Tag Archives: Culture Days

Ontario apples, live painting at Culture Days

October 17, 2016 Donna Grandin 2 Comments

Ontario Apples

Recently I went to Frootogo Farm in Waterdown to pick fresh Ontario apples. It has become a family tradition ever since we had kids, to visit a nearby farm in the fall. There is just something so cute about photographing toddlers surrounded by bright orange pumpkins bigger than they are! And it is a great way to visually mark time, as the kids in the photos get bigger each year.

Springridge and Frootogo are the two local farms that we have been to most often, but for apple picking we have to go to the latter. And that is where I got the reference photos for this painting.

live painting — Donna Grandin painting live at Culture Days 2016 in Civic Square, in front of Burlington City Hall.

Culture Days

I participated in Culture Days Burlington on Oct 1st, 2016, in Civic Square which is just in front of the Burlington City Hall. This year I was one of the artists selected to perform for an honorarium. I was not part of the Art Market, in that I did not have items for sale, but instead I painted live.

This photo shows the painting in progress, near the end of the event. I painted for 3 hours, my hope was that I would have it finished in time to do a silent auction, and that I would donate the proceeds to the Arts and Culture Council of Burlington, but I was still painting when some of the artists were packing away their booths.

I am happy with how much I got done in that short time, but instead of leaving it as a study, I decided to refine and complete it in my studio over the next week.

Live Painting

Painting with a live audience is not as scary as you might expect it to be, because quite frankly the nature of painting on a deadline is that you have to be in the moment as you focus on the immediate painting decisions. When people come up and talk to you, or there is live music and hustle and bustle around you, it all adds to the vibe – the energy that you absorb unconsciously, and then reflect in the art.

When you paint intuitively, you slip into a creative zone, and that crowds out any self-doubt about whether you will be able to pull off a good painting. Or worries that people will be seeing your painting as it goes through the inevitable ugly stages. In fact, people generally come up to you with positive things to say.

Every time I am hired to paint live, it is a memorable event for me, and for the audience who gets to see my painting process in person. So far, the feedback has been very positive, so I look forward to doing it again!

This painting will be on display in studio #7 during the Art in Action Burlington Studio Tour Nov 5 &6, 10-5pm, unless you e-mail me at donna@bluerootsartstudio.com beforehand to reserve it.

Available Paintings, Exhibitions, Special event

Culture Days Burlington 2015

September 22, 2015 Donna Grandin Leave a comment

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.

Flow, 24″x30″, acrylic on canvas, ©2015 Donna Grandin. $1200. Started live in front of Burlington City Hall at Culture Days kickoff event in Sept 2014.

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!

Available Paintings, Exhibitions

Flow – a peacock feather-inspired abstract painting

July 22, 2015 Donna Grandin 2 Comments

Flow, 24"x30", acrylic on canvas, ©2015 Donna Grandin. $1200. — Flow, 24″x30″, acrylic on canvas, ©2015 Donna Grandin. $1200.

If this painting looks a little familiar, it’s because it has evolved over the last year … it started as a demonstration, at a live painting event.

You can read about it in this earlier blog post, where I even created a video to show the process thus far! The initial inspiration was a peacock feather mask that I’d bought 10 years earlier, in combination with the live music … it was the first time I painted at a public event like this (Culture Days), and the energy was awesome.

In fact I had so much fun at Culture Days, I’m doing it again Sept 26 & 27 this year. More on that in another post.

DonnaGrandin-Intheflow-f — In the Flow … wip

Although there was so much I loved about this painting, it just never felt quite finished … that could be because I’m accustomed to working a week to several weeks on a painting, so several hours of painting didn’t seem enough. And partly because although I’d designed the “eyes” as if they were notes on a music sheet, I just didn’t like the way they created a single line , pulling the viewers’s eye across the image and out.

I called the painting “In the flow” originally … and for some reason, it just seemed to remain in flux, there was always something more to do to it, so in between other paintings, I’d keep going back to it.

Eventually, in a new space, I decided to work on it to completion, and what emerged is this painting … “Flow”. In this version I really played on the aquatic tendencies of the original, and I’m quite happy with the result.

I will be bringing it to Art in the Park Oakville on Aug 3, my booth is #143, and I hope you’ll be able to come out and see it in person!

Unless of course, one of you wants to claim it before then … if so, just e-mail donna@bluerootsartstudio.com

Exhibitions, Painting in a day, Special event

Live painting demonstration by Donna Grandin – Culture Days event on Sept 26

September 25, 2014 Donna Grandin 1 Comment

I am so excited for tomorrow, I will be painting OUTSIDE Burlington City Hall as part of Burlington’s Culture Days events which go from Friday through Sunday. I will be creating a new acrylic painting from noon till it is too dark to mix colors, but I will probably stick around till everything is done at 10pm.

I am nervous because I plan on bringing some paintings to display in my booth (the City is providing a canopy, but it has no walls, so artist friend, Lois Shaw (she will be a guest artist in my studio during the Art in Action Studio Tour on Nov 1 &2) has offered to lend me her grids to hang the paintings. The weather forecast is very good for tomorrow, so at least I don’t have to worry about rain, but I am new to setting up outside, so I am also worried about wind and sun etc. If this event goes well though, I’ll consider applying to one or two outdoor exhibitions next summer.

The truth is, when I initially signed on to do an Acrylic Painting Demonstration, I was very casual about it. After all, isn’t it just like painting in my studio, just outside … with other people watching? I often pack my gear up and go paint in a friend’s studio, a greenhouse, or even a gallery when invited.

Then I heard about all the cool stuff the other Arts and Culture booths and individual Burlington Creatives are going to be doing, or displaying and I realized I really should take advantage of this opportunity to show the Burlington community more of my art.

Somehow though, the idea of having all my stuff outside is a little terrifying. I have roped in my brother and his wife to give me a hand with setting up and taking down everything (endless trips back and forth to the car), but I am so used to having to do all this by myself, that it hasn’t really sunk in yet.

Anyway read the Burlington Post article about what to expect tomorrow, in case you don’t get it delivered. And I hope to see you tomorrow!

DONNA GRANDIN