Gifting More Than Art Supplies

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On this Black Friday, which is this year exactly one month before Christmas Eve, I want to give you some tips for buying art materials for the artists in your family.


In times when everything gets more and more expensive, it seems a not-to-be-missed opportunity to save on gifts for yourself or loved ones. However, the number of sales in stores and online are overwhelming.


While I encourage gifting art supplies to encourage everyone to play and experiment for fun and to discover new techniques, materials or ways to express yourself creatively, shopping without a list can fill your or the recipient's cabinets with stuff nobody will ever have the time to use.


Going to an art store or browsing online stores is like being in a candy store, the eyes getting wider and wider with the range of products available. The possibilities are unlimited.


When you buy art materials for a loved one, start by looking around their work area, talking to them about materials they use, looking at flyers together, or visiting an art store with them before the holiday season. It helps to pay attention to the materials they admire.


If the artistic person in your life is taking a class or painting with friends, you could also ask the instructor or one of their artist buddies for advice. Once in the store, choose the best quality you can afford, especially for adolescent and adult artists. You get what you pay for when you buy large sets of cheap art equipment, a frustrating experience. Instead, get a small number of high-quality items.


If you buy for yourself, ask yourself if you need it now, desire something or only want to buy it because it looks like a great deal. If you have thought about trying a new medium for a while, get a small set or a couple of colours to try it out. If you know you want to buy specific items, now might be the time. However, there will always be sales. Sometimes, patience pays off. Last year, I wanted a portfolio folder for my childhood artwork. A couple of weeks ago, it was finally on sale.

2024 Felting Workshops

By gifting art materials, you will provide the opportunity for hours of entertainment and increased creativity. However, registering for a course together will be even more fun to bond and create new memories. If you always wanted to try needle felting, contact me for my winter/spring schedule. I offer gift certificates for workshops and artworks.

Painting Buddies

 

 

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Meeting a fellow Arteast member at an exhibition and discovering that we both loved dogs and lived only minutes from each other in parallel streets was the turning point in finally making lasting friends in Canada. She invited me to her property for the next meeting with a local group of painters. I joined the Painting Buddies (as we call ourselves) for the first time in the fall of 2007. We have become close, have travelled together on painting trips and have supported each other not only in our art careers.

 

 

 

Since 2007, some members left the group, and others joined us. We have some casual members. Since the start of the pandemic, Leslie Lambert has joined our core group of Janis Fulton, Hélène Martin, Robert (Bob) Murrell and myself.

 

 

When everything shut down in mid-March 2020, I realized fast that I needed my friends more than ever. I started to organize several weekly meetings with friends (all of them are still ongoing). One of the weekly get-togethers was with my painting friends. At first, we only talked about the changes due to the pandemic. However, after I spoke about my sketch-a-thons with the New York City Urban Sketchers, we realized we could also spend the weekly time creating art together.

We have been meeting ever since to paint and draw while chatting. We use photos from our shared Google Photos album with the understanding that these photos are free for everyone to use for any art project. Every week, we pick an image to capture with any medium and size.

Janis and Bob have painted in oil for many years and sometimes still do when we paint outside together. However, while sitting in front of our computers, Janis, Bob and I see our sessions as practice, having fun exploring different mediums. We discovered the ease of watercolours as they are lightweight and offer easy cleanup. We have experimented with watercolour pencils, gouache and ink. 

At the end of the hour, it is always fascinating what everyone captured and how different each artwork is. Janis and Bob usually don't touch their pieces after each session. Leslie, Hélène and I like to take our time and often spend a couple of hours finishing the paintings. 

Hélène painted with oil paints for many years but has since transitioned to watercolours. Looking at her art, you can see that she found her unique style.

 

 

Leslie is an accomplished watercolour and oil painter. She has the most experience with watercolours of all of us and is always willing to share her expertise.

Our weekly meetings have strengthened the friendship between us. We love that we can still meet Hélène even though she moved to Nova Scotia. We are independent of the weather and don't have to change plans at the last minute to take advantage of a beautiful day. While most of us are retired, reconciling our schedules is challenging.

We still love painting en plein air and go whenever possible. There is a magic about being surrounded by nature and seeing each other in person that virtual meetings cannot replace.



To learn more about the Painting Buddies and their art, check out their websites:

https://galeriehelenemartin.ca

http://www.janisfultonart.com

http://www.robertmurrell.com

https://www.kerstinpeters.ca

Leslie doesn't have a website.

 

Thank you to Janis, Hélène, Leslie and Bob for sending me photos of their art and allowing me to share their work in this blog. I treasure our friendship and all the good times we have shared together.

You're Not Lazy - Book Review

Photo provided by Lara Wellman

Blog 46


Recently, I read Lara Wellman’s new book, You’re Not Lazy. Lara is a certified business coach who shows small business owners that they can create businesses they love that make money and still allow them to enjoy life. I met Lara at a business networking event many years ago. Since then, we have kept in contact during business or art events. We both love ways of creative expression.

On many occasions, I benefited from her business advice. Therefore, I wanted to return the favour and help her promote her book. I was excited that she chose me as a book ambassador even though I was not sure the book was for me.

Motivation is no problem for me. I am persistent and instead do too much rather than too little. I also create art most days, exercise regularly, and make time for family and friends. So why would I need a book about laziness? Nevertheless, I was curious what she had to say.

I knew after the first paragraph that Lara’s writing would resonate with me. I love her wits. She is approachable because of her ability to make fun of herself and show strength and vulnerability at the same time.

“I feel like I never learned to “adult” the way I was led to believe I would. I thought by a certain age, I would be tidier, more responsible, not forget to pay bills, and not want to spend my days on leisure activities. Truly! I feel I was promised that by the time I reached adulthood, I wouldn’t want to sleep in and that keeping the house tidy would kind of be like my hobby. That definitely never happened.”

I will turn 60 next year, and I still feel far from becoming a respectable and reasonable adult, putting dreams and needs on the back burner. However, maybe we only saw our parents and grandparents in this light because that is what society expected from them, and we didn’t look behind the facade.

“This book is about shifting how we see ourselves, re-imagining what it means to be successful, finding the energy to put towards the things we truly want, and starting to enjoy life more.” While looking back on her journey, she admits that her views come from a place of privilege. She has a husband and a family to support her. “Not everyone can change their lives for the better with nothing more than a mindset shift.”

While Lara tells about her struggles, most of us will find ourselves reflected in any of her stories. Therefore, we benefit from the lessons she has learned. Instead of seeing the insurmountable obstacles, Lara challenges us to see the possibilities by questioning the rules of our society that “puts value on the number of hours we put into things and how hard we work, and not on the output.” She offers thoughtful questions to allow readers to reflect on their own lives.

I come from a family of workaholics and didn’t want work to be the focus of my life. However, breaking out of that life I knew was more difficult than I expected. I quickly fell into the same trap, supported by the expectations at the office. I felt guilty when I started prioritizing my hobbies and enjoying beautiful summer days with friends on a workday. It took a terrible accident a couple of years ago to change my view.

Success is often a synonym for making much money in our society, but is it what it is really about? Lara shows us that success can have different meanings for different people. “When you begin to let go of the societal expectations that surround you and make you feel bad about yourself, you can start thriving.”

Instead of striving for the perfect outcome, she challenges us to enjoy the journey and to stretch ourselves out of our comfort zones to grow. “Stop waiting to arrive and ask yourself what the right next step is for you.”

 

I am sure everyone has struggled with not being enough. For example, consider an artist who works on a painting and gets frustrated with the progress. Art is a lifelong journey – like everything you learn. If you practice consistently, you will see progress.

A look at earlier pieces will show you the progress you have made. Acknowledge and celebrate the achievements along the way. Ask a peer for advice, or consider enrolling in additional workshops or classes to expand your skills and knowledge.

Remember that we always give our best at any given moment. “Just because things might be different (and maybe even better) later, doesn’t mean that what is true and real now isn’t of value. They both are amazing, and the world deserves to have them.”

​”There are people out there who are looking for someone just like you at exactly the stage you are at now to talk to them.”

If you want to shift your perspective and transform your life, you can find Lara Wellman’s book on Amazon in both e-book and print format.

The Pleasure of Painting with Friends

 

Fall Leaves, watercolour, watercolour pencil, white ink, 5.8" 7.5"

 

Blog 45

I spent the week at the cottage. It was supposed to be my annual painting week with some of my Painting Buddies. However, this week didn’t go as planned.

 

Leaf Study, watercolour and watercolour pencil, 8.3" x 11.7"

After a weekend with my husband and dog, my first friend had planned to arrive on Monday morning. However, on Sunday, she let me know that one of her family members had COVID and she wouldn’t come.

Marigold Bouquet, watercolour and watercolour pencil, 7.5" x  5.8"

We were both disappointed. I had my acrylic paints with me and was eager to paint outside. Luckily, I also had my watercolour paints and several paintings from an outing to Petrie Island and our Zoom meetings with me. I made the best out of the situation: I went for long walks with Ingo and Shadow before finishing at least one painting a day.

 

Fall at Petrie Island, watercolour, 11.7" x 8.3"

We were glad the deer hunting season had not started so we could enjoy relaxing walks through the fall forests and fields. Most of the trees had lost their foliage, but the rost brown leaves of the oak trees and the green moss still provided some colour.

 

Blowing in the Wind, watercolour and watercolour pencil, 7.5" x  5.8"

During the night of Sunday to Monday, we had some light snow, which was almost gone again in the morning. However, two nights later, it snowed a couple of centimetres, so we awoke to a white landscape on Wednesday.

November Leaves, watercolour, 11.7" x 8.3"

My Painting Buddies Sharon, Bill and Bob came after breakfast. We had so much to chat about. The wet snow and lack of sunshine did not inspire us to go outside. Instead, we arranged ourselves inside and painted the view of the river from the cozy warmth of the cottage.

Breezy Afternoon at the Beach, acrylic, 10" x 8"

Bob stayed, and we finally painted en plein air on Thursday, the last day of our stay. At first, we had a great time. It was still cold, but we wore winter gear, and the sun came out and warmed us. However, grey clouds and fierce wind quickly moved in. After about two and a half hours, we returned to the house because we were freezing.

November Beach, acrylic, 10" x 8", unfinished

More than 15 years ago, we would not have hesitated to paint outside in above-zero temperatures. I still remember a day when Janis and I went painting en plein air in – 20 degrees and heavy wind. In retrospect, I don’t know how we managed to do it. It was brutally cold, and we never repeated this experience. It was so frigid that our paint was stiff and our feet and hands frozen despite heating pads. We were determined to make the most of the painting day. We both had small kids, and a painting trip meant precious painting time we didn’t want to waste, but that day, it wasn’t fun.

Nowadays, we have other priorities. We still love to paint together but don’t feel we need to prove ourselves to the others. We respect each other, cherish our friendships and enjoy time together. Plus, after 20 degrees last week, our bodies need more time to adapt to the sudden change to snow and temperatures closer to freezing this week, especially with a lack of sun and heavy wind.

Looking back at the week, I am thankful for the time spent with my friends, enjoying ourselves and painting without pressure.

Do you prefer to create art alone or with others?