Impressionists in Chicago

A few weeks ago, I went to Chicago for an AMA conference and went a day early to enjoy the sights – in particular, I wanted to visit the Chicago Art Institute to get inspiration and also see up close some of the great impressionists and abstract artists. It had been a while since I had visited an art gallery (crazy that I had to go to Chicago when Toronto has such a great art gallery in the AGO – that is next on my list!). Chicago has an extensive collection of impressionists, including paintings by Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Degas, Renoir. In particular, I liked the painting caled "Paris - a Rainy Day" by Gustave Caillebotte painted in 1877. I had studied this painting art history at Western but it was incredible in real life. It has an eerie quality in that you feel like you are spying on the people in the street.

Seurat was breathtaking - especially when you have the opportunity to get really close – a few inches away. "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" was overwhelming and I had never previously realized the sheer number of colours used. The multi-coloured border on the painting was incredible – purples, orange, pinks – which beautifully set off the complementary colours in the main painting. Created in 1884, it is still very relevant. I really took away the powerful vibrancy that complementary colour combinations can deliver. I started to do that in “Northern Lights” but I think I need to push the boundaries a bit more. The exhibit is on until the end of September.

There was also a temporary exhibit by Karsh. Again, I had studied him at school (Photography was my major) but seeing the real photos was amazing. He has a real talent for lighting his subjects in a way that draws you into the photo. The details of expressions and the way he lit and captured fabric was incredible. I really loved the portraits of the cubist artists - Picasso, Braque, and scientists like Oppenheimer. The one of Georgia O-Keefe is beautiful. It captures the history across multiple disciplines. If yo get the chance to see this exhibit – I believe it is a traveling exhibit – I strongly recommend it.

“Modern and Contemporary Works on Paper” is showing until September. I will be in Chicago again late August as an ideator for a focus group/brainstorming session. I am going to try and find some time to see this show.

Visit from Nature

I had a great painting session yesterday; something I am grateful for since the last few times I have painted, it felt too contrived - very pedantic. I had not been very happy with the results and ended up painting over quite a few of the canvases.

But, yesterday, all the stars aligned and I created a painting that captured the colour and dynamics I was looking for. I have been continuing to work with the “Google Earth” theme – imagining what the Earth looks like from space, then abstracting the landscapes. Since the evening was beautiful, I worked outside. The layers of paint were very heavy so I left the canvases to dry outside. Next morning, I went to check out the drying process and discovered that a chipmunk (I have them living in my garden wall) had walked over another wet painting and onto my large canvas. He must have had a creative sense as the tiny footprints followed the same lines as the dark blue paint. I loved the look and decided to leave them in place. Called the painting “Mother Nature” since she had a hand in creating it!

Connecting with an Old Friend

Artist at the Toronto Outdoor Art Expo - Incredibly talented, I first met Renato Foti. I was taking my Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Western Ontario and he was taking….yes, engineering! We took a few fine arts courses and basically had fun. Over time, we went on with our lives and lost touch. A few years ago, I reconnected with him at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. He had brilliantly combined his engineering skills with his creative abilities and was doing fused glass work. My particular favourite is a large bowl from his hand-signed Signature series. His philosophy is the same as mine – strong colour, dynamic design with a positive statement.

Renato’s Artist Statement: “The contemporary design and bold Colours exemplify the styles of Renato Foti’ s works in fused glass and Jewellery. The main focus of these works is to add Structure, Balance, Colour and Simplicity to the home & working environments. Balance and Colour is of critical importance to the designed pieces. It’s a reflection of Renato’s personal philosophy in life and in his Art.”

As always, I am keen to meet with and pick the brains of artists who have been successful in their trade. Now that Renato is moving to Toronto, I hope we will be able to reconnect more often.

Accepted – Queen West Art Crawl!

Very excited to hear that I got into the Queen West Art Crawl – I am working on a few new pieces and reworking some older ones – increasing the layers and complexity. Located in beautiful Trinity Bellwoods Park, the Outdoor Art Show and Sale features over 250 unique and exciting artists and crafts people, performance artists, buskers, community organizations and food vendors. Queen West Art Crawl first began in 2003 as a one-day festival. In its home base, Queen St W, 5 years later flourished into the signature Outdoor Art Show and Sale (OASS) for the summers’ end.

I included Northern Lights - one of my all time favourites - and After the Storm in my submission. I felt that these were both strong but showed a different level of energy. I also included River #4 - the image that is on my postcards and business cards - seems to be a consistent favourite.

Opening Night CelebrationThe Opening Night Celebration takes place at the historic Gladstone Hotel. The official handover ceremony from Artscape to PLEDC will open the evening, followed by the introduction of and comments from our sponsors. The evening will conclude with live performances and entertainment. There will also be a showcase of the works of many local artists in the Art Bar and on the 2nd floor of The Gladstone Hotel. These exhibits will run for the entire length of the event.

Inspired by the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition

Went to the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition this weekend. I have been for a number of years and the composition of artists was quite different this year – lots of jewelry and nice to see more abstract than I remember in previous years. There were some works that I was very impressed with – surprisingly drawn to the abstract painters and some that left me cold. Over the next few blogs, I am going to focus on a few of those artists who have inspired me…

Karen Taylor (no relation)– a friend of mine and I am always inspired by her work – colourful and full of energy. I love how her bio talks about escaping the cold rainy weather of Scotland, presumably to add more colour to her life and that her paintings beautifully capture that colour and energy. One of my favourites of hers that was on show at the TOAE was a new work called “Cherry Trees in Bloom” – so new it is not yet on the website. To the left, is Aqua Orange – great lines.

Karen’s Artists Statement: “I am heavily influenced by the English Arts and Crafts movement and Art Nouveau, especially Charles Rennie Mackintosh, whose works are an integral part of my native Glasgow. Acrylics have granted me the freedom to express these organic, sinuous forms whilst also allowing me to build up depth using translucent layers reflecting many years working with pastels.”

We are exploring doing an abstract show together in the fall – I’ll keep you posted…