Sustainable Living Symposium 2008

Today, my husband and I attended the 2008 Sustainable Living Symposium at Loyalist College. We were invited by Louise Livingstone, a local reporter and journalist, who was one of the speakers. We went on a tour of an "off the grid" house which had been featured on a David Suzuki program. Amazing place! The owners wanted to build near the Bay of Quinte as they are sailors, but found that they were too far away from the road to get electricity services without payinga fortune, so they made a solar and wind powered house, with straw bale construction. My only objection to the house - it was full of "reproductions" instead of oringinal art! Go buy some real paintings or sculptures folks. They really don't cost much more.

We also attended lectures on how to have an environmentally friendly lawn, and I bought some "old fashioned" seeds to plant in my garden. We also learned about envrionmentally friendly home renovation for older homes - ours was built in the 1880s.
Must go now, as I have to switch off the computer and all the lights!

Finished-maybe

This may be the finished cat picture. I am not sure yet. I have added some more darks and lights and changed the background to have more colours in it, using some of the same colours as in the cat and the skeins of wool.

Had lunch at Bren's -next door to the Belleville Art Association gallery- yesterday. There is a great show of Jolyn Grieve's work on the walls. Impressionistic,almost "group of 7" like landscapes and some great portraits.

I may be doing a "mural" window painting at the Ramada Inn, along with a couple of other local artists. Still negotiating the price! They want a scene with palm trees and beach overlooking the swimming pool. I think I can manage that.

A little more

I have done a bit more painting this morning. Added some more detail and texture to the cat, and put some modelling paste on the wool, then worked on it with a comb to give texture.I had tought of sticking on some real wool! What do you think?
I need to add more depth to the cat with added darks and lights, and I don't quite like the purple wool at the front. It is too bright and distracts you from the main subject - the cat. However, a complementary colour is needed - just not as bright. I may put some brown wool in the top right hand corner to balance the composition better. Maybe add some texture to the background.

Painting in progress

I am not sure if I really want the world to see one of paintings before it is finished, but here is my latest effort. I am calling it "cat nap".
It is acrylic 16 x 12 ins. In acrylics you paint from dark to light, just like with oils. The cat will end up being a lot lighter as I haven't put the light areas in yet. The face need more work and detail,and the shadows in the skeins of wool need definition and deepening, but I don't want to lose the impressionistic style and make it look too much like a photograph. I am not really a fan of photorealism.

I also need to add "hair" to the cat with a fan brush.

Comments please?

Started new painting today

Went to Tweed today to paint with a group of like-minded artist friends. We are using the front room of a chiropracter's office, until he rents it out to better paying folk. It is useful to exchange ideas and tips on each other's work. Here is the painting I finished last time.
I am now working an acrylic painting of a marmalade cat lying on some knitting wool. They love to do that. I will show you this one when its furthur along.

Artsy cafe

I forgot to mention that there is a great little cafe right next to the BAA studio/gallery. Do you mind if I shorten it to BAA? Typing out Belleville Art Association every tme is just too much work! Anyway we are the BAA as in baa baa black sheep, and the Quinte Arts Council is the QAC-as in duck or phony doctor.

Anyway, back to the cafe. It's called Bren's-short for Brenda who cooks great home made soup, desserts and cookies. The walls are covered with local artist's work, and these change every month. It's not open after five as it is mostly a lunch and coffee place. In the summer you can sit out on the patio at the back and watch the Moira river. I like to take out-of-town visitors there for a treat.

New show at the Belleville Art Association studio

We have a new show at the gallery/studio at 392 Front Street, Belleville, Ontario. Its one of the best ones so far! We change the show every month, and there is a theme. This month's theme is "Getting away", or paintings done while on vacations or travels.
The gallery in open 2-5 Tuesdays to Saturdays and is closed Sunday and Monday. Its free so come and visit us!

If you are an artist too, then you are welcome to join. There are membership forms available at the studio and it costs $50 a year to join, plus $10 if you want a website.

Here is the painting I have in the gallery in this show. It's my grandson going up a mountain in the ski lift at Banff. I know he looks like a girl, but that's the way he is!

The Visual Arts in Belleville

Welcome to my first blog post!
I am an artist who works in watercolour, acrylics and hand-felted exotic fibres. I am also a member of both the Belleville Art Association and the Quinte Arts Council

What is the difference between these two organisations?

The Quinte Arts Council is an umbrella organisation for the whole Quinte Region including all the arts. This means theatre, poetry, dance, music as well as visual arts. It publishes a monthly magazine called the Umbrella. These two groups are often confused, but they are separate entities.

The Belleville Art Association is only concerned with the visual arts and has its own member gallery at 392 Front Street, Belleville. It exists to help both newer and esperienced artists increase their skills and sell their work. Visit the website for more information.
Members have their own on-line galleries, and believe me, there are some great paintings!
Actually this area of Eastern Ontario has more artists per square mile than almost anywhere in Canada. Because of the amount of competition, this makes art prices very reasonable.

The Belleville Art Association also has paintings by members hanging in the Ramada Inn in Belleville. This in effect, increases our gallery hanging space.