Blog

 Just a couple of blocks from my studio, lies Queen Square. It's not as well known or as busy as King's Square but it's my favourite place to walk, sit and just be.  The statue is of Samuel DeChamplain  who is very important in Saint John's and Canada's history. The trees here are nothing short of magnificent.  I often wonder just how old these beautiful maples really are as I sit here in the shade. 

The painting is framed in a copper tone and linen lined frame and greeting cards of this image will be available shortly.

I am popping the cork on the bubbly, Saturday, March 10th. Join me in the studio, 146 Germain Street from 10:00 until 2:00 for my famous mimosas and to have a little look around at the "Little Guys".

I have been having a lot of fun creating little these 6 x 6 inch acrylic paintings on ceramic tile. The acrylic allows me to get fussy and technical (if I decide to) but mostly I have just been getting creative and having so much fun.

The process is a little complicated. First the tiles have to be cleaned with a solution and then they need to be coated with a special tile and glass primer. The acrylic, of course acts differently, on the tile so there's been a learning curve here but it's been fun. I have also applied some blown ink here and there on the trees and then the works need a few coats of sealer. I pop them into the ready made frames and put them on display. my introductry price is $50 each for the acrylic tiles.

My favourite framer, Mario has been busy making the black wood frames for me and I have been filling them as fast as he makes them.

I have posted very few of these online as I wanted to give the studio visitors a chance to see them (and I take terrible photos). Here's a few. I hope to have around 25 of the acrylic on tile for next Saturday for the introduction party.

 I also have many new Ink Tiles which will be available. Here's a couple of the 30 or so I've done.

   I have some lovely works which haven't sold, probably due to poor marketing on my part. Starting Thursday, I will be marking most of the older paintings down by 75% but just until February 14th.  There will be quite a few at 50% off and there is a growing number of works in the $50 box. Valentine's Day is my favourite holiday and I'd love to see some of my works going out to special people and, I will include a free card with the purchase of any painting. If there's a painting you have been looking at, email me to see if it's in the sale. 

   The sale will only be advertised to people who follow the blog, are on the email list or who follow my facebook page. You may, of course bring a friend.

   Studio is open most weekdays from at least 11:00 until 4:00 but it is a studio and from time to time, I head out to clear my head or to work in the field. With advance notice, I can arrange to be there at a mutually convenient time.

I still don't have debit or credit card in the studio so it's cash or cheque (with proof of ID). 

  My studio is in a very old building on an historic street in Uptown Saint John.  Germain Street features many independent businesses and some of the most beautiful heritage homes anywhere.  This area of town is home to people of very diverse backgrounds and income levels. In an age where new development tends to follow the principal of "conformity" , our "Uptown" is a welcome relief.

 This is a neighbourhood where just saying, "Hello" to folks passing by would be considered snobby. It's always, "Good morning...great weather for November."  or  whatever. We are a community and appreciate and encourage each other.

  I was very touched by this warm support as I was turning my window boxes into Christmas greenery arrangements. I was able to get some lovely greenery at the City Market at a very fair price and so started arranging the window boxes. There were many people walking by on Thursday and I don't think one person walked by without saying they looked nice and so many thanked me for helping make the neighbourhood look more festive. I am so thankful to my landlord for providing the window boxes and leasing me the studio space and to the most welcoming community I have ever been a part of. 

  I want to wish everyone all the joy and love of the season and may you all know true peace in your hearts and in your homes.

  The autumn colours are still hanging on to the trees in many places. My container gardens are still growing in this mild November weather. I know they have to go away soon but it seems cruel to uproot them when they're still blooming. I'm in a state of denial about winter but it's going to happen soon.

  I will dig the Christmas decorations out on Sunday, November 12 to decorate the studio. There will be mimosas and some treats available for anyone who wants to stop in and help or just watch. I'm looking at being there from at least 11:00 until 4:00. Drop in. We'll take a vote on the Christmas music.

  After taking some personal time off, I will be open again most days for those who would like to visit. I have a few oil paintings that I have recently finished and a couple more that should be finished by the weekend. I had an idea for an abstract painting today and started it in acrylic. I am excited about how it's coming along!

  There are a few works from last year and before that could really use a new home. I have discounted some of these pieces to make them affordable to more people. If there's a painting you've been considering for a while, it may well be in this group. These prices are for a limited time only. I just need a bit of wall space.

  Also, I will be taking part in "Uptown Sparkles", on December 01. This is probably the best Holiday Event Saint John has ever hosted and I really want to thank everyone at Uptown Saint John for making it happen. My studio will sparkle and there will be lots of treats and a bit of Christmas Cheer!

I was expecting the studio to quiet down after the big move and opening in May. Life has been busier than ever.  I have been hosting quite a few painting parties both as team building exercises as well as purely social events as well as painting up a storm and meeting and greeting the folks who drop in for a visit.

I totaled my computer by deleting my internet connection so I'm learning to use a new system which is slow going for me. If you're wondering how I can be so computer illiterate and yet have a professional looking website, many thanks go to the host Fine Art Studios Online (FASO).  They make it easy.

 Now I'm busy preparing for two events:

Friday, August 18th  3:00- 9:00 Open Studio

Saturday, August 26th 12:00- 7:00 Summerville Art Festival

There is a lot going on Uptown, Saint John on Friday so I thought it would be an ideal time to introduce my new oil paintings. I made a little road trip to Endeavours in Fredericton a few weeks ago and came back with some new oil paints. Loving the vibrancy of the colours and the beautiful depth.  

Fundy View was my first oil in well over a year and I've been working in the oils ever since. Drop in on Friday and have a look.

When the Fog Rolls In

I've also done a couple of paintings of the beautiful Kingston Peninsula for the Summerville Art festival later this month.

Nail Factory Stream, Acrylic

Morning at White's Bluff

Please mark your calendars. I'd love to see you at one of even both these events.

 I feel like I've sent the last two weeks in a gym. I've been up and down the stairs hundreds of times, lifting weight each time. Add to that cleaning and climbing the ladder to hang art,  and hang the drapes. I am feeling very fit and the new studio is getting there.

 My "Grand Opening" is scheduled for next weekend, Friday, May 12th from 4:00 until at least 8:00PM and Saturday, May 13th 11:00- 2:00. Friday evening may be quite crowded as there is a lot going on uptown. Saturday will be a brunch-type celebration with mimosas and brunch inspired snacks and although I would love a large crowd, I am sure it will be quieter.

  I did put an "open" sign out, even though I wasn't quite ready, and several people were in, including a wonderful couple on vacation from Israel, a few friends, studio neighbours and some passers-by. I'll be putting the final push on during the week, sewing some curtains to hide my storage areas, putting the labels on the paintings, tidying and straightening up. It is a smaller space and I am missing all of the storage I had but hopefully this will encourage me to be less of a packrat.

  As you can see there is still a lot of work to do but I will do my best to have it ready for you next week. 

  The new studio already feels like home and I hope you will find the space welcoming and homelike and if you can't make the "opening" that you'll stop in for a tea or coffee. There is nothing worse than making paintings that nobody gets to see.

 Well, after a few false starts, it looks like I will be moving my studio this week!  I am not going far, just downstairs. The space is actually smaller but I will have windows facing the street and NO STAIRS! (actually there is one stair).

  I am hoping to be able to have a "Grand Opening" the second weekend in May and if I have to stay up all night, I will do what it takes. More about that later but mark your calendars for the 12th and 13th of May!

 I have been busy lately with a huge line of small works. The ink tiles are back again and I have several to choose from. I also have a huge selection of matted small abstract works. I am excited to be able to offer these to first time collectors as well as to those who only have a couple of small spaces left for new acquisitions. These will be available at "the opening"!

 I have a few paintings in a "Sunset Series" I have been working on and a strong desire to get into the paint to paint another two sunset images that are floating around in my head. Once an image gets into my system, it haunts me until it's on the canvas.

  So hard to believe summer, at least in my part of the world, is over. I'm seeing women in the new fall fashions. Here and there leaves are starting to turn. When I take my morning coffee out to the deck, I bring a sweater. I hear the Canada Geese honking as they start to gather together.  Days are still warm but it's getting late to sleep in a tent. 

  I took a little bit of summer vacation, but not much.  I have so many things happening in my art life!  I've been preparing for a mini-display at Blink on Princess Street, which is the window of INK Graphic Design Services Inc. I'm hosting a "Doors Open" on September 24th in conjunction with Harvesting the Arts and I have several works in The Cathedral Restoration Show September 23 and 24th. Creating fresh work for these events has kept me busy. What is really keeping me close to home is creating paintings for my solo show at Imperial Theatre starting at the end of January. This will be my largest solo show to date and I am working on creating a cohesive body of the best work I can do. Surrealism is starting to appear on canvases in my studio but it's a different kind of surrealism.

  So many people have been into the studio lately and a lot of my works have found new homes. I'm almost totally representing myself these days and I like it.  I love meeting with the people who buy my works and talking with them and getting emails and photos of paintings in their new homes.  Before, I would hear, "it went to Fredericton",  or a "young couple" bought it. Now I know a painting's in a kitchen dining room or wherever.  This means a lot as I put so much of myself into a painting.

  And then, there's the "painting parties". I'm excited to be doing a "Canvas and Mocktail" at Taste of Egypt on September 28th and I have two big fundraiser parties in November. I've worked out a few new paintings and will be booking mini-parties in the studio as I can only seat 6 comfortably.  I also have bookings for parties in people's homes. Thank goodness, I love what I do!

 Winter is dragging on and on as it always does in New Brunswick. I decided to paint myself something to take me to early summer. These lupines were growing not too far from my home. I feel so blessed to live in an area where the hills and ditches can be chock full of wild lupines! I just had fun with this work and let it take away the winter blues. I used a professional grade liquid acrylic paint and a technique I have developed to let the paint run and mix on it's own accord. It's very hard to make a "fussy" painting this way.

  The $350 price is framed in a painted black frame with bits of white distressing.