New Show at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery

Today was freezing cold in the Gulf of Georgia Cannery but we got the new show of works by Richmond Artist Guild members up and it looks good. I took "Summer Day, Steveston" as one of my pieces. I think the blue is a little more subtle than it appears here. I loved doing the  reflections on this painting. The reason the Cannery is never warm is because it really *was* a cannery and it had to be cool for the fish. It is built right out over the water - which you can see through gaps in the floor. The exhibits are really interesting and the painting exhibit adds to this by filling an otherwise empty area. We are featuring maritime and local scenery. This time there are a couple of swans in paintings - as swans now live in the Steveston area. It would be great if we sold some works but it is nice just to have a chance to get the work out to be seen by the public.

Iconic Edibles

I have some interesting news. There is a new restaurant in Steveston  "Living Cafe'" that has lots of good choices for special diets - Gluten-free, vegetarian and so on. They are going to participate in Culture Days this year - with a cooking demonstration. Also, each month will have a different artist's works on display. Excitingly, my "Iconic Edibles" will be the first up. Tomorrow, I am taking them in so it will be exciting to see a whole display of them.  I'll feature some of them here - and maybe get a photo or two of how they look hanging in the "Living Cafe"  - on Second Avenue just by Whale Watchers. This one is "Bok Choy" - I'll show more over the next month.

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

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!

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).

Paintings at Steveston

The Richmond Artists Guild was invited to display paintings in MLA John Yap's office in Steveston -right around the corner from Starbucks. Some paintings are on the Olympic sports theme while others are of Steveston and Finn Slough. Each one is by a different artist but they all work together very well and quite bring the office walls to life. Parking can be dicey in Steveston, but I got lucky and parked right outside the office - a good thing, since I had a four-foot ladder in the car for our hanging job. I took a little 24' x 12" acrylic on canvas painting called "Homeward Bound" so it would fit a little wall. It is a fishboat heading back up the Fraser River. It is a nice opportunity to show works- and we are hoping that we will be invited to continue with different shows.