Another fun day

We had a workshop yesterday about watercolour mono print making. I had done it before and forgotten how much fun it is. You cannot control the outcome...I always like that in painting, the surprise. I don't like to control my work but rather react to what has happened on the page. 
Anyhow this one of the pieces that I did yesterday.

One of them

So this is one of the paintings that I found that I liked. Not sure of the name yet but it will come.....that is one of the hardest things for me ...naming a painting.

I like it

Was just playing with inks on Thursday and created this painting....finished it last night...I like it

Today's work

So because I have a few other things going on in my life in the next few months I am trying to be super organized so that I can keep my sanity....some might argue that ship has sailed..... however I spent the day going through some paintings that I had put away. As it almost always happens I don't remember why I wasn't happy with them... some I really like. The Lemonville Group of Artist show is the first weekend in May....not that far away so now I have a few paintings....Yea.

 As an artist I am often asked to donate to various causes. I am happy to do this for things that I believe in, however since art is such a personal thing I am very selective where I donate paintings. The last thing I want is someone to feel obligated to buy my art or for one of my paintings to not have a good home. Since the goal is to raise money for these causes I also want to maximize the amount of money raised.

 

One of the other things I do is make jewellery....I haven't sold any but rather I give it away as gifts or donations for fundraising. This is my latest creation for the Jennifer Ashleigh  Children Charity event the second weekend in May. They always have a theme...this year it is summer.

Busy Busy Busy

So I really dislike it when people say they are soooooo busy .....I am not going to say that. I just have a few things going and I am trying to juggle everything and not forget something. 

I wanted to post this last week but well you know........

I went to a wonderful exhibit last Thursday  at the Varley Art Gallery in downtown Unionville Ontario. It is well worth the trip but hurry it leaves for the Albright Knox Gallery in Buffalo the beginning of March.

The Automatiste Revolution:
Montreal 1941-1960

New Month

Hard to believe that we are into February already. The days are longer...light well after 5.30 and I am enjoying this winter. Just enough snow to keep it bright in the day but not enough to make driving a pain. 
 

Anyhow here is a doodle...of nothing...I might turn it into something....I rather like the lines.

Day 8

 

One more cool dude to end the  challenge week. I actually painted him on Thursday and wasn't sure about him but I have decided I like him.

Day 7

Another peaceful place to visit

Day 6

Spent a lot of time out doors yesterday. It was a mild winter day ......the trees were beautiful against the snow. Spent the day and night in Niagara Falls. It is great in the winter, no crowds beautiful views you just have to watch out for ice that seems to be everywhere. We were outside for 6 hours, great fun!

Day 5

An ensō [The Zen Circle] Japanese word for circle

Our original spirit is free and infinite in scale. An ensō is thought to be a symbol of this. A true ensō dares us to take chances.

Painted with one stroke it is an expression of the moment, when the mind allows the body and spirit to create. Only a person who is mentally and spiritually complete can draw a true ensō.

Day 4

A nice place to visit

Day 3

Yesterdays cool dudes!

Day 2

Just a couple of bamboo sketches

So I missed the challenge

So I missed the challenge about doing something every day that I made last week.

Changed the days...starting yesterday I will try to post something every day!

Elvis is in the house

So as I mentioned before I volunteer at the York-Durham Aphasia Centre. I do a program called Art for Communcation with clients in Newmarket. It is designed to develop drawing skills to help with communication for people with aphasia....ie if you can't say the word apple but you could draw an apple and get your message across

It is a step by step process to tap into your artistic side and remember these people are not artists. I have them do warm up exercises for the brain and then they copy a picture that I have drawn of a person. We do the same person for a whole year. In the past it has been Mona Lisa, Winston Churchill, Abe Lincoln, and last year Marylin Munroe.

Well in honour of Elvis Presley [he would have been 75 last week] I decided that this year we would draw Elvis. Client's will draw him upside down while music is playing so that they can tap into that right brain.

This was yesterday's work for me .....Elvis is in the house!

Happy New Year

Well 2010 got off to a bit of a rocky start but things have settled down now.

I am excited about having some time to paint in the next few weeks. I am going to try again with a challenge to kick start the creative juices. I am going to do something every day for the next week and post it.

Stay tuned

The time of year

Hope everyone had a good time over the last few days.....it can also be a sad and stressful time for many people so I wish them peace and comfort.

I haven't been painting but am really anxious to get back to it. I am going to fit in some doodles.

It is really neat to notice the days are getting longer....waiting for the Blue moon on New Year's Eve...it is suppose to be very good luck to have it fall on the last day of the year.

Wishing good things for everyone in 2010!

In memory

In memory of Carolyn

December 19, 2008

Busy season

Unfortunately I have not had much time to paint...too many holiday preps to get done but I am hoping for tomorrow to be a painting day. One thing that I have really enjoyed this fall is Star Portraits on Bravo. Three artists paint a portrait of a celebrity and then one painting is chosen by the celebrity to take home. It is very interesting and worth watching, Bravo 8 pm Saturdays or 9.30 pm Wednesdays. Check it out!

So it happened

Well it finally happened...I was trying to will it not to but alas it was inevitable.....we had good stretch however it is the time of year.........THE SNOW came.

I do not like snow...I do not like the cold.....I do not like winter.

I love hot summer days.....I love the heat....I love summer!

So for all those people at the first sign of warm weather who complain about the heat and think that I am strange for loving the 30 Celsius days [over 85 for those of us who still think in Fahrenheit] I say enjoy yesterday...I am beginning my countdown to the hot humid days of southern Ontario!!!

New work

Isn't it always the way..... I really feel like painting but with the Holidays coming up I have a lot of other things to do. Anyhow here are two new paintings that I did in a workshop last Thursday. Lots of fun. Just a great painting day. I then went to see Andrea Bocelli. A fantastic evening.

Tis the season

It is hard to believe it is the end of November already. Where has 2009 gone! Remember the Y2K panics.......it seems like yesterday.

Well I have a holiday card.....penguins singing. I am not a wildlife artist but I paint a lot of animals. Interesting!

These are my combination paintings of Sumi-e on canvas. I did these for the workshop demonstration 2 weeks ago and finished them on Friday. I have been living with them for the last few days and decided this morning that they are complete.

I have a very strong urge to paint.....haven't felt like this for a long time. It feels great. Timing is a little off with the holidays coming up but I can work around that.

November days

The short days of November are here. At least it has not snowed which is fine by me.

I have been doing some painting...trying to get a suitable image for a holiday card. Not an easy task because each year people tell me how much they like the card and can hardly wait til next year.....no pressure.

I have painted several images, not sure which one I will use or I might start again. We will see where this takes me.

Great workshop

I was asked to conduct a workshop on wet mounting oriental paintings.

These paintings are done on rice paper that is thin so they need a backing to stabilize them. I have developed a fast and easy way of doing this. It is not the way the books say to do this but I have had great success with my method and the results are good.

Pictures of this workshop can be found at the Sumi-e Artist of Canada website....click here
It was a fun morning ...it went very fast for me .....hope it was for the people in the workshop!

Beautiful Day

Another beautiful day in southern Ontario...hard to believe it is November. It is important to enjoy each day.

It is also a sad time....a family member passed away yesterday. He was 7 days short of his 90th birthday. A very proud, independent man who was always in my life. He would visit us every week when we were kids growing up, never forgot a birthday was always at every family function., never saying a lot, a man of few words.

As per his wishes there will be no service for him... so very much like him.

Add caption

My memorial to him ........ Flowers for Hughie

A day to remember

Without getting into politics, we should all be grateful to the men and women who gave their lives in the Armed Services of Canada.

Having gone to a reunion of the women who served in World War II, I was amazed at how young they were and the responsibilities that they had. Sometimes we forget that all the men and women who served were heroes, the ones who survived and those who didn't...they risked their lives to make a better world. And let us not forget the people at home who worked in factories, raised children by themselves, did without, made many sacrifices.

I know a few people who are serving now in dangerous places....may they be safe.

Thank you to all of them.

Aphasia

One of the other things that I do is volunteer at the York-Durham Aphasia Centre based out of Stouffville Ontario. I have done so for 20 years, since it's beginnings. It is a community based program for adults living with Aphasia, a communication disorder that occurs after a stroke, brain injury or brain illness. Volunteers are trained by professional staff to work with clients and help them with their communication skills. I am a communication facilitator and have also done a few other things in my 20 years with them, but as an artist I developed and deliver an art program in one of the centre's locations. The paintings are truly amazing...they stress the process not the product...after all this is about communication and the main goal is to develop new ways to communicate. Together with the public Latcham Gallery in Stouffville in 2001 we had an exhibition of client's work that has since been in several other locations. It will be displayed for the final time in the lobby of 19 on the Park, Stouffville. It is an inspiring collection of paintings so if you are in downtown Stouffville go check it out Wednesday to Saturday 1-6. This is one of the paintings that is in the show called The World is Listening...stop by and see it.

Wonderful Time

I spent the day with my art friends at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. It is a beautiful spot with a great collection of Canadian Art. Well worth the visit if you are in the area of downtown Klienburg. All and all an inspiring day!

Nice Surprise

One of my paintings of the Grand Canyon was accepted into the Pine Ridge Arts Juried Show and also won an Honourable Mention. A very nice surprise!

It has arrived

So it has come to this.......it is cold. While I don't mind the fall weather and enjoy cool nights and warm days I really don't like what comes after. So today was a sad day ....I wore my winter coat.

On a good note I am painting and things are working. Yippee