This week my hard drive crashed and it is not recoverable. Fortunately, most things were backed up and my photographs were on an external hard drive and most of them are backed up again on flash drives. I lost a few images but not many. Lucky! However, I did lose all my newer email addresses so if you have exchanged emails with me in the past year, and would like to continue to be in touch, drop a line and I will add you to my address book. Somehow this all seems to be less of an issue now that we have facebook, twitter and such. I might even be persuaded to pick up the phone 🙂
I plan to write a more about this experience on Monday in a post called “impermanence.”
Now, let’s have a look at this week’s painting. I started out just going to paint a few edges but these two small canvases had a ground on them and were sitting beside the easel. Well I looked at the edges of another painting and I looked back at the two canvases. The 8 X 8 inch pair just had to be done.
I knew what I wanted to paint. We have been getting a lot of evening sun here with glorious gold light hitting the trees just before it leaves us for dusk.
Starting from “ground.”
A ground is different from a underpainting even though it may be the same colour. With a ground there is just a layer of paint that is put down with no intended painting blocked in or even in mind. Yes, I dislike wasting paint so these canvases were just too close to the last underpainting I was doing and they were grounded 😉
The painting took shape quickly.
I didn’t stop again until close to finishing.
When hung, the two paintings would be separated by a couple inches – I think, maybe more. Or they could be hung like this ….
This side by side is possibly my favourite.
Here they are trimmed up pretty with no distractions.
FIR TREE SKY original oil painting by Terrill Welch
FIR TREE POND original oil painting by Terrill Welch
I haven’t had a chance to decide if I will sell them separately or only as a pair. What do you think? Should they be kept together or be allowed to go into the world separately and be a surprise to some unsuspecting buyer that there is another half to their painting?
These paintings will be part of my upcoming solo show “Study of Blue” opening June 30, 2011 at the Oceanwood Resort here on Mayne Island.
UPDATE: FIR TREE SKY has been SOLD at the opening on June 30, 2011. FIR TREE POND has been SOLD to a separate buyer at the close of the show on July 27, 2011.
Sprout question: What keeps you rolling through unexpected events with ease?
© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.
Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.
Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch
Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.
From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada
Terrill Welch Online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com
Related Articles
- SALISH SEA 4 original oil painting by Terrill Welch (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
- HEAVY CLOUD original oil painting by Terrill Welch (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
- Salish Sea 3 original oil painting by Terrill Welch (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
- ONE original oil painting by Terrill Welch (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Creative Potager 
Love this one……I might have to take up a collection…the painting is so cool….
What are you thinking of pricing them for?
Kim, priced together, the paintings are $450 in U.S. funds. I can sell them now as a pre-sale to the “Study of Blue” exhibition with shipment to the buyer happening in the first week of July. Email me directly at tawelch AT shaw DOT com if you would like to make further purchase arrangements. By the way, good to hear from you! 🙂
These are lovely. I really like being able to hang the paintings vertically or side by side.
Maureen it is fun to think about all the different ways the paintings can be hung. It is like have a collection of paintings. I haven’t done this kind of thing for a long time. But square canvases are kind of odd to work with at the best of times. Not sure why I have decided I wanted so many this year but these are the last two square ones for now.
these two paintings are wonderful i love that they may be sold separately. I try to always paint on a colored ground mostly because i prefer the way the paint adheres but also because it is nice to have a middle ground to start with.
Thanks Jerry! I have signed each and each shall have their own inventory number as well. So they can be sold separately either by me or by a seller sometime in the future. I am with you on having a ground or underpainting. I also feel for oil paints it helps to create depth depending on how it is done. Mind you, I tend to do a fair bit of underpainting or blocking in the main elements of my paintings even when I use water colour paints.
Separate? Together?
The idea of selling each painting separately intrigues this fiction author. It could serve as the base for a love story or a thriller.
What keeps me rolling? Faith it what will be will be. Belief in my ability. Memory of past challenges and victories. Trust that there is a power great than mine at work.
Happy to see you’re back on the world wide web. : )
I can see that it might Leanne. I was thinking up all the wonderful adventures these paintings might have as each sets off in its own direction. Spicy! Best of the weekend Leanne and it is nice to be up and running again.
I am so sorry about your computer, but know that experience all too well – my camera died this week, fortunately it turned out to be just the little disk that holds the pictures…but I can not believe how angry these downfalls make me – if we are to be so dependent on these “things” in our lives why can they not be more dependable for those of us who are not experts – and better repair people for those of us who can not do for themselves?
I love blue – like the cloudless blue sky we are having today…stunning…
Paintings are grand and truly caught my eye – I do not know whether separate or together??
Thank you
Patricia things seem to work out for me in the end… I sometimes just need patience and enough curiousity to explore how this might be so. Glad you enjoyed the paintings and blue skies are surely something special.
Terrill – I’m so very sorry about your hard drive. I’ve been there and it’s no fun. I’m so glad that almost all of your stuff is backed up. Whew!
I’ve had one heckofa full day here at the Writers’ Institute at UW-Madison and I’m about to go to bed, but I couldn’t not read your post and comment.
The paintings are stunning–absolutely stunning! I really hope they’re purchased as a pair, but I suppose you should make them available either way.
I like them side-by-side, but I love them one over the other.
Sprout question: What keeps you rolling through unexpected events with ease?
Sometimes it’s sheer tenacity.
Have a GREAT weekend!
Laurie, tenacity is my word of the week – along with the phrase … letting go. I can see a theme arising here for these paintings to be purchased as a pair. I wonder who it will be and where the paintings are going to eventually hang?
I love dyptichs and tryptichs (spelling?) but i like the thought of a twin somewhere else with the tree threads pulling the two together…but if i were buying I could not imagine separating the two…there is an image of a person nearing the pond and a dog by the pond’s edge…mysterious.
I had a tee shirt in the 60’s with the Crumb cartoon and caption…”Keep on Trucking” and another with “Just Passing Through” which reminded me of Valdy’s song…those two quotes are my mantras..they keep me trucking through most every thing.
Liz I think you have company on your position as a buyer wanting to see these paintings together. It has been intriguing and useful to get everyone’s feedback. And I remember those tee shirts Liz even into the 70’s. Very appropriate advice for this past week’s events.
Terrill,
I have been putting this blog off for a day or so, I wanted to have time and space to read and take in your experience. I value the opportunity to be part of your creativity.
I like the two pieces, I would offer them together but as an option to buy one or both .
You don’t seem to be phased by your hard drive crash, but I will find out for sure tomorrow.
What keeps me rolling is the opportunity to receive the message I will be able to use the next time a situation arises that causes a bump in the road.
Jeff
Jeff I am glad you waited until you had time for “a real read” as I call it. I did that on your blog today but haven’t left a comment yet. I have been rather viscerally shaken by the loss of the hard drive but not in the way one might think. If I can gather my thoughts enough I will post more tomorrow about it. From what I have read recently over at “The Reluctant Bloger” are doing a great job of getting over those bumps in the road.
Terrill, these are wonderful! I see they are both sold,good for you:) They are both beautiful.
Thanks Nancy. Yes, they both have new homes of their own 🙂