Major Blog Change

I have been having a technical problem with my blog for quite some time  that forces me to make a few changes. The content is all the same stuff that was on my "old" blog but it has a new name, Catherine Gillespie Paints, and a new address. So if you want to see my current work please go here:

www.catherinegillespiepaints.blogspot.com

Don't forget to hit the "follow" button, and I will "follow" you too! You can also add your email address in the "subscribe" box at the top of the right hand column, and you will receive an update of my latest work as it comes hot off the easel.


Thanks,
Catherine

some of my work

Waiting Game

This little West Highland White terrier demonstrates her patience as she waits for her owner at a farmers market.

 6x6" Oil on cradled panel

Click here to bid

Please contact me if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com

Embracing Winter

I gave up on being in denial about winter, so I went to a local skating rink or rather a skating trail that follows a path through woods. It was really beautiful. This young woman looked like she was born to it.

My pal Kathy Cousart introduced me to the art and teaching of Peggi Kroll Roberts, whose DVD's I have been watching. She believes that all artists can speak with their own voice if they learn and practice the fundamentals, starting with drawing skills. I was influenced by her mantra to mass in the large shapes, pay attention to the direction of the light, put the darks in first and then the rest of the values, and simplify. The fun and the joy of this art adventure is the learning and discovering of what your voice is.

 5x7" Oil on gessoboard

$70 + s&h

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting, or if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com

Valentine Rose

This is my contribution to the weekly Daily Paintworks Challenge. This is a great exercise not only in the painting itself, but painting subjects you would not normally tackle. I don't paint that many flowers, but this was fun.

5x7" Oil on gessoboard

Click to Bid

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting, or if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com

Daily Painters Challenge

This is a challenge which consisted of 8 - 10 minute paintings of some object (I chose an orange.) This is a very useful way for an artist to get to the basic shapes and tonal values of a subject.
You can see more of these challenges at  Daily Paintworks.        

Oil on 2 6x6" gessoboards

nfs

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting, or if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com

Hay Bales

Summer in King Township, horse country north of Toronto.

 5x7" Oil on gessoboard

nfs

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting, or if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com

Available on Ebay

Flower Lady

Shore Birds

These two paintings were listed today on Ebay.
Click on the caption to check it out!
Thanks for looking!

Flower Lady

Another of my denial of winter paintings. This lady sells flowers at a popular Toronto farmers market.

 6x6" Oil on gessoboard

Click here to bid

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting, or if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com

Old Car in Florida

This is the first of a new painting challenge at Daily Paintworks. I was really missing Karin Jurick's challenge, so this is great, I love having a bit of a prodding. Have to come up with a better title next time!

 5x7" Oil on gessoboard

$75 + s&h 

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting, or if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com

Sunflower

This is the winter of my discontent - so I decided to ignore it and paint something happy. Love this flower from my friend Barb's garden. It lives on in the seeds that are in the frozen ground just waiting for the warm soil to arrive.

6x6" Oil on gessoboard

SOLD

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting, or if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com

So Inviting

I loved this doorway in Charleston, S.C. The terra cotta flower pots, the wrought iron, the stucco and the red door was so pleasant and inviting. I could have moved right in!

 8x10" Oil on gessoboard

$145 + s&h

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting, or if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com

Treed!

Kerry Blue Terrier Griffin is sure she will be able to entice the squirrel out of the tree!

 8x10" Oil on gessoboard

Sold

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting, or if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com

Moody Beach

I am trying to do more figures, and children present more of a challenge since their proportions are so different than adults. This is from a photo taken by my father of me as a child at Moody Beach in Maine. The photo is black and white, so I had to imagine the colors.

 8x10" Oil on gessoboard

Not for Sale

Please contact me you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com

Ebay Offerings January

First Catch

Hen at the Fair

Linden Leaves

Shore Birds

These paintings will be offered in an Ebay auction starting at 7:30 Friday January 21st. Click on the captions of each painting for more info. Thanks for looking!

Jade in High Park

This is my dog Jade in Toronto's largest park, High Park. I edited out the fences that prevent her from chasing squirrels! 

We are having a serious winter this year! 

5x7" Oil on cradled panel

Not for sale

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting, or if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com

Dark Bay Thoroughbred

I love horses, and painting them. I find people more difficult, and it is my plan to focus on figures and faces. This took me ages to do, and I must have wiped the girl off the canvas half a dozen times before I was happy with her. Since attending the Karin Jurick workshop in November, I have been working on the lovely smooth surface of Ampersand Gessoboard, and transitioning back to canvas was tricky. I got used to it again after a while, but it is very different to work on in comparison to the gessoboard. There is a give to it, and it grabs the paint in a different way, and I had to use bristle brushes instead of softer brushes. It was  definitely slower.

This is from the Royal Winter Fair 2010 in Toronto.

 8x8" oil on canvas

$95 + s&h

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting, or if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

 catherinegillespie.blogspot.com

catgillespie@gmail.com

Shore Birds

At last, back to some painting again. My flu is more or less gone, and I have some energy.

These little shore birds I saw at Hilton Head in November were fascinating to watch. They didn't keep still for a moment! 

 6x6" Oil on gessoboard

$70 + s&h

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting, or if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

catgillespie@gmail.com