Studio Update.

Gossip  8x10  Acrylic on Canvas

Available at Art Interiors

As seen on Cityline.

Is it too early to experience spring fever? It's certainly been an easy winter here in Toronto this year. No mounds of snow to shovel or slush to trudge through. Sure there have been very gray days and rain, but that's ok by me. The sunny days are especially nice and I welcome a little spring fever. 

There are lots of projects on the go here in my studio which equals less blog posting. I'm currently painting a new series of cityscapes, as well as a new series of smaller bird paintings. Getting ready for an upcoming show in April (details to come soon) and plans are in the works for a special 'artisan' event, and I do mean 'event'. This will be BIG-details will be unveiled shortly.

The old masters oil painting class is coming along nicely and the Thursday night class has evolved into Tuesday afternoons also, as a couple of students have decided to do another different still life painting for practice. And of course I'm doing a third on my own, in acrylics but using the same technique. Could we have a few more hours in a day please!

Whatever you are up to this weekend, I hope it's a great one. Enjoy.

Eclectic Elegance

So here we are in the midst of the first week in a new year. A fresh start. The studio has been cleaned, purged of unnecessary things and reorganized, ready to inspire many new paintings and other projects. 

You may remember this post from last year, that one of my paintings made it into the Benjamin Moore Color Trends 2012 brochure (much excitement and gratitude here!) and 2 of my works are included in videos on the Benjamin Moore site. 

So I was delighted this morning when I tuned into Cityline (as I do most days) to see guest expert Sharon Grech showcasing the Benjamin Moore house. There in the room painted in the trend called  "eclectic elegance" was my painting "Early Morning"

As an artist this is always so exciting for me. I spend so many hours alone in my studio creating them and then they go out into the world. As much of my work is sold through galleries I don't usually see where the paintings end up. Sometimes they end up as props for a shoot like this. 

Occasionally the owners of the home being used for the shoot will purchase the painting and sometimes they go back to the gallery."Early Morning" is available at Art Interiors.

Flying

Flying

Acrylic on canvas

18x18x2

I am still so inspired by birds these days. The inspiration is all around as I see birds on wires every day right outside my window. We also get to see swallows flying about enjoying the insects in the sky at sundown, sometimes swooping into the chimney of the old school across the street. A very large crane was erected a couple of days ago and I was delighted to see the sparrows sitting in a row on it the next morning. And I've seen Canada geese flying past many times. One Sunday morning they flew by very early honking. They were loud. And so "Flying" came to be. My newest painting fresh off the easel. I'd love to see it find a good home. If you're interested in purchasing, drop me an email.

Art and the Common Cold.

Last week I was side swiped and knocked down by the common cold. It came on slowly with a cough and then progressed into a full blown respiratory spectacle. I really hate getting a cold because not only do I feel physically awful from the symptoms, I usually feel very vulnerable and even the smallest of stresses can turn me into a blubbering idiot. Throw in a small splattering of guilt (Get off the couch it's just a cold. Others are suffering from much worse, how can you let a cold bother you??) and it's been a little rough. I couldn't even drag myself to my workouts. 

I did manage to finish some paintings in spite of having to put my brushes down constantly to reach for a tissue or sip my green tea.

Afternoon Debate  12x12x2  

Acrylic on canvas $350.

Electrical Storm  12x12x2

Acrylic on canvas  $350.

Feeling a little better today so I'm going to try to get out and enjoy some sun and human interaction. I know there are much more serious problems affecting humanity, but if they could could finally find a cure for the common cold it would be a good thing.

Preparing for an Art Show and Sale.

Preparations have been ongoing for this upcoming show as I have to be ready for this Saturday. It's wonderful having my work available in galleries, but I haven't done a show like this in a few years so it will be fun getting out there and meeting the buyers.

As of now this painting is still untitled. It's 6"x36" part of my "Birds on a Wire" series. I enjoyed painting in this small wide format and it's really 6 paintings in one.

I don't usually frame my paintings as I extend the painting around the edges of the canvas so that they can be hung unframed, but I thought I'd frame a few up special for this show.

And I did a series of "birds on a Wire" especially for this show too. These are acrylic on acid free illustration board, 10"x10" framed in silver toned frames.

These landscapes are 12"x12" and will fit in that little space where you just need to hang some art. Although they look wonderful on their own, I like to hang smaller works in groupings on the wall.

This year there happens to be 2 father/daughter combos at the show. Myself and my dad Nandor Horthy and also Anja Karisik and her father Ciba Karisik. You can read the full article here

March First at Last, Welcome Spring.

 Magnolias  24x48

Acrylic on canvas

$1900.

Magnolia Blooms  12x48

Acrylic on canvas

$950.

First Blooms  12x36x2

Acrylic on canvas

sold-thank you

Spring Blooms  12x36x2

Acrylic on canvas

$750.

I've been craving spring in a big way and it definitely shows in the paintings I've been doing lately. These florals that I've added to my "blossoms and blooms" series were so much fun to do. They are light and airy and just so soothing to me. Like a breath of fresh air, and I did have the studio windows wide open as I painted them. One of the perks of having a south west exposure, I get lots of sunlight streaming into the studio.

These are all painted on canvas that I prepared with acrylic modeling paste. This gives the canvas a beautiful texture and I like the way the paint fills into the little nooks and crannies. It creates wonderful dimension. The top two paintings are going to make their way to Art Interiors later this week and the bottom two I will have with me when I exhibit at the Kingsway-Lambton United Church  Art show and Sale in April. If you have any questions about these new paintings or any of my work feel free to drop me an email. Also, I am now once again taking commissions.

There's No Place Like Home.

the view from our balcony

looking south

Hi there. I'm back!! It seems like I've been gone for ages. Things are finally starting to come together in our new home. 10 days without internet was a challenge even for me. There's only so much I can do with my Iphone. (ya, I know)

Boxes have been unpacked and things have been sorted and put in their new places. Tomorrow I'll paint one wall and my studio shelves that were painted before and didn't fare well through the move. Settling in has taken a little bit longer than expected but I don't mind. I'm totally enjoying setting up house. I'm working on getting my studio completely set up by Friday so I can actually get back to painting next week. I always feel a little off when I don't have at least one painting on the go.

My show "Fresh" opens at Arts on Queen this Saturday, but more on that in my next post. I'm off to enjoy a quiet evening with a glass of wine on the balcony. Dorothy said it best when she said "There's no place like home".

October Giveaway is Here!

Autumn Colors
Acrylic on Canvas

8'x10'

I'll have to put my mixed media work on hold for a short while. I spent yesterday painting small landscape paintings. I'm preparing a dozen or so of them for the annual "Festival of Smalls" which will be starting in November at Art Interiors. These are fun to do as it's always a nice change from the larger paintings. It's a totally different "feel", painting on such small canvases and I find myself handling the brushes and the paint in a slightly different manner. I'll post a sneak peek of a couple of them when I'm all finished.

Well it's here. My October Giveaway. This time I'm doing things a bit different. All you have to do is to leave a comment on any of my blog posts for 2 weeks. Starting today Oct.7th to midnight Tues. Oct. 21st. You can comment as many times as you like. The more you comment, the better your chances for winning. I'll post a picture of the prize a little later into the giveaway.

My Gallery

The paintings on my walls are constantly being rearranged and moved around as I shift and move my larger paintings to the different galleries that show my work. Sometimes it really feels like we live in a gallery as I have canvases painted and unpainted strewn about our not so large apartment. We have a long hallway from our front door that leads into the rest of the place and this is where I line them up until I need them. I spent some time rehanging this weekend and organizing so that it's not so chaotic. I had some fun fooling around with some letters and another cloudscape (in progress) on the mantel and here's the look I came up with. What do you think??

I also realized a bit too late that the mini cloudscapes in my shop slipped into the expired listings after I had posted them. I don't think that I'll re-list them now as I'm working on listing lots of new mixed media work for holiday gift giving, and I'll be previewing them here. Stay tuned!!!

Arts on King Show

Here are some photos I took of my paintings at Arts on King. My show runs until August 31st so if you're in the area please stop by and check out this wonderful gallery. Jodi Wheeler did a beautiful hanging of my work. Jodi is a fine artist and she curates the shows for both Arts on Queen and Arts on King. Her lovely mixed media work can also be found gracing the walls.

Originally opened in 1991 by Ellen Wagner, Arts on King along with the Wagner Rosenbaum Gallery was located at 169 King St E. in Toronto. I had a show of my landscapes and still lifes upstairs at the Wagner Rosenbaum Gallery in August of 2003. The retail/gallery space closed after 13 years and Arts on Queen was opened. Now happily back in the community at 165 Queen St E., Arts on King features a variety of media by Canadian artists. I personally think that they have the best selection of handmade jewellery in the city!