I am now in the Gallery of Canadian Drawing Masters!!

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

KONA - JUST WAKING UP  Sold

I have been invited to become an Honourary Member of the Drawing Society of Canada.  I am really pleased to part of this group.  As you are aware I love to draw and to be part of a Society that recognizes and promotes the Fine Art of Drawing is really a dream come true.  I just have to take a moment to brag, check me out in the Gallery of Canadian Drawing Masters!!  www.drawingsociety.com 

Snowy Owls Have Returned to our Coast

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

 The Snowy Owls along the Mud Flats

We had an incredible morning yesterday; we were up early and out to the Mud Flats on Boundary Bay to see the Snowy Owls.  We arrived just as the sun was rising and there were very few people about.  As you looked over the mud flats you could see spots of white in the grasses, it was amazing.  We walked along the dike and they were perched on the logs very close to the dyke so I was able to get a few pictures.  They looked so out of place, shining white in the dark grasses and wet logs; Quite a sight to see.  They are not a regular visitor to our section of the coast, 2005 was their last major visit.  As you can imagine I am itching to finish up with Christmas and start on a drawing of them.  They are really such a beautiful bird. 

Snowy Owls out on the Flats

Owl in Flight

 

As we left more people were arriving and they started to move away from the dyke, you can see a group of them was forming up on some logs further out.  I was really pleased with my husband, Steve as he got me moving early so we were able to see them.

Owls were not the only birds out on the Mud Flats, this crab apple tree was a favourite for many othere birds as well.

Christmas Cats ready to Shine for Christmas

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CHRISTMAS CATS - 10 x 16   Available

Ta da!!  I did it!! My cats are done and ready for the show.  As soon as they were finished I was busy photographing them and setting up the cards.  I even cropped the picture and made some Christmas Tags with them.  My little cats were a real hit at the final show of the year and now they are  off in the mail to family and friends.  

I was very pleased with my cats, particularly the background.  I have always found backgrounds a challenge.  I suspect it is because I am so focused on the main subject and where and what I am going to do with it that somehow the background becomes less than secondary.  Working in layers, using the negative and pulling out things really helps me to stay loose and not get caught up in too much detail.  I particulary love the colour that I can introduce to really build my connection with the focal point.  

Well I do want to wish everyone a

Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year. May next year be a very successful artful year for you.

Christmas Cats WIP

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Christmas Cats - 10 x 14 - WIP

Christmas Cats will be my Christmas card this year and yes I am running just a tad late. I am really excited with my picture and really enjoying working on it.  I am trying to be very patient and glaze each layer on the cats to develop their structure.  It is so easy to smack on a wack of colour and then regret it, so slow and steady is my goal.  The cats are white and since they are in the sun I really have to search for areas of shadow to define them.  The background is going to be so much fun to do as I did a variation on the watercolour pouring technique and then I will do some glazing in the negative to pull out different things.   I can see it taking shape in my mind but my husband just looks at it and says "the background is too light!!"

I hope all your holiday preparations are going well, it seems we are full steam ahead for Christmas.  I am still finishing up a few commissions and trying not to panic.  I know things will be done on time.  Good luck with your prep and hopefully I will have the finished picture posted soon.

Paints n’ Bloom

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I know I am acting in reverse here, sharing show information after the fact but it was a thrilling experience and I need to share.  Audrey Bakewell and I have just finished our Christmas Show at West Coast Gardens in South Surrey and as you can see from the pictures it was a beautiful sight. 

We were set amongst their beautiful poinsettias and you couldn’t have asked for a nicer place to show your work. Let me tell you, a green house during the Christmas season is a wonderful place to feel that Christmas glow, no matter the weather.  People were happy and just enjoying our show and the plants.  Poinsettias were big and small and every colour you can imagine.  (No Poinsettias are not naturally blue or purple, but it is surprising what a little spray will do!!)

West Coast hosted our show as a fund raiser for Alzheimer Society and this is our 3^rd show this year with them for this purpose.  It was just a wonderful experience to have this space to show our work and meet so many great people and to raise money for a good cause.

Ready for the Show

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READY FOR THE SHOW - 10.5 x 14.5 - Available

The snow is covering the ground, just a light coat, but snow none the less and Christmas is in the air.  It seems like a long ago time that I captured my reference material in May for this picture.  At that time we were in Fort Langley watching the May 24^th parade and looking forward to the warm days of summer.  There were a number of horses in the parade and I was itching to work with horses and looking for ideas.   The parade got held up, as parades do, and this group was standing ready to move.  The horses on the right were patiently waiting but not the other one.  He and his rider seemed to be ready and wanting to move out.  Like me, anxious to move forward and sometime forgetting to enjoy the moment at hand.  This picture was a good reminder to me that this holiday I am going to try and be like those horses and enjoy the moment.  I hope your holiday preparations are going well and things are in order for a good Christmas holiday.

A Visit to Hemlock Printers

This past week I went on an awesome tour with a small group to artists to Hemlock Printers in Burnaby, BC.  I have never really understood everything that can and is done to produce giclee. The manager Peter Madliger for the digital graphic arts section was wonderful to take us on a tour of the facility and answer all of our questions.  The artist that arranged it for us Lalita Hamill took a picture which we saw photographed and taken through most of the process.  (I say most, as they only did the first print and there were still things to be done in colour matching to make it match the original.)  I really wanted to thank them again for taking the time to walk us through the whole process. 

Photographing the Work

Talking about inks and colours for off set printing and digital printing

Adjusting Colours and comparing to originals 

Lalita's Originial with the first print

I did learn a few things that may be of interest if you plan to produce giclees:  if the piece has lots of texture it is better to photograph it than take a digital shot (digital shots will flatten the picture);  oils should be photographed without the final glaze and without the frame.  After it is glazed then do the colour matching; prints on paper last longer than those on canvas; canvas giclees need to be treated with a UV coating; the  process has a good rub factor and so will not damage easily; they are usually finished in a Luster or Gloss finish, matt is seldom used; a good place will keep a printer’s proof so they can colour match on later orders; the “wrapped” part of the canvas is handled differently by different printers, some will use a mirror image to cover the space, some will just put it on smaller bars and at Hemlock they continue the picture around the corner taking information from the main picture; of course the big cost is the initial scan and colour proofing so their minimum order is 5 prints of a picture.  One final note was taking the tour with a group was good because there was a good variety of questions asked which helped us all learn. 



Off The Point

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OFF THE POINT - 2 X 2 - Sold

Well as the rains set in I have been reliving our summer trip to Texada Island working on this little picture. The island is one of our regular camping places and I have painted many different pictures from the area.  This was one of my favourite places to sit and just watch the world go by.  Off the shores of that little island in the distance we have had several adventures jigging for cod.  Not the least was fighting with a seal as I brought my fish in, he won, I had a big hunk taken out of my fish when I landed it!!

 I am enjoying playing with different sizes and shapes with my miniatures and right now I am into the square format.  Since I started cutting my own mats I can’t believe the freedom it has given me.
(Sorry this one is already sold, it was gone almost as soon as it was done.)



Dinner For One

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DINNER FOR ONE - 5 x 7  Available

Pansies have been my life for a while maybe I am having separations anxieties with summer, who knows.  I wanted to present this one a little differently so I introduced my little hummingbird.  When we were camped on Texada Island in July we saw lots of these little guys buzzing around the bird feeder.  Several campers had feeders up as well, there were so many around.  I had no idea that they chattered and chittered so much and you wouldn’t believe how territorial they are!  This little guy would certainly be dining alone. 

On Tuesday, Nov 1, I  hung the show Art With An Attitude with Becky McMahon www.triskeltreecreations.com and Brenda Hill www.myartclub.com/brenda.hill.  My pansies made a nice little grouping on one of the walls.  The show is at Newton Cultural Center, 13530 72 Ave. Surrey.  The reception is this Sat, Nov 5, 1-5pm and this Sun. Nov 6, 1-3pm I will be doing a demo there on “Drawing Animals in Graphite”.  If you live in the area come on by,  I would love to share my art with you.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

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The winds are blowing, leaves are flying everywhere but it will be a great night for trick-or-treating.  And after two days of hard work, Steve, my husband will have his creations decorating our steps.  They turned out so well I just had to post them for all to see. He was very pleased with his efforts.  We have been having great family fun sharing our masterpieces on Facebook, as everyone in the family has to have at least one pumpkin to celebrate the night.

Tomorrow it will be pumpkin pie and some muffins and if I get really brave we will try some pumpkin soup as well!  Happy Halloween and may you have a safe and fun night.

Three's A Crowd

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THREE'S A CROWD - 5 X 7  Available



As I promised more of my pansies -  Yes, I do love pansies and I was really taken with these double pansies.  They just seemed to have so much more personality than the single petal ones.  Don’t get me wrong I like them too but . . . 

After the Chatty Twosome failed as a threesome I went back to my drawing board to try again.  I combined my pansy challenge with the requirement that I try something different for cropping.  I usually keep my subjects more centered and I am reluctant to cut them off.  This was a real attempt at a new way, for me anywhere, of cropping my flowers.  When I was done I felt sorry for the little guy on the left and hence my title, Three’s A Crowd!!



Chatty Twosome

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CHATTY TWOSOME under construction



No, I am not finished with summer yet and actually with all sales of winter pansies on right now it may be some time before I pack it in!!
My latest piece, Chatty Twosome, grew out of some work I am doing on composition. I had some great pictures of  pansies and I wanted to experiment with different compositions. The first picture started out with great promise but quickly turned on me. As you can see from the layout, the composition didn’t work and so I started to crop away. (I know you saw what I did to my birds in my Sept 26 post "Hacked and Burned; I am really becoming lethal with my scissors.) My goal is to work with different compositions so nothing is sacred! When I was finished, this chatty little twosome emerged. 

CHATTY TWOSOME - 3.5 x 3.5 - Available

More pansies are on the board with my next post as I am using the same subject to force myself to try different approaches.
(As an aside, you can also see from the unfinished areas the effects of my glazing on the background. It started off very light and multicoloured but it seemed to gain more richness and depth the more layers I put on.)

SNOW: WINTER'S COAT OF BEAUTY SHINES AGAIN!!

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SNOW:WINTER'S COAT OF BEAUTY

This was one of my early drawings and one that gave me my first recognition, my first picture in a large juried show.  Now it is getting new attention, Kilby the Historical Site at Harrison Mills, www.kilby.ca is going to use it for their labels on their jams and jellies.  I am thrilled that they would like to use my picture for their labels and I think they did a great job on the design. They even did a little test on their consumers and found that the new label out sold the old one hands down.  What do you expect with my picture on it, eh??!!
As a side note, I will be out at Kilby this Sunday, Oct 16, 11-4pm as part of the Harvest Market.  I love to be out in country on these lovely fall days, the air somehow seems fresher, the sky bluer and of course the colours of the trees  in the sunshine stunning!!  Come join us if you can, it will be a great day. 

Label for the Jams

Artists in Residence Program

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SPRING DANCE

No, I have not started in a new direction in my art.  This picture, Spring Dance is by artist Becky McMahon who will be with me at the Newton Cultural Center, 13530 72 Ave. Surrey, BC for the Artists in Residence program.   On Tuesday morning 10-12pm, October 11 and every Tuesday after that ending on Dec 6, Becky and I will be at the Cultural Center in the main gallery area.  We are there to meet and talk with anyone visiting the gallery.  We will have some of our work there and will discuss it but more than that we are there to have art filled discussions with everyone on any topic: art, techniques, mediums, critiquing, events and basically anything artful.  Also we will be looking for direction for visual art programs to offer.  Becky already has a Chinese Brush Painting Class scheduled to start Saturday, Nov.  19, 26 and Dec. 3  and I have a One Day Marketing Workshop for Emerging Artists set for Sunday, October 23.  We think that being artists in residence at the center will be lots of fun, a great way to increase the profile of arts in the community and a real source of information and networking for artists.  I wish that all my internet friends could join us but I guess in a way we have our own artful talks here in our blogs. 

To check out more of Becky’s work or sign up for her class see www.triskeltreecreations.com .  For information and registration for the Marketing Workshop: Let’s Get Your Art Out There see my website www.artbywendy.com

Taking Turns gets into a major show

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TAKING TURNS - 11 X 14 - Available

Yes, I made it into the "Annual International Representational Show - AIRS" which is being held at the Federation Gallery on Granville Island in Vancouver.  The show runs from October 4 -23 with the reception Thursday, October 6, 6-8pm.  This is the second year that the Federation of Canadian Artists have held this show and my second year of getting in!!  I am just over the moon.  If you make it to the reception be sure and say hi, I will be the nut walking around with a grin on my face!!

(My picture of the sandhill crane, Stepping Out, was the successful picture last year.)

STEPPING OUT - 14 X 11 - Available

HACKED AND BURNED -- STARS ARE BORN

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THE OLD GUARD - 5.5 X 3.5 - AVAILABLE

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK - 5.5 X 3.5 - AVAILABLE

These two little gems are products of one of my soul searching periods that ended in a hacking and burning of a lovely picture.  I completed the original picture of my finches “Out for Dinner” in the spring;  it was well drawn (I thought so anyway) , lovely birds, great bird feeder and the composition was a bit unusual, almost symmetrical.  But it didn’t do it for me!!  I felt those little finches were not happy. 

Out for Dinner

 I have looked at that picture and mulled over it for months.  Suddenly in the middle of the night a few days ago it hit me, crop it tons, there is just too much empty space.  (I know I need to get a life and do other things at night but. . .that’s another story)  It took a day or two to get the courage but then I took my paper cutter and let her rip.   After, I added a few extra touches to give more sparkle and Stars were born.   

With Determination and Reassurance, I will start the weekend!!

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DETERMINATION - 10 x 8 Available

Yes, this is a big weekend; I am part of The Langley Art Studio Tour. This is a very exciting event for me, my first studio tour.  No, I haven’t moved to Langley so it won’t actually  be in my studio but I will be with a group of 5 other artists at the Fields & Flower Farm, 900 232 St.  We will be one of the “Stops of Interest”.  The tour will have 43 artists, 17 working art studios, 6 ‘Stops of Interest’, a range of mini-workshops and demos, and plenty of art to see.  It really looks like it will be a great event.  Best of all it will be over two weekends to give everyone a chance to poke around a bit at their leisure.

REASSURANCE - 10 x 8 Available

Places I would love to check out are Susan Falk’s studio, she is a tiny lady and does huge paintings, her studio set up would be very interesting to see.  www.susanfalk.ca   Down the road from us is Flowers from a Country Garden, a u-pick flower garden.  This sounds like a really novel idea and I would like to see how it works.  She had flowers for our reception last night and the bouquets were stunning. www.upickcountryflowers.blogspot.com

The tour dates are Sept. 24 & 25 and Oct. 1 & 2, 10am – 5 pm.  This is a self-guided tour and all the details and maps can be found at www.langleyartstudiotour.ca  I will be doing one of the demos, “Drawing Animals in Graphite” at 2 pm each day of the Sept 25 & 25 weekend.  Of course my new pictures “Determination’’ and “Reassurance” will be there to greet you. 

I wish you all could come and check out the tour but for those that can, it will be great to see you.

AUTUMN DAYS AT THE LAKE

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LAST DAYS OF SUMMER - 8 X 14

Oh, this was the September to be camping!!  We have just got back from our last trip of the season and it was the best!!  The weather was fabulous, often 30 during the day, the scenery was wonderful, and the fishing was great! What more could you ask?  My husband, Steve was busy each day arranging the tackle, getting worms and charging the electric motor and I was painting.  There was a surprising number of people camped at the lake with us so lots of company and stories and of course theories on fishing – Best Practices were the tale of the day.  The days just whizzed by, can’t believe we are home already.

SUMMER SUNSHINE - 4.5 X 6

Davis Lake is in the mountains, just south of Merritt.  It is just at the point where the forests are turning into the dry grasslands.  The landscape is so different from the coast, short pine and firs, lots of birch and poplar and huge areas of grassland.  Of course the fall colours were starting to show and on those sunny days everything just took on new life.  I know my photos and sketches just do not do it justice. 

Our Resident Loon

The trees and grasslands were beautiful

Often the water was just like glass on the lake, with the fish jumping, of course!!

A regular visitor to our camp, despite Rusty's efforts to chase him away!!

IT'S COFFEE TIME

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IT'S COFFEE TIME - 13 X 22 - Available

Golfing, bulrushes, setting sun.  These are things I think of when I see the red-winged blackbirds.  I like to golf in the late afternoon and the blackbirds are abundant on the golf course.   As the sun sets in the evening, the colours glow on the water and fairways and the birds spur us along with their serenade. 

This group was gathered at the bird feeder and after cropping the picture I thought I would try incorporating the watercolour pouring technique with a highly realistic drawing of the birds themselves.  I found the picture quite a challenge it became a mixture of both working in the negative and the positive.  I finished the picture in the evening at our campsite and entered it into the Federation Juried Show as soon as we got home.  They made the cut!!  It’s Coffee Time is now hanging in the Surrey Arts Center, Aug 20-Nov. 13.  The reception is September 17, 2011. 7:30-9pm.  See you there.

It's Coffee Time - Step 1, after the pour

It's Coffee Time - Step 2, working on the negative

Dragonfly

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DRAGONFLY - 6.5 X 9 - SOLD

In my last post, I mentioned that we stayed with friends in a cabin on Great Slave Lake.  Dragonfly was built by them over the last few years.  It is a lovely cabin on a small island in a group called Pilot Islands.  Howard, one of the owners tells me that much of the material was taken out in the winter with a skidoo and trailer.  It would be stacked and used in the summer.  Other things were brought out in the summer with their power boat and it was fun manhandling things like a stove or fridge out of the boat, on to their dock and then up over the rocks to the cabin. 

Shoreline Sketches - some were made as we were trolling

A project like that is hard work, but comes with a real feeling of accomplishment and of course lots of stories.  After hearing all of their stories it really gave me a desire to venture up north in the winter and see what life is like.  I really want to see an ice road, ride on a skidoo, see the northern lights in the winter and see the ice and snow in the setting sun.  My brother tells me March is a good time to visit so don’t be surprised if I head off next winter!!

In the meantime I thought you would enjoy seeing some of my sketches from the trip, they are just little snatches of north, so different but still so picturesque.

Dave & Cindy's Greenhouse, we got lots of fresh cherry tomatoes from their patio garden

Quick sketches as we drove back from Fort Providence, I love the rocks and trees.  The scrawny thin trees are so fun to draw.  So much personality!!

Yellowknife, NWT was a Great Place to Visit

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

Dave and Cindy with their great garden

First up was a potluck dinner at the community garden, it was great to see such lush green vegetable gardens so far north and no bugs!!  My brother and sister-in-law, Dave and Cindy had a wonderful plot full of my favourite things, fresh peas, green beans and new potatoes which we enjoyed throughout our trip.

On the weekend we were off to Dragonfly, a cabin on an island on Great Slave Lake.  Howard and Bonita the cabin owners, were gracious in showing us life on the GSL.  With their boat we motored along the shoreline and stopped for little adventures,

An old boat in Mosquito Bay

we fished and caught some great pike for dinner, we feasted on wild raspberries and high bush cranberries that we picked on our adventures and generally had a wonderful time.  Everything was new and exciting and different. (Remember we are used to the west coast of BC with tall mountains and trees everywhere.)  

The Berry Pickers

 

Pike for Dinner

Trees, rock and mosses everywhere!!

One of our day trips was down the road to Fort Providence where the Mackenzie River feeds out  of the Great Slave Lake.  Our trip took us through the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary and we were treated to many bison sightings.  Also a special treat for me was the sighting of Sandhill Cranes.  I didn’t realize that many spent the summer there.  (As you know they have been the subject of many of my pictures. ) One treated us to his squawks and dance and then took off. I have never seen them fly; it was quite a sight to see.

One of the boat houses on the Lake in Old Town

Our trip is over but we have great memories.  I want to return to the north but my next trip will be to see the winter!!