Road To Nowhere

Road To Nowhere

20 x 20"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2017

sold at Darrell Bell Galley

I took a road trip to Regina today with seven new paintings. It was a glorious day in the country with amazing shades of yellow everywhere: golds, ochres, blondes, creams. As I drove I was thinking about how Naples Yellow and Titanium Buff with a hint of Brilliant Pale Yellow would be just right for the bleached out stubble in the field. I'm geeky that way!

This painting will be in "Painting The Landscape" which opens at Darrell Bell Gallery in a week! I am so very excited! This piece is a study for my big commission which I will finish next week. My clients have been so patient and understanding with how long it is taking me to get the job done. I have had some incredible opportunities come knocking, the group landscape show at DBG is one of them, and so I have had to stop and start the commission a few times. Thankfully they are happy for me and they don't want me to rush through their painting. This makes me want to knock it out of the park for them even more!

Speaking of opportunities, tomorrow I will be making a huge announcement, so please check back!

Slipping Away

Slipping Away

24 x 36"

oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2017

sold at Darrell Bell Gallery

I love the intensity of this one! The jewel-tones and the glow of the sunlight are not for the faint of heart. Ha!  This one packs a punch!

You guys, I have so many paintings to post! All of a sudden they are all finished and being delivered, which is great but I have my work cut out for me with updating the blog, Facebook and Instagram. It was quiet around here for August, but hold onto your socks because September is kickin' into high gear!

Prairie Garland

Prairie Garland

24 x 72"

acrylic and oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2017

sold at Darrell Bell Gallery

This turned out better than I could have hoped! I really love it. It is my "big" piece for the show "Painting The Landscape" at Darrell Bell Gallery which is opening next week. 

This painting makes my heart happy!

A Sweet Farewell

A Sweet Farewell

24 x 36"

oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2017

sold at Darrell Bell Gallery

I am so excited about the paintings I have created for the show "Painting The Landscape" at Darrell Bell Gallery! So far this is the largest watery sunset I have created from the reflection series I began earlier this year, and I love it! The sunlight glows softly and the water looks peaceful and dreamy. It is the image I chose to use for the artist invitation Darrell and his team prepared for me.

I have to wire, sign, title and photograph all my work and there are a couple of minor tweaks to make on a painting or two, then I can deliver them! There is going to be a lot of artwork in this show. Seven artists! Darrell is really great at curating so I can hardly wait to see how he pulls the show together. Hopefully I can get some decent pictures once it is hung and then I will share them with you, but ideally if you are in Saskatoon in the next month you can stop by and see it all in person.

Show Announcement! Painting the Landscape - Darrell Bell Gallery

I mentioned that I have been painting larger work these days, well, this is one of the reasons!

I am so excited that I was invited to participate in this show! In June Darrell asked me if I wanted to be in a landscape show of work painted over the summer with him and some other artists. Ummmm, yes, yes I do!!! Seriously, it is going to be awesome! You have to come to the reception on Friday, Sept. 15 - it will be f-u-n! Darrell is hanging the show in BOTH gallery spaces, so there will be a hub of activity going from the street level location up to the main gallery on the fourth floor of the Canada Building. And the art! Oh, the art!

Jackie Miller is one of the two other artists I went to Georgian Bay with in 2013 and back when I was doing Sunday Spotlights on this blog, I wrote about her here. I also did a spotlight, which you can see here, on Greg Hargarten who is a member of the Men Who Paint group in Saskatoon and his recent work is making my head spin! Darrell has been working on some fantastic prairie paintings and he paints big! Three or four of my "big" paintings can often fit in one of his! Cheryl Tuck-Tallon is the owner of the Black Spruce Gallery up north where I sell my work and, although I haven't met Lindsay Love or Craig Erickson yet, I really admire their art!

So mark your calendars right now and keep tabs on this page because over the next week I will be posting the pieces I will have available in this show. And I think they are good!

Art Now! Saskatchewan Fine Art Fair

This exciting second annual showcase of Saskatchewan galleries and artists is happening in Regina in two weeks. Last year it was held in Saskatoon and I believe the plan is to alternate between cities each year. As a juried member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council I was able to submit an application to have work shown in their booth and I am happy to announce that once again they selected some of my art. I believe they are exhibiting about twenty-five artists and fine craftsmen in their space. Below is what you will see from me:

Scatter

30 x 30"

oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2016

Icy Puddles

6 x 6"

oil on board

(framed)

© Nicki Ault, 2017
sold 

Northern Reflection

6 x 6"

oil on board

(framed)

© Nicki Ault, 2017
sold 

Living Sky

6 x 6"

oil on board

(framed)

© Nicki Ault, 2017
sold 

The little 6 x 6 inch paintings are all framed in white shadowboxes and actually look lovely as a set, although they are individually priced.

If you live in Regina or will be there in two weeks, try to find time to check out this event. It was a real feast for the eyes last year and I am sure it will be just as impressive this time around!

Where did August Go?

Cinderella's Castle

© Nicki Ault, 2017

I really didn't mean to neglect my blog for a month. I don't know where the days went. I have been working on the big commission and other large works and as a result haven't had anything to show. Also, we had an epic family holiday to Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida! We planned it ages ago and it was absolutely amazing! The kids were perfect ages to take (thirteen and fifteen) and it was so fun to see the wonder in their faces as they experienced this magical place. It is really quite astounding when you think about what has been built there. The overwhelming amount of creativity, design and imagination is absolutely inspiring.

On my birthday we went to "Springfield" at Universal Studios and had Krusty Burgers! The Harry Potter World was mind boggling; including the (expensive) wands which performed magic at certain stops along the streets of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, but you had to make the correct motion and say the spell for it to work!

 Duff Beer

© Nicki Ault, 2017

Dragon Atop Gringott's Bank

© Nicki Ault

 Archway into Hogsmeade

© Nicki Ault

Possibly my favourite park of all is the Animal Kingdom.I LOVE it there. It could spend hours looking over the Tree of Life. A brilliant imagination created that piece of art. It was so fun walking around it with the kids trying to find all of the different animals in the trunk of the tree.

The Tree of Life

© Nicki Ault, 2017

On that note, I am inspired and I'm fired up to paint! Some great things are happening in my little art world and I will be filling you in right away. There is a lot happening all at once, so my head is down, I am working hard at the studio everyday and my fingers are crossed that these paintings turn out because there is no time for redos!

Thank you so much for patiently waiting for me to return. Paintings are coming!

Under The Stars

Under The Stars

8 x 8"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2017

sold at Darrell Bell Gallery

I love painting these night scenes. More experimenting to do in the near future... new ideas are fun!

Blooming Bright

Blooming Bright

8 x 8"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2017

sold at Darrell Bell Gallery

Oooooh, the canola this year! I love how this painting turned out! I'm going big with some of these canola fields once the big commish is done!

Like Hope Shining Through

Like Hope Shining Through

8 x 8"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2017

sold at Darrell Bell Gallery

There is something about the glowing rays of light of a colourful sunset filtering through the branches and boughs of pine trees; it just feels like hope.