Grand Prix show still on-

It was raining on our outdoor painting day, Tuesday, so we headed inside the Seine Net Loft and painted inside. The front part of this building has a museum display and the back part continues the display of paintings from the Grand Prix last Saturday. I had decided to not work in acrylics as I was also going to spend some time going through the receipt books, getting ready for writing the cheques for the artists. So, I picked this artful arrangement of a net with its floats and worked in pen and ink . Then I added colour with water-soluble wax crayons - Cretacolor- and then used water for  a simple little sketch.  I may do some other outdoor work with these materials - and I think I'll do some Life Drawing this way for a change of pace for awhile. Some of the others were much more ambitious and painted the scene out the window. I settled for a few photos and I may try a larger studio painting later, of that scene. In spite of the rainy day, a lot of people came through to see the paintings. With more artists painting this year, we were fortunate that this venue was finished and we are able to use it. There has been a lot of good response to the show - and to the Grand Prix event in general. Wow! this was the fifth year!

September Art News

Digby wanted to be a colourful black cat, just like his sister Isabella in a previous post and on the August newsletter- so here he is. He is a very sweet little cat although a bit high-maintenance at times. He got scared by a dog the other week and went up a tree before realizing that he doesn't have the greatest balance as he has no proper tail. He  has condensed vertebrae and has no real neck either and is generally a bit boxy looking. So he had to be rescued.  A few nights later, he was keeping me company in my studio when he heard the new neighbour's dog bark. Digby growled to express his opinion of dogs in general.
Next major event is the Grand Prix of Art- billed as the top painting event  of the year in Richmond. It really is. As many as 100 artists will be out painting in a three-hour "race" at locations that have been drawn by lottery. I keep hoping I'll get Prickly Pear nursery and I carry kibbles in my pocket  to bribe the resident cats to pose - but no luck so far!  The public can walk around Steveston to see the artists in action and then view the finished paintings at the Bunkhouse in Britannia Shipyards afterward. The "race" day is September 21 and painting is from 10am to 1pm. The Gulf of Georgia Cannery whistle will be set to blow again at 1pm.( It blows every day at 12 noon. )There are prizes awarded by judges as well as a People's Choice award that won't be known until the exhibit finishes on the 29th. There is more information at www.grandprixofart.com

Maritime Festival

Richmond had its 8th annual Maritime Festival last weekend at Britannia Shipyards and the Richmond Artists Guild was invited to take part. We had a tent for a display of (mostly) maritime paintings. I set up the scheduling for "sitting" the show and for having painters on site. I was going to paint but found the sun too much so just did some sketching and photography- reference shots. I told everyone that it wasn't for selling but just to represent the Guild, make people aware that we exist, give out our new business cards and so on. We did get a good response. However, and much to my surprise, I actually sold a painting. It was "The Balclutha" which is an old sailing ship down in San Francisco. We had a perfect day when we visited it as it was sunny but very few people were there so it was easy to get people-free photos. Needless to say, I did not paint on the spot as just drawing all the rigging took some time before I even got to the painting. At any rate, the painting has found a good home. It goes to show that you never know when a painting will be in the right place at the right time. The Festival itself was really interesting with lots to see and do. For most of us, our favourite performer was the Eagle- on stilts- and I have recorded her in my sketchbook.