Australia Plus April 2015

We just returned from our return to Oz trip and some wonderful travels, tours and visiting, revisiting places and folks we have known as well as those we missed when we lived downunder.  Quite tired of travel by the time all was done but also some wonderful memories and great ideas for painting.

The first painting is from a tour we did at Katherine, NT up the Katherine gorge in the tour boat.  The train stops in Katherine mainly so passengers can do this tour, big business for the local population.  It varies by the amount water in the channel  as to how far you can take the boat but it would be grand to do in a kayak or canoe.  At one point there is this yellow sand beach in the red rock, surreal.

The second painting is of a rock ridge that overlooks a wetland area which eventually enters the ocean in the Kakadu National Park, which is also in the NT and fairly close to Darwin.  The contrasts here are huge and that is what makes it beautiful.  This was from a tourist pamphlet photo not our own, but we did stand on the same ridge, just not at that particular sunset time.

My plan is to do a series of paintings sort of documenting the trip.  I have about ten in mind but am not sure how that will pan out, maybe more, maybe fewer.

Before we left I had started a carving of a loon in soapstone.  The warm weather on our return allowed me to get outside and finish the job.  It is now in the oiling process and should be ready for the ReginArt show this spring.

Up Coming Events
The Third Annual ReginArt Show,  Conexus Centre of the Arts, Shumiatcher Room,  April 24-25, 2015.  Yes we are at it again, with five new artists in our mix.  Musical instruments, First Nations paintings , new wearable art jewellery, willow basketry, wood carving and turning, painting sculpture and all by Saskatchewan artists of renown.
Nouveau Gallery has a lovely display of my work at present, carvings only, and there is a display in the Harvard Galley in the Hill Buildings which will be up for a month show some of our ReginArt groups work.
Shekinah a camp near Waldheim SK is again the place to be for the SASKATCHEWAN RIVER VALLEY ART SCHOOL, May 29 to June 3, 2015.  I will be teaching stone carving and there are other wood carving classes, painting classes, photography classes etc., by artists from across Canada.  A great place to spend a few days with folks of artistic interests in a wonderful environment.

I guess that is it for now, hope everyone has a great spring ( yes it is here ) and please join me at the ReginArt Show.  A feast for the eyes and heart.

2015 begins

not much to report for December.  I did manage to sell Weeds on Fire a painting and Nouveau gallery sold one small piece in the Christmas sale.  Yvette Moore Gallery also sold another piece.
Go to the Nouveau Gallery site to see the wonderful pieces they had and my pieces will stay there for a couple more months.  Hopefully I can get my big cougar in there in the next month or so, need to coordinate my son and a trailer to get it there.
I have been asked to teach stone carving for the Saskatchewan River Valley Art School at Shekinah this May, I always enjoy this.  An opportunity to be with folks who enjoy carving and other artists of different mediums in a five day residential program.  If any of you are interested in learning to carve wood/stone, paint, draw, take better photographs, weave etc.  check out SRVAS or the Sask Wildlife Artists Assoc. web sites for class registration.  I believe they open the last week of Jan.

Well I did manage to get my pixelated pelican painting finished and am now in the process of attempting a portrait of Granny Calihoo a Metis woman who live to be 104 years, from the buffalo hunt to the space age.  I hope I can capture that wonderful face using just little squares of paint.

Busy Fall

Man, it has been forever since I have been here.  Sorry about that but life has been extremely busy the last few months.  I'll begin with the Barge Festival,  a fun time but only visiting.  Very few people in Winnipeg know what this "festival" is all about and so don't come expecting to see fine art and certainly not to buy.  But we did have some quality visit time with relatives and friends which counts for a lot these days.

In Sept. Dawn and I combined with her sister and hubby and one of her cousins and took off for Iceland to see what the world was like in the beginning.  Volcanic eruptions, earth quakes, hot springs, geysers, ancient lava flows, glaciers and Vikings.  What a unique place on this earth.  We also hooked up with Dawn's Icelandic relatives who were so kind and gracious in their desire to make connections and show us another side of their culture and take us to where Dawn's grandmother was born.
In November we went to Churchill on a sightseeing and educational trip.  We stayed at the Churchill Northern Research Centre located where the old rocket range was headquartered.  Had a great trip, viewing the polar bear migration and seeing what has changed in Churchill since I worked up there in the late 1960's.
In the between times I did manage to finish a commissioned piece ( loon and two chicks ) and began a single adult Loon.  I also started a pixilation painting of White Pelicans.  Just finished that and will take to my Friday art group for critique.  They always give me an honest opinion and suggestions for what they think will improve the overall impression.
Should also mention that we are working on a new computer so I am not sure how to add pics but will try.

Another week of work done and pieces almost ready for The Prairie Barge Festival, neither had I until the Sask Craft Council received an invitation for Sask artists to participate.  Since Winnipeg is a city that has a long history with stone carving I thought that it would be a good place to reintroduce my work there.  There was a time that I had galleries there to sell my work but as goes the world of art they disappeared or dried up and then there were none.
Now the recent work has focused on smaller pieces since this is an outdoor sale at The Forks, not a gallery.  There was a definite lack of lower end pieces in my home stock. 

I like the leaf, turtle and beluga whales the most out of the completed work.  These are all smaller pieces and ready just in time for Winnipeg.    Hopefully the weather is great and there are loads of folks out.  If not we will just have to visit with the relatives and enjoy their company.  So next blog will be after that show and we will let everyone know what The Prairie Barge Festival is all about.  By the way there will be no barge involved this year due to high water, now that is really strange.....

August already

Has anyone figured out where the month of July went?  Seems that the summer is on the decline and I did not know we have had it, but you can sure see it in the daylight hours we now have.
After a work slack month and a half, it is back to work and the last two weeks have been concentrating on getting smaller pieces ready for the Prairie Barge Festival in Winnipeg at the end of August.  Really there is such a festival and the are promoting the arts at The Forks along with many other activities.
I also did a trip to Canmore AB to change my art at the All in the Wild Gallery there.  We incorporated a couple of relative visits at the same time and that really made the trip much more enjoyable.
So all for now but next week I will introduce you to the new carvings through pictures and hopefully show some stages of the next carving, I thought that might be more interesting than just seeing the finished product.
Enjoy the rest of summer.

Another show done

Yes the 2014 edition of the ReginArt is done and to rave reviews of both guests, sponsors and the artists themselves.  I would like to thank all our sponsors, Wolfond Financial, Dilawre BMW, Eyes on Hamilton,  Bravo Tango Designs and Western Litho, for their support.  We are now beginning the planning process for the 2015 show so keep posted and I'll try to be more regular with my posts to keep folks updated.
Our next project is a Gala Benefit for Prairie Wealth Management Group in Saskatoon.  They are raising funds in support of a new leadership program being introduced in Saskatchewan schools.. that will take place at TCU Place on October 24 with the artists extending the show to the 25 in the same venue. 

Work wise I have been concentrating on rehabbing a piece that I felt was not up to scratch.  I carved a female figure of wood but the grain of the wood made the face look ugly.  The harder I tried to get it right the worse it got.  I left it while working on the ReginArt show and then decided the rest of the piece was to good to scrap.  My solution was to remove the face and do one in stone.  This of course created other problems but the results were much more satisfying.  I still need some touch-ups but the pics will give you some idea and you can judge for yourselves.

A busy week ahead in preparation for the second annual ReginArt show and sale..  Please join us May 16 between 1 pm and 8 pm and /or May 17 between11 am and 8 pm. You will be amazed at the one of a kind/ original works of art and it is FREE.  Well entry is free,  the artwork not so much.  The show is at the Conexus Arts Centre in the Jacqui Shumiatcher room which will be set up like an art gallery allowing folks to wander and see it all or stop and study one or two pieces.

I do have another new piece called Old Man On His Back.  I depicts a man trudging along with this weight or man on his back.  Teenagers will undoubtedly interpret this differently than adults might so having highschool students view it will be interesting.

Thanks for reading and I'll try to give a brief review of the show next blog.

May ReginArt show and sale.

Spring is here ( I have been wrong before) I believe.  Have spent a good deal of time trying to get the art show set up and the pieces to make it run smoothly.  It is coming together but not much art work getting done.   The above are the two wood pieces I completed from the fir beam that was found along the side of our house.  The grain worked really well on the owl but poorly on the female figure.  Still learning new things.  I used Danish oil finish on both pieces. 

I have just posted the show invitation on Dawn Trasks facebook page,  have a peek for an idea of what we produce in the ReginArt world.

Spring News

Well, spring is supposedly here though as I write there are white flakes coming down.  makes outside work a little chilly but I have been out there doing just that.  Last post I mentioned that I was carving wood, fir to be precise.  I did get the two pieces done and am now looking at a chunk of soapstone.

Nouveau Gallery in Regina have picked some of my work for a spring show of Regina area artists and a small retrospective of Ted Godwin's work 1961 to 1988 ( one member of the Regina Five).  The show is called AWAKENINGS. Nice to have gallery representation in town. 

Also a somewhat frantic time for our ReginArt group and the spring show on May 15-17.  Trying to find sponsors , get info organized for printing invites, booklet, etc..  I think we have a phenomenal group of artists and we really want to make this a successful show for all of us.

The pictures are of  the two almost complete wood carvings.

Spring post

Spring has come, albeit with snow today but at least the temperatures are allowing me to get outside and do a bit of carving.  And being a new season I decided to try something new.  I have rescued a 7 x 7x 60 fir beam  the has resided beside our house since we moved in and who knows how long before that.  I cut it in two  and found the surface rot was minimal and there were few checks in the wood.  The two pieces sat in the shop for almost a year and I finally got up the courage to try to carve in a sort of  refined chainsaw style.  I like the result but still need to finish the base and for ideas I'll take it to my art group for critique and help in finish and base design.  One of our Fri. group (Alec) is a long time carver and is always willing to help with ideas;  it's always nice to have his blunt but accurate assessment. 

My other project is still on the easel.  It is a portrait done in the pixelation style.  I think I have figured how to get a better balance for it and will work on that the next week along with the finish of the carving.

In other news, our Regin|Art show in May is starting to take shape.  We have a phenomenal cast of artists but confirming sponsors has slowed the process.  This means the planning of the adverts and printing booklets, posters etc. are behind where I would like it.  But things are moving along.  Mark May 17 on your calendar and join us at the Shumiatcher Room at the Conexus Centre of the Arts.

Our sponsors in Saskatoon are also preparing for a show on October 24 at the TCU Place.  Rather nice in that they do all the planning and ads, etc and we just move in and sell.

Next blog I'll show the finished works of owl and portrait. 

Spring Post

Well spring has sprung, sort of; it snowed today but at least the weather has warmed.  OK, so by warm I mean around 0 which has allowed me to get outside and do some carving.  Being a new season, I decided to do something new.  I have had these 7 x 7 by 28  pieces of fir beam in my shop for about a year.  The wood sat beside our house when we purchased it and had some surface rot but very little checking of the wood.  I began a carving from one of the pieces and I think things have worked out reasonably well for a first effort.  I still have not finished the sanding nor the design of the base but I like the Owl shape and style.  I will take it to my art group and have them pick it apart and ask Alec about doing the finishing.  Alec is a long time bird carver and is always willing to help.
My other project, a portrait, is still on the easel but I think I know the change I need to make to get it to the frame.

Plans for the ReginArt show in May are starting to come together, but seems to be a bit slow in finalizing the sponsorship details and therefore printing and advertising issues.  We have a phenomenal group of artists lined up so mark May 17 on your calendar and join us at the Conexus Centre of the Arts, Schumiacher Room.

The Sponsors in Saskatoon have booked TCU Place for a similar show in that city on October 24.  Having them do the organizing is really nice, all we do is set up and sell.  How great is that.

The pics are of the wood carving and the yet unfinished portrait.

NEW Ideas

Vacation is done and we have returned to an icy paradise. 

I have be doing some painting but really not much to report as most of it is sort of experimental.  trying to figure out how to create images using squares.  I kind of like the effect of pixalations on digital photographs and am trying to emulate that in paint with only some degree of success.  The photo of my attempt at a portrait of Ovide Mercrede is partially done and I think it is working but is sure hard to create small curvatures with cubes.

Am also preparing for two exciting shows coming up.  ReginArt, a group of local area artists in various art forms, are putting on a show |May 15, 16, 17 at the Conexus Centre of the Arts.  We have brought together nine of the areas best artists in eight different art forms.  Joining me, are Dale Lowe, Anna Hergert, Jackie Berting, rod and Denyse Simair, Richard Loffler, Rachel Mielke, Howard Nixon, and Val Moker.  These are world class artists and are being sponsored by Wolfund Financial Group on an exclusive first night at the Shumiachter  Room.  If you have the time and love wonderous art pieces drop in on the 17th when we are open to the public.

The other show is in Saskatoon on Oct 24th, sponsored by the Prairie Investors Group and we are trying to get the same space for a public showing on the 25th. 

I am attaching photo of my Ovide painting and on of the sculptures to be at the show in May.  WEED PLAY was part of a provincial art show called Dimensions.

Well another month has come and gone and I have been busy but I can't quite figure out what I have accomplished in terms of my art.  I have a couple of new small paintings done and by request, one new carving that is not quite finished.  We did the Reflections of Nature, Wildlife art show and competition.  Didn't put anything in the competition but set up a display booth.  My two lovely grand daughters did enter photographs in the junior competition and showed very well.  They each took home some well earned in the ribbons.

A carving of a Lynx I had in Canmore sold.  Another person came in the next day wanting the same piece so All in the Wild Gallery asked me if I would do another similar piece.  I had to find appropriate stone and did that.  The carving gave me some problems, mostly because I have not been doing much in stone lately, but after two attempts I am ready to start the fine sanding.  I'll do the fine detail once that is done and then the finish.  The pic is of it as of today.

October 14 up coming shows

The  end of summer and I have been most remiss in doing this blog thing.  For those of you who know of the health issues that hit me two years ago and threatened to cut my carving career short I would like to say I have returned to the world of stone and dust.  For how long I am not sure but I have done a few small carvings and am still marketing those along with the paintings that I have done in the duration.  Hopefully I can continue both art forms in the future.

Just to let everyone know that I will be doing Reflections of Nature Wildlife Art Show in Saskatoons, Prairieland Park;  October 25-27 followed by Wintergreen in Regina Centre of the Arts: November 15-17 and Sundog in Saskatoons, Credit Union Centre: November 29, 30 & December 1.  That will close out a very quiet year.

I will probably follow the same pattern next year with a spring REGINART show .  The latter is an artist organised show we did for the first time this spring at the Regina Delta to excellent reviews.

I am also taking a painting class on doing prairie skys next week so that I can improve my technique and get to meet some other Regina artists besides my Oldtimers Friday drop in at the Balkwell Centre.  below are examples of the small carvings done recently.  The first is a soapstone otter and the latter an alabaster polar bear on soapstone base.  These are about six inches long with the bears base representing icy water and that being about 9 inches long.

Well that is it for now but try to drop into one of the sales if you can and catch the reality not relayed by the photos.

After the TRIP

My latest small carvings,  for scale reference these are about the size of my hand.  I have concentrated on smaller pieces for the up coming fall sales.  Reflections of Nature in Saskatoon on Oct. 25-27;  Wintergreen in Regina on Nov. 15-17 and Sundog in Saskatoon  Nov. 29-Dec. 1.  If you are in those areas during those dates be sure to drop in and see the new art works.

The recent trip to Yukon/Alaska/Haida Gwaii/ Vancouver Island/Fernie/Waterton  was a great trip and we brought back many photos of some great places.  The highlites for me were Dawson Cityand the Alaska coastal communities especially Sitka and Petersberg; and Haida Gwaii.  But the entire trip was absolutely fabulous.We live in such a great and beautiful country with such a diverse wonderful population, we really should take better care of our world so everyone gets to enjoy it.  Hopefully I can develop some paintings from all of the stunning things we have seen along the way.

We are off to Alaska and rather than drag the trailer we have modded the old Honda van.  A friend of my son put a raise bed in his and so after seeing his design we added a few ideas of our own.  7 feet of 5/8 plywood cut into three sections and hinged.  The knobs on the end underside are to hold the abs legs.

The backseat is removed to give the depth needed to hold the electric cooler and large items

.The whole seven feet of platform is 12 inches higher than the middle section of floor held up in the center by plywood on edge and the ABS legs made to level the two hinged ends.  this gives enough room to carry an extra spare tire and suitcase etc.

 

 

We also made screens for the rear window so that we can get ventilation without insects, we hope.

So now we have to try this whole thing out and hopefully it works the way it is planned and the van lasts the trip.  Oh by the way I plan to paint while on the trip.  Next blog ???

Up coming sale

Well just a few days to get stuff ready for the ReginArt sale at the Delta on April 30, May 1.  Each of the 8 participants are allowed to show ten works of art and there are some bueatiful pieces to be set up.  Move in will begin Mon. evening and the show opens at 11 am untill 9 pm so drop in early to see the best of the best in ReginArt.

Now to some new pieces or rather a new piece, I have been a little slow in my production over the last few weeks.  Had to sit the grand kids for a week and then recover you know.  At an rate, this is a 12x16 in. painting of a rapids on the Grass River between Wekusko Lake and Reed Lake in Northern Manitoba.  It is mounted in a floater frame, which means on close inspection you can see some of the canvas sides an so the painting wraps around the edges abit.  It is titled 'High Water".

Now that the warm weather has finally arrived I hope none of our local streams look like this.

If you get a chance be sure and drop in to the Delta, April 30 or May 1 and see some of my work up close and personal.

There are times that it is neat to look at different stages of a painting as it developes.  As is my usual I don't quite achieve what I want because I get to involved in the doing.  So here  I am doing a painting with some goldleaf background. The first shows the paintingwith the background colour and the goldleaf applied to about half of the canvas.

Then the subsequent layers of colour trying to get the sunset light lighting the weeds in a bright burning look to the edges of the weed and background.  finally the foreground of grass, etc.  There is also a spiderweb that exists on the right side of the canvas behind the white flowers.  You do not see this until the angle of light hits the fine gold etched lines

 

                                         The  next pic is of storm clouds over the prairie.  Sort of two different cloud fronts at sunrise.

 

 

 

 

 

New work

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These are the latest additions to my painting collection. Feel free to comment on the first two especially.  This is a diptick of yellow birch and the two pics show the same two canvases but in a different order, not sure which way I like the best.  I think I am calling it Yellow Birch Road, no it is not from Kansas.  The next is a pair of ravens, my favorite bird.  The background is really faded to make the birds feel like they are out in an open meadow, perhaps too much me thinks.  The last last is  a jackpine that grew out of what seems like solid rock.  The picture that I adapted this from shows the tree is actually alive and really distorted like my interpretation.  I didn't think the needles added much and just diappeared into the background.  After critique by my Fri drop in group and my wife and my son even added a valid point, I did some minor allterations not shown here.

That is about all I have to add but remember to put April 30, May 1 on your Calendar and come to  ReginArts first show at the Delta Hotel , Verdi Room between 11 and 8pm.  We have 8 wonderfull artists showing and selling  6 different types of art.  Paintings, stone sculpture, wood turnings, artistic furniture, fused glass hangings, jewellery,metal sculpture etc..  We have a silent auction going on with all proceeds going to Regina Transition House.  The artists involved are donating the art for that part of the show.
So Drop In, its free and you will definately see something you will like and we will try hard to make sure you take it home.  Who knows we may even deliver.
Till next blog, have fun.