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

Harbour Rest

I was hoping to finish my cow painting this week to show you the latest update ... but life got in the way and I still need a few more days till it is complete.

I thought instead I'd introduce you to "Harbour Rest".
This was inspired by a photograph that I took a couple years back in Steveston Village, on the mainland of BC.
When my partner Jeff was living in Richmond, Steveston Village was one of our favourite places to go for fish 'n chips.

This painting started with several layers of black paint. Once that was dry, I then roughly sketched in some of the details, with a graphite stick.

Slowly I start painting in the highlights. Before long - just like magic - the painting came to life.

A few more layers of paint and voila - the painting was complete.

"Harbour Rest", 10 x 12", acrylic painting

p.s.

It's been raining off and on the last few days like cats and dog. At this moment, the sun is out, so I better go take my dog for a quick walk.

Till Next Time ...

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

Susan

Art Expo

Last night we attended the opening for the Oceanside Arts Council Festival of Art. This is a juried show each March which attracts over 300 artists to display their artwork. The show is in it's 34th year. As you walk around the room admiring all the diverse pieces of artwork, it is truly mind expanding, as each artist is so very different from the other, but all with a similar passion for art.

Speaking of mind expanding - we have decided to host the first annual Island Arts Expo. We are in the early planning stages, but the basic concept is an extravaganza of artists and artisans, workshops, guest speakers and entertainment, along with really good food (very important). The slated dates are Nov. 14th and 15th, 2009. Please check our website periodically as we will bring you more details.

Not withstanding that .... just so you know that I continue to work on my own art .... here is the beginning of another painting. The barn is from one photograph and the cows from another - both are Saskatchewan born. At this point the cows look somewhat stunned ... as Jeff pointed out "There's something wrong with those cows!" What I say is, "Ha, this is just the beginning - wait for the transformation. It will be truly miraculous."

I better get to work on it!

Till next time.

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

Susan

Two Old Crows

Please forgive me ... I forgot to do my Friday Blog. But I have a good excuse - my brother and his fiancé from Regina are here visiting. They are trying to escape the Saskatchewan winter. I have been very busy touring them around the Island as well as delivering my Spring Issue of the Island Arts Magazine.
That is my excuse and I'm stickin to it!

I would like to introduce you to "Two Old Crows". I am constantly feeding the birds in my yard, and seeing many new species, so much so that we had to go out and buy a new bird book for the West Coast. Once the seeds go out, the crows instinctively move in. We yell and wave our hands at the old nags as they quickly gobble up the peanuts leaving nothing but shells for the Stellar J's.

Perhaps that has influenced this painting ... or the fact that I will be turning 50 later this year and have been offered my first senior discount. Who knows! All I know is that this painting was fun to do. My only intention when starting this painting was to paint a couple of crows. I had no idea what colours I was going to use, the layout ... nothing. This was really fun and freeing! The paint when on, I worked quickly, wet into wet, moving the colours back and forth, until finally I had to stop, in fear of messing it up. Yes it was complete and I absolutely love the result.

"Two Old Crows" 10 x 12", acrylic painting

To check out more of my artwork please go to my store.

Till Next Time ...

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

Susan