Reading about Art

In a recent newsletter, Robert Genn commented that he was reading Steve Martin's novel "An Object of Beauty" about dealings in the art world of upscale collectors. Then he added that he- and most artists- don't usually read fiction. The clickbacks now show that lots of artists *do* read fiction and many read about art. I've got 238 pages into "Fall of Giants" by Ken Follet and I'm really enjoying it. I might even end up more knowledgeable about the whole 20th century. Certainly I already know more about coal mining than I did before. However, before that, I finished "The Forest Lover" by Susan Vreeland. I've enjoyed all of Vreeland's books - my favourite is probably "Life Studies", her book of short stories and my favourite novel is"Luncheon of the Boating Party" because it gives such a complete picture of the creation of this painting. However, I had put off reading about Emily Carr as I wasn't sure how I would react to a fictionalized account. I'd read Emily Carr's journals, heard about her and been in children's art classes in the old Vancouver Art Gallery where we were on the floor under paintings by Emily Carr, Lawren Harris and others. She influenced how I saw the West Coast. But, Susan Vreeland did capture her character very well and the descriptions of her trips to First Nation's lands were very well done as was the inner struggle with expressing herself. I could understand the need to invent a character like Claude for the sake of the story - but I really think, given the conventions and morals of the times, that any relationship between a "Claude" and Emily would never have happened. Still, it was worth reading and thinking about the contribution that Emily Carr made towards recognition for female artists. Now I'm looking forward to Vreeland's new novel coming out this January. ....painting here is "The White Gown" which is Iva in a wedding dress - and has nothing to do with reading.

Greetings!

Down to the count-down to Christmas. I'm interested in the response to cards this year. For the past while, I have been having photocopies made of the photograph of a painting. Then I've glued that down onto a card, written on the inside, identified the painting on the back - and so on. This year I used the computer program to select a card design (plain- all photo) and took an I-photo image of my painting. Then I selected the writing for inside and ordered them from Apple. They came all nicely packaged. I felt that the quality of paint shows up better. Slightly more money but a lot less work. The drawback was that the *whole* painting wouldn't fit the card shape and there was nothing to be done except show part of it. So far, people are quite enthusiastic about the card.I painted this picture because I liked the idea of two kinds of lanterns.I think we need all the light possible in a winter-dark season. The main lantern is an actual miner's lantern that my Dad used in his mining career. Later, he wired it so it could be used with a light bulb. I used "artistic license" to not show the cord. I'm wondering how it would look with a larger painting ("Lanterns" is only 10" x 20") as to showing brushwork and so on. I guess I'll have to wait and see about that... So... Happy Holidays to all!

Drawing Marathon

Behind in blogs again- one marathon was getting cards out. Then, this past weekend, I took part in a drawing marathon. I didn't do the whole 18 hours, but I did do 6. It was fun - and I certainly would take part again. Since I am not a really fast painter, I worked with coloured conte' crayons -a chalk pastel of medium softness. One session was a nude in 30-minute poses, after some warm-up poses. Another was a ballerina in a two-hour pose - again- after some warm-up poses. We had a showing with a reception at the end of the weekend and I thought I'd take my two-hour drawing. Upon reflection, I decided it was too pastel and too static and a thirty-minute pose was much more dynamic - so- here is my almost-reclining nude.

Change of Medium

I was just reading where Marc Chagall said "I work in whatever medium likes me at the moment". I certainly know that I like to switch around at times. Right now, at Wednesday night Life Drawing, I'm working in pencil crayons in a sketchbook. On Amazon, there was an offer for "Multicultural Crayons", "Colors of my Friends" - so- how could I resist? I ordered a box and added it to my stash. It has a nice variety of browns, mostly and gives some extra choice - but I still took the big Dick Blick collection. The crayons are nice but not as waxy and blendable as Dick Blick and Prismacolour. For now, then, I'm enjoying the change to coloured pencils. Each medium gives a different feel to the drawings. Here they are - and a sample drawing. The "15" marked on the page means it ws a 15-minute pose.

Small, Smaller and Smallest

The painting show of small size works opens this coming Tuesday - the 16th- at the Federation Gallery on Granville Island. It will be a good show as there will be lots of pieces in it and prices are very reasonable since the paintings are small. It makes a great opportunity to buy a one-of-a-kind Christmas gift -- and you don't have to worry about whether it will fit the recipient. I have a 12" x 6" painting of a cat in this show. I've called it "Bliss". I don't think any creature can get a more blissful expression than a cat! If you want to check out the show, the images should be posted on the Federation of Canadian Artists website once the show opens. Avoid the crowds at the malls and visit the Federation Gallery----

Not 68.9 Million

I read where Modigliani's seated nude has gone for 68.9 million- a record for his work. I wonder where it went. Let us at least hope it will be in a museum where people can see it. I read a wonderful short story by Susan Vreeland in her collection, "Life Studies", that is a fictionalized account of Modigiliani's daughter. "In the Absence of Memory" is well worth reading. Too bad that there is such a discrepancy with works by dead artists selling for huge sums while living artists are often making few sales at all. I think that there are lots of good artists around these days, with works at reasonable prices. But maybe that is the problem? I read where a fellow was ready to write a cheque for a painting, then when he found it was $2,000 and not $20,000, he didn't want it! I guess he just wanted to be a big spender- but if you like something, why not have it? If you enjoy it and 10 years later, it is worth more- well, good for all. If not, then you've enjoyed it for ten years and will probably still be enjoying it - so who cares what artificial price is on it? In the meantime, I'm carrying on with my own "Life Studies". This one is a coloured conte' drawing. She is standing, not seated - but I'd probably consider 68.9 *dollars*, rather than 68.9 million!

practical application-

Today I was going to spend the morning painting on a very large painting (well. 30" by 48")- but, instead, found myself working on my cat problems. My daughter's two cats are currently resident and have been menaced by a large prowling cat. CatStop electronic devices in the garden are out there- but have to be turned off if Digby and Isabella are let out. They *love* the garden but are terrified of this other cat that has attacked them. I take a water-gun out when I'm gardening and have succeeded in my shots, some of the time. Other times I end up chasing the cat and amusing the neighbours. Desperation leads to desperate measures - so now I have made up a poster and will print it out and post it up. -Oh well, art put to practical purposes.

Another kind of sculpture!

Before it is too late, I thought I'd post a picture of this year's Hallowe'en pumpkin. I'm against all the commercialization of Hallowe'en decorations. It is getting so people think they can't carve a pumpkin without buying a stencil. I decided that scary was not the way to go- stencils can be scarier!- and that I would just have to come up with a not-seen-everywhere design. I did a carving as if Picasso might have done it - and this is the result. I even got a few compliments from the trick-or-treaters coming around. However, it is from artistic glory to the compost box for this piece of sculpture.

trying again-

There seems to be no rhyme or reason when photos won't "publish" - can't click "done" if "done"does not appear!

Fraserview Church View Gallery

Sunday, the View Gallery opened a new show, following Margreth's.Larry Tillyer is the featured artist. This is called "Around the Corner" and is streets and houses around Vancouver. Done in Larry's colourful style, it is a joy to see. Barb Bowen, as usual, has done a great hanging job and the space shows off the paintings well. We are fortunate to have Fraserview doing this community outreach and giving artists a space to show their work. I know I certainly appreciated having paintings on show early this year. The picture shows Larry with Barb Bowen and a glimpse of Larry's impressionistic take on a house. I think I"d like to live there!

From October 21-

Steveston Folk Music Guild put on a very enjoyable evening's entertainment on the 21st. Marvin forgot his picture (!) and Rita hadn't finished hers, but Bonita, Adrienne and I took our paintings of Elsa for display. Elsa was really pleased with them all.Each one was individual and captured different aspects of the model and the idea of performance. In the photo, Bonita's painting is just peeking over Elsa's shoulder. It shows the drama and ambiance of performance. Adrienne's is in her colourful style. In mine, I wanted to have a lot of warmth as well as the sparkle of the model. Elsa has a wonderful voice and can do those "trills" to perfection. (Do not expect knowledgeable music critique from me!) - Jose Gimenez is Guitar in the duo - Sangre Morena. Songs from many Latin countries were performed and Elsa often made variations on her costume to suit the country. There was a good crowd out- even on a rainy evening!

Music and art together-

A few weeks ago our drawing group was fortunate to have Elsa Rojas Marquez model for us. I did a pastel as well as several sketches. Elsa allowed us to take photos so I had a photo-reference as well as the pastel.Then, it turned out that Sangre Morena - of which Elsa is the "voice" was slated to perform at Britannia on October 21st and Rita McArthur arranged that we could show our artwork. I decided to work on a painting as it is more "complete" looking. The pastel would have to be matted and framed with glass to be shown properly. I also wanted the painting to have more warmth than the conte' drawing. So - here it is! I will take it to the performance on the 21st.

-we try again

here is the photo

Grand Prix of Art- Steveston

The "sun dance" a volunteer said that she did for us, must have worked because we had a beautiful day for the first annual Grand Prix. For next year, I have ideas for improving the registration procedure - but, we did it and got everyone through on time! I had a bit of a time adjusting from my organizing part of the brain to the artistic section- and no time to go anywhere but stay at Britannia- but I did paint and had a bit of fun. I just painted two other artists in action. No masterpiece, but passersby enjoyed the concept. Everyone did a great job and the judges had difficulty choosing. All the results are on the website - www.grandprixofart.com ....so, here I am in a floppy Tilley hat, collapsed on the "stage" with my stuff all spread out. Not so sure if I'll post the resulting painting or not!

New show at View Gallery

Work and planning continues for the Grand Prix of Art ****this**** Saturday, but other art events continue too. Margreth Fry's show "Once Upon A Story" opened at the View Gallery in Fraserview Church on Sunday. Some of the paintings have accompanying stories that tell about growing up in a little Swiss village. Other paintings are some of her more recent work. I took this photo of Margreth by a fairly new one. Someone has converted a boat to shelves for potted plants and Margreth has captured it in her colourful way.

Sculpture class

Painting, of course, is a two-dimensional thing- although a person is representing something three-dimensional. Back at Art school, we took a sculpture class in the first year. I liked it- to a certain extent- but didn't feel it was my strongest point. However, we did work in pairs and did portrait heads. We had calipers to measure each other as they were life size. They were meant to be cast and never got to that stage.Last year I had the chance to take a sculpture class through Richmond Potters. We worked on sculptures that were fired. We did have an inner support that had to be removed later and the inside hollowed out. Since they were to be fired in a kiln, they were definitely not life-size. I worked from photos of Marjanka who had posed for some of us. I decided to do a head, rather than figure study - and- a bit to my surprise- it actually turned out quite well. It even survived firing! Now I have signed up for another session and am doing a complete (clothed) figure of a friend. It is a good experience to be working in three-dimensions. It is supposed to help your drawing...not sure of that... but it is interesting to do. The photo is my head before firing - now she is white in colour.

Elsa-

Last Saturday, at Adrienne's, we had a flamenco dancer model for us. Elsa is very dramatic looking and the poses were striking. For the "long pose", I worked in coloured conte' again ( hard pastel) as I am not a really fast painter. (I guess I will have to speed up for the Grand Prix of Painting in Steveston at the end of September!) I felt pretty good about capturing the tension in Elsa's arms in this pose. Now I intend to make a painting from this. Serendipity arises in that Elsa will be performing in October in Steveston and we will have a chance to show our paintings at her performance!

Doodling

One of the things artists are often asked is to make a donation. This is something most of us like to do - but, on occasion, as it can get out of line otherwise. However, I've just taken part in a fun "donation" - three sets of doodles being sent to "Oodles of Doodles", the fundraiser for Surrey Hospice association. I don't usually doodle in an abstract way - but rather faces or "things". For this, I did cats, kids and birds. Of course, they are fun and imaginary - and I hope they will work hard to help raise funds for the Hospice. Here is the bird one- birds have such extraordinary variety that they are quite "imaginary" to start with... but I tried to go "one better" in most cases.

Progress on the Plein Air event!

Well, much progress has been made on the plein air painting in Steveston. We are getting sponsors so there should be lots of "participation" awards for both artists and volunteers. There is a website set up now---www.grandprixofart.com which will have more information as time goes along- but whoa! time is moving along as this is all to happen on September 25th! The limit is 50 artists and I wouldn't be surprised if it fills up well before the date. The excitement is definitely building! In the meantime, I have turned the pastel (shown on the blog on November 27th,2009) of Milford, into the inspiration for a painting- shown here. Milford has the most interesting costumes! (and is an interesting person).

Another go...

As I've said, one of the good things about acrylics is that you can change things. Remember "Grandmother's Gown"? As in previous posts, I did work to warm it up once- but now I've had another go at it. This time, I made even more changes to the warmth- and also added an earring- and I feel much happier about it. The other thing I have been working on is an event for "Cultural Days" - a cross-Canada celebration of the arts at the end of September. The Guild is going to sponsor a plein-air painting event. Artists will have three hours to complete a painting - in the Steveston area- and there will be prizes. People can walk around to see the artists at work, and later even vote for "people's choice". It will be open to all artists but there will be registration. We don't have registration forms yet but Saturday, September 25 is the day to mark on your calendar for Steveston's Gran Prix d'Art.

Show in Hallway

Today the Richmond Artists Guild hung a show of member's work in the Minoru hallway of the Richmond Art Centre. I have two paintings in the exhibit. One is "Baskets" which is posted on my June 11 blog and the other is "Iris Garden"-which I intend to post here. Iris Garden is a view of a house (gardener's house?)and nearby irises as seen from the gardens of the Lieutenant-Governor's residence in Victoria, B.C. We had an enthusiastic group out with their paintings and there is a nice variety - definitely worth dropping in to see if you are in Richmond. Blogging has fallen behind as there have been many meetings and other events. Stay tuned for something exciting to happen for Cultural Days at the end of September. I've been working on something which is not ready for an announcement yet.

July's Art Scene - "To Each His Own"

Here we are in July and time for a couple of summer art events. The Summer Group Show at Omega gallery will be showing some of my paintings. Because of space limitations, not all will be hung at the same time. (But if you are interested, you can ask to see them) I have posted some in the blogs, previously- there is "Spices", "Lanterns", "Blink" and "Finn Slough Spring" - along with this one - "To Each His Own". The reason for the title is fairly obvious as the kayaker paddles past the yachts at Granville Island! The other upcoming event is the Fraser River Art Festival at London Farm on July 11th from 10 until 5. There will be a number of artists as well as face-painting for the kids. This is one I've never done before but I'm assured that it is fun- and I sort of got my arm twisted by a couple of other artists who told me that I just *had* to do it. I will be taking some of the small fruit and veggie paintings that work out great for kitchens as acrylic can be wiped off in the event of a cooking disaster! I'll also take a variety of other paintings, especially local scenes. Now all we have to do is hope that the weather cooperates - but we all have tents for coverage. ... and so we move through the summer...

Art Handling Olympics

The current issue of "Art News" magazine reports on a fun competition for art handlers. "Accompanied by music from Chariots of Fire, Rocky, and The Price is Right, contestants hung pictures of kittens, packed up pizza boxes and trash by artists named Panini and Bruschetta, and assembled installations without instructions." The goal was "to spotlight the skills that we use" and to bring art handlers together as a community. Onlookers had styrofoam chickens to throw at contestants in "Speed Hanging" and "Static Hold" among other rounds. One art handler vouched for the authenticity - "what you see is exactly- as a parody- what we go through." I was amused to read this after another episode of "art handling" that I just went through. Along with a number of local artists, I was recently in a situation where there was an hour to bring in and arrange a display to assist a charitable foundation in its fund-raising. Meantime, everyone else, and the caterers too, were going lickety-split to assemble their areas. It was a bit frantic and wearing - and because of poor sound, the attendees appeared to have no idea as to why the artists were there at all! I felt we were regarded with the same lack of enthusiasm that results from the realization that to exit the castle/tourist-attraction, you have to leave via the gift shop. Anyway, I had a few good conversations and nobody threw styrofoam chickens.- and here is a painting shown recently- "Baskets" is 12" x 16" framed acrylic on canvas.

"Limpid"

I've been noticing lately how one word often keeps cropping up repeatedly. Right now, for me, that word is "limpid". This is *not* a word that I am especially fond of. I somehow get a mental picture- if the word is used as "limpid blue eyes" - of someone with a vacant stare. Must be the "limp" part! I prefer to use "clear", "translucent" or even "pellucid". .. Anyway, this "limpid" keeps cropping up in a book I am reading about the Impressionists. The current one is a history - but, before that I read "The Swan Thieves", a novel by Elizabeth Kostova. The novel is about an imaginary woman painter during the time of the Impressionists but there are actual historical references too - such as the Prussians destroying hundreds of Pissaro's canvases. An interesting novel. I enjoy reading *real* art history and also historical fiction. I liked Susan Vreeland's "Luncheon of the Boating Party" - all about Renoir and the painting of his masterpiece. Some other glimpses of Impressionists were in a few of the stories in her "Life Studies" too. Thankfully, neither Kostova nor Vreeland were addicted to the use of "limpid". I'll post a painting that was in the recent show at the Federation Gallery - Roman winter- are the colours "limpid"? I think of it as clear winter light...

Life Drawing

For the recent "DoorsOpen", I made a display on one wall that had drawings from one life-drawing session- Iva in her ballet outfit- and then I posted the following explanation. Life drawing is called "life drawing" because it is drawing from life - from a live model. The model is often "undraped" (nude) in order that the artists can better understand anatomy. Sometimes the model is "draped" (clothed)- which can actually be harder as besides needing an awareness of how the body is moving under the clothing, the artist has to draw the clothing itself, with all its folds and drapery. Each life drawing group has its own format as to how the poses are set up and the timing planned. One person is the timer and, usually, another sets the lighting. Some groups are silent but it is more usual to have music playing. Again, the music will vary with the group. In the group in which these drawings were done, the format is five one-minute poses, five two-minutes poses - for warm-up - then four five-minute poses which are actually the same pose but the model rotates 360 degrees. This rotation pose is excellent practice in anatomy and drawing from different angles - along with the problems of "foreshortening", the term used to describe perspective relating to the human form. Then, in this group, we do a "long pose" - half an hour, then a coffee break followed by a return to the same pose for a further hour. The last hour is in two half-hours to give the model a break between.

Brushwork Variety reception-

Last night was the opening reception for "Brushwork Variety". The Federation Gallery looked great and the paintings were all nicely grouped and displayed to advantage. The back wall had at least one from each of the seven artists in the show- which was a really nice touch. We had a good turn-out and everyone seemed to enjoy the food. I did a bit of sitting after the concrete floor got to me. (I found I was stiffening up with standing!) However, a night's rest cured that. This painting is one that is in the show. It is "Trastevere September" and is just a walk down from where my daughter was living in Rome. I love the way light comes down between the buildings and catches on the cobblestones. It is amazing how the streets last through time. Apparently, drainage is actually better with cobblestones. Another thing is that they are endlessly recyclable so no doubt are more environmentally friendly than our flat asphalt. My paintings are from the trip to Europe but the rest of the show has a lot of variety and much appeal. It runs through to May 2nd and is worth a trip to Granville Island.

The Diva

Tomorrow is "delivery day" for the Finn Slough paintings. Then the exhibit will run Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday just to noon (pick-up time). As noted last post, the reception is Friday evening. On Valentine's Day, a number of artists were invited to a tea at Finn Slough. This was a very nice event and all of us who went, really enjoyed it. I was pleased to meet "Barbra", the subject of this painting. The cat is actually a male, but is a real diva. He looked so elegant sitting in the window, backlit. I was able to get a number of photos. (Cheers for digital when you can just keep snapping away and not "waste film" if the subject turns his head.) At any rate, this was fun to paint and will be something different for the show.

More Events!

Much is happening. I've finished two new paintings for the Art About Finn Slough show and will be taking them over next week to the lecture hall in Richmond Arts Centre. The reception will be on Friday evening, April 9th, from 7 to 9 pm. A lot of planning is now going in to the Federation of Canadian Artists Group Show in which I am to be one of seven selected artists. We are: Bob Araki, Sharleen Hartfiel, Etsu Inouye, Michael Knox, Larry Tillyer. David McHolm and me, Loraine Wellman. We are calling it Brushwork Variety. This will run from April 2oth to May 2nd in the Federation Gallery on Granville Island. We are having a reception on April 22 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm when the artists will be there and there will be refreshments in abundance. Bob is bringing sushi and I'm making butter tarts - and there will be lots more! ... and May will start with DoorsOpen May 1st and 2nd from 10 am to 4 pm, when I will have an Open Studio... more on this later. Last blog showed a Finn Slough painting- so this one will show one from Granville Island - not one in the Group Show, but one that is currently up at Omega Gallery.

Finn Slough

Right now, I'm working on two new paintings for the Finn Slough Art Show, which will be April 8, 9 and 10th - with the reception being on the 9th from 7 to 9pm at Richmond Art Centre in the Lecture Hall. The one I did last year is "Finn Slough Spring" and is one of the five paintings up at Omega Gallery.
Finn Slough is one of the few remaining pieces of natural near-wild riverside environment. It dates back to the early 1890's when a group of Finnish people arrived in south Richmond. That, of course, was before the area was even known as Richmond. Because of flooding - hand-built dykes did not really keep the river off the land- a lot of the houses were built on pilings. The settlers were mainly fishermen and needed a safe harbour for their boats. Today, there are still fishermen, fishing nets and fishboats but many of the people living at Finn Slough are active in the arts- painting, design, music and so on. They have a society which is endeavouring to preserve and maintain the heritage values of Finn Slough. For a painter, the place is a "natural". I wonder how many paintings and photographs there are of the "Mermaid III" ? I was sorry when the old net loft collapsed into the river as it was lovely to paint- with the interesting shadows created by its boards. Every painting I have done of the "Eva" has sold - but, no, I'm doing something different this year.

Lanterns at Omega

I was up at Omega Gallery today - and noted that traffic definitely seemed lighter. Could it be that more people decided that the Canada Line is the way to go? It certainly makes it easy if you are going downtown but it doesn't work for going to Dunbar with canvases in the trunk! Tien Ching decided to keep five for now. One is "Blink" from a couple of blogs ago and one is "Lanterns" which I'll post here. The miner's lantern is a real one that was actually used by my Dad at Coleman, Alberta. Later, he wired it so it could be used as a lamp. I don't actually use it but I'm glad to have it as a bit of history with a personal connection. Tien is not displaying these paintings right now but a person can always ask to see them! This was interesting to set up - first I had a lighter background because I liked the cast shadows of the lantern plant (Physalis alkekengi ) but then it didn't seem right to have a miner's lantern sitting out in the light, so I re-draped the stand and settled on the darker background. After adjusting the light, I was fairly pleased as I felt it captured the glow that lanterns provide.

Olympics and Artistic Growth

Well, the Olympics are coming to a close. I've found myself more interested in speed-skating after our drawing groups involvement in a speedskating project. We went to watch some practices and an early competition. We were able to do sketching and also take photos. Then we completed a painting or two for submission to Speed Skate Canada. We also made a group collage of our sketches. Selected paintings and our collage- along with a wonderful video documenting our project (made by Mike Hughes) - were then exhibited in Richmond's City Hall and are currently being auctioned off. Some are also printed on cards and even posters. It was a really interesting project and I was glad to be part of it- although my painting was not selected for the big display. We had fun being at the Oval and had a great group camaraderie. I had a great time studying how artists have portrayed movement- and I enjoyed trying to do so. However, this *did* result in a painting that would not easily lend itself to being copied commercially! Definitely it would not work for printing on a sweat-shirt, for example. However- another interesting attempt - and isn't it, after all, through trying different things that we grow as artists?

Life Drawing variables

Life Drawing can change from group to group. In one group we always start with 5 one-minute poses, then five two-minute poses and then a four-times-five pose in which the model poses for five minutes then rotates 90 degrees to assume the same pose- until a full 360 degree turn has been made. That's a good one for improving drawing ability from all angles. Then, in that group, it is on to 10 minute and 20 minute poses - so lots of variety to the session. In another group, we have a long pose -usually one and a half hours, after the "warm-ups". Of course, this is broken up with breaks for the model. Sometimes this is draped, or semi-draped. This pose gives some a chance to paint - or, for me, a chance to get out the coloured conte' crayons and do a pastel. I'm not a fast painter but I love the chance to work in colour and to have time to work on a "likeness".

New Gallery

Well, I'm *almost* up-to-date as there has been a new digital gallery added - Gallery 2009. I've just been adding titles and sizes to the images. Quite a few are European paintings. Funny, it doesn't seem that long ago in some ways- and like a million years ago in other ways. This is one of the "not- Europe" paintings. The title "Blink" is because one of the books is just that. So, would the impression of the painting also be made in a blink? The jug is an original piece of pottery bought at Circle Craft on Granville Island.

We'll try again-

-and here should be the photo

Ceperely Park

The exhibition "Just a Season" continues at Fraserview Church (until February 28th) I had quite a few questions as to where Ceperely Park was. It is actually part of Stanley Park and I'm not quite sure why that piece got a separate name. Further, I gather that the name is no longer in common use. It is the area with the playground by the swimming pool. I understand it also included the area beyond Lost Lagoon where there is the little stone bridge. There are also group picnic table areas and I remember being on a Sunday School picnic there once. My painting is in the winter, however, with the sun setting. There are ducks silhouetted in the foreground water. The row of trees in the background is along the Seawall walk. This photo shows Barb Bowen adjusting the painting.

Rachel Revisited

One of the neat things about acrylic paints is that they can be painted over. After viewing the painting of Rachel - see two blogs ago- I decided that it had to be warmed up. So I did some glazing with this result. The model has a cool skin tone and there was no "real" background- just more artists. So I had just used a complimentary colour. However, it was a cool complementary - and the later decision was to warm that up as well as warm the skin tones just a bit. I'm not sure the difference shows in a photo - but it does when you see the actual painting.

"Just a Season"

"Just a Season" was the title Barb Bowen decided on for the exhibition I am having at Fraserview Church (11295 Mellis Drive) which opens this Sunday (January 10th). Barb wanted my snow paintings but then also some hinting at a turn of the season to Spring.I'm glad that snow is confined to the paintings and the mountaintops and isn't down here making traffic miserable like last year. There will be a reception at 11:30 AM. Church is at 10 - but people can come to just the reception. Having an art gallery in a church is such a nice thing and it is exciting to be showing there. With the Art Centre regular functions closed down because of the Olympics, classes are moving temporarily to Fraserview - so there should be lots of traffic through the church then.
The church will be projecting one of the paintings on the big screen in the sanctuary before services start and also using one on the church bulletins- so that is really nice too. "Winter Pond" is the one on the poster and is quite recognizable to people who walk the dyke by Sturgeon Banks. Part of my "artist statement" says "I want my work to be representational to the extent that the viewer can feel 'Oh yes, I remember that', but I also edit and emphasize so that something more is felt, the essence of the moment is evoked and a connection is made to the viewer."