SOLD - "Turnip Trio"

"Turnip Trio"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

SOLD

After going back to my usual pears yesterday, I thought I'd try a totally different subject, one that I never painted before. I had to wipe this painting a few times and start over, but I'm really, really pleased with the end result. I love the green background against the purples of those yummy turnips. 

My third solo exhibit is coming to a close

It's been a busy summer of art fairs and gallery shows! Tomorrow I'm heading to the Galerie Henri Nadeau in St-Francois, NB to take down my solo exhibit. This is my third solo show already, and 15 of my paintings have been hung there since July 5th - a whole two months! Here's a photo from the main entrance.

I also participated in the Rendez-vous des Artistes in St-Leonard this year, which is always an amazing time!! It's my 5th year in a row there, and it's something I look forward to the minute it ends.

I sold 6 paintings already, just in those two venues alone... I also sold "Rolling Clouds" and "Irish Moss" this summer on Etsy. I really need to get painting so I can fill up my walls again!

En Route to my second Solo show...

Well, it seems that keeping a regular blog is not as easy as it sounds. With work, life, and everything else that comes up, it always seems to take a backseat for me. I always have the best intentions of keeping it up, but maybe the third time's a charm! :)

Suffice it to say that I've been extremely busy these past few months. But I *have* been painting - quite a bit, actually. I'm preparing for my second Solo show this summer... so exciting!! This one will be at the Bibliotheque Mgr-WJ-Conway, in Edmundston, NB (Canada). So I've been frantically painting, trying to produce enough works to make up for the many that I've sold in recent months.

This is a sneak-peek at what you can expect to find at my next show (this one is so fresh-off-the-canvas, that I don't even have a title for it yet!):

I'm also excited to announce that I sold quite a few Original pieces recently! 4 paintings sold during my last Solo exhibit at UMFK in Fort Kent, ME ("In the Spotlight", "The Cuddling Pair", "Wild Daisies", and "Gossip Queen"), and I sold 2 more in my Etsy shop shortly afterwards ("New Laces" and "Frog Pond, Boston MA").

Needless to say, I have to make up for a lot of wall space now, with so many of my large pieces gone (not that I'm complaining...). I'm having a blast with these new paintings. I have a good mix of Still Lifes, Landscapes, and Florals so far!

Autumn Arts Competition on Facebook

When I first saw this Group on Facebook, there were only a few entries for the competition so I thought to myself "Hey, I might actually have a chance at this!" HA! Guess again! :)

If anything, it's allowed me to work on some new autumn-inspired paintings, which I hadn't done in quite some time. I also hadn't worked in Watercolors in a few years, so it was nice to get those brushes wet again (the competition was for ANY medium, but Watercolors are so much faster drying, it was easier for me to create multiple pieces).

I'm really excited about my participation in this Art Competition! At closing, I think there were 884 entries - which is huge!! And I'm still in complete awe at the talent displayed there... There is talk of continuing these challenges for different seasons and themes, so it'll be fun to see what we come up.

"Soaking Up The Sun", 5 x 7" Watercolor on paper

"Troublemakers", 8 x 10" Oil on panel (SOLD)

"Autumn Pastures", 5 x 7" Watercolor on paper

Above are my three entries for this competition. The winners should be announced soon (hopefully!), so wish me luck!! And here's a link to the Group on Facebook: First Annual Autumn Arts Painting Challenge and Competition on Facebook

Rendez-Vous des Artistes 2009

For the past 6 years, a huge Art Show takes place in my hometown of St-Leonard, NB (Canada), called the "Rendez-Vous des Artistes". Since I've only recently moved back to the area, this was only my 2nd year participating in it. It's a huge outdoor art show/fair that brings together about 150 artists from all over Canada, United States, and even Belgium! What an amazing weekend it was!!!



The weather couldn't have been more perfect!! They had been predicting rain all weekend - and although it *did* rain, it was always in the evening once all the artists had packed up for the day. Call it luck, but I prefer to think that someone was watching over us!

The place was bustling with people of all ages, so many of them walking away with a few purchases. It was great to see so many people buying original art! So much for a down economy... I swear, the worse the economy gets, the more people tend to save whatever they have left to buy some artwork. It sure beats spending it on a pair of shoes... at least art doesn't go out of style :)

I was also one of those lucky artists who sold original pieces! In addition to lots of Giclee reproductions and greeting cards, I also sold 2 paintings: "Summer Drinks", a watercolor that won me 3rd place a few years back at a show, and "The Cherry Gang", one of my recent oils, favored by many! It's always exciting to sell an original piece, but when I get back home and hang what's remaining back on my walls, I can't help but feel a sense of loss... I get very attached to my work, as I'm sure most artists do!

Looking forward to next year's event already! :)

SOLD - "The Cherry Gang" - 16 x 8"

Here's my latest painting, "The Cherry Gang". I really loved painting this one. My goal for this painting was not to do it quickly, but rather try and focus on each brushstroke, and why it needed to be there. All too often, I get wrapped up in the tiny details. This time, I stood back and squinted, thinking before I applied paint to the canvas. I wanted it to remain fresh and loose. I was very happy with the final result! :)

This Original oil painting was sold during a recent Art Show.

SOLD - "Play the Chessmaster" - 9 x 12"

Anyone who's visited Harvard Square (Cambridge, MA) in the summertime is undoubtedly familiar with the following scene. I snapped some photos a few years back, and always thought this one would make a great subject for a painting. This "chessmaster" has been immortalized in photos by many photographers, and now he's made it into one of my oil paintings!

This time, I also thought it would be nice to take photos of the painting-in-progress. Hopefully you enjoy this little slideshow!

Black Friday... it's not a myth!

Well, after a few months of having my own storefront on Etsy.com, it finally happened... I sold an original painting, and a hand-bound blank journal... all in the same day!

I've sold journals and paintings in the past, but this is the first time that someone has bought a painting of mine online. I was more than ecstatic, and I'm sure my customers will be very happy with their purchases. Here's what recently sold on my Etsy.com shop...

My "Autumn Leaves" oil painting - an original 12 x 16:

And one of my hand-bound blank journals:

Thank you to everyone who helps to support the "handmade movement". I personally made a pledge this Holiday season to buy ONLY handmade items... for both adults AND kids! You'd be surprised what you kind find out there, and you're helping the local economy at the same time.

SOLD - Autumn Leaves - 12 x 16"

Fall is my favorite season of all - I absolutely LOVE seeing all those colors! When I was younger, my siblings and I used to look at the hills in our valley and call it "Fruity Pebbles", after the colorful cereal. And I love the smell of the air after all the leaves have fallen. The painting has lots of texture to it, with many layers of brushstrokes visible.

SOLD - Girl with a Rose - 6 x 8"

I really enjoyed working on this Portrait. It was based on a reference photo I took of my friend a few years back when she visited me in Massachusetts (back when I lived there). We had gone into the city that day, doing the usual sightseeing, shopping, and catching up on each others' lives.

We happened to be walking trough Boston Common when this lovely, old-ish lady handed her a rose. Then came the expected "Would you like to donate..." line. I honestly can't remember whether she handed the nice lady a few bucks or not, but obviously she ended up with the rose.

I snapped some photos of her that day, and years later, here I am posting a painting from one of those references. The reason I didn't name the painting "Lise" (which is my friend's name, by the way...) is because I don't think it looks enough like her. I hadn't set out to paint an exact likeness anyway, although most folks are convinced it looks just like her (she even said so...). But still, I'm the artist, and I'd rather refer to this one as "the painting inspired by Lise" :)

SOLD - Green Apple - 2.5 x 3.5" (mini)

I've painted apples before, and I'm particularly fond of my "Sunlit Grannies" watercolor painting from a few years ago (which recently sold, thank you very much!). After getting these cute little blank canvases, I wanted to try a different take on those apples.

Here, I focused the attention more on the stem, and strong complementary colors of the green apple, and pink background. I really like this one, and it's even nicer when it's sitting on the little mini-easel I bought for it :)

SOLD - Orange Half - 2.5 x 3.5" (mini)

While at the art store one day, I came across the most adorable blank canvases I've ever seen! They came in packages of 5, and each one was about the size of a business card. They also sold mini easels, if you wanted them... of course I wanted them!

So I splurged (yes, that was intended to be sarcastic...) on a few packages. I finally took some of them out and tried my hand at painting on these really, really small canvases.

Here's the first - a close-up of an orange cut in half. People who know my work, know that I love painting fruit (particularly erotic-looking fruit, which this one isn't... although I'm sure someone will find something erotic about it... anyone?