plein air weekend painting workshop

Water's Edge - oil on panel

What a hoot! It's been ages since I went outdoor painting.  BUT this weekend i busted out the bug juice and sunscreen and joined in Phil Chadwick's 'plein air painting experience' weekend workshop.  What fun!  We were a small group, but enthusiastic... keen to 'give' er all we got'.  It felt good to get out there with the birds singing and the water lapping at our feet.  Phil is a scientist and a weather forecaster, as well as an artist, and he gives a good workshop.  Funny stories and entertaining punchlines add to the flavor of his art sharing process.  

Phil painting

I tried to step outside of my comfort zone, experimenting with the process of 'one stroke and leave it alone'.  Quite a challenge for a 'soft blending' girl like me, but by the end of the weekend, I was pretty happy with my efforts on this painting of the water's edge near an old boat-shed on Charleston Lake.
VERY tired when I got home; but satisfied  too. These lovely painting spots really whet my enthusiasm to get out there in nature and give it a go a bit more often.  Totally enjoyed this little painting experience, perfect little present to myself!

Home again and painting, jiggety jig

Just back from a trip to Victoria for 9 days, and feeling rested and ready to paint again.  Thank goodness.  My arm and hand and fingers that were giving me aches and pains the month before we left have settled down again.  This morning I spent a few hours getting a satisfactory start on a large 'interior' painting of my favorite reading spot in the kitchen.  Maybe I'm feeling a little nostalgic about our eventual plan to move from this house, so  feeling like i want to paint what I love about the place.  It's still a work in progress but you can see how it's developing on the easel.  I've mixed up huge amounts of paint and laid the majority of it in by palette knife so far, a good way to get the paint on when working large.
On the other wall of my studio hangs a new 24x18" abstract painting.  I've titled it Solar because that's what was on my mind while I was working on it.  Near the window you can see another, smaller work in progress, it's a flower market painting that I glazed and added dark background shapes to.  I will be adding a few details and accents to it after it's fully dry.
 Sat & Sunday this weekend I'm attending an outdoor painting workshop with Phil Chadwick.  We'll be meeting in the village of Delta Saturday morning and somewhere else on Sunday morning to paint all day outdoors.  I'm really looking forward to it, it's been quite a while since I've been painting en plein air and the weather looks promising too which is great.
The photo on the bottom is a glimpse down into 'Fisherman's Wharf' which is located in the Victoria inner harbour.  A village of floating houseboats and restaurants, where you can eat your fish taco while watching the seals and otters swimming by.  Fun!

Fisherman's Wharf, Victoria, BC

 

art theft and scams

work in progress - oil on wood

Today I found out about a website that steals art images from galleries and artists blogs and websites and offers them for sale as posters.  Even found several of my painting images on there.  Very aggravating, and must be illegal, but it's a reality in this age of the world wide web.  Lots of lurkers out to make a buck any way they can.  What can artists do?  I suppose watermarking images might prevent image theft, but I've never bothered with it.  The thieves are a website called Wallpart.com  I did sign a petition  to try and get it shut down.  Please do the same by clicking here.


About 2 months ago I almost was hooked by another art scam.  This one was out of Ottawa, and sounded legitimate to me...donate a painting for a fundraiser for colon cancer by Ottawa hospitals.  All sorts of info was provided, who would attend the fundraiser, how to package the art, where to drop it off, etc etc.    I had my donation all wrapped up and ready to take with me on my weekend trip to visit Holly in Ottawa.  Then I started actually clicking the links provided to the fundraising website, and other various links.  They didn't work!  I finally clued in!  I got in touch with the contact person... I had been corresponding with a scam artist all along! All sorts of lame excuses were given as to why the links didn't work, I was assured the site would be up and running very soon, but "please bring the painting donation to this storage unit at this time and place, yadda yadda yadda"....you guessed it...the contact person wouldn't be there when I arrived but there would be someone on duty at the storage units to accept the donated painting!!!  I was really bowled over because I didn't think that I could be scammed.  Thank goodness that I caught on before I actually dropped off and donated my painting!! Ask Holly, it really BUGGED me.  I was pretty consumed with the idea of almost being swindled for the rest of the weekend I was ticked off about it!

Had some painting time this afternoon, and worked on another abstract. Here's how its progressing.

Escape Route

Escape Route - oil on canvas
18x24 inch $600
click here to purchase

I'm enjoying working on abstract paintings with oil paints and pastels.  It seems the only thing at the moment that holds my focus long enough to get any kind of flow going.  I like the freedom and the intuitiveness while working on them.  It seems to quench something down deep in me.  At this time when things are a little 'up in the air' in our life, it's just what I want to do.
 

July morning

My garden is thriving despite my neglect.  Yesterday I cut my first Mr. Lincoln rose bloom for the table, a gigantic scarlet red bloom at least 5 inches across! Two of my rose plants have been decimated by some sort of insect, but 4 of them are still thriving away.
It took me most of the day to unload my art and supplies which I had left in the truck overnight on Sunday after I got back from the Art in the Barn show in Smiths Falls.  It was a good feeling to get it all completed yesterday, change up the porch gallery space again, knowing now I can settle in for the rest of the summer.  Well ...that is unless the house sells quickly; I hear we had a very busy open house on Sunday! 
Meanwhile I'll be enjoying this summertime weather, and getting back into the studio again. yay.

Stumped and Art in the Barn

work in progress

I have this painting in progress waiting in my studio.  I began it with great enthusiasm working from a photo resource I had of a French flower market.  Soon the painting became very strong in value, much darker mood than I had initially wanted; it didn't have the light airy feeling I yearned for, the way the subject made me feel.  How does one paint a feeling? At this point, I put the photo away and let my intuition take me on a journey to find it.  That part was fun, I was able to get rid of the dark mood, and find the light airyness I was after, but I haven't wholly resolved it.  I feel a creeping sense of the dreaded 'sentimentalism'  beginning to appear...o dear.... THAT'S NOT what I'm after!
I stopped working at this point because I don't want to continue on THAT journey.   I'm still stumped.  I wont abandon it entirely, there's something I like in it...ha ha ha...any ideas? I mean it's been almost a month!! Call me impatient, but I'm at a loss.
Meanwhile, this weekend I'm at ART IN THE BARN which takes place near Smiths Falls.  Over 50 artists from RLAA will present a varied member's show.  Stop by if you're in the vicinity, would love to see you there!
It's my last art show of the summer.
 

Poetry Chicks

acrylic on wood - 6x6 inch
click here to purchase

acrylic on wood - 6x6 inch
SOLD

Our house goes on the market next week.  First baby step towards retirement. A bag of mixed feelings. We have loved this place, so many happy memories.  But, it's time.  Memories shouldn't become more important than our dreams. We are excited about our 5 year plan to move out to Vancouver Island.  And so the downsizing begins. With lots on my agenda in readying the house for sale, I haven't had energy or inspiration for big works.  I've been satisfying my creative muse with some small acrylic poetry chicks. hee hee.  Here's two.

Oh Canada! Happy Canada Day

Tulip Festival - oil on panel - 9 x 12
click here to purchase

Happy Canada Day Everybody!  This is the first rainy Canada Day that I can remember.  Usually it is spectacular weather on July 1st...but then it's been a bit of a weird year as far as weather goes generally.  
The tulip festival in Ottawa is an inspiration for me whenever I go, especially early in the morning before all the tourists arrive, and it's difficult to actually see the beds.  This oil on panel study is a springboard for larger works.

Early Birds

Early Birds - watercolour -SOLD

I painted this watercolour a few years ago, shortly after we had moved to the countryside north of Kingston, and I spent a lot of time looking at the atmospheric conditions of the landscapes around me. It sold this week; nice to find a home for an 'old friend'. It's been a long while since I worked in mainly watercolours; I got interested in working in oils and then kind of never went back to them. I think this happens to lots of artists over time.  The whole idea is to keep a 'flow' going while working, and that becomes hard while jumping back and forth using different mediums, I find it easier to stick with one.  So that's why I dont do watercolours much anymore.

Enjoyed a wonderful week with Rachel & Ella home this week; brunch downtown and picnic in the park. Here we are having brunch at Pan Chancho on Wednesday morning.

Sunny Market Day

Sunny Market Day - 6x8 inch
oil on panel -click here to purchase

Light falling on form is just about my most favourite subject to paint.  I get caught up in the shapes and tones of what's going on, that half the time I dont really pay much attention to exactly what it is I'm painting. A black and white photograph of a sunny day at the Kingston market, and I zoomed in on one little corner...where the light was playing on the activity.  the resource I was working from was only 1.5 x 2 inches...so I took liberties with the people and shadows. 

Being over 50 and grateful

Morning Pasture - oil on panel
6x9" click here to purchase

I loved the sentiments about gratefulness that Deanne Fitzpatrick chats about in her 'coffee with Deanne' clip that popped into my inbox today.(it's below)  I really identified. Now that I'm (eek!) nearly 59, I too, reflect on good things that I was too busy and too hurried to appreciate when I was younger.  Deanne is a Nova Scotia'n rug hooker.  Her delightful designs inspire me, even though I've never hooked rugs, so I signed up for her email updates.  I'm glad I did. I know I like her, and yet I've never met her.  Funny how that happens, call it the power of technology. I did buy a rug hooking tool and some burlap when i went to PEI with my friend Sherry to paint a few years back.  We had seen a terrific exhibition of rug hookers in a gallery in Summerside, and I got excited and bought the stuff needed to get started, but alas....never got around to it!  BUT, I'm not dead yet,  so I believe it will happen.

Time seems to be whizzing by lately. Painting time has been very sparse this month.  We are getting ready to put our house up for sale, so my head space for painting just isn't the same as usual.  I know it will come back when the dust settles.  Not painting for a while is not the end of the world.  I could stress about it, BUT I'm working instead on being grateful for all the good things in my life. Not hard really... my little grandaughter Ella is coming for a visit next week. Whoopee!

Saatchi for artists and Art by the Lake Westport

Any artists out there use the Saatchi online gallery to market their art? If any of you do I'd love to hear about your experience.  I've been considering whether or not to join.  

Wetland, Natural Order 2 - oil on canvas - 48 x 30"

One of my Wetland series got a make-over this week. I wanted more texture and in the process, I pretty much changed the color palette from pinks to cool greens. Which is okay. It's the old thing:  "When is a work finished?" and my answer to that is "When I find my harmony with it".  It doesn't matter to me if it goes through several evolutions.  Work evolves.  It will  be in the opening exhibition reception for the Art by the Lake Westport on Friday July 3, along with another work Winter Light with Tulips. 

Winter Light With Tulips - 30 x 30

The Art by the Lake Westport outdoor art show will take place on Saturday July 4th,  10am -4pm  in white artisan tents on the grounds of Sand Lake.  It's open to the public and there will be 19 exhibiting artists.  It's the first year for this show, which plans to become an annual event for the Westport area.  I'm looking forward to it, please come out and enjoy the show.

Art by the Lake Westport is at Sand Lake

Here is a little map of the area, I copied from google but it didn't come out very well. (Maybe if you click on it will view larger so you can read it better) I drew on the blue dotted line to show the way to the show.

working quickly to find a rhythm

work in progress - oil on panel

Started two small paintings today;  this is one of them. It's from a boat trip I took in the Thousand Islands while at my friend Sherry's cottage.  I'm sure this island has a name but I dont know what it is.  I remember jumping off big rocks like these into the water when I was a kid at my friends cottage. We had a tire on a rope that would swing out over the water. what fun it was.

I like flat brushes best. My favorite for small paintings is a # 6 flat.  I used an angled flat # 10 for the big flat areas before switching to #6. It took me about an hour and a half to get to this stage.  I block in and put the first paint application on quickly. Working quickly, intuition kicks in, which prevents over-thinking, somehow giving me a fresher look.  All this, gets me into a rhythm which I find peaceful.   I rarely can finish a painting in one sitting. I need space and distance from it to know when it's done.
 

Greener Pastures 3

Greener Pastures 3-
oil on panel- 6 x 9 inch
click here to purchase

When I'm driving along in my car, noticing the landscape rolling by my window, and especially the atmosphere of the day; I try to notice what I notice.  It's something that artists need to pay attention to...the things that make you look, the subjects that speak to you and your heart.  I have noticed that whenever I pass by cows or sheep in a field I look longingly at them. I kind of wonder  why they draw my eye more than other things. Maybe I was a shepherd in a past life?! ha ha. Anyway, I think there is something inherently peaceful about them, probably that's what speaks to me.  I enjoy trying to capture that feeling, and have done many paintings with sheep and cows.  This little one developed last week; I tweaked it yesterday. 

figurative expression workshop

magazine photography provides
dynamic gesture resource material

I'm taking a weekend workshop with artist Donna Lynd from Ottawa.  She is primarily a figurative expressionist painter.  But she's also a gifted and generous teacher.  It felt great to be painting again! Working in acrylics is an approach that I haven't utilized much, so it's also fun being on a learning curve with that.

Other things on the home-front are keeping me from my usual painting practice in the past few weeks.  Let us just say, consequently when I do have some time to paint, I've been feeling completely out of ideas...blocked! not a good feeling.  I know this happens to us all and I also know it passes, so I've tried to embrace the temporary lull in creativity.

Less dynamic gestures but more personal
resource material in old family photos

Anyway all I can say is this workshop has been just what the doc ordered, something different and challenging. 
Here's the two unfinished works in progress that I've been working on today on the easel in the classroom. Donna's structural approach, simplifying the compostion to just 11 interesting shapes, I find quite fun. 
In the first image I'm working from a black and white magazine photo(you can see the image taped under the easel).  The second one, I'm working from an old black & white family photo (yours truly in the yellow cardi). I'm less happy with it's composition, but I hope to play to resolve it.  More fun tomorrow!

AHOY there! It's spring art show time!

Sat, Sun. May 23-24, 10am-4pm
Lower Brewers Locks
ART SHOW at Doner Studio

Looking for a pleasant weekend of nature and art? Look no further! You're invited to a fab spring art show at the old mill at Lower Brewers Locks, on the grounds of Doner Studio.(I'm inviting you!) I guarantee you will enjoy strolling this park-like setting in the gardens by the river, browsing works by over 25 local artists and artisans.  The setting is just lovely.  There is a food truck on site, and it's FREE ADMISSION!  Hurray!! Doesn't everybody love free?  Come see us, and enjoy a day out in the country.  See the map below for directions. 

This is the way to Doner Studio... see you there!

 

Working on my own little 'Eden'

"Working on my own little Eden".  This is a previous newsletter I sent out from my website in January, and thought it might be fun to post it again to my blog. Even though the paintings are a re-post, the thoughts about 'age' are the same.  It doesn't matter.

Hydrangeas 2

Winter Light Amaryllis

Recently a friend sent me an email entitled "It's only a number". The content of the email showed many amazing images of seniors living to ripe old ages doing things they loved, like yoga, swimming, skydiving, etc.  It got me thinking about my passion for painting, and wondering if I will find the process as interesting at 90 as I do now.   I'm pretty sure I will.  Being an artist is a way of life, as much as it is a career.  It's not like studying to get a degree, working and then retiring.  With painting the studying is the career. When I'm working on a painting, I make a spot for myself..."my own little Eden".  This winter exploring floral subjects is what's rocking my boat, but it is the approach to painting them that is keeping the fire burning, so to speak.  My art evolves constantly.  I think I love this never ending career! It's nice to know many famous artists lived long and painted(prospered).  Pablo lived to 91, Georgia lived to 98 & Monet to 86.    but then again...they are only numbers.

Painters who lived long

Peony Pair

Peony Pair - oil on wood - 5x5 inch each

I was simply gobsmacked at the flower markets in France.  Peonies piled high on top of one another, their tight rounded heads waiting for a tiny bit of warmth and sunlight to unfold.  I was amazed at how many.  Do they really sell this many cut flowers ?? 

Peonies at the market in St. Germaine en Lays

The answer is yes. The French buy flowers for everything; a staple on the market shopping list.  They are needed for love, for decor, for gracing tables of kitchens, dining rooms, parlours and courtyards.  They say 'Welcome!', 'I love you!', 'I'm sorry' and 'Just because'.  Peonies are so classic, so timeless.

I have some in my garden in various shades of pink, white & yellow. During the month of May, they grow about 1 inch a day, until June is festooned with their gorgeousness. If I bring them inside, they always need a dowsing in the sink to get the ants off of them.

Gallery Change Ups

On the Patio - 30x30
click here to purchase

A mention that my own Gallery at the Porch Door is opening TODAY for the season.  I'll be open Wed-Fri afternoons 1-5PM from May thru August, and by appointment anytime.  Today there is cupcakes and ice tea for gallery visitors! yum.

Other galleries I am with are blowing off the past winter and getting ready for spring and summer by changing up exhibits and displays, so I've been scurrying around delivering new works to them this week.  Kingston galleries seem to prefer my Kingston themed works(surprise, surprise); and I've been lucky to have a fairly steady trickle of sales with them. I do need to get down to Prince Edward County and do a change up with Side Street Gallery, but will perhaps schedule that in the next couple of weeks.
Kingston Frameworks will be showing 2 of my oils and 4 watercolours for their Art After Dark exhibit on Friday May 22.  Kingston Glass Studio & Gallery will have 5 new pieces.  Koru has prints, cards and my hand painted textiles.
  

hand stretched linen

I've been working on these tulips and freesia's on a linen canvas that I stretched and gesso'd myself.  The tooth is much coarser than the ones I buy, so I thought it might be a bit of a challenge to work on, sucking the paint in and all, but actually it surprised me.  It was springy and resilient.  It is a non standard size (18 1/2 x 18 1/2")...hubby built the stretcher frame. 
I am normally a pretty lazy artist; I cant be bothered to stretch my own canvas's on a regular basis.  It takes quite a bit of wrist strength, which I am sorely lacking.  I suppose it's a cheaper alternative, but the time involved has to be considered too.  And I'd rather be painting.
These tulips and freesias were fresh last week when I began, but this evening when I went back to it, they were really starting to wane.
Here's Holly and I on Friday night...celebrating our weekend.