25 Years in Canada - The Year 2017 Part II

 

Luscious Greens, acrylic, 12" x 9", CAN $300

Blog 22

 

I love that the second half of each year starts with a family vacation. In 2017, the weather was not what I had hoped for a summer week at the cottage, but colder and rainy days increased my painting time. We have a covered patio, and I painted on four days, finishing two paintings and almost a third. I also felted a poppy and some leaves of a white water lily. 

 

Sweet Candy, acrylic, 12" x 12", NFS

One lovely evening, I spent on the beach capturing the soft pastel hues with coloured pencil, a sketch that I still have to finish. Drawing with coloured pencils takes a long time. Next time, I will pack my small watercolour kit that is perfect for quick colour sketches.

I kept going with my Creativity & Me workshops. In July, we created mixed media tot bags. In August, we felted three-dimensional poppies and red water lilies.

I continued to teach half days until the middle of August. Then, I instructed the kids of one of the City of Ottawa arts camps at Emily Carr Middle School in Blackburn Hamlet. I had a small group of enthusiastic students, which surprisingly had twice as many boys as girls.

The Essence of Summer, acrylic, 10" x 8", CAN $250

Less teaching hours meant that I could paint more with my friends again. Helene and I went painting at the Humanics Institute Sculpture Park that offers a beautiful trail through a wooded area (see above).  Lots of sculptures of various religious and life themes invite you to relax and meditate. It is also perfect for sketching and painting. My friend Janis and I went to the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum to warm up for our yearly Kamouraska trip.

Starting at the beginning of September, I taught Canadian government students in the afternoon, which required adapting my schedule. As a result, I had to cancel my Drawing with a Twist art classes.

 

I hardly got to know my new students before our yearly Kamouraska trip in the second week of September. Beautiful summer had returned so that we experienced such sunny and mild days like never before in our eight years of painting in this beautiful area of Canada. We discovered many new painting spots. We spent more time painting together as a group and even created a sunset painting. To read all about our adventures, you can follow my travelogue, starting with the blog of Friday, September 22, 2017.

The Old Hut at Pointe-aux-Orignaux, oil, 8" x 10", CAN $250

After my return, one of the Cartooning and Comics courses at François Recreation Centre started with a waiting list. My supervisor and I decided to increase the number of participants while cancelling two other courses. In mid-October, the Acrylic Landscape Painting session started at Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex. I was not too disappointed about the cancelled courses because I usually had to drive directly from one job to the next due to the heavy rush hour traffic.

Since I started my part-time job as a German instructor, I struggled to find time to paint and also neglected to spend time with the important people in my life. For the rest of the fall, I made meeting with family and friends a priority. My parents came from Germany for 2 1/2 weeks, and I spent time with my friends and in-laws. Even though this has limited my creative time, it was necessary to lift my spirits. Painting and the administrative part of my business are usually very secluded activities. During the last painting trip and recent events in my circles of family and friends, I realized how precious and fragile personal relationships are. I love what I do, but I do not want to regret at some point that I missed out on fostering my personal relationships in favour of working.


In the fall, I started to have problems with dry eyes. When I woke up, I could hardly open my eyes anymore. It turned out I had an inflammation of the cornea. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a health problem that is still not resolved despite several trips to specialists. A day later, my son and daughter discovered that the sore spot on my back was a tick. As it was a Saturday afternoon, my son had to drive me to the hospital for the removal. Luckily, I could have only caught it while gardening the day before. Therefore, it was unlikely that I was infected. I still had to take a one-time dose of antibiotics.

As running an art business does not only include creating art and maybe teaching but also administrative tasks and marketing, I attended a full day at a marketing workshop with Lisa Larter and the annual Artpreneur conference. I learned a lot about the entrepreneurial side of my business.

Our painting buddies group did not manage to paint together but kept in touch and celebrated our friendships with our yearly Christmas lunch. Over the years, it seems that we all got busier, even though most of the group was retired.

Red Tulips, wool, SOLD

At the end of November, I did a felting demonstration at the Arteast booth during Baz’Art at the Shenkman Arts Centre that attracted a lot of attention. To finish my business activities for the year, I welcomed clients to my fourth Christmas Open House. I had a nice flow of visitors, and my felted artwork Red Tulips found a new home. Shortly after, I sold the felted painting Winter Glow.

2017 brought many changes. The outlook for 2018 suggested even more challenges, as we put our house on the market to move to a smaller one closer to downtown. Please join me next week to read if I managed to find space and time for my creative outlet.

25 Years in Canada - The Year 2017 Part I

Pink Tulips, 20" x 10", CAN $400

 

Blog 21

I started 2017 actively participating in many exhibitions. On January 4, I delivered my painting Winter in Quebec to the Shenkman Arts Centre as part of the Arteast Promenade exhibition called Winter Medley. On January 12, I was one of the four artists participating in the Arteast Winter Mix exhibition at the St. Laurent Complex. On February 1, our Navan Arts Group installed some of our artworks in the big glass showcase on the ground level of the Shenkman Arts Centre. I was excited when a new client bought Kamouraska Landscape and Green Waters from the St. Laurent Complex show. The last show of the first half of 2017 was the Navan Fine Arts Exhibition and Sale in April, where I sold my acrylic painting Powdery Sunset.


In 2016, I spent a lot of time creating new content for my classes and workshops. To devote more time to my art, I challenged myself to create art every day during January to get back into a routine after the holidays. However, this plan derailed quickly. In early January, I had written a post on Facebook to find other German learners for a German conversation. One of the responses came from an acquaintance from my early days in the Orleans Newcomers Club. She worked for a company that had signed a contract with the Canadian Government of Canada to teach their employees for posts abroad.


I applied shortly before midnight on a Tuesday. The next morning, I already received a phone call with an invitation for an interview the following day. A week later, I passed the teaching certification. After a day of introduction to the material and digital learning tools, I started to work three hours a day less than three weeks after my application. Even though I only worked from 9 am to 12 pm, I was away about double the time due to my commute. I had to leave the house by 7:15 am to make it to work on time. At least the way home was usually not a problem. I still taught two courses for children at François Dupuis Recreation Centre and my private student preparing for an art-focused high school. In early February, I also worked Sundays at Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex. Plus, in the spring, I also taught an acrylic landscape painting course for adults. 

Fall at Petrie Island, wool, 11" x 8 3/4", NFS

With even less time at my disposal for creative projects, I struggled to get into a new rhythm. At least, the creativity challenge encouraged me to pick up my felting needle or a pencil when I would have otherwise possibly worked in front of my computer. I was also excited to hear that I inspired others to start their own challenge. Nevertheless, as the weeks passed, I became very overwhelmed with all the work. I questioned whether I should give up my art business. The many tasks of marketing, bookkeeping, and teaching, prevented me from having time to paint.


I was also struggling to accept that the health of one of my friends was rapidly deteriorating. For months, it looked like her brain tumour was in remission. Then, it returned viciously in January. I kept visiting her at the hospital, but with every visit, she was less responsive. At the same time, our son had found our neighbour after a stroke. These two events made me realize how precious time is and how much I cherished my relationships with family and friends. As much as I missed painting, I made my relationships a priority. 

Fruit Bowl, pencil, 8.5" x 11", NFS

Even though I postponed many of my workshops, I still started my workshop Drawing with a Twist in mid-January to show participants the fun of drawing. We concentrated on the process of creating rather than on the finished project. I taught my students to pay attention to the world around them without blindly accepting what others have taught us.

Canada in Leaf, various Arteast artists

By mid-March, I developed laryngitis due to the many hours of teaching, which forced me to take some days off and slow down. It was good timing because I needed to work on my triangle for the Canada in Leaf artwork. In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, Arteast had invited some of the members to participate in the Canada 150th project. The participating artists had to create an aspect of Canada on the 30 wood triangles of the maple leaf mosaic. The sides of each triangle were a specific colour that needed the artists needed to include in the painting. My triangle had magenta sides. Therefore, I picked a Canadian winter sunset. In May, visitors could view the humongous artwork for the first time at the Promenade Gallery in the Shenkman Arts Centre. The maple leaf later found a permanent home at the entrance of the Nepean Public Library, 101 Centrepointe Drive, Ottawa. Next to the artwork is a plaque listing all the contributing artists.

At the Narrows Bridge, oil, 11" x 14", CAN $375

Once more, I was the trip organizer for the Plein Air Ensemble. At the end of March, we went to Orford, Quebec. I had a wonderful time with the group of painters at Orford Music, especially with my travel partner and friend Janis. I was sad to retire as coordinator of the group. Fortunately, the new team organized the bi-yearly trips until the pandemic. Hopefully, the trips will continue when it is safe to travel again. You can read my travelogue in my blogs of April 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2017.


At the beginning of May, I spent a week at the cottage with my son. My friend Janis came up for two days. Unfortunately, we could only paint under the covered porch due to the rain. I worked on the commission of the portrait of a beautiful ragdoll cat and a new piece for my painting parties while my son and one of his friends explored the area.


While we were at the cottage, my friend died peacefully, and only hours later, our neighbour, who had been an inspiring mentor to my son. It felt right that Dominic and I were alone that day. We took Alex for a walk and felt surrounded by the quietness of nature. While we enjoyed the tranquility of nature, the lives of many people in the Ottawa valley changed by the force of nature. The rising floodwaters damaged properties and endangered lives along the Ottawa River. 

Canada 150th Tulip Painting Party

 Back at home, I was delighted to offer a painting party as part of one of the Women's Business Connections Orleans special events and at the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Orleans. During both events, we painted the Canada 150th Tulip. Each of the artworks turned out differently due to our unique temperament and mood reflected in each painting.

 

Lots of beautiful tulips

 

As I kept struggling with my schedule, I missed the Canadian Tulip Festival for the first time in years. However, I still painted tulips outside. I set up my easel in our backyard to paint some pinkish-red tulips guarded by our faithful Australian Shepherd, Alex, at my side (see at top).
 

In June, things started to slow down. My morning classes continued during the summer. However, my student was away for part of June, which allowed me to paint more regularly. I finished the commission painting, and the joy in my client’s face was such a treat for me. 

Jessie Blue, acrylic, 16" x 20", SOLD

If you want to know how I managed to recreate more balance in my life in the second half of 2017, please join me again next week.

25 Years in Canada - The Year 2016 Part II

Pink Beauty, acrylic, 12" x 16, CAN $400

Blog 20

 

July of 2016 was a quiet month. I enjoyed the company of our extended family at the cottage and the pleasures of a lazy summer month with few commitments.

 

I started August with a painting get-together with some of my long-time clients who have become my friends over time. We met at Parc Du Moulin in Rockland at the banks of the Ottawa River for a delightful afternoon of painting, chatting and laughing. We created beautiful peony paintings that were as individual as their creators. I later entered my Pink Beauty  (see above) into the  Arteast Juried Awards Exhibition at the St. Laurent Complex.

Lavender, artificial fur, NFS

I also offered three different Creativity & Me workshops to help participants to discover their creative side. Every workshop, we used a variety of mediums and techniques. After ages without making bears, I had decided to offer a bear making workshop. The newborn bears were already absolutely adorable. I still enjoy making bears, but there is only so much time for creative projects. I decided to spend it painting and felting. In the other workshops, we created a three-dimensional flower painting and a summer collage.

A special treat awaited me at the end of the month when my daughter and I took the train for a weekend in Toronto. We had to go to the German consulate to apply for her passport renewal but combined it with a visit to my in-laws. Together with my father-in-law, we visited the fantastic Lawren Harris and the Chihuly exhibitions. I love Chihuly's work and can hardly believe that I had never heard of him until the Arteast trip to the Montreal exhibition in 2013.

I was reminded of the fragility of life as my godmother needed more operations to deal with her brain tumours. It pained me that I could not be there for her as we were very close. I could not visit her after the operations, and she was usually too weak to talk on the phone for weeks. I kept writing her letters and instead helped one of my friends who was also diagnosed with a brain tumour. It was good to assist someone else to lessen the guilt I felt over not being there more for my godmother.

Their illnesses made me realize how important it is to celebrate every milestone. As my husband and I had not done anything special for our 20th wedding anniversary, we spent the first weekend in September visiting Montreal for a late celebration. Aside from Old Montreal, we also visited the Biodome and the Festival of Lights at the Botanical Gardens. What a feast for the eyes!

 

The Flower Garden, oil, 14" x 11", CAN $375

 

The following weekend, Janis and I left for our trip to Kamouraska. For the first time, we drove in separate cars as she had to return a day early. I do not enjoy being the driver on tiring long-hour trips. When I am a passenger, I always keep myself busy writing, knitting or felting. It helps me to fight my motion sickness. Plus, I feel I have accomplished something during the boring ride on the highway. To keep awake during the seven-hour trip, I sang loudly and practiced French in preparation for taking with the locals at stores and during paint-outs. We had a fantastic time, and I created 13 new paintings and finally finished one from 2011 of the garden behind the rented house. You can read my travelogue, including some of the photos in my blogs of September 23 and 30, 2016.

Nature's Garland, oil, 14" x 11", $375

Less than two weeks later, Helene and I drove to Eganville for the next Plein Air Ensemble fall trip at Lake Clear. We had a fantastic trip! If you would like to read the travelogue, please go to my blogs of October 7, 14, and 21, 2016.

Since September, I taught three courses at François Dupuis Recreation Center. I also had one private German and one art student. Plus, I offered monthly Creativity & Me courses at my studio. After the Plein Air Ensemble trip, I finally taught again at the Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex. The students in this course were quite a bit older than the average of my François Dupuis students. It was a nice challenge, especially as some already had a lot of experience in cartoon drawing.

I had already given up my position as the Breakfast Coordinator to become the Luncheon Coordinator for Women's Business Connections in September. The new responsibility suited a night owl like me much better. In November, it was finally time to pass on the duties of the Arteast Digest coordinator to have more time to paint.

White Roses, oil, 7" x 5", SOLD

The last quarter was very successful for me. In October, I sold two of my latest Kamouraska paintings, Rough Water and White Roses. In November, I hung the artworks for my solo exhibition at Lunasole Resto Bar in Orleans. Less than a week later, one of the diners bought two of my favourite paintings: Hay Fields in Nauheim, Germany and The Wave. Then, I sold Iced Birch only days after I installed six paintings for the winter exhibition at the François Dupuis Recreation Centre. 

 

The Birch, acrylic, 24" x 18", SOLD

In late November, I entered my painting Presqu'ile in the Holiday Mix exhibition at the St. Laurent Complex. At the same time, I set up some artworks at my fabulous hairdresser's Hairitage Beauty Shop as part of the Christmas in Cumberland Christmas Heritage Home and Village Tour. The last exhibition was again at Lunasole with the other Arteast members who had shown their art during the year. I ended the year with another successful Open House in early December, where I welcomed my clients to show them my art on the walls of our house.

I was happy with the mix of creating art and teaching but wished I would make more money to contribute to our family finances. In January 2017, I got an unexpected opportunity to increase my earnings that changed the focus of my art business.

25 Years in Canada - The Year 2016 Part I

Pink Peonies, acrylic on gallery canvas, CAN $420

 Blog 19

As already in 2015, I was very active in the local art scene and showed my paintings in many different venues during the winter months. On January 4, I was one of four artists who hung their paintings in the Arteast exhibition Winter's Beginning at François Dupuis Recreation Centre. Four days later, my friends Hélène Martin, Janis Fulton, and I hung our paintings for the Three Friends, Three Times The Passion exhibition at Tyros Restaurant. We have been painting together for years and have become great friends in the process. Viewers had a chance to see how differently we interpreted what we saw. On January 15, I put up some of my winter paintings for the Arteast Winter Mix exhibition at the St. Laurent Complex. My painting Winter Glow was part of the Arteast exhibition Winter Medley at the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orleans.

 

Winter Mix, St. Laurent Complex

When my felted piece Under The Sea found a wonderful new home, I was so happy to witness the buyer's excitement. The pleasure of seeing when our art succeeds in creating emotions in the viewer is one of the special moments in every artist's career.

 

Under The Sea, wool, SOLD

The arrival of Syrian refugees in Canada made me think about my own move to Canada more than 20 years ago. My situation was very different as I came from a wealthy and peaceful country where I had a very comfortable life. However, other issues I faced were similar to those the new refugees were facing. I started blogging about my immigration to Canada. I wrote about my first impressions of Canada, then continued with the travelogue about the trip to Vancouver with my husband, then my fiancé, in May 1995. While I was not painting a lot during the trip, it was the beginning of my love of the Canadian landscape. Afterwards, I wrote about my impressions of the Toronto area, Muskoka, and Ottawa.

In February, the artists from Cumberland founded Creations Cumberland. The group opened a pop-up art gallery in the vacant Haddad S&S Foodliner in Cumberland Village to promote the creative talents of local artists. Many visitors were interested in my courses, and I sold the painting Summer Greens, Mer Bleue. Exciting news also reached me from the Sienna Gallery in Rockland, Ontario, which accepted some of my paintings for an exhibition at the beginning of March.

I continued to enjoy teaching art. During the winter session, the high demand for the Animal Cartooning and Drawing course resulted in a second course. This trend continued in the spring when I had a waiting list and added Draw on This to my course offer. For adults, I offered Painting Like Famous Artists workshops. Discovering the Greens of Emily Carr Painting Vibrant Flowers Like Vincent van Gogh attracted many students.

Aside from my art courses for the City of Ottawa, I also created Creativity and Me workshops at my studio to help participants experiment with different mediums and techniques. My felting workshops were especially popular. There was always lots of laughter despite a couple of pricks with the needle.

I also supported my private student with her portfolio for the application to Canterbury High School. She continued to make fast progress due to her hard work.

Aside from my art activities, I was happy that my parents came for two visits: once in February and the next time in May. My parents, who live in a region of Germany that does not often see snow, always liked to spend some weeks in the winter with us. During the long weekend in February, however, we could not spend a lot of time outside. The temperatures were around – 40 degrees Celsius with the wind chill. Instead, we enjoyed the view of the beautiful sunny white landscape.

In between their visits, I spent two and a half weeks in March with my daughter in Germany, visiting my family and friends. The trip was dear to my heart as one of my godmothers had died only three weeks earlier, and my other godmother was fighting cancer. It is always hard to leave everyone behind, not knowing when and if you see them again.

The second quarter started with the next Plein Air Ensemble spring trip. Three days after my return from Germany, Hélène and I left for the Magog-Orford region (Eastern Townships). To read my travelogue, please turn to my blogs of April 8, 15, and 22, 2016. You can find the blogs when you search the labels for April 2016.

The Windsong, 16" x 20", SOLD

At the beginning of April, I also received a commission from a neighbour to paint her husband’s sailboat for his 80th birthday. At first, I was reluctant to accept the order as I only had about a week to create the artwork, but I am so glad I did. I attended the birthday party and could witness the joy my painting brought. Little did I know how important this painting would be for the recipient. Only days after his birthday, his wife died, and the last photo of her is the two of them with my painting. It was her final gift to him. What a special gift!

My painting parties became more popular. In the middle of April, I organized a bridal painting party. Shortly after, I hosted another successful painting party for the ladies night at Resurrection Lutheran Church, followed by another one for a couple of entrepreneurs.

Green Waters, wool, SOLD

On the last weekend of April, I participated in the Navan Fine Arts Exhibition and Sale at the Navan Curling Club. Thirteen local artists exhibited a variety of art and crafts. I was delighted about the sale of my felted piece Green Waters, one of my favourite pieces.

At the beginning of May, I spent a week at the cottage. First, it was so cold that I was glad to find a couple of gloves among the dog items. When my friends Janis and Hélène came for a painting day in the middle of the week, the weather was perfect for plein air painting in the Whitewater Region. 

 

Rocky Shore, oil, 10" x 8", CAN 250

On the Friday before the long Victoria Day weekend, my friend Janis and I went to the Tulip Festival. The flowers were at their peak! While painting, I met a couple of singers from a German choir on tour through Canada and the United States. Then, a CTV crew started interviewing visitors to the Tulip Festival next to where Janis and I were painting. They did not talk to us, but I ended up on their video.

Pink Roses, wool, 9” x 6 1/4”, CAN $400

At the end of May, I hung my solo exhibition at the Blackburn Hamlet Library called Beauty in Your Neighbourhood, showing paintings inspired by outings in Ontario and Quebec. I wanted to show that you do not have to travel far to see the beauty in nature. The neighbourhood was not necessarily a local spot but a metaphor for the beauty all around us.

At the beginning of June, I spent a wonderful day with members of Arteast in Montréal. We visited the Pompeii Exhibition at the Fine Arts Museum, followed by a visit to the Botanical Gardens, where I sketched with my friends Janis and Bob.

The first half-year ended with a big family celebration. My brother-in-law got married at a beautiful outdoor wedding in Muskoka with many relatives from Germany and my new sister-in-law’s family. It was also the first time that I met my cute four-month-old niece.

If you want to find out how the year continued for me, join me again next week. Every view back is also a revelation for me and a good reminder of all the things I accomplished over the years.