SCA 45th exhibition...I'm in!

Here's the official announcement of the Society of Canadian Artists 45th exhibit, which my painting, 'Colours of Evening' was accepted into.  The show's in Montreal.  Although I'm unable to make if for the official opening reception, I am thinking of taking the train in to Montreal perhaps on Aug 19 for an over-nighter... take in a few galleries, and at the same time see the SCA show.  If there is a pal out there who'd like to go along, share a room...just send me an email. It's always more of an adventure with a friend!

Aug 14/13 - Aug 25/13 SCA 45th Open Annual National Exhibition & Competition Location: Tudor Hall, 5th floor Ogilvys 1307 St. Catherine Street, W. Montreal

Awards
Best in Show $1000, 2nd place $750, 5 additional Awards of Merit of $500 each
Official Opening and Reception - Aug 17th 2013 12noon – 3pm
Tudor Hall Hours (5th Floor)
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 10am to 6pm 
Thursday, Friday 10am to 9pm 
Saturday 10am to 5pm 
Sunday noon to 5pm

Breast Cancer Action Kingston furniture revival art auction

A few weeks ago I met a volunteer and cancer survivor, Mary, who asked if I would consider working on a donated piece of furniture for a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Action Kingston.  They would supply the furniture item...Well....it's easy to say yes ...my own mother passed away from a recurred breast cancer in 1992. I was in! 

Last weekend my friend Sherry Pringle invited us to her beautiful cottage in the Thousand Islands, and while there I was thinking about this project, and wondering what to paint...it was obvious from my surroundings, that a cottage theme set in the Thousand Islands would make a great subject for the theme of the piece...I mean who cant use a funky little folk art handpainted chair for their cottage?  After all ...the whole idea is to make it appealing so folks might bid on it; hence raising the desired funds for the cause.

Yesterday I painted the main part on the seat.  I plan to collage a map of the islands on part of the back, and the rest will be finished in a pale blue paint with some funky coloured bits on the spindles.  I'll post again when its fully finished. Quite a pleasure doing this:)

Starlight # 2

oil on canvas - 24" x 24"

Starlight # 2 is a larger version of a smaller study(8x8 wood panel) done a few months ago. This one is on canvas; consequently there's a number of differences from the original study.  Brushwork behaves differently on canvas than wood panel.  Colours blend more. There is more scope for mood.  I like how on the larger version, you get to 'look around' more...wonder about what's hiding in the shadows...oh - look...some fireflies are playing there.  
This one is definately one for the dreamscape file folder!  

I'm not completely sure that I will call it Starlight # 2.  Sounds kind of boring.  I'd like something more original; but definitely want to avoid whimsical overtones in the title, because it already is so blatantly that....don't want to push it completely over the edge. 

This weekend is the ' Fantasy in the Forest' art show. Jamie Brick runs this 2 day show; this year featuring 22 artists, and taking place in a new woodland setting not far from Perth Road Village.  The forecast is for clouds on Saturday but sun on Sunday.  I'm in this show for the first time this year and plan to bring mostly my dreamscapes , mini painted blocks and handmade items from my Gallery at the Porch Door.

Late Summer

Late Summer - oil on canvas - 24x24 inches

Working with so much green is a challenge. Green is a tricky colour to get right in nature.  The breeze blowing the first of the leaves about the yard suggested late summer, so....I used lots of orange in the greens too.  The subject is loosely based on our yard.

birdyhouse and great weekend

 This is the birdhouse that Holly chose for me from an artisan at Art Among The Ruins.   I love it...it's hard to see in the vid, but it has such whimsey, twigs and branches attached to it, and the colourful stains on the wood allow the woodgrain to be seen nicely too.  I loved the different styles of them that she made.  Holly bought a blue one for herself.

We just finished  a  lovely summer weekend full of family and fun.  My daughter Holly and I, left Dave and Jeff to install a new front door at their house on Saturday morning while she and I set off to look for a wedding dress! 
 
She is getting married next July, and being an organized sort of person, now was as good a time as any to begin the search.  She found one! And it's so lovely, she's delighted and so am I...we didn't expect it would be so easy!  

After the door was in and secured, we enjoyed a marvelous smoked bbq before setting out for an evening of fun and frolic at Ottawa Blues Fest, and that was a treat.  The Dixie Chicks were headlining that night; Dave and Jeff love their music.  I liked the tunes and the electric fiddle especially:)

me at the Dixie Chicks at Ottawa Blues fest

I slept in on Sunday, and woke up to find Holly and Jeff cleaning and detailing Dave's truck! oh my goodness... can you get any more generous than that?  

Sunday afternoon we met up with Dave's sisters and brothers families for a summer get-together, which was so wonderful to catch up with some of the gang. 

poppies

Poppies - 2 1/2" x 3"  oil on wood blocks

Hovering skies of rainclouds today, I'm kind of hoping they open up for a while and water my garden! I did go around and water it late yesterday afternoon, but a good soak would help...I mean...if it's going to hover and be cloudy...might as well do the deed!  heh.
We're off to take in Ottawa Blues Fest on Saturday with Holly and Jeff, which I'm looking forward to; there's a whole line-up of performers at least a mile long. The Dixie Chicks play while we're there, funny, as I didn't think they did blues...but guess we'll find out.  Dave and Jeff love their music so all good!
I've been doing some flowers on the mini blocks...poppies, yesterday.  A little change from the landscapes... building my inventory for a couple of weekend artisan fairs; these little guys are popular at them.

getting going

From time to time my painting goes through periods where I just feel stuck...same old subjects, no real inspiration driving my work.  It's hard to get going again when i go through periods like that.  So June went by and I didn't work on any larger paintings at all...just fiddled around painting the minis , which is fun, but can also be a diversion in a way.  Chatting with an artist friend about this, we agreed that the best way to beat it is to stop procrastinating, and just begin painting. Sometimes easier said than done. But yesterday morning, I did just that, stopped procrastinating and began... it feels good, so we'll see where it goes from here.

I read a quote by Jasper Johns recently. It goes something like this: " to be an artist you have to be willing to give up everything; especially the desire to be a good artist".  

Trading Pieces

I have admired the works of JT Winik for years.  She's a painter living in Kingston, though she travels a lot, living for a time each year in Spain, the Netherlands or Mexico.   Her work is mostly figurative, sensitive, moody, and often has an intangible dreamlike quality.  When I used to work at the frame shop, I would love it when a client would brought in one of her works for framing, so I could have the chance to enjoy her painting up close; see the brushwork, the surface textures...all the stuff us artists are so interested in. 
SO... you can imagine my complete and utter surprise;  how over the moon I was when recently she contacted me, and asked if I would consider an artists trade for one of MY paintings!! Well, um...let me think... YES!! 
We did the switcheroo yesterday...and how good did that feel?  Well we both commented and said that it felt like Xmas on the Canada Day weekend! 
'The Woman in Red' now resides on the wall in my living room right next to my great grandfathers paintings which I inherited, and cherish so much.  She looks like she belongs there, doesn't she?  Her presence speaks to me of innocence and  a child like inner beauty.

My painting, 'Morning Rush' now hangs on  JoAnna's wall where she "can look at it each morning upon awakening and each night before sleep". 

It's quite wonderful to be able to make each other happy just by the act of painting and sharing it, isn't it?

art lovers soiree

  Thursday night was an opening reception for two new exhibitions at the AEAC.  A great activity for a sultry summer evening, I thought...so headed on down to join in the soiree... I wasn't disappointed.
One of the exhibitions was Shayne Dark's new sculptural exhibit: Critical Mass. That's Shayne in the suit in front of the red root sculptures.  I absolutely love this artists powerful pieces formed from nature;  re-imagined.  They create a sense of wonder   A hanging sculpture created from a multitude of apple bores brought to mind some sort of an organic pile of heart muscles, sculls, cow udders...one can only guess...it's that quality of seeing new things as you look at it that makes it amazing. 

The other exhibition, 'Deja, Deja, Visitee' featured  paintings, knitted landscapes, and a video installation. Mike Bayne, Jocelyn Purdie and Maayke Schurer were featured artists.  Whoops, sorry I didn't get any pictures of that exhibition!... but the works were really interesting. 
A great night out with Kingston's art enthusiasts!

 

What good is art? the value of creative thinking...

t

more minis

I began listening to a new audio book, Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova, yesterday while painting some tiny seascapes. It's about a psychiatrist who is a painter; so far it's quite good, though I've only listened to the first disc.  Usually I can tell after about 1/2 hour of listening whether or not it's for me...so happy to say, I'll be sticking with this one.
I really enjoy painting these blocks, moving from themes of beach houses, farmyards, the sea.

Summer Pub Nights - The Ports

Summer Pub Nights - The Ports

One of Kingston's old style pubs is The Portsmouth Tavern, better known as 'The Ports' to local's.  At the corner of Yonge and Grange streets in Portsmouth village, across from Portsmouth Olympic harbour, it's been standing since the late 1860's.  The history was part of the lure of painting this old pub; but mostly, I was interested in the play of light combined with the atmosphere of happy relaxation on a summers evening. 

Time to Paint

Holly and I had a great day at Art Among the Ruins! As the forecast predicted the sun shone the entire day and it brought out the crowds, which was just great because honestly there's not much point in having an art show without attendance.  Of course the grounds of the property at the AATR are a spectacular setting for the show; heaps of room to wander around enjoying the babbling brooks and the beautiful flora while meandering around the artist booth circuit.  I will definately do this show again next year, it was just so much fun!

Last week I finally got around to organizing my schedule for the fall which will include offering some painting classes again. I figured Thursdays would be a good day for me to commit to it, so I've created two sessions (one morning and one afternoon)of 6 week classes starting Thursday September 19th. Click here for info.  While I was at Art Among the Ruins I decided to bring some flyers with me in case anybody asked me about classes, and wow did I get a big response! 

One more thing...totally unrelated to my art...it's about the birds. This year we have one dove and one robin who have built nests under the awning on the deck. I'm not crazy about them nesting so close to our common area, however with all the rain this spring i suppose they are looking for a dry place, so cant blame them.  Today while I was on the computer I heard a tap and turned around to look out the back door, and a sparrow has taken to perching on the screen door handle, preening himself in front of the glass on the door. I snapped this picture of him/her.  He's been back several times today over and over.It would be cute except he takes a crap each time he comes! 

Art Among the Ruins on a sunny Saturday June 15

This weekend is Art Among the Ruins!  It's my first year at this wonderful one day art show set in lovely grounds of an old mill by the river in the village of Newburgh Ontario.  Saturday is forecast to be sunny again, so I feel super lucky as it's the second weekend in a row after rain.  If you are looking for a artsy day out, come to Newburgh at Art Among the Ruins.

Contemporary Landscapes opens Thursday June 13th 7-9pm

This Thursday evening, 7-9pm is the opening reception for the Contemporary Landscapes exhibition at Agnes Etherington Art Rental & Sales Gallery! I am one of the 10 artists in the show...and i think they will be showing about 8 of my pieces. The show will be hung in the Atrium of the AEAC from June 13-16. It's a lovely space and I cant wait to see all the other works that fellow artists have brought in specifically for this show.  Hope to see you there.

non representation

Being tired but wanting to paint isn't a great combination, but there is something very therapeutic about pushing paint around on a big canvas.  This afternoon I did just that. starting on a red primed 30x40  canvas...just letting it flow...the paint, the canvas and me...o ya and some brushes and a palette knife.  I really needed a session like this today; really enjoyable.  I limited my palette to yellow ochre, french ultra deep and solid madder deep + white. I liked the mid-tone range of colours with these 3.  I like to try out paints that are in my drawer that have migrated there somehow... these ones were some that had come to me as freebies, either from an artist who had passed on or switched mediums and wasn't using them anymore.  Oil paint lasts a really long time before the tubes dry up.  I was thinking about  shapes and movement alot while painting it.

sunny skies

Here's me at the OSCA Windsor Park Art show today. It was a fun day, great weather, cant complain! I ran into a few familiar faces there whom I hadn't seen in a long time, so that was lovely!  The only bummer was i lost my glasses as I was packing up for the day! They must have fallen off of me, hooked in my neckline...Looked everywhere for them, but to no avail! Drove home from Ottawa squinting most of the way! I was glad it was still light out for driving. I shall have to go see about getting a new prescription filled tomorrow for another pair. dam.  

Ottawa Art Show in Windsor Park - Sunday June 9th

So it's off to Ottawa today, to take part in the Windsor Park(old Ottawa South) art show on Sunday June 9th.  I'm bringing lots of small paintings + 2 larger ones, other items from my gallery like the folk art, bracelets, handmade sewn items. 

Sally & AEmilia, Havana, Cuba 2009

My pal AEmilia told me about this community art show in her neighbour-hood.  She's offered to hang out with me for the day and help me, so that will be fun!
The best part is the weather forecast is predicting sunshine, awesome after the rain this week!

Summer Pub Nights - Merchant

Summer Pub Nights - Merchant
oil on canvas 14" x 18"

I tweaked this painting recently.  Took out the foreground figures, aligned the barrels and solidified the tree shapes. I'm much happier with it now. 
It's funny how the idea can get lost in the details you put in...for example what moved me to paint this scene was "the atmosphere of celebration a weekend summer evening brings combined with our historic architecture".  I joyfully painted what i thought was my original idea; added to the merriment by painting in a young duo in front of the fence heading into the entrance, under the limbs of an extremely(for me) fussily described tree.  After I was done I was mildly satisfied, and posted it on the blog(to lots of nice comments i might add!)...but as it sat on the wall of my studio for  a month, i viewed it knowing that it was not saying what i had intended...at least not in the way that i had intended...the idea was getting lost in the details!   It now seemed to be about the young couples choice of entering the establishment and not about the atmosphere.  It took me a month to realize that was the core of the unsatisfactory feeling I was getting from the painting.  Boy o boy... if there is one thing I've learned it's always worth it to take a risk in an effort to get the painting to voice my intentions...otherwise there seems (to me)no point in painting it.

Computer woes

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...just stuck with a frozen computer.  I've been having problems with it for a couple of weeks, but this past week it really went down.  hopefully next week i'll be back online properly...in the meantime...it's just amazing the amount of stuff i actually get done in a day when i dont spend any time on a computer! Last week one day i marvelled at this when i was driving BACK from the shops at 10:30 am having completed my morning workout, chores, and errands ! Wow usually i think i have no time in a day...but really i know that i burn valuable time 'plugged in'. it's funny how life was also good back when there was no computers. we think we cant do without them...but really it's probably good to be reminded of the natural order of the way life is.