Artist Blog of Cheryl Radford

More Daily dogs!

7/27/2022

More daily dog greeting cards. To date 57 and counting.

Draw every day.... a practice I enjoy and encourage artists to do. Starting in May, I drew human faces daily in my sketchbook. But, one month (31 faces) was enough! Beginning in June, I switched to a daily dog. I had a bundle of greeting cards with a matching envelope and I created an original hand-drawn greeting card of a dog every day for the month of June. Enjoyed it, so I have continued into July. My plan is to sell these greeting cards and give 10% of the retail sales price to Humane Society London & Middlesex. As of yesterday, I have completed 35 original cards and will do today's #dailydog shortly.

Plein air with handmade Charcoal

5/30/2022

I have been invited to show 3 pieces of my golf course artwork at a plein air exhibition at Westland Gallery. The French term plein air means out of doors and refers to the practice of painting entire finished pictures out of doors. My artworks are not really paintings, but rather charcoal drawings that were completed on location. The more interesting part is that I made the charcoal from trees on that very golf course.

Name: Plein Air Group Exhibition 2022 (Various Artists)
Dates: June 7th to June 25, 2022
Live Painting in Wortley Village: Friday, June 17th from 4 - 7 pm and Saturday, June 18th from 9 am to noon

I read a book called "The Organic Artist" by art instructor Nick Neddo. He covers a lot of techniques and projects including making paper, wild ink, working with soapstone, clay, wood, printmaking, and the list goes on. The book inspires creativity and encourages you to get out into nature. I tried a few projects and then I decided that I would make charcoal. The author recommends willow. The 18th hole at Greenhills Golf Club is lined with willow trees. I started picking up the appropriately sized sticks and went from there. The process infographic is below.

The charcoal was made last summer. The plein air drawings were completed this month. May 2022 at Greenhills Golf Club.

See more golf course illustrations.

Graphic showing how the artist made charcoal from willow sticks to use on drawings of where the willow sticks were picked up.

Woodstock Streetscape with Capitol theatre

4/19/2022

A video of the creation of a "Woodstock Streetscape with Capitol Theatre" a section of Dundas Street in the City of Woodstock. (Note to Self: My video creation and editing skills could use some improvement!)

The love and appreciation of built history started after a trip to France in 2007. As an avid walker, living in the Blackfriars Heritage District in downtown London, I started to take notice of the visually-interesting buildings right here at home. I have been documenting the rich tapestry of buildings in Southwestern Ontario ever since.

This first drawing was completed in 2012 and shows the gaping hole where a building used to sit. Today, 10 years later, it's still a gaping hole.
A little research shows that 391 to 395 Dundas Street in Woodstock was home to Woodstock Opera House built in 1893. In 1908, it became part of the Griffin Amusement Company of Toronto. The Famous Players chain took over in 1927, renamed it the Capitol Theatre. It closed in 1999 due to the new Gallery Cinemas opening. The structure was demolished in 2010.

India ink and ink illustration of Woodstock streetscape completed in 2012.

After a little more research and I found some images of the Capitol Theatre, before it met the wrecking ball. I think this was the most beautiful building on this block. My final illustration captures todays streetscape with a black and white drawing of the demolished building, using a little imagination and guess work to complete the image. You will notice some history on the marque and you will also find "YOU DID NOT SAVE ME" strategically placed on the façade.

Woodstock Streetscape wtih Capitol Theate

Modern living room with streetscape on the wall.

A modern living room with framed "Woodstock Streetscape with Capitol Theatre" on the wall.

Cleaning and Organizing

4/1/2022

Spring is that time of year… time to clean and organize. Starting with my studio, which was quite a disorganized mess, I must say. And it’s amazing what you find. I have so many drawings that I have forgotten about. These little graphic illustrations we all created in 2016, and have been sitting in a box ever since.
These are all golf-related. Some are specific golf holes and some are based on places I have played. If I choose to create more, I think I should leave off the actual golf course reference, as they really could relate to many other courses and holes around the world. Some of the locations are Blue Springs Golf Course, Emerald Hills Golf Course, and Heron Point Golf Links. The illustration with the bridge was based on a hole from the World Tour Golf Links in Myrtle Beach. This particular hole was inspired by the 12th at Augusta National, one of the most photographed holes in the world.
It is the season to think and dream about golf!

Augusta National based drawing on coloured paper

Arizona based illustration created with micron pen on coloured paper

Blue Springs golf hole drawn with micron pen on coloured paper

Emerald Hills golf hole with bunker spilling out over the edges of the graphic

Heron Point inspired golf illustration using micron pen on coloured paper

Emerald Hills golf hole created using micron pen on coloured paper

International Women's Day 2022 Exhibition

3/14/2022

International Women's Day 2022 Exhibition at Westland Gallery.
February 22nd - March 12, 2022

International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. I was honored to be included in this exhibition. Many London and area women artists were also being represented. And it was fun to attend a (small) opening again, completed the afternoon with a beverage and some great conversation. Looking forward to be included in the Plein Air Show Group Exhibition @ Westland Gallery from June 7 to June 25.

Participating Artists Included:
Angie Quick, Margot Ariss, Kelly Greene, Pat Deadman, Danielle Hoevenaars, Meredith Milton, Patience Morrisey, Rosemary Sloot, Erica Dornbusch, Kerry Ferris, Agneta Dolman, Donna Andreychuk, Antje Laidler, Jen Hamilton, Bonnie Parkinson, Valda Christine Glennie, Selma Popovic, Marcy Saddy, Genet Hodder, Cheryl Radford, and Johnnene Maddison.

Save Me Series Painting of Stanley Street

"Good Boy" good read

2/27/2022

Winter is a great time to curl up with a good book, and I have read quite a few good ones this winter. This autobiography was a very interesting way to tell a life story. Combing dogs, humour, and interesting personal stories. The author's life was sort of divided into 3 parts: boyhood, manhood, and womanhood. A very good read!
This book makes me think about the stages of my life. The three parts include: growing up on the farm, my working/career life, and the next chapter, which involves the creative focus on my art. Your history and experiences are what make you who you are today. The good, the bad, and the ugly all contribute. The negative things have a way of turning into positive things. You accept, you learn and you move on. I am looking forward to not working, but working at home on my artwork. I have the inspiration for a piece of artwork, the perspiration part to come. Just do it!

Sketchbook page showing the book "Good Boy"

Urban Sketching and NON Urban Sketching

1/25/2022

December Urban Sketching on December 12, 2021
A warm day for a sketch out with #uskldnont in downtown London, but the wind picked up and it was so cold! Found a protected spot to sketch a couple of the beautiful buildings on Richmond Street between King and York.
Outside and on location, its an urban sketch.

January (NON) Urban Sketching on January 23, 2022
A very cold Sunday (feels like -15°C), so no outdoor sketching for me. I finished up the hemming, and patching so on to sketching of my new-for-me sewing machine, which was purchased used a couple of years ago.
It's a still life, not an urban sketch.

Urban Sketching London Ontario, December 2021.

NON Urban Sketch, January 2022

Appreciate HOme and What You Have

1/11/2022

I really do enjoy being at home.
Some rambling thoughts about home...
All my stuff is here, meaning all my art supplies. And I have dedicated studio space. It’s the basement, which means its cold in the winter (small space header helps that) and it’s best for short people… you need to be less then 66 inches tall (or duck).
Location. Location. Location. Living in downtown London by the Thames River means a peaceful walk with lots of trees and the sound of the river is always great. It a short walk downtown to pubs/restaurants, library, museum and the list goes. It's a longer work to work, but the exercise is great.
Our house is not too big and not too small. Built in 1920 means it has character, along with character comes older home issues: repairs and upgrades and nothing is straight. There is enough space to get away from each other. A room with a TV with sports channels can keep a husband happy, while I have space for studio and even a dining room rarely used for dining, but is great space for the winter project, a puzzle that is also a source of inspiration. Easy parts first and now - not so easy parts.

The Jack Pine by Tom Thomson in progress

The Jack Pine

Looking BAck on 2021

12/30/2021

It has been a full year of COVID. There were challenges, disappointments and frustration, but also positives.

Started a “sketch every day” routine on April 8 and still enjoying this. It helps with my mindset of being an artist. Playing in a sketchbook, just for fun, with no pressures of finished product or pleasing anyone.
Made homemade charcoal from willow trees for sketching golf courses. This may have opened up a new door, just a sliver at this point, but I see potential with this new direction. It gives the sketch of the golf hole more of a story.
Appreciate being at home more. It may have made me more of an introvert, if that's possible. I know I love working at home, and being by my self doing artwork or bookwork, whatever needs to be done.
Started working 3 days per week in October. That comes with a smaller pay check, but money is not everything. The extra day is devoted to my artwork. Totally enjoying that.
Despite lockdowns and restrictions, I got to play golf on a regular basis, usually with my sketchbook in hand.
Started attending Urban Sketching events on a regular basis, even starting posting the results on SM.

Looking forward to a new year, new goals, new energy, new artwork, new direction....

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