25 Years in Canada - The Year 2014 Part I

Ottawa River, Whitewater Region, 12" x 16", CAN $400

Blog 15


So far, I have written most of my journey with the help of my journals, but my 2014 entries are often months apart and incomplete, even on the days when I found some time to write. Luckily, I wrote some short remarks into my daily calendar. Otherwise, it would be almost impossible to distinguish the events of the years ahead.

My daughter’s medical problems continued into the year 2014. She still suffered from headaches multiple times a week. She took a lot of pain medication. In the fall of the previous year, she had told us that she was sad without any visible reason. All the alarm bells went off. Luckily, her teachers and health professionals worked with us to stabilize her mood.

I was happy that I found a distraction from the unanswered health questions with art and German courses. I taught some private students, worked at two City of Ottawa recreation facilities and the local art store Wallack’s.

I loved teaching, but some weeks, it was challenging to find enough time to work on my paintings. I spent a lot of time preparing for the art classes. However, I squeezed as much studio time into my schedule as possible. I was full of excitement during weeks when I painted for four or more hours. 

Winter in Quebec, acrylic, 12" x 24", CAN $425

 I was very creative in February when I worked on five different painting. I finished four of them by the end of March. Two were winter scenes, but my yearning for spring and summer were evident in Magic Sunset and Ottawa River(above).

At the end of February, I participated with three other artists in the Arteast Exhibition Artmix at the St. Laurent Complex.

Hay Fields in Nauheim Germany, acrylic, 18" x 24", SOLD

In March, I finally finished the painting Hay Fields in Nauheim, Germany. The painting had been standing in my studio for quite some time. While I liked the composition, the execution was not exciting enough until I added knife work to the foreground. I experienced the same struggle with the painting from an outing to Victoria Island in Ottawa. Using a knife for the final layer made all the difference in the energy of the artwork.

As if I did not already have enough on my plate, I took over as the editor of the Arteast email communication in the spring.

As part of the Arteast volunteers, I was one of seven artists who were the first to exhibit their art in the new space at the François Dupuis Centre in early April.

Green Waters, St. Laurence River, oil, 12" x 24", SOLD

Until the weather was nice enough for plein air painting, I finished some Kamouraska paintings from the previous year. I also created a scene from the 2011 Plein Air Ensemble trip to Sutton. Finally, meeting with my friends, the Ottawa Tulip Festival, Petrie Island and Mer Bleue were the beloved locations for our painting outings. 

At the end of May, I experienced the fun of printing with acrylic paints in an exciting workshop offered by Arteast in collaboration with Golden Paints. I wish I had more time for experimenting.

 

Despite lots of preparations and a house full of guests for my daughter’s confirmation and my father’s 80th birthday, I was one of the exhibitors at the Navan Art Exhibition and Sale in early June. When I finally dropped off my painting Fall Splendour at the Shenkman Art Centre at the end of the month, I was looking forward to a relaxing holiday month. However, my bliss did not last long. My vacation did not turn out the way I had anticipated.

If you want to know the event that shook my world only a few days later, join me again next week.