Bruce The Elf

Bruce The Elf
Welcome, Blessings to All

Detail of Someone Found

Detail of Someone Found
Detail of Someone Found

Painted Portraits on Fabric

Painted Portraits on Fabric
Gail Can Paint Your Portrait on Fabric

Share Knowledge

Share Knowledge
Grandmother's Legacy

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The 7 Workshops and Lecture Offered by Gail Thomas

1.The Art of Painting on Fabric Workshop/Lecture 

"When In Doubt Use Turquoise" Lecture
Gail Thomas Art Quilts Truck Show

 The Art of Painting on Fabric using Angel Paints. http://www.angelpaint.com/ With these paints you can design and create your own fabric.
Fabulous paint, smooth to work with, iron to set, washes beautifully and the painted fabric remains pliable and soft to sew.
This class involves a bit of patience to listen to a few techniques, the belief  that everyone is an artist and the gumption to give it all a try. Gail believes you will LOVE it.
When Gail first started working with fabric, many moon ago...at that time there was no "Fabric Paint", as we know it now. One could use acrylic paint with some success yet you would have to water the acrylic down and then it would bleed. Angel Paint will not run if you do not want it to.
Gail intends to share her knowledge with anyone interested in The Art of Painting on Fabric.

The Art of Painting on Fabric Kit includes: two tote bag patterns large/small, a book of some of Gail's Decorative Design Patterns, a set of ANGEL PAINTS, brushes.  Kit: $125.00

Whether beginner to advanced, Gail can guide you through cutting out the tote bag pieces, transferring decorative designs to the fabric, painting the designs and sewing all the painted bits together to make a versatile laptop or quilt carrying tote.

Lecture "When in Doubt Use Turquoise" and Trunk Show  $250.00
For 15 students Gail fee starts at $400.00 (All of Gail's fees are negotiable)
$20.00 per day for each additional student after that.

Gail E. Thomas is currently and has been painting for 53 years, sewing for 48, teaching for 28, and quilting for 13 years. Gail has won many National and International Awards for her Art Quilts. she is one of The Three Sisters with Annette M. Hendricks of Grayslake Illinois and Helen Godden of Canberra Australia.

Her work can be seen in private and corporate collections in Canada, USA, England, Wales and Australia.

Come join her, Gail enjoys sharing her knowledge and her LOVE of painting.
To Contact for Questions/Bookings : tyderw@shaw.ca
If you would like to see more of Gail's Art http://www.gailthomasart.com/

Supply list for The Art of Painting on Fabric:
2 1/2 yds. 2 meters white to cream cotton fabric (pre-washed)
2 1/2 yds. 2 meters very dark cotton fabric (pre-washed)
2 1/2 yds. 2 meters of 1/2" velvet ribbon (any colour) (or fancy cord)
2 large buttons
Water container(at least 6 emptied yogurt containers with lids), paint tray(with lots of compartments) for your mixed paint, plastic wrap, a flat tray (11" X 14"or larger)(an old cookie bake tray is wonderful), black or white garbage bags, sponges, plastic gloves, masking tape, a retractable sharp blade, scissors, rotary cutter, cutting mat, paper towels or cloth rags if you rather, pencil, pen, fabric markers, sketch book or journal, your preferred hand-sewing gear * bring what you are used to and a kneaded eraser. Plus your camera.


2. Drawing From The Beginning


Where can the creative juices take us when we explore the world of drawing for the absolute pleasure of it?
To draw or sketch is the beginning of quite a lot of projects.
A doodle is a drawing.
When you design something or draw out a sketch before cutting, painting or just colouring with a pencil, crayon, pastel on paper or fabric that is drawing.
There is a theory going around these days that everyone is an artist. That statement has been proven to be true many times. There are just a few techniques to learn. The idea is to draw what you see not what you think you see.
Everyone on this earth can see colour and shapes differently...think of the possibilities!

Supplies Fee: $40.00

List of supplies that you can bring:
Drawing board, paper towels or cotton rags, masking tape, pencil sharpener, large plastic garbage bag and gloves ( if required)


Once the techniques are acquired and drawn out, all it takes is a little patience and a bit of practice.
Come and join Drawing From the Beginning Group and discover your inner artist.

Gail loves to share her connection with drawing. She finds it is a wonderful beginning to many things. She has been a professional practicing artist for 34 years. Gail's drawings and paintings can be seen in private and corporate collections in Canada, USA, England, Wales and Australia.


3. Drawing With Colour

Move over graphite, conte and charcoal, coloured pencils are circling the drawing community. When you look at black and white photos or old movies do you find yourself trying to imagine or figure out what the original colours are or were?
Do you create your own interpretations from the grays? We are going to take all that is a little flat in the grays and enhance, combine and smudge them with colour to add a spectrum of variety to the black and white drawing world.



"Early Morning Shadows" in Beacon Hill Park Victoria BC Canada

Supplies Fee: $40.00 ( watercolour pencils & paper)

List of supplies that you can bring:
Drawing board, pencil sharpener, masking tape, kneaded eraser, if you want to work from photos bring those along and gloves (if required)

Discover a hidden desire for drawing, experience coming out of the grays into colour. Draw what you see not what you think you see. Everyone looks at colour and shapes differently. Lets expand our knowledge and open up our eyes to see all the colourful drawing possibilities that are out there.

Gail carries a set of watercolour pencils wherever she travels. She loves to bring out her pencils and head to a park or to the ocean, find a comfortable spot to settle in and draw. Water and snacks are welcome too.

Gail E. Thomas has her drawings and paintings in private and corporate art collections in Canada, USA, England, Wales and Australia.


4. Watercolours on Fabric

Have you ever stood really close to an original painting? You can see all the brush strokes, the texture, the paint with one colour on top of another coming together to create a masterpiece.
When the same painting is viewed at a distance, one can see what the artist is expressing with colour and shapes, she is painting what she sees.
 After transferring a drawing or sketch onto the base fabric is complete. Light washes are applied then left alone to dry, only to be reapplied again with another wash. Watch the colours build and give life to the fabric which in turn displays beauty to the viewer.

"The Dusty Trail"62"X 38"

The paint that is used in my fabric classes is Angel Paint http://www.angelpaints.com/ , with these amazing paints you will find painting on fabric a dream...


Detail of "The Dusty Trail " Watercolour Art Quilt 2010

Supplies Fee: $110.00 ( Angel Paint & brushes)

List of supplies you can bring:
2 yards or more of white cotton washed and ironed
Kneaded eraser
Masking tape
Large plastic garbage bag
Gloves( if required)
Scissors ( for paper and fabric)
Paper for drawing your pattern
Pencils
Pencil sharpener
Paper towels or cotton rags

As you watch and pay attention in life to the changing light, seasons.The different shapes and vast variety of colour that surrounds you. Do you ever question the why and how of it all, do you realize how blessed we all are.
Do you ever feel as though you would like to capture a scene in front of you or recreate something from a photograph with paint on paper and fabric.
Just one step at a time, one layer after another and you will start to see images that you have painted emerging from a piece of fabric. What, I mean to say is... would you like to paint on fabric what you see... so others can see ...what you see.

Gail E. Thomas has been painting since the age of 7 ( 53 years). She has her work in private and corporate art collections in Canada, USA, England, Wales and Australia.

Come and join her, she enjoys sharing her knowledge and her love of painting.


5. Portraits on Fabric

This class is about finding ourselves in our portraits.
When one draws and paints a portrait of someone else, we get this incredible chance to see inside someones heart, in some ways it is a very personal thing.
When we draw what we see in each person as we see them, that is our interpretation of how we see them. Everyone on this whole wonderful earth see colour and shapes differently...
When given the chance to do a self-portrait that is where we find answers to questions we have thought to ask ourselves yet never allow the time to do so.
When I begin a portrait, I start with the eyes, from there to the nose, back up to the eyebrows, back to the nose then the mouth and ears then chin. This is where I start ...that does not mean that you have to do the same...some like to start with the shape of the face.
Every square inch on our face tells a tale, what really tells the portrait's story though are the eyes. Our wonderful beautiful eyes, each pair uniquely different!



This is a detail of " Beeing With Devra and Starbuck" 27" x 34" Art Quilt  2005



I have been painting portraits for many years and have loved all that I have done ...
The detail above is of Alex Anderson from "Grandmother's Legacy" 43" X 56" Art Quilt 2009

Although I really enjoy working with humans when someone asks me to to paint their dog, well what occurs is absolute joyful pleasure.
The same techniques apply when drawing and painting animals.


In the Portraits on Fabric workshop we will be using Angel Paint http://www.angelpaint.com/
Angel paint works wonderful well on fabric, when painting a portrait on fabric I would not use anything else.

Supplies Fee: $110.00- Angel Paint & brushes. Same supply list as 4. Watercolours on Fabric workshop.

This class is a fantastic way to get to know yourself again and be able to express the inner you. It is a tremendous way to learn some new techniques and then to act on them with colour. 

Gail Has been painting and drawing people and animal portraits for 44 years and counting


6. Vibrant Oil Pastels

We are blessed to see, feel and touch colour. 
Drawing with oil pastels is fun and colour vibrant. Creating your own interpretation of what you see is an exciting added bonus.
There are no rules. You can be part of the joy of placing pastels to paper and seeing images emerge from the page before your very eyes.


Oil pastel on paper called "Dad's Rhododendron" 20" X 30"


Oil Pastel on hand pressed paper " Just Around the Bend" 34" X 22"

Supplies Fee: $40.00 ( oil pastels & paper)

List of supplies for you to bring:
Drawing board, paper towels or cotton rags, masking tape, pencils, kneaded
eraser, if you have oil pastels bring them along ( I will be bringing sets of oil pastels and paper),
large plastic garbage bag and gloves ( if required)

Gail is a professional practicing artist, whose love of colour is evident in her work. Gail has found oil pastels to be a great tool to open up artistic blocks, allowing the creative juices to flow.


7. Painting With Watercolours

When standing close to an original painting one can see all the brush strokes. Painting one colour on top of another having them blend together to create a masterpiece. The same painting viewed from a distance shows another story of the artists expression.

Painting with watercolours involves a pencil sketch and many light washes of colour on watercolour paper. One of the most important things to remember, let the paper dry between washes. Dry brush technique.

The pencil lines probably will show through as one paints each layer adding to the painting more movement.

There is a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment as you watch the colours build.  Each giving life to the paper, which in turn gives the gift of beauty to the viewer.

Painting With Watercolours requires a desire to give it all a try, the openness to listen to a few techniques and the patience to let the paper dry.


"Red Oak in Beacon Hill Park" Victoria, BC Canada


"The Road Home" 20" X 15" Okanagan Lake, BC Canada

Do you ever feel as though you would like to capture a scene in front of you or recreate something from a photograph with paint on paper? Just one step at a time, one layer after another and you will start to see something emerging from a piece of paper. What I mean to say, would you like to paint with watercolours and put down on paper what you see, so others can see what you see.

Painting Kit: $90.00 - includes watercolour paint set, brushes and paper.

Supply List: Drawing board, pencils, pencil sharpener, kneaded eraser, plastic garbage bag, masking tape, if working from a photo bring photos, camera, cotton rag, paper towels, gloves if required.

Gail has been painting with watercolours since the age of seven. She has her work in private and corporate art collections in Canada, USA, England, Wales and Australia.

Come join her, she enjoys sharing her knowledge and her love of painting.










Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Exciting News About Seasonal Sisters

The Three Sisters quilt Seasonal Sisters won in Canberra Australia Quilter's Inc 2011 Annual Exhibition, First in Group Quilt and Best in Embellishment a Chiatanya Designs Embellishment Award.
Yea, Us!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Starting a new quilt that I am in a little bit in awe of at the moment ...so ,when that happens it takes me awhile to get geared up.
When I arrived home from CA in May after teaching at Quilters Retreat in Fortuna with Dixie McBride and have been drawing ever since. I would say the trip, the area and the wonderful people and friends I met inspired this next quilt called Believe, Intuition, Faith. I will post something about it soon!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Someone Found is Going to Houston

Oh my, it has been a colourful ride....
I can almost say that Someone Found is complete.
What a wonderful quilt to work on , I , at times called her the Monster ...months and then a year passed... and I was still sewing ...yet now I can say that she looks pretty good, soon I will send SF on her first trip to Houston.
Grandmother's Legacy is taking a trip to Pacific West Quilt Show in August ...
I have a new quilt developing using Ricky Tims wonderful fabric ......
With the help of friends my teaching class of The Art of Painting on Fabric is getting an exciting up-grade ...
Sending joy...colour...light ...love

Saturday, May 28, 2011

It Feels Good To Be Back

Someone Found has been a great journey , I enjoyed everything about this quilt.
She started because I wanted to paint a semi nude again , luckily I have this beautiful inside and out Daughter that is willing to pose for me .
I began by designing block squares with different motifs ... I then tranferred the designs on to different types of cotton fabric ... and began painting the blocks, 10 in all. One of the peices of cotton is from Ricky Tims collection. The center piece of fabric is a piece of Ricky's as well. I then pieced everything together in the sequence I wanted . With a pastil pencil I drew in my Daughter's figure , then painted her image...
The IQA Quilt Show in Houston TX this year has a theme ( 175th year of Independence), I happened to show a friend in Houston 2010 a photo of what I had done so far , she mentioned kidnapped children in Texas by the Comanche...I went and did some research and was captivated by Cynthia Ann Parker's story .
I printed up what I had done on a 8 1/2 X11" piece of paper in colour, the image of what I had done so far...placed a piece of tracing paper over top and drew in the additions to the quilt where I wanted them . I then took the tracing paper drawing and used that to draw with pastel pencil again the additional story data.
 I showed my quilt to my Sister Helen Godden and she gave me some excellent suggestions to bring the quilt together alittle better, which I added and completed the painting... ironed everything really well on the back side ... threw both the top and dyed and stencilled back in the washing machine then dryer .............I LOVE ANGEL PAINTS, ironed them both again ...then came the tuscany wool batting. Pinned the three layers and began quilting 3 1/2 months later I have resurfaced. The binding is again Ricky Tims fabric...probably the label too.........
Cynthia Ann Parker from Scottish/Irish decent ...came from Illinois to Texas in 1833 the Parker family and friends built a 12' pole fort on Comanche land . In 1836 Cynthia and others were kidnapped by Indians. Cynthia was adopted by the Comanche and was renamed Naduah ( Someone Found). She had three children, her eldest Quanah Parker is called The Great Chief of the Comanche. Naduah lived with her Indian family for 24 years ...

The quilt is about the blending and contrast of two traditional cultures...
Oh, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to teach in Fortuna CA at Dixie McBride's Quilter's Retreat ... One of the best weeks of my life and I have been saying that alot lately .........AWESOME time FABULOUS friends and WONDERFUL Sisters found and rediscovered...sharing my space with Sharon Schamber FANTASTIC...miss her every day...
Magical place .... Magical space ... thank you
So now it is to get some yardwork done ...in-between the rain... housework and say Hi to all my friends ...illustrating and designing is calling

Sunday, March 20, 2011

The Sun is Shining...

I am on my own this weekend and getting some work done . I am so excited about teaching at Quilter's Escape in Eureka CA in May . The ideas are just swimming around in my head . The kit I am putting together I think will be fun , I would enjoy receiving it . I have got the projects complete for the class , yet I want to cut up some more fabric just as fabric without the paint and have that as an example of my project patterns. Helen gave me a great idea from her DVD she sent me. I want to create a book with some of my designs, I can print the pages myself then put them all together with a nice cover. I hope to sell my DVD's , my Swan Lake pattern... and my designs... plus maybe painted block panels??? Dixie told me that I can sell what I like there..........
Someone Found (Naduah) , is in the quilting proseess and she has been a dream to quilt , I am attempting quite alot of threadwork with Superior Thread.
Love the varigated thread...
Just a little tease of Someone Found this is Alex's Love panel of the quilt...

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Someone Found Naduah

                                                 Rainbow Ladder                                                      I think I have completed one part of my new quilt Someone Found , I sent photos to both Annette and Helen of my new quilt asking them to be honest. Helen responded and suggested that I expand the inside story and try not to have too many hard edges around the inside. I have soften the edges and done a  little extra work on it as well, I am going to finish writing this and take a photo...then part parts of SF
I dyed and stenciled the back of Someone Found fabric started with white fabric , wet it,  used a small roller and rolled on the paint then crunched it in a ball then flattened and added some star stencils to the bunch ( from Grandmother's Legacy). Let dry over night then added more star stencils, let dry for 24 hours ironed it then machine washed then ironed again.
Olivia is here with me today ... wonderful ... so I am also spending time with her ........
My new facebook page is up with my etsy store ... I think I require help getting the like button though ...
I have over 700 friends now on facebook who would have thought ???
I believe I have really finished all the hand quilting on Rainbow Ladder ...I hope Paducah lets me enter it ...

Saturday, January 15, 2011

I'm Back in the Saddle Again

So much to say where should I begin...
The Dusty Trail is in Road to California I think this weekend .
I am waiting to hear whether The Rainbow Ladder has been accepted to Paducah...
My on-line store http://www.gailthomasart.etsy.com/ is coming along , I have listed 27 items so far and there is quite  a few pieces of art to list on the site yet...  I am just about finished a new pastel to place in my store . An oil pastel of a Begonia on hand pressed paper.
I have a new Gribble purse to download as well. I have not come up with a name for her ... maybe Miss Rassy Tafair Gribble ...could be?

Ms. So Wool Gribble top is a purse I designed for my Mom to give to my Sister-in law as a Birthday gift. The second photo is Mr. Sowarm Gribble, that was a gift to my Brother for his Birthday. I am really enjoying working with the Gribbles again.  My Mom commissioned me to create a few Gribble Christmas presents. I was able to try out some new designs and to discover new branches of the Gribble family. The extended family......
I am working on my new quilt this one is quite large it is trying to overwhelm me yet I am maintaining...
I really like her so far ... she is different then I have done before ... I sort of am tweeking the past ...
    This is Ms. Cherry Float Gribble, I sent this her to Calgary to see whether she will be accepted to be one of the auctioned off items in a fund raiser silent auction. The proceeds go to one of the Calgary Adult Choirs...

I miss my love ones this year and I send them love always and hope that they are happy ...my Dear Aunt Rose , my Dear Uncle Harry and My Dear Aunt Dot... blessings to you always ... I carry you all in my heart and my memories