‘stem’ exhibition opening May 12th at Herringer Kiss Gallery

‘stem & seeds’, 4′ x 6′

This Saturday at Herringer Kiss Gallery in Calgary, Alberta, an exhibition of twenty-two new paintings will be opening. It represents a very important body of work for me, as I worked on some pieces before I moved from my much loved ‘Alley Pad Studio’, and finished the rest after moving to my current studio space. At the end of this month, I’ll be moving again to put everything I own in storage and going away for the summer. I was recently accepted for a month long Artist in Residence position at the Byrdcliffe Guild in Woodstock, New York with full fellowship from the Pollock Krasner Foundation. I’ll be there for the month of July to develop and play with some new ideas, then on to New York City and some much overdue visit with Ontario family and friends. I’m excited to share that I have another exhibition which will open in August at Parts Gallery, Toronto. More on that later.

I’ll be back here in Vancouver in September but will be posting on the blog in between now and then, and look forward to hearing more from you! There is much more exciting news in the making, so stay tuned…!!

www.herringerkissgallery.com

‘stem & bloom’, 4′x 4′

‘dwell no.4′, 4′ x 4′ 

‘tumbleweed coral no.10′

‘tumbleweed coral’ series
in sit @herringerkissgallery

‘stem & presage’ 

‘stem & regrowth’

Semi-Open Studio this Sunday, April 15th

In a very spontaneous frame of mind yesterday, I decided to have a ‘semi-open’ studio this Sunday, April 15th from 12 – 4pm.

Semi-open is referring to the locked main entrance door.

If you are interested, please call me when you arrive & I’ll come down to let you in. 778-322-1087
or let me know ahead of time and I’ll meet you are the door.

There are several studios in this building as well as a homeless shelter, so please be respectful outside and in the hallways. Thank-you.

I will be showing work from my current and on-going bodies of work: stem, tumbleweed coral and dwell series before it all gets shipped to Calgary next Thursday for my solo exhibition at Herringer Kiss Gallery. Opening of that show happens on Saturday, May 12th.

250 Northern Street, Vancouver (one East & South of Main & Terminal)

New Work: Tumbleweed coral, Dwell & Stem series

It is in preparing for an upcoming show, attempting to picture the paintings hanging evenly spaced on clean, white walls, properly lit with no furniture to think about having to match, that you really start to assess how the work looks together and what it is all about. The pieces are no longer individual creations but hopefully begin to tell a cohesive story. They are coupled, grouped and moved around. Sometimes they just sit well and seem to have been made to play off one another. Other times, they scream to stay ‘home’, unfinished and not hang with the others. It is also a time where I look back at photos of the stages of paintings, starting at the first of a series, or the very first layer of paint. The many stages where I not only questioned whether the work in progress was good (most times, it was decided it was not) but also the validity of painting and art itself, and more dangerously, my own role as an artist. And whether I suck at it. Whether I am done. And if it has all been a waste of time and energy. It sounds very dramatic, and in our own heads, it is, but I can guarantee that most artists, at some point (if not at all points) go through the torture of self-doubt and the struggle of justifying to ourselves and possibly to others, the whole idea and career of making art.

Given all that, and racing up to a deadline, it is with a mountain of relief that I look at the work together and sigh. It may seem a small thing, or something that is taken for granted, but when an artist likes her own work, when they can look at it without wincing or continuing to re-work, this is as big an accomplishment as the work itself. And I am pleased…mostly pleased with how this work is coming together. I had all kinds of concerns about having to move studios in the middle of the process but I think it has been to my benefit to switch it up, put some pressure on the process and push with some new materials, fresh ideas and ultimately a rekindled love of painting and drawing.

Here is some of the work which will be available at www.herringerkissgallery.com by the end of April. The show opens on Saturday, May 12th.

 

 

 

 

Celebrate Now!

It’s a natural thing to assume there will be a tomorrow to celebrate…but why wait? Just in case…

 

 

 

pablo neruda ‘ode to the present’

I don’t often talk about other artists in this blog. In life, I engage that subject all the time, but here it’s mostly about my own creative process & results. Today, however, I found a beautiful poem written by Chilean poet and extraordinary human Pablo Neruda that I felt I wanted to share. Print it out, post it on your closet, kitchen cupboard, your night stand. I believe it has the power to change your life. Or at least the way you view it…

Ode to the Present

This
present moment,
smooth
as a wooden slab,
this
immaculate hour,
this day
pure
as a new cup
from the past–
no spider web
exists–
with our fingers,
we caress
the present;we cut it
according to our magnitude
we guide
the unfolding of its blossoms.
It is living,
alive–
it contains
nothing
from the unrepairable past,
from the lost past,
it is our
infant,
growing at
this very moment, adorned with
sand, eating from
our hands.
Grab it.
Don’t let it slip away.
Don’t lose it in dreams
or words.
Clutch it.
Tie it,
and order it
to obey you.
Make it a road,
a bell,
a machine,
a kiss, a book,
a caress.
Take a saw to its delicious
wooden
perfume.
And make a chair;
braid its
back;
test it.
Or then, build
a staircase!Yes, a
staircase.
Climb
into
the present,
step
by step,
press your feet
onto the resinous wood
of this moment,
going up,
going up,
not very high,
just so
you repair
the leaky roof.
Don’t go all the way to heaven.
Reach
for apples,
not the clouds.
Let them
fluff through the sky,
skimming passage,
into the past.You
are
your present,
your own apple.
Pick it from
your tree.
Raise it
in your hand.
It’s gleaming,
rich with stars.
Claim it.
Take a luxurious bite
out of the present,
and whistle along the road
of your destiny.

:::

For more about Pablo Neruda, see Pablo Neruda: The Poet’s Calling directed by Mexican director Carlos Bolado and Mark Eisner. Or, Neruda is a 120 min documentary about his life and poetry by the German filmmaker Ebbo Demant.  Or read one of his many books that has been translated into English. [Il Postino, the beautifully crafted film that was nominated for a slew of awards in 1994, was a fictional account using Neruda's exile in Italy as a springboard for a poetic love story].

Deep Cove Derive…

Some walks present a gorgeous view and others provide that along side copious lush offerings from nature. This derive, I couldn’t get enough of the greens, the stones, the textures and patterns…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New pallettes, new work in progress…

 

: the way raw pigments looks in water

 

: sketchbook colour tests

 

: trail of colour

 

New work in progress, in studio

 

New unfinished work, Version 4 [46" sq, raw ground pigment on panel]

 

New unfinished work, Version 3 [46" sq, raw ground pigment on panel]

Winter Derive

There’s a giant subdivided house on our street that always has something to give away just outside its front gate.  Their pile of kitchenware looked so fun sitting in the snow, just a spot of colour in the neutral scene.

Happiest house ever!

This lovey bush looks so pretty in the winter light.

Purple berries that look like little gumballs stuck carefully onto the branches. Such a nice contrast to the snow and bare branches.

Leftover leaves looking amazing with a punch of sunlight shining through.

I liked the look of these light green ceramic birds set out peacefully under a tree.

Cafe guards. Slobbery, friendly, curious cafe guards.

I love the book exchange ‘houses’ scattered around East Van.

Textures, colours, pallettes…

 

 

 

Paintings, by nature, for you…

As a little distraction from and in prep for a move and upgrade on my current elderly phone , I have sorted through some 2,000 I-phone photos and found these most amazing still life paintings created by nature herself. They are from the dockyards, the backyards, the laneways and the window panes. The places where if you slow down you will see some brilliantly painted vignettes!