25 Years in Canada - The Year 2012 Part II

At the Market II, acrylic, 16" x 20", SOLD

Blog 12


The second half of 2012 started with one week at the cottage. During our summer week, I usually find it too hot to go for daytime hikes. Instead, I spent a lot of time painting and felting when we were not at the beach. I sit in the mosquito-netting enclosed part of the patio, finishing paintings and sometimes working on new artworks. I love the feeling of being outside, sheltered from insects and too much sun.

For many years, I did not work in July and August to spend time with our children during the beautiful Canadian summers.

Burst of Energy, Hibiscus Delight, The One,

 

Waterlily Delight, Burst of Orange, Magical Iris, acrylic, 6" x 6

"

 

 

As I knew I would not find long periods for painting, I created 6” x 6” images of flowers. At the end of the summer, when my daughter and her friend were at a day camp, I managed to spend more time in the studio. I created At the Market II for the West-Carleton art show theme entry. For this purpose, I had visited the Cumberland Farmers Market to take pictures as a reference. I create a bright painting of a stand with lots of vegetables (see above).

I also took the opportunity to meet with other Arteast artists at the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum for a day of plein air painting. 

 

 

 

 

 

On August 25, I took part in the Art in the Park event at the Cumberland Farmers’ Market. Setting up the grids at 7 am was torture for me, but I had a successful day talking to potential art students. I sold a tulip painting and greeting cards. Looking for new venues was high on my list of goals when the Gallery Old Chelsea relocated. Following the move, they only exhibited works of the associate members. I was busy preparing for some upcoming exhibition in the Glebe Community Centre and the Ottawa School of Art Showcase. I also applied unsuccessfully to become a member of another gallery.

 

Kamouraska Landscape, oil, 12" x 24", SOLD

On the second weekend of September, my friend Janis and I drove up to Kamouraska for our yearly painting trip. We had a terrific week, although the strong winds were challenging at times. However, the temperatures were as high as never before. We spent two days painting in summer clothes with temperatures reaching 27 degree Celsius.


While I was settling in after the painting trip and already preparing again for the next art show, I received devastating news from Germany. My beloved godmother had a brain tumor. The news hit me especially hard as nobody had told me that she had health problems for months. It was not the first time my family had decided to keep me in the dark about a critical situation. They often hoped to deal with the problem without me worrying from afar. Needless to say, that it led to me worrying even more when I learned the facts.

On September 22 and 23, I participated in the Glebe Fine Art Show. I was frustrated with a lack of sales, even though I was excited when one of my former customers told me that she still enjoys her painting every day. The bunny would still look as lively as the day she first saw the portrait. 

I was also disappointed about the cancellation of my German class with the local recreation centre. Completely unexpected, I received the notice of dismissal from the City of Ottawa. I was shocked as I had discussed switching from German instruction to art instruction with my supervisor. Luckily, I received a new contract for the winter session.

 

There was also another positive outcome. One of the registered participants of the cancelled course became one of my private students. He was not only a long-time student but became a good friend over the years.

 
Two weeks later, I took part in the West Carleton Arts Society's Expressions of Art Exhibition in Carp. It was my first exhibition west of the City of Ottawa. I met many interesting people but was disappointed that I did not sell a single painting. However, this disappointment changed into delight when one of the visitors contacted me after the show and bought four. 

On October 20, I was a facilitator at the You Deserve It Women's Day Conference in Orléans. I held two workshops with the theme Explore Your Creativity Through Painting. It was a new and exciting experience for me. Every participant had so much fun, no matter whether they used a paintbrush for the first time or had painted before.

On the weekend of November 24 and 25, I participated in my first Christmas show at the Watson's Mill Annual Christmas Market and Fine Art Sale, 5525 Dickinson Street, Manotick. I enjoyed the companionship among the artists but disappointingly did not sell anything.

Waterlilies, acrylic, 18" x 24", not for sale

 

I finished my creative activities at the beginning of December with a two-day impressionist workshop by Andrea Mossop. Claude Monet is one of my favourite artists. However, I realized during the workshop that even though I admired his artworks, I would never want to apply his technique again.

 

I have always enjoyed painting in the techniques of the masters because you learn something new every time. After each workshop, I have admired their mastery even more. Each time, I incorporated some of the gained knowledge in my work. I feel the influence of some artists more than others, not only from the masters but from my fellow painting buddies.

If you want to see what new challenges and opportunities I faced in 2013, come back to this blog next week. To see more of my 2012 paintings, please visit my website www.KerstinPeters.ca.

"Monet: A Bridge to Modernity" at the National Gallery of Canada

 
Blog 50

This week, we had our annual Painting Buddies Christmas lunch. The Painting Buddies are a group of artist friends who get together in the Ottawa area to paint outside. While we were really active the last couple of years, this year we did not paint much together. Everyone was busy with their own lives but we still managed to meet this week to celebrate our friendship and the Christmas season. Usually, we only go to a local restaurant but this time we decided to visit the National Gallery of Canada to see the special exhibition “

This week, we had our annual Painting Buddies Christmas lunch. The Painting Buddies are a group of artist friends who get together in the Ottawa area to paint outside. While we were really active the last couple of years, this year we did not paint much together. Everyone was busy with their own lives but we still managed to meet this week to celebrate our friendship and the Christmas season. Usually, we only go to a local restaurant but this time we decided to visit the National Gallery of Canada to see the special exhibition “Monet: A Bridge to Modernity”.

Claude Monet (1840–1926), is one of France's most famous impressionist painters, who aspired to capture the fleeting impressions of nature in his plein air works.The exhibition contains twelve artworks of Monet's bridges from collections around the world. Claude Monet created the paintings between 1872 and 1875 in Argenteuil, a small town on the outskirts of Paris .

One of early pieces of this time is his painting “The Wooden Bridge - Le pont de bois (1872)”, a piece that is currently on long-term loan to the National Gallery. The rather dark painting shows the highway bridge under repair following the destruction during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871). The composition with the cropped bridge gives you the impression of a picture within a picture.

Monet was very productive during his years in Argenteuil. He experimented with different viewpoints, techniques, colours and brushstrokes to develop his own style of landscape painting. His bridge paintings lay the groundwork for Monet's status as one of the leading artist of modern art.

It is very interesting that his first paintings of the time are rather somber, reflecting the mood of the post-war town, while his later works are bright and full of vivid brushstrokes. His reflections on the water and his beautiful clouds really captured me.

“Monet: A Bridge to Modernity” runs until 15 Feb 2016 at the National Gallery of Canada. Maybe, you will find some time between the holidays to check it out. Even though it is a small exhibition, it is definitely worth the visit.

Favourite Artists

Blog 25

When I wrote last week’s blog about Antoni Gaudí, I started thinking about the artists that have influenced me with regard to my painting style. A couple of names came to my mind, not all of them were famous artists. Some influences were more obvious than others.

All of my teachers have influenced me, along with my painting buddies. Being with them on painting trips and seeing first hand how they work certainly has an effect on my painting style. The agreement on a painting location can create a mutual influence. We look for a place that excites all of us. Sometimes, a choice might suddenly provide an image you would have missed on your own. I enjoy looking at the focus each of us picked for their painting. Sometimes, the the similarities are astonishing, other times everyone picked a different part of the scene in front of us. While witnessing each other’s struggles and successes as well as during the day’s reflection, you get new ideas and insights.

There are many examples in art history where painters have influenced each other to help each other grow. However, I don’t want to talk about my contemporaries today but about the masters who have inspired me. I have already mentioned Frida Kahlo and Emily Carr in one of my May posts. This time I am looking at the four other painters who have inspired me.

Waterlilies,  acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"

First of all there is Claude Monet. I love the light and colours in his paintings. I admire that he painted the same subject over and over again to study the change in appearance at different times of the day and season. This is something that fascinates me whenever we return to Kamouraska. No matter how often I paint a certain scene, it always looks different due to the quickly changing light and the tides.

However, when I took a workshop on his way of painting, I realized that I did not enjoy his technique at all. I gained immense respect for his use of small, thin, yet visible brush strokes which give the illusion of movement, but had a hard time staying patient while using the short brush strokes. It was hard to put the colours next to each other without blending them.

Ottawa Valley, acrylic, 16|" x 20"

Then there is Vincent van Gogh. I just love his bright colours and the wild movement in his paintings. His strong brushstrokes let you feel the energy and passion van Gogh put into his paintings.You can feel the urge he had to express himself through his art. This is an energy I would like to put into my paintings because this energy is what the viewer feels when he looks at the finished painting.

The Front, acrylic on canvas, 22" x 28"

When I was introduced to Joseph Mallord William Turner, the “painter of light”, I was captivated by the luminosity of his skies. Since then the design of my skies became very important to me. I particularly enjoy his technique of painting layers over layers with very loose brush strokes creating lots of movement. His technique is especially useful whenever I only have short periods of painting time

The Red Tree, acrylic on board, 8" x 10"

Last but not least, there is Tom Thomson. When I paint outside with my painting buddy Janis, it takes me a lot longer than her to capture a scene. This is due to our different temperaments and painting styles. What I learned during a Tom Thomson workshop is that he used his time on site to capture the essence of the scene with quick thick

strokes. He did not aim for a finished painting. If he liked a certain scene, he went back to his studio and painted it on a larger canvas. This was a big revelation for me, one I have to remember constantly. It is easy to forget sticking to the essence when you are confronted with an overload of impressions. I love the energy that is captured especially in his sketches with the help of bright colours, and thick brush strokes which express movement.

Even though the four painters have different painting styles, they all managed successfully to capture the essence of a scene and the energy of the moment. They completely immersed themselves in the process of painting so that you can feel the physical sensation they felt when they painted their pieces. This is something I aim for: to be fully in the moment, to simplify a scene to keep the focus on the things that are important. An image is so much more powerful when you keep the big picture in mind by eliminating the small and unimportant stuff.

I am always open to learn something new. Incorporating new techniques or materials into my art helps me to grow and hopefully keeps my art from growing stale. It is a life-long process and I am excited about new possibilities and challenges.

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