Williams Mill

Group of Seven Fan? This is for You

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Group of Seven. The Narrows. Photograph by Christine Montague A few years ago, I participated in  "Following in the Footsteps of Carmichael", an en plein air painting excursion  organized by the Art Gallery of Sudbury for the  Group of Seven 85th anniversary. The photograph above is of the The Narrows, on the way to Grace Lake where Franklin Carmichael famously painted.  If I  remember correctly, Carmichael's cottage, which his family still owned at the time, was just to the left past this aptly named spot. And further on, to the right, is the shore where we would eventually disembark to hike up a canoe portage path (bear whistle on hand) to Grace Lake. Not seen in the photo, is the cold rain  that horizontally smacked at our faces, and never let up (way to south of us Toronto was flooding). Nor does it tell the story of how, once up the path,  the downpour made climbing  the rocky vantage point to where Carmichael painted out of the question.

Jim and Sue Waddington, however, were much more successful in their quest to follow in Carmichael's footsteps, and have the photographs to prove it. In fact, they followed all the Group Of Seven's footsteps (A.Y. Jackson, Franklin Carmichael, Arthur Lismer, Lawren Harris, A.J. Casson, J.E.H. MacDonald, Tom Thomson, and Frederick Varley). Their new book,  "Following in the Footsteps of the Group of Seven" (Gooselane Press), tells the story of their 36 year adventure in which they tracked down, documented and photographed the actual landscapes that inspired the GO7 paintings. The book also includes the reproductions of those paintings. Here's the lovely poster Poster Waddington Cover Gooselane

Our paths connect again. This Sunday, December 1, 2013, the creative couple are talking about their adventures at the Williams Mill Visual Arts Centre, Glen Williams, Halton Hills, Ontario.  For more information please visit www.williamsmill.com  A.J. Casson painted in the very picturesque Glen Williams where I once I had my artist studio, and the Learning Centre, where I know you will be inspired by  the Waddington's talk, was once my artist studio!

Note: Do you know you can follow "Tom Thompson" on twitter?@TTLastSpring  Follow his tweets exactly as they occurred 96 years ago - his paintings, and journal - and learn of the mystery of his death in Algonquin on July 8, 1917. Canoe Lake · TTLastSpring.com

An Artfelt Wish for a Happy New Year

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ImageToday was my last day as an artist with an open studio at the Williams Mill Visual Arts Centre, Glen Williams, Ontario.  I have had a great three creative years there, including my time as the Mill Artist Group Chair. But a new year and a desire for more time to paint, blog, tweet and more, has me taking new steps. To all the hundreds of people that have visited my studio, and I hope you are one, I wish to thank you for your patronage, and wish you all a happy, healthy and creative 2013!

 

The Dog's Gone

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We've had such a great winter here in the Toronto area. The artists at the Williams Mill have been more than grateful not to face the ice and snow on the steep hills that lead into Glen Williams and the Mill studios.

But still, I felt a great sense of relief that spring officially arrived this past week.   And this expressed itself in the painting seen centre of the photo above.  Meant to be the finished painting "Dog in Fog" inspired by the study at the left  (also done last week ), I 'm thinking it could easily represent the departure of the "dog days" of winter and that the title needs a rethink.

About the chair. My daughter adored this chair  owned by Naomi Assenheim, (Opal Wing Creations) the talented young jeweller here at the Mill.  Naomi was my studio mate in the Stone Building, until her move to a new studio in the Williams Mill Yellow Mill (The  Mill has four buildings housing artist studios).  So I purchased this magical chair as a surprise gift for my daughter, but somehow it's never made it out of my studio.  Any visitors to my studio who are old enough to remember their parents having such a chair, or have owned one themselves,  are not too impressed by this new edition. But for those into retro furniture from the sixties and seventies, it's a definite hit.

And for me, its soft green and gold material inspires thoughts of spring and magic in the air.

What do you think?

PS. Normally, I load my high walls with my paintings. I enjoy this airier look, although it won't last for long as new paintings come to life.

Dogs, Fog, and Collateral

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About four years ago, as I turned onto Mayfield Road in Halton Hills, the rumps  of two large dogs, trotting amicably along, appeared immediately before me in the thick fog. Luckily, for the dogs and me, I was driving slowly having just stopped at a light, and that my car's fog lights were doing their job.

Upon hearing the car,  the dogs, both German Shepard, one black, and the other brown and black, traversed  to the opposite shoulder. They never changed pace, or even looked back.  It was only as I snapped a photo, that the brown and black German Shepard,  in the lead,  gave me a glance.

Have you seen the movie Collateral ?  There is a scene where coyotes cross in front of the taxi that holds Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. It was my favorite scene in that film, and that is how I felt when these two dogs crossed my path in the thick of the fog.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago. It was overcast and had recently rained. Driving along 22nd side road, on my way out of the glen, I glimpsed two dark shapes emerge from the trees on the hillside to the marshy field below. My first hope, however unlikely, was that these were wolves. I excitedly turned the car around, and over to the side of the road.

Lo and behold, there they were, the same two dogs I had enjoyed photographing in the fog years before.  I fumbled to get my camera out of its bag, and still keep both eyes on the dogs.  They were on the go, when suddenly, these two "littlest hobos"  plunked themselves  down in a large, dark,  mucky puddle. These two must have need a cooling off, further proof, of just how eerily warm March is here in Southern Ontario.

Before I could snap a shot, up and away they went, into the woods, and out of sight.

Back in the studio,  I took another look at the old photo of them.   I knew the brown and black German Shepard had a collar, but that pixellated item around the black dog is a broken rope? Could they be feral? Lots of good rabbit eatin' here in the glen.

No matter, whether farm dog or feral, they seemed healthy, happy, and a team.

Dogs are usually not my thing, but I love the image of the black dog, his pale breath clear in the fog, and the contented freedom the pair represent.

I immediately started the drawing of the black Shepard in fog on a large canvas. But the Mill  "open studio" days, Friday and Saturday afternoons, are  in reality "clean hands days".   So contentedly I painted  the tidy  18" x 24" oil painting study above.

And the dogs? If they do have a home, and I hope they do, I am uncertain how content the owner will be with their muddy exploits.

More Little Portrait Paintings

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For those of you who don't know I am gradually filling one of my studio walls with my 100 Little Portrait Project a series of 6" x 6" portrait oil paintings on canvas portraits. Here are a few of the portraits commissioned before Christmas.  I work from photos e-mailed to me, or from photos I take, if the subject comes to my studio on my "open to the public" days.

But so far, to my surprise,  almost every painting commissioned  is as a surprise gift for a loved one. Do you know that goes for my large portraits, too? They are almost always a gift!

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New Cold Wax Oil Painting Collectibles

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Cold wax painting is the search word subject most used to bring visitors to my blog.  It's been just over a year since I took my workshop with the  creative Janice Mason Steeves and my curiosity about this interesting medium (along with yours) continues to grow.

I haven't experimented with cold wax as much as I 'd have liked, but I enjoy how my painting style changes when I do these little art works.  I work  fast and free with my Wilton pastry cutter and oil paint mix. I think some of these small works would translate well into large acrylic paintings on canvas, don't you?

So scroll down to see my most recent cold wax and oil paintings below. The Williams Mill Gallery has added them to the "Big Show, Small Works" one of a kind gift show on until Dec. 24th.

Once again, the historic 1850's yellow lumber mill outside my Williams Mill studio window are the inspiration for these cold wax panels. And when I do a painting involving koi, water-lily and ponds, the Chappell House Pond at Riverwood Park, Mississauga is my inspiration.

 

 

 

Lake Dreams: New Art Show Dec. 1 - 24, 2011

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I hope you can attend Lake Dreams, my solo show of new oil paintings,  at the Williams Mill Visual Arts Centre, in Glen Williams.  December  1 - 24, 2011. Wednesday - Sunday 12 - 5 p.m. You can read about some of the Lake Dreams paintings here.

Williams Mill Gallery Williams Mill Visual Arts Centre,  515 Main Street, Glen Williams, (Georgetown), Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada L7G 3S9

Tel: 905-873-8203                                    

gallery@williamsmill.com.

Blue Sky in Cold Wax Art

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Every once in a while I  experiment with cold wax and oil paint.  So when I had some spare time a couple of Saturdays ago,  I created these little "Yellow Mill" blocks.  I painted (squigeed, is more like it)  them en plein air, except I was working from the comfort of my Williams Mill Stone Building studio. This is the view from my studio window. The Yellow Mill (an 1850's lumber mill by the Credit River) was freshly painted this summer  (an enormous task as this is one big building) and its yellow clapboard now glows against the bright blue sky. The sky really is more blue here at the Williams Mill. It 's gotta be all that "blue sky" thinking we do. lol

I made four of these cold wax panels. One sold before I had even signed it, and I received commissions to do two more.  All this before they have even appeared in public  in  the "Big Show, Small Works" art exhibition & sale  at the Williams Mill Gallery, (along with my chipmunk panels & Scotsdale Farm paintings) opening Nov. 9th, 2011. They are happy little paintings, aren't they?

Big Show, Small Works & Chipmunks

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As one of the professional visual artists at the Williams Mill Visual Arts Centre, I take part in the annual Christmas Big Show, Small Works show & sale, Nov. 9 - Dec. 24., in the Williams Mill Gallery.

Every year I create a themed small painting series specifically for this show. The first year, the koi paintings on 3"x5" wood blocks were popular. Last Christmas, I sold abstract landscapes in cold wax and oil paint on wood panels. This year, my muses are the chipmunks of the Williams Mill gardens. An aspect of this series that remains consistent with my usual work? Even though the wood panels are small (8" x 10") the chipmunks painted on them are larger than life!

Please scroll down for the invitation below. I hope you can attend this holiday art show, perfect for shopping for unique one-of-a-kind fine art gifts & collectibles.  As well as my paintings, there will be other watercolour, acrylic & oil paintings, jewelry, blown glass, ceramics, fibre art & more in the Williams Mill Gallery. Be sure to drop by my studio in the Stone Building behind the gallery. Gallery hours: Wed. - Sun. 12 - 5 p.m. My studio hours: Fridays, Saturdays 12-5 p.m. Saturday Nov. 19th 1-4 p.m.  Opening Celebration with light refreshments

Invitation to new exhibition. Big Show, Small Art. Williams Mill Gallery Art Show. 2011

New Art: Polar Bear Dreams Swimming in the Night

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In my new oil painting, Swimming in the Night, a polar bear swims among the stars. The aurora borealis (northern lights) glows in the sky beyond. The wistful feelings and the ambiguity of water and sky in my  Lake Dreams Series inspired this painting's mood and story.

Recently, I made the journey to the  Toronto Zoo for one last look at the elephants before they're sent away. (Read that story here). But what's a trip to the zoo without a visit to the polar bears?  I love polar bears, an intelligent, beautiful, and mighty creature.

Only one bear was out that day. As she swam idly in the pool below me,  she watched me out of  the corner of her eye.

In Swimming in the Night, the water my Toronto Zoo polar bear swims in becomes the night sky. Reflected light and water ripples become the northern lights and stars. A portrait of a very real bear (Thank you, Toronto Zoo polar bear), this oil painting is also a sad testimony that this spirit in the sky may someday be all we have left of this endangered species.

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Now what? No. 9 of 100 Little Portraits Project

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Just finished this new 6" x 6" portrait oil painting on canvas of a teen, "What Now." (said as a statement not a question) just long ago today for me to snap an iPhone photo of it and post it! Here it is http://wp.me/s1rNWY-68

Just a friendly note, the  link above simply takes you to my other Wordpress art blog 100 Little Portraits Project.  http://100littleportraits.wordpress.com

 

Cat Not Out of the Bag...Yet

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Any one who has owned a cat, or even been around one for a while, knows that cats have a thing about bags. If a bag is open, the cat will do its best to make its home. Well, this seal point Rag doll cat, has set up house in a paper bag, his "cat cave", if you will. He figures that if  he can't see you, you can't see him, and all is well with the world. From the safety of his trusty paper bag he will watch the world go by until he succumbs to a nap.

I finished this larger than life cat painting of a Seal Point Rag Doll cat in a bag, today. It is the latest in my series of big cat paintings. As you may have surmised, by "big cat", I don't mean tigers and lions (and bears, oh my). The reference is literal in meaning. Domestic cats painted big. Very big.

These oil paintings pay homage to the character (talk about character) of our feline friends, by the fact that we look up at the subject portrayed. But  the cat, himself?  He probably thinks that these paintings show us in our true light as something much, much smaller (see "Who's For Dinner?").

Whatever the case, this cat,  drying on the easel in my studio in the Williams Mill Visual Arts Centre, is not yet ready to be out of the bag and on the wall.

 

Night Canoes

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Night Canoes. Latest work drying in the studio! 24 inch tall by 48 inch wide oil painting on gallery canvas. Glowing in the moonlight these vessels are in limbo between yesterdays adventures and tomorrow's excitement. I wonder what their masters are dreaming of? Where they were, what lies ahead or a jumbled story of both.

Please note: The colour isn't quite correct in  this iphone shot.

The 24th: Art & Legacy.

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In a short while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will pay a visit to The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the National War Memorial "The Response" in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Great War is a part of our shared history and with many of us still connected to a family history of relatives who fought, this striking memorial is a testament to all we have here in Canada now. When I painted this work of my son climbing on this striking memorial as a surprise gift for  his 18th birthday, little did I realize at the same time he had enlisted as a reservist. There are 23 larger than life figures on this dramatic statue and he is the 24th. His freedom symbolizes what these young soldiers fought and sacrificed for. The grandfather of a visitor to my Williams mill studio had been one of the models for this work. I wish I  had thought to ask her more questions, like his name, so it too, could live on.

New Painting "To Valinor"

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Through the looking-glass of the lake, there is another world. Like  passage into Valinor, this indigo world patiently awaits your visit. Can you feel the stillness? The relief and solace from the difficult world beckons. It is time to go.

Still Dreaming of Summer: Ghost Canoes

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New painting drying in my studio at the Williams Mill in Halton Hills. It is the second oil painting in the Dreaming of Summer Series.  Night brings a surreal look to the canoes tucked away for the evening. There are 9 paintings planned for this series, but who know how many more will be dreamed of along the way.

Dreaming of Summer (or a cottage would be nice)

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Like many places across Canada, the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) hasn't been having the greatest weather. A lot of dull skies and rain. My secret (well, not so secret)  longing to own a cottage with which to enjoy nice weather inspired this 48" high by 36" wide oil painting - still wet on the easel.