Creative Hands on Festival

Today Lois Shaw I were setting up the KAGS display at the Creative Hands on Festival.















Over the next three days we will have three to four artists from the Gallery doing demonstrations of painting in oils or watercolour and I will also be showing people how do a painting of a pine tree in watercolour.













It is being held on the lower level of the Peterborough Square from 13-15 September 2019 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.














If you have a chance please come out this weekend and enjoy a wide variety of arts and crafts on display and try your hand at making a wide variety of crafts.

Construction Safety Helmet

Today I wanted to finish the third outline sketch from the Still Life class at KAGS from last week (see posts on 02 and 05 November 2018).

I thought it was suitable that the construction safety helmet was supported by a brick in this display of hats.

I also liked the fact that the brick was not one of the run of the mill flat red bricks, but had core holes called keys and on the long sides of narrow edge had a number of indents.

This brick was made for strength, quality, weight reduction and cost reduction.

I may go in at a later date and do more work on the brick and add shadows and highlights onto the helmet.

Three Hats

On Thursday last week I was at the Still Life class at KAGS where I worked on three drawings of some of the various hats in the display (see post on 02 November 2018).

I finished this line drawing today from the class. It is of three different hats, a broad brimmed lady's straw hat with a ribbon, a white boater and a cowboy hat.

The three of them made a nice display, with the Lady's hat resting at the top of a cylinder on top of a cloth covered box in the centre.














With the boater hat leaning against the box on the left side and the cowboy hat as it leaned against the box on the right side.

I enjoyed placing the folds of the cloth, as it draped down the box and onto the table creating interesting patterns.

I am not sure if I will go back into this drawing at a later date and add in some shading, or leave it as an outline sketch.

Two Hats

Yesterday I was at KAGS to open the Gallery for the Still Life Class this month. Each member of the Group will open for one month rather than one person in the group doing it all the time.

The theme for the class was Hats and we were spoiled for choice as there were eleven different hats to draw or paint.

For one of my sketches I chose a wide brimmed straw hat that was leaning against a small wooden stand and a baseball cap that was sitting on the table close by.














I am fairly happy with the outline sketch of the hat and cap. I also lightly indicated the folds of the cloth that were on the table and the wooden stand.

I am not sure if I will go back into this at a later date and add some shading or leave it as an outline sketch.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often.

Fantasy Flowers

Today I took a class called "Pour Your Heart Out" with Valerie Kent at the Cavan Art Gallery in Cavan, Ontario.

Having tried poured acrylic painting earlier this year I knew how much left over paint there would be so I took along a dozen small 2" x 2" canvases to create some small poured paintings to eliminate wasting so much paint.

For the first painting we did is what called a "Puddle Pour" which can be more realistic as you have more control over the paint as it slides around on the canvas.

We were told to pick three colours and either white or black for the fourth one and I chose white and decided I would use the three primary colours. We mixed the paint together with equal parts of Floetrol.















We layered each of the colours in three different areas on the canvas.

I started in the first corner with my blue as the base, followed by yellow, red and lastly white. From there I went diagonally across the canvas and started with red, followed by blue, yellow and white.

For my last flower I went partway up the canvas and used white first followed by yellow red and blue.

Using a large straw I blew the paint across the canvas to form "petal" shapes. When I was pleased with the results I used the end of a Popsicle stick and indicated the flower stamens.

The final part of this painting I dropped light and dark green onto the canvas to create leaves, vines and stems by pushing the colour around with the Popsicle stick.

This original 11" x 14" poured acrylic painting when framed with be available for $175.00.

Two Photographs in The Link, Autumn 2018

I was just notified that two of my photographs are appearing in The Link Magazine, Autumn 2018 issue in an article "Creativity Thriving in the Kawarthas" by Joanne Culley.

The Kawarthas are a hive of creativity for many artistic pursuits.

Whether it’s being near the water or due to the surrounding beautiful natural scenery, the region inspires many to express themselves in a variety of ways.

The Kawartha Potters Guild (KPG) has been growing steadily over the past 25 years and for the past six years has had a permanent location in Peterborough with 117 members.

“Pottery is becoming popular among those disillusioned with mass market items made and shipped from halfway around the world,” says Karina Bates, administrator. “It is also enjoying a resurgence because of the meditative nature of working with clay. In a world full of beeping cell phones, sitting still with a lump of clay and forming it into something beautiful is really special. To help people explore pottery’s meditative nature, we offer a beginner throwing class with yoga and meditation.”

The values of education and community are at the Guild’s core. Throughout the year, they offer many wheel-throwing and hand-building courses from beginner to advanced, along with a hand-building/beginner sculpture course.

Their courses for young people include after-school classes, a teens’ throwing course, family clay days with seasonal creations and a summer day camp. There are many benefits to children in creating pottery, according to Bates.

“We have worked with children of many ages and abilities over the years and find that working with clay can be a soothing activity for them,” she says. “Many children are very tactile and they can work through the process of making, decorating and glazing to the final stage where they get to see their finished product out of the kilns. Also, sometimes clay doesn’t work the way you want – kids as well as adults learn lessons in impermanence and trying again.”

The Guild’s retail store carries local handmade creations including pottery, wood, textiles and gourds with lots of selection for wedding, shower, corporate or Christmas gifts.

Kawartha Potters Guild 993 Talwood Rd., Peterborough.

Gallery open Monday to Friday, 11 am to 5 pm, Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.

A member of KAG painting en plein air. Photo: Sue Sydney.

KPG Christmas sale: Friday, November 30 to Sunday, December 2.

Another hive of creativity is the Kawartha Artists’ Gallery and Studio (KAGS) that was founded in 1990 by a group of artists who wanted a place to paint. Their mandate is to encourage the making of art and the appreciation of art in the area. There are now over 100 members consisting of visual artists and photographers.

“Creating art relieves stress, encourages creative thinking, increases brain function, boosts self-esteem and provides a sense of accomplishment,” says Jane Armstrong, publicist. “Creating in a studio space with other artists is a great learning tool. Each individual uses different techniques and exhibits their own styles from which they learn and grow. Many friendships are made as people already share interests.”

As part of a not-for-profit cooperative, members are actively involved in the running of both the studio and the gallery, serving on the board, organizing and publicizing shows, gallery sitting and more.

KAGS offers a full roster of classes and open studio sessions throughout the year, including workshops in printmaking, life drawing, landscape painting, portraits and still life. Their Outdoor Painters Group paints on location or “en plein air” during the warmer months.

“Our many workshops and studios provide a reasonably priced opportunity for members to learn from each other and artists from around Ontario,” continues Armstrong. “The calibre of work in our exhibitions has risen consistently over the years.”

KAGS puts on approximately 12 shows a year, including six theme shows open to all members, four rental shows, a fundraising show Small Treasurers and The Best of High School Art Show, a juried exhibition with awards presented to student artists.

“Over the years, KAGS has grown in its support for and the development of artists at all stages of their artistic journey,” says Armstrong.













KAG Workshop with Lori Dunn. Photo: Sue Sydney.

Kawartha Artists’ Gallery and Studio
420 O’Connell Rd., Peterborough.

Gallery open Wednesday to Sunday, 1 pm to 4 pm.

Upcoming shows:
Serving Up Colour, from September 12 to 23, opening reception on September 16,
Driven to Abstraction, from September 26 to October 21, opening reception on September 30;
The Outdoor Painters Show, from October 24 to November 11, opening reception on October 28.

Joanne Culley is an award-winning writer and documentary producer from Peterborough. Her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Peterborough Examiner, and Our Canada magazine.

Poster for the Waterfall Painting Class

I just had the poster made for the class I am teaching at The Point - the Young's Point Diner and Pizzeria, at 403 South Beach Rd., Lakefield, Ontario on 17 January 2018.

If you are interested in taking this class, please contact Janice Costa at The Point.

Winter Oak 1

Today I taught a class at KAGS and the lesson was on tree structure. We worked on the various coniferous and deciduous trees.

We drew four different coniferous trees first white pine, blue spruce, cedar and tamarack followed by four deciduous trees maple, birch, oak and weeping willow.















They then transferred each image onto a piece of watercolour paper.

Next week we will decide which of the deciduous will represent each season and the same with each of the coniferous.

My students will end up with two sets of four seasons of trees.