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.

Please Mr. Postman, wait and see.....

if there's a postcard in the mail for me. Recently I have been looking into the benefits of sending colour postcards out to family, friends and patrons to advertise my upcoming show this August. They appear to be a good marketing plan. I have decided so far to send them using a glossy colour print of one of my recent works. I intend to leave a blank space on the back where I can either write in a greeting or show details. I could also just make labels to stick on the back with the information about the show. That way I can also use the cards for a seasonal greeting or a method of just communicating about current work, awards etc. with patrons/friends. Another idea is to use them as a thank you card for a recent purchase.

Good Day Sunshine

Here is the newest addition.Cheerful sunflowers on a sunny day.

You better shop around.....

Need some printing done? Well start with your local printers and get a quote so you can compare apples to apples or rather business cards. Then check out two online companies who will give you a better deal. www.printdo.com and www.vistaprint.ca You can even download one of your own images/paintings to use on the item be it a postcard, business card, magnet, pen etc.

Artist Mentors

This is something I have been thinking about for some time. An artist mentor would provide encouragement, personalized support, training, advice, life experience and possibly assessment and feedback on a regular basis through studio visits. The novice artist would gain professional development, technical skills, confidence and quite possibly a friend with a similar interest. Just this week I had the great pleasure of visiting a fellow member of the Markham Group of Artists at her home studio. She spent two hours with me discussing her art and techniques , showed me her studio, shared many tips and even gave me a sample of her yupo paper to try. We planned to attend an art show at the end of this week together as a result. I would encourage all of the veteran artists out there to offer to spend even as little as two hours with a newbie artist. I am sure even the established artist would gain a great deal from this experience.

No such thing as bad publicity

Check out page 21 in June's Snap Markham Newspaper Vol 3 # 11 to see a picture of moi with my abstract painting 'The Sentinel' taken at the Mayor's Art Showcase 2010 (juried show). I am not even going to complain about my photo! I am not sure if it is available online but here is the link regardless.
www.snapmarkham.com.

"Koi Story"

Fish fascinate me. I plan to do more koi, as well as other tropical fish in the near future. I also want to do some waterlily paintings. They seem so elegant and serene.This won first prize at the Markham Fair 2010.