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
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.
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. 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.
I played my final round of golf for the season on November 13 (only front nine was open). 9 Holes + 4 extra, just because the opportunity was there. Played one of my best front nines of the season. Probably because - I was not expecting to play, it was quite cold, too many clothes for golf, so I had no expectations. It was relatively warm, when the sun poked out a few time, but temperature dropped as we were finishing. One final post round beer and we look forward to next season of golf!
For the next five months or so, I have so much time to do artwork! And now I have an extra day at home (no work Wednesdays) I have even more time. My "artwork to do" list just keeps growing. Check back to see my progress and new works. Its October, so it's fitting to go sketching at a cemetery. Urban Sketchers at St. John's Anglican Church in Arva. This cute little yellow brick church was built in 1875. The first sketch was of the cemetery at the back of the property, a unique heart shaped head stone caught my attention. It was a little windy and cool back there, so moved to the front of the church. Went across the street to sketch an elevation view of the church, warmer with no wind. Micron Pen and water brush filled with india ink/distilled water mixture for gray tones... I spent about 45 minutes on each sketch.
This AM the Urban Sketchers London had it's first event as an official chapter of Urban Sketchers International. Met downtown, the artists went where they wanted to and them met up at a coffee shop for the throw down. Some sketchers from Waterloo Region US made the trip. Probably our largest gathering of sketchers to date.
I have drawn/illustrated the (former) Kingsmill's Department Store building a couple of times before, but always from photographs. Now it's home to Fanshawe College: School of Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts. And this time it's a sketch completed on location. I would not say the building was "saved", but at least we still have the original facade for the Dundas streetscape. I think, when you only keep the front wall, and completely rebuild the rest, you loose spirit of the building and have not really saved it. But this is better than loosing it completely! New sketchbook started August 1 and this time a little bigger. First 2 were 6 x 6 inches, this one is 10 x 8 inches. Still working on sketching everyday.... still only missed one day since April 8.
A recent article by Bryan Bicknell, CTV News London called "Buildings on the Brink" prompted me to revisit my "Save Me Series" from 2017. This illustration is based on my belief that old building have a soul. I combined my figure drawing, my love of architecture, my photo and an old photo I found on Toronto Public Library Archive site. If you look closely in the windows you will see "Save Me". I truly hope this building is repurposed and saved somehow. See more illustrations from the Save me Series. Couple of process images
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