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.