Friday

Mercedes

Mercedes, portrait in oils from three hour sitting, Shannon Reynolds
Mercedes (detail), oil on panel

Mercedes, three hour painted sketch in oils, Shannon Reynolds
Mercedes, oil on panel, 11" x 14"
A three hour painted sketch of model Mercedes in oils.

Tuesday

Max and the Chocolate Chips



During a recent portrait sitting I discovered the usefulness of chocolate chips as a bribe for encouraging an active, two year old boy to sit for a pose, but I hadn’t considered the mess.  Here’s Max, nearly two, with his adorable chocolate chip smeared face, and mischief in his eyes: 

Portrait of Max, oil on panel, by artist Shannon Reynolds
Max with chocolate chip smeared face, oil on panel, 9" x 12"
 And here’s Max, beautifully framed by Dimensions Custom Framing and Gallery:   
 
Max, portrait, oil on panel wooden frame, by portraitist Shannon Reynolds
Max, framed
The framers and gallerists, Wendy and Ellen, liked my work enough to take a few of my pieces for their Toronto gallery space.  I’ll have six small paintings in their Small Works Holiday Show & Sale opening December 12th.   The gallery is at 732 Queen St East (just east of Broadview on the North side) in Toronto.  Hope some of you can make it.

Thursday

Bridget

A portrait of Bridget, 12" x 16" by SHannon Reynolds
Bridget, oil on panel, 12" x 16"
A painting of my gorgeous niece in typical contemplative mood in the late day sunshine.  Hope you like it, Bridget!

Monday

Wonder Woman glances up

Donna as Wonder Woman, oil on canvas 8"x8" by Shannon Reynolds
Donna as Wonder Woman , oil on canvas panel 8" x 8"
A painted sketch of my good friend Donna as Wonder Woman, as requested by her adoring husband.

Summer gone but not forgotten


Here are some small gouache landscapes from my summer vacation spot.

Sea cliffs, southwest cove, gouache landscape, Shannon Reynolds
Sea cliffs, gouache on art panel, 5" x 7"

Southwest Cove, gouache on art panel, by Shannon Reynolds
Southwest Cove from the water, gouache on art panel, 5" x 7"

Owl's Head, gouache on paper, landscape, by Shannon Reynolds
Owl's Head, gouache on paper, 5" x 7 1/2"

Thursday

Two-hour painted sketch in oils

Deb (detail), oil on panel
  A two-hour oil sketch I did at the Cambridge Centre for the Arts life drawing session last night. 

Deb, oil on tinted panel, 16" x 20"



Tuesday

Muskoka Chairs...or are they Adirondacks?

Either way, they always look like summer to me. 

Muskoka Chairs, oil on panel, 12" x 12" © Shannon Reynolds, 2013
Muskoka Chairs, 12" x 12", oil on panel

Thursday

Lilacs and the relentless march of spring

Lilacs in a glass cup, oil on panel, 8"x10", by Shannon Reynolds
Lilacs in a glass cup, oil on panel, 8" x 10"
The spring blossoms continue their relentless march. Magnolia, crabapple, serviceberry, and redbud--all finished. Daffodils and muscari long gone, and even the latest of the late tulips starting to drop their petals. The Siberian iris blossoms unfurl only to curl themselves up the very next day.  But the spectacular white tree peony at least is in full-blown bloom.  It's planted along the sidewalk where its scent and the almost obscene extravagance of its flowers stop passers by in their tracks.  Dogwoods, spirea in bloom, mock orange almost.  The season unfolds far too quickly.  I feel this way every year. Spring is the season I most wish I could draw out.  But today we have a forecast temperature of 30 degrees and the first heat alert of the year; the studio is sweltering, and towering white clouds, promising late day thunderstorms, are half crowding the blue sky out of my skylight windows, so it's futile. 

Still, I had to make some small attempt to arrest the season with a painting of lilacs clipped from the new tree (shrub really) I planted last week.  It's called Wedgwood Blue and its bracts smell like childhood adventures in untended gardens around the houses of great aunts.  But even now, the cut blooms are browning in their cup and the few I left on the tree are almost done. I'm already longing for next spring.

The egg-run


Farm sketch by Shannon Reynolds

About once a week I drive to a gorgeous family farm to pick up eggs and greens and various items of seasonal bounty they offer at their farm store.  It's a bucolic place and always makes me feel fortunate to live in an area where the mixed family farm is still flourishing.


The standoff, graphite in sketchbook, byt Shannon Reynolds
The last time I was there this dog and cat were having a standoff.  The dog seemed to want to play, but the cat was having none of it.
 





Tuesday

Recent life drawings

Leaves are on the trees and suddenly the world is transformed.  I hope to be out sketching land and cityscapes in addition to life drawing very soon. In the meantime, here are some life drawings and portrait studies, mostly in charcoal and chalk, from the past month.

Eden, portrait in chalk and charcoal by Shannon Reynolds
Eden, charcoal and chalk on gessoed paper, 12" x 14"
Govan, charcoal and chalk pastel study by Shannon Reynolds
Govan, charcoal and chalk on painted board, 11" x 12"
Sean, charcoal and chalk study by Shannon Reynolds
Sean, charcoal and chalk on gessoed board, 8 1/2" x 11 1/2"
Eden, charcoal and chalk on gessoed paper by Shannon Reynolds
Eden, charcoal and chalk on gessoed paper, 11 1/2" x 15"
Eden, charcoal and chalk on gessoed paper 9 1/2" x 14"
Rachel, charcoal on gessoed paper by Shannon Reynolds
Rachel, charcoal and chalk on gessoed paper, 15" x 22"

A few new life studies

I'm really enjoying the challenge of painting more frequently from live models.  Some studies from the last few weeks:

Eden, oil on toned panel 11 x 14

Tattoo, oil on gessoed board 12" x 16"



Sean, oil on gessoed board, 11" x 14"

Rachel, vine charcoal on paper



Thursday

Portrait Study from Life

Jenna, portrait study, detail, oil on panel, by Shannon Reynolds
Jenna, portrait study, detail, oil on panel
This is a portrait study I began at a three-hour live session in Guelph and finished up in  the studio.  It's painted in oils on an 11" x 14" panel, pre-toned with a red oxide wash.

Jenna, Portrait study, oil on panel, by Shannon Reynolds
Jenna, portrait study, oil on panel, 11" x 14"
The afternoon sessions have some challenges, particularly the shifting light as the winter sun makes its quick descent.

Painting and Drawing from Life

Rachel, oil on panel, 11" x 14" by Shannon Reynolds
Rachel, oil on panel, 11" x 14"

I've recently discovered a life drawing group offering a regular, three-hour, single-pose session, which allows me the luxury of painting from a live model.  It's great for for forcing a broader, more economical painting style.

And here are some drawings from the regular format life drawing sessions, which typically begin with quick gestures and progress to longer poses:

Jenna, gesture drawing, charcoal on paper, by Shannon Reynolds
Jenna, gesture, vine charcoal on paper

Jenna, gesture, charcoal on paper, by Shannon Reynolds
Jenna, gesture, vine charcoal on paper

Jenna, gesture, charcoal on paper, by Shannon Reynolds
Jenna, gesture, vine charcoal on paper
Portrait, charcoal and chalk on gessoed paper, by Shannon Reynolds
Jenna, chalk and charcoal on gessoed paper
portrait, charcoal and chalk on gessoed paper, by Shannon Reynolds
Govan, chalk and charcoal on gessoed paper

portrait, charcoal and chalk on gessoed paper, by Shannon Reynolds
Govan, chalk and charcoal on gessoed paper

Life Drawings and a Pigeon

A couple of weeks ago, just before I succumbed to the flu, I drew a life model named Lyon, who wore a startling necklace of human molars (his own it turns out)  and who is a descendent of the notable, fierce, pre-confederation Canadian politician William Lyon Mackenzie. I forgot my chalk, which is a shame because he had great Scottish colouring.

gesture drawing by Shannon Reynolds
Lyon, gesture drawing, charcoal on layout paper

life drawing, vine charcoal on gessoed paper, by Shannon Reynolds
Lyon, vine charcoal on gessoed paper


And a life drawing from the Autumn sessions

life drawing, male.charcoal on gessoed paper, Shannon Reynolds
male model, vine charcoal on gessoed paper
 And a sketchbook pigeon for good measure.
Parc Monceau pigeon sketch, by Shannon Reynolds
Parc Monceau Pigeon, charcoal in sketchbook

Three Italian Plums

Three Italian plums, oil on panel, still life by Shannon Reynolds
Three Italian plums, oil on panel, 8" x 10"

Friday

Happy New Year!


All the jingle bells are packed away for another year.   Not a resolution, exactly, but I do hope to draw paint and post more actively this year.


Jingle Bell, oil on panel, painting by Shannon Reynolds
Jingle Bell, oil on panel, 5" x 7", 2012