Snowball cutting

This is a cutting from our snowball bush. For those of you not familiar with snowball bushes, they have white clusters of blooms that resemble snowballs and are a lot of fun if you're a kid. As I said when I painted them here, our kids pull them off and have snowball fights : )
6"x6" / oil on canvas / $100 (includes free shipping worldwide)

Pansy posy - SOLD

Well my friend Barbara Muir painted them a few days ago, and when I was casting about for a subject today the only flowers in the near vicinity were the pansies outside my studio. They are cheery little things aren't they? Who can resist a pansy?
6"x6" / oil on canvas / SOLD

Olive man drinking martini in space

I was working on this abstract from last week and it turned into an olive man with pinstriped trousers drinking a martini in space. Sometimes these things happen. 

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas / 24x30"  

This is the progress on my garden gazing ball. My gluing seemed to go a lot faster today - I'm figuring it out! I'm loving the way it's coming together. So satisfying.

Bowling Ball, Garden Gazing Ball

I've been feeling a little crafty. The last two days my paintings had to be scrapped (yep - well, it happens) and so I went online for some other inspiration. I've been working on three different projects. Here is the first: a garden gazing ball. I found the idea on Pinterest and as you know how I love my garden, I thought this would be a very cool project. My cousin found a bowling ball for me at our local thrift shop (after me thinking "what the heck are my chances for finding a bowling ball at the thrift shop!") and then I picked up some dishes to create a mosaic.

Stage 1. Find a bowling ball...

 and some coloured glass and or porcelain (+ I added a couple of costume jewellery earrings)

Stage 2: Carefully smash them (or you can just collect things you happen to drop on the kitchen floor : ). Isn't that pretty? I put mine in heavy plastic bags and knocked them against the ground. The bags can start to split so pay attention! Note to any kids reading: Really, let an adult do this part. Trust me. I even wore protective glasses just to be safe. 

Stage 3: Begin gluing your pieces on the ball. This takes longer than I thought because the glue has to be held about a minute for each piece. At least the kind I'm using does. This is why the photos only go to this point : ) In the center is the junk jewellery earring I bought for 50 cents. I love it! After I complete this stage - sometime in 2014 - I am going to spread epoxy in  between the pieces. They say to grout it but with having to wipe the grout so quickly and carefully to prevent a film on your glass and china, I think a clear epoxy may be the way to go. I will keep you posted. 

Happy creating!

Plein Air Painting Class in one week. Register now!

Saturday June 1st (a week from today!) is the next painting class at The Good Earth in Beamsville, ON. Register today.
Join us for our third series of open air painting sessions with gardens, vineyards, orchards, farm life and interesting architecture as your backdrop. Featuring individual instruction and lots of time for painting, artists of all skill levels will relish this series.
The day consists of a chat followed by a short demo. Then you paint or draw until one o'clock when we go in to have lunch, a glass of wine, dessert and coffee. After re-fuelling we head back outside to finish our pieces followed by a group round-up at the end of the day. This event is always a lot of fun even if you've never painted before. 

Get some friends and take part in the fun!

Cost is $90 (includes lunch, HST and gratuity). You may register online here or call The Good Earth at 905-563-6333.

It was all so romantic

The first time I came across Leonard Cohen was in college. And it wasn't by way of his music, rather a poem. It has always stuck in my heart and still makes me catch my breath.

"I almost went to bed..."
I almost went to bed
without remembering
the four white violets
I put in the button-hole
of your green sweater
and how i kissed you then
and you kissed me
shy as though I'd
never been your lover

~Leonard Cohen

Romantic, right? 

Sigh.

As is often the case I thought I'd lost it 3/4 of the way through but then it fell into place. This is acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas and I forgot to measure the canvas size. I'm guessing it's about 11x14? I'll note it tomorrow. Detail, above. Good evening!

new works in progress

Back in the studio working away at two abstract paintings. At this stage I'm stumped! When I was working this morning I felt really unsettled and kind of scattered so I asked my cousin if she wanted to do an art store run with me. She did and it helped : ) In the afternoon I was able to settle in a bit and got this work done. But now...where to go??

Surprise Garden Obelisk + Garden Love

The odd time I share art that is not paintings. Today I wanted to share a gift my family made for me for Mother's Day. I am in LOVE with it : ) It was meant for my clematis to grow over but it will stay a garden sculpture because it would be a crime to cover it up!
My husband and children each designed a side of this obelisk along with their name "signed" on it. It was then cut and welded. What a treasure! Seriously, I almost cried. What a perfect thing for our garden. Thanks again all of you. xoxo

"In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful."  

~Abram L. Urban

"It is good to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences 

may haunt you and possess you in a reverie of suspended thought." 

~James Douglas, Down Shoe Lane

They made a Green Man sculpture a couple of years ago. I planted a vine that we are trailing through so the idea is that over time it will look like a plant man. 

And this is a flower that my brother-in-law made. Hurray for gardens!

Pretty Things - SOLD

Just a few moments ago on Facebook I read this quote from Anne of Green Gables: "One can dream so much better in a room where there are pretty things."
Touché!
And of course those pretty things vary from folk to folk. Some of my pretty things? Flowers, a ribbon, a coloured glass ball, some assorted bits of pottery and dishes, art - and they are tied to cherished memories. What are your pretty things?
6"x6" / oil on hardboard / SOLD

Tulip burst - SOLD

I am almost out of my Raymar canvas panels so I bought a couple of different panels - gessoed hardboard - from Currys to experiment. For today's painting I used acrylic. It definitely feels different but interesting! And the tulips are still going strong.

6"x6" / acrylic on hardboard / SOLD

Spring bouquet

Today a spring bouquet. These tulips and forsythia are from my garden. Aren't flowers incredible? I just LOVE them. This is acrylic on stretched canvas, 12"x12".
Last weekend I was at The HandMade Market, a wonderful "small box" shopping experience showcasing local artisans, food and wine. It's always a great time. This year we were treated to rain, high winds and 2 rounds of hail! I wanted to thank my sister and cousin who sat with me in the tent (it always makes the day extra enjoyable) and also Barbara Muir (an artist blogging friend of mine who drove down from Toronto). Thanks! And thanks to all the people who came out and enjoyed the day.
If you don't know Barbara, please check out her blog. She is a wonderful, generous, funny person, and wow - can she ever paint. She is always filled with joy and gratitude and when you read her blog it's contagious ; ) Here is a picture from the weekend. And below I've posted a few paintings of hers. I've seen her work in person (and own one!) and it is delicious. Did I mention she was on Oprah? : ))

Water Image 2, Water Image 3, Water Image 1
Acrylic on canvas
90 x 30 inches
Barbara Muir © 2010

Mother and Child
Acrylic on canvas
30 x 30 inches
Barbara Muir © 2010

To inspire - SOLD

This is an iris from my garden - well, last years - this years haven't bloomed yet. I looked up the flower meaning and it said "Inspiration". I thought that seemed perfect. Who doesn't need a little inspiration from time to time? Inspiration and hope that people can be better. There have been a number of grim events in the news lately - internationally, nationally and sadly locally. When events weigh heavy on my shoulders and I wonder how on earth people can be so awful I find comfort in flowers and trees. They just goes on showing us their beauty and offering peace.
Also, Saturday and Sunday is the HandMade Market. I will be there along with other artisans, food and wine. Treat yourself and get away for a few hours! For all details and information click and scroll down the page here. Happy weekend everyone.
6"x8" / oil on canvas / SOLD

Opening: "Sharp Intake" at Gallery M

My piece "Nude from behind"(36x36", acrylic on canvas) at the show.

Brenda (an artist friend), Merryn (gallery owner and artist) and me. As you can probably tell, Merryn really knows how to throw an opening! Thank you Merryn for such an interesting show. You did a wonderful job as always!

 Opening night, "Sharp Intake", Gallery M. By the way, Cambridge has some cool shops. Check out the dress shop Rodney Philpott across the street from the gallery! Dreamy!

Blaze + Upcoming Events - SOLD

Autumn trees are a little weird at this time of year, I know! But I was going through pictures on my camera and I came across this photo I took of a maple last fall and I wanted to paint it. So, voila.
6"x8"/ oil on canvas / SOLD

In other news
• Wednesday I will be at the opening of Sharp Intake at Gallery M in Cambridge exhibiting this piece.

Nude from behind, 36 x 36", acrylic on canvas, framed

• The next plein air at The Good Earth is Saturday, June 1st. For more info see here.

• And last but not least, this weekend I will be at the HandMade Market at Ravine Winery in St. Davids. Info here. Small box shopping at its best!

Snowball bush - SOLD

This is our snowball bush. Yep! That's it's real name. It get's these clusters of white blooms that look like a bush is blossoming with snowballs and the kids even pick them off and throw "snowballs" at each other. And then the loose petals fly and flutter everywhere and it's really like a beautiful summer snow.
6"x6" / oil on canvas / SOLD

In the garden - SOLD

Spring has sprung. And it is dazzling. Tulips are blooming, fruit trees are in blossom - heaven! This is from our garden - they look like peonies but are actually peony tulips (Easter Egg Basket Combo to be specific : ) So pretty.

6"x6" / oil on canvas / SOLD

Thaw on the Niagara Escarpment

My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing. 

 ~Aldous Huxley

I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least - and it is commonly more than that - sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements. 

 ~Henry David Thoreau

Done! I had started this painting a while back and it sat half-finished in my studio. Today I finished it up. This is a section of the Niagara Escarpment. We hike here all the time and I love it in every season. In fact, I painted a similar view of this scene back in 2010. It was a small oil called "Precipice" and is sold (below).
24"x30" / acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas / $750

Dawn

So I suffer from this thing sometimes of painting over paintings that have been sitting around too long or that had something about them that bothered me. More often than not this is a good thing because a better piece emerges. Other times it goes south. But that's okay. This painting was this piece:

As you can see I turned it upside down and the little pink "olive" is now in the bottom left quadrant.

Now it feels right though!

And speaking of going over paintings, the piece I showed on my last post is now covered in gesso ; )