What’s New as of September 1st, 2010:

Where my blog lives now...

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:01:03 -0600

I have just created a new blog that will replace this “What’s New” page. It is using a web based template that avoids some of the issues that have cropped up on this one due to Mac and PC’s determination to speak different languages. For all future blog postings please click on the blog link in the middle of my home page (coming soon) to be directed there, or simply log on to my blog in your web browser at: http://lizwiltzen.blogspot.com.

Tackling figurative work

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:37:40 -0600

I am currently showing a variety of new work at the Avens Gallery in Canmore. While I have included a few landscapes, most of the new work is a departure from this genre. I have recently become intrigued with the challenge of figurative work in many of it’s variations, from portraiture to street scenes, and I look forward to continuing this pursuit as I find it is presenting me with the opportunity to tackle new and compelling approaches to handling oil paint.

The longer I paint the more important it becomes for me to keep raising the bar, to do whatever is required to stay inspired and excited, and most importantly to prevent apathy from creeping into my time at the studio. (At times I think of it as “throwing down the gauntlet” in front of my easel). I find it a balancing act to keep commercial demands secondary to growth, but I feel it is an essential and rewarding part of this path. The movement away from landscape is primarily motivated by the temptation I have found to revert to safe ground when painting a landscape rather than pushing myself. Figurative work being novel to me, there is no safe ground, so it provides a terrific channel for growth.

Karin Juricks latest challenge

Wed, 20 May 2009 11:50:46 -0600

I haven’t done one of Karin’s “Different Strokes” challenges since January, but I check in periodically to see what she’s offering up and I couldn’t resist the fun of this one. Painting it made me want to take off for a week to New York City and take about a million photos - do a whole series of these. What great energy!

Check out the other artist’s interpretations here: http://differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com/

Boston painting trip

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:33:48 -0600

Just returned from a 4 day trip to Boston, MA. with my studio partner, Sarah Kidner. On our first afternoon we went to The Boston Museum of Fine Art and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where I viewed John Singer Sargent originals for the first time ever...SO COOL! The collections at both museums were fabulous, well worth the visit!

Casey Baugh portrait workshop

The following 3 days we took a portrait workshop with Casey Baugh. Casey is a very accomplished painter who has studied intensively with Richard Schmid, and he imparted a tremendous amount of knowledge over the course of the workshop. His approach to oil painting is unlike any other I have studied, primarily in how thinly he paints. This is quite different from the direction I am moving in with my painting, so it was intriguing and expanding to observe his method, and I look forward to incorporating some of his ideas as I continue my journey forward in this challenging and constantly inspiring medium.

Raymar Fine Art Competition Finalist

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 21:14:46 -0700

One of my paintings, “Young Boy - Cusco, Peru” (10”x 8” - Oil on Linen) was chosen as a January finalist in Raymar’s Annual Fine Art Competition. This is a highly competitive competition with some very accomplished artists entering so I am thrilled to be selected.

For more details about the competition click here.

Vancouver Workshop

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:39:58 -0700

Just returned from teaching a 3 day workshop in Vancouver January 22nd-24th. Had a great time with the students, they all worked super hard and were willing to take large risks, and every one of them made huge strides forward as a result. One of the students, Vern Schwarz, has posted some entries on his blog about the workshop. If you are interested in reading more about it, here are the link to his postings:

Painting Workshop
Liz's Amazing 15 Minute Demo
Our Workshop Group
 The above painting of our model, Helene, was a 15 minute demo done at my January workshop. The objective was to capture the essence of the subject without detail, intentionally leaving lost edges and unfinished areas to add mystery and encourage viewer participation.

Different Strokes Portrait Challenge

Fri, 2 Jan 2009 17:13:17 -0700

Well, seems Karin is not running out of ideas for challenges. This one was very intriguing, she had everyone submit a head shot and handed off the photos randomly to artist pairs who would then paint each other.

I still don’t know the name of the woman I painted, and I’m afraid I didn’t honour her likeness as well as I would have liked, but I feel I got to know her a little by painting her face. Very kind, intelligent eyes. I enjoyed this particular challenge in a very unique way...

See all the portraits (130 artists signed on for this challenge!) here:
http://differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com

Portrait Challenge Update - January 4th,2009:

The Latest Different Strokes Challenge

Sun, 9 Nov 2008 16:36:58 -0700

Really had fun with this one, was captivated by the alternating dark and light patterns throughout. My studio partner Sarah (check out her great work at www.kidner.ca), kicked me out just as I was about to get caught up in detail. “You’re done, sign it...” is often the very best feedback we have for each other.

Check out the other artist’s interpretations here: http://differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com/

More Different Strokes....

Tue, 4 Nov 2008 16:50:05 -0700

This was my second crack at Karin Jurick’s Different Strokes challenge. Once again a subject I would not normally choose to paint, so a good challenge for me. I painted this today, the day of the U.S. Presidential election, which seemed fitting - listening to the results unfolding on CBC radio as the painting unfolded on my easel.

View the other artist’s interpretations here: http://differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com/

Different Strokes from Different Folks Challenge

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:13:27 -0600

Recently I discovered a wonderful blog by an American artist, Karin Jurick.

Her blog is called “Different Strokes from Different Folks”. She posts a new photo once a week offering a challenge for any artist who wishes to tackle an interpretation of it. She then posts all the paintings on her blog. It is truly fascinating to see how several (often more than 50) artists interpret the same scene. (http://differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com/).

This was my first week signing on for the challenge, and I had to laugh when I saw the photo, incredibly busy, and something I would never in a million years choose to paint. Of course.

In contemplating how to handle this difficult scene, what spoke to me was the great rhythm of blues running through it, complemented by the sweeping “S” of the trading floor. My chief goal in this painting was to keep it from getting busy. In the end I feel it speaks of the abundance of technology on the trading floor, and the tremendous unifying energy that flows between it and the traders in the frenzy of a day’s activity in this remarkable place.

3 Days of Plein Air at Lake O’Hara

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:24:13 -0600

The Canmore Artist’s Guild held it’s 5th annual week long trip to Lake O’hara this fall from Sept. 18th -21st. Every year, 25 artists gather to stay at the Ellizabeth Parker Hut in one of the most spectacular mountain environments in the Rockies. Each day we set off in small groups, some to paint, some to gather photo reference, some just to hike and explore this remarkable area.

This year, unlike any previous, we were gifted with 3 days of full sunshine and blue skies. It was unusual to paint without our many layers, hats and gloves, without scraping steadily accumulating snow out of our palettes, or seeking a rapidly disappearing subject out of the closing fog.

On our last full day we chose to paint at the Lake O’Hara shoreline, where we ran in to Robert Genn and his lovely daughter Sara. We blew off painting for a while and shared a long, enjoyable lunch with them on the lakeshore. As always, Robert was a wealth of anecdotes, quotes, philosophies and inspiration, and it was a pleasure to observe the love and respect he and Sara clearly share for each other.

On the 4th day, we awoke to rain and a forecast of more, so Sarah and I pulled the plug, wanting to keep our first ever fine weather painting trip to Lake O’Hara intact. There will be several paintings done from the small field studies and numerous photos I collected while there, which will be posted on my site as they are completed.