Ready for upcoming show-

     I've got this one, called "Sandpiper Time, Britannia" for the show Richmond Artists Guild will be having May 6 to 10 in the performance hall at the Art Centre. I will also be showing the one - on a previous blog- of the fish-boat with the net being wound onto it as well as the one used on my last newsletter - so a local water scene theme for me this time around. The poppies will be going down to Rocanini for May through June 29.
      Tomorrow, the paintings will come down from the Gulf of Georgia Cannery as the last indoor Farmers market is held. We will, no doubt, be back again at a future date.
     Exhibition space is always a problem for artists, especially when there is not a real community gallery. We used to have biannual shows in Richmond Art Gallery as well as a preview showing for Artists Among Us - which was a precursor to DoorsOpen. Now the Gallery is only interested in so-called "contemporary" art- which is an interesting definition in itself. However, impressionistic and realistic art still lives and is produced and enjoyed by many.
     Ian Roberts in his book "Creative Authenticity" has comments to make about so-called "contemporary art". This is one book I keep returning to even 'though it is not an instruction book. It is a book that makes you think about the path you are taking with your work. Ian states that a work of art has to communicate something. "It reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw- "Just because no one understands you, doesn't mean you're an artist" Much contemporary art is very self-absorbed. It may have been fascinating for the artist to create, but it doesn't have the necessary hook to engage the viewer. We're left outside a private loop, perplexed."
      I'm hoping this one leaves no-one perplexed - but then it is not "Contemporary". This painting was the view from the Seine Net loft at Britannia Shipyards near the end of September. I wanted to capture the mood of the place and the feeling of history with all the pilings left from buildings or wharves of the past. I used thick gel to build up the texture of the pilings so they stand out from their reflections in the river. There is something almost magical about the light on the boats and all the reflections. Sandpipers, on their annual visit sit, carefully spaced, along a floating log while one perches on a piling.

One week later

It is one week after DoorsOpen and I am still reorganizing.  The laundry room wall had a "food wall" this year and some of the small paintings have moved on to new homes.  I will be re-hanging the gardening tools on that wall- actual loppers and clippers, not paintings,  but I thought it might be a good time to post a picture of the sixteen varieties of apples when they were displayed as a group in a show in White Rock. I call them "Iconic Edibles" because they have gold backgrounds like icons and are the focus of attention.  DoorsOpen was really busy this year as our group of three nearby artists was on the bus tour. It also seemed like some cars were following the bus as a lot of people arrived at the same time.  This year's Arts Awards ceremony was this past week at City Hall and I was a finalist in the Volunteerism category.  Lots of art activity in Richmond - but we still need display space for local artists.

still working on it...

I am not ready yet for DoorsOpen. Today is a nice day so I want to finish trimming the edges of the back garden which will make things look much neater. Of course, it is never as simple as just clipping grass- there are always those stray weeds that catch your eye - or more twigs to be picked out of plants. From the amount of twigs gathered, a person would think we would have branchless trees by now but the trees look fine and the branch shedding continues. I'm organizing inside too.  I'm thinking of putting "Danish Danish" in the laundry room with other "food" paintings when I take the garden tools off the wall. Things will look different this year as I painted the laundry room turquoise- quite a change from the white walls. Still too many paintings- most of the figurative work is going to end up leaning in stacks, I think. Yesterday, I had a visitor who didn't realize it is next weekend for DoorsOpen but she said she would be back. I promised cookies for the open studio.

After DoorsOpen

Richmond's DoorsOpen was last weekend- and I'm still not quite tidied up again. It was a good weekend- except for the weather. Unfortunately, the Saturday was wet so not as many people enjoyed the garden. Everyone was really nice and I had some interesting conversations - some in translation. One young fellow brought his parents. The Dad does traditional Chinese brushwork so was very interested in the paints and surfaces I use. I find the open studio is more of a community outreach than anything else. People like to see the workspace and ask questions. Some want encouragement to try art for themselves - or for their children. One Dad told his young daughter, "See, a lady *can* be an artist!" I wonder if older brothers had been discouraging her? People find we are (relatively) normal, that we try different things and enjoy what we are doing. I always put up some of my drawings (such as the one of Lawrence here) and put out sketchbooks too. Oh- and all the Neapolitan cookies I made got eaten.

Into April...

I've just done my April Newsletter and realizing that, yes, it is a month until DoorsOpen and there will be quite a bit of organizing to do- setting up displays, doing a re-hanging in the main display area, baking a few cookies so I'll have refreshments and figuring out which painting will be the "free draw". Not to mention actually taking advertising brochures around to as many places as possible. In the meantime, regular activities continue (and we are not mentioning the Spring garden clean-up) -such as Life Drawing and a new session starting for Sculpture. I'm working in water-soluble graphite for Life Drawing- in one of my periodic switches of mediums. The combination of the pencil and wash makes an interesting change....until the next switch. This is one of Lawrence done a couple of weeks ago.