Hudson Artists Fall Show

It's that time of year again, and for the sixth time I am pleased to hang my work at the annual Fall Show of the Hudson Artists. With twenty-three artists participating, and a wide variety of styles and mediums, it should be worth a visit. If you'd like to see my new series of mixed media 10 x 10's, this is your chance!

There will be 15 of my new "Touchstone" series
at the Hudson Artists Fall Show.

Something new this time around:

Three judges have been invited to name a Best of Show.  They are:

Christian Gonzalez, cultural activist and publisher of "Talents d'ici", 

Madeleine Turgeon, President of the Autour de Nous art group and Vice-President of the Conseil des Arts et de la Culture de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, and 

Martine Therrien, professional artist and visual arts teacher.

Another innovation: 

Member Judith Harvey, best known for her "old masters" style of still life oil painting, will give a one-hour demonstration of her technique on Saturday, beginning at noon. Sponsored by a grant from ELAN, this is free to both AHA members and the public.

This is a live demonstration with emphasis on classical techniques and approaches, such as 'Chiaroscuro', 'Rembrandt lighting' and 'colour palettes'. Also to be discussed, the importance of composition and lighting set-up, especially with regard to still life painting.

Raffle:

President John Goodger has donated a lovely painted landscape of Hudson Sandy Beach to be raffled off in support of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Palliative Care Residence.

When and where: 

The show opens on Friday, September 30, 7 - 9 pm, and continues Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2, from 10 am - 5 pm. It will be held at the Stephen F. Shaar Community Centre, 394 Main Road in Hudson, Quebec.

I will make an appearance on Friday evening and will staff the greeting card sales on Sunday, beginning at 2:30 pm. I do hope to see you there! 

Margaret Cooter

I was so pleased to meet with Margaret Cooter while in England recently. We first met a few years ago, introduced by a mutual friend, Hilary Gooding, when we three spent a morning exploring the atmospheric grounds of Highgate Cemetery in North London. I have been following her blog ever since.

Margaret's eclectic interests are reflected in her wide range of postings. She posts about workshops she is taking in drawing and printmaking, and about the adventures of her regular sketching group. She posts about her bookmaking projects and her explorations of dipping stitched fabric into porcelain slip. Often she will post interesting photos taken while walking around London, or on her visits to London exhibitions, and sometimes she will just post a wonderful poem.

Perhaps you will find this poem, which she featured on her blog last month, as remarkable as I did.

The Bright Field

I have seen the sun break through

to illuminate a small field

for a while, and gone my way

and forgotten it. But that was the

pearl of great price, the one field that had

treasure in it. I realise now

that I must give all that I have

to possess it. Life is not hurrying

on to a receding future, nor hankering after

an imagined past. It is the turning

aside like Moses to the miracle

of the lit bush, to a brightness

that seemed as transitory as your youth

once, but is the eternity that awaits you.

- R S Thomas (1913-2000)

Best workshop ever!

I recently returned from a fabulous 5-day workshop with Jane Davies, held on the bucolic Omega campus in Rhinebeck, New York. While the course was titled 100 Paintings, Drawings and Explorations, I probably made no more than sixty. The value in the experience was not about the volume of work produced, but about taking more artistic risks. The teacher set quite a pace, which is what you would expect given the name of the class.

The first exercise was to paint to music. With each musical selection lasting only 2 - 4 minutes, we worked on large paper, and tried to suspend judgment about the quality of the painting. We did about ten of these.

painting to music

painting to music

painting to music

At another point, we set a timer and worked on smaller paintings for five minutes. The idea here was that there are many pivotal artistic decisions that one can make, even in the course of a 5-minute painting. Again we made perhaps ten of these.

5-minute painting

5-minute painting

5-minute painting

For both of these activities, I was glad to have brought a selection of student-grade acrylics. No concerns about using expensive resources for these experiments.

We looked at line and the many kinds of line that can be made with various materials, lines that are curved or straight, jagged or broken, smudgy or clean, tangled or direct. We were told to make at least six compositions, each made with 5 - 7 lines that were as different as possible from each other.

Six lines

We also looked at shape, and the many ways that shapes can be made: as outlines or filled in, soft-edged or hard-edged, with masks and stencils, and with a wide variety of materials.

Exercises were assigned, each one with specific parameters. For example, put down two painted shapes. Then add a collaged shape, and another two or three elements, which could be collage, line or pattern. Make 10 - 12 variations on this.

The next assignment was similar, but we paid more attention to a variety of scale.

Jane is a big advocate of setting up limitations and then finding many variations within those "rules". She believes that when you meet with frustration with the format, you should persist with it. By making the effort to overcome the difficulties of the format, you can actually learn something valuable. Don't be too quick to crop the piece down so that it "works". Don't be too quick to cut up an unsatisfactory piece to use as collaged bits. Instead, transform it with paint into something with new possibilities. "It's only paint", said Jane, and the sky won't fall.

Interspersed with these exercises were slide shows, illustrating some of the ideas with hundreds of stunning abstract works by a number of different contemporary artists. We also benefited from the pithy insights of the instructor on a variety of topics.

At one point, Jane showed us how to make "grounds", achieving variation and depth by making many layers of both opaque and transparent paint, by lifting wet paint off with paper, by spritzing and then blotting, by scratching a line into the wet paint, and by using a brayer.

Using this interesting ground, we then created one or two negative shapes by masking, applying white paint with a brayer around the shape and making a semi-transparent, foggy layer. We then added another three or four shapes, using a variety of materials and techniques. I was very excited by this assignment, and was able to make more than a dozen interesting compositions.

Jane pointed out that I had a tendency to distribute my shapes over the whole space, and that I should try to create some "breathing space".

Not much breathing space

A bit more breathing space

She also advised us to make shapes that contrast with each other. If one is transparent, try another that is opaque. If one is mottled, make another that is pure, flat colour. If one is hard-edged, make another with a smudgy edge. If one is solid, another can be just an outline. If you're introducing colour into a neutral composition, make it a brilliant colour, for contrast.

addition of brilliant colour for contrast

I was also encouraged to pay attention to the white "fog" surrounding my shapes, to make it interesting, and have it thicken and fade across the space. For someone with little experience with acrylic, this was instructive. When I said to Jane, "I have trouble making the paint do what I want it to do," she answered, "So do I."

trying to get variation in the depth of the white "fog"

I have mounted fifteen of these compositions, and I think they will be just the thing to spark interest at the upcoming Fall Show of the Hudson Artists.

The workshop was a great experience. And as so often happens, I learned a lot from the other participants as well as from the instructor. My goal in taking these classes in painting is to develop my abstract imagery, and Jane pointed out that I now have some "personal" visual vocabulary that I can explore further.

Jane Davies teaches all over the U.S., and occasionally in Canada. If you'd like to find out more about her workshops, her on-line classes and her instruction downloads, check out her website. It's full of information and resources.

Farewell to 12 by the dozen and HELLO! Charles Sheeler

It was with regret that I withdrew last month from the 12 by the dozen on-line group of textile artists. I have been with them almost since they began, close to 7 years ago. Their membership has included people from South Africa, England, France, New Zealand, the U.S. and Canada. They set quarterly challenges and by that means encourage each other in the growth of their art.

It was through these challenges that I first came to grips with my "Cityscapes" series. First, there was "Street Life", a topic suggested by Linda Bilsborrow.

Quebec City, my response to "Street Life"

Then "Steps", proposed by Venetta Morger.

Steps: The Plateau, my response to "Steps"

And then "Fine Living", set by Colleen Paul.

Fine Living: Window Seat, my response to "Fine Living"

While pursuing these three consecutive quarterly challenges, I was also taking an on-line design course with Elizabeth Barton that was very formative.

All said and done, my Cityscapes series has preoccupied me for almost five years, and has produced more than eighty finished works. Even though it has infinite scope, I am ready to move on to a new theme and style of work. I need to give my full attention to finding a new direction and producing a new "body of work". Sadly, that means no more challenges from 12 by the dozen.

Now here's the serendipitous thing. After I handed in my resignation, but before it was shared with the group as a whole, Linda Forey announced the next challenge. Linda is a former engineer and has always been attracted to complex and even architectural designs. So who did she choose as the artist to inspire our next three-month project? The American modernist painter Charles Sheeler, (1883-1965).

I had never heard of Charles Sheeler, and so I was astonished by what I saw when I researched his name. His work is about as close to my vision for my Cityscapes as anything I have ever seen. You can check out his paintings here. In a way, I'm glad that I was never introduced to Sheeler's work, as I'm afraid I would have been overly-influenced by it.

Note the effect of transparency he is able to achieve in these examples:

Charles Sheeler, On Shaker Theme #2, 1956

Charles Sheeler, Canyons, 1951

Charles Sheeler, Ballardvale, 1946

Needless to say, I will be watching with eager anticipation to see how the 12 by the dozen artists handle this next challenge!

Sélections exhibition, September 22 - October 18

So pleased to have two of my cityscapes accepted to a group show in Ottawa. The annual juried show Sélections 2016 is open to members of Arts Ottawa East, and this year 33 artists are represented in the final selection.

The show runs from September 22 to October 18 at the Trinity Art Gallery, Shenkman Arts Centre, 245 Centrum Blvd, Ottawa. Hours are Monday to Sunday, 9 am - 10 pm.  I am unable to attend the vernissage, scheduled for Thursday, September 22, 7 - 9 pm, but all are invited to see the judges name their top choices, and to vote for their favourite.

SAQA Benefit Auction

News Flash! My donation to the 2016 SAQA Auction was sold for $350! Thank you to Heather Pregger, who showed her support for SAQA by making such a generous bid. To see the very exciting art quilting of Heather Pregger, please visit her website.

The annual SAQA benefit auction begins on September 16, when any item is available for $1000. Then the art quilts are divided into three groups (mine is in the third) and each group is made available for one week. Opening bids on the Monday are set at $750, and every day the cost declines until, on Day 6, the bidding price is $100.

This format has allowed SAQA to raise some $60,000 in past years, to support their exhibition and outreach programs.

To view all 437 amazing works, please visit the auction site. I promise, you will get an eyeful of colour, design and technique, all achieved in cloth and stitch.

Claire Benn at the FoQ

Claire Benn, Watering Hole

One of the highlights for me on my recent trip to the Festival of Quilts in England was the opportunity to attend a lecture by Claire Benn, titled Lines + Rows, Rhythms + Repetition, Inspiration + Outcome. Benn used photos from her world travels to show us the sources of her inspiration.

Claire Benn, Adobe, Lintel and Ladder

I had not been familiar with Benn's work, though she is very well-known in the UK. She had a two-person exhibit (with Ingrid Press) at the Festival, titled Lines & Rows, Rhythm & Repetition, and her work is a revelation.

Claire Benn, In the Fullness of Time #4

Claire Benn, In the Fullness of Time #4

The show's statement read:

"Claire and Ingrid have always been captivated by the rhythm created by lines, rows and repetition. Whilst things might seem the same, each item, each repeated element, is different....

"Claire has always had a fascination with landscape – the more remote the better. Places such as Patagonia, the Arctic, Alaska and latterly, New Mexico are all empty yet whole. They evoke a sense of peace whilst being inspiring and energizing. Claire's second method of working is based on the joy of slow, repetitive hand stitch. Feeling the cloth in her hands, thinking of nothing other than 'needle in, needle out'. The act is a meditation and the results are simple and yet complex; beauty in repetition."

Claire Benn, In the Fullness of Time #4, (detail)

Claire Benn, Adobe, Lintel and Ladder, (detail)

The three detail shots above may give you some idea of the complexity of the surface Benn achieves. I heard snippets of Benn's talk to a small group in her gallery at one point, when she discussed how she slathers paint (dye?) onto raw linen and allows it to dry on a concrete floor. Any little bits that might adhere to the surface and dry in place are considered to be a bonus, and the whole process capitalizes on the serendipity of the uneven pooling and drying of paint.

Fibre Content show, Burlington ON

Delighted to be showing three Cityscapes at the upcoming Fibre Content show in Burlington ON. Especially pleased that one of my works will be featured on the cover of the show catalog.

More details follow:

Fibre Content 2016 at the Art Gallery of Burlington

Juried Exhibition of Fibre Art
125 fibre art quilts and mixed media works by 80 artists from across Ontario and Quebec.

Where:  

1333 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, ON L7S 1A9

Location: Lee-Chin Family Gallery & RBC Community Gallery

Admission is Free!

A full colour catalogue of all works will be available for $10.

Opening Reception: “Meet the Artists” Sunday September 11, 1pm-3pm

NEW for 2016: Interactive Exhibit and Artist Talks

An Interactive Exhibit - artists made numerous samples of their work, which you can touch and examine to understand how the work is done!

Artist Talks on how their pieces are made, free of charge and open to everyone.

Dianne Gibson             Saturday Sept 10^th from 1pm to 2pm
Maggie Vanderweit    Wednesday Sept 14^th from 10am to 11am
Mita Giacomini            Sunday Sept 18^th from 1pm to 2pm

For more information: http://artgalleryofburlington.com/ OR http://fibrations.org/