Blog

Just a quick report on what I've been up to lately and what is coming in the next little while. My first show in the Okanagan, Santa Presents in Penticton in early November, went very well and I was pleased to hand out so many business cards that I've had to reorder more! With luck they will arrive in time for my next show, next weekend as I return to Coquitlam Christmas Craft Sale where I've got some loyal customers and have done very well over the time I've been showing there. I'm just in the process of purchasing a smart phone and hope to get a credit/debit card payment system going for that sale. If not, I'll be ready to use it in my studio opening process.

Speaking of which, the studio is coming along and tomorrow I'm planning to start installing my hanging system. Most of my paintings are currently wrapped to transport to Coquitlam, but--if I don't sell out!--I'll be wanting to start hanging up the ones that make the journey home with me. It'll be interesting to see how my layout works, and if my options for matted prints and cards works out to my satisfaction. I'll also need to find some cabinets--I'm thinking someone's got an old kitchen with good bases that I could use--and whether to organize some plumbing for a sink and countertop. Hubby has suggested that I put a microwave out in the studio for some snacks and tea, and the wood stove is keeping the building beautifully warm. Right now we've got some local walnuts drying out there too. There are lots of trees around, in parks and on empty lots, that no-one seems to care about. I'm sure they're all organic!

I've got some new banners and one is just perfect for fixing on the building, near the door. For more formal signage out on the highway it's a bit of bureaucracy and a lot of rules, according to some other local artists, but I'll see what I can do. Meanwhile I've put a bit of a map on my new business card order.

I was really happy to get a commission to do the biggest painting ever--ink and watercolour of birch trees, approximately 3 feet by 6 feet! It's going to take me a while to plan that out, get some larger brushes, and practise working up to that size.

The plan is for it to look a bit like this painting, that was sold to a happy customer in Ottawa at the first public show it went to. Because watercolour paper only comes in sheets of 22" X 30", I'll probably do it as a diptych or tryptich (2 or three separate sheets that can be hung together). My plan is to make each piece function as a separate painting, as well as line up together on a single wall. The wall is 11' long so I have lots of room to work with!

Other than these shows I've been thinking about my next printmaking course in Australia in January, and what images I'm going to work with there. Dramatic contrasts of light and dark, and interesting shapes and forms, work well with this form of art. I'm hoping to make a really great plate that I can use as a logo or card in future, too.

I've also met a few local encaustic artists, and I'm getting interested in working with that medium. Encaustic, which is a form of collage and colour embedded in wax or resin, is a form of mixed media that uses shapes, other items as well as colour, and seems to me a step towards 3D art, from the usual 2 dimensional that I work in. I wonder where that path will lead me?

Well, It's getting late and I have a big day tomorrow, getting some new technology at a "Black Friday" sale. I usually totally resist shopping, and particularly spending money on electronics, but it's time to get into the modern world with the smart phone (no doubt it'll be smarter than me!) and a new laptop so take some of the pressure off this old PC (I think it might be about 8 years old now!) that is on its last legs. I'm not sure that the new laptop will make my art show up any better on-line but hopefully it will make my blog posting more efficient!

So, I'll leave you now, hoping the run-up to Christmas has you thinking of all the wonderful people in your life and what makes them happy, and how you can contribute to them. (That last thought must be courtesy of Deepak Chopra's 21 day Meditation Challenge which I've been participating in for the last couple of weeks.) What is your gift to the world??