  Well June got away from me.... as I was enjoying becoming a grandmother for the first time! On May 16th we welcomed wee Fenna Katherine Huizinga to our world. What a lovely new chapter.... Weather-wise it was a gloriously warm summery June but oh so very dry! It is a major worry as our rainforest plants and trees are suffering. I have browning salal in my garden and 2 very large fir trees that have died as well as a small red cedar that is dead red! Yikes.... we need rain! So it is now July and it has finally rained- in fact the last week has been cloudy and rainy. Great for the vegetable garden! But in the studio it is still warm with activity ....          A fun one workshop "Fantastical Florals" And a few cold wax and oil pieces that have been on my easel lately:        Thanks to my art buddy Jenny, I am experimenting with colour along with her as she studies with the amazing artist and teacher Pamela Caughey. Here are first studies: from top- gray scale, monochrome, complimentary and triad schemes. Learning a lot about colour mixing. These are in acrylic and will be added to, and edited over the next few weeks...  Painted in an awesome garden last weekend as part of the Art and Garden Tour in Campbell River. Here is one of the small acrylics "Gooseneck Loosestrife" done that day. 
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Oh my what a beautiful month- the merry month of May! I love the longer days, the soft greens that are appearing on all the deciduous trees and the delightful smells... It has been a busy spring so far, so I have a lot of photos of student work, both in classes and in ongoing drop-in students. Acrylics III class--- exploring abstracts ; quick studies. Cold Wax and Oil Painting Workshop in Gold River, BC: April 27/28 2019 A wonderful group of artists explored this flexible- albeit messy- medium!! A most enjoyable weekend! I don't seem to have many photos of the finished works!! Watercolour III class: these lovely folks have been doing some amazing work on landscapes. They are now beginning to look at portraits.                  A Focus On class: painting large white flowers- mostly magnolias. Photos show the progress of these watercolours. And of course, the awesome ongoing drop-in sessions---- producing a delightful potpourri of subjects and styles...           So March did get away from me... welcome April. Sunny weather, no showers yet, earth exploding with life. Studio has been steady with focus on classes and drop in sessions- watercolour and acrylic classes will begin again next week. Let me know asap if you are interested in joining one of those sessions. The studio calendar will be up again by the end of this week, I promise:) I have got to Victoria and Vancouver over the last couple of weekends- visited several art venues and of course some art shops to buy more supplies! Here are a few photos of what the 'Drop-in' and' Focus on' folks have been working on:                           February almost got away without a blog post!!! It was a short but very busy month here in the studio- Intermediate Watercolour and Acrylics winter classes are winding up, weekend workshops are ahappenin' and Drop-In afternoons continue to be ongoing fun! At our local art gallery, the Annual Member's Show is closing ( and my entry" Working Girls" has sold!). I was delighted that several of my 'students' had beautiful pieces in the show! I have kept busy trying to fit in a little of my own painting- a couple of commissions, my oil series of "Paths" paintings, and some mixed media 'remixes'. Our Wet Paint Art Group meets each Tuesday afternoon - at one of the member's studios' to paint, and we are planning several group shows and exhibitions this year- stay tuned! Here are a few photos of what has been going on in the studio: ( student work, often in progress....) Lots of Funky Florals:                Shells!! FOCUS-On Atmospheric Effects in Watercolour             Colourful Portraits in Watercolour-- Watercolour class- studies in colour temperature, colour schemes, arches, painting brick, wood, stone etc... Awesome Acrylics!!             The 'Focus-on group' tried their hand at a watercolour warm-up activity to loosen up and have fun. Using a modified colour wheel- Bob Burridge's Goof Proof Colour Wheel- we did 4 small florals. Not really as easy as it seems! Here are a few photos from last Friday:                So another year begins--- full of promise and good intentions. I hope for good health, happy experiences into creativity and adventure, and an overall peaceful and productive year for my family, friends, students and artsy acquaintances.  I signed up for the free 5 day Painting Challenge with Mike Svob, awesome artist from Victoria, BC. Each day he emailed out a reference photo, uploaded a 20 min demo of him painting the photo, and then we painted the photo in 20 mans--- no cheating!! Wow, fun but often nerve-wracking!! 20 mins-omg- goes so quickly!!! Then you were encouraged to share your paintings on a Facebook page for the group. I so enjoyed it--- and know that daily painting is really the way to go-- to improving your skills and freely you up to just have fun!! Here are the 5 (plus the abstract using your left-over paint!) results of the 5 day Challenge...  New classes have started up- and wow, what a great start! Intermediate watercolour and acrylics classes as well as weekend workshops, drop-ins and 'Focus-On Watercolour' sessions. Fun! |
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