Spring flowers in winter

Spring flowers at Stoneheath

Dave's father passed away in his sleep this morning. He had been sick for quite a long time, so not a surprise and actually a relief that it was peaceful for him.  So nice that many of the family could be together and comfort one another. The cycle of life turns. 

Yesterday when I was out at the shops I treated myself to a pot of tulips.  Still green buds, they hold lots of promise of what's to come. Maybe I'll get around to painting them when they open a bit more. You can see that tulips also feature on one of the textile cushions I've been creating.  I'm enjoying making them. I will carry them in my gallery and also at Koru art annex in the spring.

Stay warm out there!  The weather forcast is BIG SNOW for most of the eastern part of the continent tomorrow.

One Day March workshops

 

small paintings- all works in progress on the shelf in my studio

I've just scheduled three new painting workshops for March:  Focus on Colour.  Each workshop will be one full day of painting at my home studio, and the workshops are for different mediums.  March 10 is an oil painting workshop.  March 11 will be for acrylic painters, and March 12 will be for water colour painters.  The plan is to explore colour relations and colour mixing to achieve exciting and harmonious colour choices in painting.  My studio isn't huge; only 5 places in each workshop, but I find it's perfect for group learning and one on one attention. If you want more information about it, or would like to register, please go here to read more about it.

Last night Dave rigged up a little cabinet for me in my studio to hold supplies; so happy! Thanks Dave. I'm not a super clean freak or anything, but when the studio gets so cluttered, supplies taking up premium surface space, I find it difficult to keep the creative 'flow' going.  at least that's my story and i'm sticking to it. heh  This cabinet holds the jars of acrylic paint I mixed with textile fabric medium for painting on fabric.  Above are some jars and tubes of acrylics.  My oil paints and watercolours fit easily in my big map drawer which also easily stores sketch equipment, and other tools...so now I have a place for most stuff. yay!  I love seeing other artists studios, where they work and create.  Here's a link on pinterest I fould Cool Artists Studios  that's a bit of fun.  

#3in5artchallenge on facebook

Today I was nominated for the #3in5artchallenge  on facebook, by my artist blogger & friend, Barbara Muir.  Thank you Barbara  for the nomination!  The idea is to spread 'art love' a little.  Each artist nominated is challenged to post 3 works each day for 5 days.  
The 3 paintings I am posting today are my 1st day challenge, and they are from my Pastoral collection, painted a couple of years ago. these 3 are from studies of twilight falling on the land near where I live.  All are oil on canvas, and all gone to new homes now.  
One sort of interesting thing to notice while doing a challenge's like this is seeing the growth in artist's style of painting over the passage of time. 

 The artist who I nominated for the 1st day of the challenge is Victoria's happy artist Linny D. Vine.  I met Linny on a trip to Victoria a number of years ago, she is really lovely.

Monday morning start

amaryllis work in progress - oil on canvas- 24x36

I've been thinking about painting (putting off) my Amaryllis for about 2 weeks, and so was pleasantly surprised to find myself at the easel attempting it this morning.  I want to find a harmony between the relationship of the flower's sillouette, the winter light coming through the window, and a satisfying design.   I am interested in the stature of the flower.  I perceive an apparent grace, somewhere a soft trumpeting of hope in the winter sunshine.  That's my idea anyway.
For my process, I am working on a vibrant pink ground.  My palette has white, indian yellow, vermillion, cad red, ultra blue, burnt umber on it. So far I've squeezed out 3 gobs of white and worked my way through most of it! I'm tinting it with various palette colours and mixing light neutrals. I think the light and medium toned neutrals will be the main structure for this painting.

Hydrangeas 2

Hydrangeas 2 - oil on canvas - 30 x 30

Had only time for a short studio session this afternoon, but got going on the one I started the other day.  Here's where it's at now.

abstracted still life floral

still life set up

It's funny where inspiration comes from. Last week I had set up some hydrangea still life to paint but couldn't really get into it. I love the flowers, but I felt bored with the same old same old approach I was using. 
 This morning I spent 20 minutes enjoying myself looking at the beautiful paintings of Edward Vuillard; that master of design, one of the Nabis movement of painters. He was a decorative painter, but contemporary in his time...I especially love the arrangement of light effects in his work.  

Vuillard

After a while looking at the one posted here, I felt inspired to try the hydrangea still life again, though on a larger canvas and change it up with my method of approach. Working from my 'stage' I am painting over an older work, using it as a ground for the new...I'm working with rags and paint spreaders, hardly a brush in sight for the lay in of tones...kind of liking the first stage...curious to see if I can find a happy balance between what I see and what I want to see.

McDuff

A friend of mine lost her sweet yellow lab to cancer last year. McDuff was a faithful friend; he had such a gentle disposition.  That's what I want to get across in my portrait of him.  The photo I am mostly working from shows him fresh from a dip in the lake, and his fur is wet, so kind of looks spiky, but I think I will try and soften the spiky fur as I go along. It's funny how the treatment of edges can psychologically influence our reading of the nature of something.  Spiky = tough guy, punk rocker,   Difused/blurred = warm and fuzzy/friendly.

It felt good to actually crack out the paints this afternoon and get started on this, as I've been procrastinating something awful these days!  
Ahh...that's January for me.  It's always like that.

'Nasturtiums' lumbar cushion

'Something Fishy' 16x16 cushion

I have been sidestepping my fine arts painting for other creative endeavors...knitting socks (I'm on my 2nd pair already, woohoo!) and fooling around with some textile medium, creating lively designs for cushions and possibly other functional items.  Quite fun.  Here's two of them.

non representational

Untitled - oil on canvas - 26x20

So on second thought I've decided to retract a post I made earlier today, about the Paris massacre and my feelings about the way it's being covered in the media. I'd rather keep this blog for art.
Non representational was the only way to go in the studio today.
 
 

blue hydrangea

Blue Hydrangea - oil on panel -6x8"

Setting up still life in my studio, flowers seem to add a little joy to this freezing week. I love blue hydrangeas, i can only get pink and white ones around my place, the soil isn't acidic enough for blue. I suppose I could put additives in the soil to get blue, but it seems a sort of phony way to treat a natural thing. 

be curious

Orchard - oil on canvas - 24 x 20 inch

"If you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do".  Walt Disney said that. He's right. Curiosity leads to things. 
With the holidays over and the first week of the new year seeming like a vast plain of possibilities, I headed for my studio yesterday for the first time in two weeks.  Beginning again, when there's been a significant pause in flow was challenging. Half baked projects I'd been working on before the holidays offered little or no inspiration. 
An old canvas glared at me. I didn't like it's tone.  
Before I knew it that canvas was on the easle...and curiosity was the leader, which felt right for the first week of the new year.  No obligations, no rules, the road un-travelled.

yours truly by Dan Hughes

Portrait by Daniel Hughes - 12 x 12 " oil on canvas

Way back in the spring of 2014, I arranged to have a commissioned portrait of myself done by Kingston artist Daniel Hughes.  I had enjoyed taking a portrait workshop of his a couple of years before.  He demonstrated for the group; it was fascinating watching the portrait gradually emerge. There was no drawing, just touches of tone and colour, sensitively conjuring a form and a likeness.  My 3 portrait sittings for this portrait were a real pleasure. Dan very openly shared about his process while he worked; we enjoyed chatting about art and painting in general.

Dave using his new tool to polish stones

For Christmas I wrapped up the commissioned portrait and put it under the tree for Dave. In truth it was as much a present for me as it was for Dave!  heh heh. Good thing Dave liked it too. He certainly hadn't expected it!

Nova Scotia granite

Another thing Dave received was an Ameritool Polisher.  Dave enjoys cutting and polishing stones.  Thursday(new years day) we were in Nova Scotia; we took a lovely drive in the sunshine out around St. Margarets Bay to Peggy's Cove. He collected some pebbles by the sea. Today he's busy in the workshop shaping and polishing them.  My favourite so far is the oval one on the bottom.

 

Holiday Window

Holiday Window - oil on linen - 7x9 "

I used to work at the little frame shop that is featured in this painting. Setting up the Christmas window used to begin early in November so that it was all sparkly and bright during the Kingston Santa Claus parade.  I remember one year we had just set up the display; a giant Christmas tree made of picture frames. During the evening parade a customer came in and wanted the exact picture that was hanging in the middle of the tree...it meant dismantling our creation to unhinge it.  ha ha ha! The joys of Christmas merchandising! After that, we were careful when planning our holiday windows to make easy access to the items!
It was fun most of the time, lots of creativity and interesting things needing framing, making every job quite unique.  I still enjoy popping in for a chat with the work gang when I'm in town.  BUT, I do love, love, love being a full time artist now.  I illustrated my personal Christmas card this year with the image from this painting.  Merry Christmas everybody! xoxoxo

Tuesday in December

Summer Pub Nights - The Ports - SOLD

I met the nicest couple at our artist open house, Dec 7th. I learned we had similar shared experiences, in that we lived in Victoria, Australia as did they for a time. It was so lovely having a chat with them about it.  They had come in search of my painting 'Summer Pub Nights- The Ports', which I didn't have at the show with me, but I directed them to KGSGallery where that painting was currently residing.  Yesterday I found out from Kate, the gallery manager, that the painting had sold when she was away sick.  I'm hoping that it was sold to that nice couple because it's satisfying when you learn who your painting will live with, and you really like them.

Christmas preps are in full swing, got the tree up and decorated on Sunday, doing some baking too!

I had some time yesterday in the studio working on a project I began in August but put on the back burner. It's not nearly there yet; too early to post, but I'm feeling positive about it again which is something. Meanwhile...

Good Morning Halifax poster 24 x 18" -$40

I created a poster for the east coast tourist market from my painting 'Good Morning Halifax'.  Currently  I'm approaching a popular gift shop in Halifax in which to sell the poster. (The original painting was sold to a kindred spirit for her home in Stanhope, PEI.  I'm so delighted that this painting will live in the east coast!) Fingers crossed the poster will get picked up by the gift shop.  I was born in Nova Scotia, I consider myself a NS artist, although I am currently living in Ontario.  Dave is in the process of making me an awesome rolled posters display stand, which I'll bring along with me on our trip at the end of the month.   Yes...cant wait!  We're driving out to Nova Scotia in the truck; so looking forward to some family time again, with a large dose of grandaughter on the side.




 

let the fun begin

I feel like there's a huge holiday coming up...well there is the obvious one, but I'm talking about time.  A holiday of time.  I feel like suddenly I have lots of it again, and it feels lovely.  That's me being in the present. Appreciating these moments.  Cherishing this moment while it lasts.

 I've been pretty full on this past week. After reorganizing after our artist open house on the weekend, I finally tackled the sanding and painting of an old cabinet, I had emptied in September. It's new functional purpose will be a wine glass / liquor cabinet. I finished it yesterday. 

I gotta say it's a good feeling re-purposing something. Amazing what a little paint and new hardware can do to update.  Dave also created a built-in shelf in the unused space in front of a no-longer working door frame in our living room and I painted that too. so it's been a busy few days of painting and re-coating. But it feels good to have it done now, and before Christmas.

In the studio it's time for play.  Yesterday I tried out a textile medium that you add to acrylic paint, so that you can paint on fabric and it stays soft.  I found out about this stuff from a good friend's mum I met at Thanksgiving, who had taken a fun workshop with Pipi Tustian of Tangerine Dreams Gallery in Victoria BC.  I was excited by the possibilities of trying it out.  I love textiles, I love painting, so imagine the fun!  I bought some textile medium right after our conversation, which was back in October at Thanksgiving, and it's been waiting for a little play time ever since.  So, I fooled around. No preconceived ideas of what I would make yet, just experimenting how it takes to different fabrics etc. Fun! 

So with all this time, I guess I really cant put off doing the books any longer...

the spark

Artist Open House -Sunday Dec 7

Doing what we love is key. As artists doing what we love is the spice that makes work come alive; the song in our souls.  

This morning I read the new issue of Queens Quarterly that arrived in my mailbox. In it, is an article written by artist and curator Liz Wylie that elaborates on this idea.  She weighs the notion of artists(dead or alive) fame and posterity vs the artists "aliveness in that moment of creation".  She says " Our job is to live fully, and if we are artists, to bring that intensity of life to our work; we must focus on our creativity and what we are doing, not be looking over our shoulders, vying for fame and keeping an eye to posterity."  

Joy - acrylic on wood - SOLD

How true is that?! That sentence really hit a chord within me. Working in the isolation of our studios, it's easy to come off the rails, thinking we need to create for upcoming shows, a gallery, or clients. It can steal us away from our hearts desire.  The best art always happens when we are able to tap into the 'life' within us. the spark. the truth.

A Fine Day, Blue Rocks - oil on panel- SOLD

On Sunday we enjoyed a wonderful turnout for our 'Artist Open House'.  The sun shone through the floor to ceiling windows in Marga's waterfront home which we had transformed into an intimate gallery for her pottery and my paintings.  Guests mingled, sipped punch and browsed the art, and both of us had a thoroughly good time(really good sales too).  And on the topic of 'the spark in art' guess which of my paintings were the ones that sold... yep... those ones.




 
 

out of season

Call of the Loon - oil on panel - 9 x12

I know it's December 1st, so my post isn't very seasonal...but today i worked on  summer paintings, I had started this a while back and decided today was the day I would resolve it. I was listening to a nature cd while I painted called Call of the Loon...and I felt like I was right in the painting with the sound of lapping water and distance loons calling...hence the title.

getting from here to there

Work in Progress - oil on panel - 12 x 16"

"How do you know when to stop painting?"  
It's kind of an age-old question for artists.  

For me it's a gut feeling.  Basically, if the painting is saying what I want it to say, I feel it's done.  BUT there are  times I might start a painting without a clear idea of what it is I want to say.  I'm can be delighted about the sheer joy of my subject or process and I get swept up in the moment, forgetting about focusing on the idea.

stage 1             stage 2                    stage 3

That is okay; we all need our playtime... it keeps the first stage loose and genuine.

When I began this painting I was at my friend Sherry's house, she had invited me for a paint-day get together, something we've been occasionally doing over the past few years.  It is such a fun time.  We paint, do coffee while painting, do lunch, chat, paint some more and our cup runneth over with good times. It's no wonder then that I began the painting in a joyful mood, and didn't bother to focus much. ha ha.  who cares. some things are more important!  It's funny I remember looking at it that day and commenting to Sherry..."What's with this effort...it looks like I painted it in grade 4!"  ha ha ha.  I took my little painting home and set it on the shelf in my studio.  I knew it wasn't done, but I didn't know what to do with it...I liked the freshness and simplicity, but it wasn't conveying anything, and I wanted it to.  stage 1.

Two weeks later I woke up and the first thing I thought about was putting a bicycle in that painting, and I was excited; for me, excitement is a good sign! I decided do something about it.  After all, as it was, the painting wasn't satisfying to me. I knew I would have to do major surgery. BUT, I had a PLAN! and hope. The oil medium is so wonderful for allowing changes of heart and direction. I could never have done that with watercolours, and I know I'd struggle trying to do it with acrylics. When I went to bed that night I had stage 2.

Stage 3 was resolved last night. I painted out some of the tulips, created more space around the bike(never underestimate the element of space). I simplified the background tulips so they became a unified shape. I also really paid attention to the edges of the tree shapes.

So that's how I got from here in stage 1 to there in stage 3.  I will let it percolate for a while longer (while I work on another painting) and in a few days I hope to hear it speaking to me.



 




  

Free Wheelin'

Free Wheelin - oil on canvas - 30x36

Not exactly tiptoe-ing through the tulips...but my idea of the next best thing...pedal power through them! I love riding my bike.  I like the scents in the air as I whiz along, being able to hear bird sounds.  Out in the country where I live we have some nice trails that are good for bike riding.  In Ottawa in the spring there is a glorious tulip festival where I saw many people going for rides.  This painting was inspired by that.

Sunday things

Such a nice break in the weather yesterday, the warmer temps beckoned me outside. Great day to attend the Fat Goose Craft Fair, held in Grant hall at Queens university.  That is "Purling J's Roving Yarn Co" red truck parked outside the door.   Such a cool idea for a business...Roving J's truck is a walk in yarn shop!  Did I tell you I am learning to knit socks? so excited about that!  I'm already working on the toe of my first one! Hopefully by the time I knit the second one I'll be a little quicker.
It was a joy to have a gander around the craft fair and take in the incredibly beautiful, innovative work of many local craftspeople.  I purchased several Christmas presents!

A great day too for outdoor jobs.  Dave got up on the ladder, replacing an 8 foot roof flashing strip that blew off in the high winds last week. yay Dave!  He also painted 2 adirondack chairs. oooh... time for me to get some jobs done too!  I removed the pumpkins from the garden and winterized my roses.  

Inside the delapidated old relic of a barn, I retrieved my stored easels. Did I tell you it's creepy in there? It is. I'm sure a million bats live there not to mention racoons and other critters of the shadows. It seemed a better place than the garage to store them  when I first put them in there, but they were pretty filthy when I got them outside, covered in cobwebs and who knows what else. A broom, spray cleaner,  long handled scrubber and I went to work. After a rinse and a stand to dry in the weak afternoon sunshine they are actually usable now.  

Here is one of them put to use holding a painting currently in progress;  one from the 'Ride' theme I began last year, which I know I'm not done with yet.  In a way having a theme or an idea to work through is kind of comforting; it eliminates the dreaded "What will I paint?" question. And it's interesting for me to see how the paintings develop through a theme.

the rest of the easels are now in my studio storage, which should make them way easier to retrieve when I need them for the open house at Marga's on Dec. 7th.  Here's the invite for that!  You're invited!

finding treasures

Marga Vanderwal and Sue Hale
two of four artists at studio #6

My friend Marga Vanderwal, artist extraordinaire of gorgeous pottery has invited me to show some work at her Christmas open house show and sale!  The show will be held at her lovely home overlooking the St Lawrence river on Treasure Island, not far from Kingston.  I'm excited!  It will be a drop in affair all day on Sunday December 7th.  It's so fun to do intimate house shows and Marga's wonderful pottery is an inspiration for me.  

outside, the weather was frightful

inside, the fire delightful

At the weekend art show in the Rockport, Thousand Islands area, I was very lucky to sell 3 paintings.  Traffic was way down this past weekend compared to last years show,  although it was a pleasant time anyway hanging out with the 3 lovely artists who shared LaRue House with me.  We hung out around the woodstove in the quaint little building laughing and sharing stories.  I dont mean to sound all 'Pollyanna-like', but really... in this life, these moments are the real treasures, are they not?

Last night, I was beginning a group of small paintings, had just loaded my brush with a gob of cadmium red and 'poof'...we lost power! The radiator in my studio died, blackness ensued while the wind ferociously howled outside.  I called to Dave who came up the stairs with a flashlight enabling me to clean off my brush.  The rest of the evening was spent cozying up to the wood stove, knitting by candlelight (Dave playing solitaire on his ipad).  Thank goodness for wood stoves, the house was getting chillier by the minute.  Luckily, about 5 hours later we regained power.  Times like this make me realize how much of a treasure it is to enjoy a warm house and electricity; though sitting by the fire together was also a sort of treasure.