
The pattern of the scarification takes the form of 6 lines across the forehead. They are given to a youth as an initiation into manhood and each stands for a code of behaviour that the youth is supposed to perfect as a man. Line 1: You are no longer a boy. You are now a man and should not entangle yourself with childish things. Line 2: You are now a man, you are to fear no one and are now independent of your parents. Line 3: You must participate in the defense of the public without fear of death, and you must take care of your household with as much vigour as you would take in the defense of the public. You must not steal, or take part in any scandalous activities. Line 4: You must exercise honour and dignity; being especially careful to not eat at inappropriate places and times. Line 5: You are never to be gluttonous, or covetous. Line 6: You are never to commit adultery, especially with the wife of a man near of kin to you, or to have sexual relations with a girl that is related to you, in particular those that have some sort of blood relation to you. To do so is a violation of the incest taboo and will result in disgrace and death.

Paintings in Photography – Inspired by Gustav Klimt.

Impressionist Painter.

Here are the results of my paintings that were inspired by Gustav Klimt. This is an awesome and very involved project. I feel as though there is a whole world that lies underneath this inspiration and my finished product cannot keep up with all of my ideas. Once I get a refined flow happening, I’m sure that even though it will still be very involved, I will be able to reach the finish line much quicker (hoping so anyway.)

In the last months I have been fine tuning my portrait studio with some painting and organizing, meeting with clients and models, learning new work flow techniques, tending to my dad who has been quite ill and just regular everyday life. Speaking of a busy life did I mention I am going to be a grandma (gramma) again? I’m so excited about that cute little bundle of joy arriving.

About this painting / portrait. In stage one I painted the two canvases as you may have seen in my other post, if not here is the link https://agentbluewhale.wordpress.com/2015/08/26/blue-and-blue-two/

I then had set up a photo session with my daughter Cheryl, I had Carolina one of my make-up artists come in and my friend/assistant Kathy come in to help with this shoot. It was so much fun!

Here are two of the photos that I was satisfied with and I intend to paint both of them…yes that is the intention. I create paintings to incorporate into my photography and then use them as my subjects for paintings. This is an elaborate way to get to the finished piece, but to me it is more satisfying knowing the process. I understand that all of this could have been accomplished in a program such as Photoshop, and I love Photoshop for many reasons, but I had to paint the props / backgrounds myself that is just who I am.

C GC2 BL_5763

C2-5780

Blue and Blue Two

Impressionist Painter.

It has been so exciting and inspirational to paint these two beauties. They came about because of my desire to create stunning portraits by using hand painted canvases as backdrops….marrying two art forms that I am deeply involved with.

I have so many ideas of making unique fine art portraits using beautiful paintings running through my head…I just need to get all the other work done first so that I can free up some time to do it.

I will keep you posted as to my progress and am eagerly waiting to bring to life my portraits using these two canvases.

Thanks for your continued support and encouragement and thank you all for sharing my experiences.

Blue Two
24″ x 48″

Blue
24″ x 48″

A Record of Life Captured on Canvas.

Impressionist Painter.

Painting

…the experience
…the effort
…the time
…the growth
…the beauty
…the heart
…the love
all of these treasured elements and much more are the priceless attributes that form the finished piece of art.

I have been working on this 24″ x 24″ oil painting for several weeks, to be fair some of that time was inner work and not the actual applying paint to the canvas, some of the time was invested in recording and editing to create this video, some of the time (3 days) was spent creating and setting up the still life and of course time is also invested in developing this blog.

Someone asked me once “Why paint a still life?” The best explanation is this, when painting from a photograph the subject is no longer in a three dimensional space, the camera has done most of the work for you. When painting from life, one sharpens the creative skills needed in order to capture life onto a canvas, that is why I value painting from life. I love these challenges, in addition conquering the challenge of bringing life onto a two dimensional plain to be preserved forever, that is what I find so satisfying.

That is why my paintings are invaluable, they are an investment of my life, a part of me…what is that worth to me? It is priceless!

LINK: Painting and a Teacup

Click on the ‘Painting and a Teacup’ BLUE link.

Cheryl

Impressionist Painter.

16 x 20 oil on canvas

This young lady has my heart!

She is the youngest of all of my children and the only one left at home. She is now only a few short days away from graduation which will be the close of another chapter in her life and the beginning of a brand new phase…..*bittersweet sigh*

I remember when I was a young woman working in sales it was often told to me that whatever you want in life, associate yourself with people who are living it. It stands to reason that this can also work in the opposite direction, as humans we are affected by those that we spend the majority of our time with. Some studies promote the idea that the reason for this is that we have “mirroring neurons” in the brain which modify our thoughts, feelings and behaviour to mirror the people that we spend most of our time with. I couldn’t do it, I tried to be the ‘successful sales person’ that made millions but I didn’t have ‘it’ in me, it takes certain strategies and a certain mind set that I did not want to adopt and I could not put my physical desires first. At this point in my life I am happy that I took a different direction. Having a family, homeschooling and dedicating time to study and prayer, to be available for my family, my husband and others who needed a word a hug a prayer are some of the true gems that adorned the days of my life’s journey.

Cheryl is one of those gems, being the youngest she could have allowed herself to moulded by those around her, she could have followed the direction of her siblings, but she decided to not mirror others, she decided to be Cheryl and stand in her own space. She is a unique girl with a flare for her own style, she doesn’t follow the crowd, doesn’t know the popular songs; she’s eclectic and ‘indi’ 😉

she doesn’t dress or act like the majority of other teens her age;

she is a beautiful tapestry being woven

a diamond being formed

a pearl that is not yet finished

a unique work of art

a vessel that the Potter is shaping for honor.

Mirroring neurons are a part of our being yet we still have a choice and the proof is with this young lady (and others in this world) she has often been faced with situations that were uncomfortable yet she took the straight path and did not compromise, I can say that my heart is truly touched by her and I am so thankful to have been granted the privilege of being her mom.

This painting was made being inspired by a photo that my son Jeremy took. To me the light coming in the window shining on her face speaks of the Light that is available to us all, ever shining, ever present, love, life and truth; quietly warming us, leading us so that we do not stumble; the Light that asks nothing in return just accept and BE made whole. Thank You \o/

For more information on paintings and commissions please contact Heather using the Contact Form.

Sparrows

Impressionist Painter.

Click to view larger

2 Sparrows

16 x 20

Oil on panel

Available

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I came from a family of nine children, I think it was common back then for couples to have larger families. I love my siblings very much yet I often found myself playing alone. I thoroughly enjoyed being by myself playing quietly; digging in the dirt was one of my favorite pastimes. Not just digging, I would be creating roads, whole communities where my imaginary citizens would live in perfect harmony, it was my creative outlet at the time, that is probably why that I chose Ceramics as my major at the Alberta College of Art and Design… I love dirt 😉

Growing up in a small village it was always rather quiet and so hearing the whisper in the breeze was ever present, in my heart I knew where the still small voice came from and it was ever-present, speaking to me. Another familiar sound that is so endearing to me are the sparrows songs. The sparrow has such beautiful songs that hearing them makes me feel so at peace, so at home….it always brings a smile to my face. I know that sparrows are viewed as pests, but for me they bring comfort. Here is a link to some of the songs. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Song_Sparrow/sounds

I recall dreaming and earnestly desiring to be a bird, I didn’t know what kind of bird, but I just wanted to fly, free in the air…they seem so carefree, so happy, so free…that is what I wanted.

It’s no wonder that I have chosen sparrows as my subject because the symbology (art of expression by symbols) of sparrows is very telling and I feel it is no surprise as to the accuracy of this symbolism that has been attributed to them, this is how I see sparrows and because they are a small bird that seems to have no significance, I can relate. These symbols of the sparrow are very much the attributes of that still small voice in the breeze that I have been so familiar with for all those years.

SPARROW~

Joy
Inclusion
Creativity
Simplicity
Protection
Community
Productivity
Friendliness

Still Small Voice of the Pure Breath that I heard in the breeze.

Love
Joy
Peace
Long-suffering
Kindness
Goodness
Faith
Meekness
Self-control

The Native American symbol of a sparrow is: Sparrow: Symbol of desire and fertility; manifests new love in someone’s life; understands the aspects of race; ability to use the power of song; understands all aspects of color.

It wouldn’t be too far fetched to say that sparrows are a symbol of love, not just manifest love, not just fertility, but LOVE.

Love is understanding, love is truth, love is compassion, love is forgiveness, love is kindness, love is empathy and much more.I know that I am being taken care of, just like the sparrows who have no worries. I know that HE has been watching over me all my life and continues to do so. I know that I am clay, He is the Potter and HE is the One who has kept me all these years. I am so thankful.

Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows come
Why should my heart feel lonely
And long for heaven and home

When Yasha is my portion
A constant friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches over me
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches me.

Civilla D. Martin

*Jesus or Joshua are English translations of the Hebrew name YASHA (Yahusha) here is the Hebrew number, meaning and name.

H3467
ישׁע
yâsha‛
yaw-shah’
A primitive root; properly to be open, wide or free, that is, (by implication) to be safe; causatively to free or succor: – X at all, avenging, defend, deliver (-er), help, preserve, rescue, be safe, bring (having) salvation, save (-iour), get victory.

Rise Above

Impressionist Painter.

Click image to view larger

16 x 20

oil on panel

available

My younger sister always used to say “water off a duck’s back” whenever anyone was faced with adversity. She would motion with her hand as if stroking the back of a duck…that movement looked like an airplane diving and then at the last second taking off up into the air…and it is a good saying and a good motion because both of them imply rising above the strife, rising above the toils, the troubles and pain of this life.

This painting ‘Rise Above’ is a little sparrow that has flown up high into the air and turns to look down at the place where s/he once was, to see that s/he is not trapped by the snares of this life, s/he sees that s/he has power, power to choose.

I am choosing to paint sparrows right now because they are considered to be a pest and are not given much significance. I have often felt that I was considered to be a pest, not very significant…a sad truth, but I repudiate that image that was placed on me.

I Rise Above the labels, the voices of the past, and even some voices of the present that do not agree with what I stand for. I Rise Above because I choose to live a life that is real, a life that is filled with truth and love and understanding. I choose to live a life that is aimed to do good, to help others, to love others freely in the best way that I know how. I Rise Above because I have decided to be the change that I want to see in this world…to love mercy, to do justly and to walk humbly with the Creator.

When one can Rise Above and overcome, then one can truly listen enabling others to be heard, to be free, to Rise Above.

But even the hairs of your head are all numbered! Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:7