Tag Archives: Oil Pastel

#Hamilton2Views

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Mulberry Red by Aleda O'Connor

#Hamilton2Views a two-person show with Barry Coombs, continues until November 14, at Earls Court Gallery, 215 Ottawa Street North, Hamilton. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday. 

After focusing mostly on rural and maritime landscape for more than a decade, the shapes and colours of Hamilton’s cityscape are a change of direction for me.

These paintings are all Oil Pastels on panel. My approach is similar to drawing, using every imaginable mark-making technique, from layering and cross hatching, to blending and scratching with tools, my fingers and paint mediums.

Since we moved to Hamilton in May 2012 I have been documenting the city and its inventory of wonderful residential, commercial and industrial locations. But it wasn’t until Barry Coombs began documenting the urban landscape in the city that I fully embraced this project.

The idea of a conversation between two artists’ vision of the same subject, sometimes the very same places, added particular piquance to the idea.

 After focusing mostly on rural and maritime landscape for more than a decade, the shapes and colours of Hamilton’s cityscape are a change of direction for me.

 All of my work in #Hamilton2Views is done in Oil Pastel on wood panel. My approach is similar to drawing, using every imaginable mark-making technique, from layering and cross hatching, to blending and scratching with tools, my fingers and paint mediums.

I was introduced to the New York Ash Can school of painters when I was still in art school, and always admired Edward Hopper.  I didn’t discover the wonderful pastels by Wolf Kahn until I had begun using pastels myself. His landscapes and use of colour made a permanent impression. For many years I have also referenced the compositions, structure and brushwork in paintings by Henri Matisse and Richard Diebenkorn.

 

Solo Exhibition, DVSA Gallery

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Gathering Flock 36 x 48

Gathering Flock 36 x 48″

Bonavista 12 x 24

Bonavista 12 x 24″

I’m very excited about my solo exhibition of new work, FLOCK, at the Gallery in the Dundas Valley School of Art (DVSA), 21 Ogilvie Street, Dundas Ontario. The exhibition will be installed on May 3 and runs until May 24. 

The Opening Reception is on Saturday May 10, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Please join me!

The Gallery is open from 9 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.  It is not open on Sunday. Phone 905-628-6357. 

DVSA is an independent, not-for-profit art school that has made an enormous contribution to the visual arts in the Hamilton area for more than 40 years.

 

 

 

 

 

New work at Art Etc. Gallery, Burlington

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The Art Etc. Gallery in the Burlington Art Centre, has added six of my new Oil Pastel landscape paintings to their collection of works  for sale or rent. Located at right on Lake Ontario, at 1333 Lakeshore Road in Burlington, ON, the shop features original works by established and emerging artists.

Fence and Barn 18″ x 24″
Fallsview Road 18″ x 24″
Tree and Saplings 18″ x 24″
East Hamilton 18″ x 24″ SOLD
La Salle Path 18″ x 24″
Path and Apple Tree 18″ x 24″

A Rocha: dedicated to environmental stewardship

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Three of my paintings in Oil Pastel are included in the show On The Rock – Merging Art and Ecology, at the Carnegie Gallery, in Dundas, from March 7 to 30 2014.

Path and Apple Tree 18" x 24" Oil Pastel on Wood Panel

Path and Apple Tree 18″ x 24″ Oil Pastel on Wood Panel

The gallery is located at 10 King Street West, Dundas, Ontario. The opening is Friday March 7, from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Tree and Saplings 18″ x 24″

This exhibition is a project sponsored by the local chapter of A Rocha  an international organization dedicated to environmental stewardship. Ten artists were invited to respond to the landscape at Cedar Haven Farm near Freelton Ontario, where A Rocha volunteers have been very active.  These images are based on the landscape at that farm. 

Fence and Barn 18″ x 24″

Exploring oil pastel with the Markham Group of Artists

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Thanks very much to Maureen Thompson of the Markham Group of Artists who invited me to lead a full-day beginner workshop on how to use oil pastels.

It can be challenging to work in a new medium, but as one participant observed it is also liberating because it is easier and more fun to take risks when you’re a learner. We began by preparing masonite panels with Golden Acrylic Ground for Pastels.  While they were drying, everyone practiced applying and blending colour as well as mark-making on test sheets of tinted paper coated with pastel ground, before turning their attention to their chosen landscape images for the rest of the day.

Most of us recall working with crayons or coloured pencils as children, an experience that gives artists their starting point.  Colours can be stroked gently into the surface and feathered together to create new transparent blends, almost like tweed, or they can be scrubbed firmly into the surface to create dense opaque shapes – and everything in between. Everyone finds their own unique way to apply colour.  

 As part of today’s process we also looked at the work of two very different artists: Canada’s  A.J Casson whose paintings are notable for a strong sense of design that he used to tame complex landscapes. Later, we looked at a number of exquisite works by the American artist  Wolf Kahn, whose brilliant colour and calligraphic approach to landscape suggest a completely different way to tackle the challenge. 

And here are the results of today’s labour:

Markham Group of Artists Pastel paintings

A chat with the Markham Group of Artists

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I'm with Karen Grimshaw, president of the MGA following my presentation and brief demonstration.

I’m with Karen Grimshaw, president of the MGA following my presentation and demonstration.

I recently visited the Markham Group of Artists (MGA) to talk about the joy of working in oil pastel.  Many people tell me that they have oil pastels in their kit but never use them because they’re not quite sure what support to use or how to preserve them. I’m always happy to talk about my process. Oil pastels are a very simple medium to use, require no special techniques, yet can be manipulated in many ways, have no smell, create no dust, are portable and can be applied to any surface. I concluded the morning by showing them the first steps I take to start a painting in oil pastel. Many thanks to Maureen Thompson for the invitation.

Represented by Art Etc.Gallery

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Split Rail Fence, Dufferin County 20″ x 28″

Some of my pastel paintings and pen and ink drawings are available to rent or purchase through the Art Etc. Gallery Shop, at the Burlington Art Centre, 1333, Lakeshore Road, Burlington. I’m pleased to be included in a collection of original works by established and emerging Canadian artists.

My subject here is a split rail or snake fence, that I found just outside Orangeville, in Dufferin County, Ontario. These picturesque and durable fences are constructed of white cedar that grows in swampy areas throughout Ontario, especially where there is limestone under the soil.

Artists Inc. Annual Members show

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Wash Day, Co. Kerry by Aleda O’Connor Oil Pastel on Wood Panel 24″ x 36″

My painting Wash Day Co. Kerry  is part of the Hamilton Artists Inc. Annual Members Show, that opened last night and runs until December 16. The Artists Inc. Gallery is located at 155 James Street North, at the corner of James and Cannon Streets in Hamilton. Over 100 artists are represented in this year’s show. It’s open tonight for the James Street North Art Crawl, or you can drop by during the regular hours: Wednesday to Friday 12 pm – 5 pm, Saturday and Sunday 12 pm – 4 pm.

Burlington Fine Arts Association – Oil Pastel demo step-by-step

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In September, I made a very abbreviated start on an oil pastel demonstration at the end of my presentation to the Burlington Fine Arts Association at the Burlington Art Centre. I didn’t have time to show the group much about how I work in the allotted time, but I promised I’d post it when it was finished. Here’s what it looked like in progress: 

I began by drawing in the major shapes and blocking in patches of colour.  

Wheat field and Willows Step 1

At step two, below, I emphasized the orange/pink glow where the sun shines on and through the wheat stalks.

Wheat field and Willows Step 2

By the third stage, I have worked into the shapes with more colour – building layers with my Sennelier Oil Pastel sticks and Sakura Cray-Pas Specialist Oil Pastel sticks, while also scratching into the surface with a palette knife and a bamboo skewer. I find that by using different brands of pastel I can manipulate the texture and colour better. I also use oil pastels made by Holbein and Caran D’Ache.

Wheat field and Willows Step 3

Finally, I refined the surface, added more colour in the sky, defined the shapes and shadows of the willows and added additional contrasting complimentary marks throughout, but especially in the foreground wheatfield. Notice the distant roadway as well – a last-minute addition.

Wheat field and Willows by Aleda O’Connor Oil Pastel on Wood Panel 18″ x 24″

My first presentation on oil pastels

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I was the guest speaker for the Burlington Fine Arts Association this week – an exciting first for me. I am so grateful to Victoria Pearce for inviting me to talk about this rewarding medium and to the Association members for their warm response to my work. I briefly discussed the origin and history of oil pastels, the artists who have inspired and influenced my work, and demonstrated my set-up and materials. As you can see I started a new pastel painting and I’ll post the finished work when it’s done.  The event was held at the Burlington Art Centre, a wonderful facility not far from our new home in Hamilton.

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