Floral and Still Life Show

Today the Portrait class at KAGS was cancelled which due to the Gallery policy requires two people to sit the art show so Cindy and I were there together.

This made the afternoon go quickly as we discussed the upcoming shows, galleries we would like to visit and have an exhibit at in the future and the new art pieces we were painting.

I put in two paintings into this exhibit that had been shown at the Garden Show earlier this month.














We were pleased that a number of people came in to view the display which will run through to 05 May 2016.

If you have a chance please come out and view the show.

16th Annual Peterborough Garden Show

It was a very busy day, starting first thing this morning when we took the grids and lights from KAGS and transported them to the Evinrude Centre to set up the art display at the Peterborough Garden Show.

Fortunately, we had many people helping to unload and set up the grids which were the most time consuming part.

While we waited for artists to bring in their paintings the drapery and lights were set into place.

For the most part we tried to keep all of each artist's work together and also to have similar colours and media on the same panels.

That way none of the paintings would be over shadowed and each one would have the chance to shine in their own light.

In total it took about three hours to hang all of the 58 pieces and to adjust the lights to present the paintings at their best.

Some of the group made sure the identification tags were put into place, being careful to make sure they were with the correct painting.

Others saw that the tables and chairs were set up, covered with tablecloths and the business cards, pamphlets and brochures about KAGS were displayed.

With a final check to be sure all the lights were working, the tie ends were picked up, the tablecloths were straightened and everything was neatly in place. We left for the afternoon.

I will return tonight to sit the first shift and if necessary correct anything that needs fixing, though I doubt there will be any problems.

The hours for the show are:
08 April 5:00-9:00pm.
09 April 10:00am-9:00pm.
10 April 10:00am-4:00pm.

If you have a chance, please come out and enjoy the show.

Who knows you may find something for your garden or a painting that you will enjoy having on your wall for many years.

Vases - Two Works in Progress

Today in the Still Life class at KAGS we set up four displays of porcelain, ceramic and glass vases with dried floral arrangements.

To do all four of them in a painting would have been just too busy so instead I decided that I would do a sketch of each vase.

I started with the green ceramic vase which had Chinese lanterns, teasel, silver dollars and dried ornamental onion.

The orange of Chinese lanterns glowed against the silver dollar plants.

Green Vase

The white ceramic vase was the next one I sketched.

The vase was filled with dried ornamental onion and silver dollars.

I liked the way the orange colour of the Chinese lantern resting on the table at the base of the vase were reflected against the bright, shiny whiteness of the vase.

White Vase

I will post each of the pieces as the sketches are completed and colour has been added to the painting.

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

Chinese Lanterns

Winter is not far off and the days are getting shorter and colder and I decided to paint one of my favourite plants from my childhood.

I have always liked the Chinese Lantern plant (Physalis alkekengi) with their bright orange pods which look like some of the traditional Chinese lanterns in shape and even have a texture similar to paper.

It is also known as Bladder Cherry, Japanese Lantern, Strawberry Tomato and Winter Cherry.

This popular ornamental plant has white flowers, which form into green pods in late summer and by the end of the growing season in September to October depending on the zone in which they are planted they change to their characteristic bright pumpkin orange or darker red orange colour, with each of the pods containing a berry with seeds.

It is at this time that the plant can be harvested. They are cut at ground level, the leaves are stripped off, then the entire plant is suspend upside down to dry in a cool dark place with good ventilation for a couple of weeks.

However, this beautiful perennial does have a down side in that some parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested and they are subject to many plant diseases and attract a variety of insect pests which like to munch away at them.

It is also highly invasive with its wide-spreading root system sending up new shoots some distance away from where it was originally planted. This was something I had never realized, but then where my Mom planted them was inside a small filled in concrete fish pond where the roots could not escape and spread.

I would like to thank Mrs. Heather Grant of Lakefield, Ontario on her purchase of this original 1-3/4" x 5-3/4” watercolour painting for her art collection.