GuessWho? is November 4th!!

Something different today- I didn't paint this and I'm not telling who did - but this lovely 10x10 painting could be yours for only $100 at this year's GuessWho? sale... and then you will find out who the artist is. The sale is this Saturday, November 4th from 10 to 3 at the Pioneer Church at the corner of #3 and Steveston Highway-- the little church on the grounds of South Arm United. $50 goes to the artist -- so you see the artists are making a contribution too -of time,materials and talent. Then the balance goes to Richmond Food Bank - which is a very good cause especially with the colder months coming up. There are 132 paintings to choose from this year. They include paintings by artists whose works sell into the thousands - and also works by students of Steveston/London Secondary and some of these may be worth fortunes too when the student artists become famous!  Since they are all the same size and don't need framing, you can start to build up a collection. I have some sitting on  strips of wood painted the same colour as the wall. That way it is easy to get them at the same level without bothering with wall hangers. A gallery wall is a lovely way to enjoy a variety of paintings. Often I deliberately do something a bit different - so my challenge to you is to guess which ones I painted this year.

Back to the outdoors..

     "Bunkhouse Shadows" was the first painting I did in last years season of outdoor painting.  I was looking  out at some moored boats but the angle didn't especially appeal. The recommendation for outdoor painting is to look in all directions - so, when I looked behind me, I liked the look of the shadows cast on the bunkhouse at Britannia Shipyards.  We have started up our pleinaire sessions again this year.  I was out in Ladner last week but the painting is not totally finished. We didn't want to get stuck in the tunnel line-up, so left in good time - but also, the harbour boat I wanted to have in the painting was buzzing up and down the river so I'll have to finish it from a photo I took - ah, the challenges of outdoor painting ... and then there was the fish-boat that pulled up to the dock, exactly where I was painting. It was loading up for a trip to Alaska so there was an impressive amount of groceries going on board and I had to move in order to see anything else. Well, if I don't get to the painting in the near future, I can just print off the photo and have it for our indoor winter sessions.
     I was reading Alyson Stanfield's posting this week. She is the author of "I'd Rather be in the Studio"and also conducts workshops on art marketing. This time she was commenting on people who wonder if we should be doing things like painting when the world is in such a mess. She said "Making art makes you whole and allows you to contribute to the world from a healthier position". It certainly does feel great to be out with a pleasant group where everyone is doing his/her own thing. Even having an uncompleted painting- like mine this week- feels pretty good. I was enjoying the wonderful hodge-podge of a building across the river with its assortment of colours and materials, the shadows under the pilings, reflections in the water  and the fresh greens of new growth. It definitely needs the  boat to complete the composition was it was a good beginning to this year's outdoor sessions.