Ponder and Show Announcement

Ponder

20 x 20"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2018

available

About a year ago, the artists I paint with at Studio On 20th decided to submit a proposal for a group show to The Gallery at the Frances Morrison Central Library. We got a yes!

We have worked over the last eight months to stretch ourselves out of our comfort zones to achieve what we set out to do. Regarding those efforts, here is an excerpt from the statement we will be posting at our show "reconfigured" which opens in two weeks:

The intent of this exhibition was to reconfigure our studio spaces and artistic practices

 through the exploration and interpretation of three traditional subject matters:  

 the figure, still life and landscape. Over several sessions, we sketched and painted 

specific views of these subjects using a range of media, which we were then 

free to interpret further through a larger work according to our own style and working process. 

 In the spirit of coming together through place, both physically and artistically, 

this exhibition explores the similarities, differences and influences 

within ten individual artists’ styles.

We all stepped out of our comfort zones to explore subjects which are not necessarily part of our individual practices or even of true interest to us. We set up a still life at the studio and we held two work sessions so we could tackle that subject at the same time, we planned a field trip to Jane's plot of land on the river near Pike Lake and worked en plein air, and we hired the same model to come to our studio for three sessions so we could work directly from her poses. 

 reconfigured 

There is something really quite exciting about working in a close setting with other artists. The energy of the group can fuel each individual in unexpected ways. I think that's why I miss the Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus so. 

On a personal note, I created a little body of work from these sessions: studies, drawings and larger finished work. This portrait is based on a sketch I did during one of the model sessions. It won't be in the show because one of my other figurative pieces will, but I am happy with it considering I am not a painter of people. Below is the invitation with the details - please come to the reception on April 19 if you can!