More Tour de France sketches

Sketching the tour de france from the telly was so addictive! I sketched frantically for 3 nights in a row and really enjoyed the experience.

Last night's final dash down the champs elysees was so exciting that I stopped painting so that I would not miss out on the action.
Here are the rest of my tour de france quick sketches, not in any particular order.

                                                                       

 

All Sketches on this page Copyright Artist Bee 2012

Sketching Tour de France

This past week we have been captivated by the beautiful French countryside and the grit and determination of the cyclists doing the Tour de France. Almost every evening, I have stayed up to follow every twist and turn on the telly. Then I decided one evening that I will take out my paints and brushes to capture these fleeting moments on paper. It is quite a challenge, as the scenes are constantly changing and only quick gestural sketches are possible. If I chose to dwell longer on a particular sketch, then I only have my memory to depend on. Actually, it is a truly beneficial way to brush up one's painting skills, literally!

Anyway these are my results:

Tour de france sketch 1 by Artist Bee

Tour de france sketch 2 by Artist Bee

Tour de france sketch 3 by Artist Bee

Tour de france sketch 4 by Artist Bee

Tour de france sketch 5 by Artist Bee

Tour de france sketch 6 by Artist Bee

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Irises

Irises - Watercolour by Artist Bee

Last Saturday I received a lovely bunch of purple irises. I just could not resist painting them. It's the first time I've painted irises, really! So this is my version of this much painted subject. 

On a Glorious Winter's Day

Fremantle Arts Centre on a Winter's Day by Artist Bee

Good friends and glorious weather are a potent combination for a great day outdoors. Last Tuesday was precisely just that - for my two friends and me, at the Fremantle Arts Centre. After admiring the outstanding works of Shaun Tan in his Suburban Odyssey exhibition, we sat in the courtyard and basked in the winter sunshine. Besides having great conversation and amicable company, I also managed to do this little plein air sketch to capture the moment for posterity.

Plein Air at Trigg

Clarko Reserve, Trigg- Watercolour Sketch by Artist Bee

Clarko Reserve, Trigg- Watercolour Sketch by Artist Bee

A Sketch at South Beach

Sketch of South Beach, Fremantle by Artist Bee

Winter is here but last week we had a couple of days with glorious weather. I have been feeling out of sorts and decided going outdoors was a good idea. I followed a group of keen fishermen to South Beach in Fremantle where they hoped to land a good catch. While they were fishing, I sat myself down at the opposite bank to paint this scene in my little Moleskine watercolour sketch book. 

Roses from my Garden

Roses from my Garden by Artist Bee

We have had very cold weather recently, and today we had the coldest morning of (1.3C) in 98 years! However the roses in my garden are not complaining. They seem to thrive instead and so I am not complaining too. I love roses. And I love painting roses. This bunch came straight from my garden and are a joy to behold!

Tree of Life

My sculpture entry at the Wanneroo Art Awards 2012

I submitted this work at the City of Wanneroo Art Awards 2012, currently exhibiting till 3 June at the Wanneroo Library and Cultural centre. This was actually not the piece I had intended to submit, and it was a good thing I did not give a title then. The work I was preparing at the time could not be completed on time, so this piece was its substitute.  Things certainly did not go smoothly at first.

On the day before the opening, the curator contacted me to inform me that they had damaged the human figure and she brought it back to me with an arm and a leg detached! I had to make last minute repairs and thankfully the damage is not obvious now. I did not go to see the exhibition till today, and I am pleased to see my work displayed beautifully in an alcove by a window. I did not have the opportunity to inform the organisers of the title, which would have been " The Tree of Life".

A Tale of Charlotte and the Bunny

This story is so amazing that I have to tell it. I have a beautiful blue-eyed bunny and he is an angel in every way. His photo magically popped up on my computer screen not long after I lost my previous bunny in a terrible accident, and while I was still grieving. His photo was online because he was up for adoption. He looks exactly like my other bunny except that he is white and has blue eyes, whereas his predecessor was brown and had dark brown eyes. 

Raphael enjoying his veggies

Raphael is named after the archangel. I discovered that Raphy is also Mr Congeniality. He simply loves people. And he licks everyone who wants to be friends with him with great affection. I was moved to tears the first time he licked my face! You will know what I mean if you have ever been so lovingly licked by a rabbit on your forehead!


Anyway, when I was doing the mural, I decided that Raphy will be on it. I plotted to put him somewhere hidden near the tree, a spot where he will feel safe. However, I made a mistake in scaling him too large for the intended spot and so had to look somewhere else to put him, simply because by then I was too tired to re-do another template for him. The mural was nearing completion and all the people were already completed. I decided to place Raphy near a little girl in the centre of the mural. "She will take care of him," I told my daughter, who was concerned that rabbits might not be popular with some people who regarded them as pests. "If anyone hostile sees him, he can pretend to be a toy," I joked. 


It was not till after the mural was completed that I began to compile a list of names of people who posed for the mural and whose silhouettes were used in the design. Up till then I did not know the name of that little girl. Imagine how surprised I was to learn that her name is Charlotte Bunney! What a coincidence that my bunny found a spot next to a little girl whose last name is Bunney..... or is it really a coincidence?

Charlotte Bunney with Raphael my bunny
as they appear on the Parable of the Tree art mural

My friend Sylvia

A Page from my Diary on 20th March 2012:

I had a thrilling day yesterday. I met Sylvia again! I first met her in art class, in 1998. She was one of the oldest members of the group, but I have never met someone her age with so much enthusiasm and zeal for learning. My admiration for this wonderful lady grew in leaps and bounds as I got to know her. We got along well and quickly became good friends. Sylvia impressed me deeply when she recounted how when she was in her sixties, she began to take music theory lessons and one day she turned up for her grade 2 music exams in an exam hall filled with children. Many thought she had accompanied a grandchild to take the exams until they realised she was a candidate herself! Even though we have not met in the last 8 years since I left Singapore and relocated to Perth, it was just like old times the moment we saw each other again.

Sylvia has not changed one bit, despite being nearly 88 now. Her wonderful smile still lights up her beautiful face. Her enthusiasm for art and beauty has not diminished. She tells me she still goes to art classes. I aspire to grow old gracefully like Sylvia and to remain as young as her and embrace life like her. This is a portrait of my beautiful friend, which I did as a gift to her on her 80th birthday, a few months before I left my home country for my new life in Australia:

Sylvia: Mixed media portrait by Artist Bee

Fishing at Cottlesloe Beach

The guys fishing at Cottlesloe Beach

Early this morning, I was at Cottlesloe Beach watching a group of fishermen trying their luck in the ocean. The weather is glorious, with clear blue skies and gorgeous sunshine. After a couple of hours, the guys left one by one. I guess the fish are the ones with luck today - they all got away! As for me, I managed to do a few quick sketches in charcoal and watercolour. I am particularly pleased with this one:

Fishing at Cottlesloe
Watercolour Sketch by Artist Bee

Painting small figures

The reference photo

This week I demonstrated to my watercolor class how to paint small figures in their landscapes. Including a figure or two adds interest and help to tell a story. In order to paint realistic figures, a basic knowledge of human anatomy is necessary. A common mistake is painting the head too large, making the figures look more like cartoons. An adult head is approximately 1/8 of the total height. Someone picked this photo in a magazine with two tiny figures for me to use as a reference. I did the sketch very quickly, in a couple of minutes.

Small Figures- Watercolour Sketch by Artist Bee

When is a painting finished?

Tulips for a birthday girl

My quick demonstration sketch

An unexpected bunch of beautiful tulips replaced the still life arrangement I originally intended to set up for the class today.  They were a birthday gift for a lovely lady who decided to share these beautiful blooms with us for a little while.  I could not resist doing a quick sketch to show the class how I would approach the subject. It was hard to stop... and I would have loved to go on painting... 

It is hard sometimes to decide when a painting is finished. A helpful way is to stop for a while, wait a day and look at the painting again. If by then I am satisfied and there is nothing in the painting bothering me, then I would consider it finished even though at the time when I stopped I might not think so. Or, I might find that the painting needs more work and carry on. It is always good to take a break, look afresh at one's work and this stop and start again process often can prevent too much overworking which can ruin the spontaneous fresh feeling that is there in the early stages.

I am putting this one aside till tomorrow, then I will decide if I want to leave it or work on it some more.


Postscript: This is the painting two days later:

The Completed Painting Two days Later -
Tulips in a vase by Artist Bee

Back to Class

Still Life in Watercolour: Citrus & Chillis by Artist Bee

This week I could teach at Watercolour class without being distracted by mural painting. It is good to be back in class doing demonstrations again. For the sake of our beginners, I painted a still life of simple shapes - citrus fruit and chills.

Life Resumes

This week has passed quickly as life slows down to normal routine. Actually, it has been a lot slower as my body tries to recover from the rigours of mural painting in past days. I caught up on cleaning the house and doing laundry and my two dogs and rabbit finally got the attention they have been accustomed to. There are also hundreds of photographs to organise and paperwork to be done. But I am not complaining. After all, who gets to do a huge mural in a lifetime?  I am blessed and happy to have had the opportunity to do this. My dear friend Jean asked me if I ever thought I would do this when I was a young girl. "Not in my wildest dream", I replied. Life is indeed full of unexpected surprises!

My chocolates - given by a kind delivery man while we were painting the mural

                "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." -Forrest Gump


Read the article on the mural in The Post on 21 April 2012 on http://www.artistbee.com/artistbee.com/News.html

The Parable of the Tree

My inspiration for "The Parable of the Tree" mural is taken from one of Jesus' parables:


“The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” 
Matthew 13:31,32


Instead of a mustard seed, I have used a Boab silhouetted against the brilliant colours of the West Australian skies with a community of people of all ages from diverse backgrounds at leisure and play beneath the tree. It is a message of hope, a labour of love and a gift to the people! I have been greatly blessed to have had the opportunity to do this work. 

Art Mural Day 10: It is finished!

"The Parable of the Tree"
Art Mural designed by Artist Bee

I woke up extra early this morning in a race against time to paint in all the figures while we have the cherry picker. Not knowing when the cherry picker would be collected, I painted as fast as I could, doing a record 11 figures in 2 hours. By 9am we have completed everything above 3 metres.

I spent the rest of the morning touching up and painting in the wheels of the bikes which the volunteers left unpainted. At noon, I was pleasantly surprised when a man who delivers goods daily to a nearby shop presented us with a small box of chocolates. He said it was to thank us for letting him park his van in the barricaded area everyday to make his delivery job easier. The chocolates were delicious! At 4pm I was finally done. What a relief and I am so happy we have finished the mural.

As we packed up and were about to leave, a lady walked by and thanked us for the mural.She has been having health issues and told us the colours of the mural brightens her whenever she walks by. Such words of encouragement make me forget my tiredness and indeed it has been all worthwhile!

Art Mural Day 9

Start of Day 9

Today is a race against time for the use of our cherry picker. Early tomorrow morning, it will be gone, so we had to finish all the areas which can only be reached by using it. I started earlier than usual and worked continuously till evening, working a record 13 hours straight. By 8pm we had given the tree a second coat of paint, painted more figures and traced the last remaining 11 silhouettes onto the wall. I was so glad that my trustworthy helpers and support crew were at hand. Once again, all our meals had been taken care of. What a blessing!

End of Day 9

Art Mural Day 8

8am Day 8

12 Noon Day 8

6pm Day 8