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It has been a very strange spring so far--- very cool, snow and hail a week ago! And although we did get a pleasant Easter weekend, it is back to single digit temperatures. I am worried my mason bees are never going to emerge! The studio however has been warm and abuzz, with drop-ins and classes going steadily. See Signup Genius to see what is on offer and to sign up if interested.
A 4 day workshop on mixed media finished up last week- very fun! It is the first time I have done this workshop, so I was busy doing research and making sample projects. A big takeaway was that it was over too soon and we could have explored many more ideas! There will be another session in May. Here are some photos of my sample projects and some of the participants' works: Here are some of the recent works from dropins sessions:                 Another lovely Beginning Watercolour class has begun-- And here are a couple of things on my easel, for when it gets slow in here!        
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Not sure what happened to summer, but it seems I haven't posted since May! It was an interesting summer for sure--- unusually hot and sunny for the west coast -- and as some restrictions eased up we had some lovely visits and painting sessions outside. Now that it is cooler, we have moved inside but still with a limited number of artists and covid protocols in place... Drop-in sessions have been busy-- to signup go to SignUpGenius. Here are a few photos of some of the works in progress. Fall Watercolour classes have begun. Here are some photos from the Beginning Watercolour Group www.signupgenius.com/index.cfm?go=c.SignUpSearch&eid=00CACAD6FBCCF665&cs=09C3BAAE8FBC8B637B7D64745BC09BCB&sortby=l.title  Wow, it has been a very long time since I've posted a blog! The spring here on the west coast is beautiful and the gardens are stunning in May. I have been busy in my garden, painting most days, enjoying the local walks and chatting online with my friends, daughters and one little grandchild. Although my studio closed in November when we had our second lockdown, I am happy to say that I have opened up for drop-in again. I and all of my 'students' have had at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, and with the nicer weather, we can have the doors and windows open and people can chose to paint inside or out. Sign-up Genius is where you can sign up; no more than 4 people a session. My rhodos are looking good, but some are so old I have no idea what type they are, so I have decided to call them by their pigment names. Here is Cad. Red, Quin. Magenta, and Dioxazine Purple. I am doing a large acrylic of rhodos- will post a photo when completed. Last month I finished a commission for a friend, from a photo she had taken at the mouth of the Oyster River. A photo of the work is at the top of this blog. "Oyster River Estuary" 18' x 48" Oil on canvas. It was fun to paint--- I am thinking that commissions are a great way to bridge this time between holding classes in the studio. I'm just about to start a large floral commission of hellebores, in oil. A few photos from the last Beginning Acrylics class, and some recent works in progress from drop-in sessions this week:          The studio is still open, on a modified basis, and we are enjoying the creativity while we can. Covid rates are rising and although our island has very low rates, that could change quickly. My Fall Watercolour classes have ended and 2 Acrylic Classes have begun. Here are some of their works, most in progress...
I can't believe it has been 7 months since I have posted here- however I do know that the passage of time has definitely morphed into something quite different these days!
Unusual times for sure; with a quieter, more introverted and 'homey' existence. And with the passing of my 98 year old father in June, and the subsequent dealing with his home and estate, my summer passed almost without notice other than the beauty of the gardens and beaches of this area. The Wet Paint art group managed to keep in touch weekly however- with Zoom meetings initially and then when things opened up a bit we have been meeting outdoors at each others' homes. A lot of wonderful conversation and support although not so much painting! With the coming colder months we are still considering how we will keep meeting.... Back in my studio, I have managed to keep painting although not as consistently as I would have imagined with all this time on my hands! But I did open my studio up for drop-in sessions in the summer-- as we could paint outside and with appropriate social distancing, in the studio. I did offer two 'Modern Impressionism in Acrylics / Landscapes" classes and they were fabulous! Only 4 people at a time in each class worked well --- you can see some of the results below. As of September, I started Beginning Watercolour Classes- again with no more than 4 people per class. All sign-ups for both classes and drop-in sessions is now on line --- Here is the link to the Signup Genius website: 
Here are some of the Modern Impressionism Class works- some still in progress:
It is nearing the end of March and even two weeks ago, we couldn't have predicted how quickly things were unfolding... Like all non essential services (ok, we all know that art in any form is essential to many of us) my studio classes, workshops and drop-in times have been cancelled. Although I am keeping very busy- and the glorious springlike weather we have had over the last 2 weeks certainly helped in getting us out into the gardens- the studio is very quiet and I miss all my 'people' immensely!! Even the studio cat Theo is perplexed--- he keeps coming into the studio and looks around longingly-- "where are all the humans???" As for art, there are a plethora of wonderful online videos, courses and demos out there. Lots of artists are posting their work, posing art challenges, and filming their studios and process. Many are free. Here are a few free ones that I have been following: Watercolour: -Mind of Watercolour (M.oWC) The Mind of Watercolor - YouTubewww.youtube.com › user › mindofwatercolor -Cafe Watercolor - Eric Y Lin Café Watercolor - Watercolors of Eric Yi Lin cafewatercolor.com -Angela Fehr -Birgit O'Connor ( a free paint-along demo) -David J Rogers Watercolor Artist <info@davidjrogersart.com> -Urban Sketchers- pen and watercolour Check out their YouTube videos. -Winsor and Newton WNArtFinds on Instagram Acrylic/Oil/Mixed Media: -Art2Life ( Nicholas Wilton)--- abstract --------art2life.com -Art and Success (Pamela Caughey) - acrylic ; cold wax and oil Check out her YouTube channel -Streamline Art Video streamlineartvideo.com General: Mary Gilkerson <studio@marygilkerson.com> Dan Scott of DrawPaintAcademy - I really enjoy Dan's articles about artists, very informative and easy to read. Also lots of practical technical stuff too. https://drawpaintacademy.com ONLINE STUDIO: 1. I have been videoing myself painting - several different pieces ( a watercolour and an acrylic of the same reference; an acrylic abstract and an oil and cold wax painting that has been a work in progress for quite awhile). IF any of these are any good, and I manage to edit them, I will put them up and send them to my students. 2. I am going to offer my students on-line 'mentoring' , help with their projects etc. via Zoom. If you are interested, pm me and download the free software "ZOOM". I have had a couple of online meetings using it lately; it is really easy to use and think it could work for us. 3. I am taking an online course on teaching and mentoring online! Stay tuned for more professional offerings from me...... The Campbell River Arts Council and Gallery 38th Member's Art Show is going virtual this year- Here is the website: https://campbellriverarts.wixsite.com/membershow38 (PS I forgot to photograph my entry ("Chagall Street") before I submitted it, and now it is in 'isolation' at the Campbell River Art Gallery- so I submitted another painting into this show- "Romance"). The gallery hopes to show this exhibition when it can. AS I have not posted for more than a month, here're some images of student work in the studio in February and early March:  Well the new decade is off to a great start ( in the studio at least, maybe not in the world) The Acrylic classes are large and enthusiastic! Intermediate Acrylics is expanding on 'visual literacy' concepts and experimenting with a variety of techniques and styles. So far we have reviewed basic techniques -- painting a small winter snow scene - to get our brushes and paints back in gear, !and started playing with the fundamentals of a painting: Shapes, Value, Colour and Edges. This week we looked at Shape and Value: played with the app Notanizer and did a grayscale self-portrait. Notanizer has a free trial version or is bundled with Grid Painter- a nifty little app that allows you to choose your canvas size, your grid size and it will grid your photo for you, saving lots of math and drawing time!--- for less than $6.00 CAN. Interesting to reduce our faces to simple shapes and render them in one colour- of 3 to 5 levels of grayscale. Here are some of the works in progress... Happy New Year! Wow, and just like that it is a new year and a new decade! After what I hope has been a lovely Christmas break for everyone, I am back into the studio swing of things. Drop-ins are trickling back, and new winter classes are about to start next week. It is not too late to sign up ... I realize I hadn't posted at all during November and December so will put up some off the great art done by the studio - And it was a great Studio Mingle and Jingle!  I completely missed posting in November ! It was however a busy month —with shows and fundraisers and somehow it just got away from me. But now with the shorter days, and quieter, darker nights, it is a surprisingly bright creative time. My studio is busy, wth people painting their Christmas cards, painting commissioned works for Christmas and just doing some softly cool winter scenes... Autumn --- leaves, leaves, and cooler air!! Classes, workshops and drop-ins are in full swing.
 Another batch of Fantastical Florals--- this time by artists in Gold River.               Watercolour skies... exercises in drama.... Drop-in works in progress...       |
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