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| The Wave, acrylic, 16" x 20", SOLD |
Blog 14
When we went to the cottage in July, I was in desperate need of a break. It was an escape from the chaos at home after a group of painters had given our rooms the long-awaited splash of colour. Since our move into our house in 2004, most of our walls had been white. It was a lot of work to empty all the cabinets and armoires before moving them to the middle of the rooms.
I finally enjoyed a house full of beautiful colours. I had picked a fresh lime green for the living area and a soft yellow for the kitchen, dark orange for the hallway, and a light blue for the bedroom. Even the conservative members of the family were excited. Colour makes such a big difference in how you feel.
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| The Ballerinas, oil, 10" x 8" |
As always, I had taken my painting equipment to the cottage. My daughter had invited her friend, both of them dancers. Inspired by the two ballerinas, I started a painting of my daughter and her friend at their dance recital. Both of them are in their ballet costume, waiting for their next performance on stage. While I was painting them, they were choreographing new dances, which inspired me even more.
As my children were twelve and sixteen during the summer of 2013, they were pretty independent and wanted time for themselves. I finally had more time for painting. To showcase my art, one of my summer projects was a four-season image on our mailbox. To prevent any damage from the cold, salt and snowplows, we always take it indoors for the winter months.
For the first time, I also agreed to teach for a couple of hours during a City of Ottawa day camp. It was exciting that most of the kids were eager to create art. Unfortunately, some only did seem to pass their time waiting for the next chance to play with their game boys. It seemed they were in the camp because of a sibling rather than for their interest in art.
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| St Pascal, oil, 11" x 14, CAN $375, framed |
Our yearly painting trip to Kamouraska was from September 7 to 14, 2013. During the trip, we usually left the house already before 9 am. Most days, we painted between 4 1/2 to 5 hours, which does not seem like a lot, but it is very tiring for the eye to concentrate so hard. Most of the days, we already had a plan where we wanted to go. Disappointingly, it was the first time that we had a lot of rain and fog, and only one beautiful sunset. Often, we drove around quite a bit to find an inspiring location outside of the intense cover of white that made painting outside almost impossible.
I did not have time to feel tired after the trip. Exciting events happened right after my return. I had a busy teaching schedule in the fall. Aside from my private German students, I taught one private art student. I also offered workshops at the local Wallack’s art store, taught children’s drawing courses at the new Francois Dupuis Recreation Centre and two painting courses at the Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex.
Whenever I teach, it is always is a big inspiration for me to try different techniques and help the participants to reach their full potential. I felt blessed that I could share my passion.
In the summer, a brand new gallery had approached some of the local artists. They were looking for artists to exhibit with them in the heart of the Byward Market in Ottawa. On September 19, 2013, was the grand opening of Artworkz. I was proud to be part of the very talented group of Ottawa artists to exhibit our works in the beautiful stone building.
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| Frozen, acrylic, 16" x 20" |
After seeing what my fellow KAM 7 artist Maria Mask could achieve with painting knives, I felt the need to learn how to use these tools. I registered for a workshop with Andrea Mossop to explore new skills to keep the art from getting dull.
On the last weekend of September, I was part of the Glebe Fine Art Show again. As always, the setup and takedown were very stressful. I needed the help of my son and husband as we had to lift paintings and grids up the stairs and into the building. However, I loved the beautiful building as the setting for the event and was happy to show and sell my art.
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| Path Along The River, oil, 8" x 10", CAN 250, framed |
In October, I spent a week with my husband at the cottage. As the weather was beautiful, I met two of my painting friends from the area for a day of painting. I also spent another afternoon painting right on the beach.
Then, on the last weekend in November, I held my first Open House, which was very successful, as I sold four paintings. I enjoyed showing my works on the walls of my house.
To learn more about the marketing side of my business, I participated in two marketing workshops. I created an e-book and got ready to launch a monthly newsletter and weekly blog in the new year.
The future looked bright. The Artworkz gallery had announced a move to Montreal, and I was excited about the prospect of finally showing my work in Montreal. However, the story did not have a happy ending, which you will see in my blogs about 2014.
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