Monday, November 30, 2009

My Etsy Faves Part 5

Makeitawesome
White Rabbit With Santa Hat

Here are the picks for the last instalment of My Etsy Faves, rather fitting for Cyber Monday. It's been fun sharing all these wonderful shops with you. For those of you in the Toronto area Sonja Ahlers of Makeitawesome is exhibiting in the One of a Kind Show. I saw a bunny in a teacup that was too cute! And now on to the shameless self promotion part of this post, please be sure to visit my shop. Selected paintings are 50% off and I offer free shipping to Canada and the U.S.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Black Friday Cyber Monday and a Holiday Sale in My Etsy Shop


Martini
Click here to purchase

There's a sale going on in my shop right now. I've made my already affordable art even more affordable. Selected paintings have been reduced by 50%. New items will be listed daily and shipping is free to Canada and the United States. Make your holiday shopping easy and enjoyable this year. And as I've been known to say "original art makes a great gift!"

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The Pulse The State of the Art and Secret Sunday


If you're a regular reader of my blog then you know that I've been involved in a number of "out of the Box" venues this year. As well as my gallery work, I've been delving into mixed media quite a bit. I've been working with Inner Works on an altered books collaborative which is now winding down and we are each to receive our own books back. My book "Gifts from the Sea" will have pages altered by very talented Seth, Jill, Supria, Roxanne, and Veronica. It's through Inner Works that I got to know Seth, although I was well aware of his blog and his involvement with all things mixed media for quite awhile. So when I heard that Seth was working on the fourth edition of the Pulse - The State of the Art, I jumped right in and wanted to be a part of this online resource.

The Pulse - The State of the Art is a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. This fourth edition has over 200 artists participating. Stay tuned for The Pulse coming soon to The Altered Page. In edition to The Pulse, Seth has created Secret Sunday on his blog the Altered Page. Every Sunday your favorite artists will reveal a secret technique, a secret product, a secret source, a little known website, a hidden shop, an inspiration, just about anything. Bravo to Seth for organizing such a large number of creatives in this event. I'm really looking forward to reading what all the participating artists have to say.

Friday, November 20, 2009

BoGo in Red Banana's Shop.

I'm having a special event in my Etsy shop this weekend. BoGo or Buy One Get One!! Anyone who purchases a painting from my shop will receive one of the watercolor paintings above as a free gift from me. Each watercolor painting is an original painting (done by myself) and is matted in a soft white mat board. They measure 8"x10" and fit a standard 8x10 frame. You can even choose which one you'd like by letting me know in an Etsy convo or an email. Perfect to give as a gift or to keep for yourself. This event will expire at midnight (EST) Sunday November 22, or while quantities (the 5 shown above) last.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

The Evergreen Fair and The Vintage Gardener





I was fortunate to have won a pair of tickets to the Evergreen Fair presented by the Vintage Gardener. Reading so many blogs does have it's advantages as I discovered this ticket give away while reading favourite things blog. I then headed over to the budding gardener blog and left my comment and the tickets were won. Yesterday my friend Gabreila and I went to check it out. The Distillery is the old Gooderham and Worts distillery in downtown Toronto. It's a pedstrian only village and has many galleries and reataurants and shops as well as artist run studios. The Evergreen Fair was in the fermenting cellar, a huge space that's all exposed brick. A beautiful space to hold an event like this. There were venders selling lush greenery all bundled and ready for seasonal decorating. The scent of fir and spruce and lavender filled the room. We watched a demo by Elaine of the Vintage Gardener, and her 2 helpers, her son and Tara Nolan who writes the budding gardener blog. All in all it was a beautiful way to spend the day.

Monday, November 16, 2009

My Etsy Faves Part 3


Hi There. Hope you enjoyed a great weekend. It's time for my 3rd instalment of My Etsy Faves. Here are photos of my favorites, but please explore each shop further. We have some very talented artists here.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

A Single Word


A few weeks ago I met my friend Sherry downtown for coffee. It was a dreary, cloudy and wet day so after a little walking we found a Starbucks. Once inside it was cozy with the smell of freshly brewed coffee and pumpkin scones, and we settled in for a couple of hours and as many coffees. (Yay for decaf!) At one point in our creative dialogue, Sherry handed me an open bag and asked me to close my eyes and pick one of the treasures inside. I knew immediately that it must be her bag of "Rock My World" rocks. She had purchased them from the Queen of Arts's shop (aka Kim) and had been sharing them rockette style. Read Sherry's adventures here and how Kim started the "Rock My World" stones here.

I picked the stone in the photo above. I remember that with my eyes closed I could only feel the stones and really liked how this one was thin and long and different from the larger, rounder stones in the bag. Then I looked at it and the word painted on it. Expand. I chose the stone that I was meant to have. I believe it 100%. At the beginning of this year I decided that I'd step out of my comfort zone when it came to my art. I've tried new techniques and new mediums. I've painted new subject matter and I'm participating in new projects and groups. Changing, growing, moving forward. Expand. The word confirms what I know in my heart. I keep this little rock on my dresser along with my perfume from the Gap. It inspires me to keep positive, to do better, and I wonder about the person that found the rock that Sherry left by the tracks. Did that person find the rock that was meant for them??

Remembrance Day

Poppies Acrylic on Canvas 12x12
sold

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lt. Col. John McCrea 1872-1918


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Art Interiors 16th Annual Festival of Smalls

Mini Birches 3x5 $50.
Sold Thank You

Treeline 6x12 $250
available at Art Interiors.

Birds on a Wire 4x4 $50.
available at Art Interiors.


It's that time of year again. ART INTERIORS 16th ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF SMALLS begins this Saturday, November 14th. You can purchase original artworks in gift sizes from $55. to $250. by Art Interior's wonderful roster of artists. This year, there's even an advanced preview available online November 13th, here. Don't miss out. This is THE hottest event at Art Interiors.

Monday, November 9, 2009

My Etsy Faves Part 2

Happy Monday!!! Hope you had an enjoyable weekend. We had stupendous weather and it felt more like June than November. Today I'm back with my second instalment of My Etsy Faves. I've selected my favorites but you should definitely check out these wonderful shops and see all the fabulous items offered.
by Avril Loreti

Friday, November 6, 2009

It's Friday, Yay!


Winter Sun 6x6 Mixed media on panel
Sold Thank you.

Yay for Fridays!!! Today is an art filled one. I went to see Art Off the Lot this morning. This is an artist represented exhibition of over 75 artists in Toronto this weekend. I found it to be a good mix of emerging and a few mid career artists. You can see the participating artists here. The show runs until 6 pm this Sunday so if you're in Toronto it's worth checking out.

Tonight I'll be attending the reception for Pathways at Profeti Disarmati Gallery in Kensington Market. This show was curated by my friend and artist Lynn Kelly.

It will be an art filled weekend as well as I'm finishing off four separeate projects and making a delivery to a gallery. Thank you again to Simply Hue for including me in the Artists Spotlight this week. And thanks to all that left comments on my work. It's really great getting feedback fom all of you. Whatever you have planned for your weekend, I hope it's a great one.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Artists Spotlight Day 4


A special Thank You goes out to Vicki Dvorak of Simply Hue blog. She has included me in today's artist spotlight. Five diverse artists featured over five days. You can check all the featured artists out right here.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Today

Out and about with my camera today. Here a a few random things that caught my eye.

The red subway doors.

Shoes

A blanket of yellow leaves.

Wind blown branches.

neon.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

My Etsy Faves

November came in with a high wind warning here and the trees are now almost empty of their leaves. The ground is covered with a nice blanket of reds and yellows and there's definitely a crisp chill to the air. All evidence of Halloween is out of store windows and overnight, twinkling lights and red and green decorations have appeared. This November, I'm celebrating all things handmade with my Etsy favorites and will be sharing 5 of them (in no particular order) every Monday. I try to buy handmade as often as I can as I believe it's very important to support local artists and artisans and with online shopping nothing could be easier. Enjoy.