It seems to me that each year is one long crescendo, starting with a relatively clear slate in January and ending with the frenetic busy months of November and December. As any artist / self-employed person knows, one of the biggest challenges is how to structure your time when there are very few parameters. In January, the horizon looks pretty clear to me, with that wonderful anticipation and curiosity of what the year might bring. Ideas, opportunities and obligations start to accumulate, and decisions need to be made as to what is important, what is possible.
So here we are, all of a sudden, well into May a.k.a. mid-crescendo. Spring has sprung, summer is sown, and the year is speeding up and filling out. Paintings are evolving, exhibitions are scheduled, trips are planned. I am fortunate to love what I do so completely that I have to crowbar myself out of the studio to tend to the other necessities of life - to rest and recharge, spend leisure time with loved ones, broaden horizons, get some daylight. It is a happy yet tricky balancing act.
Here are some of the events filling out this year:
Associates of
The Vancouver Art Gallery
I am honoured to welcome 17 Associates of the Vancouver Art Gallery (AVAG) for a studio tour next week. As part of their national travel program, the Edmonton tour will also include a visit to the Alberta Gallery of Art, the new Royal Alberta Museum, the Aga Khan garden, and various local restaurants. Edmonton will no doubt impress them with its beauty, culture, hospitality and neighbourliness.
“Sunshine” | Charcoal | 21 x 29” (33 x 41” framed) | for Canada House Gallery Demo Days Exhibition
Art Live at Canada House Gallery
August 17, 2019
I am pleased to be a part of the annual Demo Days exhibition at Canada House Gallery in Banff with five painters and two sculptors. We will be demonstrating our processes in the gallery on Saturday, August 17, and exhibiting six new works each. As I have not painted “in public” since studying at the University of Alberta, I am admittedly a bit nervous. My process is slow and probably tedious to watch. There are no dramatic brushstrokes, no flourishes of sumptuous impasto, and very little physicality, just painstakingly small and controlled strokes. Pollock I am not.
Nervousness aside, I look forward to sharing the experience with fellow gallery artists Robert Lemay, Terry McCue, Sheila Kernan, Kerry Langlois, Paul Reimer, and Neshka. If you are in Banff that weekend, drop by and say hello.
26th Annual Exhibition | November 7, 2019
“Edifice” (working title) watercolour | 25 x 40” (40 x 54” framed)
The event that gives my year most of its shape is the annual November exhibition. I build a collection of paintings over the whole year, then exhibit it for one night at Edmonton’s Fairmont Hotel Macdonald - a kind of crescendo for my work. One of my professional goals was to reach the 25 annual exhibition mark, which happened last year. Some people wondered if I would continue with “the show,” as 25 years is a long time to do any one thing.
My answer is…absolutely.
The exact format may change slightly to make sure it stays current, focused, and enjoyable for all involved, and in balance with my gallery commitments. We will be sure to inform you of any changes well in advance. More details of this year’s exhibition will be announced on June 7th, along with the first of five paintings to be previewed online each month leading to the exhibition.
