My Palette.

I'm back. Well, sort of. Although I've been away from my blog I have not been idle. I've been enjoying the last few weeks of summer painting away in my little corner studio, with a couple of beach days in the mix.

The cityscapes have been put on hold for a short while as I've been using a light and bright palette. Summer days are for light blues, yellows and greens.

There will be plenty of cooler, cloudy days in the fall when I'll get back to my moody cityscapes.

But for now as the last days of summer play out, I'm painting with a fresh palette. See you in September.

Put a Bird On It.

 Weekly Tweet Up

Acrylic on canvas 8x24  $350

Available at Arts on Queen

 Meeting Place

Acrylic on canvas  30x40  $2000

Available at Arts on Queen

Sunday Social  

Acrylic on Canvas  24x48  $1900.

Available at Arts on Queen

I'm happy to say I still get plenty of requests for bird themed paintings.  As I wrote about in this earlier post I was very inspired to paint 'birds on wires' especially after our move downtown. I can sit out on the balcony and watch the birds that sit on the wires and fly around collecting for their nests. I always keep my camera with me to snap shots of pigeons when I'm walking about the city. Here are just 3 of the newest birds series that I dropped off to Arts on Queen a short while ago.

Randomness

Untitled  

acrylic on canvas 2010

sold

January thaw

rain and clouds 

craving sunshine

feeling overwhelmed

long solitary days painting in the studio

information overload

looking for inspiration

color

color

and more color

seeking inspiration

finding balance

Vintage Vegas.

As you can tell I have a fondness for Neon that just won't quit. On one of our previous trips to Vegas we went and toured the Neon Boneyard. You can read those posts here and here. 

This Friday October 26th, the Neon Museum is throwing a Vintage Vegas party to celebrate the grand opening of the new visitors center, the historic La Concha motel lobby. WISH I COULD BE THERE!!

The La Concha Motel is a sea shell shaped Mid Century Modern architectural masterpiece, designed and built by architect Paul Revere Williams. It was saved from demolition in 2005 and will now serve as the Neon Museum's new visitors center. The Neon Boneyard is home to old Vegas by way of the neon signs that were rescued from demolition. Moulon Rouge, Flamingo, Stardust, and the Desert Inn along with many more. So happy to be visiting Vegas in November. We will once again take the Boneyard tour, and step back in time.

Affordable, Original Art Makes a Great Holiday Gift.

Christmas and the Holidays are fast approaching. Did you know you can give art as a gift? Original, affordable art makes a great gift for a loved one, or even yourself :-)

Many galleries make a point of having small works on hand at this time of year. Art Interiors even has a special online shop where you can make your Holiday purchases conveniently. There a only a few of my mini birches left. You can purchase them here.

 Mini Birches  3x5  Acrylic on Canvas

Click Here to Purchase

Mini Birches  3x5  Acrylic on Canvas

Click Here to Purchase

Summer Gallery Hours.

The lazy hazy days of summer are upon us. The downtown core seems quieter than usual, I suppose many are off on vacation.

Things are busy here in the studio with an assortment of projects on the go. This is a great time for me to lock myself up and paint, paint, paint in preparation for the busier art season in the fall. My galleries need new paintings.

Many galleries here have their summer group shows up and are open shorter summer hours. I'm taking my cue from them with the blog and will be around but only casually. This will give me a chance to concentrate more on studio time and a few surprises I'll share soon. Of course there will be a little bit of R&R thrown in.

In the Studio.

A spark of an idea turns into some color roughs.

Applying paint in layers and layers.

A series of new paintings soon to be completed.

It's been a flurry of activity the past few weeks and I'm very grateful to be so busy. It was well after lunch time yesterday when I realized that I should stop to eat, and well after 5 pm when I cleared away the paints and thought of what to make for the evening meal.

One of my good friends has returned to the world of blog. Check out Indigo Girl and follow Sherry on her journey as she discovers the possibilities in life one moment, one day at a time. So nice to have you back Sherry :-)

Studio Update.

Sunday Morning 8x10 acrylic on canvas

sold

Just popping in to say Hi. Working on a whole lot of new paintings but I can't share any with you just yet. Now I don't usually frame paintings because I finish the edges nicely so they can be displayed unframed however, I am working on a new series of smaller, framed originals that I will debut at this upcoming show. Stay tuned for more details. (the above painting is a hint).

The mixed media page of this blog has been updated with images of my mixed media/altered book collaboration with Inner Works, and some assorted mixed media paintings. Check it out if you have a moment.

And finally, I had a special visitor in the studio yesterday and we were working on a fun project, but you will have to wait to see the finished item. Wow, I'm just full of surprises today!! :-)  Back to my canvases. 

Thoughts for a Monday.

Thanks to all that made it out to my opening at Arts on Queen on Saturday. It was great to see you and chat about my work. Here are a few shots I took before it got too busy. For those those that couldn't join me, my paintings will be up until July 31st.

So here we are, another Monday upon us. The unpacking of boxes is taking much longer than I expected and has me frustrated. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for the fact that we were able to purchase this beautiful "dream" condo. I'm very fortunate for sure, but the moving and all that comes with it really did a number on my head. All kinds of emotions have been popping up from out of no where it seems. I guess that's why those reality television shows are so popular. You know the ones where people are forced to part with their mountains of stuff and clean and organize their lives. The cameras follow them through the process and you can watch them cry and scream in frustration, issues and emotions buried years before coming to the surface. For me it's more of that feeling you got as a child the day after Christmas. The toys have all been unwrapped and played with and there's an emptiness in the pit of your stomach. Now What???

I feel like that. I've been concentrating on two major events for the last few months and now they're over. The move is over. My show is hung, reception over. Now what??? I suppose I feel like every other "creative" out there and I'll be spending the next little while figuring out what's next with my painting. A new series, the next show, pimping my poor neglegted shop. Embarking on a new adventure is exciting and a little stressful too. For now I'll just continue to unpack. I'm just about done setting up the studio although I'm not sure if I'm ready to share a photo just yet. Soon, I promise.

Birds on a Wire.

Follow Me On Twitter 18x18 Acrylic on Canvas

Contact Arts on Queen to Purchase

I've always liked looking at birds on wires and have been photographing them since I can remember. In the country, along the highways and in the city. I've just always found it a very pleasing and soothing image. And so my "birds on a wire" series of paintings began.

I was thrilled when I noticed on the second day after our move, sitting out on the balcony, that wires run right across my view at our level. The little birds land on the wires regularly. They have nests in the building next to us and I can hear them chirping away. It's a nice addition to the sounds of the street car and city life. Now I just have to step out on my balcony for inspiration. I think I'll be painting many more urban landscapes in the months to come.

To see my newest paintings in the "Birds on a Wire" series be sure to check out my show "Fresh" at Arts on Queen. 2198 Queen St. E. in the Beaches, Toronto. July 3-31. Opening reception Saturday July 3, 1-4 pm.

Oh Spring, Where Art Thou?

Just popping in to say I'm hoping and wishing that we have an early spring. Blue skies, fresh breezes, sunshine and bird songs.

Urban Sky #4 6x6 $150. Acrylic on Canvas
email me to purchase

Sunday Morning 12x12 $350. Acrylic on Canvas
available at Art Interiors, Toronto

Sunday Afternoon 8x24 $350. Acrylic on Canvas
Available at Arts on King, Toronto

Lazy Afternoon 8x10 $350. Acrylic on Canvas
Available at Arts on King, Toronto

Inspire Me.

There's one thing I know for sure about the first few weeks of a brand new year. I need inspiration. January in Canada, at least here in Toronto, can be quite harsh. Cold and gray with little to no sunshine. I need color to pick me up.

That's when I turn to my mood board for a little color and inspiration jolt. I've written about my mood board here and here. This time I did things a little differently and I didn't even take my mood board off the wall for a re-do. I turned to my file of tear outs from my magazine stash. Yes, I'm a magazine junkie and I have piles of them. Every now and then I do have to thin out my collection but before I put them in my recycling bin, I tear out every page that might inspire me someday and put them in a file folder.

Today when I needed a little color pick me up, I went to my file and took out a hand full of sheets and started to lay them out on the floor. This is a quick and easy way to get some instant eye candy and for me at least is just about as good as a hit of caffeine. Instant mood overhaul.

I did a few different layouts with different sheets and came up with one the really appealed to me. And when I was done I just gathered up the sheets and put them right back in the folder. Ready for the next time I need a little bit of color inspiration. How about you? What's inspiring you these days??

Back to Business and the Sale Continues.

Spring Blossoms
Sold, Thank you

Joy
click here to purchase

Asian Inspired
click here to purchase

Today it's back to business. I've been in the studio organizing and cleaning my workspace most of the morning. This is the perfect time of year to purge the mountains of stuff that have accumulated on my work table. I've been bringing my calendar up to date, writing emails and connecting with galleries, and I even managed to start two new paintings. This afternoon will be spent working in my sketchbooks bringing new ideas for paintings to life as well as updating my website.

The 50% off sale continues in Red Banana's Etsy shop until the end of the month. This is the absolute last chance to grab my original paintings at these prices as at the end of the month I'll be taking them out of the shop for good.

Exciting changes are in the making. Stay tuned!

Studio Daze

Romancing the Stone
8x10 Acrylic on Board

The next few weeks will be a whirlwind here in my studio. With so many things on the go I find myself in a daze at moments. I'll be delivering new works to a few galleries, including small works for the upcoming holiday season. I'll also be updating RedBanana's Shop on Etsy (my online shop) with new affordable art. Romancing the Stone was inspired by a trip to San Fransisco years ago. I pulled out the many slides I took and remembered how I loved (and still find great inspiration) in gargoyles and architecture. This will be one of many new paintings available. Stay tuned to my blog as I'll be letting you know here when the sale starts. And you know you'll always hear me say "original art makes a great gift!!"

RedBanana's Shop on Etsy

Summer Birches 4x4 Acrylic on Canvas
Click here to purchase

Yellow Flowers 3x5 Acrylic on Canvas
Click here to purchase

Birds on a Line 4x4 Acrylic on Canvas
Click here to purchase

My poor little Etsy shop has been feeling some what neglected these past few months but all that is about to change. I've been painting lots of little daily Paintings, or as I like to call them "smalls" and will be listing them regularly into the shop. My aim is to have my shop all spruced up and ready to go for the holiday season. Yes, it's just around the corner. In fact, I saw Christmas trees and gift baskets at Costco last week.

Daily paintings, smalls, or minitures, whatever you like to call them are very hot these days. They can be very affordable so for those that prefer owning original art as opposed to posters or prints this is possible. And they are very easy to incorporate into any setting, even when wall space is limited. I like to display them on bookshelves. You may remember this post about one of my small birch paintings shown in Style at Home magazine. The article was all about accesorizing and the painting was displayed in a bookcase. It's very easy and and affordable to own original art these days as there are plenty of art shows, tours, gallery walks and art and craft specialty shops in every city. One of my favorite shows in Toronto is the annual Festival of Smalls at Art Interiors. This show has become extremely popular over the years and I'm very happy to be a part of it every year. I've already started painting new work for this show.

Road Series

Road Series No. 5
acrylic on canvas
$150.

I've been fascinated with roads for quite sometime now. I always have my camera handy especially when we go on road trips. I get tons of inspiration this way. I snapped the twp photos above on our recent trip to Florida. It was very early in the morning and quite foggy as we drove from the west coast to the east. I think these will be inspiration for new smaller works. I've mentioned before that I'll be updating my shop very soon with new work. I've been working on some small "daily paintings". There are some wonderful daily painters out in blogland (check out Michael Naples' blog) and I've been inspired to do my own. I'll be releasing new daily paintings in my shop very soon, so please stay tuned. Road Series No. 5 is how our roads looked this morning here in Toronto. One last little blast of snow before we can enjoy spring again.