​The Magic Hour / 24x30 / acrylic on canvas
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This painting is heading to its new home with Calgary Reads this week. As a lover of bookstores & libraries, I always feel so honoured when my work ends up in those inspiring places and this one will live in The Children's Reading Place in Inglewood.
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It's been many years since I painted an interior scene. After more than 1000 paintings in a series titled 'Simple Pleasures' I didn't know that I would ever come back to it. And yet, I'm so grateful to complete a few commissions on this theme this summer. It's a bit like coming home.
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The process of creating these is so meditative to me...a sketch, followed by the underpainting, and then the final layers of colour. And, of course, some reading in between each step. Two of my favourite things. 😊

I have already had such a lovely summer in spite of the thundershowers we've experienced.  I wrote my final exam for psychology (fingers crossed!), travelled to the Okanagan (wine country) with my girls to visit one of my oldest and dearest friends, and have read so much.  I'm still painting (always) and have been experimenting with a few new ideas which have been fun for me.

I've been planning an online program that I'm calling Creative Partnerships. When I started out on this creative journey it was difficult to find information & support as an artist. I read a lot, talked to many professionsl Artists & gallery Directors, tried many different things, and I think I've finally found my artistic 'sweet spot' both in my paintings and in my creative career. I've spoken a bit about this in my eNewsletters over the past two months & along with some wonderful feedback I've begun to clarify it a bit more. One thing that is important to me is to make it accessible financially and also simple & straight forward...what I wished I had when I was starting out. It wil be fairly organic, depending on feedback I receive but I think I have a basic outline. I'm thinking of making it available through etsy. I would love to hear what you think.

1. Finding inspiration
2. Tips & Tools
3. Setting up a studio
4. Creative exercises
5. Finding your (art) family
"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." ~ Margaret Mead/Jane Howard
6. Creating an artistic career
7. Documenting & pricing artwork
8. Social media & the web
9. Researching & submitting proposals
10. Exhibiting work
11. Connecting with galleries
12. Suggested reading (more inspiration)
Bonus: TBD **12 modules - $10 each or $100 for the year (plus a bonus); Monthly pdf & video, critiques & conversations (email or skype); based loosely on my book Sacred Vessel::A Painter's Handbook**
Also, these are the last of the canoe series (Sacred Vessel) which are currently being exhibited at Abrio Health in my community.  The smaller pieces are being listed at $250 each (20x20) and the others at $750 (up to 80% discount). 

On occasion I love to take little workshops to look at my artwork and how I use my art supplies in a different way. I found a wonderful little colour mixing workshop on the Crafters Box, which guided me in adding more white to the colour palette I have been using for so long. It seems that sometimes when I do something in a certain manner for years, I forget that it can also be 'tweaked' a bit to liven up my art practice. Whenever my husband & I travel, I like to draw little sketches in my molekins pocket sketchbooks and always look forward to translating them in paint. These were fun little pieces that I could take along on the road to apply to the beautiful Alberta landscape that surrounds me.

Today I drove to Black Diamond to deliver some new bees and a few more Fashion Plates and was greeted with my dresses in the window alongside Connie Geerts' sculpture (a perfect pairing, I think) and Bonnie McCrae-Kilb's landscapes.  I'm always excited to see my work in the window and feel so privilieged to be represented by Bluerock Gallery and to be part of such a wonderful arts community.

wunderland (German): won·​der·​land | \ ˈwən-dər-ˌland  , -lənd\
1 : an imaginary place of delicate beauty or magical charm
2 : a place that excites admiration or wonder; a scenic wonderland

As long as I can remember I have been drawn to interesting, independent female characters in film. I love movies and television, and the quirkier the character and the storyline, the better. There is something so special about stepping away from reality for a little while and being lost in a visual wonderland.

In this series of 30 portraits painted over 30 days my focus was on the unapologetic females that have helped me to appreciate the unique qualities that make me who I am. There were so many to choose from but I decided to narrow it down to these thirty as there was just something special about the stories or the roles that drew my attention.
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I specifically chose 30 days in June to celebrate the end of a previous body of work, the beginning of summer, and the month of my birth.

During this process I learned that self-criticism never goes away, it reinforced my love of working in series as I keep pushing myself a little further each time I commit to something, that you can accomplish something great out of a bunch of small steps, and the support I receive in person and online definitely helps to keep me motivated.

When I try to select a favourite it's difficult as I tend to be drawn to different pieces for different reasons.  Sometimes it's the particular character or quote and other times it's the composition, colour or strong shadows.  In this series I think I'm leaning towards Margot Tenenbaum for her expression.  I understand how she feels sometimes. :)

I'm sure I'll create another #30DayProject in the future...much easier than 52 WEEKS or 100 Days. And thank you for all of your terrific suggestions. It's been fun to see who likes the same television and movie programming that I do.

The portraits are all painted on 8x10 gallery depth canvases and can be viewed on my Wunderland portfolio online here and are available for purchase ($125 including shipping). Also, paintings from the Fashion Plates series are available at Bluerock Gallery.  The paintings, sizes and prices can be viewed online here.

P.S. The winner of the Sacred Vessel Tarot deck featuring my 52 WEEKS::Wildflowers series is in today's eNewsletter along with the next draw to be held in August.