Setting up the 29th Annual Kawartha Arts Festival

Today I set up my display at the Kawartha Arts Festival in Fenelon Falls, Ontario.

With encouragement from the Festival Organizer, Maud Skoog, this year I decided to enter a couple of my black and white graphite pencil sketches of nudes that I did in the Life Drawing classes at the Kawartha Artists" Gallery and Studio.

If you would like to see the images I will be hanging today for this show please follow the link to my Life Drawing Portfolio.

Unfortunately, I cannot show their images in this art blog as a few people do not understand that drawing and painting the nude human figure is an art form that has been around for centuries and feel it is pornography.

After bringing everything in from the car, the first thing I did was to put the two paintings which would be above the grids on the back wall.

Next the table was set up and covered; and then the grids were placed on top of the table.

Since I knew the two nudes would be placed on the front panel I hung them up first.

The three abstracts were put on the back panel on the far end and they were placed in position.

I hung up my name sign on the pegboard on the wall, and then after putting up the largest painting I placed three more pieces around it all having some red in them.

Now it was time to put the paintings in the grids in the centre of the table.

On the left side I placed two pieces with yellow tones.

On the right side I put a black and white drawing up first, followed by three smaller paintings with blue tones in them.

For the back two panels, I thought a mixture of blue and green colours, blending into pink and mauve to the right side and keeping the grey near the top of the left side blending down into the various shades of green and yellow tones.

All that remained to do was put the two binders of small originals on the table, followed by a few matted and shrink wrapped original paintings in one of the racks.

The final items were my biographies and promotional materials for some of the various art groups to which I belong.

The hours for the show are:
01 Sep 18 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
02 Sep 18 19:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

I hope you are able to come out and enjoy the show on one or both days.

Countryside Art Group Blog - Show Updates

On the first of each month I will update the Countryside Art Group's blog with a listing of shows where the various artists in the Group are exhibiting their work.

If you get a chance come out and visit them at one or all of the shows.

Early Morning 2 - A Work in Progress

It continues to be hot 84F (29C) and the humidity making it feel like 100F (38C).

This morning I saw a couple of flocks of geese and pulled out this little painting that had geese flying and getting ready to head south.

Using a grey of burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue I indicated the trees on the far horizon first.















I darkened the grey slightly and put in the trees on the far side of the water.

Lastly, with a slightly darker grey I put in the geese and the maple tree in the foreground.

I will post this painting once it has been completed.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and enjoy the artwork. I hope you will return often.

Sharing the Sky I - A Work in Progress

I didn't have a lot of time to work on my art today, but I wanted to do something so I chose this piece that I had started while I was in Cuba a number of years ago (see posts on 23 May 2016 and 13 December 2017).

First I added in a couple more kite boarders into the water.




















Next, I indicated where I would like to put in some larger seagulls and put in where some smaller flying gulls.

I will post this drawing at a later date once it has been completed.

Bird House

We put this bird house up in the early spring last year and had a pair of North American Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia) nesting in the box. They returned again this year around the middle of May, to raise another family.

This box is in an ideal location, as it is surrounded by lilac bushes and young trees and not far away on the front lawn, in a moist area is my large weeping willow tree, which we planted the year my daughter was born. 

The nice thing about this box is that the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) cannot fit through the opening to lay eggs in the nest.

The nesting box is empty now as they have left for their winter quarters in the south and I will have to wait until spring to see their bright plumage and hear their lovely song next spring.

ACEO - Dusk 3

Today we are under a Meteorological Alert with rainfall warnings 1.5"-2" (35-50mm), a severe thunderstorm watch and warnings, flooding, hail and downpour alerts with the temperature at 72F (22C) and feeling like 88F (31C) with the humidity.

I thought I would work on this piece that I had started last year (see posts on 08 March and 13 July 2017).

Mixing various greens using combinations of Antwerp blue, French ultramarine blue, raw sienna and new gamboge; I started putting in the pine trees starting with the furthest back trees and working my way forward.

Next I used mixes of raw sienna and burnt sienna to put in the grasses at the base of the closer trees.

If you would like more information about ACEO please go to my post on 11 March 2010.

The ACEO shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Fabriano 100% cotton, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

Finishing the Barn Yard

Ron has been working most of the weekend on the barn yard.















He should have it completed later today.















He just has the area alongside the north section of the barn.















Finally, the barn yard has been cleared and hay has been put out for the horses when they come in from the pasture this evening.

Last Day of the Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale

Today is the last day of the Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale and the heat wave continues with the temperature at 79F (26C) and humidity of 86F (30C).

I am as usual at the back of the building working on my art. In this case one of the sketches I started while I was in Cuba a number of years ago called Kite Surfers I (see post on 23 May 2016).















Today two original painting were sold by Ron Dejardine and Penny Little, pottery was sold by JoAnne Connell Northey and small items were sold by Diane Collins, Penny Little and JoAnne Connell Northey.

The hours for our show are:
19 Aug 18 - 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often.

28th Annual Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale

It is going to be another hot 79F (26C) day with the humidity making it feel like 90F (32C).

After helping to get everything for the show set up, I sat at my table and worked on this pen and ink drawing called Moonlit Creek I (see post on 24 June 2015).

I started by putting in the background tree line, indicated some of the rocks on the left side and put in some of the larger trees into the foreground.















Moonlit Creek I

Today four original paintings were sold by Diane Collins, Penny Little and Bonnie Windover, as well as small items from JoAnne Connell Northey and Diane Collins.

The hours for our show are:
18 Aug 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
19 Aug 18 - 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Please come out and enjoy our art show at some point over the weekend.

Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale

Today we have Meteorological Alerts for heavy rains and flooding with 1-1/2"-2" (35mm-50mm) of rain as well as severe thunderstorm warnings.

As I arrived to open the show you could see that the storm clouds were rolling in, the wind was picking up and you could hear the rumble of thunder.

Yesterday, I did a drawing of a bunny wearing a jacket so I thought I would start on a drawing of a bunny wearing dress.

It was not long before the rain began to pour down and I stopped drawing to go to the window and watch the lightning light up the sky.

When it was over and the sun came out I returned to do a little more work on this drawing.

By the afternoon the temperature rose to 77F (25C) and the humidity made it feel like 95F (35C).

Hug Me! 1

Once more the skies got cloudy and the second thunder storm came rolling in along with heavy rain and high winds.

Pottery were purchased from JoAnne Connell Northey and small items sold by Diane Collins and JoAnne Connell Northey.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

The hours for our show are:
17 Aug 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
18 Aug 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
19 Aug 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

We hope you can come out and enjoy the artwork.

First Day of the Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale

It is going to be another hot 88F (31C) and very humid 102F (39C) day.

Today I opened the show in the morning and for the most part sat at my table at the back of the building near the door drawing.

I worked on this drawing of a stuffed toy bunny wearing a jacket in between talking with the people who came in to view the show.

Three original paintings were sold by Ron Desjardine and Sue Sydney, pottery was sold by JoAnne Connell Northey and small items were purchased from Diane Collins.

I would like to thank new collector Ms. Jade Viane of London, Ontario on her purchase of Boat 1 (see post on 07 April 2011) and Pastel Colours 2 (see post on 19 January 2017).


Peter Rabbit 1

The hours for our show are:
16 Aug 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
17 Aug 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
18 Aug 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
19 Aug 18 - 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

We look forward to seeing some of you at our show during the next four days.

The Buckhorn Artists’ Group is going to set up the 28th Annual Shades of Summer Art Show in the church hall at St. Matthew's Church in Buckhorn, Ontario this evening.

Usually I look forward to setting up this show, but not this time. We have had not had the temperature below 77F (25C) nor the humidity at less than 86F (30C) since the 28th of July; with the average temperature being 82F (28C) with humidity of 93F (34C).

Today is no exception with the temperature at 90F (32C) and the humidity at 102F (39C).

It doesn't help that the church is not air conditioned and only has a few ceiling fans to push the hot air around the building.

Since Heather was not able to be at the show this year I had to be there with the floor plan for setting up the grids and assign this year's space where each artist would set up their paintings.

I did my usual thing by setting up the small grids on a table at the front of the church, which is right beside the front desk, where we greet the public.

This is where all the members of the group can display their smaller paintings and have their business cards and other promotional material available.

Everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion as the heat started taking its toll on everyone

Normally the grids are set up within an hour at most, but it took a lot longer today.

Finally all the grids were up and everyone was able to bring in their art and start to hang them, as well as a few places to put paintings on the walls.

Some of the artists only had a few paintings to hang in their spaces and they had their displays set up and were gone by 9 p.m.

Three of us finally called it quits at 11 p.m. and we agreed that I would be there to open the building at 8 a.m. so we could bring in extra paintings to hang so there would be no empty spaces on the grids or the walls.

We will also bring in flowers and do the finishing touches making sure everything was ready for the public to come into the show.

The hours for our show are:
16 Aug 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
17 Aug 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
18 Aug 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
19 Aug 18 - 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

We hope you will be able to come out and enjoy our art at some point over the next four days.

Sandbanks Provincial Park I-V - Five Works in Progress

Today the family decided to go to Sandbanks Provincial Park located at 3004 County Road 12, in Picton, Ontario.

The Park has three day use beach areas; Dunes Beach, Lakeshore Beach and Outlet Beach which are very popular. All three have sandy unsupervised (no lifeguards) beaches, with six emergency phones located at the base of the white flagpoles.















We were fortunate after we arrived and got our day passes at the Main Gate to find parking spots in parking area 11 which was close to Outlet Beach.

Once we had everything on the beach and set up, with some of the chairs on the beach in the sun and others set up in the shade under the trees, Aaron, Christine, Kyle and Ron went for a walk along the beach while I decided to relax, take some photographs and do a couple of sketches.















Sandbanks Provincial Park I

My fist sketch was of some of the many gulls standing on the beach, flying in to land in the water and those that were either wading or swimming in a small shoal close to shore.















It wasn't long before everyone returned from their walk along the beach and it was time for us to go into Lake Ontario for a swim.

With the water being so shallow and the high temperatures we have been having for the last couple of months it wasn't surprising to find that the water was fairly warm.















Sandbanks Provincial Park II Sand Castles

We spent a lot of time splashing around in the water, and Aaron who is just learning how to swim didn't want to come out of the water. So we took turns, so that there were always two of us that stayed in the water with him until he was ready to have lunch.















Sandbanks Provincial Park II Sand Castles (details)

After lunch, Ron and Aaron decided that they would build a sand castle, complete with a moat that Aaron filled with pails of water from the lake. While they were doing this I did a quick sketch of them building the castle.















While they were busy with the castle, Kyle and Christine took a stroll to the other end of the beach collecting some of the small shells that had been washed up on shore.

I occupied myself by sketching the various beach chairs, towels, coolers and beach bags that were found on the beach.

Sandbanks Provincial Park III

In the meantime a couple of paddle boats pulled up on the beach and the boats were left at the edge of the water, so I decided to add them into the background of my sketch.















From there I started doing a couple more small sketches of the beach umbrellas, chairs and the gulls which hovered around them hoping for a hand out.

I also tried to capture some of the areas of colour that were reflected into the water from the many brightly coloured umbrellas, chairs and towels.
















Sandbanks Provincial Park IV

In one of the sketches I was looking toward East Lake and put in the far shore where Outlet Beach and the Cedars Campground are located.












Sandbanks Provincial Park V

Most of the other sketches are looking out over Lake Ontario with little to no land showing on the horizon line.















Time passed swiftly, which is usual when you are having fun and it was soon time to pack our stuff back to the vehicles and then go to the Currach's Park Store and Restaurant for supper before we headed home.

I am sure that we will return here again.

Figuratively Speaking Exhibit at KAGS

Today is the first day of the Figuratively Speaking exhibit at the Kawartha Artists' Gallery and Studio.















The show runs from 08 August through to 09 September 2018, with the Opening Reception being held on Sunday 12 August from 1-4 p.m.

ACEO - River Morning 1

This morning I looked at the two Monarch butterfly chrysalis on the outside of the front porch.

The first one that was at the lower part of the porch window frame had changed and you could see through the outer shell the darker veining in between the areas of the orange on the wings and some of the white markings.

More than likely the butterfly will emerge either later today or very early tomorrow morning. I will keep checking on it and hopefully be able to watch it happen.

The second chrysalis, which is on the corner of the upper window on the porch, hasn't started to change colour and probably won't emerge today, perhaps sometime tomorrow.

I will just have to be patient.

In the meantime I thought I would work on this painting that I had started a few years ago (see posts on 13 September 2015 and 26 February 2018).

The first thing I did was bring the orange and peach colours from the sky further down into the water making the river wider.

With a pale mixture of burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue I put in the furthest back tree trunks on the far shore and gradually darkened the colour and increased the size of the tree trunks as the trees came closer to the river.

Darkening the colour more I put in the largest tree trunk on the shore in the foreground.

Next I mixed a pale green of raw sienna, French ultramarine blue and Antwerp blue and using a sponge I put the leaves on the furthest back trees first. Then I slightly darkened the green mix and put in each layer of trees on the far shore.

At this point I put the grasses at the edge of the shore leaving some areas untouched for the rocks at the river's edge.

I wet the river with clear water and using the green brushed in the reflections of the closer trees into the water.

While the river was drying I darkened the green mix and with the sponge I put the leaves on the foreground tree.

Lastly, I painted in the grasses and the growies at the base of the foreground tree and on the closer shore.

If you would like more information about ACEO please go to my post on 11 March 2010.

The ACEO shown here is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Fabriano 100% cotton, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

Buckhorn Artists' Group Blog - Show Updates

I have updated the Buckhorn Artists' Group blog with a listing of shows some of the various artists in the Group are exhibiting their work in during the month of August.

If you get a chance come out and visit them at one or all of the shows.

Burleigh Inn Pine Tree I - A Work in Progress

Today with it being another hot 81F (27C) and humid 91F (33C) day I didn't feel like spending the afternoon outside working in the garden.

Instead I decided to do some work on one of my drawings and I chose this one from a paint out last year when I was at the Burleigh Inn by their boat docks (see posts on 08 June and 21 October 2017).

I finished putting in the top of the pine tree and then I started adding in some of the lower branches and it wasn't long before I had to get ready to go out.

I will post this drawing again once more work on the pine tree and background have been completed.

Confirmed Shows for 2018 - August

This is a listing of confirmed shows that I will be exhibiting my artwork at this year. I will update the list as more shows are added.

Academy Theatre, 2 Lindsay St. S., Lindsay, Ont.
Guild Room
22 Apr - 30 Sep 18

Knoepfli Inn, 5484 Highway #124 Magnetawan, Ont.
26 Jun - 03 Oct 18 Scenes of Magnetawan

Miskwaa Art Studio and Outdoor Art Gallery,
250 Edwina Drive,Trent Lakes, Ont.
14 July - 12 Aug 18

Kawartha Artists’ Gallery and Studio, Peterborough, Ont.
KAGS
08 Aug -09 Sep 18 Figuratively Speaking
Opening Reception 12 Aug 18 from 1-4p.m.
26 Sep -21 Oct 18 Driven to Abstraction
Opening Reception 30 Sep 18 from 1-4p.m.
24 Oct - 11 Nov 18 Outdoor Painters' Show- Nature's Splendour
Opening Reception 28 Oct 18 from 1-4p.m.
28 Nov - 21 Dec 18 and 02-20 Jan 19 On the Move - A History of Transportation
Opening Reception 03 Dec 18 from 1-4p.m.

St. Matthews Church, Buckhorn, Ont.
Buckhorn Artists' Group
16-19 Aug 18 28th Annual Shades of Summer Art Show

Fenelon Falls Fair Grounds, Fenelon Falls, Ont.
Kawartha Arts Festival
01-02 Sep 18 Kawartha Arts Festival

Automotive Flea Market and Car Show
Douro Community Centre and Arena - The Harvest Room
2893 Highway 28 and County Road 4, Douro, Ont.
15-16 Sep 18 9a.m.- 4p.m.

Please come out and enjoy the artwork displayed at these shows.