Autumn Maples 3

Today I was at the Gayle Nelson Keene Historical-Society room, located in the Otonabee-South Monaghan Library, at 3252 County Road 2, in Keene, Ontario.

I wanted to see the room and the amount of space that was available for paintings and photographs for their exhibit called "A Pictorial History of Hope and Lang Mills" which will run from 23 April - 03 June 2019. I thought it may interest some of the KAGS Outdoor Painters' Group to exhibit their work.

While I was waiting for the library to open I did this drawing of some maple trees on the lawn of the property next to the parking lot.

I took a number of photographs and at a later date may do a painting of the trees.

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.

Douro-Dummer Automotive Flea Market and Car Show

Today is the first day of the Douro-Dummer Automotive Flea Market and Car Show, held at the Douro Community Centre and Arena, 2893 Highway 28 and County Road 4, Douro, Ontario.















Instead of being in the Harvest Room as we were for the spring show we were on the pad in the arena.















The people running the show made sure that my space was directly under one of the arena lights so that I would be able to paint as I usually do during an art show.















Cindy due to family commitments was unable to attend this show, but Diane Collins was here for the first time.















I am hoping the high temperatures, 86F (30C) and humidity making it feel like 91F (33C) do not keep the people and the antique cars from coming to the show.















Later I will go out and take photographs of the antique cars as well as many of the flea market items that will be on display.















The show runs today and tomorrow from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. and if you get the chance, please come out and enjoy the antique cars, the artwork, the crafts and if you need parts to fix your own antique car you may find what you need at the automotive flea market.

ACEO - Pink Sky 6

Today I wanted to finish this little painting that I had started a while ago (see posts on 26 December 2016 and 27 February 2017).

I lightly indicated with a pencil the distant shoreline and using various greens made from French ultramarine blue, Antwerp blue, raw sienna, new gamboge and aureolin. I painted in the trees on the distant shoreline leaving an area just above the waterline for the rocks on the shoreline.

Using raw sienna, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson I indicated the rocks between the water and the trees.

Next I darkened the rock colour with a little more burnt sienna and a touch of French ultramarine blue and put in the rocks in the foreground.

With the green mixtures used in the background I put the needles on the tree branches.

Lastly I used a mixture of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna and painted in the tree trunks and a number of the dead branches on the pine 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. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. It is priced at $20.00and sold unframed.

Along the Road I

Earlier this week when we went to Gananoque, Ontario to pick up our travel trailer I did a few sketches on the way, while Ron did the driving.

This was one of the scenes I did while we were stopped at a set of traffic lights just outside of Gananoque.















I darkened in the background pine trees that were in behind the autumn coloured maple and birch trees on the hill.

Lastly, I added some of the grasses and growies into the foreground at the edge of the road.

Farm by the River I

Today is the first day of painting with the Buckhorn Tuesday Painting Group at St. Matthew Church in Buckhorn, Ontario.

I thought since I was there, I may as well change my painting hanging in our display area, so I exchanged Strawberries with Single Pear.

I brought one of my pen and ink drawings that I had started a few years ago (see posts on 11 November 2015, 31 January and 13 October 2017) and thought I would complete it.

I started by putting in the third large tree trunk into the foreground.

Next I added in the grasses and growies on the edge of the water and at the base of the two trees on the right side of the drawing as well as a few small bushes.















Lastly I added in the trees on the far shoreline and the ripples into the river.

This original 9" x 12" pen and ink drawing when matted and shrink wrapped will be available for $95.00.

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

Travel Trailer

Today we went out to Gananoque to the 1000 Islands RV Centre to pick up our new travel trailer.

This is the only trailer that I have not actually been in, but when Ron came home with all the information about it and that he liked it more than any of the other trailers we had looked at over the last four months.













After I went over the floor plan, saw the colour and it had a fairly large table that I can paint at with plenty of light. It had many of the things we both wanted, the bed and the table that didn't have to be folded down and set back up.

The one thing that both of us liked was that even when the slide out is on the inside there was a separate door that allowed entry to the bathroom; which is a good idea when you are out on the road in the middle of nowhere.











We went through the orientation on the trailer, about all the parts and pieces and how they work as well as showing us how everything worked.

Then we picked up a number of things that we needed in the RV store and returned home with the trailer in tow.

We will probably take the trailer out one weekend soon, before it gets too cold to go camping.