It’s Someone’s First Birthday

/ Terrill Welch / 17 Comments

My apologies for taking so long to post. But I have a good reason 🙂 You’ll see.

Can you guess who has just had his first birthday?

Some of you were around last year when Baby O arrived shortly after 9:00 am on February 19th. For others, this might even be a first introduction to Coen. Either way we are all about to experience the wonders of being one.

“PEEK” is still a favourite game at one.

We might as well get mom and dad into the picture as well.

Mom and Coen’s other grandma have made birthday cupcakes. He is given one all to himself. But the size is unusually enormous compared to the bite-size pieces that generally arrived on his dinner tray.

What is a boy to do? Well, at one and on a person’s first birthday no problem is so big it can’t be solved.

There! No problem at all! Okay, now it might be alright to touch it.

Happy First Birthday Coen.

Love Grandma Welch 🙂

 

SPROUT: What is the first great big humongous problem you remember solving?

 

Best of the weekend everyone and I shall get to my mother’s lipstick post soon 😉

 

© 2012 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

No Hard Edges

/ Terrill Welch / 10 Comments

Some days have no edges as light filters through the morning mist. We may want sharpness, clarity and defined perceptions, but on a morning like this we must trust and wait. I find it is not a hardship really as I notice the coastal mountains in the morning light across the Strait of Georgia.

(image available for purchase HERE) 

Today is like this as I think about what I need to do before taking a few days off from much of my online community. I have tasks that need to be completed such as sharing my 15 versatile blogger awards following the recognition bestowed upon me by Laurie Buchanan at Speaking from the Heart and Leanne Dyck from The Sweater Curse. I sigh a little in the soft edges of time and when I might follow through. I want clarity but I must wait. It will happen but not for a while.   For now, please do drop in and visit both of these inspiring bloggers and enjoy.

 

SPROUT: What is filtering through the misty edges of you commitments? 

 

Best of the weekend everyone and I shall be in a few days  with a story about my mother’s lipstick. Until then!

 

© 2012 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

 

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MANAROLA WINTER AFTERNOON original painting by Terrill Welch

/ Terrill Welch / 12 Comments

This 16 x 20 inch oil painting on gessobord was inspired by the Manarola Collaborative Project between G+ Painters and Photographers 2011 -12

Yes I have kept it a secret for almost six months 🙂

What a journey of personal discovery! It was October 15, 2011 when I finally get a chance to settle in and explore the images provide by the three photographers Elia Locardi, Marisa Williams and Mike Brzozowski. I have it in my mind I want to do a winter mid-afternoon painting of the village. I have never used any other photographer’s images as painting reference and I feel like my being is strapped to a narrow window on a high cliff. This is a location I have never experienced. I don’t know what it smells like. I can’t hear the sounds in the streets. I have no idea how the light falls at different times of day. What temperature is it? Does the wind blow a lot or a little? What does is feel like from one location in the village to another? What are the daily routines of living? When is it quietest? I realize that these are all threads and fibers that ground me in my paintings. What was I going to do.? I had to know. I couldn’t paint without knowing. So I went on a long journey of research discovering more images, blog posts and youtube videos to my learn from so that I could paint.

Using information as references from the photographs of all three photographers and more, here is the end result of my impressions of what Manarola might be like on a winter mid-afternoon day with its golden light. The fishermen have spent the afternoon in the pubs as they won’t be going out tonight. There is a storm coming. It took hours and even days. Finally I painted.

MANAROLA WINTER AFTERNOON 16 x 20 inch oil on gessobord with a 2 inch wood cradle by Terrill Welch

(I haven’t put this painting on the market yet but but it will be about $900 U.S. If you are interested send me an email )

More Background: A small group of G+ painters are inspired to paint Manarola in the Cinque Terre of Italy. The painters have never been to Manarola Italy and seek photography reference from photographers willing to give copyright permission to use their images in the creation of these paintings.

A small group of G+ photographers agreed to participate. Links to initial images for reference follow each photographer. I used a combination of these three photographs plus additional research to complete my painting.

Elia Locardi: https://plus.google.com/112957708071337353347/posts/UhLzeW8dEqi

Marisa Williams: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/116975473087103045706/albums/5630380399468681713/5630690138668613394

Mike Brzozowski: https://plus.google.com/photos/103053238748819026069/albums/5200107765813493457

My heartfelt thanks to these photographers who shared their work so that I could create mine. You can meet all of the artists who participated and see their paintings as well as those that the photographers contributed in this album gallery HERE.

SEED: I have this great desire to learn more about this small fishing villiage. I now have Manarola Italy on my travel list.

© 2012 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

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GREETING DAWN original painting by Terrill Welch

/ Terrill Welch / 22 Comments

As the seagull tucks its head around the morning light sings out a warm greeting. This oil painting is 6 x 6 inches with a 2 inch wood cradle and is the smallest painting I have ever done. No frame required. This very small richly textured sunrise seascape is part of a new series “Squared to the Sea.”

GREETING DAWN would enhance a bedside, small bathroom wall, examining room or waiting area giving rise to serenity and peace.

UPDATE: February 10, 2012 This painting is now SOLD and off  to Dakota U.S. 

SEED: I am enjoying exploring this expanded sunrise and sunset palette of colours in both my painting and photography. I wonder what secrets these colours hold for us? Do they have a special place in our heritage of colour experience? I am starting with this children’s website for Weather Optical Illusions.

© 2012 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

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February Flight at Sunrise over Strait of Georgia

/ Terrill Welch / 10 Comments

Everyone once in a while my heart seems to stop as I focus an image into the frame. I usually must click the shutter release at the same moment as this happens if I am going to capture it for us. Such is the case with this image of the sun rising over the Strait of Georgia…

 

(image is available for purchase HERE)

It is dawn on the west coast in February with a bit of fog for added mystery.  Yes, it was taken shortly after yesterday’s image of “Queen of Cumberland Ferry on a Morning in February” Having just three seagulls fly up like that and being able to click the release for the shutter to get them in that perfect position is nothing short of a miracle. I know highly skilled photoshop users would put as many birds as they wanted wherever they wanted in an image. But this is not me. I have to do it the old fashion way.

 

SPROUT: What mysteries have you been able to capture lately? 

 

© 2012 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

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Queen of Cumberland Ferry on a Morning in February

/ Terrill Welch / 20 Comments

It may have been super bowl Sunday for much of North America yesterday but for this Gulf Islander it was simply another lovely morning in the mist at Sunrise.

The Queen of Cumberland Ferry is just coming out of Active Pass and is heading to  Sturdies Bay Galiano Island. These small ferries are an integral part of Gulf Island life. They are more than a mode of transportation between islands and to Vancouver Island. These ferries are where novels are read, naps are taken, friends are visited, books are written and meetings are held. These ferries are an extension of home on the islands and of our communities.

I remember the first time I road the ferry to Mayne Island when we were coming to look at what is now our home La Casa de Inspiracion. A woman had gone to the washroom and left her purse open sitting on top of the table. Middle-aged musicians were practicing for a performance they were going to do the next day beside us. A sleepy child was nursed by her mother as she listened. Another group had papers and pens in hand as they discussed something that I could not comprehend or accurately hear over the other noises of the diesel engine and the acoustic practicing. I thought to myself, in a few years this will be normal. I will be part of this life instead of an observer. And now it is so.

Tomorrow, I have another image to share from Sunday’s sunrise. A colleague said “I think this must take the prize for ‘my favorite Terrill Welch.'”  I wonder if you will feel the same.

 

SPROUT: What aspects of your community show up in your creative work?

 

© 2012 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

 

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ORCAS IN EVENING original painting by Terrill Welch

/ Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

I am sure many of you remember my recent “A Whale of a Story” where I was gifted a chance to photograph Killer Whales or Orcas from our Mayne Island shore on one of my recent January photo shoots. If you have a look at that post you will be able to see where I the inspiration for this painting came from.

ORCAS IN EVENING is a 12 x 12 inch oil on gessobord with a 2 inch wood cradle

 

In many ways this painting was a stretch for me. I seldom paint animals or birds into my paintings of sea or landscapes. This time I wanted to have the Orcas included. It was such thrill to see them like this I just felt “I must!” However, I wanted to do this in a way you could “feel” rather than just “see” the Orcas in their natural environment at sunset. This is why I anchored my work in the quote from Claude Monet and intention from an earlier post “Painting the Desperation of Wanting to Stay Alive.” I wanted to paint the impression of whales as seen from “the glance.” What do you think? Was I successful?

I also was thrilled to have the chance to paint pinks, oranges and mauve. Though still grounded in the body of cool-blue tones that are our foundation here on the west coast of Canada these “hot colours” are not common in my work. I couldn’t help but think of the paintings of a colleague and artist Lena Levin. You can view her work on her website.  Though she has primarily still life work at the moment, she did do a seascape a while back that she felt had been influenced by my work. Now it is my turn to share that this piece was definitely influences by her astounding palette development in these sunset colours. Do check out her Ten A Penny experiment as well. It is an idea I am watching closely. Even though I don’t do a lot of what are called “studies” I really like the concept. Lena is also on G+ HERE if you want to drop by and say “hello” or browse her recent posts.

SPROUT: Who is having a profound influence on your work of late? 

© 2012 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

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A Rare Sighting on an Ordinary Day

/ Terrill Welch / 12 Comments

There is sometimes nothing particularly outstanding about a particular day and yet my shoulders relax and I breathe just a little deeper than usual into the pleasantness of it all. Such a day is this.

Possibly this is what led to a rare sighting of Terrill Welch out on a photo shoot.

Covered in dirt from scrambling for a particular angle on an image and complete with weather-tangled hair, I confirm she was having a good day to hand the camera over to her husband, David Colussi, so he could take this photograph. Besides, she has never claimed to be inclined towards making fashion statements. At a rather round 5′ 3.5″ tall, on a good day, there never seemed to be a need or desired. Now, as for making photographs and paintings that would be a firm yes! 🙂

SPROUT: What is your favour photograph of yourself that seems capture the “real” you?

© 2012 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

Good morning and happy Friday to you!

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ROCKS AT SUNRISE original oil painting by Terrill Welch

/ Terrill Welch / 12 Comments

The light catches the morning next to the rocks in a grand profusion of impressionist captured colour. Each brush stroke is singing a song of praise for the beginning of another day.

ROCKS AT SUNRISE  is an 8 x 8 inch oil on gessobord with a 2 inch birch cradle.

(Update April 22, 2013: this painting is no longer available for purchase ) 

There are no process images for this painting as it happened in a continuous flow. This post follows up from yesterday’s post “Painting the Desperation of Wanting to Stay Alive” where a small detail of this painting was shared.

SPROUT: Can you share with us a link to your latest work that came forth in one continuous flow? 

© 2012 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

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Painting the Desperation of Wanting to Stay Alive

/ Terrill Welch / 17 Comments

Claude Monet is quoted from a conversation with an American neighbour in Giverny as follows:

When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, a field or whatever…. merely think here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, hear a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape, until it gives you your own naive impression of the scene before you. (reference Claude Monet 1840-1926 by The Art Institute of Chicago catalog published 1995)

I suppose you think I am going to argue with this sound advice!? No I agree and my brushes feel the same. Yes, of course I consulted my brushes and they spoke to the canvas and we are all in the same painting with Monet. However, as we conferred we also notice that Monet had left something out in his recipe for painting. It is not enough to get the colour just right or the shape just so.

A painter must paint the desperation of wanting to stay alive.

Here is a very wet detail from my painting today where I worked on this “must.”

Image

No matter how beautiful and accurate the painting of the light or interesting the composition, the painting must leave the viewer with an understanding that the painter knows that the moment in the painting is a gift in time – one worth being alive to experience. This must be said in every brushstroke, every slice of the palette knife, every squeeze of the paint tube and in absolutely every decision the painter makes to execute her vision into that brief second of a moment on a canvas.

SPROUT: How do you create with the desperation of wanting to stay alive?

© 2012 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

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