Kay Lybrand Portrait Challenge

This was my favorite DSFDF challenge in that I love portraits and figurative paintings. It also became even more fun with some new artists participating, bringing the total to 130 face painters. ha. My subject was a lovely lady named Kay Lybrand and she is painting my portrait. Can hardly wait to see all the submissions this week, as the ones so far have been fantastic. Happy New Year to everyone. Thanks for all your interest and support this year. I wish you all the very best.

oil on masonite 

6 1/2" x 8"

Merry Christmas everyone. I'm finally posting an update on my Lisbon painting. My goal was to have it done for Christmas, but that little present to myself didn't happen. (I hung it in the the entrance anyway just to see how it works, and I'm somewhat pleased). The piece is getting closer with a lot of work on the foreground and various figures, tables, chairs, etc. yet to be done. The photo is really weak, but you can get the general idea. Well everyone is coming over for dinner tonight for our traditional Christmas eve get together with family and friends, so I better get that ostrich in the oven. Hope everyone has a warm and loving Christmas.

Karin's Boots

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Today I am taking off a little time from painting to present a major project that is near and dear to not only Winnipeg residents , but indeed residents of the world. Sixty-nine architectural firms from 21 different countries and 5 continents, competed for the honour and privilege of creating this dream of one Israel Asper, and in the end, the award winning design shown above, by Antoine Predock of the USA, won out. It will be a truly magnificent structure with the crystalline Tower Of Hope rising 100 meters (395 ft.)into the sky.
It is anticipated that 250,000 people will visit the museum every year and I quote from the architect's statement,
"Our proposal for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights reinforces an optimistic
recollection of the history of the struggle for human rights, with an intention to uplift,
made legible in an architecture of dualities: light and shadow, ephemera and stone,
gravity and weightlessness, reflection and opacity, earth and sky. The massing, the
spaces within, and its materiality reinforce the Museum as an embodiment of a
universal humanitarian consciousness, necessarily a vessel of knowledge and history
charged with hope. Rooted in humanity, the architecture renders palpable the
communal and universal struggle for human rights."
It will be the largest human rights center in the world, an international forum for learning, reflection, dialogue and debate. It will change our modest prairie city forever, and will undoubtedly impact, in a positive manner, many others in far away places. We as Winnipeggers are very excited and extremely proud of the contribution this museum will make to the world. To see more, please visit www.canadianmuseumforhumanrights.com. There is a great video that explains far better than I ever could, what and how this all will be presented. It is really quite extraordinary with construction to begin quite soon.

Well after giving this project a bit, okay a lot of bum time just looking at it, I finally made some decisions that for the most part I'm happy with, and painting has commenced. I will be going back into all areas, but this is what I've got so far.

Buddha

Every week there seems to be a new artistic challenge for most of us, in that we may not have previously tackled a particular subject or may have opted to try a different approach in how we interpret it. In the end, it can be a fabulous learning experience for some, a way to showcase art, or a great opportunity to make a few new friends. This week was a challenge for me as most weeks are, and I came away with a result that makes me want to try it again. Never having really paid attention to what a hydrangea looks like, I struggled with this. Karin says, "Don't do what you know you can, do what you think you can not. It motivates you." Sage words that work for me. The next attempts I am sure will show some improvement. This is the real beauty of the weekly challenges. They make you paint and hopefully stretch your abilities. Whoa, this is starting to sound like I've been locked in the basement for just a little too long. So I will finish off by saying... 

8"x8" 

oil on masonite.