Sun Worshipping.

Iggy

Nami

It's been so cold here for the last few days that I'm happy to be "stuck" in the studio painting. I only ventured out for a very short trip to Starbucks with an artist friend on Tuesday. It feels really good to be back in painting mode as I took such a long break last month. I've got five large paintings in various stages scattered about and another four canvases prepared with texture only.

Last year my focus was getting out of my comfort zone and playing more with my art. I happily explored new techniques and styles combining painting with mixed media. I exhibited these paintings in "Metamorphosis" a duo show with artist Anne Barkley at Leonardo Gallery. You can read about that here and here. The round robin altered book collaboration with Inner Works has come to an end and each of us have our books back, chock full of beautiful additions made by the group. I'm not to sure how the final posting of that will happen yet but be prepared to see some awesome mixed media work.

This year I've decided to really focus on my gallery work. That means larger paintings that are more time intensive. Most of my painting has to be done in the early part of day because when the sun comes in the studio window it's much too bright for me. That's also when I lose my space to our two sun worshippers Iggy and Nami. They both enjoy the warmth of the sun as all cats do and I don't have the heart to shoo them away.

Metamorphosis Show Continues

"Metamorphosis" a duo show I'm having with artist Anne Barkley, continues at Leonardo Gallery until July 11. I can hardly believe that we are into the third week of it already. For those of you that missed the opening reception on the 4th, I will be at the gallery again this Saturday, June 27th from 2-4 pm for another artists talk. Please stop by if you can.

"Metamorphosis" Opening Reception

Thank you to all that came out to our opening reception last night at Leonardo Gallery. It was a busy evening starting with not one but two Yorkville art gallery walks. I wish I had my camera handy during the walks as it was a great turn out. The Yorkville art walk is a great opportunity to enjoy the many galleries throughout the Yorkville neighbourhood in Toronto. People meet with the tour guides at a Yorkville location and then walk to ten different galleries to view and consider a wide range of art. After being cooped up in my studio for so long producing the new work, it was fun to give my little artists talk and then to answer the many questions that came my way. Anne Barkley and I had been hoping to have an opportunity to show together for quite awhile now and "Metamorphosis" became a reality last night. Above are a few photos of our paintings hanging, old friends, and Anne and I at the end of the night.

Getting it Done

Secret Garden 12x24

The past few days have been crazy busy here in my studio. I meant to post my demo but haven't even had a chance to finish it. OK, I didn't start it, but it's all here in my head ready to go. Next week won't be so intense as all will be done. Today I need to get every painting for this show finished, signed, catalogued, varnished, and photographed. It's been a long few months preparing for this gallery show, but now basically all the hard stuff is done and I can focus on the fun part. The schmoozing (actually, that's hard for me, not really a schmoozer) the artist's gallery talk, the opening reception, the champagne, etc. etc. As "Metamorphosis" is a duo show with fellow gallery artist Anne Barkley, it won't be so stressful (for me) as we will each have to speak during the artists talk. Here's what the media is saying about our show.

"Metamorphosis" is centred on the notion of change of structure and transformation; the show brings together Vindedzis and Barkley to explore the process of painting with a new sense of freedom. Through subtle shifts and varying media approaches, the artists give fresh new meaning to painting.

"Secret Garden" (above) is a painting that I posted here a few months ago. It's been hanging here on the studio wall for the past few weeks, not quite finished. I worked on it all afternoon yesterday and now it's done. It will be in the show.

Coloring Outside the Lines

I've decided that this year I'll be stepping out of the box when it comes to my artwork. I'll be drawing and painting outside of the lines so to speak. And what better time to do such a thing. Change is in the air. It's a new day and a new year. Now don't get me wrong. I still love painting landscapes and for those galleries and clients that only want landscapes from me, I'll still be providing you with them. But my interest and passion for mixed media has been bubbling over and I can no longer contain it. Working on the altered book project with Inner Works has certainly helped fuel this passion for mixed media. Looking towards the future, I'll be part of a duo show with artist Anne Barkley at Leonardo Gallery this summer. We have both changed things up in our painting and will be debuting new works in "Metamorphosis" June 4-July 17. I'll post more details as they become available. Above is a small preview of some new work that might make it into the show. I've been fascinated with bird imagery for a while now and have been incorporating them into my paintings. I've also used some gel transfers, photo transfers and collage here.

"White Slate" a group show at Leonardo Gallery, Toronto.

It has been so busy around here that I haven't had much time at my blog. I didn't even have time to post a "Tasty Tuesday" yesterday. I'm trying to get in the habit of writing a few posts at a time so I have some ready to go, but with Christmas fast approaching and all my other projects on the go I'm getting a little back logged. Please bear with me. :-) I have a gallery walk and reception to attend this Thursday evening at Leonardo Gallery in Toronto and will be present, at least for the first hour. If you happen to be in the area and fancy having a look at the Leonardo group show please stop in and say hello. There's a wonderful variety of artistic styles to see. Also, I'll be having a duo show at the gallery next summer 2009 with Anne Barkley. Her powerful abstracts will be exhibited in this show also.

The above painting is Conference Call 20x20 and is hanging in this show. It's a larger version of my bird series.