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.

Grand Opening for the Saugeen Artists Store today!

We are all excited about the GRAND opening of the store today!  There will be drinks and treats, and lots of activity due to the Christmas parade happening as well.  Hopefully we will be able to enjoy the music of a guitarist at times during the day.  We have been so encouraged by the response of the town, saying that this is something Hanover needs.  


We have included a fun and helpful element-- a Featured Artist of the Day.  This artist donates a small prize for someone who contributes to the Food Bank Box in the store, provided by the Salvation Army.  If you live near Hanover, you might as well try for the daily prize!


Here are some photos of the store, all set up for business:

The window display is my job.  The theme will change each week.

Inside the front door is a sampling of the wall art in the store.

There is sculpture, pottery, jewellery, stained glass, mosaics, photography,
and some unique items, all handmade by our group members.

This is my own display.

The Saugeen Artists are busy getting ready..........

for "The 24 Days of Christmas" Show. 


Twenty-two artists are displaying their work in the previous "Shoe Shack" store, downtown Hanover.  There are lots of Christmas gift ideas there, from cards and tree ornaments to sculptures and large paintings.  You will also find jewellery, stained glass, and even furniture!  Take a look any day during December, and meet the artists.  If you bring an item to donate to the local Food Bank, you can enter a daily draw for a prize from one of the artists!  It's a great adventure for the group, and we're looking forward to trying out the retail scene. 


 Here are some of the artists preparing their displays ........

What a great painting group!

Saturday, November 19 was my last watercolour workshop for 2011.  We were all focused on flowers for the day, a delightful diversion from the cold weather and the approaching winter.  This amazing group was able to switch from positive painting to negative painting and back again!  We all took 2 or 3 paintings home to keep working on until next time.............

Watch the "Classes" tab
to check on the next
workshops in 2012.

A new art venue!

I'm pleased to be asked by Wendy at the Partners Physiotherapy Service in Hanover to hang two  watercolour paintings in her front lobby!  Here they are:

"Consider the Lilies:
watercolour 11 X 14

This was a fun study in using lots of effects for texture,
and then making the flowers pop out by painting the negative shapes around them.

"More to Come"
watercolour 11 X 14

This was the piece I worked on during the Autumn Leaves Studio Tour, between guests at the Earthen Vessels Studio.  Nothing was painted in the positive-- I painted around all of the flowers (when my hands weren't too cold!).  The buds gave it the title.