"Our Family Bond"

"Our Family Bond"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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Is it okay for artists to be completely in love with one of their paintings? If so, this is one of them! I'm so happy with how this one turned out. The only part I struggled with was finding a title - then I realized it represents my own family (my parents, myself, and my two siblings). We certainly have a special bond, even though we refer to ourselves as "The Griswolds" every so often ;-)

"Cherry Love"

"Cherry Love"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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I'm really liking painting cherries, especially these beauties. I love how cherries look like hearts when propped up this way, and I also like how they contrast nicely against the bright white background. And of course, the intertwining stems are super cute :)

"The Third Wheel"

"The Third Wheel"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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Whoever said that doing daily paintings would get easier by the day was completely wrong! Had a really tough time with this one, but I'm okay with how it turned out in the end. When does it start to get easier?

"The Conga Line"

"The Conga Line"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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Yay, back to the fruity stuff! :) I always love simple compositions, but this one was especially fun. I like how the stems are reaching out for the cherries, almost as if they're dancing the Conga ("I know you can't control yourself any longer").

"Tea Time"

"Tea Time"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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Can you tell I ran out of fresh fruits and veggies at my house? I finally went shopping, so you'll hopefully start seeing more food paintings soon. Although I'm really enjoying painting these everyday objects, too!

"Golden Boy"

"Golden Boy"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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Well, this was already a better attempt - only had to wipe down once! I imagine that it'll get increasingly difficult to find new things to paint every single day, but my studio is filled with inspiration. I guess just have to look!

"Lead the Way"

"Lead the Way"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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It's official! I've started the Daily Painting challenge, and this is #1 of 30 (but hopefully I can keep at it much longer than a month). This was harder than I thought! But I'm sure it'll just get easier as I go... I had to wipe this one down 3 times before ending up with this final painting. 

30 Paintings in 30 Days

Since attending Carol Marine's workshop in Toronto this past August, I've been really wanting to get into the Daily Painting habit once and for all. More than once I've said "Alright, this is it! I'm really doing it this time!", only to get sidetracked 2-3 days later.

So in the spirit of New Year's resolutions, I decided to take on Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge. I'm a fan of Leslie and all that she does to help artists market themselves, and I listen to her all the time on the Artists Helping Artists podcasts. So when I came across her challenge on Pinterest, I figured I'd make a go at it. Anyone can do something for just 30 days, right?

The challenge officially starts on January 2nd, so keep an eye out! I'll be painting mostly 6 x 6" paintings and posting each one here on a daily basis. It won't be easy, but hopefully knowing that all you people are watching should provide the motivation I need to stick to this! Wish me luck! :)

Before/After Studio shots

I still need to compile the progress shots of my studio/office renovations, but in the meantime, here are some awesome before & after pics I put together. It's hard for me to imagine what this place used to look like before the big transformation - and seeing these photos reminds me of all the blood, sweat, and tears we put into this place last year!

Remember: this started out as a lakefront camp, which is right next door to our home. After we bought it (for the extra frontage), we decided to convert it into my office/studio since my home office wasn't quite cutting it anymore. I love seeing how it started out!

What used to be the living room is now my painting corner.

The entrance - I found this awesome bookshelf at a garage sale. After a couple good coats of paint, it also made for a wonderful entrance divider/half wall.

Just removing those top kitchen cabinets made a huge difference! I made the sink window taller, removed the appliances, and painted the walls/cabinets.

One of the bedrooms is now my office. Again, I made those corner windows much larger, which means I can now look outside while I'm working at the computer - finally! :)

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!

I'm back.... from my Carol Marine workshop!

It's pretty sad when I finally log into Blogger tonight and see that I had only one blog post in 2011. ONE! How does that even happen? Am I that busy that I can't spare a few minutes for a quick update? Truth is, I have been extremely busy this past year - so much has happened (all good, I assure you!) - but I promise to make a better effort this time. I hope :-)

But why now? What's motivating me this time? Well, I just got back from an amazing painting workshop in Toronto, ON, by one of my all-time favorite artists: Carol Marine. I've been an admirer of her work and her techniques for many years now, but her workshops always sell out so fast. After 3 years of trying to get in, I finally made it and it was worth all the wait. This might just be the push I needed to get myself in the studio on a more regular basis (and updating this blog!)

One of exercises she made us do was to take a simple object (I chose a pear), and to paint it in just 10-minutes. After time was up, we had to do it again - up to 4 times. The goal was to simplify our strokes, and really focus on seeing the bigger shapes, values, and colors. We actually were supposed to get better with each one, but as you can see I was clearly getting worse! Still... it was an amazing learning experience :-)

On a side note, I also owe you some updated studio pics!! I'm finally all moved in now and am loving the new space. Keep an eye out for those in the next week or so! :)

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!

Wow, where has the time gone!

I can't believe it's been 3 months since my last post! So much has happened since then, and I hope to do a good recap this week. But for now, I wanted to let everyone know about my very first Solo Exhibit!!

I went to set it up this morning, and it looks great! I'll be exhibiting 20 of my latest oil paintings, and I'm so excited! The exhibit, titled "Shades of Light" takes place at the University of Maine Fort Kent, in the Blake Library Gallery. It will be on display from November 2 through November 29.

I'm also having an Opening Reception this Friday, from 4-6pm. I really can't wait, as it will give me an opportunity to meet new locals. I've only been in the area for 4 years - this will be such a great way to get my name out here!  :)

Read the full story on the University's website

Renovations Step 2: Replacing the floors... DONE!

Well, we actually finished these a few weeks ago, but only got around to taking new photos this past weekend. I love how everything turned out! And although these are still somewhat temporary (I'll be putting in hardwood floors eventually...), this will certainly get me by for a few years.

Here are the before/after shots of this room... pretty dramatic! :)

BEFORE - Studio Area

AFTER - Studio Area

BEFORE - Studio Area, corner view

AFTER - Studio Area, corner view

I'm really excited to move in! We actually have another renter arriving this weekend, and they're staying for 3 weeks. But after they're gone, it's ALL MINE!! I'll be spending the rest of the year painting walls, fixing some plumbing, and replacing a few windows. Once that's done, I can start moving my stuff!!

Can't wait!  :)

Renovations Step 2: Replacing the floors, Part 2

After lifting a few sections of the old particle board, it's obvious that we've had many little visitors here over the years. The little critters had made pathways alongside the insulation, which packed down so flat in many areas, that it just had to be replaced. We also found lots and lots of mouse droppings, pine cones, acorns, etc... obviously this was their home :)

So we started doing just that - replacing the insulation in spots that were bare, vacuuming all the debris left behind, and adding a vapor-barrier on top. This was no easy task... but we were lucky that my Dad was visiting from Toronto for a few weeks (at my request, since we really needed his help here). Him and my husband tackled the floors, which was completed in less than 2 weeks. Hooray!

There! Now we're ready for some plywood! There are some areas where we just couldn't take out the particle board (for various reasons). Below is a photo showing the old next to the new:

Now, my goal is to be able to move in by this Winter. I don't necessarily care right now if not everything is perfect or even pretty. I just want to move in. And seeing that I can't make up my mind on flooring, and we have renters arriving soon, I wanted something I could install easily and cheaply. I also wanted something thin so that I can put real wood on top of it, whenever I decide to.

We opted for peel-and-stick vinyl tiles. These things are AWESOME! I shopped around to find a pattern that was decent, but still within my cheap requirement. I found these beauties at the local Family Dollar. At $12 a box, they were a steal! So it cost me less than $300 to redo the entire building. Can you say BARGAIN!?

Seriously, in less than one day we had 2 rooms covered. Now that's progress! Here are the before/afters of both rooms:

BEFORE - Storage Room

AFTER - Storage Room

BEFORE - Office Space

(ignore the gross, stained mattress... it was there when we bought the place!)

AFTER - Office Space

Now these before shots aren't terrible... the pattern of these rooms' floors weren't bad. The main room is a different story. Once that's replaced, it'll make a huge difference in there.

Renovations Step 2: Replacing the floors, Part 1

Alright - now we're getting somewhere!

We knew how warped and soft the floors were, but didn't know exactly why. Surely, it must just be all rotten under there, so let's find out.

Welcome to Surprise #1: The subfloors were made of particle board. Yes, you read correctly.



If you're not aware of the differences between particle board and real plywood, this junk you see above expands and warps with humidity. We live on a lake. Why on earth would you put that on your floors?!? The good news is that we know what the problem was. Now we needed to decide: do we simply add a layer of plywood on top of this stuff, or rip it all out and replace them? Obviously replacing them is the best solution.

That is, until we peeled away the old linoleum floors. Little did we know, they used 3" nails to fasten the floors, not screws. As if having to chisel away and remove every single nail was grueling enough, we then enter the 2 small rooms.

Again, peeled away the vinyl floors, and what do we find? The glued piece of the vinyl stays stuck. Everywhere. Which means all the nails are hidden. Which means we now have to actually chisel away that layer of white (see above) in order to even get to the nails! Argh! Luckily, my father-in-law stopped in just in time... he volunteered to do this part! :)

Whew. Well now that's done. Surely it'll be smooth sailing now!

Renovations Step 1: Paint and level the structure

This camp has taken a beating over the years. The paint was severely peeling, the supports holding the building up were starting to rot and sink into the ground, and the floors were warped and very soft in many spots.

Luckily, painting the camp was fairly easy. I kept it white (for now). I wish I would've taken some more recent "before" shots, but it was peeling really, really badly! A good coat of primer, then another coat of high quality white paint, and I was done.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

We debated whether to keep the current supports, or replace them with poured or blocks of concrete. When we took off the skirting all around, we found that most of the "railroad ties" were in really great shape! They've been solid all these years, why mess with what works?

There were a few, however, that were rotten. A nearby friend had spare railroad ties (I don't even know how people collect these things...), so we jacked up the camp, little by little, and replaced the ones that need it.

Then we got to the back side: one of the main support beams was rotten... all. the. way. through. NOT fun. That'll be a project for a later date (when we have a real contractor over).

So for the most part, those two big things are done. The camp looks so much better with a fresh coat of paint, and I feel a bit safer knowing that I'm not going to sink into ground. :)

Studio move and renovations!

Sorry I haven't been posting much; I've been a bit busy! Busy "how", you ask?

Well, shortly after we moved to our new home on the lake, the adjacent property came for sale. We loved the spot and it would give us extra lake frontage. Yes, it had a camp on it... but we didn't care. We were buying it for the lot.

Then I started painting more and more, and my tiny little office upstairs was getting out of control. We got estimates to build an addition (which was a lot of $$$), then realized we had the "addition" right next door! All it needed was a little TLC!

We kept delaying the project, since it wasn't really, really needed (yeah right!!) and after all, my work and painting were still getting done, right? True, but it was just time. I had completely outgrown my space, and was finding it harder and harder to be creative. I needed a change!

So that's it! That's what I've been busy doing... renovating my future office & studio! Unfortunately (or fortunately!), we're renting it for a few weeks this summer. So the first big rush is to get the floors in better shape. It's really warped right now (and ugly!). We have less than 3 weeks left until the first renters arrive, so it has to get done!

I'll be posting regular updates on our progress (which we've already started), so make sure to check back soon.

SOLD - "Winter Birches" - 18 x 24"

If you've seen some of the handmade items in my shop, you'll notice that I have a love of all things Birch! There's something about those long, skinny white trees that is so calming. I love how the knots in the bark look like eyes... watching us as we roam through the forest :)

I don't often paint this large, but when I took the reference photos for this piece, I knew right away that it should be painted BIG! The bold, contemporary design look even better with the frame. It looks amazing on any wall!

SOLD

SOLD - "Wild Daisies" - 8 x 16"

SOLD 

It's been a while since I've painted a floral, and when I saw these beauties flowing in the wind one day, I thought they'd be perfect for my painting. I love how they seem to be reaching up towards the sun!