Local Show in Sherwood Park

The summer time is a bit of a slower time for me as I tend to focus on my garden (this year the weeds are definitely winning the battle with all the rain we are getting). I do have a couple group shows happening however. In Sherwood Park, I am one of four artists that has our art work displayed in the Atrium at the Strathcona County building. My works will be there until mid-October.

Summer...Art Workshops, Rain, Rain, Rain and a Couple of Art Shows

Wow! It has been three months since I last posted on this blog. Yikes...While our summer has not been the best...rain, rain, rain so it would appear to be a good time to do some indoor painting. However, I have been busy attending a wide variety of art classes...a  5 day fused glass workshop (wonderful), an abstract landscape painting workshop (fantastic) and a gardening workshop. With the August long weekend just around the corner, I can now apply all this new knowledge ...looking forward to sitting down at the easel.

There are a few summer time shows that I am participating in. I have the St. Albert art walk at The Bookstore for the month of August (opening/artist reception August 1). I have several pastel works on display in the Atrium in the Sherwood Park Community Center. And finally I was lucky enough to have two mixed media works juried into the "Air" exhibition which is currently on display at the Alberta Art Gallery.

With fall going up fast, I am getting set to prepare for the upcoming fall shows.

                             One of the small paintings I will have in the St. Albert art walk. 

Next Show This WEEKEND

I am participating in the St. Albert spring show "Alive".  Currently I have one painting entered but I am quickly finishing a second one.

Jasper Vantage I

An Unusual Show

I decided to challenge myself by entering a textile and fibre show. It was an "open" competition (no jurying involved, thank goodness) so I took a couple monoprints that were laying around and decided to incorporate elements more frequently associated with textiles into their composition. This activity required that I "think outside the box". I am quite pleased with the results of both pieces (don't know how the pieces will stand up compared to other mixed media works) but,overall, I enjoyed the process and the result. 

What Lies Beneath 

A Spring Art Show With a Twist

So in this year's annual art show for the Strathcona Art Society it was decided that artists would choose a photo (submitted from the public) and interpret the image in their own style. Up to three artists could work with a particular image. So with the photo I chose there were two other artists who also did representations of that image. It was really interesting to see our interpretations done in three different mediums (soft pastel, oil and acrylic). I  thought this innovative approach to
establishing an art show worked really well....loved the look

Winter Thaw...Spring Thaw and Spring Shows

With winter finally behind us and spring on the horizon, the art shows are coming fast and furious. I have works in several group exhibitions; the first show is this weekend (March 29-31) at the Ottewell Centre/Red Barn in Sherwood Park.

Hope Springs Eternal (soft pastel), 16 x 20 @ Ottewell Centre

The next show is in St. Albert at the Hemingway Centre (VASA) for their annual spring members show. Two of my works were juried into this show. I also have two works in the "Uncommon Threads" exhibition in Spruce Grove. (April 16 to May 3).

 I also have a solo exhibition at the Glenrose Hospital of my acrylic "quilt paintings" which opens tomorrow (March 29) and runs until June 27.

Waves (12 x 24), mixed media

How to deal with the Winter Doldrum...

This winter has been long and very cold. To combat any winter "blues" stop by the Muttart Conservatory (Edmonton). My exhibition of Alberta landscapes in soft pastels has only one more week before it is taken down. So stop on by...

Spring Show in Sherwood Park End of March

Working on my next pastel piece for the upcoming annual spring art show in Sherwood Park. I am working on a piece based on a photograph taken by one of members. It is a winter scene (my first one...so I am trying to decide how to handle all that snow...). Hopefully by the time of the show, it will be spring and the only snow around will be in my painting.

First Solo Show in 2019!

Yikes! I have been busy finishing some pieces for my first solo show of 2019 and then I went on a holiday ...so it has been a while since I posted. But now, I am back at home and have put up my first solo show of 2019 at the Muttart Conservatory (Edmonton). The show titled " Errant Wanderings" features my pastel interpretations of the Alberta landscape. The exhibition and sale runs from February 9 to March 9 so if you want to get away from the deep freeze Edmonton is currently experiencing come on down to the Muttart.

Working with New Papers... A Bit of a Struggle

With 2018 drawing to a close, I am getting ready for my first show in 2019 at the Muttart Conservatory(Edmonton) in February. I need some new pastel works for this solo show so in between prepping for Christmas I am working on surfaces that I am unfamiliar with. I normally work on hand-made sanded paper but this  "new" paper is store bought. It is also a sanded paper but I am finding that I can not blend the colours as much as I am used to. The paper does take a lot of pastels so I am on a steep learning curve in terms of application. In between conquering this new paper I am also doing a couple pieces on suede board which requires a different technique. Ah well...the life of an artist .....

Day Two of Christmas Market Place

Today is second day for the Christmas Marketplace at the Ottewell Centre/Red Barn, Sherwood Park. The doors open at 11:00 and will close at 4:00 p.m.. We had a great crowd yesterday but there are still plenty of unique artisan gifts and baked goods available for purchase.

A Quick Catch Up of All Events

Wow! I did not realize it has been such a long time since I posted on this blog. Yikes! I have been keeping very busy getting ready for the upcoming Christmas Market place that will be held this weekend (November 17-18) at the Ottewell Centre/Red Barn, Sherwood Park. I have been making a wide variety of items ( a lot of wooden tabletop decor). Tomorrow I start my baking....

Just Around the Corner

I am exhibiting works in two fall shows this upcoming weekend (October 26-28). One show is in St. Albert while the other show is in Sherwood Park. There will be a lot of driving back and forth between shows. Here's hoping the weather stays fine (above seasonal average) and attendance is great!  Everyone is welcome.

Fall Show in St. Albert October 26-28

Check out the evite with an image of one of my works.

A Great Workshop with Pastelist Joan Larson

This past Sunday I spent the day with several other students learning some fundamental/core ideas behind creating dynamic and powerful paintings. Joan Larson, a premier pastelist now living in British Columbia, taught a session on the value of "value". The premise of the workshop was that a painting will be dynamic if the values work. It does not matter what the colours are so long as the values work. " The colour gets the glory; the values do the work." We did several exercises throughout the day to test this premise. It was very liberating not to worry about getting the exact tint or shade of colour for a tree or shrub. The piece that I completed (still needs to be "pushed" ) started out with a brilliant red sky ; hence the title.."Sailors Delight". I like this approach to pastel work and may try my hand at more of these pieces.

My Fused Glass in St. Albert

I am pleased to announce that the Art Gallery of St. Albert will be selling my fused glass in their gift gallery. Currently my fused glass work is only available in Sherwood Park at the Loft Gallery (Ottewell Community Centre/Red Barn).

Mixed Media Workshop This Weekend

So today I attended a mixed media workshop taught by Doris Charest. Great workshop so far.  Today we were making many of the background papers and textures for our paintings tomorrow. Learned an overwhelming methods which I can not wait to incorporate into my own practice.

Gearing Up for Show in Sherwood Park

I just took down my show at the Glenrose Hospital and am now getting organized for my next show at the Loft Gallery in the  Ottewell Community Centre/ Red Barn in Sherwood Park. I am the feature artist for the months of September and October. The exhibition will include about fifteen pastel works, almost all of them new, which will interpret the Alberta landscape. The Loft Gallery is open every weekend (excluding statuary holidays) from 12-4 p.m.. Below are some of my newer works.

Finally Finished Pastel on Suede

I have finally finished a soft pastel on suede. The painting sat on my easel for over four weeks but as of today it is done. There definitely was a learning curve; had to develop a new technique. I do not know if I will return to using suede although I do have several pieces waiting in my studio.
This work will appear in the Loft Gallery (Ottewell Centre, Sherwood Park)  when it re-opens on September 8.

Sky Spirit

Great Time @ "Series" Red Deer College Again!!

I spent the last week in Red Deer College again for one of their Series courses. This one was in "Mixed Media Printmaking" with Tony Bousnall. The core of the course was on collography printing which I had never done before. It proved to be a steep learning curve but overall I can not express enough how much I learn at these classes.  Again..a great learning experience and met some fantastic fellow artists.