Playing With Paints Again

Posted on November 2, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…it’s been too long

I cleaned off my art table yesterday. That was half the battle. Now I have no more excuses not to paint. On Hallowe’en I actually painted four individual cards for my neighbours but I forgot to photograph them. Painting is very therapeutic for me and I need to do it more often.

I’ve watched dozens of painting videos in the last four months and even though I felt inspired I just couldn’t get motivated to set up the paints. I want to enter an art show later in the month but I have to put my entries on line by November 6th. I’d better get busy. Here is my first attempt at mixed media ….mostly watercolour and ink.

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I need a title for this painting. Any suggestions?

Kinda Like a Mural

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…if a painting is not on a wall is it still considered a mural

Thanks to Becky B for hosting October Squares…..kindasquare. https://beckybofwinchester.com/2020/10/15/kinda-square-15/

This painting was on the side of a shipping container. It is located next to the road that goes through the High Park Zoo.

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Darkness Into Light

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Mama Cormier

This show is running until October 8th and if you’re in town this weekend it will be open to the public on Saturday, Sept 26 for Culture Days. Normally WAAC is only open from Monday to Thursday.

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When I went to WAAC ten days ago I saw this show first hand. The participating artists are all members of the Women’s Art Assoc. of Canada. Earlier in the year at the beginning of COVID a call went out for artists to create a piece of work that spoke to them about coming out of the darkness of the pandemic and into the light of hope and new beginnings. Here are a few examples of what you will see when you attend the show.

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Sculpture Saturday – Sept. 19, 2020

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Ruined for Life for hosting Sculpture Saturday https://smkelly8.com/2020/09/12/sculpture-saturday-36/

This week at WAAC (Women’s Art Association of Canada), I was helping clean up the gardens. As we were pulling out the weeds and trimming back some of the shrubs I discovered some hidden gems. The large sculpture of course was always visible but the two smaller ones were a surprise for me.

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Making Time for Art Has Been Difficult

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….instead I’ve been encouraging my husband to start painting

My husband studied art when I first met him and his first job was as a graphic designer. Over the years he contemplated making art as a hobby but life always seemed to get in the way. In the last two weeks after years of encouragement from me he finally picked up a paint brush and started painting. He’s hooked and there’s no stopping him.

To facilitate his painting I made room for him on my art table in my studio. I gave him my acrylic paints and when he ran out of canvases I gave him mine. Right now I’m looking at a mess and am waiting for him to clean so I can work on my own art. He’s actually been pretty good about cleaning up after he finishes a painting but for some reason he’s forgotten this time.

Before his journey started I did manage to complete a couple of assignments from Carla Sonheim’s on-line class that featured six different artists.

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Monday Mural – August 17, 2020

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Sami for hosting https://sami-colourfulworld.blogspot.com/2020/08/monday-mural-happy-pets.html

These shots were taken in Hamilton close to McMaster University.

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August Photo a Day Challenge – Abstract

Posted on August 14, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to City Sonnet for hosting the https://citysonnet.wordpress.com/2020/08/01/august-photo-a-day-challenge-3/

I adore abstract painting. Yesterday I paid a visit to the AGO. I spent most of my time viewing the Diane Arbus Photography show but I did walk through the modern art section and took this photo of a Joyce Wieland abstract painting.

In a past post I told you about my husband’s renewed love of painting. There are days that he makes up to three paintings. Now that he’s starting to work on larger canvases he can only manage on painting before exhaustion takes over. Here are some more of his recent abstract pieces.

Art Nurtures the Soul

Posted on August 3, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….encouraging my husband to pick up a paint brush

When I met my husband he was an artist. He studied art at college and his first full time job was as a graphic designer. When computers started to take over his chosen profession he changed careers and he abandoned art in order to put a roof over our heads and food on the table. We both worked until I took five years off to raise the kids. When they were in school full time I went back to teaching and my husband became a financial planner.

Over the years I started to pick up paint brushes and drawing pencils and took many classes and on-line art classes to learn everything I could about art techniques and practices. I love it. I tried to encourage my husband to start his art journey again. He wanted to but he was hesitant to start.

Well he finally started last week and I can’t stop him. The only reason he didn’t make another painting today was because he ran out of canvases. In total he has already completed 15 paintings. He’s experimenting with colour and techniques of laying down paint. I can’t tell you how much this has lifted his spirit. We’ve just finished renovating our garage so that he can use it as a summer studio to make larger works of art.

Here are a few of his completed pieces.

Little Treasures Everywhere

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….you don’t have to look far to find things to put a smile on your face

Throughout the neighbourhood people are putting out painted stones with bright colours and special messages. Up the street the local yarn store has had customers knit or crochet flowers and has ‘planted’ them on the lamp post outside the store. On the rocky beach over at the park people are creating art with the bricks and stones from the beach.

A Trip to St. Jacobs

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….a great farmers’ market and lovely small town

Last Saturday the forecast wasn’t great for an outing but that didn’t stop hundreds of people from going to the Farmers’ Market in St. Jacob.

We were actually quite surprised how busy the parking lot was and then we were surprised by how many people didn’t wear masks. Coming from Toronto, we are used to wearing masks and seeing the older people in the crowd not wearing them was quite shocking to us.

On the positive side, people were socially distancing and there were barriers and directional signs to help customers move along safely through the market.

We met up with friends, who are also from Toronto and walked through the market together. There were a lot of great deals on bulk purchases so we split the cost on some items and shared the bounty. Before leaving the market, Max shared some of the freshly made apple fritters with us. I can see why they were a must have item for him.

Dining in here is still a no go in Ontario but it is about to change for some areas later in the week. After buying a variety of fruits and vegetables and meats we parted ways. Max and Monica returned to Toronto and Kevin and I decided to drive north to the town of St. Jacobs and explore a bit.

St. Jacobs is a popular location for tourists due to its quaint village appearance, retail focus and Mennonite heritage. Waterloo Region is still home to the largest population of Old Order Mennonites in Canada, particularly in the areas around St Jacobs and Elmira.

We did see some Mennonites at the market but not in town. The first place we stopped at was the local craft brewery called Block 3.

I loved this wall of mugs where local customers had their own personal mug for drinking beer. We sampled a few beers but because it was raining and we couldn’t sit outside we purchased a dozen to drink at home.

After loading up the car we started to venture out to the main street but I ended up going alone while Kevin waited in the car. (purely for health reasons). I could have spent a much longer time looking through the stores but I knew that my time was limited so I chose one store in particular to explore.