Bridgette and I had a wonderful time at the On the Rise 2014 event at the Delta in Fredericton this past Saturday! The event was a great opportunity to meet up with lots of folks involved with the NB Nature Trust. It also featured a live performance by Thom Swift and we were fortunate to get a signed copy of his latest CD! We are both fans and have seen him perform live at various concerts and festivals in the province.
Below is a small painting that I donated for the event auction. There is a bit of a story behind it. When I first started the oil painting Hyla Park Pond, it was originally going to have a horizontal orientation and feature a wider view of the pond showing just the plant life. But I intended to complete a smaller painting to accompany it that would depict a closeup of a frog peeking its head through the water. I even had a 9 x 12" canvas ready to go. In the end, I changed my mind and completed just one vertically-oriented oil painting of the pond with a hidden frog at the bottom of the canvas.
For the auction, I decided to complete the original concept of the frog closeup on the 9 x 12" canvas. With life being quite busy over the last month, I left it to the last minute and I didn't think I would be able to finish it in time if I painted in oils. Oils need quite a few days to dry properly, so I dug through my acrylic paints instead, knowing that the drying time is only between 15 - 30 mins. I was actually putting on the final touches just hours before the event. But it was a lot of fun to paint! It was good for me to get back into acrylics for a bit, although I paint a lot differently in acrylics than in oils. The application of the paint is more thin and I tend to use techniques that are more common to watercolour. But I am happy with how it turned out! Besides, I wanted this painting to be something unique from the rest of the series.
Below is a small painting that I donated for the event auction. There is a bit of a story behind it. When I first started the oil painting Hyla Park Pond, it was originally going to have a horizontal orientation and feature a wider view of the pond showing just the plant life. But I intended to complete a smaller painting to accompany it that would depict a closeup of a frog peeking its head through the water. I even had a 9 x 12" canvas ready to go. In the end, I changed my mind and completed just one vertically-oriented oil painting of the pond with a hidden frog at the bottom of the canvas.
For the auction, I decided to complete the original concept of the frog closeup on the 9 x 12" canvas. With life being quite busy over the last month, I left it to the last minute and I didn't think I would be able to finish it in time if I painted in oils. Oils need quite a few days to dry properly, so I dug through my acrylic paints instead, knowing that the drying time is only between 15 - 30 mins. I was actually putting on the final touches just hours before the event. But it was a lot of fun to paint! It was good for me to get back into acrylics for a bit, although I paint a lot differently in acrylics than in oils. The application of the paint is more thin and I tend to use techniques that are more common to watercolour. But I am happy with how it turned out! Besides, I wanted this painting to be something unique from the rest of the series.
Hyla Park Frog, acrylic on canvas, 9 x 12", 2014