Warmth Video

Warmth
a midwinter collection curated and produced by Holly Friesen.
40+ Montreal artists, January 8 to January 20th, 2015

Preview of Tremblant Exhibition

This is the launching of my new store as well as the online preview for the upcoming exhibition at Galerie 806 in Mont-Tremblant, QC which opens December 19th and runs until January 15th, 2014.
This exhibition is a celebration of an amazing year; meeting new people, traveling to new places and discovering the endless potential of this planet to reveal her beauty in new and invigorating ways. I am humbled and awed by the process of painting and the magical, mystery tour it continually takes me on. I feel it to be a great privilege to live this world as a painter. The paints not only guide my heart & hands but opens my eyes to marvels I would never have even noticed were I not stopping and taking the time to look as is necessary when making a painting.

Erratic Behavior

 

A glacial erratic is a piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests. In the Adirondacks these rocks are also known as Wabeeks. These huge rock beings were pushed all the way from the Laurentians to the Adirondacks by glaciers. I find this fact most fascinating as I too have arrived with a car full of paintings from the Laurentians which feel like they have found their home here in the Adirondacks.

 

A more charming or gracious pair of hosts could not be found then Tom and Marsha who  welcomed me into their home and community with a natural warmth and generosity of spirit that seems to be the prevailing spirit in this part of the world.

A bronze sculpture of the elusive mountain lion done by local artist PJ LaBarge greets me as I pull into the driveway. I am thrilled to see where I will be spending my next few days, in the coziest guest cottage in the world, nestled into the hillside above Lac Saranac.

 

 

Held within this environment I begin to absorb the Adirondack landscape...feeling it's rocks and trees. Listening to its textures and sounds. Slowly getting to know its unique presence as I photograph and sketch for future paintings.

View of Indian's Pass across a lush meadow.

More to come in the next post on the Pop Up gallery held at this charming Adirondack home on Lake Saranac.

Numinous Notes

My exhibition at Galerie de la Ville continues until this Sunday, April 21st. I love the venue and the space that these large scale works are given to breath as ONE body of work. 

Show Time

So here I am again, third year running, The Toronto Artist Project. If only I could explain how grueling these shows are on my body and soul. Yes, I love meeting new people and engaging in conversations about art and life but I hate the long hours of standing on cement under harsh lighting in front of my paintings as people walk by and peer at me, sometimes I feel like a wild animal trapped in a zoo.

This year I purchased a smaller booth and brought smaller pieces to minimize expenses and energy.  I have fabulous artists as neighbors which is always a bonus as we all help to keep each other bolstered through the long hours. It is a tremendously different energy to be alone in ones studio in front of the canvas as you wrestle and play with the emerging colors and shapes, then to be standing in front of the finished paintings watching people observing the work.

Sometimes I feel like screaming and pulling my hair out, sometimes I feel like protecting my vulnerable new works from the critical stares and indifference of the public. And then, sometimes, a beautiful soul connects to a piece and I remember why I do this.

 

The Artist Project 2013 Preview

A link to preview the paintings that will be at the Toronto Artist Project next week-end:

Preview of Paintings

A Pop Up Gallery in Mont-Tremblant

This is an exhibition I was extremely proud of, both in the creation of the "pop-up gallery" and the work presented. Working in close collaboration with Dominique Normand and Luis Paniagua, two artists whose work I greatly admire and whose friendship is deeply meaningful and valued. The three of us have worked in partnership before and we intuitively understand each others strengths and energies.

The Mont-Tremblant Pop Up Gallery as seen at night from outside.

After driving across Canada this October and presenting "pop-up galleries" out of the back of my van with great success, I decided to try the same in the village of Mont-Tremblant. Much of my work is inspired by the precambrian rock and boreal forests of the Laurentian mountains as I lived there for 25 years and absorbed the landscape directly into my bones. A return to the source seemed like a good idea but where to exhibit? Tremblant is notorious for its lack of exhibition venues for artists and so I decided to look into an empty 3000 sq foot retail space that has been for rent for quite some time on the main road through the village. Below are some before and after shots of our transformation from a raw, empty space with not even any lighting into a brightly lit, professional gallery space for our work to be shown.

 

We began by hanging several large lengths of earth colored thick canvas that Dominique had traded for with a friend of hers. This created a soft, warm backdrop for the paintings and hid the raw stud walls that ran down the whole length of space.

 

 

 Luis Paniagua, a long time friend and sculpture of the region, helped us wire and install a collection of lights that we either found, borrowed or brought from our studios.

 This was an exhibition of my larger scale works as most of my smaller ones were sold on my cross Canada tour this October. I have never seen all my large paintings hung together and so was very excited about the prospect. I could never have done it without Walt's truck and patient expertise. Most people don't realize the enormous amount of work that goes into a show like this. From bringing 30 large paintings down from the third floor of my Montreal studio, loading the truck, unloading the truck in Tremblant, setting up the gallery, installing the paintings, coordinating the wine, food, coat racks, tables and countless other details.

 Finally it is opening night, the paintings have been hung, the sculptures placed and their energy starts to fill the space. We all look at each other and agree that each piece has found its place in the room and our work is done. Now the paintings and sculpture will have to speak for themselves as people enter and begin to listen to their stories.