It is almost 6:30 pm and John, my husband brings in the hot samosas from home, Brianne, my daughter and her grandmother Hattie made the punch and put out the fruit kabobs, the squares and cheese and crackers. Awaiting the first guests, Brianne shows her excitement by dancing a few steps. My son Vaughan, currently in Australia, is shown here at the opening  in painting form beside Brianne.

As the guests arrive I begin a wonderful evening of art talk about my work.  The discussions were about  the differences between watercolour and oil and why I switched;  how each of the paintings are so different in style and the use of colour;  how viewing the paintings from a distance shows  depth and makes the image move forward from the canvas;  how rock can be pink and water purple;  how a painting of grays and black with orange lobster attracts everyone’s attention;  how one can see the wind in the painting The West Wind;  and how Brianne has grown into a positive and wonderful young adult . The last comment was made by those who knew her growing up in Fonthill. The evening was a gathering of old and new friends who came out to support me and share this special evening . I appreciate all your compliments and comments. Thank you for coming!

The Pelham Art Festival will be celebrating 25 years  of service in Pelham this year! Our first Festival in the Arena in 1986 was an ambitious venture to help raise funds for the proposed new library in Fonthill. Over the years the Pelham Library System and the Community of Pelham have benefited from the active participation of committed Artist and Festival Volunteers who arrange to provide beautiful works of art, live musical entertainment, good food and friendly ambiance. This keeps people coming back to savour the Show year after year, and to make it one of the most successful and longest running Art Shows in Ontario. In honour of this Special Anniversary, the Pelham Art Festival Committee has made an extra donation of $25,0000 for the building fund of the proposed new Maple Acre Branch of the Pelham Library. We have come full circle and look forward to the future.   www.pelhamartfestival.com

The Invitation features my latest painting “Georgian Bay Moods”

Thank you for reading my Blog. An exhibition of my latest oil paintings will be held at the main branch of the Pelham Library in Fonthill during the month of April. The work can be viewed during Library hours or at the Opening on April 16th, 2011. See you there!

The portrait of Jean is complete. As I was working on the painting towards the end there was always something I could do to improve the shape of the eye lid, the colouring on the mouth or the shadows on the cheek, I thought. This is dangerous because one change will start the domino effect, will create the need to change adjacent areas and on and on it will go. Experience however will give me the confidence and the know how to stop when it is done. I am happy with the painting and the learning process and look forward to the next portrait.

If you haven’t looked through my website, the last two paintings completed are Waterlilies and Tide’s Out in Galway. The painting Waterlilies was started “au plein air” on a sunny day in the community of Whitefish Falls south of Espanola. The abundant Water Lilies blanket the waters pooling on the pink rocks along Georgian Bay. The second painting Tide’s Out in Galway is from our cycling trip to Ireland along the Atlantic coastline from Achill Island to Galway. In the southern part of this area are small fishing communities with a variety of colourfully painted fishing vessels quietly awaiting the incoming tide.

 I am currently working on an image of Georgian Bay close to Parry Sound taken while kayaking.

Painting, Traveling and Portraiture; July 8th, 2010

It is the time of year to travel to new places and enjoy the outdoors. Two weeks of cycling on the rocky north-west coast of Ireland and camping on the shores of Georgian Bay north of Parry Sound has kept me away from working on Jean’s portrait. As soon as Jean returns from her holiday, I will continue and complete her painting.

In Ireland, I took many photos of the rugged coast, the deep fijords, the quaint fishing harbours and the sheep covered hills and mountains. I am hoping these photos will give me enough information to paint a few pictures of Ireland.

Painting ‘Au Plein Air’ on the rocky shores of Georgian Bay always has its challenges. The hot and bright sun on the canvas (even toned) and the wind makes sitting on the rocks for 5-6 hours an endurance test. However afterwards, back at the campsite, I had a cold drink, studied the painting more objectively and decided that it had turned out pretty well.