Ramblings of October

Along my travels through the neighborhood this October I have been savouring the spicy beauty of autumn. From the fiery trees lining the streets, to the wide golden and deep wine coloured leaves fallen from deeply engraved stately sentinels, collecting along the dull grey sidewalks. Everything glowing with an ethereal light while the sun decides to show its warm face.

As we near the end of October, the weather has decided to change. The rainy season has begun, making it clear (as clear can be through misty grey clouds) why it is said that we live on the Wet Coast. Baby and I have been soothed and lulled back to sleep by the rhythmic pattering of the rain during the nights. The rythmn changed to a raging tempo as a storm brewed, blowing raindrops splatting against the glass. It was no longer soothing, but chilling. The next day proved why, as we passed shredded branches and some good-sized trees splayed forlornly across lawns.

And while the rains have begun, the deep jewel tones of the remaining flowers shine even brighter against the steel grey skies as the last rich treasures of autumn.

Savour them deeply for they will soon be mere transulcent shreds of memory.

Life with Baby

Life with a new baby is different (obviously). There is not as much time, particularly large chunks of it, available to dedicate to my art and other creative pursuits.

Lately the little snippets of creative time I have been able to snatch have been spent knitting or doing a little bit of sewing. Neither are technically categorized as fine art, but they still feed my creativity and need for colour.

Awhile back I came across the thought that an artist “should create as much as you consume”. I thought it was an interesting concept and have been mulling it over since. To begin with I thought it might be a noble goal to strive for. Now I disagree with the thought. As an artist I need to gather material to work with. Part of the creative process is gathering ideas, taking little bits and pieces from lots of sources, letting them bounce around in your brain and finding that at some point they inform a piece, they have been recombined them into something new. Therefore there is a need to always be looking at art or whatever is inspirational, going to shows doing reseearch. It is a bit like watching the news or reading the newspaper to keep oneself informed about current events.

So this weekend baby and I went to see The West Fine Art Show at the Trev Deeley motorcycle dealership (not the first place I would think of for an art show venue!) It was interesting to see the interpretations of "the West" and who the artists were. The subject matter varied greatly, from cowboy drawings to idyllic west coast wilderness landscapes to busy urban scapes. The painting styles were all a realistic representational style. Most were very well done and it was well displayed and curated. The motorcycle dealership was actually a nice venue for the show.

For Baby

Oh, baby in my womb

Your time is coming soon.

We have planned and prepared;

Paintings for the walls of your room,

A mobile to amuse you,

 A blanket to warm you,

A cradle to hold you,

It shall all be ready soon.

But most of all,

We can't wait to show you the moon,

Oh, baby in my womb,

Whose time is coming soon.

Cards for Strathmore Contest

For the last couple weeks I have been working on my submissions for the Strathmore Greeting Card Contest. The theme was Fall or Winter, I was free to use whatever medium or form of creativeness I chose, I just had to create it on their card product. I chose a pack of their Sugar Cane Cards, made from 50% sugar cane and 50% post-consumer waste fibre. It is a nice smooth paper in a soft ivory colour with the odd little dark fleck. By the deadline I had completed four cards. However, I could only submit three, so I had to pick my 'top three'. These are the three I chose to submit.

Which one is your favourite?

 Autumn Pathways

Soft Pastel

 Fallen Leaves

Soft Pastel

Geometric Winter Wonderland

Soft Pastel and Found Objects

Lastly, here is the rejected and unsubmitted card design. 

Fall Geomania

Watercolour

These were fun, but also challenging. The challenge was working in such a small space, especially with the soft pastel, I generally prefer a larger surface which allows me a bit more freedom. Then there was the fear of ruining a card and trying to make it perfect rather than letting myself play.

Capturing Creativity

Thoughts, ideas, future project possibilities flit through my head at the least expected times. Sometimes they come as I am drifting off to sleep, sometimes they appear on a long walk. Some are great ideas, some ordinary, most, forgotten. Then when I have time to sit and create I am left staring at a blank piece of paper wondering what I'm going to create. How does that happen, and what can I do about it? Here is a great article by Steven Pressfield about learning to recognize and capture those great ideas we've all had.

Douglas Coupland at the Vancouver Art Gallery

 Douglas Coupland is a celebrated Canadian who is often better known for his books than for his artwork. The Vancouver Art Gallery is presenting the first major survey exhibit of the his art work this summer. His work "addresses the singularity of Canadian culture, the power of language, as well as the ever-pervasive presence of technology in everyday life." The title of the exhibition is Douglas Coupland: everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything references an engagement with place and cultural identity as well as addressing the effects of our free access to information, images and technology.

Much of his work uses everyday objects and includes pop culture references. I found his work to be accessible, ironic, at times distopian and at other times humorous. The exhibition runs until September 1, 2014 and I would recommend checking it out. (Including the giant outdoor "gumhead" self portrait of the artist just outside the gallery on Howe)

Greeting Card contest

Hey all artist/creative people,
Check out this Strathmore Greeting Card Contest. It's pretty open for what you can do. Use a Strathmore paper product and create something fall/winter themed.
This would be a great chance to get your work out there! (I will be creating something to submit) (Oh, and there are prizes)

Ramblings from a Road Trip

A couple weeks ago I went on a road trip to Calgary to see my sister as a belated birthday surprise. We began our journey here in the Lower Mainland where lush, full spring had arrived and was showing off her colors and variety. We drove up and down through five impressive mountain ranges until it leveled out into foothill country surrounding Calgary. As we got further away and higher up it changed from lush full greenness to just a brush of the lightest green on the tips of the trees to dull grey winter as we neared each summit. Then, as we descended again, gradually a hint of bright green would appear until it looked like spring again. (Although nowhere was quite as full and lush as home).

 

 Roger's Pass Summit

Shushwap Lake area

 

 

 Drumheller

 

After a day or two in Calgary we continued our road trip to Saskatoon. Driving further east we hit stereotypical prairie. Flat farmland as far as the eye could see, endless blue sky with fluffy white clouds playing across it and iconic grain elevators sprinkled randomly across the land.

Upon arriving in Saskatoon I discovered that it is a beautiful city. Its downtown boasts some lovely architecture, both large scale churches and hotels as well as unique homes. We spent a lovelly day touring the Mendell Art Gallery, walking by the river, as well as visiting a tea shop and yarn store. And then we drove back: first to Calgary, where we spent another day, then home, finally. It was a lovely trip, but I must say that by the end of it baby and I were tired of sitting in the car and were very glad to get home!

 

University Bridge

a Pelican on the South Saskatchewan River

 Family

Playing with Colour

 Tonight I did a quick little drawing exercise from a still life (some random objects I put together). My challenge was to choose a limit my colour palette to draw the still life with. I chose an analogous palette of red, red-purple and purples to work with. This is my quick interpretation of the still life.

Branching Out

Spring is in full swing here. The trees have burst into full leafy glory in the last week, we have gone from a limited selection of early spring flowers to a wide variety of gorgeous blooms, and my belly has grown too. So in the spirit of spring and new growth I thought I would branch out and play with some decor ideas for our new little arrival. Looking at the finished pieces I discovered that as much as I 'branched out' and played with these new pieces, I still found a common theme running through them.

First, I still found myself using repetition to create these pieces. Repetition is a constant theme in my work, but this time I did not set out to use it. I was inspired by the branches and set out to create something more organic and unstructured. However, somehow even while working with the organic shapes, repetition seems to have seeped into my work subconciously. Not that I really mind. Secondly, apparently I really like trees. Having decided not to find out the gender of our little one, we had to come up with a gender neutral nursery scheme. We decided to go with a woodland forest theme. When I tell people they respond along the lines of "didn't you use trees for your wedding?" So, yes, I am using more trees, well, at least pieces of trees to decorate the nursery.  And so here are my newest pieces where I branched out, but stayed consistent at the same time.

The rush before a show

Oh, the joys of getting ready for a show.
There is always a last minute rush to finish each piece, not necessarily to finish painting a piece (although that happens too), but to finish those little details that suddenly become important. Things that, before, in your studio, don't really matter, but to be displayed in public they suddenly do. In my studio it doesn't matter that I have not installed a hanger on a piece and it is only hanging by its crossbar on a single nail, that I haven't signed or dated it, or that the edge might need a touch-up.

So today is the day to finish all those little details before taking my work to be hung for the show this Saturday. As a part of the process it also seems inevitable to need to make a trip to pick up some small item or two that you thought you had, but don't have enough of. (They need to sell picture wire in bigger rolls, I'm constantly running out of it)

And yet, despite all the last minute-ness of getting pieces ready (it's not just me, by the way, I think it is a trait shared by every artist) my pieces are ready to be hung and seen. It feels good to have them done and I'm excited to be showing them on Saturday.
missed the details of the show? find them here http://www.nwcrc.ca/recreate-art/

re:Create Art show

 

Celebrating the creational goodness of the arts, and encouraging artists in our community.

Coming up this Saturday, April 26th, is the re:Create Art show at New Westminster Christian Reformed Church. There will be a wide variety of artwork showcased, many of the artists will be in attendance and you may just find an awesome piece of art that you want to take home with you!

This is a great opportunity to see what's happening and meet other like-minded people in the arts community within our churches.

If you are interested in seeing some of my work in person, come on out, as there will be a couple of my pieces on display (and for sale).

For more info see http://www.nwcrc.ca/recreate-art/

I hope to see you there!

A Terrible Beauty & Lawren Harris

This weekend we went to see the Vancouver Art Gallery's A Terrible Beauty: Edward Burtynsky show as well as the Lawren Harris show.
Edward Burtynsky is a Toronto based photographer that is internationally renowned for his captivating photographs of natural and manmade landscapes that reflect both the impressive reach and impact of our human endeavors. I was very excited when I learned that the Vancouver Art Gallery was presenting an exhibition of his work, as he is an artist whose work I admire. I find his photos fascinating. His images are beautiful and epic with the scale of things he photographs. And yet when you read the title or story behind a piece you realize the awful environmental impact on the landscape that he has captured so beautifully. Burtynksy's photos capture both natural and manmade subject matters in abstract, highly patterned compositions. The abstracted and patterned nature of his work is what draws me and fascinates me about his work.

Oxford Tire Pile #4, Edward Burtynsky

 Rock of Ages #26 Abandoned Section, Edward Burtynsky

 

 Oil Fields #19a, Edward Burtynsky

We also took the opportunity to see the show Lawren Harris: Canadian Visionary show that was on. Lawren Harris was a founding member of the Group of Seven, painters of Canada's iconic landscape art. Most people will have come across his work in some form, often reproduced on a calendar, greeting card or mug. What I found most interesting about this exhibition was that it looked at his whole range of work that he produced throughout his career. It began with his early work before the Group of Seven (1920-1933) and followed it through to the 1960s. After touring through the exhibition I found that I prefered his more structured work to his flowing, curvy work. Some of these included his early architectural paintings and his modern, hard edged abstracts pieces.

Abstract No. 7, Lawren Harris

 

Red House Winter, Lawren Harris

Ontario Adventure Photos 2

Another picture post from our sightseeing in Ontario. These photos are from our day in Niagara-On-the-Lake, another beautiful but cold day.

 The first bright burst of spring.

 Chandelier in the beautiful Prince of Wales hotel.

 Inlaid hardwood floor in the Prince of Wales hotel lobby. I thought it particularly impressive due to the fact that it all would have been hand cut and laid. And it was not a small space that it covered!

 And of course, shopping.

One of the many old barns to be found in various states of disrepair.

The dismantled field stone foundation of the barn.

Ontario Adventure Photos 1

This past week we travelled to Ontario to celebrate our wedding with family and friends that were not able to join us here in September. Much visiting happened, the 'three musketeers' reunited, and extended family came together for the first time in many years. I met many people and tried to remember names and connect the dots of who belonged to whom. I am glad so many people came out to join in our celebration.

We also went off on some sightseeing trips during the week. One of our stops was Niagara Falls, a spectacular sight at any time. Although it is late March and supposed to be spring, it has been unusually cold and as a result, the Falls were extra spectacular. They were well worth braving the freezing wind and icy spray to see them.

Exciting News!!!

I just found out today that my painting 'Sacred Work' was accepted for the "Women at Prayer" online exhibition!!
I had recieved confirmation that they would review my piece but then I didn't hear anything, so I had given up hope and just assumed that it had not been accepted. Turns out I was wrong!
Check out the exhibition here and click on any thumbnail to see the whole piece and read about the artist and their story.
I'm so excited to be a part of this!

Patterning again

How is it that an inanimate blank canvas can dictate what it does or does not want to be? There have been times that I have set out to create a piece and nothing I try works. So I leave it for a few weeks or months come back to it and viola! it goes together so smoothly. I haven't figured it out. My most recent piece is an example of that phenomenon.

24" x 24"

Found Objects on Tar Paper and Panel

Everyday Objects #1

Here (finally) is my most recently completed painting. This is the first piece in a series that I am calling "Everyday Objects". These paintings focus on mundane, everyday objects that repeat themselves and have caught my attention. It is my hope that in capturing these ordinary moments that viewers will stop and take a closer look at the world around them and appreciate the little serendipitous moments of unexpected beauty.

Six Pots in Row (Everday Objects Series)

 18" x 30"

Oil on Rescued Plywood

Phonebooks and a Finished Painting

Yesterday we had a phone book delivered to our door. Who uses a phone book these days? Not us! At least not for its intended purpose. I did decide to keep it, but with the intentions of repurposing, not looking up phone numbers. Who knows maybe I'll find a use for pieces of it in my art, already I have a few pages in use as paint brush cleaning surfaces. 
I just finished this piece after working on it on and off for months. It belongs to a series of abstract landscapes that I began working on last year. (You can see the rest of the series here )

Landscape Poetry with Red

16" x 20"

Oils on panel with glass fragments

A couple months ago when we were dismantling the set from the Singing Christmas Tree I was able to rescue some pieces of decent plywood and doorskin. Since I have decided that I prefer to paint on the rigid surface that wood provides, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to create some new painting surfaces at low cost. Finally last week I had the opportunity to build my new supports. I ended up with eight panels of various sizes, which is perfect because I was just running out of supports. I think I should be set for awhile with my new panels.

I just finished sanding one and am blocking in the first parts of a new painting on it!

Submitted

I have officially finished my newest piece and submitted it. There is an extra sense of accomplishment to finishing a piece for a submission and display. I suppose in some ways a piece is never really completed until it has been seen by an audience.

"Sacred Work"

20" x 36"

Oil on reclaimed panel with found glass fragments

 

This piece “Sacred Work” came about in response to the challenge issued to "visualize women's experience of prayer, their work of prayer, their prayers", issued by the Episcopal Church and Visual Arts group. As I was contemplating how to visualize a woman at prayer, I decided that my mother would be my inspiration and model for this piece. I chose to portray her busy sewing as she has taken the ordinary, mundane task of production sewing as an opportunity to create a regular, distinct, extended prayer time in her life. Now, each day as she sits down at her sewing machine to begin working, her task is transformed into sacred work as she begins to pray. Many people and many situations get covered in prayer regularly during this time.

So far

And so it has begun, my new art centric phase of life. Have I been totally focussed on my art? Nope. But, to be fair, I have spent a considerable amount of time on it. Much more than I have been able to in the past months, and it feels good. Our living room is looking more like a studio than a living room, but well, what do you expect? So far, I have managed to start and make good progress on a new painting. The intention is to submit it to an online exhibition, which means it needs to be finished and photographed by the 27th. I think I should be able to make it (as long as I don't ruin it along the way!)
Oh and coming up, this Monday night, January 20th, is our first Art Night of 2014!

New Beginning

This last week as work came to a close, my January Opus newsletter arrived in the mail. Ironically, the front cover had a banner encouraging everyone to 'Make making a priority this year'. That's exactly what I'm doing, and I took rather drastic measures to ensure there would be space for making in my life.
New Phase: Step One in the creativity process is housecleaning. Always before sitting down to really focus on something (like writing a paper) I feel the need to houseclean. I think it is a way to make space mentally and physically to be able to focus on creating.