The Glengarry Artists’ Collective has its third annual show at the Glengarry Pioneer Museum in Dunvegan, Ontario. About 30 recent works will be on display in the schoolhouse. Live music on opening day, 31 July.

I’ll be there with two recent works, celebrating a move towards exhibits. (More to come.)

May 2020 Not a lot has changed in a month, playing in the studio is ongoing. Got in a couple of books on Hockney’s work to feed my painterly soul. The physical distancing required by COVID-19 creates lots of time to paint, experiment, play, consider & adjust. 

Time for Tea? is a statement and a query. I look forward to sharing a cuppa, face-to-face with friends. In the interim this colourful work is a gutsy, whimsical virtual tea party.

Feb 2021 Not a lot has changed externally. LOTS of time to paint: 22 works since Time for Tea? Whoo hoo!

May 2021 Hmmm, no new work though I’m reading, thinking, dreaming about art. Have read that change is a great stimulator so the global happenings of early pandemic were stimulating! Now, not so much. Feh!

Jun 2021 Today sold Time for Tea? Whoo hoo! Makes for a pleasant change and change stimulates creativity – she said hopefully.

I’ve been pouring creativity into the kitchen & garden this past month. Created four kinds of tomato soup! A Thai-inspired sweet potato soup is in the slow cooker now & goat curry is braising in the oven. Miss being served surprises in restaurants but certainly creating variety at home.

A new 30-foot garden bed meanders south from an 8-foot cedar trellis. For now it contains three miniature pines, a little Quick Fire hydrangea & a few perennials. Irises to be donated by friends will be installed as well as mine from under the crab apple.

I read about art, watch art videos, think about it A LOT! But, for now, a fallow period as we transition into full spring. Feeling arty. Maybe by next month new production will fill this spot.

Be well!

• 

The first rule for creating an art collection is to buy what you love! 

Once your acquisition is home, you need to place it. We’re encouraged to hang works so the midpoint is at eye level–but it depends. If you have one or only a few pieces on a wall, that works well. But an entire wall can be filled, gallery-style, with works hung from wall-to-wall and almost floor to ceiling, in ordered rows or randomly. Similarly, a corner of a room can be set apart by a lower grouping near a chair.

Here is a brilliant idea for drawing attention (pun!) to a set of small works, giving them greater focus on a larger wall. Collector Danielle H painted a large wooden frame a contrasting blue and mounted it on her taupe wall. She then hung three of my smaller works (16 x 8”, 10 x 8”, 8 x 8”) directly on the wall within the frame, creating an interesting vignette.

Walls are not your only option for displaying art. Works painted on “gallery” canvases are about 2” deep, they can [i]stand[/i] on a shelf. Works can also be stacked, overlapping, on a counter or floor.

In truth, ways to display the works you love are almost limitless. Where would you like to see art in your home or office?