Category: the Life of anieKsteph

Where everything else falls…in the life category.

Madeira and its Landmarks

Part one

This December holiday, we decided to leave the country to a sunny destination. My Partner is Portuguese, so among the list of possible destinations was the beautiful island of Madeira, a territory of Portugal.Skyline: Funchal Madeira- Sao Joao Neighbourhood

While examining what specific areas and towns to visit in this exuberant country, we had considered two places: Funchal and Machico. These locations are very popular for tourists, as well as being locations where my Partner has family living. When possible, it is enjoyable to see a foreign country as the locals do. I know that this is not always possible, but it offers a nice change of pace, scenery, and general attitude toward life for Western born people.

Skyline: Funchal Madeira- Sao Joao Neighbourhood2

We decided to chose our top option and stayed in Funchal, Madeira. This capital city is home to a comfortable condominium apartment in the neighbourhood of Sao Joao, which served us well as our accommodation for our trip.

Our rental car from Madeira Rentals was a sporty car equipped with GPS.

We wisely chose to spend a little extra money on a European Roaming Package for my mobile phone. It cost an extra 90$ on top of my monthly fee, but the amount of headaches that were alleviated by having access to Google Maps was well worth the cost.

NEXT: OUR VISIT TO DA PONTA DE SÃO LOURENÇO

by @Lillybochic

My attempt at imitating Monet in acrylic

Acrylic on wood panel yellow, green, brown
Acrylic on wood panel

Spring is on its way!

I have been back to my experimental roots, and came up with this latest work while working on wood panels. This is a 14″ x 14″ wood panel. I still use canvas, but the wood can be so much more compact and full of texture than stretched art canvas.

Working with wood has been a nice change. Right now, I am working on a very exuberant acrylic on canvas piece that incorporates bright red and yellow. It’s different, and I can’t wait to post it as soon as I feel that it is complete.

Thanks for reading, and visit again soon!

-S

Behind the scenes: Eden Grove hanging
Behind the scenes: Eden Grove hanging
by @Lillybochic

Jaune Tide: Acrylic on canvas 

Spring is nearly here: however in Southern Ontario, that does not always mean it will be warm outside or without snow.

The weather has been trite with gloomy over cast and threats of blizzards this week; so I decided to create a piece that would be an antithesis to current moods.

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I call my latest piece: Jaune (yellow) Tide.

I integrated bright yellows, cerulean blues, aqua, and green hues in vibrant splashes on a gallery wrapped canvas. My favourite parts of this piece are the bright expanses of Yellow that bring warmth and happiness to the eye. The aqua is a nice offset against the blue as well.

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As with many of my paintings, it can be hanged in any orientation; although it is difficult for me to decide where to sign each piece. I may adopt a symbol for signing my work in the future, so as to reduce the impact of a signature.

Thanks for reading,

-S

by @Lillybochic

Red and gold in acrylic on wood

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My latest work is an experimental use of gold against red on wood board. Similar to my last two posts (See below) the use of wood enables a level of texture and complexity that is not easily achieved with canvas. The size is also comparably smaller.

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The orientation is more flexible, as seen above.  When viewing this piece it is really up to the observer to decide whether they prefer the gold on the bottom, top, or sides. But to be decisive, I created the piece to be hung as it looks in the first photo.

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The dimensions are 14 inches x 10 inches. I finished this (and the other wood board pieces) by adding a strip of decorative trim along its edges; however, I would like to try my hand at encasing these pieces in decorative wood frames. The millwork wood that is used for this purpose is usually available at Home Depot in 8 ft lengths. The cost is usually between $5 and $15 CDN so it would be very inexpensive to make my own.

The big question for me is: can I cut the angles right to make a perfectly fitting frame?

Thanks for reading,

S

Save

by @Lillybochic

RED: The Heart Beats

Inspiration comes in many forms; and for this piece I was inspired by love and the heart.

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St Valentine’s Day was last week, and as usual we become inundated with images of cutesy cartoon hearts, and cherubs with messages telling us to show love to our friends and family by spending money.

Most of what we purchase are useless trinkets that do very little to further any true affect for our loved ones, but fills the empty space of an average cosmopolitan existence. I suppose that is a topic for another day.

My latest piece is a reflection of the heart, without the fake imagined sentiment. The heart beats. It supplies blood to organs, and for most  of us we can only pray that it does not stop beating too soon.

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Thanks for stopping by,

S

by @Lillybochic

Floating, blending, and a swirl in acrylic on canvas

I love the colour blue.

In paint, in the sky, in eyes…

…and on rare occasions when I’ve seen the blue azure sea in the Caribbean where (half of) my people are from.

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My latest work is a blending of greens, blues, and yellows.  I used “swirling” techniques to bleed colours into each other and make the colours lead endlessly into each other.

The first photo is a bit dark, so I have included this one which adds detail:
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Note how vivid the yellows came out. I was super pleased with that.

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Green is quickly becoming my go-to. I suppose it has something to do with my desire for spring to return to Southern Ontario, and for my garden to bloom in the sunshine.

Thanks for reading,

S

by @Lillybochic

Star Blast in Acrylic on canvas

My latest work is a complex conception of iridescent orange against a dark turbulent sky.

The layers of colour in this piece were difficult to achieve. The richness of colour that I had hoped to achieve is not present in this piece, and to me it looks like it needs more paint.

The concept of this abstract piece is that of a solar flare against a dark space background.

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An interesting technique with this piece is the use of fibrous tissue for the sun. I experimented with cotton fibers and molding paste as an adhesive to construct relief lines across the piece. The result is a “realness” to those sections that would not have been possible without creating a raised and textured surface.

Thanks for stopping by,

 

-S

by @Lillybochic

Experimental Acrylic on Canvas 

A few months ago I created a piece that was very experimental in method, colour composition, and size. I wanted a wide canvas to hang on the wall behind my living room sofa that would not get dwarfed by the size of the wall. It needed to be at least 4 feet wide (48 inches ) and 2 feet tall (24 inches).

Failing this intent, I didn’t love the painting I created the first time around, so I re-gessoed  the canvas and started a new.

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Initially it was meant to have a landscape orientation, but I tried something new by creating an abstract portrait of an alien landscape. The center of the painting is highlighted by an iridescent violet splatter: a truly laborious endeavour. It took a lot of time to get it to look exactly how I wanted it to.

I like how it turned out of course; and that is why it has been hanging in my hallway for many months. I suppose that it fit so comfortably there that I plumb forgot to share it with the world.

Thanks for stopping by,

-S

by @Lillybochic