Let the Christmas Season begin!

The Saugeen Artists are as busy as elves, getting their Christmas Store ready, called "Spirit of the Season".  I love being part of this project!  My role is to prepare the window displays weekly as well as volunteer to take some shifts. 

This year it will be open during November and December, at 311 10th Street in Hanover, right downtown.  There are 20 artists who will be displaying their unique pieces for purchase, including paintings, jewellery, pottery, stained glass, Christmas ornaments, cards, and more.  Our grand opening will be November 10, at 11:00.  During November we will be open from Wednesday to Sunday, and beginning November 26 our hours will be extended over the whole week. 

Come and enjoy the gallery, meet some of the artists,

and even get some early Christmas shopping done! 

Exciting News!

I'm pleased that my acrylics have been accepted at the Southampton Gallery. 

If you get a chance to get there, you will enjoy an "artful" experience of varied media and an array of talent from Grey and Bruce counties and beyond.  Here are a couple of my paintings that are displayed there now.

I am looking forward to working with the gallery and many of its members.  I know I can learn so much from the experience!

"Dancing Poppies"
24" X 24"
acrylic

"Set your hearts on things above..."
24" X 24"
acrylic

"A Humble King"
16" X 16"
acrylic






 

For all art friends...........

.............two studio tours coming up!!


 

September 28, 29, and 30 is the 

19th Annual Saugeen Autumn Leaves Tour. 

 

 I will be displaying my watercolours and acrylics at the Earthen Vessels Pottery, north of Durham.  You can check out this amazing tour and get directions at   http://www.autumnleavesstudiotour.ca/     

Every fall the artists on this tour invite the public into their homes and studios from 10:00 to 5:00 all weekend.  Explore the diversity of these seasoned artists and some new studios as well.  There are 51 artists exhibiting at 23 studio locations.  You will be amazed at the local talent! It's always held the week before Thanksgiving,and it's free. 

I might see you at Earthen Vessels!

 
 
 
 

Thanksgiving weekend, following the Autumn Leaves Tour, is

The second Art Map "Open Studio Weekend" of the year.

   Check out the Art Map website  http://theartmap.com/The_Art_Map_Open_Studio_Weekends.html for details about the contest.  You can win prizes from the artists-- including one from me! The details from my August 8 post are the same for this weekend, which happens to be Thanksgiving. The scenery should be awesome, which you can enjoy between studios.

   Come and visit me at my home, a 130-year old stone house.   I'll invite you upstairs to my studio.  Enjoy both of these weekends if you can!

I'm getting ready for the Art Map Weekend! Here is the information. Have a great weekend enjoying all the art!

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2nd Annual
Open Studio Weekends

This is your chance to visit your favourite artists and their galleries during two Open Studio Weekends in 2012.
Join in the excitement starting August 11 & 12
on The Art Map's 2nd Annual Open Studio Weekend.

This year there are over $450 in fine art gift certificates and prizes to be won.

23 studios and galleries open for your convenience. Many with multiple artists. No appointment necessary. Throughout Grey, Bruce and Southern Georgian Bay.
1st prize is a $225 prize pack from artist and instructor Susan Seitz. A $200 gift certificate for a painting, workshop or kids camp, plus handmade journal, card and bookmark.
2nd prize is a $100 gift certificate from artist Barbara Pearn.
3rd prize is a $75 gift certificate by artist Kathie Wright for a painting.
4th Prize is a $50 gift certificate from Southampton Art Gallery.
Can be used for a painting or workshop.
Random prize giveaways cards and bookmarks by artist Susan Seitz.

To enter our contest and for details go to our facebook contest tab and Contest details. There are more opportunities to visit the galleries and studios during our Open Studio Weekend in October.
For locations & links to maps see chart below.
      Contest ends October 31, 2012.

Take in the creative talent at the studios and see the same scenic landscapes that inspire the artists year-round.
See the chart below for the dates, studio name and location-key numbers. The numbers are on the digital map guides.  Print out the guide and take it with you. This chart is on the digital guide. Each location in the chart below is linked to a google map with more information about the artist or studio and more images of their work as well.

#	Participating Studio	Aug 11 & 12	Oct 6 & 7
1	Paul Murray Gallery	Open	Open
6	Tina Revie	Open
9	Glass in Motion	Open	Open
10	Jean Francis	Open	Open
13	The Artist Den	Open
14	Loft Gallery (gallery only open)	Open	Open
15	Ann Wylie Toal	Open	Open
20	Lisa Hambleton	Open	Open
21	Victoria Park Gallery	Open	Open
24	Matilda Swanson		Open
26	Southampton Art Gallery	Open	Open
37	Beach Stone Studio	Open
38	Jennifer Barna	Open
39	Cindy McKenna	Open
40	Nature's Millworks	Open
43	Bev Morgan	Open	Open
45	Kathie Wright	Open	Open
46	Janet Liesemer	Open	Open
47	Cedar Hill Gallery	Open	Open
48	Birgit Wright	Open
49	Barbara Pearn	Open	Open
50	Paul Corefield	Open	Open
51	Ofra Svorai	Open	Open
52	Beaver Valley Glass	Open	Open

The story of a painting.......

When I began my poppy painting, I decided to take photos along the way, to tell the story of how it progressed from the pencil marks to the final product. 

After I put on a purpley-blue underpainting, I drew the poppies and buds with a white charcoal pencil.  The buds I painted white, so I could show their fuzzy nature.

To give the buds their shapes, I added greens, leaving the edges white and soft.  Next I painted the poppies as flat shapes, in a dark cadmium red.  I had placed them carefully so they formed a rough circle shape, to keep an observer's eye moving around inside the painting.



It looks like I painted dark red shapes on the flowers, but actually I painted the light red on top of the dark!  I'm working from dark to light.  The original photo had three trees in the background, which I liked, so they went in to tie the background together.



Then a third layer of red, lighter than the last.............

..........and finally a fourth layer, lightest of all.  I wanted to show the luminosity of poppy petals.

Finally I added the background, and fiddled around with colours and values until I was pleased with the result.  I call it "Dancing Poppies".  The buds look quite comical to me, like heads doing a silly random dance. 

"Dancing Poppies" is 24" X 24", on a stretched gallery canvas.  You can see it at the Show and Sell, which happens this weekend in Hanover.  Check out the details by clicking on the top photo to the right. 

put

Poppies reign in my garden!

I've taken dozens of photos like these below, of these wonderful flowers, so delicate, so proliferous, so............so cadmium red! 

I can't wait to put brush to canvas to try them out. 

Since my class at Southampton has been cancelled (not enough registrations)

I will have more time to paint the glorious sights of spring around my house. 

(At least when I take a break from digging and planting and weeding.)



I love the way the stems take such odd shapes. And I love the fuzzy flower pods. 

The honeybees really love them too. See the one below?
He just might make it into a painting.

Patchwork textures

This painting is on display at the Southampton Art Gallery on the Instructors' Wall.  I wanted to show a sample of one idea for using textures in watercolour paintings.  If you are interested in attending this class, June 4 - 8, click on the photo of the gallery on the right side of this page.  See you there! 




"Patchwork Petals"
12 X 15
watercolour

Portrait attempts.........

"Reg"
watercolour, 11 X 14

When a friend at our church lost her father, I spotted a photo of him at the funeral home that I thought would make a wonderful painting.  I hope I did justice to him, since I had never met him.  It was a challenge to do his face, since there wasn't much light and shadow on it.  I abstracted the clothing and the background quite a bit, and tried out several different texture techniques. 

I would have liked to know Reg.

"Summer Sudoku"
watercolour
11 X 14

I took a photo of this fellow at the beach last summer, I think at Southampton.  I was pleased with the way I captured the intensity of his manner.  I was interested in my eye movement in this painting-- my eye looks back and forth between his face and his hand, top to bottom. 


I hope to try more portraits in the future.  It's a satisfying challenge, to capture a likeness.  I only did one portrait commission once, (with the exception of Brandy the dog!), and I agonized over it.  But it was about  5 years ago.  Here it is! 

"Lucas and Olivia"
watercolour

Art and Grandchildren

For Olivia............

I promised Olivia months ago that I would do a painting for her.  She requested flowers, particularly pink and purple.  I started this just before Christmas, but finally finished it for her just before March Break.  She loves any arts and crafts, and did a painting over the Break that was to go on her bedroom wall.  Here it is!

There'e no problem distinguishing the focal point here!  Everything points to the whale, and we are left wondering why it's so sad.  Olivia could tell you.

For Benjamin.......

This was an item I painted for a fundraiser last year.  I knew that if it didn't sell for the literacy program, I had someone on my Christmas list who would like it!  So it went under the Christmas tree for Ben.  And now Ben, just in grade one, has been trying his hand at the arts, with great success too.  Here is his work of art over the Break...........

Did you notice that Ben painted some bushes behind the figure, so it overlaps? 

Watercolour Workshops Coming Soon..............

I have arranged 3 workshops for this spring, at the Hanover Missionary Church,

on Saturday, March 31, April 21, and May 19.

On March 31, the theme will be Coffee Mugs!

Bring a favourite mug or two, and we will use them---- not for drinking, but for putting in a painting. I will bring other items along, perhaps books, a tea pot, fruit and a knife, a cream pitcher, spoons............ which we can put together to make an interesting still life. You might think of other items to add. It will get us back into the painting mode, and give us all a chance to review some skills. 




Check out details, and the themes for the other workshops, on the Classes page. 

Snowy Silhouette and Sunshine

Winter seems to be here again for a short while, so I am motivated to post two new winter watercolours. 

Twilight Trail
watercolour  11 X 15

This is the trail behind our home that the 4-wheeler takes, on its frequent rides back to the bush that give Max some exercise.  I was taken with the silhouettes in the original photo, and used only three colours to paint it.  It was a fun piece to do, joining up all the shapes to make one large, interesting one.

Blue House on the Corner
watercolour  11 X 15

It was such a lovely sunny day, and this little house near our church looked so cheerful.  Snow still blanketted the ground, but was losing its grip as it melted on the roof.  I tried to make the little house look jolly by adding a whimsical touch.

Did we have winter this year?

I did actually enjoy several glorious days this winter that inspired snow paintings!  But eventually I pulled out some older winter photos that motivated the first two.  The first is of the row of mailboxes at our corner, as they looked about 5 years ago.  I had already done a watercolour from a different perspective, and thought this view was enchanting too.  It almost looks like the mailboxes are chatting together, passing along the neighbourhood gossip.  Ours is the one on the far right, which I recently painted dark green over top of the daisies that adorned it previously.  Time had not been kind to them, nor had the snow plows. 

"Neighbourhood News"
acrylic   12 X 24

The second painting was from a photo I took on an early morning walk up the road from our previous home last winter.  The bright, early morning sun made such beautiful shadows, and gave the trees haunting silhouette shapes.  The pine needle branches were white with frost.  God is such a wonderful painter!

"Pleasure Valley Morning"
acrylic    18 X 24

For a dog lover!

"Brandy"
watercolour  11 X 14

Let me introduce you to Brandy!  This is a watercolour done as a Christmas gift.  I'm not used to doing pet portraits, so this was a challenge.  It was fun doing her curly ears, with a combination of positive and negative shapes.  Maybe I will even tackle our own dog, Max, sometime when I'm feeling brave. 

I just might include the chicken too............

Looking back to 2011..............

As I check back on work I've done in the past year, I realize that there are a couple of special commissioned paintings that didn't appear on this blog--  because I didn't want the recipients to see them ahead of time!





"A Refuge in the Storm"
watercolour  11"X15"

A friend wanted to give her mom a painting of a lighthouse for Christmas.  Another mutual friend had taken photos down east of a lovely old lighthouse at Cape Bear.  We agreed that it was perfect.  I love the way the lighthouse sits on a cliff, giving a sense of danger.  The title explains it all, since in spiritual terms, Jesus is our lighthouse, our place of refuge, in any storms of life!







"Up Home"

watercolour, approx. 14"X30"

This was painted for a teaching colleague, of a grandparent's home that doesn't even exist anymore! It was really interesting and challenging to put together some old photos of the house (the latest was 1964) and new photos of the landscape in the area today. It seemed to call for a different shape, a "vista", to show what the setting was like. I included a lot of texture, particularly for the house, since it was a boxy shape and needed something special to give it character.