Studio visit

I haven't done a studio shot in a while... so here it is folks. On the easel is my latest paintings. I hope to have the second one finished in a day or two:). On the back wall is a painting I've been dabbling at for a while, The two Gals in the tub. It's all based in and is just waiting on some color. Yes Julia I do plain to have it finished soon :P. More on that later, and about Julia the fantastic photographer who took the photo!

"WIP- Jay And Barrie" Work In Progress 18X18" oil on canvas 2008

This is my idea of Christmas fun :P... This is Jay and Barrie.(Thanks Guys!!!) Two great tattoo artist's from the UK. I'll hopefully have this one finished in a few days.. you know..between eating myself into a sugar coma and watching videos with my wonderful husband! Hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas!!

"Angela and Geoff" 11X14" oil on board 2007

Available to do commissioned portraits. Just email for quotes. CLICK HERE to see the process!!
This is a painting of my brother and me. It's from an old black and white photo that was tacked up on my parents laundry room wall for as long as I can remember. When I was home last spring I took it with me thinking I would just scan it in and clean up the photo. Then I thought it would make a great gift for my parents... It was their 37th wedding anniversary on Tuesday so I painted it as a gift for them. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!! Since I was a teenager I've done portraits.. I've been doing them ever since. It's what I first learnt to do well. I just love observing the details of a persons face, the little details that give them personality! My one main recommendation when getting a portrait painted from a photo would be pick something fun! Don't pick the standard school photo...or a staged photo ... that doesn't usually show the person's personality! Pick the photo of you and your loved one laughing and carrying on. The kids in their Halloween costume or playing on the swings or at the beach. Your teenager all dressed up for the prom having a good time...take the photo while their laughing with their friends or getting ready...get a close-up of them!! The bride and groom dancing cheek to cheek, or the baby playing with there favorite toy or when they've made a mess at meal time and have food all over their bib and face!! Your having the memory of a loved one committed to oil and canvas have fun.... enjoy it... make it memorable.

Halifax, NS November Oil Painting Workshop

Once again My old students from Halifax,NS have pulled there dough together to get me home for some painting lessons... and a glass or two of wine :-P !! LOVE my old students!!!

So Gang here is what you'll need in materials and what to do to prepare!
Basically you will need to restock your oil paints with your regular assortment of oils my list is:
*Titanium White
Naples Yellow
*Yellow Ochre
*Cadmium Yellow Medium
Raw Sienna
*Cadmium Red Medium
*Alizarin Crimson
*Raw Umber or Van Dyke Brown
*Burnt Umber
*Sap Green
*Emerald or Viridian Green
*Cerulean Blue
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue
*Prussian Blue
The ones with a Star * by them are the most important for mixing. You Can choose to have the others if you wish.
As for brushes... Always good to have an assortment. You will still want to have a few larger brushes 2"-1"Flats and Filberts , but also have an assortment of smaller ones approximately 1/4"- 1/2" in Flats and filberts and an assortment of rounds and liners sizes 1-4 for details.

Other materials:
-Liquin Original (by winsor and newton) make sure it is Liquin Original
-Odorless thinner (not low odor)
-Box of Thin Vinyl gloves (but it's your choice if you want these... I wear them!)
-Blue disposable shop towels (I prefer these) or paper towel
-Glass or disposable palette
-An easel Standing or table top
- a surface to work on... a table . You may need to work this out with who ever is hosting. You may need to bring a folding table or a tv tray table.
-a chair or stool
-Canvas or preprimed board (2-3 and no bigger than 12" in length or width if you are doing the quick painting workshop.. if you choose to start a larger piece during the workshop that is your choice, just remember you may have to finish it on your own.
- plastic containers with lids for thinner . A few jars with wide necks and covers are best.
-old clothes
- a selection of images to work from.. not to complex, check out my blog and the daily painters site for ideas of what I mean by "not to complex images"
- a small tube of Raw sienna acrylic to stain your canvas before drawing out your image
- work out your working/painting area before the workshop so that you are prepared... make sure there is some ventilation and good lighting. Ask your host if the may need you to bring any portable lighting ie: desk lamp or a floor / torch lamp.
-you choose your own images , if you want you can email the image to me if you want approval, you must have your images printed off for the class. I encourage you to do your own image, not the same image as other students, and please don't copy, try and make the images "your own".
-Please have your surfaces toned and image drawn out ready to start.
-Please arrive early enough to have your workspace set up and ready to paint.... Arrange the set up time with who ever is hosting your workshop , you may also want to ask about where to park at that time.
-Depending on the length of the workshop you may want to bring a snack, drink or a meal.

Email me if you feel I may have left out anything or have questions.
Can't wait to see you all and get painting!!
angelahardyart@gmail.com


Georgia O'Keeffe

" I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way--things I had no words for."

Lastest Studio Visit

It's been awhile since you've gotten to visit my studio so I thought I'd let you all have a gander!!

"Cherry Branch Study" Slide Show! 10X20" oil on canvas 2007

I was considering a redo of my Cherry Branch Painting that you can view in my regular painting blog. While I was painting up a new version I documented it . Here is the slide show for you. I'll be heading back to Halifax, NS next month and will be giving a workshop while I'm there about Quick paintings. So this month I'll be doing a series of these paintings and documenting them to aid in the workshop.So keep checking in for more "shows"!
You can view the slide show of "Cherry Branch Study" here!

A Glimpse At My Work Space (and my assistant!)

Just a few shots to show you of my studio A.K.A. the corner of kitchen/dining room/living room..... Thank God it's a big room! I also have an assistant who sometimes can be very helpful giving me a great sense of calm, while other times her only contribution is constant meows for treats and hair in my paint (I still don't have the heart to fire her!!LOL!) Her name is Sheba A.K.A. (according to my husband who I love dearly) A pain in the A-- !! So yes I am one of those people who could have an entire blog based on my cat... but don't worry... I won't. At least not yet!!

Yeeeppppyyy... New Art books!!

So I got my butt in gear and have decided to dive back in to figure drawing. I had been away from practising the basics for way to long!!! I've been sketching for almost 2 weeks now and feel like I'm getting back into the groove again. I did a lot of figure drawing once upon a time (back in art school)!! How soon we forget that the basics must be done regularly.... Not just every few years!!! I've made a few new Art Book purchases that some of you may enjoy!!

"Cyclopedia Anatomicae"

"The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing: A Contemporary Perspective on the Classical Tradition"

"Classical Drawing Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice"

"Virtual Pose 3: The Ultimate Visual Reference Series for Drawing the Human Figure"

LOVE the Poser books... next best thing to having a real model... The book comes with a disc that allows you to rotate the figures for a full turn around. There are other books/disc's out there that can allow you to do overhead views also.

Another favorite of mine is the American Artist Drawing Highlights! You can even go to their online store and purchase past issues of their different magazines. If your in need of a little Video or Demonstration just go to their home page , pick a medium and you have a wealth of info at your figure tips (and hey... it's free)!!

I'll get around to putting up some of my "quick" studies soon... need just a little more practise before I subject myself to a mass critic!! LOL!!

Burning the Midnight Oil

We are finished 2 Self Portraits!

June 19/07
So I'm going to enter a self portrait contest...No I'm not that vain!LOL! The contest allows for up to 3 entries, but I'm going to start 4 and once I get started I'll decided which ones I'll finish for the competition.
The first thing I did was have Grant(my husband) take photo's of me. We worked out what I wanted before hand by using other paintings and photos that I liked. Played around with background ideas in photoshop. The images are in order of how they are progressing. The cropping stay the same, but the backgrounds will change. I first draw them out in color pencil and seal in the drawing with a watered down coat of acrylic varnish. This is the most important step.... the drawing must be perfect... work out all your bugs here, NOT half way through your painting! Drawing is a vital part of painting!!!(Grant will be so happy!LOL) Next I fill everything in with a transparent glaze of color in acrylic... At this stage they still resemble a paint by number, but I can still see my drawing. The next day I get into the oil paint. I'm still using transparent glazes using Original Liquin (my favorite medium!). I want to start establishing my colors. My next stage will be to start details...Shadows and highlights. At this point I've been working on this project for just over a week!

June 26/07
UPDATE!
So we are now about 3 weeks in to the project. I've narrowed it down to the 3 that I'll try and have finished for this Friday. I will go back soon and finish the 4th(I've taken it down untill I can get back to it), I've also removed the original Photographs... It's all about the paintings now! Since the last post just over a week ago I've done a few more Glazes and added some detail, basically my job for the next few days is to make any small last minute changes, get the shadows and highlights finished, add in the final details and final glazes of color to get them to the finished level. So I guess you'll be seeing all 3 of me in a few days!!

June 30/07
So we've gone from 4 portraits to 2 finished ones... don't worry I will be finishing up the other 2 in the near future and will have all the stages posted again! You can also view the finished pieces on my main blog. I'm very happy with the end result and have submitted these 2 for the contest... I should know by July 6 if any good has come of it all! On the main blog I have post a small write up on each of them. I have already decided to start working out the details for some more paintings with a similar feeling and theme. Maybe have more symbolism worked into the images, but we'll see how it goes!

Self portrait number 1/ "Remembering Durer"

Self portrait number 2/"Dreaming of Dress Up"