Green Balm

We arrived by boat, at night, under a waxing moon. The boat sliced through the ink blank silence and deposited us on an island. The darkness was complete and enveloping. The brightest light was the moon above. I was home.

I could feel tension leaving my muscles as my limbs softened in recognition of the tree limbs. The wilderness reached its arms up to meet my soul which in turn seemed to leap up in recognition.

 

Progress of a Deep Forest Painting

Upcoming Open Studio

 

Open Studio - Thursday, June 5th from 3pm to 8pm

Come and share a glass of wine and check out the artwork.

Click on the Eventbrite link in the right hand column and register for a chance to win one of my paintings in a draw which you can enter simply by dropping by!

(All the info and directions are also included in the Eventbrite Invitation) 

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Wild & Precious Moment

This is a photo of me working on my last painting, "One Wild & Precious Moment" taken by my oldest daughter, Amy as we hung out in the studio for a brief hour before taking her to the airport. Amy lives across the country from me and I rarely see her these days as she finishes her teaching degree in Kamloops, BC so this was indeed one of those precious moments.

I was keenly aware that Amy would be leaving again shortly. After having spent a glorious ten days traipsing across Italy with her, this was a beautiful gift to have her resting on the couch while I returned to my "ordinary" daily life in the studio. While the music of her ipod filled the studio, my body relaxed into the finishing touches of a painting that I felt was both successful and succinct in expressing my inward landscape of tumultuous and ephemeral joy. The title for the painting is inspired by Mary Oliver's delightful poem "Summer Day" where the act of attention is a form of prayer.

The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-- the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down--
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Mary Oliver, The House Light Beacon Press Boston, 1990.

The Ways of Water

An impromptu exhibition of some larger landscape pieces is now showing at the E.K. Voland Art Gallery in my St Henri studio building.

One Wild & Precious Moment / 72" x 48" / acrylic on canvas

The Red Line / 48" x 72" / acrylic on canvas

Undercurrents / 72" x 54" / oil on canvas

Stone Carvers / 60" x 40" / oil on canvas

Art Salon style exhibition and Market Place

This was one of the largest undertakings I have taken on in a long time. Organizing and producing an exhibition of over 60 artists as well as an opening night Art Marketplace is a daunting task when you begin.

However, the sold out opening night was well worth the effort!

Here's how it worked: Each of the participating Montreal ArtBomb artists donated one or more 8" x 8" artworks.

These artworks were then all wrapped and waiting at the door. The guests purchased $50 tickets which entitled them to one of the wrapped artworks as they arrived.

If you liked your artwork you could keep it and if you would prefer to trade it with another guest it was up to you to do so! All the artists were in attendance and you could meet the actual creator of your particular piece as well as see more of their work in the exhibition of over 170 artworks hung salon style, floor to ceiling in the E.K. Voland Art Gallery

The exhibition continues until April 24th at Complexe du Canal Lachine in Montreal (St Henri) 4710 rue St Ambroise open week days from 11am to 2pm.

One Hundred Paintings Donated by Montreal ArtBombers

A beautiful mosaic of artists and art is coming together this Thursday, April 10th at the Centre d'Art Voland Montreal ArtBomb is celebrating it's one year anniversary by weaving this tapestry of art and artists in a unique and unusual manner.  

Purchase a ticket for $50 and receive a wrapped original painting at the door. This painting is yours to keep or if you wish you may trade with another guest in the room for a different one. This is where the fun begins...the subjective nature of art is such that the artwork that one person falls in love with another doesn't even cast a second glance at. 

The artists themselves will be there with a full gallery of their larger artworks hung "art salon style" which means floor to ceiling artwork. There is sure to be something of interest for everyone. 

Discover Art from the inside out and see life through the artist's eyes for an evening. 

Come and relax, have a glass of wine and chat with the artists themselves. 

Tickets are selling out fast so don't delay your purchase. 

TIckets available HERE.

To view all the paintings that have been donated by Montreal artists click HERE