Mandala Yellow, by Kim Blair

Mandala Yellow

(12"x12" oil on canvas)

Once the palette knife gets into my hand all bets are off as to how thick the paint application will be!

Rich buttery oil paint spread into soft layers of yellow sunshine creating a swirling disk of sunflower petals... a mandala of sorts.

Mandala, a Sanskrit word meaning 'disk'.

(*Click on the image to get a close up view of the luscious texture)

12"x12" oil on canvas (needs some drying time) 

New Perspective, by Kim Blair

New Perspective

11x14 oil on canvas

Your first impression of a glossy thick skinned red pepper is that he/she is pretty sure of themselves and their place in the vegetable kingdom.  Its bright red exterior usually takes center stage when mixed  with other veggies on a party tray... often the life of the party this colorful extrovert can be mild mannered or a bit hot.

The interior of a pepper is beautiful too, and while taking a closer look you notice that it has a soft vulnerable side as well.   Pliable reddish orange flesh surrounds a soft creamy white focal point accented with a multitude of little white lentil shaped seeds... the heart of a pepper reminds us that what we see on the outside is often no indication of what lies within.

Sometimes a new perspective is needed...

Like a book... you shouldn't judge a pepper by its cover.

11x14 oil on canvas

Masquerade, by Kim Blair

Masquerade

(11x14, oil on canvas)

Masquerade was painted a few years ago... it was to be part of my graduate exhibition, but I changed my direction for that show... which meant that any paintings on canvas I had started to create would be for sale another time... and then I forgot about them.

While cleaning my studio last week I discovered a couple pepper paintings that I have not posted for sale.

The yellow pepper in Masquerade definitely has attitude! The arabesque lines of this fleshy yellow pepper along with the soft swirls of the red velvet in the background give it the feel of opulence and over the top decadence... like a costume for a masquerade ball.  The two halves look like they are having a jovial time at the party!

The undercoat is a midnight blue opalescence paint, which you can see peeking through here and there adding a bit more drama.

(Click on the image to have a closer look.)

11x14 oil on canvas

Heirloom, by Kim Blair

Heirloom

(12"x9" oil on canvas)

While researching heirloom iris I came upon information regarding the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

I thought I had landed on a site for a sci-fi movie, but instead realized it was a real place located deep inside a mountain on a remote island between Norway and the North Pole.   It is a unique storage facility housing the world's largest collection of crop diversity... for the future... just in case we need to reboot agriculture.

If you are at all interested in gardening this site is well worth taking a look at!  It feels so futuristic and yet it is a real facility. 

Good thing someone is planning ahead!

12"x9" oil on canvas

nfs

Happy Canada Day! by Kim Blair

The beginning sketch...

Half way through the painting... 

Yellow and burgundy bearded iris are staple flowers in many older gardens here in Edmonton, and probably throughout most of Canada.  An heirloom variety it found it's way to Canada with the hardy pioneers who settled this vast country.  Thankfully this flower species as well as the rugged people who transported it to Canada survived the harsh conditions in the New World.

Canada's 150th birthday is definitely the time to celebrate our heritage and all the things we think of as being Canadian... like yellow and burgundy iris and of course... butter tarts!

Happy 150 Canada!

(*The finished painting will be posted next week.)

Cloud White, by Kim Blair

Cloud White

12x9 oil on canvas

While painting this white poppy I kept glancing out my studio window admiring the voluptuous white clouds floating by.  Each cloud looked more ethereal than the next and I began to notice that the poppy I was painting had very similar qualities to the fluffy fullness of the clouds drifting past.


9"x12" oil on canvas (needs some drying time)

sold

Pink Solstice, by Kim Blair

Pink Solstice

9x12 oil on canvas

Here is the completed poppy painting from the teaser blog post over the weekend.  It was a delight to paint... just in time for summer!

9x12 oil on canvas

Sold

Painting in Progress, by Kim Blair

Poppy sketch in oil... ready to start painting

Poppy painting half way to completion

I thought it might be fun to show you my set up for painting flowers... with a second shot of the painting half way to the finish line!  I photographed this hot pink poppy in a neighbourhood garden here in the Highlands.

This fabulous specimen, along with its 'siblings' (multiple heads on this plant) was growing along the side of a home next to an alley.  As you walked up the street (or alley) you were met with a riot of hot pink blossoms dancing in the breeze.  It was love at first sight!

;)

On Monday or Tuesday of next week I will be posting the finished painting... for sale. 

Salted Caramel, by Kim Blair

Salted Caramel

(12"x9" oil on canvas)

Yes, this painting is based on a real Iris, hard to believe I know.

The inspiration for this painting is a luscious, beautifully shaped specimen with rust coloured 'falls' (the lower petals) and caramel-pink 'standards' (the petals standing up) growing in a local garden here in Edmonton.

The rare colour of this particular flower stopped me in my tracks... I knew I had to paint it!

This Iris reminded me of some delicious salted caramels I tasted recently and rather than lick my brush like Van Gogh... I decided to look up a recipe for salted caramels to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Here is the link to the recipe.

12"x9" oil on canvas (needs some drying time)

Origami, by Kim Blair

Origami

(12"x9" oil on canvas)

The word Origami comes from two Japanese words, oru (to fold) and kami (paper) and began as an art form practiced by monks for religious ceremonies and by the elite who could afford paper.

Today origami is a popular creative pastime practiced by young and old with a new 'green' movement utilizing old newspapers and junk mail inserts. Even paper currency can be folded into unique gifts following diagrams created with your currency's specific dimensions!

The numerous twists and folds of this variety of bearded iris could be nature's own form of origami...

12"x9"oil on canvas (needs some drying time)

Dinner in Florence, by Kim Blair

Dinner in Florence...

(watercolour sketch on paper)

Hi Everyone:

The previous blog post you received with a bunch of 'unrelated painting photos and content' all strung together did not make any sense and was not meant as a post... it was sent out by accident.

I was cleaning up a few things on my blog and website getting ready to revamp them later this month and I must have accidentally hit the publish button.

:0(

Sorry about that!

This little watercolour sketch is from our trip to Italy a few years ago... and thought I would share it with you again as an apology for the 'glitch' email.

New flower, fruit and veggie paintings will appear in your inbox from now on instead of glitches!

Thank you for your understanding.

:0)

Kim

Van Gogh Vivid, by Kim Blair

Van Gogh Vivid

(12x9 oil on canvas)

I always get inspiration when I have lunch with Van Gogh! After snapping a few photos of some lovely purple iris in my neighbourhood I sat down for lunch with one of my Van Gogh books and Vincent's charm started to speak to me...

In the book, 'The Secret Lives of Artists' by Elizabeth Lunday I read that the development in the nineteenth century of approximately twenty new brighter and more stable pigments allowed Van Gogh to express his new love of colour.

Thank you Vincent for your pioneering spirit with colour...you paved the way for the rest of us!

12"x9" oil on canvas *(needs a few weeks to dry before shipping)

SOLD