Finishing Touches

This week I am putting some finishing touches on preparations for my art show at the McKay. There are cards to print, guest book and refreshments to buy, final payment to make, borrowing of easels and work to be picked up at the framers, not to mention a tweak here and there to my last few paintings. I will also remind family and friends about the official opening on Thursday Aug.5th.

Art Show Poster---Our Favourite Things

Poppy Bonfire

I have yellow poppies in my garden. Here is my reddish version.

Morning Glory

Tandem Painting

No I don't mean a dip tic; I am referring to the practise of working on two or more separate paintings at a time. I find this useful for me as I need to step back from a work for a few hours or days to assess what I have accomplished and where it needs to go next. Presently, I am working on three paintings, two of which I will post very soon. One is a rooster awakening to a sunny sky and the other is my impression of three reddish orange poppies. The third painting that I will continue to work on is the smaller abstract from the fusion workshop. It has already had three or four versions. I have changed the palette from the original pale blue/green/pink/coral/white to pale blue/green/white/sand/pale yellow green. I want to create more fluidity in it now.

Chariots of Fire

I have put the finishing touches on my abstract from the fusion workshop and voila! The second smaller one I am still working on. It is amazing how peaceful you feel when looking at your favourite colours. I have had many positive comments about this work so far.

Ruth and Nigar

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

Scott Adams, 'The Dilbert Principle'
US cartoonist (1957 - )

I have just returned from another two day abstract workshop with Kirstin Bojanowski of Newmarket. My perfectionism got in the way of being playful and creative. I got stuck on the parts of my work which I felt weren't working. I need to lighten up because by the time I got home I quite liked both pieces. They just need a little tweaking here and there. Workshops should be for experiencing a new techinque and the sheer enjoyment of your creative process. Here are a couple of pictures of my dear friends Nigar and Ruth, each one holding her first work from Saturday.