Before I delve in, I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you. If you're reading this blog, than you've probably helped support me in some way, shape or form. Perhaps you like my Facebook page, or you've been to one of my classes. Perhaps you've even purchased one of my paintings. Regardless of what form your support has taken...thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Hello, is this thing on?! I bet you forgot I even HAD a blog, considering the radio silence on this thing since March. For awhile, I really wasn't sure what to do with my blog; what could I really offer my readers that was of value?! After all, you're spending precious...
Happy spring, everyone! I am so excited to share this step by step breakdown of my most recent painting, "Opalescent Lake" (2017, 16" x 20", oil on masonite). The painting sold to a buyer from Temiscaming QC, who has a special connection to Algonquin Park and wanted a reminder of the many happy memories that were created there. As always, I posted update photos to both my Instagram and Facebook feeds, since I love to pull back the curtain and reveal how my art is created. Creating new works usually take me at least 30 hours for the smaller pieces, and upwards of 100 for my current major project (a 30" x 60"). I'm including this painting in the show taking place...
"I'd like you to close your eyes, and think about a place that really means something to you, deep in your heart. I fear if I ask young people that question, they don't have a place. It just isn't there. And, if people have no contact with nature, not only nature but mankind is in for a very gloomy future." - Robert Bateman Lively Pair of Chickadees, by Robert Bateman The chickadees are back this morning. They're elegant little birds, bobbing and weaving in the sky effortlessly as they float from the tree to the feeder, feeder to the tree. Watching birds is one of my greatest joys. I love everything about them; their feathers, their song, their flight patterns, the...
Whether you're an amateur artist or are trying to provide the ideal working space for your child who is just learning to paint or draw, lighting the workspace correctly is absolutely critical. For younger ones, it will help them learn to read their colours while avoiding eye strain, and for artists who are in the beginning stages of their development, having correct lighting will help you work more confidently at all hours of the day. In the article below, I outline my own personal experience with lighting trial and error, and provide some solutions for how to quickly and easily remedy your own lighting situation. Moving from my spacious 800sqft studio at Tweedsmuir into my 90sqft home workspace has not...
Hey there, and welcome! Since opening up the studio space last June and beginning to offer classes out of the space in July, I've been trying to define and clarify what exactly it is that I'm doing. Depending on the day, I'm a supply teacher for the Near North District School Board, a piano teacher, art teacher, commissioned artist, (amateur) designer, researcher, and writer. I had considered giving myself an umbrella business title, something along the lines of Whispering Pine Studios or something equally cheesy, but since I dabble in so many things I figured it was simpler to consolidate what I do under my name. Pure and simple. So who the heck am I, what do I do, and...
