Painter's block.. the ominus white canvas !



Cheticamp, Nova Scotia - Acrylic 30 x 36

Most artists at one time or another experience what is usually know as a block.... similar to writers block.  We are just not open to ideas and the creative juices have stopped flowing for one reason or another.  There are any number of issues that can be the cause, be it health, family, work related, or just a state of depression.  Sometimes you can't even pinpoint the reason.

It can disappear just as easily as it crept up on you.  My floodgates opened again just this past October.  I was hesitant to go out into the art world again but my husband Klaus coaxed me into attending the Camp Samac Art Show.  All my friends would be there.  I was nervous but got myself in the door and that's all it took.  EUREKA !

It was like I had never left.  Talking to all my friends about art related subjects and looking at all the wonderful paintings on display was like breathing in a gulp of fresh air.

I promised not to go back into my shell and persevere with some studio work.  It was amazing that when I went back into the studio the juices started flowing just like old times.  Lots of ideas for new works and a renewed enthusiasm.

Within a few days I was marketing again too.  Took some work over to the Vault in Oshawa and signed up for the Colour of Life show at Cultural Expressions in Pickering and even had the courage to pursue a solo exhibit in Ajax for the month of July which was accepted.  The Station Gallery in Whitby was having a Member's juried exhibition and I was thrilled to bring in a new piece for judging.  It was entitled "Bridges Between Mind & Matter" - it was accepted into the show !

The biggest enjoyment is the whole process of covering a white canvas with a creative vision and seeing it come to a finished work.

  I'm so thrilled to be back in my Treehouse..lol

New Year - New Adventures - Renued Optimism

  This work is entitled "Dominion Shore Line, Cape Breton Island "

        Watercolour      7 1/2 x 14 "

 So here we go again, looking towards a new year with such optimism.  This past year has been one of health issues and uncertainty and I'm not unhappy to see the end of 2012.

 

So..... onwards and upwards we go with the dreams of wonderful paintings that have yet to be put to canvas and successful shows that have yet to be realized and new patrons to appreciate our efforts.

 

My last blog was about our downsizing move to a 3 bedroom apartment from our house in Ajax.  I'm happy to announce that we have embraced the lifestyle that apartment living has to offer.  We also have to tell you that we were coersed into becoming the Managers of the building not six months after we moved in.

 

You have to understand that this is basically a seniors building with only 4 floors and only 34 tenants other than ourselves.  These residents are amazing, they treat the building as their home and interact with each other as a family.  If one is unwell, everyone is making soup!   A lot of them have lived here for many decades and are weary of strangers.

We seem to have been taken into the fold and are most appreciative.

 

We can walk to Shoppers Drug Mart, the hairdresser and Bulk Barn....... you can't ask for more than that !

 

I get to tend the garden, put fresh flowers in the lobby, greet my neighbours every day and learn from those who have done it all.

 

Happy 2013 to everyone and lets have a wonderful time in the coming year.

 

New Adventures on the horizen

Yes, that's a moving van and we are knee deep in boxes, tape, markers and scratching our head as to where on earth did all this "stuff" come from.

We certainly don't remember dragging a few hundred books home... or who's idea was it to buy a piano anyway!!!

Downsizing is the new "buzzword"... it really just means trying to unload all your junk on anyone who will take it so you don't have to pay to cart it to the local dump.

I'm sure we will feel cleansed when all this is said and done and we are sitting smugly in our new digs sipping a glass of vino on one of our two little balconies overlooking a western view of Oshawa. We will probably also be wondering... " where is that book I've been meaning to read?.. " what do you mean, it went in the box for Friends of the Library??!!**%

I'm really not sure why we felt the need to have three floors of STUFF.... but it was always comforting... we'll maybe not on house cleaning day :)

Of course to add a little humour to the mix, I've started working again.... just when I need to be home packing boxes and worrying about everything... someone offers me a job! Of course I need the job but couldn't I have just won the lottery or something more convenient for the time being?

Now of course, like most people..... we are of the mind that all will be totally wonderful when the move is finished and everything is put away and the new drapes are up - because we will ride our bikes to the park and walk into town and do all those thinks that make such great conversation over a glass of wine in the evening but somehow never materialize in the light of day. Too busy, too tired, it's raining, it's too hot....etc.

We will definitely have fun checking out the neighbourhood to see where all the bookstores are...but I'm sure we'll take the car instead of the bikes :)

My 15 seconds....

Well, they say every dog has his 15 seconds of fame..... here's mine, at least for now!

Ajax Mayor Steve Parish honoured my work by purchashing this painting of the town's waterfront. He is shown in the photo presenting it, along with myself, to his associate Cherry as a retirement gift. He did the presentation at the inaugeral Council meeting in Dec.

On to other art happenings....... my artwork was selected into the juried exhibition at Whitby Station Gallery and Klaus and I attended the opening last Saturday. I'm certainly in some good company there with only about a third of the entries being selected for the show.

Cultural Expressions Gallery held a show of small works for the Christmas season and had a very successful opening where three of my pieces sold..... kind of a thrill because I was there when the pieces came off the wall.

Just finished some commissions that are being delivered today so the studio is a little quiet right now.

I'm off school for two whole weeks so I'm going to sleep in and just enjoy the holiday.

Merry Christmas to everyone and hope all your wishes for the new year come true.

New Adventures and Different Roads

The only one at the studio easel these days is Teddy! He's a little slow...but hey, not a bad start.

I've been caught up in so many things these past few months that the only art in my schedule is short breaks at the waterfront to do some sketching and reflecting..... there's a new word in there somewhere..lol

I've been involved in a program to get spiffed up for back to the business world and get a real paycheck. Finished an 8 week program and now it's off to school to get up to speed on the latest releases from Bill Gates. The first week of classes is history and I survived.... even the Thursday "Weekly Test Day"! One test in the morning and one in the afternoon. I only have 14 weeks to go and I'll be certified (probably literally)!

My sweet Klaus actually tried to make me eat breakfast on my first day of school....... we soon got that sorted! I promised to take an extra sandwich and eat it at recess - that's the best I can do.

My friends have been joking about a school uniform...... well my answer was.. my Cape Breton Tartan Kilt and red stiletos.... keep in mind that my friends are artists, they thought this was fabulous and can't wait to see it.

I did just finish a three day show at the Oshawa Art Assoc. Camp Samac venue and in November I'll have a solo exhibit at the Ajax Council Chambers which should be up til late December.

Durham West Art Centre will also be on my agenda for a one day show on Dec. 4th at the Kinsmen Heritage Centre in Ajax.... watch for the flyers.

Now..... if I could get Teddy to switch places so that he does the homework and I finish the painting..hmmmmm ?????

Life in the Art Burbs......

Well, after the last blog about juried shows and planting gardens...... I'm thrilled to tell you that the resident rabbit ate most of the salad garden and topped it off with the morning glory plants for dessert. Life goes on!!

The juried show saga about "waiting by the phone" quickly came to an end an hour after I dropped off my show stoppers....... I received a call that they had been rejected even before the jurying process started... Somehow I had neglected to read the fine print and submitted work that was unframed. Only gallery canveses were accepted unframed.....

Totally my fault and I'll get im next year!!!!!!!

So....... onwards and upwards. The newest work to be completed in the studio has actually been on the studio easel for quite a few months. I'm glad to say that it is now been signed, varnished, photographed and framed.

The working title is also changed to read "Forever and Always" - Acrylic on Stretched Canves 24" x 36".

I've also started a new piece that will be from the Pickering Waterfront - 30" x 40" - Landscape with a twist.

As my mantra says...... "Support Your Local Artist"

It's an investment in the future of our society.

To paint ?.... to plant ?.... or wait by the phone ??

Such a wonderful time of year...... the garden is ready for planting and the flowers and vegies are dancing around on the potting table waiting to get their preferred spot in the garden.
On the art side of the scale....... the juried competitions are in full swing. You fill out the applications, submit your jpegs, and wait to see if you have been accepted into the show. Is the work good enough?? Did you present the right pieces??.... maybe you should have picked a floral instead of a landscape painting to submit for judging!!!!.... or what if you had submitted an abstract instead..... what is the judges background? do they prefer watercolour instead of oil???
So..... you present what you think is your best work then ... sit by the phone like a girl waiting to be asked to the Prom!
What if nobody likes my work? What if I don't get picked?

You know....... if they don't like it..... "What do they know?!"
I like what I do.. and I do it for ME! That's what counts at the end of the day. So there!..lol