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.

 

Love, Friends and a Springy Flingy

Mini blocks -oil on wood - 2.5 x 3.5 inch

Mini block paintings were on my agenda yesterday; I got going on some rural scenes. I LOVE painting these tiny pastoral mini's, I get such a peaceful feeling while immersed in their creation.  They're  fun to have on hand at my art shows, even quite popular.  I think it's the price point, but cant argue with economics:)

Went for coffee with some art pals yesterday. One of them, Roz Bechtel, has an exhibition on at Windmills restaurant, so really wanted to see it. Impressed.  Roz paints the sea and everything about it; she's a maritime girl, in her blood.  She and her husband have a home in  PEI, she'll be near the coast she loves this summer.  I'm hoping to get a chance to join her there at some point, I'd love to paint again in PEI for a few days.  Maybe combine it with a visit to see my daughter & grandaughter ... I'm gonna ask the universe to arrange it!  2 of Roz's small paintings are in my porch gallery this summer, next to my beach hut's watercolours... a little bit of the seaside for the porch.

ROOTY TOOT TOOTY!!! SPRING ART SHOW on May 23 & 24th weekend!!! This is a fairly new one; in it's 2nd year, with a really gorgeous setting.  
It's at an old mill just off highway 15 at Lower Brewers Locks.  The mill belongs to Randal and Darlene Doner, both local artists.  Randal's famous metal work garden sculpture is featured throughout the lawns and property, where folks can wander and enjoy the gardens by the river. Would be great to see you there!  10-4 Sat & Sun.

piggery gallery

oil on canvas - 18 x 24"

I am happy to be meeting Jaana of the Piggery Gallery on Thursday afternoon, and will be taking her a few pieces of my art to hang there.  It is a country gallery north of Newburgh. I will take some pictures when I am there and probably post an update about it.

Meanwhile today I will be giving a private lesson from 9am-4pm, so have a full day.  I really enjoy this person who I will be teaching, so I am feeling like it is going to be a fun day.  A big  bunch of orange tulips and white freesia's is awaiting in the studio, hopefully we can work some magic with it on canvas.

Worked in another non-representational process again on Saturday, and this is the result.  I'm quite enjoying the freedom.

moments

Primroses - oil on panel - 6x8"
click here to purchase

I'm doing a sun dance this weekend.  OMG, we had SNOW this morning, ugh. SO over it!

So, I had a moment on the way to yoga on Thursday morning. Driving along, thinking about living in the moment...what it really means; suddenly a shift in my perspective occurred, it felt profound.  I know we all get these moments from time to time. It's good they occur randomly and infrequently because it makes it more special.  I like when that happens. What it felt like was that the big picture was no longer down the road and in the future, but  all around me, right here, right now. I was hyper aware of it.  Quite wondrous really.

I resolved this week to be mindful of as many moments as possible, notice and  acknowledge them. It's actually quite a challenge.

studio work

30 x 36" oil on canvas
click here to purchase

And now for a change.  A little non representation today.  The studio got an overhall last night, I sorted through all the stuff in my vertical storage(i had crammed a whole lot of non art stuff in there too)  Sorting into piles of keep and dont keep.  A lot of old work, let's face it there is a ton of stuff we artists build up that has served it's purpose as a learning experience in life, and serves no further purpse now.  Hopefully wind speeds will settle down today, and we can have a bonfire to get ride of the 'no further uses' pile.  Yesterday it was super windy, so hopefully today will be better.

I'm NOT complaining...we are so fortunate to have sunshine this weekend and temps that are a little more seasonal!  The garden is calling me.  Today I will get at my roses and uncover them from their winter hibernation nest of leaves.  Yesterday a daffodil bloomed in my garden, that is something to celebrate...the first one!  yay!

pyjamas in the studio

I've been fighting the dreaded "What will I paint?" since I finished my 30x30 canvas last week. In the studio in my pyjamas, I scrolled through my resource material. 
With no more excuses left in my head; hell, it doesn't matter...I just want to paint! 
heh... that last sentence sounds like it could be a Bob Dylan refrain. 

So, with gentle studio music(harp) on the cd player, timid strokes began..yikes, feelin' rusty.  Keep going.  Warming up, stretching the strokes, hmmm the flow is happening.  hey, feelin' better.  
When I got to number 3 I'm feelin' like my old self again, skipping along, and getting into the vibe of it.   It might have been the Ashley MacIsaac fiddle that my cd player had switched to, or maybe the jig I was doin' at the same time?!?  Anyhow I'm havin fun, and yay, I am painting again.


So this is what I was listening to.  It's an oldie, but it's one of my fav's.

building ideas from photo reference

THROUGH THE PARK
oil on canvas - 30x30 " - $800
click here to purchase

This painting developed in a rather tonalist manner. I wanted an atmosphere of tranquility even though there is activity(with the rider).  The light falling through the canopy of trees is the main idea...dappled light falling on form. The form just happens to be a lawn, trees, a figure riding, and some houses on the street. Looking at it now, I realize I've made the light a little too cool in the forground, I'll likely tweak that tomorrow.

I took my resource photo(below) last fall, in City park near old Sydenham ward...an old stones neighbourhood in downtown Kingston. There's always lots of students passing through on their way to and from the university. It's a busy place. I added architecture to create a sense of the place.  I enjoy taking liberty with photo resources.  That's the whole fun of it all!  Changing shapes and forms to suit my sensibility.

my photo reference

Abstract design and colour relationships are at the heart of what I'm doing, and that keeps me interested while I'm painting. Detail is skimpy for a reason. I want a sense of anonymity with the figure. (perhaps it is someone you might know, or maybe not)  Atmosphere is key.

I resolved the painting this morning, which was a good feeling...it had been in the studio and gone through various stages of completion over a couple of weeks! Sometimes it just DOES take more time. Good thing I enjoy the process.  Afterwards in the afternoon I went for tea and to check out my friend Bonnie Brook's new work! (wonderful!) what a great afternoon of art pals and art chat!

the dreaded artist statement is your friend

 

work in progress-  oil - 30 x 30"

I think most artists agonize over writing artist statements for body's of work or for entries to shows or exhibitions. I know I do. It's not easy translating art into words, but it's kind of essential that we learn to do this.  Did you know that an artist statement is actually your friend?   Yes!  It's on your side...in your corner...tooting your horn...giving explanations of your work to those that take an interest when you're not around to do it!  

Personally I hate confusing 'art speak', and always appreciate reading an artists statement that is written in simple language so anyone can understand. That can sometimes be hard for us artists! We get excited about and  caught up in our own technical interests and ideas about how we make our art, so much so that we forget the simple(but 'ultimately sophisticated') edit.  I know I have written tons of statements over the years to go with my art. Tons of boring yadda yadda yadda waxing poetic about my art philosophy etc.  Who really cares? no one that's who! ha ha.  I'm learning as I go on. 

As my art changes so do my statements.  Here's my most recent attempt. We'll see how long it lasts. heh. heh.

"Recent themes in my work acknowledge personal freedoms and joys found in the activity of everyday life.  The freedom of cycling along, the joy of quiet solitude, the delight of a holiday. With these ideas in mind, I merge the pictorial with the emotional. I love the meditative process of working in oils."

I had to laugh when I viewed this satirical youtube by visual artist Charlotte Young.  Hope you get a laugh or two.

Waterlily and art supplies

Waterlily - oil on panel - 9 x 12
$195 - click here to purchase

This study began life in acrylics, but yesterday I started working into it again with oils and brought it to this conclusion. I've added it to my 'Wetland' collection on my website. 

Kingston artists are wondering what is going on with the once fabulous Wallack's art supply store in downtown Kingston.  I know I am not the only one in the past year who has made special trips to town to buy art supplies only to find they haven't got any of the things I needed(basic things!).  Frustrating. I came home and turned to online shopping(Curry's) to order what I needed.

This never used to a problem.  Wallack's was always well stocked, and if they didn't have it, they got it for you in a couple of days and called you when it came in.  Not any more.  The shelves are bare and the staff tells us they are 'having difficulty with supplies'. no kidding.  I feel they are not being honest with their customers. something is going down.

Today the Wallack's website announced the official 'explanation' for closing 3 of their stores in Ottawa.  To me it seems a pretty delusional message.  Despite the stated plan to continue operating their Kingston store, I think they have already lost the Kingston artists market.

Personally, I'd be happy to see a Curry's art store in Kingston.  Who know's, maybe their head office will consider it.  I'm sure Kingston artists and art students would support it.