Collection of Small Paintings

At this time of year I create a collection of small works to present at our local craft sale. Many of these paintings are available and would make excellent Christmas gifts. If you'd like to make a purchase (or purchases!) I invite you to contact me at ... alice@artbysaltiel.com

CHICKADEE SONG III   oil (bird) on mixed media background   6" x 6" framed   $150   SOLD 

CHICKADEE SONG IV   oil (bird) on mixed media background   6" x 6" framed   $150   SOLD  

CHICKADEE SONG III and CHICKADEE SONG IV shown framed 

BOTTICELLI ON FIRE (parrot tulip)   oil   6" x 8" framed   $195   SOLD  

Fun in the studio at Linderman Law; the lawyer, Karen Linderman, sporting a manicure to match BOTTICELLI ON FIRE

CRIMSON BLUSH   oil rose on acrylic tinted, vintage sheet music   6" x 6" x 2" unframed cradled panel (painted edges)   $150   SOLD 

PEACH BELLINI   oil rose on acrylic tinted, vintage sheet music   6" x 6" x 2" unframed cradled panel (painted edges)   $150   SOLD 

FIERY QUEEN   oil 6" x 6" x 2" unframed cradled panel (painted edges)  $150   SOLD 



EVENING ENCHANTMENT   oil 12" x 9" unframed cradled panel (painted edges)  $250   SOLD     

PINOT GRIS   oil  7" x 5" framed   $150   SOLD 

At the Claresholm Kinette Christmas Craft Sale with my booth buddy, Judy Dahl, November 21st, 2015

Dark Side Embossing

For a long while now I've promised my card making friend, Debie, that I'd show her some mixed media techniques and yesterday was the day I finally came good. Debies's craft room is an enviable delight, a sun room really. It has plenty of space with lots of natural light. We didn't need artificial lighting when we started at 1pm, but when the sun went down we turned up all the lights. It was well after dark when we finished.

Below, we have just begun painting over foiled papers, which we adhered to cover stock, using spray glue. Win's invention is to use black gesso, but we thought why not experiment with white gesso too? 



Here I am giving my rebel student heck - she marches to her own drum, but she's a keen learner!

Both ladies are in the business of beauty. Lynda is a hair stylist and Debie does manicures so they have access to wholesale beauty supply places. Each of them brought hair foil papers to our day, and not just the usual silver ones.

God love them, they got right into it!

These gals didn't want paint under their finger nails, or the wildly colourful, potent alcohol inks staining their hands so, wisely, they wore rubber gloves. I must say that I came over to their side after the first go around with the black gesso!



Lynda about glue down some of the exotic coloured foils

Debie really got into the alcohol inks

So much so her hand was a blur wiping and dabbing 

My collection at the end of our day

Thanks to Debie for hosting supper in the midst of our mad, creative binge of over eight hours. To her and to Lynda for being such good sports. They displayed much bravery in crossing over to the dark side. It was most precious when Lynda asked "What will you teach us next?"  

Embracing Where I Am

TABLE MOUNTAIN #2   18" x 24" framed oil on canvas   $2500.

Bill and are planning to move to Victoria, B.C. but (so far) things haven't panned out exactly as we wish and we find ourselves delayed in departing Claresholm. Rather than sulk about it, I've chosen to embrace it and enjoy the marvelous space that Karen Linderman makes available to me.



You may recall it was almost two years ago that I set up a painting studio, affectionately called The Art Room, in Karen's law office. After an eight month hiatus, I resumed my residency there last week. It sure feels good to be back painting again.

In my opinion Karen is the best lawyer in town. Those who know her will concur that hers is a most generous spirit. Giving, on a personal and community level, is second nature to her. Plus, she's a rare non-artist with whom I can talk about art, ad nauseam, and she remains keenly interested. 

Karen patronizes not only me. Her support of all local and regional artists and artisans is remarkable. Her love of the arts prompted her to spearhead Claresholm's first, hugely successful, musical theatre Fame! (January 2015) for which she was the Production Manager. Currently, she is working in the same capacity for Little Shop of Horrors, coming to the stage in January 2016.  

Linderman Law Office, 4916 - 2nd Street West is directly south of the Claresholm Post Office

Should you find yourself in town and notice that "The Artist is In" sign is displayed in the window, know that I'm there, painting, and it means I welcome your visit.

Yesterday, I finished the painting you see me starting (in the first photo above). Here are the progressive stages ...

And finished ...

TABLE MOUNTAIN #2 (Beaver Mines Lake, Castle area, South Western Alberta)  18" x 24"   oil on canvas

In the next couple of weeks I will be working on smaller paintings, such as the one below, to exhibit at the Kinette Christmas Sale on November 21st, 11am to 4pm, here in Claresholm, at the Community Centre. Tickets for Little Shop of Horrors go on sale there!  



PEACH BELLINI   oil rose on vintage sheet music which has been tinted with acrylics   6" x 6" x 2" cradled wooden panel  

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.

Lake O'Hara 2015

This expedition, from September 7th to 10th, gave us three nights and four days there. We were five painters and three spouses tossed in with other random Lake O'Hara enthusiasts staying at the Elizabeth Parker Hut (it holds 24). Joining in last year, for the first time in several, had me realise just how much I missed being there. While Bill has visited the area many times, he has accompanied the "painters" group only occasionally. It was a delight that we were both on the trip this year. 



My one and only plein air painting from this trip.   Sargent's Point   oil on panel   9" x 12"

Day one, we arrived to a fair bit of snow ...

Just off the bus, Bill on the shore of Lake O'Hara shore at Sargent's Point



That afternoon, as I painted, Bill hiked to McArthur Lake with Dave, Bob and Patti. There, at a higher elevation, they encountered considerably more snow ...

Bill at McArthur Lake, thanks to Patti Dyment for this photo

Thanks to Pat Allin for this photo

The snow gradually melted as I painted

Meg Nicks, sketching on a rock along side of me, stopped to snap the photo above of me at the easel

Another day, Patti Dyment was found tucked under some evergreens painting the classic Sargent's Point view

And, on the last day, Jan Chalupnicek and Sharon Williams painted it as well

Pooling food, we always eat well, exchange stories, laugh and sing together. It doesn't always happen, but on our last night, all the other folks staying at the hut joined us in song facilitating a most memorable hootenanny. 

I don't live close to the majority of the group anymore, so being reunited with everyone creates a homecoming feeling that is very special to me.  Here is our entire gang enjoying a happy hour ... 

Dave, Bill, myself, Jan, Meg, Bob, Pat, Sharon and Patti

The WiWaxy Hut comfortably sleeps eight, so we commandeered it for ourselves.

Meg, Sharon, Pat, Patti and myself having an end-of-the-day hen party on the lower bunk in the WiWaxy Hut

People wander off solo, or in smaller groups, to hike or paint, but on the one especially dreary morning (with the exception of Jan, who sped ahead and lost the rest of us) we hiked to the Crystal Cave together ...

Bob, Bill, Dave, Sharon, Patti, myself, Meg and Pat - thanks to Bob Allin for this time exposed shot

... and to Meg for this very special one

It was very cold, the weather was truly uncooperative. The intermittent rain helped to wash the snow away but we didn't see much blue sky or sunshine. Still, when you are in paradise and nature throws you a curve, you just make the best of it.

Bill, and some of the gals, partook of a decadent tea one afternoon in The Lodge, something I've never done before ...

Pat, Meg and yours truly 

With Bill and Meg, on day three, I hiked up to and on the Opabin Plateau to enjoy the pools and changing larches  

On the last day, I convinced Bill to hike to Victoria Lake, again, because, you just never know if you're ever "going to pass this way again."

Happy place to have lunch - at Victoria Lake

Myself above the magnificent Victoria Falls

Huge thanks to Patti for organizing yet another expedition. God willing, I'll be back, for more magic at O'Hara, next year!