Newsletter

I would like to wish all of you a Happy Easter! 

This newsletter is slightly longer than usual because I have so much good news to share.

Let me begin by telling you that the Lambeth Art Association raised $6000 to assist in the relief of the people of Ukraine. The generosity of our members and those who purchased the donated paintings is remarkable. I don’t know when I have been so proud to be a member of LAA.

The LAA Annual Show and Sale is online this year. I have two paintings in the show. It begins on April 22 at www.lambethart.com

I am excited to share that Linda and Jim Taleski, the owners of Main Street Gallery in Bayfield, stopped by for a studio visit last week and the result was that they will be showing my work in their gallery. If you are in Bayfield stop by and visit their gallery. It is a lovely place to see .

If you have been on Richmond Street here in London, you may have seen one of my paintings decorating an electrical box. The painting was one of several artists’  paintings selected by the London Arts Council to be used in this project funded by the City of London. 

A reminder that the Western division of CSPWC’s Spring Show, Renewal, is happening at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington ON, from May 7th to June 12. The Opening takes place on May 14th from 2:00 to 4:00. This show is a cash and carry event so to see all of the work best come early.

Westland Gallery has invited me to take part in a Plein Air Exhibition which will take place from June 7th to 24th. I will provide more information in my next newsletter.

And my last piece of good news is that I was invited to send a submission to the Joyner Gallery at the Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre in  Niagara-on-the-Lake. Consequently I was offered a solo exhibition in July of 2023 which I was delighted to accept.

And now, at last, you may all take a collective sigh of relief. That is the end of my shameless self promotion, at least for now. Take care, get your booster, wear a mask and stay well.

Thanks, as always, for your interest and ongoing support.

Sue

At last the days are growing longer, the crows and swans have returned, the cardinal announces his ownership of our backyard, the cottontail and skunk make guest appearances and the sring blooming bulbs poke their heads out of the soil to see if winter has really left this time or if she is going to storm back and yell, ” and another thing! “ ( stole this from somewhere but just had to share as it really is perfect).

In the art world, Spring also means a flurry of hopeful calls to artists and, here in London, the Studio Tour!! I am unable to open my studio this year but wish all involved good luck.

The Lambeth art Association is fundraising to help relief efforts in Ukraine. Please visit our website and consider helping.

The Western Ontario Region of the CSPWC is holding a juried Spring show, RENEWAL, at the Royal Botanical Gardens. I have entered two paintings. wish me luck please.

I have been invited to do a presentation to the Ottawa Arteast Group later this month. I am looking forward to meeting new artists and making friends.

Finally, there is something exciting about to happen at Westland Gallery in June this year. I will tell you more in my next newsletter.

I end this newsletter by taking the opportunity to tell you how much I enjoy your responses and comments. It’s wonderful that you keep in touch. Thank you.
 

Sue

More hours of daylight, the return of crows and swans, guest appearance in our garden by cottontails and a skunk, snowdrops, scilla, crocuses, tulips and daffodils all poking through the soil to see if winter is really gone this time….all indications that Spring is on her way. 

In the art world Spring also means an assortment of calls to artists, and The London Artists Studio Tour. This year I am unable to open my studio but I wish all the artists good luck.

The Lambeth Art Association is fundraising for relief in Ukraine. Please visit the website and help us to help Ukraine.

The Western Region of the CSPWC is having a juried exhibition at the Royal Botanical Gardens. I have entered two paintings. Wish me luck please.

 During the first month of this year I have been busy painting small 7”x7” watercolours, ordering some new art supplies to experiment with, starting some seeds for our garden of pots this summer and trying to figure out some new way of organizing the mountain of “stuff” that has collected in my studio during the pandemic ( so far unsuccessfully).

I have also been reading ( perhaps the reason my studio is still a mess ); Flower Diary, Molly Peacock, the life of Canadian painter Mary Hiester Reid, Art and Rivalry, Carol Bishop-Gwyn, lives of Mary and Christopher Prat, Anything But A Still Life, Nathan M. Greenfield, Molly Lamb and Bruno. 

January 2022 Watercolours

All of the watercolours were imagined with the help of my sketchbooks.

i am looking forward to entering some shows this spring and will give you the details as they become known.

One of the CSPWC shows will be held at the Royal Botanical Gardens, so as well as wonderful art, you will be able to see some fabulous gardens in bloom should you decide to attend.

I hope that you have things to look forward to, wonderful books to read, and gardens to dream into being ( even if they are just in balcony pots). Create, dream, hope and plan.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this and for your ongoing support and encouragement. 

Sue

I am not sure what happened but I apologize for the  avalanche of email.

Sue

When I began sending out this newsletter in 2016, it was with the intention of sending it out monthly. In 2022 I intend to return to the once monthly format. It should arrive in your mailbox on the 15th of each month.

 It was such a treat to show work in a physical location at Westland Gallery during their Square Foot Show. I was delighted to have sold two of the three paintings I entered. Thank you to the lovely people who made the purchases and a huge thank you to Karen and Al and Danielle for hosting this show.

The pandemic has caused a great many art shows and exhibitions to go online. I appreciate the effort so many have made to facilitate these exhibitions. The opportunity to share my work has been appreciated. I find, though, that I miss the energy and excitement of show openings and the chance to visit both with collectors and with other artists. I miss the immediate feedback. I miss the camaraderie. I miss the excitement of red dots.

This is a photo of my current talisman against despair. It began life as an amarylis bulb in a box, ready to be planted. When I opened the box I discovered that the bulb had already grown and formed a flower bud. It was pale greenish white and had curled around the bulb. I didn’t hold much hope but planted it any way and watched as it began to turn green and flower, albeit hanging upside down out of the pot. I cut the stem and put it into a vase of water so it had a chance to show off! Today I noticed another flower bud and stem are emerging from the bulb. Growth is so uplifting.

In spite of the box that Covid has placed many of us in, I will choose to begin to work in my studio again in the hope that opportunities to display and sell will present themselves and to prepare for my solo show in October. 

“HAPPINESS is not by chance, but by choice.” Jim Rohan  

As always, thank you for your support, your patience and for taking the time to read this. 

If you would prefer not to receive this newsletter any longer please simply send an email with the message unsubscribe.

Take care, stay healthy and create in whatever way you choose.

Sue

At last I have something to tell you!
 

Since the pandemic began, although I have been busy working in my studio, sketching on location with Urban Sketchers and gathering inspiration on walks and country drives, there have been few real life exhibitions taking place.
Currently, I have work in one real life venue and also in two online exhibitions. I hope you will visit online and, if you are able, in person. 

The Ontario Society of Artists, a professional association of elected visual artists, is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. I am an elected member of this group and have a painting in this exhibition, an anniversary celebration. Glenhyrst is a lovely venue situated on remarkably beautiful grounds and well worth the drive to Brantford. The exhibition is taking place from October 2 to November 28.
Hours:Tues. to Fri.10am to 5pm;  Sat. And Sun. 11am to 4pm; CLOSED MONDAYS

I am an elected member of The Colour and Form Society, a group of elected visual artists living in Ontario, established in 1952. I have had two paintings juried into the CFS’s annual Open exhibition which is an online show because of the pandemic.

https://www.colourandformsociety.org

 
I am an elected member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour and have had a painting selected for Open Water/L’Eau Claire, CSPWC’s most prestigious exhibition and one of the largest in Canada. It is open to watercolour artists from around the world. Again this year, the exhibition is online because of the pandemic. 
https;//CSPWC.ca/open-water-21/

UPCOMING:

Locally, I have entered three paintings into Westland Gallery’s 10th Annual Square Foot Show. Many of you are familiar with this gallery located in Old South London’s Wortley Village. This show will take place both in the gallery and online.

As always, I thank you for your interest and support.

My studio is open by appointment. (Masks and proof of COVID vaccine required.)

To book an appointment, email me at sgarrington@rogers.com.

Thank you.

Sue

                      Brian and Sue

While I have been working away in my studio, exciting things have been underway.

Each year The Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour holds an international watercolour exhibition called Open Water. This year there were 350 entries from around the world and 63 were selected by the jurors. I am delighted to tell you that my painting, Along The Way, was one of those selected. I am very grateful to the jurors, Marc Gagnon and David McEown. The entire exhibition may be seen online at www.https://cspwc.ca

I have also submitted six miniature pieces to St.Thomas Elgin Public Art Centre's Miniature Show. There will be 340 miniature artworks on display and for sale. For information about hours and covid protocols go to the website www.https://stepac.ca

And finally, the greatly anticipated Westland Gallery's Square Foot Show will have hundreds of pieces by local artists, including three of mine. The exhibition will soon be available for viewing online at www.https://westlandgallery.ca and in person by appointment from November 14 to the end of December.

Thank you for your ongoing support. I hope you enjoy viewing the artwork either online or in person.

Stay safe. Wear a mask and practise social distancing.

I have not sent out a newsletter since just before the Pandemic Lockdown. For nearly two years I had been in my studio working on paintings for the 2020 club shows, the London Artists Studio Tour and my own solo show at STEPAC. The Pandemic caused cancellations and postponements and, I have to admit, took the wind out of my sales. After much deliberation with my family and my Tour Helpers, I came to the conclusion that I could not safely open my home and studio to visitors and so withdrew from the studio tour.

For consolation I turned to my kitchen where I could create new dishes for my family. This served several purposes. It gave me an outlet for my creativity not in any way associated with painting. Secondly the nutritious and, even if I do say so myself, delicious food I produced kept us healthy and in good spirits. And, Lastly, the enticing fragrances of home cooked meals, freshly baked bread and treats made our home a comforting and pleasant place to pass the lockdown together.

Time not spent in the kitchen was spent on the Internet exploring. I found new artists to admire and reacquainted myself with others.

One of the artists, Karen Stamper, from Cornwall U.K., introduced me to working in a concertina sketchbook.I enjoyed this very much. Here is a portion of the sketchbook.

I also discovered an American botanical illustrator, Lara Call Gastinger,  who introduced me to the idea of a perpetual nature journal. For me, this seemed an act of faith as well as both hope and trust in that it required working on it for several years, returning to pages time and again to make additions. so this is the first year of my perpetual journal! Look her up on the Internet if you wish to find out more.

Zachary Login, a Canadian artist from Sakatchewan, is another artist worth investigation. I saw his work a few years ago on Instagram, and was intrigued to find some of his work included "After Mary Delany" in the titles. Mary Delany is one of my heroes and lived from 1700 to 1788, taking up botanical collage in her later years. Zachary's contemporary paintings are filled with botanical images, beautifully rendered and have been exhibited internationally.

Eventually my Internet explorations and my sketchbooks allowed me to return to my studio and to paint. Three pieces will be in the Westland Gallery's Square Foot Show, November 17 to December 24 by appointment and online.

Square Foot Show  

Process and Products

I entered paintings into the OSA Member's Exhibition of Selected Works and was delighted to have one painting juried into the exhibition.This is an online exhibition and is available to view until Oct. 31.

I wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving. Stay safe. Take care. Be good to yourself and each other.

WEAR A MASK!