Mother's Day Tea 2017

You are invited! Our third annual Mother's Day Tea Show and Sale is fast approaching. We open our doors to the public two times a year for exhibitions of our newest work, Mother's Day and a Sunday in late November, the rest of the time it is a working studio. Please come if you can... bring your mom, sister, friend or a bunch of guys - it is not really a mom-specific event. Look for the door to the left of the Odd Couple restaurant on 20th. That is us! Sorry- there are about 24 stairs to climb to get to our space, but we will make it worth your while with yummy food and good art. You may not want to leave!

Waterlogged II

Waterlogged II

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2016

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/nicki-ault/waterlogged-ii/476936
 sold

Unfortunately things aren't quite so wet this spring.

Lots happening at the studio this week. We are getting ready for our Mother's Day Tea Open Studio and Sale happening this Sunday (May 8) from 12-4. Everyone is welcome, but please note there is a flight of stairs to navigate. Our address is 236A 20th Street between Avenues B & C. There are some gorgeous new pieces of work by the eleven artists, so it should be a lovely show.

Then, right away on Monday, I will be whisking my paintings off and setting up a show at the University Club (formerly the faculty Club) on campus at the University of Saskatchewan. It will be a busy few days!

Patchwork of Raw Emotion

Patchwork of Raw Emotion

24 x 24"

oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2012
sold

It never fails that as the Open Studio approaches the desire to rework old paintings escalates; I tweaked three paintings this week. Well, two paintings got tweaked and one got overhauled!

I originally painted "Raw Emotion", which is based on a little 6x6" study called "Patchwork Prairie", one year ago when a lot of things were going on in my world. I clearly remember that day- I was at the studio alone, I had my music turned up and I was really attacking the canvas. I do believe there were tears involved in that session and a friend was sending some supportive texts my way. Hey, sometimes that's how it goes. Anyway, I liked the result, but didn't love it - it seemed unfinished. It has always bothered me until the other day when I decided to rework it. My emotions conveniently happened to be running a little high this week what with the closure of the Kenderdine Campus and all. At least I was able to continue in the same frame of mind. Thank goodness for small blessings!

Here is what it looked like before:

Raw Emotion

24 x 24"

© Nicki Ault, 2011

And this is the study:

Patchwork Prairie

6x6"

© Nicki Ault, 2011

I'm happy with the reworked version which, as you can see, I have now named "Patchwork of Raw Emotions". I feel good about it hanging on my studio wall for the Open House tomorrow.

Speaking of which, if you are in Saskatoon please drop by the St. George Open Studio if you have time. I'll be there smiling my way through wearing contacts and high heels! It is between 11 and 5 and the invitation can be found in the top right corner of this blog. And remember, the entrance is in the alley.

And if you haven't had a chance to consider signing the petition to stop the closure of the historic Kenderdine Campus in the Boreal forest of Saskatchewan, well, I'd love it if you took the time to consider it now. Here is the link:

Stop The Closure of the Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus

Allow Me To Introduce You...

 

St. George Studio Artists' Group

I've been meaning to upload a photo to introduce you to the other artists that work in the same studio as me. This photo was taken on Nov. 27 after the Open Studio and unfortunately three had already left. They are a diverse and wonderful group of artists and I feel so fortunate to be among them... I'm like a sponge trying to learn as much as I can from their wealth of experience and knowledge. My being part of the studio is a much better deal for me than it is for them!

Going clockwise from the only dude in the group, they are:

Peter Mac Mahon- sculptor
Jane Harington- painter (website)
Miranda Jones- painter, metal worker (gallery, gallery)
Jan Corcoran- painter (website, gallery)
Moi- painter
Bridget Aitken- painter, sculptor
Gale Hagblom- painter (website)

Not in photo: Degen Lindner- painter (gallery), Carol Wylie- painter (website), Amira Wasfy- painter

Successful Open Studio

 

Here is my space as it looked for the Open Studio this past Sunday. It was a fantastic event; busy right from 11:00 onward and only slowing down around 4:30. I met some great people and felt so much more comfortable this year. I remember feeling quite shy last year and tired before the day even began. This year, however, I had a good sleep the night before and felt more comfortable in my own skin as an artist, so approaching people was much easier. I had so much fun! I made some new contacts, I have a couple of opportunities to mull over and I sold 12 paintings! Plus the obnoxious man who told me my colours were too bright and that it must have to do with estrogen didn't even phase me!

I have been thinking a lot about the beautiful gift I received in the mail two weeks ago (read about it here) and how it affected me. To really honour that gesture I wanted to pay it forward. Well, an idea of how I could do that came up on Sunday at the Open Studio when friends dropped in to see me and my work. Their little 9 year old girl is a budding artist and she fell in love with one of my 6 x 6 paintings. We talked about it, I told her why I named it what I did and we chatted about art. She is the most precious thing and if she became say, my daughter-in-law in about 18 years I'd be AOK with it! Anyway, on Monday morning I wrapped up the painting with a "from your secret admirer" note and delivered it to their mailbox! She has her own little art show coming up this Saturday as a finale to an art class she is taking. Her parents plan to give her the gift after that. I hope it makes her day!

Feelin' Sketchy Saturday

20 minute pencil sketch

2 minute gestures (charcoal)

20 minute pencil sketch

I have loads to do for the Open Studio tomorrow, but now that I am in the rhythm of sketching on Saturdays, I had to go for a short while. I only stayed for an hour (out of three) but I'm glad I went. I had a few good laughs with my friend Kerry so that put me in the right mood for the rest of the day. I've just zipped home to eat supper with my family and now I am heading back to the studio to get the finishing touches done for tomorrow.

If you are able to come to the Open Studio, please note that the entrance to our space is in the alley. It sounds shady, but it really isn't!

Bleached Blonde

Bleached Blonde

6 x 6"

oil on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2011 
sold 

A new little grassland scene. I enjoyed switching up the colour palette for this one. The grass is so pale at this time of year... very blonde... which reminds me, it's time to make a hair appointment!

Two more sleeps until the Open Studio! I actually just got home from wiring, signing and hanging all (well, most) of my art and my space is looking pretty pulled together. I also spent some time tweaking my love/hate painting and now things are leaning a bit more toward love. And I painted another little stormy sky. 

Bed, here I come!

Upswept Sky

Upswept Sky

(shown above after 20 minutes)

8x8"

oil on cradled panel
© Nicki Ault, 2010
For Twenty Minute Challenge

I needed a break a couple of weeks ago from the focus on larger work for my upcoming solo show, so I pulled out a little panel and did a quick start on a sky for 20 minutes. I highly recommend this exercise for anyone. I worked on it again the next day and below is the finished piece.

Upswept Sky

8x8 

oil on cradled panel
© Nicki Ault, 2010
finished

The Open Studio was busy! I met some really great people and received some extremely positive feedback about my work. Several new names are now on my contact list for anything that I do in the future and I was approached by a gallery/store owner to be part of a group show in the new year with the theme of "Trees" . Apparently she has done this the past couple of years with artists but this year participation is by invitation only. I also sold ten paintings off my "grid" so that was exciting. With eleven artists sharing the studio and invitations going out to all of their contacts I definitely felt like I hardly knew anyone that came through. I felt quite shy and awkward so I will have to work on that for next year. And the big question on my mind that entire day was, why on earth did I wear high heeled boots and contact lenses??? Did I learn nothing from my show last year? And why did I not do the math to realize that unlike an art opening which is usually 1.5-2 hours long, the Open Studio was, in fact, 6 hours long!!?? Standing on concrete floors, I might add! I was so tired when I got home that I fell asleep twice between 6 and 9 p.m. at which point I just went to bed. 

As a side note, I was very proud of my boys for coming to the Open Studio. They didn't want to and resisted when I mentioned it. I was quite surprised and, I will admit, a little hurt. After a bit more talk it came out that they didn't want to go because they were afraid we would be in another car accident which is what happened a year ago after my last opening. My heart dropped when they brought this up. I was shocked that they had made such a strong connection between the two events. We talked a bit more and they asked if we could take a different road if they decided to come and my littlest said, "Mommy if we are in another car crash this time, you won't do anymore art shows, will you?" Bless them both. My husband brought them right at the beginning of the day and I am proud they were so brave.

River Fire

River Fire

4.75 x 4.75"

acrylic on paper
© Nicki Ault, 2010 
private collection

In my previous couple of posts you saw the series of three abstract reflections that I painted for a housewarming gift for a dear friend. I painted three others around the same time and "River Fire" is one of them. I think it is my favorite of all six - not sure why, maybe just because it is quite different from any other reflection I have done. The darkest marks you see are more purpley than they come across on the screen. I am pleased with the energy in this one. I put it in a black frame today and it looks great! Really dramatic.

It has a been a crazy few weeks getting ready for all of the art events that are happening right away. Tomorrow is the opening of the small works juried show called "Little Gems" in which I have three paintings. There are about 40 local artists participating and it is a fundraiser for the Food Bank. Then on Sunday it is our Open Studio, so I have been madly wiring, hanging, organizing, tweaking, varnishing, framing for that. I will have photos to show you of my space soon. I'm very excited to be a part of this- it's like a dream come true! A reporter and cameraman came today from Shaw TV Channel 10, so tomorrow a short piece will run approx. every 45 minutes in a continuous loop throughout the day.

I will quickly sigh with relief after the weekend, but then I will have a shot of espresso and start pulling together work for my solo show at Moka which goes up Dec. 8!