2021-35 Living Artfully

Hello Dear Art Lover            

Read All About It!!

This letter was practically complete when I got the exciting news.

I am delighted to let you know that Joanna Williams with her Cave and Crown line will be showing her wares at my Holiday Open House Art Show. Joanna is my lovely daughter and mother of Fox and Theo. 

She opened her business with the birth of her first son, and designs and creates everything in her home studio. All her items are lovingly handcrafted, from macrame to  luxurious blankets and accessories for your personal sanctuary.  Your'e sure to find something for that special person on your gift list. 

Please join us on Dec 5, 11am - 4pm at my studio at 7 Labatt Ave. I am so lucky to have the beautiful space of the atrium again this year. Nancy Bennett's art will be on the walls as well. She is having her party the day before on Dec 4. You'll also be able to see the gigantic painting that my nephew, Bill and I have completed. There will also be prints available and coasters to add to your gift list.

This past week Fox and Theo and I went down to the Leslie street spit to see what we could see. They hate walking on the path, so we always find a hidden trail. You'll never guess what happened! Our helicopter crashed and we went around collecting pieces to see if we could put it back together. Forget the bird watcher who introduced us to a mockingbird. We were on a secret mission.

I'm reminded of this because Ron Walker in his book 'The Art of Noticing' talks about how children can makes games of any situation. Even in a big box store. The next time you go to one, maybe you can go on a secret mission to discover the most absurd thing they sell or the most useless or the most beautiful. Make it up. It will surely make your errand a little more interesting. I'd love to hear what you discover on your own secret mission..not impossible.

Today I'm adding a work in progress. I was cleaning my basement and came across some old life drawings that are about 50 years old. When I was a student radiation therapist, I took life drawing at night school. I've decided to see how I can integrate these old life drawings into my current style. A new series is taking form.

Once again, I sincerely thank you for your support.

Rock on,

Gail

2021-11 Living Artfully

Hello Dear Art Lover          

And the WINNER is...

Congratulations to Neala. She is the winner of my first PRINT GIVEAWAY. Neala is someone I met online and lives in Victoria. She is a yoga therapist and enjoys snow boarding and mountain biking. And, she is a super supporter of my art. I'll be sending your print out right away.

Needless to say, I've had a bit of brain workout. My head was hurting real bad. If I didn't have Joanna to take photos and Lise to navigate the ins and outs of the tech side, I think I would really have lost the plot. I didn't detect much eye rolling with my questions either. You might be asking how someone who had operated extremely complicated and precise equipment such as a linear accelerator could not know the basics of computers, but it's true. I am proof positive that old dogs really can learn new tricks.

Don't forget that when you order your first print you get 15% off your order. Just a little thank you for being here and supporting my efforts.

How are you continuing to keep yourself going these days? There's a lot of talk about self care but one of the things I do is indulge in a regular cocktail hour with my buddy Dee. Every week we talk life and art and where our next travel adventure will take us, while imbibing a bevvie. One of the places we haven't been yet is the Frick Gallery in NYC. It was fun to discover that they have a great feature calledCocktails with a Curator. Check it out and enjoy a martini while learning about art. www.frick.org

Please send me your ideas on your attempts to 'Stay Calm and Carry On' This pandemic sitch is just going on way too long.

Would you be interested in learning how I do a lot of my underpainting? Sometimes the results of the underpainting are visible and sometimes they provide a foundation to build upon. Sometimes they turn out quite lovely right at the beginning. The one painting I show you here is a result of a 'pour' of paint that I've left as is. The other one in the 'room app' is 'The Night Was Brilliant With Stars' which has some of the underpainting peeking through. It is the one I made for my PRINT GIVEAWAY. Please do let me know if you would like to learn how to have fun and make art with a 'pour'.

Til next time, thanks for supporting my small business. I do appreciate it.

YOUR HOME + YOUR STYLE + MY ART

Rock on,

Gail

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