A new painting

It's been such a busy fall, that I have only this one painting to show for my time in the studio!  I took the photo in Yorkville, when visiting my daughter and getting around to the galleries I know best.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and the shadows on the busy streets were strong and inviting.  This painting was a result.  It is very simplified, which I love to do, so if you happen to recognize the spot you won't see the usual details that are there.  I loved the contrast between the dark of the tree and street in the foreground, and the sunlight on the street and houses farther on.  I added a person from a different view, to represent the path that we are all hopefully taking in life--  from darkness into light.  From misperception into truth.  From bondage into freedom.  From confusion into faith.  Although the painting certainly doesn't look Christmas-y, it brings to mind the prophecy of the coming of Jesus in Isaiah 9,  "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light."  Added to the significance of the light, is my love of painting buildings, angles, and windows!

"Walking toward the light"
acrylic
16 X 20

A Painting Day with the Elmwood Starz!

The Elmwood Art Group put on a lovely day of painting last Saturday, November 8, at Grace United Church in Hanover.  I walked 18 guests through a painting of a Grey County barn.  We had a lot of laughs, spilled paint, drank coffee, and got to meet new friends.  Here are two photos of the group and their paintings.  Remember that most of them are not completed at this point!  Hopefully each one will finish their work, and go on to try some more acrylic painting.  

And here are some of the painters hard at work.

This is as far as my own barn got.  I will post the next steps as I add more to it.  Perhaps it will help some of the painters to be motivated to finish theirs!

Studio Tour weekend is coming up!

I'm preparing now for two upcoming studio tours at my home
--  The Art Map Studio Weekend, and the Autumn Leaves Studio Tour.  It will run from Friday until Sunday, October 3-5.  You are welcome to come and see my acrylics and my watercolours, and of course have a visit and a snack.  Here is one of the paintings that will be on my wall:

For times, maps, and information about the other studios on the tours, click on these sites:


www.autumnleavesstudiotour.ca

www.theartmap.com


                         I hope to see you here!!

A beautiful new Gallery.....

The Santa Fe Gallery Show called Saugeen Artists Diversity is up and looking awesome!  What a lovely gallery, with art on every available wall on the main floor, in the halls, up the stairs, and into the Gallery itself.  There is also a handy art supply store there called "Mudtown Art Supply" just down the hall from the gallery, where there are more paintings!  Give yourself a treat by visiting there in the near future.  It's located on 3rd Avenue East just 2 blocks south of 10th Street at the harbour.  I have eight paintings there until September 27, along with 8 other artists from our art group Saugeen Artists.



Here are some photos of the reception last Saturday, August 16 2014.

I am standing with artist colleague Janet Main.  

Two of my paintings are on my left.

Here are 6 of the artists represented, as well as Lin Souliere, gallery owner and artist, in the front in the orange jacket.

Summer Art News...........

It's been a wonderfully busy summer, with family events, holidays, and even a bit of painting thrown in!  I have two commissions on the go (but I can't show them to you since they are surprises....) and have sold 7 paintings from 4 different venues.  That is so encouraging for me. 

And now the "Saugeen Artists Diversity" show is going up tomorrow, August 14, at the Santa Fe Gallery in Owen Sound.  I am one of 9 artists from the art group "Saugeen Artists" who are putting work into this brand new gallery run by Lin Souliere, a proficient watercolour artist in her own right.  The official reception is this coming Saturday, August 16, at the gallery, from 2:00 to 4:00.  One of the paintings there will be my "Frosty Morning", which was accepted for the Art Map calendar for the month of November. 

I hope to see some friends there!

My Owen Sound Co-op Show is still on.......

................for the rest of the month of June.  It's such a joy and a privilege to be able to have my work there as the guest of the month!  

By June 30 I will be able to put some of these paintings into the Hanover Homecoming Headquarters where the Saugeen Artists are displaying work from June 19 to August 8. Perhaps I will see some familiar faces there.  


  

A New Painting "Frosty Morning"

I just finished this piece to enter into the Art Map calendar, probably for October or November.  The photo I used for a reference was taken on Pleasure Valley Road, where I used to live.  I took many morning walks there, past this particular farm, and sometimes the scene took my breath away!  

The painting is now on display at the Homecoming Store in Hanover, at the corner of 10th Street and 7th Avenue, where the Saugeen Artists are sharing the space from June 19 until August 8.

"Frosty Morning"
acrylic
20 X 24

Three Painters

It's wonderful to have friends to paint with, and even better when we can get outside to do it!  My painting friends Aggie and Lori come to my studio every week to talk about our painting, and our lives.  We critique each other's work, offer ideas, and then do our own thing with paint.  The spring warmth last week was too inviting to stay indoors, so we carried our supplies and our coffee to the picnic table for the morning.  It's always inspiring to work alongside these talented ladies!

A warm, lazy fall day.......

......is the subject of my latest painting.  I took a photo in Southampton during a course there with Don Cavin.  He was taking us on a walk to seek out "paintable" views close to the school.  I was intrigued with the shapes and angles here, and of course the lovely bright sunshine and resulting shadows.  I would love to sit on that bench with a glass of iced tea!

This is the painting that resulted from an acylic demo in a class I taught recently. The demo was so rushed and the drawing on the canvas so inadequate that I painted over it when I got home and started again.  A careful sketch on the underpainting is so important.  I used burnt sienna for the underpainting to bring out the warmth.  I actually changed the colours of the houses, too.  

"Come and Sit With Me"
16 X 20
acrylic

"Positively Negative".......

.........was the name of the workshop I led at the Wasaga Beach Artists group yesterday, April 8 2014.  Such an involved, talented group of artists!  We only had an afternoon to work on our negative paintings, but I hope everyone went home with more confidence in using the concept of "negative".  Thank you to the group for inviting me!

Another fun acrylics class!

Eleven of us worked on acrylic flowers and buildings yesterday, with great results!  I was impressed with the intense focus and determination in each participant.  I hope they will all continue to work on their art at home, somehow carving out the time from busy schedules to practise their skills.  

Remember, take the product lightly, but take the process seriously!  

A Birthday Celebration Painting Event!

What a great idea!  Yesterday I led a paint day for 6 family members in celebration of Grandma's birthday, in a lovely home that also serves as The Colonel's Rest Bed and Breakfast, in Mount Forest, Ontario.  (Check it out at  http://www.bbcanada.com/colonelsrest and on Facebook at The Colonels's Rest B&B. I highly recommend it!)

Everyone completed a flower painting, which will be proudly hung on Grandma Diane's wall at home.  Some members even finished a second painting.  There were lots of laughs, a fabulous lunch was served by hostess Kay, and fun was had by all.  

The birthday girl seemed to be having the most fun of all, of course! Since she was used to oils, not acrylics, it was a whole different experience.  She tells me they just don't blend nicely like oils!

Hostess Kay is starting on her second daisy painting. She created the lovely flower pins we all wore for the day, in honour of Grandma Diane.

I was amazed at how quickly everyone chose a flower composition to work with.
Each person had a different colour problem to work out.  For a poppy, we had to make a translucent red for highlights, not a pink red.  Mixing a lovely orange did the trick.

Here are the finished paintings:  You can tell we are all pleased with the results.  (Even the dog!)

A new painting.......

This is an acrylic, on a 20 X 24 canvas.  I took the photo in Toronto recently, when I was visiting the AGO with my cousin Beth.  This lovely home was so stately!  I took the photo from close up, so it towered over me.  I enjoyed painting it immensely, with all the angles and shapes and values that went together to give the house a pleasing 3D shape.  I love to make a canvas come alive with depth and form.  I took photos of the process along the way, which might be interesting to take a look at, below the finished piece here.

A fun class!

On Saturday March 15, six of us had a great day playing with watercolour.  Everyone went home with 2 paintings well on the way, including work with a negative approach.  There were times of quiet and concentration, and also times of laughter--  such as the moment a paintbrush went into a coffee cup!  It was so rewarding to see how each artist is developing their own style, and is intent on improving by working hard, and by listening to each other's helpful, constructive ideas. 

 Thanks to each participant!

My next watercolour class.......

......is this Saturday, March 15.  One of the ideas for the class is a still life, so I've been playing around with one set-up this week.  Here is a sample of what we might be doing........


First the set-up, and a value sketch:

Then drawing on the paper and putting on the first light layers of paint:

And finally adding the darks, to give the shapes depth.  

My favourite part!

There is still room for more participants!