Sunday, May 31, 2015

Glass And Lemon

Glass And Lemon
21 x 28.5"
acrylic and oil on terraskin paper
© Nicki Ault, 2015

As I have mentioned, still lifes are not generally the thing that gets me fired up, but I am intrigued by glass. I like the way it warps what is behind or inside of it. I would like to experiment with this effect more in the future.

This painting goes up at Hues Art Supply tomorrow morning. I hope you will find some time in the month of June to check out the show.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Cheers to Lifestyles By Darrell Bell Gallery!

new wall display at Lifestyles
By Darrell Bell Gallery

After receiving the wonderful news last weekend that Lifestyles By Darrell Bell Gallery sold eight of my paintings on Saturday, I needed to get down to business and paint more inventory for the store. Today five new paintings were dry enough to deliver. I will reveal them over the next several days, but in the meantime look at how amazing the existing paintings look on the new feature wall they created for my art! I love it! The soft north light really showcases the colours and I think displaying the paintings on little shelves is so fun.

Thank you to Darrell and his exceptional team! What a treat to work with you!


Friday, May 29, 2015

Hydrangea Arrangement

Hydrangea Arrangement
19.5 x 13"
acrylic, oil and oil pastel on terraskin paper
© Nicki Ault, 2015
sold

I am getting really excited. The show for Hues Art Supply goes up on Monday. Here is the first painting I have to show you. This is the second exhibition of work I will be showing with my friends Bridget Aitken and Jackie Miller. In planning for the show the goal was that we try something new and push ourselves out of our comfort zones. We ended up focusing the theme on still lifes. Jackie and Bridget, as it turns out, are much more adaptable than me. I struggled with the change from my landscape routine. To be honest, I actually find still lifes to be a bit of a yawn-fest. Despite this, I rallied and decided to add flowers to the table of pottery, books, vases, fruit, onions and other inanimate objects that we set up as still life vignettes at the studio. As soon as that pop of colour was added to the mix I began to get inspired.

Besides the challenge of a new subject, I found other ways to push/torment myself. I painted almost exclusively on paper surfaces, I worked solely on rectangular formats when I am more accustomed to painting on squares, and I mixed up my media. Some of these experiments didn't make the cut, but others had some pleasing qualities.

Through the self-doubt and struggle that took place in preparing for this show, I realized yet again how much I have to learn about painting and creating. The way I see it, it is better to know this than to not know this. I feel empowered. I feel like I can't help but move forward in my art-making because I am open and ready to try. I am willing to take a chance. I am willing to see what might happen if I step into the unknown. But I also know myself and I have observed the way I fight change and worry desperately about failure. I am coming to realize that, for me, these things go hand-in-hand. I don't think the desire I have to improve, grow and develop can exist in a pure state. Where this desire exists, in the background will always be some element of stress and agony; the fear of not actually being able to improve, grow and develop. 

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Plein Air Adventures

in Georgian Bay

This morning I leave for a one night getaway to Waskesiu Lake. I need to scope out a view for a commission, so I have decided to make an event out of it and take my painting gear, a bottle of wine, a good magazine and my fire pot! I hope to find some inspiration, get a good dose of fresh lake air and rejuvenate. I always forget how busy life gets at the end of the school year and it is also a time when my husband has to travel a bit with work- this year more than usual. I am really tired! A little "me" time might just be what I need to feel energized for that last push through June to get to summer holidays.

on the South Saskatchewan River

As I began planning my little getaway, I got thinking about some of my other "me" times over the last five years. I found a few photos to share with you.

at Spruce River

at Emma Lake

 on Waskesiu Lake
Georgian Bay countryside

on the Waskesiu River

overlooking downtown Saskatoon

on Mekewap Lake

on Sulphide Lake

at Georgian Bay

Have a great weekend and I hope to have some paintings to share with you soon!

Sunday, May 17, 2015

When Spring Arrives

When Spring Arrives
12 x 12"
oil on cradled panel
© Nicki Ault, 2015

A little springtime prairie scene for you today. Another in the series. I'm looking forward to showing you the work I have prepared for the show at Hues Art Supply in June. In just a couple of more weeks the paintings will be hung and I will unveil them. They are different for me, so I am sure I will feel a bit hesitant, but that hasn't stopped me before. The problem is, maybe it should have! :)

Friday, May 15, 2015

Art Trek 2015



The fourth annual Art Trek: Studio Discovery Tour is happening in June... here is the invitation! Plans have been brewing since early January. There are a couple of changes to the line-up; two studios are not returning, but we are lucky to have The Artists' Loft and BAM (Bridges Art Movement) join us. It should be a great urban art tour for Saskatoon again this year. Below is the map, but hard copies can be found around town in the coming weeks. Once they are in place I will list locations where they can be found.


The map itself is a bit hard to read here, but hopefully the street addresses in the legend are clear.

Please like and share our Facebook page at this link for updates, artwork and you can find the map at the top of the page.

Monday, May 11, 2015

One Fine Day

One Fine Day
12 x 12"
oil on cradled panel

This is a quirky sky that I invented one fine day while at the studio. It is simple, so I decided to put it in a frame I had on hand for the Mother's Day event. Once it had the dark wood around it, the colours really popped.


a section of one of our walls with 
work by Bridget and me

The event was a lot of fun... lots of great visiting and eating... some people shopped, but look what we had on hand to distract them:


Plus we served tea in beautiful china cups- it was a lovely afternoon! Thanks to all who joined us.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Through The Grasslands

Through The Grasslands
16 x 20"
oil on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2015

The Mother's Day Tea is in a couple of days and we are madly getting the studio ready for company. I have been juggling my time between painting some new pieces for this event and painting for the show at Hues Art Supply in June. "Through The Grasslands" will be at the studio on Sunday, so please come check it out in person along with some of these other paintings I have recently posted...

Canola
© Nicki Ault, 2015

Dreaming Of Spruce River
© Nicki Ault, 2015

Bold Sunset
© Nicki Ault, 2015

Reimagined Sky
© Nicki Ault, 2015

April II
© Nicki Ault, 2015

Spring On The Prairies
© Nicki Ault, 2015

The Birch
© Nicki Ault, 2015

Rain
© Nicki Ault, 2015

Walk In The Meadow
© Nicki Ault, 2015

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

April II

April II
6 x 6"
oil on cradled panel

I was so happy with my little painting "April" and it sold so quickly, that I decided to paint its sister so I will have something similar for the Mother's Day show at the studio this weekend. Here is the invitation again and please know that you are invited:


Sunday, May 3, 2015

Walk In The Meadow

Walk In The Meadow
30 x 30"
oil on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2015

I have really been enjoying myself at the studio these days. I have been trying to paint new and different prairie landscapes (for me)- I feel energized in a way that I haven't felt for awhile. "Walk In The Meadow" is another attempt to be bold and interesting with my brushstrokes and mark-making, while at the same time thinking about some of the things I have learned at Atelier 2302. I am well aware that this painting is nowhere near what the masters would have produced, but for me it represents the fact that I am thinking about things that I never even understood pre-Atelier 2302. For that I am grateful. I have a long way to go, but I am willing to play the long game.

Aside from this experimenting, I am also stretching my wings for the group show I have at Hues Art Supply in June with Bridget Aitken and Jacqueline Faye Miller. We are all trying to paint out of our comfort zone and that has me vibrating a bit. I have painted some real duds for this show (they will be on the cutting room floor), but a few have worked out and that has me really excited. I think this is exactly what I needed to get me out of my slump and I thank my colleagues, Bridget and Jackie, for pushing me to a new place and I thank Paul Trottier at Hues Art Supply for giving me a reason to do so. I will show you the work that makes it to the exhibition once it is decided.

Friday, May 1, 2015