With the risk of snow or ice storms (mostly!) gone, art exhibit season is upon us.

The Glengarry Artists’ Collective begins its three-show season with The Big Show, 19 & 20 April, 2024. I’ll have five pieces in that show, along with 113 works by the other 31 artists.

Come view interesting & varied works, meet artists & have refreshments!

How long did it take you to paint that? is a question artists often hear. In the case of this painting, The Red Hat, several sessions over 23 years!

On the back of the canvas are the dates 1 May 2001, 1 May 2002, 31 October 2002 and November 2023.

In the latest iteration, the character was tweaked lightly. But the context was massively altered. Now the figure is strongly situated within a better-lit space. Colour choices and glazing make the hat and figure zing.

Instead of simply a nude study, the piece is a work about painting itself.

So says Lady Macbeth to her hubby. “And we’ll not fail,” she adds. She’s referring to murder to advance their careers. We’re talking experimentation in the studio.

The last post dealt with courage in trying new things. (Was successful!) More recently I’ve agonized a bit (okay, a fair bit) and played a lot. Also given myself Lady Macbeth-like pep talks. I’ve worked, reworked, stepped back, loved the work and hated it in turns.The result is a five-part series called Dreamscape which, I have to say, I’m kinda keen on.

Hope we’ll have a happier ending than the Scottish play.

It might sound odd but making art takes courage – to push oneself past the easy or usual, to try what may fail, to put it out there.

Following a recent conversation with friend/ artist/ photographer/ writer Lynne (yes, takes courage to talk art with someone THAT competent) I ventured into the studio to play, try, essay, experiment.

This little piece (11 x 14) has collage, paint and ink over many, many, many layers. Each one caused trepidation, worry that the “experiment” would fail. But we prevailed!

Then the big act of courage, the reveal. Not sure if I like it or not. Will look at it for a while, maybe tweak a little. But – more courage here – it’s going into the Collectif show in Dunvegan, 29 July! Yoiks!!!

Note: several weeks later and the trepidatious work has sold!

A total of 82 works by 30 artists are being submitted to the Collectif’s first juried show. {I’m submitting three works with fingers crossed!} Next week, two jurors will appraise them and award 1 x Best in Show and 2 x Juror’s Choice certificates. The works will be judged out of 10:   3 points for Technical mastery; 3 points for Composition; 4 points for Creativity/Originality.

Winners will be announced at the vernissage, 13 May between 11:00 and 13:00. But YOU can vote too! One People’s Choice Certificate will be awarded at the end of the run.

Our judges are:

Emily MacLeod, Visual Arts Coordinator I City of Cornwall   Emily brings over 20 years of arts programming experience to her current role as Visual Arts Coordinator for the City of Cornwall.

She holds a BFA & BEd. from Queen’s University. Emily was employed as a Secondary Visual Arts teacher for the Upper Canada District School Board (13 years) & has been actively painting & exhibiting art in the region for 25 years.

As a former small business owner (10 years) she has also been an art instructor, studio programming director, gallery curator, events director, sales manager, marketing manager & volunteer coordinator for OBO Studios with her business partner Tracy Lynn Chisholm.

Sean George- BFA (Hons) Emily Carr University  Sean Georgeis an artist, art educator & cultural worker. He was born in Brooklyn, NY, & has lived in Trinidad & Tobago, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto & Barrie. He presently lives in Cornwall, Ontario.

From 1995  to 2010, Sean worked at the Vancouver Art Gallery in the Public Programs & Education Department. During this period, he created & guided tours for school-aged children & families. In particular he developed outreach programs for seniors in assisted living & at-risk youth.

He is the recipient of five Ontario Arts Council grants: three of these were to collaborate with Canadian Mental Health Association, LGBTQ Youth Connections of Simcoe County.

George is a multi-disciplinary artist. He uses photography, writing, installation, drawing & performance. George’s work challenges the status quo, whilst aligning with the elements of art & design. In May 2023, George will be exhibiting his solo exhibit entitled – Coming Together, Coming Apart – Images & Ideas at the Cline House Gallery in Cornwall, Ontario.

NOT a command performance, merely sharing the artsy happenings in Glengarry!

Yvonne Callaway
www.YvonneCallawayArts.ca

Free two-day art extravaganza, open to all

I’m very involved with (and proud of) this art group.

The Collectif returns with two opportunities to engage with artists & writers, this year at a new venue. The Big Show 2023 will be at Community Living, 332 Macdonald Blvd, Alexandria. All events are free. More than 40 artists with more 160 works – including 5 of mine!

• Friday, 14 April 2023: a grown-up Wine & Cheese from 6 – 9 p.m. with many rooms of distinctive art.
• Saturday, 15 April 2023 between 10 & 2, families are encouraged to view the more than 160 works – paintings, sculpture, photography, carvings, clay, wood, writings – by 39 artists. Have Coffee & Cookies, chat with the artists: see what the fuss is about.

Last blog, I wrote of emerging from a 6-month dry spell with some colourful abstract works, including Boundless. In January it was accepted into a juried show at The Cline House Gallery in Cornwall, ON. Very validating!

Positive reinforcement fuels the creative process VERY effectively. I’ve been painting like mad!

This larger piece has about 11 layers of brushed & sprayed paint, collage, ink, china markers, charcoal, media. It took a few weeks to complete.

The smaller work was created over months! The intention was to tone down colours, though not the number of colours. Many, many layers here too.

Several more paintings are in various stages of incompletion in the studio now. Abstracts still filling my mind, challenging me.

I’m coming out of a dry period, so challenged myself with a 24 x 36 inch canvas – no need to take things slow!

My intention was to create a sister work for 421 Cornered II from September 2021.

I worked with similar colours but an opposing motivation–I knew this work would be called Boundless.

This is an early draft:

There were many iterations to get here: shapes and colours added, removed, covered. It was getting close but was missing focus and WOW. I enlisted the help of artist friends for comments.

• I’ve turned my laptop this way & that & upside down & it looks very balanced to me. The eye travels around nicely from all viewpoints. I think if you outlined the circle, it would concentrate the eye a bit too much on the circle & it would not flow as well.
• I love all the varied elements in this, & the colours. My eye stays within the plane & roams pleasingly around it. I really like the checkerboard on the left.   
• The pale circle is crying out to be the focal point. It doesn’t know why? It’s intriguing. It’s really pulling me in.                   
• I think it’s wonderful! Outlining the white circle? Maybe…or maybe just the half against the yellow/green side.

I listened, reflected, then acted. And this is the result.

Next up, a smaller work for the series!

Thanksgiving weekend I visited the Marlin Orchard Pottery Show in Cornwall, the return of an annual show after the interference of COVID. It was a revelation!

The show is always interesting, with a good assortment of ceramicists. But this year the colours and forms were eye-popping. And inspiring. Seeing their work move from comfortable to extraordinary –juxtaposing shapes and colours–set me on fire.

Following six months of painter’s block, odd shapes and colours came together for me in a small triptych on cradled panel. What crawled out of that dark time I call . . . Primordial Oohs.