Another Busy Week

First of all I do apologize with being late with my Blog. I was hoping to have some images to accompany one of my stories, but they have yet to show up in my email box.

Here's my past week:

Tuesday was 'Artist in Resident' day at TOSH. I had two paintings that I was working on. The volunteer for the gift shop was off being a gramma, so I was also wearing the hat (or beret) of keeping a eye on the shop. But I did manage a coffee date with a friend and got some good painting done.

Wednesday I was off to Port Alberni to give an Artist's talk to two groups of 8-graders. I tried my best to keep them interested, but found some were there just to get out of class. Hopefully I did reach a few kids. At the end of the question and answer period I said "Ha, I brought some of my acrylic paints with me. Would anybody like to give them a try?"

Well that was the key to getting them excited and involved as they quickly lined up at the eisel to try their hand at painting.

I know I had fun! Here is a quote from one of the assistant teachers:"Meeting you has also inspired me to continue to teach students in a real world capacity."

What a nice thought!

Thursday I was in Nanaimo for most of the day - the rest of the week was gardening and beach walking. There you have it - another week!

Till Next Time ...

Love what you Do ... and Do what you Love.

Susan

A Busy Week

It's been a very busy week for production. First of all I completed my 8th annual Travel Guide for the Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask. area. Wow - 8 years has just flown by. I received the proof from the printers yesterday, one final look and off to the presses. They will be delivered in June.

Next in line, is the Summer issue of the Island Arts Magazine. This issue was truly a test of patience. We had problems with our network server ... what that means it for over a week, my email program was acting bizerk. I was sending emails out to my clients, asking them to proof their ads .... but receiving no replys.
What's going on, I thought. We started another email address: susan@islandartsmag.ca
It truly was a test of patience, for both myself and my clients, (who probably thought I was nagging them with duplicate emails). Finally the magazine has all come together .... and let me tell you .... this issue is OUTSTANDING! There is soooo much going on for the summer, I have many new artists advertising, the editorial content is phenomenal and of course the design looks fabulous.

This weekend, we give it another proofing, then it too can be uploaded to the printers who will run a final proof for me. That too will be delivered in June.

For all of you who have subscribed to the magazine .... what are you waiting for?

Next week I paint!

Till Next Time ...

Love what you Do ... and Do what you Love.

Susan

From the Prairies to the West Coast

Sunday evening, and boy am I beat. Yesterday was my art opening at the Rollin' Art Centre in Port Alberni.

First of all, the show looked absolutely beautiful! The ladies who set it up did a great job. Here is a picture of the entrance .... as you come up the stairs the first thing you see is a couple of prairie cows. The title of the show is "From the Prairies to the West Coast."

I have 38 pieces on display - all acrylic artwork - of varying sizes. The pieces were displayed in different groupings, with themes. I was really happy with the look.

For three hours I painted and talked to art lovers about my work. The biggest surprise was when Shaw Cable showed up to do an interview with me that will appear on television this week. The local newspaper showed up shortly after that, to write a story about the show. Wow!

What a great day! I had difficulty sleeping last night, as I was on cloud nine, reliving the day.

By the way .... the the cakes and brownies that they served were decadent!

The show continues on till May 20th... make sure you to drop by, it's well worth the drive!

Till Next Time ...

Love what you Do ... and Do what you Love.

Susan

Blogged Out

Sorry for the delay in my blog .... but I am feeling rather blogged out!

I am getting ready for a solo art show in Port Alberni. Getting ready for an exhibiton is a whole lottta work!

This week, I went around to some of the galleries and gift shops where my pieces of work were on consignment, and picked up those remaining. Then at home, I carefully examined each piece; were the frames O.K., or damaged or knicked, is the wiring still in tact, had each piece been signed and named on the back? Some of my older pieces hadn't, as this is just a recent practice that I really think is a good idea. The back of each piece should be signed exactly, as you sign it on the front, also (if you like) with a copyrite © and the year that it was created.

Next they get checked off on my master price list, before they get packed for delivery.

Phew .... oh yes, this morning we made a quick trip to Walmart to purchase a plastic container, for transporting some of the smaller pieces.

I still have to finalize my price list and finish framing three pieces.

Then they are delivered on Tuesday.

Remember: for all of you on the West Coast, please drop by Saturday, April 25th at the Rollin' Art Centre, at the corner of 8th and Argyle from 1 - 3pm. I will be painting up a storm!

Please drop by and say hi - have a coffee and snack. The show will be quite impressive with 38 acrylic pieces.

p.s.

The photo above is called "Anything Goes", as out here in Bowser it is common to see dogs sitting in the driver's seat. I told my dog, Cheyenne, that no way was I going to let him drive my new car!

Till Next Time ...

Love what you Do ... and Do what you Love.

Susan

Tide's Out

If you recall, I had taken a workshop with Brian Simons in Victoria, this past Jan. I was struggling with one particular painting - a wavey beach. Brian had told me to go home, and not to touch the piece again until it "Screamed" at me. (refer to blog of Jan. 30th.).

Home I went, wondering why I put myself through the torture of trying to learn new techniques. The painting stood against my wall for several weeks, before I heard a slight peep "Try painting me again!"

So I timidly dusted if off, placed it on the easel, and the words of "David Wick" (another famous artist whom I've recently met) came into my mind - "Let the spirit move you."

I put on some funky rock 'n' roll music, big brush in hand and began to play - putting paint on canvas. The paint was flying, the brush strokes were painterly. The painting was taking on a life of it's own.

Jeff came into the studio "Five minutes till supper". "I can't stop now" I said, "I'm in the groove and I have wet paint". Several brush strokes later, I stood back and declared the painting finished.

The painting has now been transformed from a wavey beach, to a

"Tide's Out", 24 x 30", acrylic

Till Next Time ...

Love what you Do ... and Do what you Love.

Susan

Out to Pasture

The time just seems to be flying by. This week I've been working on designs and layouts for both the Valley Travel Guide and also getting a start on the next Island Arts Magazine. In between that I've been poking a few seeds into the ground and getting my hands dirty! Oh the sweet smell of spring!

If you recall I was working on a cow painting, wondering if I should gesso it over, or turn it into a dog (or perhaps the painting itself was a dog). Take a quick look at my posting of March 12th for comparison. I am pleased to announce that I persevered, I questioned, I threatened, often standing on my head and many layers of paint later, I present to you "Out to Pasture", acrylic 30 x 24".

What do you think ... send me your comments, I'd love to hear from you.

p.s.

I bet you thought this blog titled "Out to Pasture" was going to be about my pending birthday. Ha fooled ya!

Till Next Time ...

Love what you Do ... and Do what you Love.

Susan

Art Exhibition

Some of you have been asking about my dog, Cheyenne, so I thought I'd post an up to date image of him. He is great! He enjoys his walks along the beach and he also throughly enjoys his several naps per day. He is becoming known around the island ... as a matter of fact some folks recognize him, before they recognize us! Hmmm!

Heeeerrrr's the dog! He sees a seal, but not quite sure what it is. There was nothing like it in the prairies - so this is new!

Now that we have that out of the way .... my very most exciting news for this week .... drum roll please ... is that I have been asked to have a Solo Exhibition of my paintings at the Rollin' Art Gallery in Port Alberni.

The show will run from April 24-May 20 with a meet and greet on Sat. April 25th. It runs in conjunction with Days of the Arts on April 25th in Port Alberni; a self-guided artists studio tour. In otherwords, I am part of the tour!

Now my head is spinning, as I must prepare a bio, update my brochures, and choose 20 - 30 paintings to display, all within the next week. (hmm I should probably get a hair cut before then as well)

I am very excited about the opportunity and I am looking forward to having a Fantastically GREAT Show!

I better get to work!

Till Next Time ...

Love what you Do ... and Do what you Love.

Susan