Painting Buddies

 

 

Blog 47



Meeting a fellow Arteast member at an exhibition and discovering that we both loved dogs and lived only minutes from each other in parallel streets was the turning point in finally making lasting friends in Canada. She invited me to her property for the next meeting with a local group of painters. I joined the Painting Buddies (as we call ourselves) for the first time in the fall of 2007. We have become close, have travelled together on painting trips and have supported each other not only in our art careers.

 

 

 

Since 2007, some members left the group, and others joined us. We have some casual members. Since the start of the pandemic, Leslie Lambert has joined our core group of Janis Fulton, Hélène Martin, Robert (Bob) Murrell and myself.

 

 

When everything shut down in mid-March 2020, I realized fast that I needed my friends more than ever. I started to organize several weekly meetings with friends (all of them are still ongoing). One of the weekly get-togethers was with my painting friends. At first, we only talked about the changes due to the pandemic. However, after I spoke about my sketch-a-thons with the New York City Urban Sketchers, we realized we could also spend the weekly time creating art together.

We have been meeting ever since to paint and draw while chatting. We use photos from our shared Google Photos album with the understanding that these photos are free for everyone to use for any art project. Every week, we pick an image to capture with any medium and size.

Janis and Bob have painted in oil for many years and sometimes still do when we paint outside together. However, while sitting in front of our computers, Janis, Bob and I see our sessions as practice, having fun exploring different mediums. We discovered the ease of watercolours as they are lightweight and offer easy cleanup. We have experimented with watercolour pencils, gouache and ink. 

At the end of the hour, it is always fascinating what everyone captured and how different each artwork is. Janis and Bob usually don't touch their pieces after each session. Leslie, Hélène and I like to take our time and often spend a couple of hours finishing the paintings. 

Hélène painted with oil paints for many years but has since transitioned to watercolours. Looking at her art, you can see that she found her unique style.

 

 

Leslie is an accomplished watercolour and oil painter. She has the most experience with watercolours of all of us and is always willing to share her expertise.

Our weekly meetings have strengthened the friendship between us. We love that we can still meet Hélène even though she moved to Nova Scotia. We are independent of the weather and don't have to change plans at the last minute to take advantage of a beautiful day. While most of us are retired, reconciling our schedules is challenging.

We still love painting en plein air and go whenever possible. There is a magic about being surrounded by nature and seeing each other in person that virtual meetings cannot replace.



To learn more about the Painting Buddies and their art, check out their websites:

https://galeriehelenemartin.ca

http://www.janisfultonart.com

http://www.robertmurrell.com

https://www.kerstinpeters.ca

Leslie doesn't have a website.

 

Thank you to Janis, Hélène, Leslie and Bob for sending me photos of their art and allowing me to share their work in this blog. I treasure our friendship and all the good times we have shared together.