I made these just for fun.
‘Baby Clown Shoes’, shoes, drywall compound, paint, paper. I just wanted to make these for fun.
I like the rounded fat toes.
Jo 'Rapunzel' - the house at Gibsons
Jo ‘Rapunzel' two, the painting of me, at our family’s house in Gibsons, B.C. I did this painting for my grade 7 teacher, Mrs. Campbell. The house had an ancient huge furnace in the basement when we bought the house. This painting is a version of a painting I did of me at the house in Oshawa.
The house in Oshawa.
Mrs. Campbell with the painting.
'three pears' painting
Facebook notice for the Paris Optimist’s online auction, later this month.
I’ve stopped working on the ‘jupiter’s clouds 2’ painting, to do this painting of three pears. It’s going to be donated to an auction to raise money.
The first layer of paint on the pears. I have to decide what colour to do the background next.
I added the second layer of paint to the pear on the left hand side. I also painted the first layer of blue on the background. I’m going to make the dark blue darker.
I did another layer on the background, and I did the second layer on the middle pear. Now I can do the pear on the right. They’ll all have small brown dots at the end, which will help make them look more like pears.
I did another layer, and added shadows to the bottom of the painting. The dark blue background needs another layer. I might have to add some black to it.
I’ll try to take a better picture of this. I decided to do a more abstracted layer on top of the patterned layer. I like this better. It still needs more work, but I feel like it’s heading in the right direction.
…or not. I felt like it was a bit bland, so I upped the contrast. I like it better now.
Added more white and red to add more contrast. I think this has officially gotten away from me now. I really like parts of it. Maybe too much contrast. Layer 7 might be the lucky one.
I added the halos to the pears and painted them in shades of purple. I like it better now. Not quite finished, but it’s getting there. I took it outside to photograph it, and I used the better camera, so I finally got a good picture.
…on the other hand. Maybe not. I painted parts out to simplify it. It needs another layer of the same thing and some more modifications, but I like it better. I do have a tendency to get carried away.
fairy skeletons
‘mermaid’ fairy skeleton. Hair from a wig, plastic skeleton, copper wire, hot glue, paint, jewel heart. For the garden.
‘fisherman’ to go with ‘mermaid’ fairy skeleton. Thrift shop boat, plastic skeleton, hot glue hat, jewel heart, ceramic fish chopstick holders.
‘fairy princess skeleton on a unicorn’, for the garden. Skeleton, unicorn, glitter, cement base with marbles, cheesecloth dress, air dry clay bodice, heart jewel, waxed thread bridle.
I got this fantastic clay ship from the thrift shop. I’m going to make fairy skeleton pirates to go in it.
I accidentally removed my pictures of my other fairy skeletons. I’ll put them back at some point.
I painted the ship brown, and I’m adding the pirate fairy skeletons, and a shark. I have a treasure chest to add too. I want to make a jolly roger flag, and paint something on the sail. I really like it.
The ‘cottage’ fairy skeletons. I’m putting the pictures back I accidentally erased.
The ‘fairy skeleton fisherman’, on ‘The Ethel Mermaid’. Ha. I made a sou’wester hat for him, and I put a fish in the net. It was an earring I’ve had for years. I’ll varnish it and put it out in the fairy garden. I’d like to make water, but I’ll have to think about how to do it.
The fairy pirate ship, almost finished. I forgot I wanted a long red banner, so I’ll have to add that. I cleaned up the treasure chest I already had, and I’m adding a shark.
The ribbon banner. It has wire sewn into it to keep its shape.
I like the flag. It’s from a skeleton print fabric I had, which I over-painted.
The captain, with a bottle of rum, and a cannonball. Oven baked clay hats, wire fabric and glitter wings, heart rhinestones, jump ring earrings.
A close-up of the fisherman fairy skeleton.
I smeared clear silicone seal onto a mirror, then sculpted it with a palette knife, and added a bit of glitter.
I need to do another one now for the pirate ship.
The fisherman fairy skeleton, outside. I need some sand to put around it. I’m also thinking about doing something for the background.
Another view.
The fairy skeleton pirate ship outside, with the fairy skeleton fisherman.
Closer view of the pirate ship. I made the water from a mirror, which I cut into a wavy shape, then painted with blue, purple and teal glass paint. I added glitter and let it dry, then I added a thick layer of exterior clear silicone calking and sculpted it into waves with a palette knife and added more glitter. I painted some white paint onto the tops of the waves at the front of the ship. I really like the way it turned out.
I painted a plastic skeleton with glow-in-the-dark paint. I made paper wings and painted them with the same paint. I sewed and glued the wings to the body. I want to make a crown, and then hang him up outside. I’m making another one that I might keep inside. I’ll have to spray them with varnish to protect them. I’m not sure how well the paper wings will stand up to the weather. I might have to add wire to keep them in the right shape. We’ll see how it goes. I really like it.
I found this great hand-painted horse at the thrift shop. I love the way it looks. I’m going to add a fairy skeleton rider. I might do a painting of this, I like it so much.
and the other side. I love the paint.
And the horse with a skeleton on it. I need to make wings and glue him on. I haven’t decided what he’s going to look like yet. I’d a bit behind on my fairy skeletons. I have a doctor skeleton, and one on a tricycle to finish.
My unfinished fairy skeleton on a tricycle. I got the tricycle from a local store. It’s a christmas tree ornament. It’s the perfect size.
The unfinished doctor fairy skeleton. He needs wings. I got the outfit from the thrift shop. It was a christmas decoration.
I made a base with some air-dried clay for ‘the ethel mermaid’ fairy fisherman. Blue and white paint on the waves.
And the other side. The base is a scrap piece of wood from the garage. I still have to varnish it.
The front of the boat.
Jupiter's clouds 2
The beginning of the next painting, ‘Jupiter’s clouds 2’. This is a much bigger painting than the last one. It’s 28 x 48”. I like it so far.
I did some more work on the bottom. I want to do one layer of paint on the whole canvas, then go back and do the second layer, adding more details. It reminds me of cream clouds in a cup of coffee.
Most of the painting has its first layer of paint. I’m going to finish the red spot, then start the second layer.
Layer one completed. Now I can do the next layer and add more detail.
Working on the bottom right-hand side of the painting. Adding more swirls in the clouds. I love the colours.
The bottom right corner.
I did another layer on the bottom of the painting, and I’ve started working on the two swirled clouds on the left hand side. I like it when things work out.
It’s progressing slowly. I really like certain areas. The red eye needs a lot more work. I do like it though.
'the blue shirt' painting
I started a painting of a blue shirt hanging on a door. It was a bit crooked on the hanger, and I liked the folds and the shadows. It’s only 18 x 24” so it’s not too big. I want to do a really big canvas of some more clouds on Jupiter, but that means going to the store.
I think the shirt is pretty much finished, but the door still needs more work. I like the colour combination.
I did go to the store, and I got a large canvas for the next painting, but I have to finish this one first.
Almost finished. The door still needs some work. I like the blue with the orange.
Jupiter's clouds
I started the painting of Jupiter’s clouds, from a photograph by NASA. Well, it’s not like I can take my own photographs. It’s going to take a long time to do, but it’s not very big, so that will help. This canvas is only 20 x 24”. I want to do another one, much much bigger. It’s Jupiter. It should be big. They’re luscious shapes and colours. I love it.
I did the bottom of the painting last night. It’s fun, but slow.
This is the first layer of paint. I’ve managed to get one layer on the whole canvas. Now I can start to do the next layer. I like it so far.
The upper right hand side of the painting, layer 2. It needs some more work, but it looks better.
The bottom right hand side. I still have to finish the bottom corner.
The finished painting. I love the colours. I want to do another one, but bigger. This is only 18 x 24”.
The Fat Lady Sings book
The cover for the next book, ‘The Fat Lady Sings’. Hand-painted photograph.
I’ve finally started the book, but I’m just adding things slowly. I need to paint faster.
A photograph of a house in Lavenham, England, for the book. For the poem ‘love is a runaway train’. I’m up to page 85 so far, so it’s comin’ along.
‘Tin Man’. Male doll, silver mirror spray paint, heart-shaped button. For the poem ‘a tin man and a lion’.
The moon over Rangitoto Island, New Zealand. For the poem ‘the soft cocoon of sleep’.
These look similar. I didn’t plan it, it just worked out that way. The first photo is from New Zealand, and the second is Jupiter’s clouds.
‘turn me over’ potato bag assemblage. Miniature playing card, plastic heart, bead, paint.
Perfume bottle plastic skull assemblage.
Jo, Rapunzel, the house in Oshawa.
Gold torso, dollar store plastic torso, gold chocolate bar foil, rub-on tattoo, torn collage heart from wrapping paper.
Woman bared her innocence, and Man invented cloth
This is the photo for the next painting, or the one after that, if I decide to do the pear painting next. I might need a bigger canvas to do them both. The only canvas I have left is a small one. I might have to order a curb-side pick-up before I can continue. The doll and the snake are from Value Village, which I bought some time ago. The orchids are fabric, but the bleeding heart and the leaves are from the garden. I’d like a blonde doll at some point. I had two, but I made one into a flying fairy for the garden, and the other one is Rapunzel in a tower, also for the fairy garden. If I could find a plastic wolf that’s the right scale, I’d make this doll into a Red Riding Hood.
I painted an outline around the drawing. I’ll probably finish the background first. It’s Eve, and the Serpent in the Garden of Eden. The moth in the upper left corner is going to be a death’s head moth. The verse goes:
Things evolve unknowingly,
the orchid lures the moth,
Woman bared her innocence,
and Man invented cloth.
from the poem ‘the tick-tock pitter-patter cadence of the verse’, verse: 57.
A few days later… I’ve painted layer one on the doll, and I’ve painted her hair. I’ll finish the flowers next.
Layer one finished. Now I can start the next layer.
I’ve done a little more work, but I haven’t spent more than an hour a day on it since I had to have a tooth removed. It’s o.k., it just feels a bit weird.
I did coloured glazes over the whole painting. I think her face still needs a bit more work, but otherwise, I think she’s done. I’m priming the last small canvas I have to do the next painting, which is of a pear and flower still life.
Pear painting
I’ve been working on two images for the next two paintings. One is to go with a verse from the last poem about a pear, and the other one is about Eve. I didn’t like the layout in the original photo. The two pears were too low in the photograph, so I copied them and positioned them higher in the image to make a better composition.
I started the pear painting last night. I’m short of gesso, so I did a layer of white paint on top, so the surface is kind of slippery.
Well, I skipped a few in-between images. I’ve been doing a layer of matte medium over the layers of paint. It’s easier to paint on, which makes it more fun to paint. I’m working on the cranberry drapery now. I’m going to add the word ‘pears’ to the top right hand corner.
I painted another layer on the top part of the painting, and I’ve started the drapery on the bottom. I added the word ‘pears’ to the upper right-hand corner.
I added some red to the orchids to make them more three dimensional, and I added some brown spots to the pears. That made me think ‘leopard skin pears’, so now I have to buy some pears and paint leopard spots on them. I’m still working on the drapery at the bottom of the painting. I’m going to have to get another canvas soon.
I took the painting outside and photographed it with a better camera. It still needs to be varnished.
Anne, with the pear painting.
'Alphabetic Ink' painting
I did a painting for Ryan, at Oddfellows Coffee, at the Brantford Farmer’s Market. It’s from a photo of him from his Facebook page. I knew it would make a good painting the moment I saw it.
Ryan, at the Market, with the finished painting.
Me, with the painting.
Ryan’s painting hanging at his store in the Brantford Market. I like it.
a man without a star - poem
This is what all my poems look like. Handwritten on lined paper, in a binder with a printed page I type on the computer. I have 57 binders. I need to figure out what to do with them after I’m gone. I don’t want them to end up in the garbage, or burned. Sold? Donated to a library? I’d like them to stay all together as an archive of my work. I have similar feelings about all my precious objects…and I have hundreds of them. I was thinking I should make shrines to all of them…that would only take years to do. My wedding rings, my grandfather’s watch, and the story that goes with it…things like that.
This is a painting of someone’s keepsakes I found on Pinterest. I love the idea.
A glass jar ‘memento vitae’ assemblage. Found objects from the beach, beads, waxed thread.
My grandfather’s watch. (My dad’s dad). It doesn’t have a mainspring because my aunt pulled it out, and wrapped it around the knobs on the dresser when she was a child.
gourd painting
I started the next painting. It’s from a photo I took of a weird gourd. I loved the shapes.
This is the original photo. I shot it at night, with a flashlight for the light source.
I managed to get the first layer of paint onto the canvas. Now for the next layer…
The original photograph, and the painting. I just liked the weird shapes of the gourd. I took lots of photographs. I got three of them from the grocery store.
I did another layer on the background paint. One or two more to go before it looks the way I want it to. I made the shadows on the gourd darker too. I like it so far.
'The House of the Rising Sun' painting
I started the self-portrait for the video ‘The House of the Rising Sun’. This is layer one of several layers. I took it this winter in front of the house.
Me, in front of the painting. I want to shoot a short video of me in front of the painting. I want to move my eyes, and have the painting’s eyes move too. I don’t have any idea how to do this, but I’m going to try.
The photograph, and the painting. It’s for a music video with the song of the same name, by the Animals. My friend Leonard is doing the music. If I need it, it can be for my funeral, hopefully not any time soon.
The drawing on the canvas, the photograph and the paint.
I started working on my hair. I like it so far. I added red to my eyes. It’s so much fun.
A few layers later. Still not finished, but I like the way it’s going.
I’ve finished the ‘House of the Rising Sun’ painting. I’ll wait a few days for it to dry then varnish it. I like it.
I started the next painting, called ‘the red shoe’. I like it already. It’s from a vintage photograph of my husband’s grandparents, on his father’s side.
'the red shoe' painting
I’ve only done a little bit so far, but I like the colour. She had really long fingers, so I thought, maybe she had really long toes too, so I painted the shoe longer than it actually was in the photo.
This is the original photo. I’m changing the whole colour scheme to cranberry and pink.
O.k. so I skipped a few photos between the last image and this one. I thought I’d just cut to the chase. I’m adding a candle on a table to the left side of the painting. It’s not finished yet. Oh, I like it.
Still working on the drapes in the background. When I’m finished, I’ll do the fabric on the people.
I did some more work on Mrs. Forrest’s dress, and started Mr. Forrest’s jacket.
I signed it, so it must be finished. I like it. I really love the shoe.
‘Crab fishing’ - pencil and pen on paper drawing. 1983. Howard Small.
Howard Small
‘Tugboat’ drawing, pencil, pen on paper. Howard Small.
‘The Ghost of Cape Scott’. Pencil on paper. Howard Small.
amaryllis painting
I’m stretching my own canvas for the next painting. I ran out of the regular weight canvas, so I’m trying this, which is a heavier weight. I cut the canvas 2” bigger than the frame and wrap it around and staple it with an electric staple gun.
I primed the canvas with some crimson paint mixed in to colour it. I just like it. I haven’t decided what I’m going to paint yet. It’s either going to be an amaryllis, or an old family photograph. I’ll see which one looks better on the canvas.
The beginning of the ‘amaryllis’ painting.
A close-up of the leaf and stem. I just wanted to see what it was going to look like. None of the pink background will remain when it’s finished. I just like painting on top of a colour. I put a layer of matte medium on top of the tinted gesso background to make it smoother to paint on.
I was up late working on the painting. I’m just trying to paint the first layer so I know which colours go where. I’ll do another layer and add more detail after this is done. It looks pretty good so far though, I have to say.
The fist layer of paint is almost finished on the flower. I had to stop and go to bed.
I’ve got the first layer of paint onto the canvas. I’m working on the central part now. Lots of subtle changes to be made yet. This is the beginning of the next step, which is to blend the colours from light to dark a bit better. The lights need to be lighter, and the dark parts darker.
I painted the blue background on the painting. I did a couple of white-to-blue graduated stripes, but they were too distracting, so I painted over them.
I’m working on the right-hand side of the painting, and the middle. I’ll do the petals on the left side next. It’s comin’ along.
the fat lady sings
This is the over-painted photograph I did for the cover of the next book, called ‘the fat lady sings’. This was taken in Value Village by my friend Kate. It’s for the poem of the same name.
I’ve done some paintings and I have lots of poems for the book, I just need to start.
'goldilocks' painting
The front of the double-layered ‘goldilocks’ painting. Me in the kitchen of the house in Oshawa, with three bowls of porridge, and a panda bear looking in through the window.
The back of the ‘goldilocks’ painting. Me outside the house looking in at a wok on fire, from an actual event. The painting was done in 2003.
Painting how-to for the 'bumpfish' painting
Tinted gesso on the canvas, layer one of three.
The projector, projecting the image onto to the wall to see what it’s going to look like. This isn’t my photograph, of course. It’s from a Blue Planet program. The photographer is Tony Wu.
The drawing on the canvas, with one layer of paint on the fish.
The original photograph. I got this online.
A look at the painting and the photographs I printed as reference. The fish is called a Sheepshead Wrasse, or Kobudai in Japanese.
More work done on the ‘bumpfish’ painting. I started the scales on the right hand side.
I painted the first layer on the scales. I wanted lighter and darker stripes running down the side.
Now I’m blending the colours to make the stripes less distinct.
The whole fish, with the scales and the lighter areas painted on the top of the fish.
I started the fish on the left hand side. I also did some of the seaweed in the background, just to paint something in a different colour.
Layer one of the paint on the scales on the left-hand side. The fin wasn’t as hard to do as I thought it was going to be. There wasn’t much definition in the original photograph.
Layer 2 of 3 on the fish on the left.
The scales on the left hand side are finished. I also added some more green and blue paint to the bottom of the fish.
O.k. so I missed a few in-between steps here…
A closer look at the seaweed details.
I think it’s pretty much finished. I have to try to take a good picture, then I can varnish it.
The finished painting, varnished.