Summer Sizzling

 Running the fan helps, but oh it is sizzling in my studio in the afternoon with these over 30 temps outside. It's fine in the mornings until about 1pm, then the back deck with an iced tea is where you'll find me.  I started two 18 x 14 landscapes this morning; here's one ....a work in progress.  
 Happy Canada Day!

our lovely flag in honour of Canada's birthday...Happy Canada Day!

abstract #3

Meditation Windows - oil - 20 x 26

Often in guided meditation, I struggle with 'imagining myself on a beach'...it's like I want to...but I cant quite see the beach, at least not fully... it tantalizes me with snippets of loveliness, but then 'blip' it disappears and I'm back to trying to imagine it again.  I guess it's like that with meditation, you have to work at it a bit to get the full picture.  I guess it becomes easier the more often you do it.  Anyhoo, that's what I was thinking about when I was painting this abstract. 
I love my yoga class on Thursday mornings, it reminds me to slow down, take my time, listen to my heart and my body.

cliche`

Hillside Poppies, Italy - oil on wood 8x8

I didn't paint since last week, so was dying to get into the studio tonight after I ate my dinner and have a little go. No time to waste thinking about what to paint,  just keen to get right into it. 
Grabbed a  photo from my resource box...a very cliche' subject, I know, and that's never a good decision, but what the heck...I was feeling drawn to the haphazard sprinkling of poppies and guess what it felt so darn good to be painting I didn't even care what it was.  sheesh...The sign of a definate addict, getting her fix. ha ha.

in the park

Couldn't have asked for better weather for the art in the park show this past weekend in Ottawa...my booth was right next to lovely Patterson Pond in the Glebe central park, fairly close to one of the entrance/exits so that was quite nice, because I wasn't sure what to expect.  It was a great show for getting new eyes on my work.  I'd do it again...maybe next year, we'll see.  I always feel pretty tired after doing shows...mostly because of being 'on'...chatting people up, etc.  Artists spend a lot of solitary time in studio's so I'm not used to being so 'full on' all day.  

While I was at the park doing my thing all day on Saturday, Holly and Jeff were hosting a breakfast for the scavenger hunt crew.  One of their friends Ang, had organized a special scavenger hunt game all over the city of Ottawa in honour of their upcoming wedding.(Holly and Jeff did NOT want a bachelor-ette or stag party, so this was suggested instead; fun!)  There was Team Bride and Team Groom...ya, Team Groom were the winners!! Pretty funny, some of the things they had to do, like play leap frog on Parliament hill, get a picture of a stranger dancing on a table...etc etc.

Sisters

Sisters-  oil on wood - 8 x8 inches

This is a little painting that I started as a demo one day a few months back. It's been sitting on the shelf waiting for a tweak ever since. I had a little time this afternoon, so decided today was the day.  Cottage life activities are so wonderful. It's a little one, only 8 x 8 inches, but was a pleasure to paint.

Sally Chupick & Bonnie Brooks Artist Talks

Bonnie Brooks and I did an 'art talk' at the Grace Community Centre in Sydenham last month.  Kathryn filmed us while we were talking, and here is the result. I warn you ...you need about 1/2 hour to get through the whole thing....and I warn you when I'm talking I am a moving target...I should really learn to stay close to the mike! ha ha.
The quilts and photos hanging on the wall behind us are not part of the retrospective exhibition, they are gifts that belong to the Grace centre, and could not be moved for the show. Below is a poor photo I took, but you can see some of the paintings in the exhibit hanging on the walls around the hall. Bonnie's are on the left and mine on the right. It's a big hall, and there is a big mural on the centre wall. The hall is used for many meetings, yoga classes etc, so there is a lot of other supplies in the space.  

summer art shows

I had a great day at Art Among the Ruins! Holly was there to help me all day, and even though the sun stayed behind the clouds all day, the crowds came out and we all enjoyed the show/sale.  Holly sent me this picture of my display(I forgot to take any) and one of the grounds.

Once we got the truck unpacked this weekend, I'm packing it up again this week for the Ottawa art show, so lots of organizing and grunt work going on.  
hmmm....i just heard on the news that "sitting is the new smoking"...yep, guess what it's bad for you... time to increase my activity level... better move off this computer now.

Art Among the Ruins: Sat June 14th

This Saturday is my favorite outdoor arts show!  AND the weather is promising sunshine! yay!!  In my opinion this is just one of the best country-garden styled outdoor arts show in Eastern Ontario!  Last year the attendance reached 2000 visitors!  Come out and visit if your in the area. Find directions to Newburgh at: Art Among the Ruins.

My daughter Holly is going to come help me and we will have a fun day for sure!  That's a picture of some of the activity from last years show, can you spot me at the back?

watercolour - think i nailed it

My previous post about painting warmth without the use of yellow seemed to work out okay.  It took some planning to layer those light washes, but overall I'm good with the outcome.  It's quite a side-step for me to get in the frame of mind to paint in watercolours when I am primarily interested in painting in oils these days.  However the commission required a lighter touch...so I thought perhaps a watercolour would work better for this client. Fingers crossed xxx! 

The New Art Festival - Ottawa - Central Park, Glebe

I will be participating in this art show in Central Park, The Glebe, Ottawa on June 21 & 22.  My first time at this show, and looking forward to it.

dont touch that colour!

 I'm currently working out a method for a commission this week.  I had originally worked it in oils, but unsatisfied with the result, I am now attempting it in watercolour. This time I have a photo supplied by the client to work with and have a much clearer idea of what she's after.  

cardboard covers the untouchables!

One of the things I've been working out is how to paint the warmth without using yellow.  Typically I work with various yellows and reds to achieve this.   The painting will adorn the wall of a room that my client is decorating... yellow in the painting doesn't work in the room.  So, I've spent the morning testing various pigment combinations to come up with some solutions to the ' warmth without yellow' conundrum.  
The truth is, I am employing one little hint of pale yellow; naples yellow, which is very opaque.  As an under-wash I'm hoping it will give warmth to the consecutive washes applied on top of it.
I cut out little squares of cardboard to cover the other colours( lots of yellow tones) on my palette so I dont forget and dip into them!...easy to do when I get into the groove with the process.  The limited palette tones I've chosen for this project are: Scarlet Lake, Quinachridone Magenta, Cobalt Turquoise, Permanent Sap Green and Cobalt Blue.  All are very transparent and make nice greys and taupes when mixed in various combinations. I'll add a touch of Burnt Umber as I near the end to pick out darks.

art show display walls

This morning I started thinking about a few of the art shows I'm going to be doing this summer, and how I hang my work.  I had used a concrete reinforcement grid once before,  but it didn't stand up by itself, and had to be supported by 2 easels, which altogether wasn't very satisfactory. I kept thinking...there's got to be a more simple, lightweight, easy to assemble solution to get it to stand, but I wasn't getting anywhere.  Now, I swear my hubby's middle name is MacGyver!  He came up with a brilliant idea of making a frame and legs of pvc piping!  ...and now I have 2 awesome free standing walls that I can take the legs off for storage and transporting.  You can see in the picture they are slightly different sizes; can be configured in an L shape or used individually. In strong winds I might need a guy wire to secure them. Woohoo! Displaying works just got a little easier!