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!

Kindness and Joy: Life on the Prairies

Kindness and Joy: Life on the Prairies

48 x 30"

oil on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2011 
NFS 

I love this painting. Love it. It makes me happy beyond words. It is exactly as I wanted it to be. Every brush stroke on this painting was made with a pure and genuine love of creating art. It was one of those magical times when everything was flowing so well that I almost felt like I was on a different plane. It was like the elixir I needed to get into the spirit of painting again and stop the inexplicable funk I've been in with my art lately. Here is the lovely back story to which I eluded the other day...

Early last week I arrived home with the kids for lunch and found a small pile of mail in the front porch. A package had been delivered with my name on it, but no return address. It was a tad mysterious- I couldn't recall ordering anything. I opened it up and the most beautiful book on The Group of Seven was inside with a small note...

It was from a friend who had been reading my blog and wanted to encourage me to accept the lows with the highs and to remind me that I am a good artist. How beautiful is that? The very next day I went to the studio and this painting happened. (I love this painting, just so you know). And since then I have been creating non-stop and can hardly wait to do more.The friend who sent it to me has the initials K.J. and so the title "Kindness and Joy" is a reference to her and the beautiful gesture that got me back on track.

I love this painting.

And now I am heading to the Open Studio! Wish me luck!

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!

The Day The Lake Became The Sea

The Day The Lake Became The Sea

(Waskesiu)

6 x 6"

oil on board
© Nicki Ault, 2011 
sold 

Have I had fun painting these skies! Mmmm. I had been thinking about these reference photos since I took them in the summer on a dark and stormy day. We went to a camp kitchen near the main beach in Waskesiu and had a wiener/marshmallow roast. The wind really picked up and the sky got wild. I kept running down to the beach to get more photos as the weather changed. It really was spectacular. The lake became this crazy green colour and the sky was blue and then purple and then even pink down by the horizon. And the waves! Wow. Waskesiu Lake is not particularly large so it really has to be windy to get decent size waves and these ones were rolling and crashing. If I didn't know better I might have thought it was the ocean.

Little Big Sky

Little Big Sky

6 x 6"

oil on board
© Nicki Ault, 2011  

sold

I have so much to show you! I have been getting loads of painting done for the upcoming Open Studio. Things have clicked and I am enjoying myself again. It's all thanks to a beautiful gift I received in the mail last week which I will tell you about soon. For now enjoy this new little sky... and there is another tomorrow!

Memories of Spruce River

Memories of Spruce River

24 x 24"

acrylic on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2011  

Here is the most current version of this painting. I think the upper left and lower right corners look more complete now and the eye moves around the canvas without getting stuck. the changes are subtle, but I think they make the painting a bit better. Thank you to those who offered suggestions. I love doing these abstract reflections, but I could keep tweaking them forever... at some point it just has to be done.

Feelin' Sketchy Saturday

15 minute pencil sketch

10 minute pencil sketch

quick charcoal gestures

10 minute contour drawing

I was unexpectedly able to attend the live model drawing session this morning. I thought I would have to miss it so when I realized I could go I felt quite excited. The model today was one that we had a couple of weeks ago. She is marvelous. She was even talking about how she was studying a book of poses last night so she could try some new things. I'm feeling really good about how it is going; I am still struggling with proportion (perhaps you can tell), but the practice is helping.

I am in a love/hate relationship right now... I have a painting that is really busting my chops! I received some good feedback from another artist today so if I can implement her suggestions I hope I will be feeling more love and not so much hate! Pictures soon... of it and the final (?) version of Memories of Spruce River.

Alone on the Range

Alone on The Range

6 x 6"

oil on board
© Nicki Ault, 2011
sold  

This is a tree I came across while on a field trip with my son's Grade Two class to the Saskatoon Natural Grasslands. Apparently long, long ago, Bison were plentiful all across our province. In fact, at that time there were more Bison roaming the prairies than the current population of Saskatchewan, which is over a million (gosh, I hope I am remembering this detail right... I haven't been in school for a long time!). Because of this fact fewer bushes and shrubs were able to establish themselves- they were always getting trampled and nibbled! Today the landscape of our grasslands (which are now a little low on Bison) is different than it would have looked back then because bushes and shrubs are able to live longer lives; really "put down roots" so to speak. Ba da boom! Thanks, I'll be here all week!

You're Invited

I will have five paintings in this juried show of small works. I'm familiar with several of the artists whose work will also be in the show and it promises to be good. It's a perfect time to get a bit of holiday shopping done and to top it off it is a fundraiser for the Saskatoon Food Bank.


*I do believe there is a typo and the doors will be open until 9:00 on Friday evening.

The Approach

The Approach

(Waskesiu Lake)

12 x 16"

oil on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2011  

sold 

I began this one awhile ago at the studio, maybe in September, and I was never happy with it. I made some adjustments the other day and it is working much better. Another dramatic sky in Saskatchewan! I added the rain across the lake to make even more of a story. I toned the canvas with Quinacridone Nickel Azo and I love how that yellow/gold colour peaks through the clouds here and there.

Feelin' Sketchy Saturday

 10 minute charcoal study

10 minute pencil study

 and for your amusement...

 

a 10 minute contour drawing

(I tried very hard not to look at the paper)

I can't believe it is already Saturday! Where did that week go? I went to the drop-in life drawing class this morning and we had another lovely model. She had beautiful hair- long, wavy and dark.. with the ends dyed green! I also did several gesture drawings which are always fun for loosening up. I didn't stay for the entire time because I had a to-do list that was weighing on my mind.

On Monday I am dropping off five paintings that will be hung in a juried show next weekend. It is the second year for this art show, "Little Gems", which is all about small work (16" or less). Last year artists were able to enter three pieces and this year they upped it to five. I think there should be loads of great work there. The opening reception is Friday, November 18 from 4-9 p.m. and it is a fundraiser for the Saskatoon Food Bank. The show will be at The Mix Artist Collective Studio, 539 24th Street East and runs all weekend.

Embrace Life - It's Been Two Years

  Embrace Life- please wear your seatbelts

As much as I don't want to be a Debbie Downer... wah wah wah... this topic is too important to not take the opportunity to mention. 

Today is the second anniversary of our car accident which happened to follow my first ever gallery opening. What began as a day in which a dream was being realized, ended with my family in a situation I had never before imagined- with all of us in the emergency room. On our way home after the opening reception of my art show we had been blind sided by a lady who ran the red light. She hit the passenger side of our van at full speed on the sliding door where my, then, 7 year old was sitting and she also connected with part of my door. It is a miracle my son had virtually no injuries. I still can't believe it. Every single window in the van was smashed because we rolled 1 and 1/4 times... except his window on the sliding door that was hit. It was in perfect condition. As we rolled I heard the windows breaking and I remember screaming, "Keep your arms in!!!" In those split seconds I was terrified someone's arm would flail out and be crushed under the rolling van. We came to rest on the passenger side. I looked up to see my husband safely secured by his seat belt in the driver's seat. I looked back to see my, then, five year old strapped safely in his seat, albeit up in the air behind my husband. Blood from a cut above his left eye was dripping down on my other son, who was strapped to his seat. My seat belt had me gripped so tightly that I couldn't turn to see Sammy who was right behind me. It was terrifying, because his was the door that got the brunt of the hit. It was easily the worst thing I have ever been through.... but the most miraculous. We were, and are, all right. 

Not a day goes by when I don't think of the accident, usually when I am driving. It is not a bad thing because I feel like it keeps me aware and in the moment when I am on the road. I have had people tell me that when they heard about our accident it affected them to the point that it made a difference to their driving and made them more vigilant about the use of seat belts. That is why I am writing about this again and why I will next year on November 8. 

Read more about our story...

and for the love of life.... please wear your seat belts.

Feelin' Sketchy Saturday

contour drawing

gesture drawings

15 minute sketch

 20 minute sketch

20 minute sketch

I don't know... sketching could become a Saturday thing; at least I am going to try. I went to the drop-in figure drawing session again this morning and it was great. The model was wonderful- even with a broken foot! She gave us the most beautiful poses. She was elegant and created such beautiful lines with her body, especially in her gesture poses. These are some of the sketches I did in the almost three hours I was there. I think my two favorites are the 15 minute sketch and the contour drawing. When she got settled in the reclining pose I was in a bit of a panic because of my angle. Her head was closest to me and her feet furthest away... and all of the fore-shortening had me freaked! I gathered my thoughts and decided that it might make for a really interesting contour drawing. I love how it turned out. Theoretically once a contour drawing begins you don't look at your paper or lift your pencil, you just follow the lines of the figure with your eyes and move your pencil at the same time. I probably spent about 15 minutes on it. I took my time, but admit I looked down a couple of times when, in fact, I did lift my pencil off the paper. Rules.... bah!

Memories and Fairies

Memories of Spruce River

24 x 24"

acrylic on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2011  

I've been pondering this one for a bit, but I am not sure what else to change/add/eliminate. It's one of my most abstract efforts yet (of the abstract reflections I have done). It is the final result of the plein air canvas I started on my getaway weekend in September. I showed you a few progress shots the other day and this is where I have stopped. I think there are some great areas to explore and I really wanted to create a feeling of layers to the reflection. I hope the deep, dark parts take you into the canvas and the movement in the lighter rings/ripples bring you up to the surface.

As a side note... Tommy lost a tooth on Tuesday and the Tooth Fairy still hasn't come! She must be over-run with house calls these days! That or she has been too side-tracked at the end of the day by "Love It Or List It" and Halloween candy!