Filipino Fields

This is a painting I completed in the past few weeks based on a view of the rice fields in the Philippines. It will be available at a silent auction in Calgary, Canada on March 7, 2010. Proceeds go to supporting First Assembly church's mission trips to the Philippines and Cuba in 2010. The painting is 16"x20" framed and completed solely in acrylic on canvas.

For more event details please contact Sara Curdie at (403) 695-1100 or scurdie@fachurch.com.

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Pitch Dark

"I hear the ticking of the clock, I'm lying here the room's pitch dark. I wonder where you are tonight..." - Céline Dion "Alone" Taking Chances (Lyrics by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly)

Céline Dion

"I am woman, a mountain I will climb. I've been beat down, I've been broken, but each day I give it another try." - Céline Dion "New Dawn" Taking Chances (Lyrics by Linda Perry)

The Great Leap

"Anything can be achieved in small, deliberate steps. But there are times you need the courage to take a great leap; you can't cross a chasm with two small jumps." - David Lloyd George

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Inside

"I know that once in love you don't think of the devil who's inside." - Céline Dion "Eyes on Me" Taking Chances (Lyrics by Kristian Lundin, Savan Kotecha and Delta Goodrem)

Noah's Reckoning

"It was by faith Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith." - Hebrews 11:17 NLT

Tiger Lily

"I know God will not give me anything I cannot handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much." - Mother Teresa

Taking Chances

"What do you say to taking chances? What do you say to jumping off the edge? Never knowing if there's solid ground below, or a hand to hold, or hell to pay." - Céline Dion "Taking Chances" Taking Chances (Lyrics by Kara DioGuardi and Dave Stewart)

Moses towards Midian

"It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible." - Hebrews 11:27 NLT

Candle Dreams

"It is pleasant to see dreams come true but fools won't turn from evil to attain them." - Proverbs 13:19 NLT

Back Home

"And yet through this darkness, there's a light that shines through and brings me back home, brings me back home." - Céline Dion "A World to Believe In" Taking Chances (Lyrics by Tino Izzo and Rosanna Ciciola)

In Rahab's Window

"It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies." - Hebrews 11:31 NLT

This image is one of five in my thesis illustrating the "Hall of Faith" text from the Bible. The second five illustrate inspirational quotes, and the third five illustrate lyrics from Celine Dion's Taking Chances album. Keep watching as I release all fifteen paintings over the coming weeks, in no particular order.

Happy New Year!

Holly

I couldn't resist squeaking out one more painting before the holidays. There's lots of fresh holly in San Francisco right now that provided some great inspiration for this piece:



"Of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown."

Happy Holidays!

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Arise

"Arise, shine, for your light has come..." - Isaiah 60:1

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Venita

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A Butterfly's Adventure

"Those who turn back know only the ordeal but they who persevere remember the adventure." - Milo L. Arnold

Welcome to this special premiere of one of my thesis paintings. I have been keeping them mostly under wraps during production over the past year and am excited to reveal them to you! I have called my thesis Faithful creating a total of 15 paintings with varied subject matter that I hope will inspire you to pursue your dreams.

Keep watching Bethany's Journal as I release the rest of the series early in the new year.

Thanks for following!

Arise (Study)

Here is a study for a large still life I'm working on... I'm loving the textural ground and lots of Burnt Umber. I like the idea of figuring out what you see on the edge of consciousness. What is clear and what is not? Maybe you see something you wouldn't normally see when fully awake. That's something I'll be exploring more in the large piece.

Green Purple Pink

Wham, bam! A huge one-day painting... 24"x36".

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Boudoir

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Boudoir (Study)

This is a small study for the larger painting I'll be completing in class this week. I've been working more and more on expressing mood and emotion in my paintings and this is increasingly irrespective of detail and perspective. I'm finding classical techniques are often unreliable in conveying what I want to say.

My teacher, Baoping Chen, spoke to me last week about the process of painting first what you see, then what you know, and finally, what you feel. Personally I believe there is one more step: painting what you sense spiritually. I think this is a separate process that involves perception apart from the five senses. This is something I continually grapple with in my art.

Window Tree

Tree at my window, window tree,
My sash is lowered when night comes on;
But let there never be curtain drawn
Between you and me.
- Robert Frost

Purple Rain

This is from my expressive painting class this week. Fun with texture!

And yes, I totally have a Prince song in my head right now...

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Charles Bridge

A favourite vista: Charles Bridge viewed from across the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic.

Figure with Texture

This was a small exploration I did in class this week. All I want to do is add detail! But I restrained. You can fill in the blanks.

The Illustration Friday quote especially suits me this week: "The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play." - Arnold J. Toynbee

Self Portrait at 30 (process)

I'm close to the completion of my MFA in just a few weeks but have found that it's been good to keep my hands busy with side paintings. Watch this journal as I will reveal my thesis paintings here soon (and perhaps some of my process too)!

Below are a couple shots of a 'side painting': my self-portrait in progress. The first is my initial lay-in of colors and some structure. The second I worked more on the face and values. Next I'll solidify what I'm doing with the background before I go back into the face some more. Portraits are always difficult but a self-portrait especially so as I've found I don't keep as still as I like! This makes it hard to capture the bone structure.



Something I've been exploring more lately is working with desaturated colors and limiting saturation to the focal point. This is difficult with acrylics but also because I love color and now feel like I'm painting with 'mud' everywhere. I hope this will end up making my paintings more sophisticated.

Oh look! Here are my brushes. I can never get them quite as clean as new.

Self-Portrait at 30 (Underdrawing)

This is the underdrawing for a self-portrait I'm working on... a celebration of my 30th and the impending end of my MFA.

Agapanthus Fields

Today is the three year anniversary of my art journal since my first post on October 27, 2006: Man on Street. Boy, my work's changed a lot since then! But... I still love bright colors.

Krakow's Daughter

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Quick Portrait Studies

Sometimes it's fun just to paint quickly and see what comes out. The top is a self-portrait done in about twenty minutes and below that is a painting from a model done in about five minutes.

Oh, and here's a two minute sketch of my pastor:

Purple Orchid

I know. Another flower... but I hope it brings you joy on this stormy day.

Yellow Rose

Another "warm-up" painting... I used various paint applications: direct painting, a rub-out technique, glazing and I also scumbled across the surface to obtain the haziness in the background. I enjoy vibrant colors but am working on variations in color temperature to obtain depth. This is a certain variation of yellow rose on view at the Rose Gardens in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

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By the Water (detail)

This is a detail view of a full length nude I completed today. The model said it was like I "reached into her brain and found out where she wanted to be" and brought it to life on canvas.

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Misinterpreted

"His remarks have been misinterpreted."

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A Change in the Weather

Another small study... these are turning out to be a fun way to warm up! Happy Tuesday. :-)

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In the Garden

"I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses..." - C. Austin Miles

Well, I'm not sure if I like the outcome of this painting, but as David Bayle and Ted Orland say in their book Art & fear: "...vision is always ahead of execution...". I think, above all, the mood was essential to capture in this piece. This was painted in acrylic on an 18"x24" canvas.

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Good Morning Gladiola

Gladiolas are one of my favourite flowers! This is a quick small study at 6"x6".
I enjoy the subtle tonal variations you can get within just one flower's colour, especially when lit from behind.

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Bright and Sunny

Painted all in one afternoon on location at Stow Lake these pieces were an absorbing study of bright light and sunny color. First, sold.

Go on Anyway

"Do not let the fact that things are not made for you, that conditions are not as they should be, stop you. Go on anyway. Everything depends on those who go on anyway." - Robert Henri

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Even Shorter Sketches

It's great to warm up for the Fall with some short sketches (as I try to remember how to draw the figure). These are two minutes each in a blue Prismacolor pencil.

Short Sketches

Yellow Hibiscus

One of my favourite tropical flowers in an unconventional side view. Happy 50th Birthday Hawaii!

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Audacious Alpaca

First Alpaca I've ever met. He was pretty cheeky!

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Birds of a Feather

I feel like I've done lots of birds recently... but these guys were just begging to get their portraits done. How could I resist?!

Among the Branches

A personal project related to the following quote: "The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches." Psalm 104:12 NIV

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Orange Peaches

Well, this was really fun to paint. I'm increasingly torn between tight realism and playful abstraction... I hope this piece successfully marries the two. And here's part of the underdrawing and a close up for your enjoyment:



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The Owl

Another complicated still life. I love this owl and hope you do too! I think he's trying to process all the books he just read...