Lilac tea and art show

Along with several other Quinte artists, I was involved in a small art show at Tyendinaga Library in Melrose. Some of the proceeds were given to the "art for literacy" program. This gives children access to extra help with reading etc. during the summer vacation.
The quality of the art was excellent. Cynthia Guthrie did a good job of organising the show, and the library staff donated some wonderful home made cookies, but I had a feeling that most of the visitors had come for the tea and goodies rather than the art show! The same kind of people show up at funerals of people they hardly know just for the free sandwiches. Most people showed little interest in the art, although Joyce Empey-Smith managed to sell a painting, and the rest of us sold a few cards.

Llama had baby

Not really art related, but you might like to know that the llama in the painting had a baby recently. A beautiful, big, black and white girl. She was sold to a couple that had previously bought sheep from us. They bought her to guard their sheep from coyotes and wolves,and so the baby was a bonus! They were delighted. By the way, baby llamas are called "crias" and weigh between 20-35 lbs at birth. They are all long necks and legs.

Workshop at the Belleville Public Library

I was told that attendees really enjoyed my animal painting workshop at the weekend. There were 11 adults, one 12 year-old and a dog named "Maggie"present. Thank you MArg and Dave Ray for bring their Basset hound, Maggie to be the "sitter". The students learned how to draw cats, dogs and horses, and then spent the afternoon painting Maggie s portrait.
I learned that it is impossible to teach and paint at the same time, with the result that my painting did not resemble Maggie in the slightest! I went home and redid it.
Here it is.
Here is a collection of portraits-not finished yet- done by the students.
Many thanks to Susan Holland, curator of the John M Parrott gallery in the Belleville Public Library for letting us use the room.

Mural at the Ramada Inn, Belleville

The Ramada Inn in Belleville asked me and another artist to do a painting on three windows overlooking their pool area (inside). The main reason for this was that they couldn't clean the windows properly on the outside without someone "walking the plank" or getting wet in the pool!
Anyway this is it. They wanted it wash-offable (is that a word?) so we used tempera. However, I don't recommend this as it is difficult not to leave streaks where areas of paint overlap. I think acrylics would have been easier to paint with, but they would have had to scrape it off, if they ever wanted a change or did not like the painting.

The beach scene was chosen to make the pool area feel tropical and warm.

Quinte Arts Council Expressions Show

I just back for the Quinte Arts Council "Expressions" juried annual show. This year it was back at the John M. Parrott gallery at the Belleville Public Library on Pinnacle Street. It was an amazing show and the judge said that much of the work was of international quality. We have some very talented artists in the Quinte region of Ontario. There were 24 pieces by members of our Belleville Art Association. Rita Woodburne, a fellow artist who has a link to this blog, got an honourable mention for her wonderful painting of a white horse. I think this picture is also on her website. Andrew Innis also got an honourable mention for his amazing three dimensional abstract. The juror's choice award went to an amazing photograph of a soaring eagle. Several pieces of art sold in the first hour or so. One of the paintings that was marked with a red dot "sold" was done by one of my former art teachers, Jolyn Grieve. It was a "life" painting of a white girl and an oriental boy sitting facing each other holding hands.

The show is on for a month, so get down to Belleville and see it if you can.

I am ashamed that I did not enter any work myself this year. I usually do, but I must have been just too busy writing this blog!