RENATA KERR
CONGRATULATIONS! Please get in touch through my contact page on my website with your mailing address and I will ship the book as quickly as possible. Thank you EVERYONE, for your kind words and for submitting your name for this draw. Unfortunately The Daffodil Gallery will be closing its doors...BUT they have some fabulous events happening this weekend:
Join us this weekend for our final hoorah! Hours are:Saturday, January 16th from 11 am to 4pm Sunday, January 17th from 12 to 4pm All art on display (excluding items under $100) will be 30% off it's original price all weekend. Plus we'll have pop-up sales where select artists will be 40% off for a limited time! Schedule of Events! Saturday: 11 - 4 30% off sale 11.45 to 12.30: Live music by Carrie Day 1.30 to 2.15: Live Music by Rebecca Lappa Sunday: noon to 4 30% off sale 2.15 to 3: live music by Jessica Heine Pop up artist 40% off original price sales: 12.30 to 1.30 Saturday: Jenny Keith, Joe Reimer, Meghan Dauphineé, Paul Reimer, Kristina Sobstad 2.15 to 4.30 Saturday: Catherine Marchand, Saeed Hojjati, Tara Higgins, Joel Koop, Linda Willard, Helen Kovacs, Allan Waidman, Anne McCartney, Karen Bishop 1 to 2.15 Sunday: Corre Alice, Miles Constable, Ramsey Dziubiak, Bruce Allen, Veronica Funk, Judy Leila Schafers 3 to 4 Sunday: Judith Martin, Rosty Rusev, Gerry Dotto, Darlene Hildebrandt, Katerina Mertikas, Teresa B Graham Pat Wagensveld. The Daffodil Gallery · 10412 124th Street · Edmonton, AB T5N 1R5 DaffodilGallery.ca · 780 760 1278 · Facebook: The Daffodil Gallery On Friday afternoon I will be pulling a name to win my book SACRED VESSEL::A Painter's Handbook which includes everything I have learned from gallery directors, professional artists and my own experiences as an artist these past twenty years. If you are interested in adding your name to the draw, please leave a comment here, on facebook, instagram or send an email and I will be happy to add you to the list! If you share this please let me know and I'll add your name to the pot twice...and you are also welcome to enter as often as you wish. Thanks...and GOOD LUCK!
Since putting up the most recent 52 WEEKS project I've spent quite a bit of time sitting and staring at them, of course also criticizing them but my deal with myself is no changes once they've been painted and posted. But, on the other hand, seeing them all together, like my Totem Animals, gives me an entire new appreciation for the work that I completed and reads beautifully as a whole.,
I envisioned seeing these pieces larger, so over the past couple of weeks I prepared canvases that measure 30x24, and as usual hesitated. Yesterday I took the plunge and worked for 7 hours to complete these and I am very please with them. They really look lovely displayed by the smaller pieces and so I think I will have to enlarge a few more. I also created a new book that includes all 52 pieces of the Wildflowers series and their stories (preview here). After I did that for the Totem Animals (preview here) I realized how wonderful it was to have a record of the body of work which made it easier to let them move on to find new homes. Also, many of the patrons of the work have able to purchase the book at Bluerock Gallery as well which has been a nice keepsake for them.
I was first introduced to Georgia O'Keeffe at Red Deer College in 1986 shortly after her passing. We had an assignment to paint flowers and bones and though I was unsure of it initially, once I saw Georgia's work I was smitten by the simplicity and fluidity of the forms and subject matter as well as the vibrant colours. I admired the fact that she always knew she wanted to be an artist (as I did) and was always outspoken and direct (unlike me - I was painfully shy as a child). She was tenacious, driven, and required much time alone, a kindred spirit.
Years ago I had the great privilege of visiting the Carr, O'Keeffe, Kahlo exhibit in Vancouver in 2002 and was struck once again by the beauty of her work and I watch the documentary I purchased on my visit over and over for inspiration. I know she wasn't perfect, which is probably why I love her even more, and I love the fact that her paintings were never signed by her because she felt that her work was recognizable as her own and also so that the viewer could hang them however they felt - being connected directly to her work through a collaboration of sorts. I added a flower to this piece, even though less than a quarter of her paintings were flowers and I prefer the bones, because she is best known for the flowers. It has been another incredible year...thank you all for your encouragement and support. I can't say it enough. Every kind word, every opportunity, every project I have the privilege of taking part in are all because of the support I receive, both locally and internationally. This year's list seems even larger than any other:
**this year was the first that I organized the Author Series at the Airdrie Public Library and what fun it was...from Pow Wow dancing to live music to the kindest, humorous and most talented authors plus I still got to arrange six large exhibits along with eight workshops for both kids and adults as well as host the library's contribution to Culture at the Creek during ARTember **another record for me was painting 153 paintings of which 65 found new homes - 'thank you' really doesn't encompass how grateful I am **receiving support from the City of Airdrie through the honour of receiving the Mayor's Night of Arts Award to painting live at Council to creating a picnic table for our public parks **having my work published as one of Canada's artists to collect in the article titled 'North of '56' in ARABELLA magazine which was carried in Chapters, Indigo and Barnes & Noble all across north America. **this year my work was carried by Inglewood Fine Arts in Calgary, Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond, Just ImaJan Gallery in Cochrane, Effusion Gallery in Invermere, Evanescence Gallery in High River, the Daffodil Gallery in Edmonton, AyrSpace Gallery in Ontario, and now Delree's Native Gallery in Didsbury **through Artist Residencies, local schools and the Airdrie Public Library I was priviliged to work with over 500 kids of all ages this year **two of the most heart-warming things I learned were that my art is now owned by Lester B. Pearson's daughter-in-law and a Reserve in Northern Alberta **and finally, my annual contribution to the Airdrie FoodBank Empty Bowls fundraiser is something that I feel privileged to be part of every year What a terrific year! And I'm excitededly looking forward to more live painting, working with more children, continuing to contribute to arts & culture in my community, and always, to more learning & painting this year. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Awhile ago I talked about how I keep records for my art (you can read that post here) but this past year my binders have been falling apart. The original binder I used for my portfolio, press and gallery information was one that I received second hand so I had painted the cover and it worked for years. A number of years ago I received a couple of other binders which came at a great time as my original one was bursting at the seams. And now, all three were bursting and falling apart - so much so that the duct tape holding them together wasn't doing its job any longer.
So, over this holiday I finally chose to invest in three larger binders. I decided on clear covered binders that I could slide a photo into instead of painting on them again and for the spines thought it might be nice to use one of my paintings and separate it into three labels. I am really pleased how it looks. Now my next big project is to go through each binder and update EVERYTHING. I hate to admit that I've just been throwing articles into plastic sleeves without paying attention to its placement (ie. library events, articles I write, articles about my work) and haven't printed images for my portfolio in quite some time. At least my 'Galleries' binder tends to remain in order of its own accord. I'm at the point where I'd like a better organization system for my portfolio, to include the list of works created and sold annually along with making the paperwork portion of this creative life look more attractive than an MS Excel spreadsheet. And maybe to add highlights and positive memories for each year, kind of like the interesting newer creative planner/journals on the market. Well I guess I'll see how that goes. PRESENTING... Art is a Feeling
Frances Iverson & Alicia Taylor January + February 2016 Airdrie artist Frances Iverson is an award winning painter, receiving first place at the 2009 Calgary Stampede, who credits her father for her creative and artistic talents and her family for encouraging her to paint and draw during her formative years. She was born in Saskatchewan and began the formal study of painting as a creative form of personal expression ten years ago. She is passionate about color and texture in her work, using a combination of tools to achieve a “big and bold" character, namely a palette knife, rollers and a variety of mediums. All of her paintings are unique and very special as Frances believes that art is a feeling and that each painting has the ability to elicit powerful emotions in the viewer. As an active member in the community, Frances takes part in various art shows and auctions each year as she enjoys the companionship of fellow artists as well as engaging with the public. She proudly donates many paintings for fundraisers and charities to support a number of local causes. Local artist Alicia Taylor is well known for the art classes she offers through Cre8ive Ways, her mobile art studio. She teaches a variety of workshops from wine glass painting to jewellery making to paint nights for groups, both small and large. Her passion is to create art in a fun way and to share that experience with others. Frances and Alicia understand how art is a feeling, both in its creation and sharing. In the words of Leo Tolstoy, "Art begins when a man, with the purpose of communicating to other people a feeling he once experienced, calls it up again within himself and expresses it". If you are wise, you will show yourself rather as a reservoir than as a canal. A canal spreads abroad water as it receives it, but a reservoir waits until it is filled before overflowing, and thus without loss to itself shares its super abundant water. I have kept my journals for over over ten years but have only been choosing a word-of-the-year to set my intention for the year since 2010 (you can read previous selections here). My journal - which is used for writing (gratitude), notes, sketches, ideas, paintings, etc.- is kept by my bedside all year round so that I can begin or end my days with whatever catches my fancy and so having my word-of-the-year on the cover is a great daily reminder. Since I began setting an annual intention rather than resolutions I have seen a huge shift in my life. I can't say whether it is just a natural shift or whether it is the focus word but I am so glad I started doing this six years ago.
Initially I read about this process on Christine Kane's blog and she still offers a free Word-of-the-Year Discovery Tool download to help select a guiding word. Another great worksheet that I like to download each year just to remind myself of the great things that have happened over the past year and to document what I am looking forward to is Susannah Conway's Unravelling the Year Ahead. I like to make a pot of tea, light a candle, put on some music and pull out my coloured Staedtler markers. It's another great way to focus on gratitude and to remember what is important to me and a great way to begin a new year.
I struggled with what to focus on for this year's 52 WEEKS project but my daughter has been subtly urging (harassing) me to paint portraits as I haven't in such a long time and it was through portraiture that I got into art college originally so many years ago. It feels like such a huge challenge but I decided to do it anyway and to treat it just like the wildflowers and animals by not putting too much pressure on myself for perfection and to enjoy a more loose and painterly approach.
I decided that I wanted to focus on portraits of women, to share images of women who have affected me in some way. These women are my heroes. To me they are saints. And because I enjoyed the 7x14 inch canvases I painted on several years ago I decided to use that shape again as it tends to push me a little more creatively. For the first piece, since Christmas so recently passed and is still on my mind, I decided to paint the virgin Mary, not as a typical Mary but rather as a young, tired woman like so many of us as young mothers. My Mary is blonde because my girls and I are all blonde. I considered adding a copper leaf halo but I think I like her just the way she is**. I also began to think about how each and every person is a hero because of those daily, small acts that are performed (both willingly and unwillingly). And I want to remind every woman that I know that we all carry a hero within us as it seems to be something we tend to forget. **NOTE: She ended up with a painted halo instead :) |
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