Things have been moving fast recently, so fast that in the last few days, I’ve found myself having many simultaneous conversations by e-mail, Facebook messenger, and Whatsapp! Anyway, the big news is that I will be making a short trip to St. Lucia very soon, and this painting party is one of the exciting things I have planned…
Over the years, I have had a few offers to “teach” at these Paint & Sip type of events that have been popping up at bars and restaurants etc. all over the place.
So far, I’ve declined on the basis that the way I paint takes a relatively long time – generally a week or two, not 4 months like a friend I sometimes paint with! Though to be fair I do get 90% of the painting done in the first 10% of the time. That last 10% though, is what makes me a professional artist.
Then the opportunity arose to teach a class at Island Mix in St. Lucia, and I struggled for a whole day trying to figure out how to put 20 years of experience and knowledge about painting, into a 3 hour session, for a mix of beginners and intermediate painters.
I have given art lessons before, privately or to groups of up to 4 artists, but not with the expectation of a finished painting in 3 hours.
Finally it hit me, my peacock series would be perfect for this. It is fun, the process can be broken down into simple steps, and each person would be able to create their own unique image.
That part is important to me. I want to encourage people to trust their intuition, to make their own creative choices, to not just have fun with the process, but to be pleasantly surprised at the art they have made.
That is the whole reason my peacock feather-inspired series was born. It is the Yin to the Yang of my more realistic paintings.
I love starting each painting, not knowing what it is going to look like in the end. It allows me to live in the moment, be spontaneous, try things, to listen to my inner voice, trust in my abilities.
Not every painting is a winner. Sometimes the risks I take with a colour or a pattern do not work out, but not only do I still learn from those choices, sometimes magic happens! When a painting sings, and I know it would never have existed if I did not veer out of the boundries set by realism, then I feel the pride of creation.
I am really looking forward to sharing my techniques with this painting party, and seeing how each person, regardless of their level of artistic experience, uses them to express their individuality!
Join my Peacock Painting Party
– Display your Creative side!
Valentine’s day is on its way, and again this year I’ve painted a whimsical heart-themed painting … or two. It is fun to add to my collection of images with hearts each year, eventually I will have enough for a nice collage.
I had the idea of using two peacock feathers to create the heart, but the first painting I did came out looking less like a heart and more like a whimsical owl!
So, I painted another one … adjusting the angle a little, and got more of a heart shape this time.
I have been working on several small peacock feather inspired abstracts, and as much as I am excited to share them with you, I think I am going to wait until I have a whole batch done before I reveal.
That way I can work on several paintings at one time, and come back later to tweak if necessary.
Also, I often photograph small work myself, outdoors, but it is tricky this time of year. Don’t ask.
So, I am going to concentrate on producing new art for the Spring market.
Application Season
And I am filling out applications … so far I can confirm that I will be back at Art in the Park Oakville at the beginning of August, and I will have 2 paintings in the next show at McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton.
I was hoping to get through a handful of applications this week, but I’ll be lucky if I get through two.
I pretty much have two bodies of work right now … on one extreme I have realistic tropical florals, and on the other I have the peacock-feather inspired abstracts, but somewhere in the middle they overlap … the “sky-holes” became “dashes”. The difficulty lies in finding ways to group them together, depending on the show I am applying to – sometimes the available pieces blend well, and sometimes they don’t.
If it will only be a few pieces, I select within one theme. I find myself however re-writing my artist statement to suit. And of course I’ve had to update my biography, and my CV … all while keeping within certain parameters. Each application has a different set of rules; you write a 200 word Bio for one, and for the next you need to cut it down to 100 words, or one sentence (for the brochure).
Image resolution, and size can vary a lot too … another time suck. And all the images and accompanying paperwork have to fit into a 2 MB e-mail. No wait, this one wants it on a CD. That means it has to be done in time to stick it in the mail or else I’ll be driving up ten minutes before the midnight deadline, through a snow-storm, to drop in their mailbox … again.
The process has gotten easier over the years, with practice … though I still need to improve my “systems”. Some artists just seem to whip these applications off. I probably take everything a little too seriously, trying to follow all the rules.
A juror once told me that an artist we knew had submitted a 20 page CV, but she still got in because they didn’t look at the CV’s anyway. Meanwhile, I always try to cut it down to 2 or 3 pages, which means finding new ways to summarize every year, hopefully replacing minor show listings with more impressive ones.
Ok, I apologize to those of you who may have clicked on this link to look at paintings about love, maybe read some mushy words about love. Somehow this post turned out to be nothing like that. That’s how I roll. I post a new painting, I start typing, and whatever is on my mind ends up on the screen. Sometimes I can keep writing until I make a full circle back to the painting, and connect a thread that runs through it all. This isn’t one of those times.
Time to take my son to gymnastics. Life of an artist/mom.
A couple weeks ago, I sent out my monthly (ish) newsletter, with an image of this frangipani painting … as it was then. There were one or two things that kept catching my eye however, so I ended up going back in and making some changes.
That can be such a slippery slope.
How to spot the mistakes
When you paint the way I do – not just doing a drawing & colouring it in, but blocking in colour intuitively & building up the image in layers, pushing and pulling and continuously refining the details – it can be harder to see what you have left to do.
This painting actually started as an abstract, but then I changed my mind, added a few glazes to turn it into a background and started adding frangipani flowers.
It can be difficult to know/decide when a painting is done.
You do get better at this with practice. However, it is always possible to “overwork” a painting. You fiddle around, second guessing your choices, and before you know it the painting has lost its energy.
Then you’re faced with a choice. You can either scrap the painting, gesso over it and start again, with more confident strokes, OR you can push forward. If you persist, you might be able to come out the other side with something even more wonderful than you’d first imagined.
But, you have to be willing to sacrifice certain areas that you liked, because if you hold on to them, treat them like they’re precious, the painting won’t flow, the image won’t come together as a whole.
I’ve developed a habit of photographing my work as I go along, not so much for sharing WIP images, as for me to get a different perspective on the painting.
We artists have several different ways of doing this, I think the most instinctual is to just take a few steps back … then maybe a few more.
When we’re in the act of painting, we are up close – literally painting the bark on each tree – and stepping back allows us to see the whole picture, the whole forest.
After looking at the same image for a long time, we can actually miss certain things that are obvious to a fresh set of eyes, either our own (by putting the painting away for a few days and pulling it out again), or those of an artist friend.
Another trick would be to look at the painting in a mirror, or to look at it upside down, sometimes both!
It sounds funny, but if you squint at the painting, you won’t be so caught up in the details, but can evaluate the values. I have even on occasion photographed a painting and looked at it in black and white, to see if any mistakes jump out.
Sometimes, you keep tweaking a painting, until you realize that you’ve pretty much painted a new version of the same thing. Different, but not necessarily better.
Or maybe even, you look back at the earlier version, and it does not actually look as bad as you thought. Or maybe there are bits of each version that you want to keep.
How to get it wrong, the more you try to get it right
This is where perfectionism comes in.
Many wonderful works of art would not exist if it were not for the artist’s attention to detail and obsessive focus.
But the process can be quite unhealthy for the artist who skips meals, sleep, hygiene, a social life and more in pursuit of their vision.
Excuse me for a moment … I really should go grab some lunch!
Ah, that’s so much better. Now where was I? Yes. Pushing through perfectionism.
How life is like a (frangipani) flower
If I were to try to paint the perfect frangipani flower, it would be symmetrical, each petal fresh and exactly the same as the last. An ideal.
However, if you spend any time really looking at a bunch of frangipani flowers (or any other flowers), you would realize that there are always imperfections.
One flower of the bunch is still opening out while another starts to fade, its edges browning. One’s petals have insect bites while another’s are torn from the movement of branches rubbing against it in the wind.
Reality is not “ideal”. A single flower might be perfect when photographed/painted in full bloom. But perfection is fleeting, and therefore not a worthwhile pursuit in of itself.
The wild, overgrown garden, often bears exciting visual images that you won’t find in the well groomed one.
This little croton beauty was my last painting of 2015. I was considering doing the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge for January, but this painting helped me to decide against it.
Doing a painting every day means you have to work fast – which is a good exercise for so many reasons – but at this time I just couldn’t get myself to jump on that hamster wheel.
For 2016, I want to take better care of myself. That means getting more sleep, eating better, exercising more etc. It means not stressing myself out unnecessarily. Having more time to spend with my family, and friends.
This painting holds a special meaning for me – similar to the adage “stop and smell the roses”. It reminds me of a larger croton painting I did a few years ago, “Exuberance”. I spent almost 2 months on that painting – the longest I have ever spent on one image. The longer I painted, the closer I looked at my reference photos, and the more details I added to the painting.
Then one day I realized something. I realized that in the midst of all of the colourful leaves, there was the occasional stem covered in tiny white flowers, like little starbursts. I had seen the stems with the buds before, but for some reason I never noticed the flowers.
Growing up in the Caribbean, there were croton bushes of all sorts surrounding us. Striking, and yet common place. But it was only when I slowed down, I could really see what was in front of me the whole time.
That is what I want for 2016. To be able to slow down, and appreciate the beauty already in my life.
How about you, what are your hopes for the new year?
I painted this peacock fantasy triptych earlier in December, but only got around to photographing it today. It has been a strange month. I have to admit that I was caught up in the mural project and did not plan far enough ahead for the Christmas season.
I did have more Art Cards printed, and I shipped some of those and some original paintings out this month.
I also ordered a tote bag and cushion covers from with my images from Pixels as samples. They are in St. Lucia right now, you can view/purchase at Island Mix if you’re fast!
I have a few images uploaded on that site, you can order prints and greeting cards as well as a few home decor items, and they will be shipped directly to you, wherever you are.
The small peacock abstracts were popular this year – I only had one left, so I thought I would create a pair for it. I started with the same colour palette, but then I decided to add some light blue and little by little a whole new triptych emerged.
The individual canvases do not have to be installed quite so close together, each can be displayed on its own. I just like to paint in series, especially if I hit on a combination of colours etc. that I like.
There is an air of fantasy about this series, and so maybe it is appropriate to release it on New Year’s Eve. It reminds me of feather boas, champagne & fireworks. Celebration.
Donna Grandin with Ireland Park Mural, photographed by Ron Kuzyk for City of Burlington
The mural was installed on the exterior wall of a small building which houses a concession stand and washrooms. The building is in the center of a large park – Ireland Park. It includes several baseball diamonds, among other amenities, and is flanked by schools and residential streets.
I was selected to be one of the first artists to create murals as part of this project for the City. There were 6 murals revealed yesterday at the launch held at Freeman Station. It is an honour to be included in the Burlington Public Art collection.
I enjoyed the Murals 101 Workshop & Project Launch hosted by the Burlington Public Art Program in April. This was a special service geared to Burlington artists – an opportunity for artists like myself who don’t have a lot of experience applying for public art commissions.
This workshop featured Karin Eaton, Executive Director of Mural Routes and mural artist Allan Bender in a lively discussion about contemporary mural making. They discussed a variety of mural techniques and materials using real life case studies.
Exploring new materials – anti-graffiti coating was a must for this project.
The community was then asked to give suggestions of locations, and themes for the mural. The theme that I worked with was “Quality of life in Burlington, active living, and families, youth, kids”.
I am not sure what made me choose to do 4 separate images, rather than 1 large one, but right away I thought of the image for panel 3, and then I picked 3 other Burlington locations.
Spencer Smith Park was an obvious choice, it is part of the vibrant downtown, and the waterfront location is ideal for many activities.
Like many other local families we have made numerous good memories there; we have walked, jogged, biked, skated, flown kites, attended festivals, had picnics and used the playground. In fact, when my husband and I first moved to Burlington in 1998, we lived in walking distance to the park.
Ireland Park itself was my next choice, partly because it was the site of the mural, and partly because it is such a Burlington way of life to have the kids in organized sports, like baseball. Green spaces are also an important element for quality of life in this city.
The next panel is my favourite for a number of reasons. It was the first image that popped into my head when I read the theme for the mural. I love to take the family to Mount Nemo to go hiking.
Just being in a beautiful wooded spot like this makes me feel connected to Nature. Not only is that beneficial to our physical, mental and spiritual health, but I always find it is a boost to my creativity. Also, there are often teachable moments with our kids, and the whole experience is good for relationship building.
In this panel, my two sons make a cameo appearance as they look down at the turkey vultures riding the thermals.
Then I painted Sherwood Forest Park which is also used for organized sports like baseball and soccer, and informally by runners, cyclists, people walking their dogs, or families just out for a stroll.
I wondered if this location was not identifiable enough, and yet to me it was also iconic, both my boys played 3 on 3 soccer there, and it is a common sight in the summer time to see soccer fields filled with kids wearing their team colours.
As it turned out, one of the men who installed the mural recognized the location right away. He said he plays soccer there all the time, and he seemed so happy to have that connection to the mural.
That is the kind of reaction I am hoping for … that Burlingtonians who stand in front of the mural will be able to identify with it because they have had similar experiences.
The launch for the event was held at the historic Freeman Station, which is undergoing renovations, hence the visible insulation & subfloor. One of the artists, Clair Hall, unveiled her mural on the outside of the building during the launch.
I brought my ten year old to the ceremony, and he took these last two photos for me. He did a great job, listening to all of the speeches, talking to the Mayor, and not getting underfoot of the press!
Donna Grandin, and Mayor Rick Goldring at launch of Burlington Mural Project
Here is a list of the artists and mural locations:
Judy Mayer-Grieve: King Road Underpass, Ward 1
Claire Hall: Freeman Station, Ward 2
Teresa Seaton: Amherst Park, Ward 3
Hannah Sell and Liam Racine: Port Nelson Park, Ward 4
Tamara Kwapich: Orchard Community Park, Ward 5
Donna Grandin: Ireland Park, Ward 6
You can read more about them on the Burlington Public Art website here, or view the artists with their murals here.
Burlington Mural Project launch at Freeman Station, Burlington, ON
I’d like to thank the City of Burlington for this commission – specific to Burlington artists, and to Mayor Rick Goldring, Angela Paparizo, Adam Louis and anyone else from City Hall who were involved in this process somehow.
Thank you, to the jury who selected me and to Kim Selman and Jeremy Frieburger of Cobalt Connects for guiding us through the process. Thanks to Burlington Signs National for the installation, and to Burlington Post who posted this preview, with a photo of me in front of the Ireland Park mural.
And above all, thank you to my family, who have been dragged into this artistic life of mine kicking and screaming, and sometimes applauding.
Bonus: Click here to view the other mural I painted, 5 years ago, for the City of Toronto.
Update: here is a new article about the mural launch, from the Burlington Post.
My neighbour came over Sunday night to bring me a clipping from the Burlington Post. Here is the online version of the article, the photograph is different, it only shows 2 of the 4 panels I painted.
It’s a teaser for the main launch put on by the City of Burlington, which I hear could be on December 1st. I am looking forward to seeing the 5 other murals.
The theme for mine is “Active Living in Burlington”. Once the murals have been revealed at the launch event, I will post proper photos of each panel. Of course, if you happen to be walking your dog in Ireland Park, you can stand in front of the actual thing because it was installed a few weeks ago.
I am grateful to have been part of this project. This is only my second mural – the other one was for the City of Toronto – and I learn so much with each one. Although I am a fine art painter, I think it is important for an artist to always be learning, and growing.
Also on Sunday …
That is why I went to an Ontario Arts Council Artists in Education Seminar Sunday morning, where we got to be on a mock jury & get insight into how applications are judged.
A bonus was getting to reconnect with a classmate from art school that I hadn’t seen in 18 years! And maybe I will be exhibiting at the arts organization she is affiliated with, later next year.
Another bonus was that the seminar was held at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, and we were given free entrance to view the art after the seminar.
So I wandered through the gallery with another artist friend, while we discussed the best strategies for a future visit with our sons. They will love the Bruegel-Bosch Bus by Kim Adams.
“Flowers ‘n Fruit”
And speaking of my sons, last night was the first time I enlisted the help of my 13 year old in hanging a show.
Hanging “Flowers ‘n fruit” at Whole Foods Market, Oakville
Curator of Allegro Cafe Gallery, at Whole Foods Market in Oakville, Dawn-Angela Seeley, of course played a bigger part.
However, it was great to have my own assistant … who gets paid in brownies!
The Meet the Artist Reception for “Flowers ‘n Fruit” is November 29th, 5-7pm. Whole Foods Market, 301 Cornwall Road, Oakville. The exhibition will be up till January 24th.
I’m happy to announce an upcoming exhibition of my acrylic paintings at Allegro Gallery Cafe, at Whole Foods Market, 301 Cornwall, Oakville.
The show will run November 22 – January 24, and there will be a Meet the Artist Reception on November 29, 5-7pm.
The focus of this exhibition will be on my floral and fruit paintings, nearly all of which are 6″x6″ to 16″x20″. They might not fit into a stocking, but they make great Christmas presents!
Do you have a spot on the wall of your house or office that could do with a jolt of colour?
Save the date! I’d love to see you at the Meet the Artist Reception.
Remember to subscribe to my e-mail list for new art, exhibition invites, specials, career highlights and artistic insights.
The mural I’ve been working on for the last couple months will be installed this week … more to come!
First Dibond panel being prepared for painting of Ireland Park Mural
Here is a sneak peek into my studio six weeks ago as I began preparing the first of 4 panels that I will be painting for a mural project I have hinted at but not officially announced yet.
About a week ago a friend let me know that the Mayor of Burlington, Rick Goldring, had shared details about the Burlington Mural Project on Facebook.
The original posting was from the Burlington Public Art website:
Burlington Mural Project
The City of Burlington, through its Public Art Program, has announced six local artists who have been selected for the 2015 Burlington Mural Project.
“This new public art program was designed to tell local stories using local artists,” said Angela Paparizo, manager of arts and culture. “The annual program will commission small to medium-scale murals throughout the city. These commissions are open exclusively to Burlington, Ont., artists. Free professional development opportunities will be offered to assist artists with the application process and project development each year.”
Artist Selection
A community jury of residents and artists representing each ward reviewed the proposals and selected the following artists:
Judy Mayer-Grieve: King Road Underpass, Ward 1
Claire Hall: Freeman Station, Ward 2
Teresa Seaton: Amherst Park, Ward 3
Hannah Sell and Liam Racine: Port Nelson Park, Ward 4
Tamara Kwapich: Orchard Community Park, Ward 5
Donna Grandin: Ireland Park, Ward 6
Ward 1: King Road Underpass Judy Mayer-Grieve Judy Mayer-Grieve is an honours graduate of OCAD University, Toronto, Ont., and a graduate of The Art Centre, Toronto, Ont. She has more than 20 years of experience in advertising as a graphic designer and illustrator for National and International clients and is a past instructor in the Art and New Media Department of Fanshawe College.
Ward 2: Freeman Station Claire Hall Claire Hall creates custom art for various clients including hotel lobbies, condo corporations, corporate offices, and private collectors. Her artwork has been featured on several episodes of Property Brothers and Buying and Selling. Prints of her artwork can now be purchased at Winners, Home Sense and Marshall’s.
Ward 3: Amherst Park Teresa Seaton Teresa Seaton is one of Canada’s most notable emerging fine art stained glass artists. Teresa holds a degree in Graphic Design from Sheridan College, a BA of Fine Arts from York University and has received specialized training in stained glass.
Ward 4: Port Nelson Hannah Sell and Liam Racine As a collaborative artist team, Hannah Sell and Liam Racine explore art in ways neither would traditionally do as an individual artist. Sell is a resident of Burlington, Ont., and graduated from Central High School. She attended Mohawk College for the Art and Design Foundation program and is heading to George Brown College in September for the Fashion Design and Techniques program. Racine is from Chapeau, Que., and is now a resident of Burlington, Ont., since attending Mohawk College’s Art and Design Foundation program. Racine is attending the Fine Arts program at Centennial College.
Ward 5: Orchard Community Park Tamara Kwapich Tamara Kwapich was born and lives in Burlington, Ont. She graduated from the University of Guelph with a BA in Fine Art and a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture. Kwapich has been a practising artist in Burlington for many years. She works primarily in acrylic paint and mediums on large canvases, walls and ceilings.
Ward 6: Ireland Park Donna Grandin Donna Grandin is a professional fine artist from St. Lucia. She graduated with a BA in Art from McMaster University in 1997 and moved to Burlington with her husband the following year. Her art is regularly exhibited in Ontario, St. Lucia and the Barbados. In 2013, Grandin was invited to exhibit in the 152nd annual Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, France. In the last few years, Donna has been involved with the annual Art in Action Burlington Studio Tour, and the Arts and Culture Collective of Burlington.
Community Consultation
In February 2015, residents were invited to submit mural locations and story ideas through online surveys and in-person at the Lowville Winter Games. Residents provided a total of 333 location suggestions, with 114 of those being unique locations. Locations that were not selected in year one will be used in later years of the program
I will of course be sharing images etc. with you soon, but for now I have to get back to painting!
This weekend we celebrate the annual Culture Days across Canada, and I will be doing my part in Burlington, ON.
On Saturday I will be setting up my tent to display my art in Civic Square (426 Brant St.) – in front of Burlington City Hall – from 11-4pm.
Burlington Student Theatre will be creating a “Burlywood” atmosphere with theatre, music, dance, film and photography. It should be a fun time.
I will also be working on a collaborative painting – inviting any and everyone to express themselves with a few brushstrokes – and at the end of the day I will do a draw, and the lucky winner will get to take home the painting!
As a Culture Days participant I am required to provide an “activity” at each event, not just a display/sale.
“Founded in 2009, Culture Days is a non-profit organization dedicated to building a national network of cultural connections devoted to providing Canadians with opportunities to participate in, and appreciate, all forms of arts and culture. Through an annual three-day national celebration each September, hundreds of thousands of artists and cultural organizations in hundreds of cities and towns come together and invite Canadians to participate in free interactive and “behind the scenes” activities to discover their cultural spirit and passion”.
So, my activity for Sat is listed on the Culture Days website here.
On Sunday, I will be in the lobby of the Burlington Performing Arts Center (440 Locust St.), from 1-4pm, as part of the Celebrate Burlington: Artist Showcase.
“Local artists and artisans will demonstrate skills, showcase their latest work, and offer interactive activities. A celebration of the city’s Mundialization partners, Citizen Committees, artistic guilds, musicians, photographers, fine artists, and new media artists.” Culture Days Burlington brochure
I will have a small display of my available paintings, and paper and pencil crayons for anyone who wants to practice drawing peacock feathers with me. See my event on the Culture Days website.
Last year I had a fantastic time at the Culture Days event in front of Burlington City Hall, where our Mayor Rick Goldring helped kickoff the celebration with a clip of Burlington artists talking about Arts and Culture in Burlington – in which I was happy to have a 2 second cameo. That day I painted to live music, shared my art with the public, and enjoyed a celebration of the local arts scene.
This year, there will be a lot of different arts professionals/organizations etc, but I think it will be equally exciting, so if you’re in the area, please come on out!
BLUE ROOTS ART STUDIO – acrylic paintings of Caribbean & Canadian landscape, flowers & foliage. Burlington, ON, Canada. 905-639-3419
