Big News! Calgary Listen Up!

Nightfall

10 x 10"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2018

available at Webster Galleries in Calgary

There has been an exciting development in my little art world over the last three weeks. I have been approached by Webster Galleries in Calgary! As a result I envision a little road trip in my near future as I have lots to learn about the art scene in that great city. 

Webster Galleries has been around for thirty plus years and the original owner, John Webster, recently sold his well-established business and retired. The new owner, Paula Cook (she is bursting with enthusiasm), relocated the gallery and reopened in September. That is the Coles Notes version anyway. I am anxious to learn more and to see it all in person. I believe the next step for me is to stretch my wings beyond my province, I just need to make sure the timing is right. The last year and a half were so incredibly busy that a slower pace has a certain appeal, and being sick for two months really drove home the need for balance.

I have been candid with Paula about all of this and I certainly appreciate how understanding she has been. In the meantime she has invited me to be part of the Webster Galleries Small Paintings Show opening on November 30th! I am filled with joy that she is so excited about my art. Thankfully the rotating postal strike did not affect the box I shipped and the gallery is now in possession of nine of my paintings! If you are in Calgary or surrounding area I would love it if you would pop in and let me know what you think. There is an opening for the Small Paintings show on November 30th from 3:00-6:00 and the exhibition runs until December 15th.

Here are links to the paintings in the show and the biography they have on their website for me.

Please share this news if you have connections in Calgary. Many thanks!

Escape The Day

Escape The Day

30 x 24"

acrylic and oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2018

sold at Darrell Bell Gallery

I worked on the under-painting for this piece when I went out to my studio mate's acreage for one night in the summer. For the first time I used a tube of metallic copper acrylic paint and when I got back to working on it in September, I made every effort to keep the copper showing through as I painted the top layers in oil. It is a striking piece!

Nightfall

Nightfall

10 x 10"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2017

available at Assiniboia Gallery

These sunset experimentations have been a favourite part of my year. I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring them as a subject. I see the future and it includes more reflections.

Throwback Thursday

Ripple Effect

24 x 18"

acrylic on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2011

sold

I just got this painting back from the Black Spruce Gallery by Christopher Lake. It has also been in a group show in Ayr, Ontario. It is a well traveled piece! I love doing these abstract reflections; they have all been inspired by Spruce River. It needs a new home, so if you are interested please contact me... let's make a deal!

Day Three- Painting On Fire

On Fire Revisited

16 x 16"

acrylic on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2012
sold

I did a painting two summers ago at one of my favorite painting locations, Spruce River, P.A.N.P. and I always loved it... but I let it go... and I know it is loved in it's new home. It was called "On Fire" (below) because on that particular day the way the sun was illuminating the rotting leaf debris under the water's surface honestly made it look like the river was on fire. It was beautiful. Stunning, really. The images in my mind and the photos I took that day still roll around as possibilities for paintings. I have always wanted to try "On Fire" on a larger scale and since we were given a bit of freedom on Day Three I decided to do just that- paint a larger version. 

On Fire

8 x 8"

acrylic on board

© Nicki Ault, 2010

sold 

As the day came to an end I was pleased with what I had painted, however quietly inside myself I kind of felt like I took the easy way out. I really hadn't challenged myself in the sense that I had a certain comfort level with what I painted that day- and I didn't come to the class to be comfortable. My goal was to challenge myself and I hadn't really done that, so at day's end I secretly felt like I had let myself down. Sure enough after looking at my work that evening a friend (kindly) made a comment that he had seen this type of work from me before.

Dang! Busted!

I said he was right and I already knew that, so get off my back already!!! Ha! No I didn't say that, but I did say I was aware and that I was already planning to push myself big-time on Day Four. 

And I think I did... you can judge for yourself when you see my next post... so come back ya'll!

Day Two - The 1,2,3 Exercise

 

 Interconnected

16 x 16"

acrylic on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2012

sold

I showed you the above piece in the last post. It is here again because it pertains to the exercise we were given on the second day of the class. The instructor, Alicia Popoff, called it the 1,2,3 Exercise. The idea was to do three paintings: the first painting was to be done quite quickly and realistically, the second painting was then to use the first painting as a reference and begin to abstract it, the third painting was to ignore the first painting entirely and use the second painting as a jumping off point to really abstract what we saw. Pretty cool. She said you could actually reverse the exercise as well by first making an abstract painting, then move to a second painting by trying to find an image or direction in the first that would lead to a more recognizable painting, and finally in the third painting you would create something more entirely based in realism. Again, pretty cool.

Well, after following the rules rather rigidly the first day I loosened up and wasn't quite so by-the-book the second day! I decided to stay away from realism and I used the larger "reflection" you see above as my first painting. I found an area I liked in it and tried to create a more abstract painting with the lines and shapes. I also did a positive/negative flip, making the lines light white/gray instead of dark and the negative spaces a bit darker in colour compared to the first. This is the way I painted it:

Take Two

12 x 9"

acrylic on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2012

 But I actually like it this way a bit more:

...possibly because the horizontal lines are on the bottom as are some of the darker colours. The blocks of yellows and oranges are actually the under painting showing through.

My third painting actually ended up being another detail of the first painting rather than a more abstracted version of the second painting, so I didn't really follow the instructions like the good student I was on Day One! I would still like to do that third step of the exercise with both of these paintings and really see what I could do to abstract the heck out of them! That may be a goal at the studio in the near future after I get a couple of projects off my plate.

Water Lines
16 x 20"
acrylic on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2012
sold

I didn't feel quite so frozen on Day Two and I am sure going out to paint en plein air the night before helped. Finding a familiar thing to cling to with the reflections gave me the stability I needed and then I was able to play and experiment with that in the 1,2,3 Exercise. These are nothing like the abstract reflections I have done in the past, so I ended the day feeling like I stepped forward.

Day One Continues With Two More Paintings

Roadside Water
6 x 6"

acrylic on board
© Nicki Ault, 2012

I was feeling a smidge deflated as the first day of the Abstract Expressionism class wrapped up. I felt overwhelmed, out of my league and a general sense of "What am I doing here?". As if knowing it would help, a friend offered to take me out plein air painting after supper and before the light was gone for the day. A little flash of excitement went through me and I asked him if he could take me somewhere with water which he said was no problem. You see, in that moment I realized water has inspired some of the only abstract work I have done and maybe, just maybe, it could be a jumping off point for me now.

We drove around and checked out a few locations (with the added bonus of also seeing a deer, porcupine and some buffalo) and settled on a marsh that was a new spot for him too. It was a bit of a gray evening, but calm and beautiful. The water was very still so I focussed on the lines of the dead, water-logged trees in the reflection. I did this quick little study (above) and then I pulled out a larger support and did a similar composition, but used more colour. 

Interconnected
16 x 16"

acrylic on cradled panel
© Nicki Ault, 2012

It was fun and time went so fast! The light really began to fade... and the mosquitoes were appearing. As I finished, I wasn't even sure anymore what colours I was mixing. How much fun is that?!!! I really need to paint outside more often. I love it all: the sounds, the smells, the changing light, seeing animals... the pure adventure of it. Happy!

I went back to campus feeling rejuvenated and like maybe I would be able to get into this abstract business after all.

Ripple Effect

Ripple Effect

18 x 24"

acrylic on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2011
sold  

I was at the studio all day yesterday for some much needed art therapy. I even sent lunch to school with the kids so I could stay focused and "zoned'. I painted a small 6 x 6" prairie which I will show you next time, but I am so excited to finally show you a larger painting that I had to put this one on the blog first.

For those that have kept tabs on my blog from the beginning you might recall that I love to do what I call abstract reflections and lately I have been in the mood to do more. You can see a set of them if you look on my Flickr Photostream (find the link under the slide-show on the right hand column of my blog). During the past month as I worked on the "30 paintings in 30 days project" I began two larger paintings of this sort. This is one of them and I completed it yesterday. The second is much larger (30 x 40") and is from the same resource photo, but the colouring will be different. I am really happy with how "Ripple Effect" turned out. The finishing touches I added yesterday were exactly what it needed and I love it more and more each time I look at it.