…thanks to Natalie for hosting PPAC https://natalietheexplorer.home.blog/2023/04/07/whats-been-happening-march-2023/
On our walk through the Arboretum yesterday, we came across some beautiful sculptures throughout the grounds. Here are just a few of them:
…thanks to the Ragtag community for hosting RDP https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2023/04/07/rdp-friday-wise/
Today’s word is ‘wise’ and I feel I made a wise decision. I’ve been thinking about doing this for awhile. As some of you may know I am preparing for my second art show and I’ve been busy making new work. I feel, however, that I might have to use some work that I’ve already shown in the past year but I’m feeling pretty confident that most of the pieces will be new.
Having said that I painted a floral abstract that I’ve put in three shows already and it’s never sold. It was part of a series of paintings and all of the other paintings sold. Today I decided it was time to make a change because I have to admit that over the past several weeks I’ve been dreaming about how I might change it. This afternoon I had the courage to do just that. I’m glad I did because I’m liking it much better.
I think I made a wise choice.
Here are the ‘before’ and then the ‘after’ shots.
As I prepare for my solo art show I get so obsessed with the number of pieces that I don’t always think about the impact of the finished piece. This happened last night or should I say over several days where I’ve been stewing over one piece that just didn’t sit right with me.
Just because I signed it doesn’t mean that I can’t make changes. I was unhappy with the bottom third of this painting and with the hair around the face. Last night I dove in and completely changed the bottom and almost completely eliminated the hair. I like it so much better.
The large painting on the bottom of the above grouping is just the beginning. It is the largest piece that I have ever attempted (15″ x 30″) and it will go through several transformations before I’m done with it. Stay tuned.
….he appears a little grouchy but I know that the artist is loving his Procreate
….Kevin’s latest Procreate Monster
Enjoy!
…Tonguely is not too sure what to make of this new frog
Kevin is playing around with Procreate and has come up with a new frog character. No name yet but if you have a suggestion we’d love to hear what it is.
…thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/04/01/weekly-prompts-colour-challenge-tricolour/
…a book that all bookclubs should read
I loved the book Beartown so much that I went on to read the following two books in the series. Beartown is a book that can stand on it’s own but if you love the characters you’ll want to read more. The interesting thing about this book is that it is about a junior hockey team in northern Sweden and not something that I would gravitate to. I’m not a huge hockey fan but I do enjoy watching Olympic hockey.
The story involves flawed characters and a community who get caught up in their devotion to a hockey team. Unlike Backman’s more lovable characters in A Man Called Ove and Anxious People the people of Beartown reflect a more realistic community and how making a bad decision has negative consequences that can ruin people’s lives. Backman has the ability to write thoughtfully and make us feel empathy for his characters. The novel is full of suspense, conflict and passion for a game.
If you belong to a bookclub I can see some great discussions come from this novel. The pressure we put on our children to be the best, drinking underage, rape, the roles of women vs men, parenting, the importance of sport in our communities, social and cultural prejudices, and homophobia are just a few areas for discussion.
I loved all the books so much that I decided to draw a map of the two fictional towns, Hed and Beartown and the forest that separates them in northern Sweden. This is how I imagined the map. to look like.
…so happy to see more of Kevin’s wacky birds appear in his art studio
…the name of my new series of paintings for my solo show
The Joy of Making is the name of my solo show in May. I not only wanted to highlight my love of painting and making art but I also wanted to pay tribute to my family’s talents and the things that my Mom taught me when I was younger. From a very young age my Mom taught me how to make doll clothes with hand stitching and later how to use a sewing machine. She also taught me how to mend socks and sew on buttons.
As I got older I taught Family Studies and taught 11 to 13 year olds how to cook and sew. They learned how to embroider, quilt and sew clothes. I continued to learn and practise other needle crafts such as knitting, cross stitch, weaving, basketmaking and more. In my 50s I learned how to use watercolour and later I ventured into abstract painting using acrylics and collage.
Here are the first three pieces of my Needle and Thread series.
Mama Cormier 