Northey's Barn Boutique Art Show

Yesterday morning, I put the finishing touches to setting up my small table with the paintings on easels in my display space which is as usual, is located just inside the main barn doors.















Our show is held at Northey's Barn Boutique, 1981 13th Line, Selwyn, Ontario from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 01-02 June 2019.















For our opening day, it was bright and sunny which brought many people out to see our exhibit and a number of pieces sold.















Today is just the same, although here are a few lulls and in between times without many people I was able to go outside and take photographs of Richard's collection of International Harvester Tractors, some of which are fairly old and have been beautifully restored.















As I did yesterday, when the kittens came out to scamper around the barn I took a number of photographs of then and in the future hope to do a series of paintings with the kittens and pieces of old farm equipment.















We were all pleased with the turnout for this show and look forward to returning again next year.

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.

Pottery 6 - A Work in Progress

I pulled this piece out that I started a few years ago (see post on 26 March 2013) and I worked to balance top and bottom of the bowl.

Next I drew the main section of the bowl trying to make both sides if the bowl match. I am  still not happy with it but it have to do for now.















Using new gamboge, aureolin and cadmium yellow I put in the top of the table beneath the bowl.

I will post this painting at a later date once more work on it has been completed.

Pottery 5 - A Work in Progress

Today I was at the Still Life class at KAGS and I wanted to do more work on this painting that I had started a number of years ago (see post on 26 March 2013).

The first thing I had to do was straighten out the sides of the pottery bottle so it no longer looked like the leaning Tower of Pisa.

Next I had to balance out both sides of the top and lid as well as the shoulders of the bottle.

From there I evened out the decorative ridges on the bottle.

I mixed a large quantity of a dark blue black from French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and a touch of alizarin crimson.

I started on the left side of the bottle with the darkest value and gradually lightened it to the right side to make it look rounded.

Next I used the lighter colour and put in the ridges making the right side a little lighter.

Using cadmium yellow I put in a little reflected light on the left side of the pottery.

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

Kabocha Squash and Garlic - A Work in Progress

Today I was greeted to 54F (12C) first thing in the morning and it is to go up to 73F (23C) with the humidity making it feel like 84F (29C) this is just an unkind joke Mother Nature is playing on us before the temperature goes below seasonal later this week.

This afternoon I went to the second of four classes with Michel St-Jean in realistic painting at KAGS (see post on 07 October 2014).















I had transferred my drawing onto the tinted canvas panel and was starting to add the shading details onto the canvas panel as a guide.

The next stage was to paint the drawing in tints tones and shades of grey going no darker than a seven on a tonal scale. This technique is known as grisaille and was used by the old Masters (for more information on grisaille see posts on 07 and 21 October 2013).














I will post this painting at a later date after I have completed the shading details and finished painting the grisaille.

Kabocha Squash and Garlic - A Work in Progress

Today at KAGS I took the first of a four day workshop with Michel St-Jean in painting representational art.

While we were waiting for all of the class to arrive we put a thin wash using our choice of neutral grey #5 or #6 for the under paint on the canvas and set it aside to dry.











We had a discussion about what to expect over the next classes and in order to keep it fairly simple we would be working on a still life, but the same techniques we are learning can be used on almost any type of painting including portraits and animals.

We were shown the Charles Barque method of drawing in order to get the proportion correct and asked to do our drawing of the still life and then transfer it by making a grid and enlarging it to fit the canvas.















I will post this piece at a later date once I am happy with the drawing and have it transferred onto the canvas.

Last day of the 24th Annual Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale

Today started off bright and sunny with the temperatures at 58F (14C) first thing in the morning and by late afternoon reaching a high of 64F (18C) but with the humidity feeling more like 75F (24C).

It was the second half day of the show and we had a fairly steady stream of people going through the show.

I didn't have much time to work on this piece but I did manage to start adding the growies into the base of the on the trees.

I will post this painting at a later date once more work on it has been completed.













Five originals were sold from Rebecca Bilcox. Catherine Selinger, Susan Sydney and Tom Young as well as small items purchased from JoAnne Connell Northey and Penny Little.

I would like to thank new collectors Mrs. Margaret Tough of Peterborough, Ontario on her purchase of Setting Sun (see post on 06 May 2010) and Mrs. Mary Lou Harrison of Toronto, Ontario on her purchase of Whatever (see post on 13 May 2014).

The hours for our show are:
17 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm

Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale

Today we opened early to accommodate the people who also came out for the annual yard sale held by Buckhorn Community Care in the front parking lot of St. Matthews Church.

Although it remained cool throughout the day it started off warmer 54F (12.2C) than yesterday in the morning but the temperature did not rise as much remaining a constant 56F (13.3C) throughout the afternoon with a steady rainfall until closing time.













Sailboat Sketch 3

The one nice thing about the rain and cooler temperatures was that the attendance was up considerably and we had a steady stream of people coming through the show all day.

Because of this I didn't even try to paint, instead I worked on a couple more sketches of sailboats which could easily be left when I had to talk with our many visitors.












Sailboat Sketch 3A

Nine paintings were sold by Diane Collins, Heather Grant, Penny Little and Susan Sydney. Pottery was sold by JoAnne Connell Northey and small items were purchased from Diane Collins, JoAnne Connell Northey, Pat Harvey, Barbara McGregor and Bonny Windover.

I would like to thank new collectors Ms. Jessica MacKenzie of Selwyn, Ontario on her selection of Sunset Silhouette 2 (see post on 27 December 2011), Mr. John Van Laars of Cobourg, Ontario on his purchase of Simplicity (see post on 08 June 2011) and Ms. Bonnie Baker of London, Ontario on her purchase of Rapids 1 (see post on 17 July 2011).

We hope you will be able to come out and visit the show either today or before it closes tomorrow.

The hours for our show are:
16 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
17 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm

Shades of Summer Art Show

Once again the morning temperature was 46F (8C) but it did manage to make it up to 62F (17C) by the time we closed the show today.

With the continuing cold and the overcast skies not many people came out to the show today, which gave me plenty of time to work on this painting that I had worked on here a couple of days ago (see posts on 21 February, 25 March and 13 August 2014).

Using a darker mix of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I put in the closest line of trees.

While the paint was still wet I dropped into some areas of the trees pure burnt sienna, and raw sienna to add a little life to the painting.













With a paler mix of the tree colour I added some very distant trees into the background.

Please come out and enjoy our art show at some point over the weekend if you are in the Buckhorn area.

The hours for our show are:
15 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
16 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
17 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

24th Annual Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale

I don't mind waking up to rain in the morning, but I do object to temperatures of 46F (8C) although it is supposed to get up to 59F (15C) when it is the middle of August.

Although the morning was fairly quiet I did manage to get some work done on this painting that I had started earlier this year (see post on 25 May 2014) which I will post at a later date once more work on it has been completed.

The afternoon was another story and we had a fair crowd of people come through the show, with three originals sold from Barbara MacGregor, Rebecca Bilcox and JoAnne Connell Northey as well as small items from Bonny Windover and Diane Collins.














We hope some of you will be able to come out and visit our show.

The hours for our show are:
14 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
15 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
16 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
17 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm

Shades of Summer Art Show

It is another cool and rainy day, but our attendance has increased as people are coming out instead of staying inside and at home for another day.

Today I decided to work on this painting that I had started earlier this year (see posts on 21 February and 25 March 2014).

It is the kind of painting that I can stop working on at any time when I need to speak with some of the people who are out to view the exhibition.

Using a slightly darker mix of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna I gradually added the next line of trees into the painting.













I will probably continue to work on this painting during the course of the show.

Today five originals sold from Rebecca Bilcox, Diane Collins, Barbara McGregor and Catherine Selinger, as well as small items from Diane Collins and Pat Harvey.

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

The hours for our show are:
13 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
14 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
15 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
16 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
17 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm

Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale

With the weather having turned cooler and rain falling on and off for most of the day not many people came through the show today.

I chose the two vertical Koi paintings that I had started last month (see posts on 06 and 30 July 2014).

First I tightened up the drawings until I was happy with them.

Koi 2

For the first painting I used Antwerp blue as the water colour for the background. I swirled the paint to make it look as though there was movement in the water. It was then set aside to dry.

For the second piece I used French ultramarine blue with a touch of Antwerp blue for the water.

Once again I tried to create a feeling of movement with areas of light and dark near the tail and fins as though the fish is swimming through the water.

I will post both of these paintings at a later date when they are completed.

Koi 5

Pottery was sold by JoAnne Connell Northey.

Please come out and enjoy the artwork displayed at our show.

The hours for our show are:
12 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
13 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
14 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
15 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
16 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
17 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm

24th Annual Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale

Today was another hot and humid day with the temperature at 78F (25.5C) and with the humidity it felt like 93F (34C).

So it was no surprise that we didn't have many people come through the show today, but small items were sold by JoAnne Connell Northey.

But I did have time to work on a number of pieces which I will post as they are completed.

It seems somehow fitting that I completed painting today since I started it at the Shades of Summer Art Show last year (see post on 11 August 2013).

This ACEO is an original watercolour painting using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 300lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

Forest 1

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

I hope you can come out and enjoy the artwork.

The hours for our show are:
11 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
12 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
13 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
14 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
15 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
16 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
17 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm

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

Shades of Summer Art Show

Today is the first half day at our show. In the morning the show is visited by some of the people either before and/or after attending the church service. Then the doors open at 12:30pm to the general public.

With the heat and humidity today along with it being the end of the weekend and the cottagers heading home we did not have large crowds, but a number did come out to see the show.

Since I had these two paintings pulled out yesterday of rushing water I thought I would continue working on them. In this case neither the one of Burleigh Falls (see post on 22 July 2013) nor the one of the waterfall (see post on 29 July 2013) had any sky showing in the painting.













Burleigh Falls 13

I put in the under paint on the rocks using various glazes of burnt sienna, raw sienna, alizarin crimson and French ultramarine blue.

I will post each of these paintings at a later date as more work on them has been completed.













White Water 1

Small items were sold from Diane Collins, JoAnne Connell Northey and Barbara McGregor.

Hopefully some of you will make it out to see the show.

The hours for our show are:
10 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm
11 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
12 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
13 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
14 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
15 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
16 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
17 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm

First Day of the Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale

Burleigh Falls 6

Today was a typical bright, warm and sunny summer day. Although I really didn't expect too many people to come out to the show today as most would probably be out on the lakes, so needless to say I was surprised by the steady stream of visitors.














Burleigh Falls 8

With stopping to talk with the people I wasn't able to do very much painting and only managed to get a few skies painted in on some of the Burleigh Falls sketches I did last year (see posts on 12 July 2013 and 22 July 2013) that I will work on and post at a later date.













Burleigh Falls 10

Today an original painting was sold from Rebecca Bilcox as well as small items from Diane Collins and JoAnne Connell Northey.













Burleigh Falls 11

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and enjoy the artwork.













Burleigh Falls 12

The hours for our show are:
09 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
10 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm
11 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
12 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
13 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
14 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
15 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
16 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
17 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm

Please come out and enjoy our show.

Setting up the 24th Annual Shades of Summer Art Show

Last night as usual we set up the panels and tables for the Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale. I helped Heather set up her paintings at that time and knew she would come with me and help me set up my work today.

It didn't take long for us to move all the boxes into the Church and start unpacking the larger pieces.

Once they were set in place on the panels it was easy to start putting up the rest of the paintings.

Once the main panels were finally filled it was time to put a couple of paintings up on the front panels where our theme for this show was "Cottage Country".

Fortunately for me, I had a wide variety of paintings to choose from that would quite possibly fit into the remaining spaces that had been left open for my artwork.

For the front side of the panels I chose four of my smaller pieces placing them where I felt they would complement the other paintings that were already in place.

For the back side of the panels I chose two different sized paintings that were fairly neutral in colour to fill the final spaces.

By then it was time to take a break and Barbara, Heather, Irene and I went next door to the Cody Inn to have lunch and relax for a little while before Heather and I would return to finish hanging.

There was a space left for me on the short grids on the front table and hung a pair of paintings that fit as though the space was made for them.

I placed a few copies of my biography right below these paintings before we filled the remaining space left for me on the table with two sets of miniature paintings.

The last thing that needed to be set up was my space on the table across from my main panels.

I decided to keep it very simple and uncluttered.

I placed two small paintings on easels on the window sill, then three more paintings toward the back of the table and put my books of ACEO and OSWOA to the front of the table.















Before I left I made up a quick list of my paintings that I have displayed at this show and tomorrow I will bring my formal list to leave at the front desk with me.














Once I arrive home I will set out the paintings I would like to work on during the course of the show and get everything ready so all I have to do in the morning is put the few things I need into the car.

I look forward to seeing some of you at our show during the next nine days.

The hours for our show are:
09 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
10 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm
11 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
12 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
13 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
14 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
15 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
16 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
17 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and enjoy the artwork.

ACEO - Pottery 2

I started three small paintings at KAGS during a Still Life class (see posting on 24 October 2013).

The first is a painting of a piece of Blue Mountain pottery shaped like a fawn laying down. The lights shining down on the piece were reflected back off the shiny surface creating interesting patterns.














I will post the other two paintings as they are completed.

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 Windsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00 and sold unframed.

Blue Mountain Pottery - A Work in Progress

I woke up today to the first snow of the year. It is a good thing that I already had my snow tires put on all the vehicles and just had to watch out for the people on the road who weren't prepared for the road conditions.

Today at KAGS our theme was "Cool" Colours and we had Blue Mountain Pottery, pastel yellow, green and bowls, purple and soft pink stuffed animals.














I chose to do a number of pieces of the Blue Mountain pottery and made my own arrangement of them which was a lot different than how things were set up there.

I brushed in the background using vertical strokes with mixtures of alizarin crimson, Antwerp blue and  French ultramarine blue.

I will post this painting at a later date once more of it has been completed.

Pottery I - A Work in Progress

Today was a very long and busy day at the Kawartha Artists' Gallery which I opened at 8:30am for the Still Life Group.

We set up a pottery display for the class which had some very interesting pieces and I particularly liked the way the woven cloth folded and created interesting patterns and shadows.

After lunch I painted with the Outdoor Painters' Group and continued to work on the drawing which is almost completed. I will post this painting at a later date once more work on it has been completed.














Then I waited until the current show had been taken down and it was time to take in the paintings for the upcoming show "Motion in Stillness".

Finally at 7:00pm I locked up the Gallery and headed home. Tomorrow shall be another busy day with more take in and then hanging the show.

Succulents - A Work in Progress

Today was a very long day at KAGS; it started at 8:30 in the morning when I opened the gallery for the Still life class. The display was relatively simple with a Christmas cactus, a Jade plant and an Aloe, with two pieces of pottery to add interest.

After lunch it was time to sit the gallery and continue working on various small paintings. Then a couple of us went out for supper before returning to the gallery where we had to set everything up for the Information meeting tonight.















The weatherman was right about the massive snow storm that was going to hit this evening. The trip home was long with the snow covered roads and limited visibility due to the blowing snow. It was interesting to see how many people were not prepared for the road conditions and many of them were fish tailing on the road due to the conditions.

I am thankful that I have a 4 x 4 and good quality winter snow tires on my vehicle. My trip home that normally takes 20 minutes took just under an hour. But I made it home safely.
Now it is time to kick back and relax.

I will post this painting at a later date once more of it has been completed.