Tim's portrait by Kim Blair

Tim

(14"x11" pastel on 300 lb. gessoed w.c. paper)

Ahoy!

Our friend Tim is a seaman at heart... he loves the water... and boats.

The reference photo for this portrait was taken by his wife Laura (see her portrait here) while on a ferry off the coast of BC. His serene smile (with a hint of mischievousness) says it all... he feels at home on the sea.

I can see him being captain of his own boat one day... perhaps a bit smaller than one of the BC ferries   ;) ... but something strong and sturdy non the less.

Although I don't see Tim as a gondolier I think he might enjoy a ride along one of the Venetian canals.

A special note to my subscribers:

*If you received this blog post via email subscription the video will not be visible in your email. Please go directly to my art blog by clicking on the following link for kimblairartist.blogspot.com in order to view the short 2 minute video of the creation of this portrait.

Two of my Portrait Models, by Kim Blair

Laura

Tim

My friends, Laura and Tim, surprised me with these fun photos of each of them holding a colour printout of their portrait. What a hoot... they are such good sports.

Thanks you two!
:0)


Stay tuned for more pastel portraits...

Donut Envy

I have been having donut envy.  A number of daily painters have been painting donuts and I have to say I have secretly wanted to paint a donut for a long, long time (especially a donut from Tim Hortons).

But those of you who know me personally know that I am gluten intolerant...  because I am a Celiac, I cannot consume traditional baked goods.  So when the donut envy got the better of me on Friday, my husband (who is not Celiac) offered to purchase a sprinkle donut for me at Tim's, bring it home and take a bite out of it for me... how sweet of him!  He even said he would be happy to consume the rest after I photographed it and painted it... how 'thoughtful' of him.  I may have to paint a few more desserts, and some of them will be gluten-free... we'll see if you can tell the difference!

My friend Ellen, has a wonderful blog devoted to being Gluten-free called 'The Celiac Scene ' with restaurant recommendations, travel info etc, for anyone who has family member or friend with this sensitivity.

Since being diagnosed as a Celiac I often wonder how many celebrities have a gluten sensitivity. While watching TV the other morning (yes, I was doing sit-ups at the same time... a girls has to multitask whenever possible) I caught the tail end of 'The View'.   Whoopi and Sherri where sampling cupcakes from numerous sources and when they got to the table with cupcakes from a bakery in New York City called 'Baby Cakes' (I have been to this one too) they called Elizabeth Hasselbeck over because she is Celiac and could eat these samples!  I was surprised to read that Elizabeth wrote a book that was on the New York Times best seller list, called ' The G-Free Diet'.  I think I'll get it to read.


$150.00. 10x10 oil on canvas (the donut 'painting' is guaranteed gluten-free!)

Complements

These peppers drew my attention with their complementary colours (red & green) and their exaggerated bulbous shapes... almost 'Tim Burtonish'.

NFS

oil on wide profile canvas, ready to hang.

Laura's portrait by Kim Blair

Laura

(or as I like to call her in this portrait...'Laura of Green Gables')

(14"x11" pastel on 300 lb. gessoed w.c. paper)

My friend Laura loves animals... dogs in particular... and has a dog walking business in Calgary, AB, where she lives with her husband Tim. As you can probably tell from her rosy complexion she enjoys going for long walks outdoors with her furry clients and sometimes takes along her two gorgeous dogs 'Chili' and 'Morley.' 

You can find her business on Facebook under: Laura & Dogs

Look how much Laura's furry clients love her... some of them even have a copy of her portrait to snuggle with... how cute is that!

;)

A special note to my subscribers:

*If you received this blog post via email subscription the video below will show up as a black box...  and will not play in your email. Please go directly to my art blog by clicking on the following link for kimblairartist.blogspot.com in order to view the short 2 minute video of the creation of this portrait.

Neon Red

The Italian Centre here in Edmonton often have this variety of red pepper for sale.  Especially around the September long weekend when they set out a large display of them for customers to select from.  Mounds of red, orange, yellow and some slightly variegated peppers looking like they were created for a Tim Burton film...  some more twisted and lumpy than others.  When I was there last fall I was sorting through this pile of peppers, when a woman beside me, who was also selecting her own assortment of peppers confided how she takes them home and strings them together to hang so that they dry for future use.  I told her that I was taking mine home to paint.  She stopped sorting and looked at me without saying a word and then kept on sorting...  I guess she never thought about peppers as art... I smiled to myself and left with my bag of inspiration...  she left with her bag of food.

SOLD

8x10 oil on canvas (still drying)