Out of Art Hibernation

Canmore, Flora and Fauna, 12" x 24" cradled panel with images painted in oil on a vintage topographical map from 1980

Canmore's Mountain Avens Gallery, as The Avens Gallery was initially called, represented my art from the time Arlene Curry opened it in June 1986, through two subsequent owners, for twenty-four years. Almost a decade after leaving the gallery, when we returned, last year,  to Canmore (from Claresholm) it was both an honour and a terrific boost to my ego when the current gallery manager, Betti Irwin, invited me back.

December 16th, 2017, The Avens, staff, owners and some of their gallery artists. Betti Irwin is second from right

It isn't likely that I'll resume painting sizeable, traditional landscapes which did and would again work so perfectly in the Avens. Much has changed with me. After considerable soul searching I met with Betti to explain what I wanted to do. I had asked Cheryl Baxter, owner of Elevation Gallery and The Hive, if she would represent me. Betti is a compassionate and understanding individual who wished me well. Cheryl accepts that I may be sporadic in suppling art. She asked for my alternative works, on cradled panels, and could I deliver five to seven of them for Labour Day?

Credit must be given where it's due. It was Win Dinn who inspired me to incorporate mixed media elements and techniques into making art. It was Patti Dyment who conceived the notion that we could paint on topographical maps ... 

Covering cradled panels with topo maps and other assorted, fun, commercial papers, March 4th, 2018

Without a proper studio in our Canmore townhouse, I paint at our kitchen table where the light pours in from the window above the sink and the east facing patio doors. In January, I invited myself to paint with Patti in her ample, open concept kitchen/living/dining rooms. Thinking it would be a one day play date, imagine my delight at being invited back on a regular basis. While painting is a solitary act even when we are together, just being in the same space with another artist doubles the energy. We share ideas, help each other in exploring potential ways to resolve painting problems and we explode in laughter frequently.  

Working on 'Bighorn Range' at Patti's, March 5th, 2018

Being a real last-minute-Jenny I was truly under the gun when Patti welcomed me to her place for and a three-day painting binge, August 25th, 26th and 27th. These dates were sandwiched by two days of painting at home where I both started new and completed unfinished paintings. 

August 25th, 2018, while Patti worked on two large canvases I furiously painted small pieces for Elevation Gallery 

On August 31st, I delivered eight new paintings and two older works ...

Bronze Beauty - iris painting in oil on a commercially printed paper background 12" x 12" $700.

Canmore Flora and Fauna - oil vignettes on a vintage topographical map (from 1980) 12" x 24" $1260.

Chickadee Song - oil on vintage sheet music (Oh Mother of Mine) 8" x 8" $560.

Bighorn Range - oil on a vintage topographical map (from 1980) 10" x 10" $700.

Mule Deer and Aspens - oil on a vintage topographical map (from 1980) 12" x 12" $840.

Swan Elegance - oil on commercially printed paper background 12" x 12" $840.

Great Horned Owl Stare - oil on a hand marbled Italian paper background 12" x 12" $840.

"Red" the Bobcat - oil on commercially printed paper background 8" x 8" $560.

Etherial Beauties
oil irises on an acrylic background 12" x 6" $630.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
oil day lilies on an acrylic background 12" x 6" $630.

Cheryl and I shake on our new association

Had to show you both of these photos

Please stop in to see my new works. You'll find some in the street level Elevation Gallery as well as The Hive upstairs. Do visit The Avens Gallery while you are in town as well.    

Playing in Creston / Alice-in-Wonderland

Time to get back to posting about art and the fun times in 2016.  

With our R-Pod, Bill and I arrived in Creston, from Claresholm, on July 10th for a three night stay at Scottie's RV Park. As well, Meg and Paul rolled in from Canmore to stay at the Valley View Motel, but ultimately we all end up here ...

... on the Dinn's remarkable deck for libations, great food and one another's company

As per usual we gals hit the studio during the daytime abandoning the men, who are more than capable of entertaining themselves. We spread our play things out all over every horizontal space, then we dive into making art. Any kind of art. Here, anything goes.

Meg and Win in Win's gorgeous studio

Playing in Win's studio brings out the creative juices

Writing this post eight months after the fact, I'm not really sure what possessed me to start the painting I did. I'm going with how very inspired and dazzled I was by a piece Win had recently created, in collaboration with Bart Bjorkman, of Puffin Design - the 47" diameter Impossible Clock. But how my piece morphed into Alice in Wonderland remains a mystery.

       

                                            

Meg usually has several pieces on the go, this time was no exception

Win got into folding books

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When we six reassemble good times are guaranteed. We enjoy having a delectable lunch on the Skimmerhorn Winery's awesome deck, our end of day happy hours, evening feasting and shenanigans. 

You can count on great food, and wine, on the Skimmerorn Winery deck

Win and John 

Paul and Meg

Bill and yours truly.  Doesn't everyone know about maple tree "keys" and how they'll stick on your nose, when they're fresh?

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Back to Alice painting Alice. For the background, I splattered and blotted favoured colours, quinacridone orange gold, Indian yellow, aztec gold (how dare Daniel Smith discontinue their acrylic line which included this magnificent colour?). Some burnt umber was needed to darken the top. I went wild with gear and time piece stencils, some I applied with texture, some not. Then, I employed commercial rubber stamps until I was satisfied with all the nuances these toys created. 

As the background was so dark I had to paint Alice in a ghost-like white to be assured the colours would be clean and bright when I coloured her in.


                                                    

The finished Alice in Wonderland 
24" x 12" acrylic mixed media on canvas

At home I completed the piece by painting on the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter. I took great pleasure in the adding of embellishments, the small and miniature playing cards (thanks Win) the gears, the key and the clock button. Here are some close ups ...

Mixed media artist extraordinaire and our good friend, Win Dinn, has been teaching her acquired techniques in workshops for years. She conceived and facilitated a fabulous exhibition of her student's (plus her own) work. All students were invited to submit up to five pieces to Students. Teacher. Play. The show was beautifully presented by the folks at Centre 64 in Kimberley, BC, and was on display for the month of September, 2016. It was my good fortune to have Alice in Wonderland placed front and centre at the entrance to the show.

September 3rd, with Win at the exhibition's opening reception

When our granddaughter, Avery, turned eight last October I gifted Alice to as her annual birthday painting. 

Here are a  couple of other new pieces created specifically for Student. Teacher. Play.  ...

Drifting and Grounded  12" x 9" mixed media on cradled panel

Peacock Paradise 10" x 8" mixed media on cradled panel

Plus two other pieces which met the criteria of being created within the past two years ...

Flying Time 9" x 12" mixed media on board

Hip Replacement 9" x 8.25" acrylic mixed media, recycled child's board book.  The story and contents are here

Creston Experimentation

Black gesso everywhere and days later I've still got stained cuticles

Anyone who knows me well, knows I loath having dirty hands. This, I'm told, isn't normal for an artist (now there's an oxymoron for you). In Win's studio getting your hands dirty can't be helped and I have learned to roll with it because, well, the experimentation is just that much fun. This past visit to Creston (September 20th - 23rd) was so highly charged and what with Win's studio being adjacent to the master and guest bedrooms those of us sleeping on site didn't get very much owing to all that wild energy flying around the premises!

Meg watches Win demonstrating how she colours the embossed foiled pieces

Win graciously adhered silver foil (from a hair salon) onto masses of card stock and ran all theses pieces through her embossing toy so that Meg and I could black gesso then colour them.

My embossed pieces

Following Win's examples, I made a fun foam plate to print using her Gelli plate

My fun foam plate



Impressions made from the fun foam above were disappointingly faint, so I won't show you them. I need to go in with the stylus to press deeper into the lines, to get a print with strong contrast.

Bill (who has made original prints before) gave Gelli plate printing a try, but it didn't last long as the boys were just passing through on their way out the door to find their own kind of fun.

Meg, Win and John, Paul and Bill

Below Win observes as Meg creates a painted piece of "sun paper" using all sorts of wild and crazy colours, leaves, lots of paint and tons of water.

 

Once saturated, this paper needed overnight to have all that water evaporate ...

Somewhat of a garish dog's breakfast

But oh, the reverse side is an amazing sight to behold

Meg used other "sun papers" that she had created on these twin panels (in progress) ...

We did come up for air to spend some time outdoors. I had an urge to meander among the grapes, so we walked from the Dinn's to the Skimmerhorn vineyards ...

And oh the maple trees on the Dinn's front lawn are in their autumn splendor right now.



Thanks to Win and John, it was another magical stay in Creston. Good times with good friends in the beauty of one of BC's most charming valleys.