Tide pool 5: Aliens amongst us

I just finished this painting, or at lest I think it's finished. This is one of the paintings I did in South Carolina last month. It was a 'fail' so that means it was  ready for experamenting on.

It's been cut up, painted over, collaged on and at last I'm sorta happy...

The subject is some of our beach finds. I miss my beach walks, sigh. 

I thought the the crab 'skeleton' was other worldly looking so the working title has been 'aliens amongst us'. What do you think?

Things you find when you clean your studio....

We're doing some plumbing reno's in my studio, and in the back of the closet I found a pile of rejected work.  Most of it was justifiably discarded, but this one.... I think is a keeper.
 I've also worked on some jewelry blanks I  found in that closet...aka Aladdin's cave.

Besting the Demon

I overheard a conversation today that really disturbed me.
I work in horticulture 1 1/2 days a week to supplement my art income, and one of my accounts is B Tower at Victoria hospital, home to the psych ward.
Three nursing students were having thier break in the garden there and talking about a clinically depressed person.  " I just want to tell her to shake it off, there's aways a bright side, I mean she's so full of herself'
I was about to say something but they left just as I was approaching, so here it is...
When a person is clinically depressed they can't "shake if off".
This is a medical condition, cause by a chemical imbalance.  No amount of wishing will make it go away, no amount of hoping will make it go away, it takes medication, time and support from people who care. 
Telling someone to "buck up, or shake it off" is the worst thing to do.  Trust me, a person who is clinically depressed is totally convinced that they are worthless, a waste of space, not deserving of even the air they breath, and to tell them to 'shake it off' will just convince them even more of this.
A person who is clinically depressed isn't 'full of themselves', they are in fact empty, so empty they ache, and feel like their soul has bled away.
I know. This is a demon I've fought most of my life. I can honestly say that Art saved me. Art gave my soul back to me.
I know those young chickies won't see this, and probably wouldn't 'get it' if they did, but maybe you will....I can only hope.

Installation: Rooted in Hope, artist: Ruth Davis currently at the London Regional Cancer Clinic Contents to be distributed through the community.

The experiments continue

It took Thomas Edison 3000 tries to get a working light bulb.

I truly hope I can figure out how to make a successful painting in fewer attempts than that. I know I'm close, just not there.

So why am I doing this? Well first of all I was getting bored.

Plus I was going to great effort to paint an accurate and realistic 'element' on tissue paper, to collage onto the 'background' , only to discover the reason my work had been rejected in several competitions was because the back ground and 'element' were so different in style that jurors thought I had 'taken' an other artists work for the foreground...me who is so careful about not infringing on copyrights.

Also I was getting bored.

There is also the eye strain issue, one is weaker and lately close detailed work has become a challenge.

Also I was getting bored.

So, time to shake things up.

The super skins thing is still not doing what I want, I used a bucket of pouring medium, but found the results were too fragile to un-mold, I'll figure it out yet...

My latest adventure is using a painting knife. I see possibilities with this one, the learning curve is steep, as with all experiments, some things work, and some don't. Tell me what you think.

Finally some rain, invisable drought

I have my windows open so that I can hear the birds and frogs celebrating the rain. In the year of the 'invisible drought'. We've been getting just enough rain to keep things alive, but not enough to help them grow. Sigh, my veggie garden is just about a bust,

can-watering from the almost empty rain barrels isn't doing the trick.

The Art Exchange in Wortley Village is doing a square foot show, I wasn't going to enter any work, my excuse... time, as in I don't have any, but Candy talked me into it...she does that a lot it seems lol.

This piece is a bit of an experiment, and I'm not sure that I'm that happy with it. I'll bust my buns to get a different one ready for the end of the week, but for now this is my offering.

Once again I must apologize for bad photography, I had a hard time taking a picture that didn't have glare...love that mother of pearl glaze, but...

Opening night Port Stanley Guild show

Beautiful show, over and over, that's what we've been hearing, just beautiful.

It's our 22nd annual show and there is some astonishing art. Since so many of us have 'been around', and therefore have had time to grow our art skills, the show just keeps getting better, as we do.

This is a very bad photo (forgot to take it until the painting was in a crystal clear bag) of a (if I may say so) magical piece, that is at the show.

I've gotten several compliments on it from my peers. This is the direction I'm going, less representational, more atmospheric. I've wanted to take this step the last couple of paintings, but leaping from the ledge is a bit scary, however as I was completely dis satisfied with my work, I had to take the step. I learned years ago, when nothing I'm doing seems to be 'right' it usually means I'm about to 'grow', so leap, I did.

Holiday painting challenge 2 "Peace"

The second word of the holiday painting challenge from Creative Catalyst was "Peace".

The image that immediately sprang to my mind was the white dove bearing an olive branch, a classic symbol of peace.

The greatest challenge with this one was designing the silhouette of a dove. I lettered peace on a piece of terra skin (still in love) with gold pigment infused gel medium, by stamp and stencil in various type faces and sizes, then layered on a few contrasting colours, ending with a thin layer of gesso. When the layers were dry I sanded through to the gold gel then cut out the silhouette. The olive leaves came from my terra skin scraps. Everything was assembled on a Payne's grey painted 5x7 canvas.

Hubby says it looks like a Christmas card. Since I actually created it with the intention of adding this design to my printed cards, I guess the design is successful, if a bit of a cop out :)

STEPAC The gift of art show/sale TONIGHT

Christmas is in the air. The hospitals I work in (art teacher/hort tec) all have their decorations up, the malls and stores are in over drive, and ST Thomas Public Art Centre (STEPAC) is having their annual Gift of Art show and sale. The artist's who regularly contribute to the displays in the gift shop will be setting up tables in the main gallery showing and we hope selling our art, and hand made jewelry etc.

A portion of sales (debit and credit only, cash sales go directly to the artist, without commission) will be going to the gallery to help support ongoing programs like children's art programs, education programs, and special events. So come on out and get those credit/debit cards smokin'.

wild sunflower collage painting

Well, if I was to charge minimum wage for the hours I put into this one....
Finally the 'difficult' painting is done. I must say I learned a lot doing this one, and crazy person that I am I'm in the planning process for another one 'the same only different' as Mom would have said.


I learned that contrary to popular belief, terra skin can rip, that too big an area looks dead, no matter how much texture and how many colour layers there are on it. And that the magic of close complementaries is still magic not matter what, or how you use them 'course that one's a no-brainer :)
The reference photo for this was taken in my garden last summer. My beloved grand-dog has unfortunately trampled this heliannthus as it is (not was, hoping it will come back) in the corner closest to our neighbour who has a lady Lab, that he's quite enamoured with. I love the big galut, and so do most of my students. Good thing, since he's come to live with us, my poor garden will never be the same.

Here's a great quote from Carolyn Henderson who writes for Fine Art Views:

"All of us who are artists and writers know that we are like ostriches in a flock of flamingos..."

Or maybe the muggles are the ostriches with their heads in the sand relying on us to show them the beauty of the world...sorry if I offend 'regular folk', it's not easy being the odd one, ya know.


I hope to see you all at the Portside opening tonight 7-9 Portside Gallery Port Stanley

Butterflies everywhere butterflies

Many of you know that my property is registered with the Canadian Wildlife Federation's habitat program. This year has been our best year for 'critter spotting', and many of our visitors are of the flutter by sort, like this red spotted

purple butterfly, who kept me company as
I hung my laundry last week.

I've been spending a lot of time lately stalking butterflies with my camera, I've also been gifted with the opportunity to 'shoot' several of our birds eating the seed of some of my so called (by my crabby neighbour) weeds. All of which is food for the muses.

I've been very remiss with my newsletter this summer, partially because of a chaotic personal life, and partially because I'm still waiting for word from the Woodstock Gallery. The date to pick up rejected works has come and past... so does that mean both of my pieces got in? This is the third year I've submitted, third time the charm? or have I just missed an e:mail. I think I better contact them today and find out.

The Elgin Studio Tour is coming together nicely watch the blog/website I put together for it for developing details.

pear painting, triptych with texture

Have you ever had a disaster of a painting. One you spent hours fighting, and it just refused to work? The idea was good, the colour and values fine, but it just wouldn't gel...

I spent waaaaay too much time trying to fix this one, in the end in shear frustration I cut it up and remounted it as a triptych, now it works.

I like it so much I think I'm going to try a few more triptychs. I have a couple of art fair's in the offing, that I need some kick a$$ work for, and this just might fit the ticket! Ya gotta love it when the Phoenix rises, and brings a whole new perspective with it!

I'm calling it 'Pears N' Squares' (thanks Bob for the title), I forgot to photograph it before I took it to the gallery hence the cockeyed photo, it'll be part of the new show we're opening tomorrow, at the AGL.

Work In Progress

It's a w.i.p. week, this is just hours away from completion, but it's just been one of those weeks...and the next one and the next one and the...hmmmm seems to be a pattern here.

The back ground is done, but unfortunately I tried to hurry the drying process and the masonite warped, so now I've got it damped down and weighed down in the hope that I can straighten out the mess my impatience made, sigh.

The collage element is almost done, I have one more butterfly to do and the bowl the flowers are in, and yes for those of you who aren't familiar with my kinda weird process that's tissue I'm painting on :)

The Amabile Choir fund raiser art show/sales is hanging at Masonville Library, the opening night sale/auction is Saturday Feb. 5th 2-4, I have three pieces in, there are 90 works ranging from work from textile to clay to glass and of course lots of paintings. Reading the list of the artists who have put in work is like reading a who's who of London Artists!

And don't forget, the opening for Portside's Mini show is Sunday Feb 6. 1-4. See ya there!

I never know what to title these things!

Yep, that's a cop out title. All the web marketing types talk about how important a good title is, but man o' man I have trouble coming up with something riveting! A cousin of mine just titles hers art for arts sake, and is done with it. I may steal your idea Deb :)

A week or so I 'came out' with my goal to do two pieces each week, and wouldn't you know that the art isn't co-operating. The first piece is I think, done, I actually painted a rose to collage onto it, but I like it so much just the way it is, that I haven't put it on.

The second one, is making me crazy, my idea for it just won't gel into something that works, again I've painted collage pieces for it, but nothing is working, so my salute to Botticelli's Venus sits, waiting for completion ( The birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli is one of my favorite works of all time). Since I promised you two, here they are, even if one is just a w.i.p.

St T Guild Show and Gallery News

It's almost here!

The Show in St Thomas 'Art Before Christmas' is less than a week away.

(Friday 6-9, Saturday 12-9, Sunday 12-4, 810 Talbot St, see the side bar for details)

The women who are organizing it, June Anne Reid and Sandra England (also members of the gallery) are doing an amazing job. It's going to pull all the stops!

I haven't been as involved in the organizing of this show as I have been in shows past, which has left me with more time to do marketing etc for the gallery, this was, of course, 'the plan'. Gotta have a plan.

We finished painting the gallery this week, and have the furnishings in. Rose Klein and Vivian Tserotas did an amazing job on the furnishings. The gallery is very sophisticated and contemporary looking. This week Viv and assistants will start hanging the art, and then..........Wednesday November the 17th...........we're open!

OMG

I have butterflies the size of pterodactyls.

Also, Saturday November 13th Mary Louise White, and artist I truly admire, has her opening at the St Thomas Public Art Center 7-9 pm. I Love Mary Louise's work. She's a great inspiration to me.

hawk painting, Hawk Spirit #1 Native American

It's been another super busy week (excuses for late post follows). Well O.K. lets just sum up by saying art shows, art stuff, art work, and life.

I am pleased to say that the first of the Salthaven pieces is finished...although it's whispering to me about a few minor touches here and there, they are minor.

I have a couple of commission pieces to work on before I can get into #2 which will be Ancient Egyptian, but it wants out of my brain and onto canvas so, soon my friends soon.

Here's a pic of one of the art show's I did this week (Woodstock), the other in Copenhagen was a disaster, it was super windy and my set up blew over. I was lucky. I damaged my display stands, and a few frames but the art is O.K. Another artist wasn't so lucky. The sad thing was that the show was very poorly attended and sales thin on the ground. Weather may have had a bit to do with that, but I don't think that that's a pond I'll fish in again.

One of my fav art writers Clint Watson wrote an article last week about how in conventional business you know who your market is and you focus on them, in art business it's not so cut and dried, so you have to be like a fisherman and cast your bait into many ponds until you find the one for you. I'm getting some bites, but I'd still like to find the pond with the 'big ones'. As the wife of a fishing fanatic the analogy spoke volumes to me. I just hope I don't spend as much on boats, baits and bobbers as DH has, to get a few bites. I want to catch my limit! lol.

Humming bird painting with bee balm

Since my newsletter last week, a couple of things have either changed or come up.

The change is to the date of the Horticultural society plant sale, we've moved it ahead a week to Thursday May 20, 3-6pm, May 21, 3-6pm, and Saturday May 22 9 am-12pm. We had originally planned on avoiding the long weekend, linking with the fireman's breakfast, however, great news, we received word that we will be getting a huge donation of perennials, on the 17th, so we want to have the sale while the plants are fresh.

Catherine and I had not planned on being in the St Thomas Studio Tour. However an opportunity has come up for us to share studio space next door to friends of ours, Sharon and Daniel Brassard. I don't have the exact address yet, but their studio is in the old Alma Train Station on Wellington St west, St Thomas.

Finally, I've finished my latest painting, I think.... :)

It's called 'flight path', and it's part of my pollinators series.

Hummingbirds are everyones favorite pollinator. Sometimes the little guys, or as in the case of the bird in my painting, the little gals, cheeks and bibs are covered in yellow pollen from their lapping at nectar. Some flowers are designed so that only hummingbirds can pollinate them, and many more are pollinated by hummers as well as other pollinators.

So the next time you see one buzzing around enjoy, and say a silent thank you.

Showy Lady Slipper painting Queen of the Fen

Queen of the Fen is an apt description of Cypripedium Reginae. In most of it's range it's under sever pressure or even extinct.

However here in Ontario thanks to the far sightedness of the Purden family there is a huge colony of these beautiful orchids in the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority near the village of Lanark, about an hour east of Ottawa. We saw these beauties on a Canada Day (July 1st) weekend a few years back. All I can say is WOW!

Part of the problem is that like all wetlands the importance of Fens has been misunderstood until recently. A Fen is fed by a moving water source ie: a spring or stream, and is therefore less acidic than a Bog which is fed by rain and is a 'closed' system. Every time 'they' dredge a stream... a popular thing to do around here... a potential/former Fen is destroyed.

This past week (busy busy busy) we went on a 'gallery crawl'. Most of the shows were great, but the one that most stands out in my mind is the Cambridge Galleries Fiber Art show. It was totally amazing, and made me glad the warmer weather is around the corner, so that I can make some more paper (room and mess issues=outdoor activity).

On of the best reasons to crawl galleries is the inspiration that you/I get by looking a wonderful art.

Speaking of wonderful art, at the last STEAG meeting Candy Mcmaniman gave a presentation on how she achieves some of her effects, I've always loved Candy's art, and my art has probably subconsciously been influenced by contact with her, although I was already on this road before we became friends. Candy, Catherine Roxanne Jervis and I, and several others will be at St Paul's Cloister Art again this summer. Come check us out in July and August, and if you're near Ottawa between mid June and mid July, go and pay homage to the Queen of the Fen.

"They Paved Paradise" collage mixed media of Great Blue Heron

Yeah! It's done. The mica paint came in on Monday, and today was the first day I've had to work on finishing "They Paved Paradise".

The effect is subtle, but very worth it. It has a gritty, Emory board kind of feel, and in the context of this painting, it does look like asphalt.

I choose the Great Blue Heron to represent all of the marsh creatures. It is iconic of the North American wetlands.

When I was young seeing a heron was rare and exhilarating. They have made a wonderful comeback by adapting to new environments, hench they are now the scourge of back yard water gardeners. Unfortunately other denizens of the wetlands aren't as adaptable.

Salamanders, frogs, various insects, and plant life all need the marsh and bog to survive. Thanks to the Canadian Wildlife Federation and Ducks Unlimited habitat is being saved and re-created. It is no longer considered acceptable to drain and fill in wetlands when building, but developers put in drainage ponds... not the same thing.

The increase in water gardening helps, especially if the gardener puts in a bog garden. Both of my ponds include bog gardens and bulrush bio-filters, they're very easy to make and extremely effective, and attract all kinds of interesting birds and critters.

On a slightly different note, signs of spring are every where, and today when I was out walking around the garden the first flock of swans flew over on their way to the Aylmer wildlife refuge. Awe inspiring!

So... I'm a bit nuts

Work in progress, 'They Paved Paradise' is done - except for the 'asphalt', which will go over the blocked in black areas. My favorite art supply store Mercury Art Supplies tells me that the mica paint will be 2-3 weeks coming, so I've got to be patient... argh! That's a challenge lol.
This week I had a Lady tell me emphatically that I was nuts, O.K. so painting on tissue is odd... I love the effect of the layers of semi transparent colour. They remind me of stained glass windows. I love the texture of layers of tissue too, soft and a bit crinkly. If I were to then add a realism 'element' on another painting surface that was thicker/harder and more opaque it just wouldn't have the effect I want. When I collage/stick the element onto the layers of stained and printed tissue it sort of melts into them, and they become a whole, v.s. a collection of disparate bits.
Painting on tissue is a delicate process, but if you're careful to ensure that it never gets too wet (hair dyer...secret weapon) it's well worth the bother.

wetlands vs waste lands

Some paintings happen very quickly, almost painting them selves, most are somewhere in the middle, and then there are those that simmer and bubble in the back of your imagination, for ages before they are ready to be painted.
"Paved Paradise" is one of the latter.
I still have a way to go with this one, and I'm not yet ready to show it to you, but I thought I'd share a bit of my thought process with you.
Wetlands are often seen as waste lands, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Not only do wetlands provide habitat to a wide range of creatures, they are also the most effective water purification system in the world, far far more efficient than anything man has made.
They are also extremely effective at flood control, acting like a sponge absorbing excess water from storm surge, before it causes damage.
World wide over 50% of wetlands have been destroyed/drained, in some places the loss is closer to 90%, scary.
I started researching wetlands when I started the 'At Risk' series, while the wetlands aren't exactly a species they are definitely at risk.
So this painting will be part of the series.
Map symbols, mosaic of map and money bits, and of course realism 'elements' all are part of it, I'm waiting for some mica paint I had to special order ( to look like asphalt) as soon as I get it I will finish up and give you a look at 'Paved Paradise"