"Morning Meditation"

I have been trying to get away from painting strictly from photographs. I have been using my visual journal to sketch out ideas and work on perspective. I really liked painting on the round canvas and decided to do another one.

This one was inspired by my previous painting "Moonlit Dreams" and I wanted continue with the figure of the girl in my paintings.

Using what I had learned from painting previous sunrises, the colour and style for this painting emerged.

Morning Mediation - Oil onCanvas
10 inch round

"It Never Hurts to Ask..."

I have always been told this by my mother, grandmother, friends but for some reason I have hesitated many times, held back by shyness,  or the possibility of no. Well this time I asked.

I have many of my mother's paintings and I have been trying to decide what to do with them. I have picked out my favourites, saved some for family, but there are still quite a few left. Some are damaged as they are 30 years old, but I can't bear to part with them.

My mother was a teacher, and also worked as a guidance counsellor. She worked for a number of years at a  High School in a small town in Nova Scotia. It was because of her work there that she took up painting. She took lessons from her friend and the art teacher at the school. The school now has an Art Gallery named after the art teacher.

I contacted the gallery and offered to donate one of my mother's paintings and they accepted! I am so thrilled. What a wonderful place to hang one of her paintings in a school she worked hard in, in the gallery named after her good friend. So fitting.

Happy Mother's Day.

Artist Gladys - Oil on Panel - 1981

Spring Forward

Spring is around the corner. I cannot wait. I love spring though it means I will be back to work soon. I have been very fortunate to have a wonderful year off with my baby.

I do have a bit of spring fever. I have already completed a hefty round of spring cleaning. I am also looking forward to working in my garden. I adore flowers, all kinds, so my garden is usually full of them.

Here is one that was inspired by the dahlia's in my garden last year.

Dahlia - 4x5 - Oil on Canvas 

I also love to watch the sunrise, though I am not typically a morning person, I am usually up pretty early so the opportunity presents itself. I don't live on the ocean, but I am lucky to live close by so my new work is of the sun rising on the ocean.

Violet Sea - 2 1/2 x 2 1/2  - Mini Oil on Canvas

Teal Waters - 2 1/2 x 2 1/2  - Mini Oil on Canvas

New Morning - 6 X 6 - Oil on Canvas

Having a look at my recent paintings, I have noticed that they have less muted tones and are more colourful. I have been thinking about this and it seems that it reflects my desire for warmer weather and the brightness of spring.

Feel free to comment, say hi or ask questions. I would love to hear from you.

I was recently asked to do a painting for a silent auction fund raiser coming up in March. Details to be posted later.

I have really wanted to do a night scene so I decided the silent auction was the push I needed to do one. I really enjoyed doing this painting and I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Harbour ar Night - 11 X 14 Oil on Canvas

The Pink Bear

I have been busy taking care of my 8 month old. She is growing fast and on the move. One day while I put her down for her nap, I noticed the sun shining on the toys that had been left out. I decided that I needed to paint the scene and took a reference photo.

The pink bear was a gift from her big sister who also has one and has been a favourite in our house.

This is the result.

"Naptime" 2011 Oil on Canvas 10 X 12 

I had a lot of fun doing this painting.

The Virtual Paintout - Boston, MA

Well, this month The Virtual Paintout went to Boston, MA, USA. It is a city I would definitely love to visit. Reminds me a bit of Halifax, NS.

If you haven't yet visited the website, I would highly recommend it. Seeing the variety of work is so interesting.

I did find it challenging to explore the city and try to decide what to paint. In the end I was inspired by the seemingly quietness of the park by a busy street.

Charles Street, Boston MA, USA
Canvas Panel 6 X 8

I wonder where we'll go in February?

A Nice End to a Great Year

Happy New Year!

What a fantastic year 2010 was; a  new baby, a birthday milestone, and pursuing art again.

A nice end to the year was participating in the 57th Student, Staff, Faculty and Alumni Exhibition at the Dalhousie University Art Gallery. The exhibit opened on December 9 and closed December 19th. It was a really neat exhibit and I am really glad I had the opportunity to participate.  Unfortunately, I only found out about the exhibit a couple of weeks before so I did not have time to complete any new work. Here are my three submissions.

Summer Break, Oil on Masonite Tile, 6 X 6

Summer Fun, Oil on Canvas, 5 X 7

Gypsy Dreaming, Oil on Canvas Panel 8 X 10

It was a great exhibition with works from a very diverse group of artists.

I am really looking forward to painting more in the new year, and already have many ideas for new work!

Tweet Tweet...

A year ago, if anyone had told me that I would be blogging and tweeting, I would have said "huh?".

Life can change a lot in a year.

This past year I've had a baby, reached a  birthday milestone, began oil painting, and have become slighty more social media savvy.

Through Twitter,  I have met some really interesting people and have learned a great deal from such a dynamic and rich source of information.

Recently, through my twittering (bear with me, still learning the lingo) I came across an event for  a Twitter art exhibit in Moss, Norway,  aimed at artists on Twitter.  It combines a couple of great activities I enjoy and it's for a good cause, raising money for their local library.

The exhibit will have a minimum of 140 artists representing the 140 characters on Twitter. The art must be postcard size.  With the idea that the postcard symbolizes a tweet.

Here is my submission.

Me & My Shadow -  Oil on Watercolour Board - 4X6