Dog

Dog

Friday 30 March 2018

Creativity Challenge - Week 13



Blog 13


Can you believe it is the end of March already? I am looking forward to some relaxing days with my family over the holidays. Due to the lovely Easter workshop I taught last Friday, I have some unique decorations for the table. The two participants of the workshop both wanted to learn how to felt a bunny, so I also created another bunny.


Later on, my daughter and I felted another Easter egg. Mine took a little longer as I covered the whole egg in little flowers. These unique decorations will look great on the Easter table.

As I was asked to replace another teacher this week, I did not have a lot of time to work on projects. I did quite a bit of sketching on the bus as well as during shows at the Ottawa Little Theatre.

Despite the fact that I have a seat in the first row at the Ottawa Little Theatre, it was still too dark during the performance to see what I was drawing. I am not sure you would be able to recognize the actors, but my sketches give me enough information to remember them. Sketching is a little bit like shorthand; I love that the sketches help me remember the plays much more than just passively watching them. The sketching also helps me to stay awake. As I am not used to sitting still, the sudden immobility makes me quite tired, even if I enjoy the play. However, when I sketch what I see, I have no time to doze off.


Aside from the fun stuff that I am able to create, I also have to look after the administrative tasks of my business that are not very exciting. I am just in the process of finishing my bookkeeping which I always seem to leave to the last minute.


Then, there is the very time-consuming task of marketing. At the beginning of the week, I faced a very uncomfortable situation as Jackie Leduc from Hikano Yoga Studio and I wanted to shoot a promo video for our upcoming Yoga & Art Retreat on May 6, 2018 from 9:30am to 4:30pm. While I had taken short videos of me being at a painting location, I had never been in front of the camera. It was scary, but Jackie helped me through it and did a great job editing. You can see the video which gives you more information about the retreat at https://www.facebook.com/HikanoWellness/videos/2031170460230897/.

I also have a new promotion going on right now. Despite the fact that many of my paintings are scheduled for exhibitions, I still have a big inventory of paintings. As we want to move to a smaller house this year, I would like to find some new homes for some of my paintings. I have decided to sell all my still lifes (except for the couple of painting that are scheduled for exhibitions) at a 25% discount off the price listed on my website www.KerstinPeters.ca until Mother’s Day. If you are interested in a painting please contact me at kpeters@domingoinformatics.ca. Payment can be made in cash or by e-transfer.




To conclude this blog, I would like to wish all of you a Happy Easter! Enjoy your time with family and friends.

Friday 23 March 2018

Creativity Challenge - Week 12

"Emily's Tree, Doncaster Park, Ste.- Adรจle", inspired by Emily Carr
Blog 12


Thank you for reading my blog. If you have followed my blogs over the last couple of weeks you know that we are preparing our house for sale. Despite all the decluttering and packing, I was still able to be creative almost every day. This week, however, with the painter painting most of the rooms in our house, the house was in chaos; furniture was standing everywhere. To avoid having to pack twice, I tried to stay on top of putting it all in boxes until late in the evening. Some nights, I went straight to bed, while on other nights I just managed to add a couple of rows to my temperature shawl.

Saturday afternoon, I actually went into my studio for an hour because the tulips that I had bought were luring me in with their beauty. I hope that I will manage to finish the painting by next week.

I also sat down to finish some teddy bear figurines that will be part of a game, similar to “Don’t Worry”. They have not been touched for far too long because other things were more exciting. Right now, sewing the heads to the bodies seems like the perfect relaxing project. At this point, it is not very creative but exactly what my restless hands need while watching TV.

So where do I go from here? The next couple of weeks will probably still be very exhausting. I could just give up under the pretense that I am just too busy before we move. Then I could add that I will probably also be too busy once we have moved. There are always reasons to stop, but like with physical activity or healthy eating, the important thing is that you start again where you left off.

As for this week, I wanted to take the opportunity to talk about a subject that always comes up when I am teaching: painting from photos found on the Internet, a calendar, or even copying a painting from another artist.

my version of Emily Carr's "Odds and Ends"
While it is a good learning experience to copy another artist’s .
painting to learn from their techniques, it is important that you see it as a study. It is someone else’s intellectual property. They figured out the composition, the use of colour and texture, and they should be credited for it. When I took several painting courses studying the masters, I took my own photos and created paintings in the style of the studied artist. Later, when I taught the “Painting like Famous Artists” courses, we worked from photos of an original work. These paintings will never be for sale, and I clearly identified the fact that I copied an original on the front of the painting, stating both the original artist and the name of the painting. Even in this case, you can legally only copy a painting that is in the public domain, which means that they are no longer copyrighted

When you take a photographer’s images for reference photos for your own paintings, you will be fine as long as you just keep them in you house. However, the correct approach would be to contact the photographer and ask for permission to use the photo. This is absolutely necessary, if you want to display the artwork in an exhibition. Otherwise, you could get in a lot of trouble for copyright infringement, except if you are using photos that are free to use like material that is in the Public Domain.

I always encourage students to use their own photos as references. It makes a big difference in the energy you bring to your painting, if you have experienced the surroundings. You remember how you felt when you were at the spot, smelled the flowers, or watched a person or pet dear to you.

When I take one of my photos for the first class of my “Acrylic Landscape Painting” course, I do it for two reasons:

1) I do not know if every student would bring a photo.
2) I like to show to them that even when we work from one photo that every one’s finished painting will be different. We are all unique individuals, and this should show in our art. This does not mean that we are not influenced by other artists, but rather that we can incorporate some of their techniques into our own work. However, f ten artists (or students) are painting a subject, you should get ten different works. Your temperament, your mood on any given day, and certainly you skill level will influence your work. That’s why you can even paint the same subject repeatedly, and your painting will not look 100% the same.

To prove the point, here are a couple of set of my paintings from painting parties I lead:



Speaking of painting parties, there are still spaces for the painting party I host on April 15, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm at 1270 Kinsella Drive in Cumberland, ON, K4C 1A9. We will be painting the peonies. The price is $35 per person. The registration deadline is April 8, 2018. The maximum number of participants is 12. For this event, I need at least 8 people and a pre-payment by e-transfer to kpeters@domingoinformatics.ca or cheque payable to Kerstin Peters to reserve a spot.



Friday 16 March 2018

Creativity Challenge - Week 11

Blog 11


This week, we spent March Break at the cottage. Despite the wonderful weather for walks and snowshoeing, I still had a lot of time to work on my projects. I felted about 25 hours to improve my felted dog Alex’s shape. All the parts are now attached firmly to the body, but I could use some more of his fur to make the body a little harder. Right now, it is still softer than my other felted objects. As spring is around the corner, I should be able to collect more fur when Alex’s coat changes for the warmer seasons. Next week, I will use some wool for his snout and glass eyes to bring him to live.

Lotus Flower
The second project was a new demo painting for my painting parties. This 16” x 20” acrylic painting of a lotus flower will be used for the first time for the spring retreat that I am co-hosting with Jackie Leduc from Hikano Yoga Studio in Cumberland on May 6, 2018. I will be able to share more information in the coming weeks.

Red Peonies
Speaking of painting parties, on April 15, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm, I will host a painting party at my house at 1270 Kinsella Drive in Cumberland, ON, K4C 1A9. The price is $35 per person. The registration deadline is April 8, 2018. The maximum number of participants is 12. For this event, I need at least 8 people and a pre-payment by e-transfer to kpeters@domingoinformatics.ca or cheque payable to Kerstin Peters to reserve a spot.

For painting parties outside of my house, I need at least 10 people or a minimum payment of $350 to run the party. This is a wonderful way to have a good time with friends and family. Please contact me at kpeters@domingoinformatics.ca for further information.

Today is also the last day to register for “It All Happens Around The Kitchen”, a lunch time get together on March 22nd, 2018 from 11:30 am to 2 pm in Marie Smith’s kitchen in Orleans. In this interactive workshop we will be preparing and enjoying a delicious soup, while connecting and sharing with other women who are facing the Empty Nesters’ transition, including those that are already familiar with the gap in their lives, and just maybe, those that aren’t even aware that this could be happening to them. Some creative and relaxing doodling is involved.

The seating at the kitchen table is for eight women. The registration fee is $40 and can be paid by e-transfer to
kpeters@domingoinformatics.ca.

For information about other workshops and classes please go to www.KerstinPeters.ca.

  
Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you will forward it to friends and family who are interested in my activities.

Friday 9 March 2018

Creativity Challenge - Week 10

Blog 10

This week of the Creativity Challenge was quite a challenge. I suppose that the personal stuff took its toll, and I was very tired. I cannot share any finished projects with you this week. Then again, many creative projects are not a matter of hours but rather days and sometimes months and even years. Not all creative projects are physical in nature. I am very excited to let you know about two event collaborations with other business women.

The first event is a collaboration with my friend Marie Smith. We have created an interactive workshop to connect and share with other women who are facing the Empty Nesters’ transition, including those who are already familiar with the gap in their lives, and just maybe, those that aren’t even aware that this could be happening to them. Join us for a lunch time get together on March 22nd, 2018 from 11:30 am to 2 pm in Marie’s kitchen in Orleans. We will be preparing, and enjoying a delicious soup, and most importantly, all in the good company of other women! For more information and to register please contact me at kpeters@domingoinformatics.ca. There will be some creative doodling involved.

The second event will be a spring retreat with Jackie Leduc from Hikano Yoga Studio. I will be able to share more information in the coming weeks.

Now back to my physical creations: I continued with the temperature shawl and ran into my first problem. As you do not know how the temperatures will be over the course of the year, it is hard to guess how much wool you will need of each colour. I already ran out on two colours but was able to find similar colours in a store.

The other big project, the felted dog Alex, is quite a bit more complex. I managed to put the parts in the right spots and have to work on forming them in the right shape. The felted Alex will be a lot lighter than the real Alex as I want to create him just out of his own fur. The fur I collected so far is mostly from his undercoat and not so much fur from the top of his body, where he hardly ever sheds hair. I might use some wool for the eyes and tip of his nose but will decide this later in the process.

I also continued with my dog painting. I was working again on the details of Alex. 

I hope that I will find more time to paint once the rooms are cleared for the painter to come in. As much as I look forward to the fresh colour on the walls, I have to admit that it is a lot of work to clean out the rooms, so that he can do his job.

Thank you for reading my blog. If you would like to get more creative, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. If you would like to try your hand at felting, I would like to invite you to my next “Creativity & Me” workshop on March 23, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm at 1270 Kinsella Dr., Cumberland, ON, K4C 1A9. We we will create felted bunnies and Easter eggs. The registration deadline is March 19, 2018. The fee of $ 25 is payable by e-transfer to kpeters@domingoinformatics.ca. For a full list of upcoming workshops and classes please go to my website www.KerstinPeters.ca.

Friday 2 March 2018

Creativity Challenge - Week 9

Blog 9

I can hardly believe that it is time for another blog. I would like to say “time time flies when you are having fun”, but I assume it has more to do with being busy getting our house ready for sale. It also was a very sad week as a beloved relative passed away.

It took me three more evenings to finish the little rabbit that is now sitting happily on our coffee table and enjoys the nice sunshine and spring preview.

I continued the work on my temperature shawl, which saw the first glimpse of a new colour with Wednesday’s temperature high of almost 10 degrees.

Yesterday, I made some time for painting again. It would have been a wonderful day for plein air painting but right now my focus is on finishing the portrait of Alex and Candy. Alex is turning 13 in April this year and within the last year his age cannot be ignored anymore. I don’t want to miss the opportunity of having my life model around. I continued my work on Alex' legs and chest. I did not touch up Candy. The colour variations are due to the light in the room. Once, the painting is finished, I will take a photo in natural light.


Thank you for reading my blog. If you would like to get more creative, I would like to invite you to my next “Creativity & Me” workshop on March 23, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm at 1270 Kinsella Dr., Cumberland, ON, K4C 1A9. We we will create felted bunnies and Easter eggs. The registration deadline is March 19, 2018. The fee is $ 25, payable by e-transfer to kpeters@domingoinformatics.ca. Please do not hesitate to contact me, if you have any further questions.