….viewed from the parking lot behind WAAC
Sometimes the best art is on walls and often in obscure places. Today’s mural was found facing the parking lot between Bloor St. and Prince Arthur Ave. I almost missed it because I wasn’t looking up and to the left. We were headed back to the car and I was focused on the mission to find the car. One of my friends brought my attention.
Thanks to Sami for hosting Monday Murals https://sami-colourfulworld.blogspot.com/
…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.
…thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/04/01/weekly-prompts-colour-challenge-tricolour/
….thanks to Jez for hosting I’m a fan of……https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2023/03/20/a-ride-to-the-park-fan-of-198/
I love to browse through art galleries for a variety of reasons. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon or even just an hour or less. It informs me on what is happening in the world, the values of other cultures and the diversity of art itself. I don’t always love everything I see but I can appreciate what the artist went through to make their art. The one comment I despise from other people who think that a piece of art is unworthy to hang in a gallery is….”I could do that”. The problem is that they didn’t do that and never will.
The big art gallery in Toronto is the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) and I love going there but I also enjoy going to smaller galleries like the Dignam Gallery at WAAC, the Assembly Hall Gallery and all the smaller and larger galleries we visited on our trips in Europe.
The galleries below are: The Louvre in Paris – first two photos. The Musée de Beaux-Arts in Tours, France – photos 3, 4 and 5. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Tours, France – photos 6,7 and 8. The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in London, England – photos 9, 10 and 11. The Barbican Art Gallery in London, England – photos 12, 13 and 14. The Tate Modern in London, England – photos 15m 16 and 17. The Dignam Art Gallery at WAAC in Toronto – photos 18, 19, 20 and 21 and Neilson Park Creative Centre in Etobicoke – photos 22, 23 and 24 . The Assembly Hall Gallery in Toronto – photos 25, 26 and 27.
….or maybe two
The first monster my husband sent me today was titled A Work in Progress. When I asked him if it was unfinished he said it might be but then soon after he sent me a second monster with no title. I am so pleased that he’s enjoying working on his new iPad with Procreate. The goal is to take some of his original paintings and put them into a children’s book. Procreate will help him with backgrounds and give his paintings that finished look that you need for publishing your work.
Here are the two latest monsters.
…now that my series is done I’m ready to go back to painting on canvas
Similar to what I’ve done in the past but I added a new twist. I think I’m close to calling this one done. Now for a name…..Who’s Watching? Garden Eyes Watching Over the Garden
12″ x 12″ on stretch canvas, mixed media
….by Amy Maricle
I just bought Amy Maricle’s new book Draw Yourself Calm: draw slow, stress less
My journal only has three pages left. Here are my latest sketches.
….a new twist on Monster Monday
My husband is getting very serious about producing a children’s book using his monster drawings. To help him with his backgrounds and clean-up his paintings, he’s invested in a new iPad Pro and purchased Procreate.
Procreate is a wonderful program used for drawing and painting. There’s a steep learning curve for those of us who have never used a program like this before but Kevin is working on it every day. Here is his first Monster Monday using Procreate.
…thanks to the Ragtag community for hosting RDP https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2023/03/08/rdp-wednesday-museum/
I love museums. How could I not, when I have a son who is a curator at the Victoria and Albert in London, England and I am a volunteer at Montgomery’s Inn, one of Toronto’s Historical Museums.
We have have numerous museums in Toronto, the most famous being the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum). My husband and I have been members for years and love taking friends from out of town and in town to the museum as our guests.
Mama Cormier 