winter blahs

I like to think that as an artist I am quite well organized and have got the "business" of art under control most of the time. I work from home and have the area designated for a dining room as my studio space. Like most busy families our mornings can be somewhat chaotic but when my husband leaves for his office and my teenage son is out the door for school-my workday begins.
It's important for me to paint everyday. This happens naturally if I have a gallery show coming up and am working on a series of paintings. Sometimes I spend months working on canvases. I will usually work larger works from smaller sketches and colour roughs. I did that in preparation for the paintings now hanging at Pi Fine Art. I spent 3 months on those paintings-it was very intense at times as it was just before Christmas and I had alot of other things to do at the same time. These past few days, I've been very slow to get started on anything. I think that all this cold and snow and mostly cloudy days are getting to me. My thinking has been fuzzy and I have not been inspired to do any painting. I have the winter blahs!!! I did this painting last fall just for fun. I hadn't painted flowers in a long time and just wanted to do something different. Now I stare at it and hope that inspiration and spring comes very soon.

PI Fineart

I have some new paintings hanging in the new gallery/showroom at PI Fine Art, a division of Posters International. Here are a few photos.

Spring's Promise

It's understandable that I have spring on my mind these days. It turns out that this has been the snowiest winter in Toronto in quite some time. Years in fact. We got dumped with about 30 cms of snow last week and are having a very cold day today. The wind is howling as I write this. I am dreaming of spring and days when I can have the windows in the studio wide open while I paint and listen to the birds singing outside.

I did this painting of birches titled "Spring's Promise" last year and dropped it off at Art Interiors. They have quite a few of my paintings available for sale. They also send art "out" to be used in magazine shoots and television shows, commercials etc. I have been very fortunate to have quite a few of my paintings chosen by designers and decorators to be used in such a way. My paintings have appeared as a backdrop on the set of Cityline with Marilyn Dennis, and in numerous house tours done by notable Canadian designers. You can see a full list of where my work has appeared in the media section of my website. Spring's Promise was featured in Style at Home Magazine last October and most recently, is included in the 2008 Benjamin Moore colour brochure. I think it's become a favourite among designers because of the shade of blue that I used in the background and it seems to fit nicely with the current decorating colours and trends. This was something that I didn't realize as I was painting it, I just really like this soothing shade of blue. I have been painting more in my series of birches as I have gotten to be quite fond of painting them lately.

Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem is a phrase that has been of interest to me for the past few months. I like the way it sounds when you say it. I like the way it looks when written. I especially like its meaning. Carpe Diem. Sieze the Day! Last November, while wandering through the CBC building during the "Moose Show" I discovered the jewellery of Liz Kain and instantly fell in love with her work. Now, those of you that know me well, know that I don't wear alot of jewellery. Diamonds certainly are not this girls best friend. Stirling silver (no shine please) is what I prefer. Liz's collections are wonderful. I especially like her animals and text pieces. I commissioned Liz to create a "carpe diem" bracelet for me. Isn't it beautiful?? I wear it every day and it inspires me to sieze the day. Thanks again Liz.