44th Annual PMAA Show.

I was fortunate enough to be contacted to do an interview for the Tri Cities News regarding the upcoming 44th Annual PMAA Art show in Port Moody this weekend.  I have 4 pieces in the show...
Take a look...

http://www.tricitynews.com/entertainment/133014173.html

Happy Fall everyone!

Exposure

 I was recently contacted by the owner of a local Home Decor store called "Chartreuse Living" to join many other local artists to display my artwork. The store has, among other things, an eclectic array of imported colourful furniture pieces, beautiful blown glass, unique and earthy decor and some great photography and paintings by local artists. It is a different avenue for me to take with my art as I am used to the small gallery setting with an invited and very directed crowd of viewers. 
 I am very excited to have my art in such a heavily travelled area and to have so many new eyes and minds taking in my art and the art of my fellow local artists.  I am looking forward to the feedback.

 Chartreuse Living is located across from Thrifty's on Brew Street in Port Moody.

Summer's over!

Summer was here...I loved every hot sweaty moment...every blinding wake up, every icey cold slurpie, every martini on a patio (though these were very few and far between)...I loved it while it was here...but it's gone now. Now comes the true season of joy...the season of cool nights, beautiful colours, layered knits and stylized ensembles.  It's Fall...ahhhhhh.  I feel like I am home now, I made it through summer.  I'm here, and this is my season.
I had the summer off...off "film" that is, and with family...with life and with me.  I spent my time "off" camping, enjoying family, thinking, sleeping, reading...thinking...thinking...ohhh to have the space and time to think...this is where great things happen.  Time to think is time to restore, time to change, time to make ideas happen.
I had a few days in the studio...my new wonderful studio...It is mine and it is always there, waiting for me to create and I love it. As little time as i spend there now, eventually it will be my full time gig, and I love that it is there...

I spent many days working on a painting.I wanted to take the time I don't typically take.I spent days on the detail...with in the detail I felt calm and connected...I didn't know where to stop though. This painting is documented before I went too far with the detail...this is where I loved it, after this I got carried away...(thank god I photoed it )

This experiment of patience and in detail was soon followed by frustration and confusion. 

In speaking about this dilemma with my partner, I decided to approch my next works with nothing more than my "feeling of the moment". 

This is how my next painting came to be...

Humpback whales...I watched a great documentary on PBS...it stayed with me...in my sub-concious...and this is what came out of me...This felt good...it felt free...it felt like me. I followed this feeling over the next two days and this is waht came of it all...



A day at the studio...

This past weekend was the 12th annual Port Moody Art Walk Exhibition and it was my first, in my new studio space.  It is great to be a part of the community of  artists that occupy the Eslanade Artist Studios.  I was inspired by their artwork and ideas and I'm looking forward to getting into my space to create.   I have many ideas swirling around in my head and can't wait to expose them to canvas.

F O C U S

"The Long Road Home" mixed media on board 8x10

I have been contemplating time once again.  It is such an important factor in our lives and becomes more prevalently so when you have so little of it.  It's like water or food, or a public washroom when you are travelling through Thailand.  You never really notice it's absence, or appreciate it to it's fullest value until it becomes a longing...a desire...a need. 

Like all of these wonderful revelations that come with time, age and wisdom...I wonder why, when I had so much time on my hands, why wasn't I creating more?  What was filling this time?  Well at first thought, I'd have to say sleep was up at the top of the list, but what else?  I can think of many things I would do when I had time...cooking, watching TV, cleaning, organizing the utensil drawer.  All of these things, as mundane as they are, filled my days without much thought or focus.  Then I came to the conclusion that the true key to having success with whatever it is you truly want out of life is focus.  Time, though it is essential, is not always obtainable so we need to use whatever tools we can to continue on with our true desire and aid in the achievement of our destiny...focus!

Just a thought...





The Nest...

"Untitled" 8x10 - Acrylic on board

     I'm feeling some balance in my life this past week...finally rested, errands are taken care of.  The blistering cold outside is bringing such appreciation to the warmth and comfort of being inside.  I have always put a lot of time and attention into making my home a place to retreat to.  Here, I rejuvenate my soul and find balance. 
     I have a few pieces on the go right now, this one I did one night while feeling warm and cozy in my "nest" while the snow fell outside my window.  Every time I look at it I feel warmth and I wonder where this place is, other than inside my own mind... 

Bert Flynn Park - Public Art

The City of Port Moody installed my art.  I was invited to speak before City Council at one of thier monthy meetings.  I spoke of the importance of Public Art to our communities and I spoke of ny inspiration for this piece.  I was honoured that this group of people wanted to hear about what they are approving to represent our community and that my piece had been chosen to do this.  Port Moody is the "City of the Arts" and, as the Public arts coordinator told me, they are trying to live up   to their name.

                                  

I went to Bert Flynn Park in Port Moody to see the finished product. I don't know what I was expecting to see, but I was really happy when I rounded the corner on the trail...it is 4 feet high by 6 feet wide and it's bright red colour popped out of the forest like a beacon in the night. 

 My Inspiration for this piece was, as many of my recent artworks are, the incredible beauty of my surroundings here in Port Moody.  I am always exploring nature and it's ever changing presence, it's durability and vulnerability...and it's relationship to man made structure, humanity, and our durability and vulnerability.  We need each other to survive.  In this particular painting I reversed the obvious...the trees, which are usually such a beautiful backdrop for the city are portrayed in black and white which contrasts the seemingly "blooming" city. 

I've read this quote by Jean Corot/ Painter/ 1859...it was written on a corner of one of his sketchbooks:

"One must interpret nature with naivete and according to one’s personal feelings, with complete detachment from what one knows of the old and contemporary masters. In that way only will you be able to inspire. There are people who are quite gifted but who do not want to use the gifts that were given to them. Such people make me think of a billiard player to whom a complaisant partner would always offer beautiful set-ups that he would not take advantage of. It seems to me, were I to be the player’s opponent, I would end up telling him: “Since that’s the way it is, I will not give you anymore of those!” Instead of God, I would get my revenge on the miserable fools who waste their natural gifts by changing their heart into cork.”

Food for thought...