The Original Square Foot Show Celebrates 10 Years.

AWOL Gallery celebrates the 10th Annual Square Foot Show this year. This is a wildly popular show and I've participated for the last five years.  I've chosen the following 3 paintings to submit this year, all from my 'Birds on a Wire Series'.

 Friends Forever

 Say You Will

I Believe

(I get a lot of questions about this one. Yes, the birds have flown away LOL)

This non-juried show brings together visual artists of different backgrounds, disciplines and career levels. All artwork is 12x12 and $225. 

To mark it's 10th year, AWOL Gallery is hosting a ticketed gala preview evening on Friday August 3rd. Tickets are $25. in advance and $30 at the door. Proceeds go to support local charities. You can order your tickets here.

AWOL Gallery Presents the10th Annual Square Foot Show

at

Twist Gallery

1100 Queen Street west, 2nd Floor

Saturday August 4th to Saturday August 19th

Gallery Hours-Wednesday-Saturday 12-7, Sunday 12-5

Press/Collector Preview Gala-Friday August 3rd, 7-10

Square Foot Show 2011.

It's that time of year again. Time for the 9th Annual Square Foot show. The original Square Foot show presented by AWOL Gallery, Toronto. This year the collectors/press gala is Friday August 5. Doors open at 7 pm. at Twist Gallery, 1100 Queen Street West. and the show runs until August 21st. You can get complete details here.

Every painting in the show is 12x12 (hence the name) and a set price of $225. This is a great time to get original affordable art by some well known and emerging artists.

This year it's all about the landscape and I've submitted 3 of them. Here's a preview.

sold-thank you

sold-thank you

I took a walk along Queen Street West yesterday to deliver the paintings to Awol Gallery, and enjoyed taking my time walking back. Window shopping all the trendy shops, I stopped at the window display of Kol Kid  (trendy and cute things for kids) when I spotted these adorable critters.

Marisa's blog was one of my first "blog crushes" when I started blogging and I still read Creative Thursday regularly. It was a nice surprise to see her lovely work here in Toronto, especially as Marisa is way over on the west coast. Check out Marisa's blog here.

Square Foot Show at AWOL Gallery

The Square Foot Show ends this Saturday September 6th. There's still plenty of time to get down to 100A Ossington and have a look. I entered 3 paintings above this year and you can pick them up for just $200. each. Here are some interesting facts about this very popular show in Toronto.

AWOL Gallery presents Square Foot 2009. The Square Foot show has become one of the foremost community art events in Toronto. With each artist creating work in a 12x12 inch format, the show is hung in a grid forming an installation of overwhelming proportions. Each year the Square Foot Exhibition has grown in scale and reached a larger audience. This year’s exhibition will be held at a larger off site venue. Located at 100a Ossington, just steps from AWOL Gallery. This 2,500 square foot room will be transformed into AWOL’s largest square foot show to date, showcasing over 700 artists from Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Australia.

Square Foot brings together artists from a variety of backgrounds, disciplines and career levels and offers their work at $200 per piece. It provides the established artist a distinctive group show opportunity and is also a venue for emerging artists to have their work discovered by galleries and collectors alike.

The AWOL Gallery Square Foot Show has spawned numerous imitation shows in Toronto and throughout North America. However it has been AWOL’S commitment to a non-juried, affordable, international community exhibition that has continually kept the show unique, fun, and versatile.

AWOL Gallery and Studios is celebrating its 10th Anniversary of showcasing Contemporary Art in Toronto.

Taking it Easy

Fly
12x12 mixed media on canvas

Fallen Leaves
12x12 mixed media on canvas

Fallen Leaves II
12x12 mixed media on canvas

It's almost time for the Square Foot Show presented by AWOL Gallery in the Queen West gallery district here in Toronto. Check out the history of this show and details here. It's really quite an amazing show as you might remember my post about it from last year. This year I decided to enter my 3 favorite mixed media paintings.

It seems that I've been working much harder than I had planned to this summer, so I've decided to take things a little easier for the rest of the month. I'll be popping in from time to time to say "HI" as I do have future shows and events that I'm working towards and some exciting news I'll be sharing soon. But for now it's time to enjoy

-some of this summer weather that's finally arrived here and a few margaritas in the back.

-more bbq's with friends.

-summer in the city, being a tourist where I live.

-iced lattes and a good summer read

-spa day at home

-watching the clouds float by

Seize the Day!!

I was down at Queen and Ossington yesterday. The Square Foot show has finished and I'm very pleased to say it was a great show and I'm definitely going to participate next year. Three paintings entered, three sales. To those of you that purchased my work "Thank you so much!!!" Please drop me an email-I always like knowing where my work ends up.

Today is full of phone calls, emails, deliveries of work being photographed, and finishing up of paintings started. The to-do list grows as I sit here with my coffee. I'm feeling very "carpe diem" I am also planning to finish up the mixed media pieces that I started last week and begin (at least in my head) work on a new project.

Don't forget to comment on my "50th Blogpost Celebration Giveaway" for a chance to win an original painting in acrylic. You have until midnight tomorrow to do so. Good Luck.

Last Week for Square Foot Show.

I received some great news last week from my friend and fellow artist Ana Gribbons. She went down to the Square Foot Show last week and noticed that our paintings all had red pushpins beside them. This indicates that the paintings have sold. Music to an artists ears!!!

Northern Pines is 12x12 acrylic on canvas and one of the three paintings that I submitted. If you haven't been down to see the show yet you've got the rest of the week to do so. The show ends September 7th. Get details right here!

Paint, Texture, Mixed Media

The Black Crows  12x12  mixed media on canvas.

sold

Today I'm sharing with you my second entry for the Square Foot Show. "The Black Crows" 12 x12 mixed media on stretched canvas is on of my newest works. This piece took quite some time to do as I'd work on it and put it away for days at a time. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out and even though it's different then my usual painting-it's still me. There are layers and layers of paint, over acrylic molding paste. There are also 5 leaves embedded in the background for extra texture. I did the drawing of the wire and the crows first with a sharpie marker, wanting to keep it quick and gestural. I then painted over the crows with acrylic paint using a lot of dry brush to achieve my signature "soft focus" look. I've really been inspired by birds lately. I've taken lots of photos of them on our long drives in the country, and throughout the city. When they're all lined up along the wires like that it just says "summer" to me.

Snowdon Theatre and a trip to Sunnybrook E R

It's definitely time for a vacation!! Yesterday was not the greatest of days. I've been rushing around like mad finishing up paintings that I'll be submitting into the Square Foot Show tonight. I thought I'd get an early start so right after my morning coffee, I started wiring up the 3 canvases, the same way as I have done so many times before. I was poking a hole for the screw with the awl when the stretcher wood gave way and the awl went into the fleshy part of my right hand, right at the base of my "lifeline". Yeeeoowwww!!! It went in quite deep (Erik and I guessed about a cm deep). Now for someone who gave birth with NO drugs of any kind after being in labor for 36 hours, I was screaming pretty loud. I got Nami (our black cat ) in a total frenzy and she was meowing loudly along with me. Now I've got my hand in the sink, applying pressure, and feeling squeemish at the site of my own blood rushing down the drain. I couldn't remember when I had my last tetnus shot and my imagination started to run wild-time for a trip to Sunnybrook E R.

Sitting in the waiting room is not much fun. It seemed rather quiet for a long weekend, but it was quite early in the day. I felt rather foolish sitting there with what now seemed like such a minor thing when you think about all that goes on in a hospital. But I rationalized that it is the hand that I earn my living with so I better have it looked at. After about 2 hours I was done. The staff were very efficient, helpful and friendly. A BIG THANK YOU to all that helped me.

Above is just one of the paintings that I'm submitting into the Square Foot Show. "Snowdon Theatre" acrylic on canvas. $200. Every painting, by every artist at the Square Foot show will be 12x12 an $200. Come and check it out!!

Busy, Busy and Loving Every Minute.

I can hardly believe that just three months ago I was thinking that I'd have a very slow summer (artwise) with nothing much to do but work on some small pieces for my online shop, blog and just enjoy the laziness of the hot and humid days. Boy was I wrong!! I have been going non stop since April, painting and preparing for four shows, keeping up the shop, and trying to post on here more than once or twice a week.

The Leonardo Group show "Out of the Green" is in full swing and goes until August 16th. This past Sunday was a "driving" day and we made the trip out to Bayfield Ontario to drop off my paintings for Marten Arts, which starts this Saturday. The drive was beautiful even with the rain and I took lots of photos for a new series. More on that later. I'm just finishing up the last two paintings for Arts on King and have been asked to work on a commissioned piece as well. After I'm done with that, then I can start on my three 12x12 paintings that I'm putting into The Square Foot Show at Awol. I've got my freshly brewed Starbucks and some great music to keep me going.

Erik (my 16 year old) made up a playlist of music he's listening to these days. Love his playlists!!! Just the right combination of fast and slow to keep me standing at the easel for hours. What am I listening to these days?? Coldplay, The Verve, Radiohead, Beck, some downtempo lounge on Shoutcast Radio, a little Disco (yes Disco!) and of course my friend Jann Arden. How's that for an eclectic mix!!

The above painting "Quiet Drive Home" 36x48 will be at Arts on King. You know I love a good road trip!!

Square Foot 2008

Here's a preview of what's to come at Arts on King this August. North Country, acrylic on canvas, 36x48 is one of the new paintings I've been finishing up for the show.

I've also heard that I'm in Square Foot 2008!!! When I went down to AWOL Gallery last year to see this show I just new I had to be in it this year. It's really quite amazing. Read all about it here.