Sask Craft Council Online Store

WHEW!

Art Now was a fantastic event! As an artist I was inspired to see so much excellent artwork in one location. I think it's safe to say that the prairie provinces are doing their part in elevating the Canadian art scene.

I am very grateful to the Saskatchewan Craft Council for the support and dedication they give to craftspeople and fine artisans in this province. From my viewpoint, their number one priority is to shine a light on our community's creative sector and they do that job with bells on. I am pleased to report that they sold two of the four pieces they had of mine in their booth at Art Now on the weekend and the remaining two are available in their online store until October 7th. Please have a look here , you may see something that you just can't live without.

This year at Art Now I decided to attend three Artist Talks and one panel discussion. As a result I was there all day on Saturday! I knew all of the participating artists I listened to and by the end of the day I was overwhelmed with pride. My friends and colleagues are such an inspiration to me and I feel honoured to run in the same circle as them. I don't feel worthy. Basically I feel like "one of these kids just ain't like the others", but if I keep plowing away at my art practice, maybe someday I will actually feel like I belong among these prairie stars.

The artists I listened to were:

Miranda Jones
Cam Forrester
Paula Cooley
Louisa Ferguson
Elisabeth Miller
Carol Wylie

Please do yourselves a favour and click on the links to learn more about them all.

Art Now Is This Weekend!

selection of 10x10's

available at Assiniboia Gallery

Above are the six new 10x10's debuting in the Assiniblioa Gallery booth at Art Now. Four at a time will be on display with my big painting "Charlotte's Sky", so two will be behind the scenes until they are rotated in.

A huge thank you to The Saskatchewan Craft Council for representing my little work in their booth and for already selling the top right prairie scene in the below collage.

And finally, today is my Artist Talk! It will take place in the Assiniboia Gallery booth at 2:00 and my topic is "The Power of Painting Small and Daily Painting". I will have my Daily Painting Project with me; four of the twelve paintings are still available. I also have a little handout because I am geeky that way. Come if you can!

Charlotte's Sky

 
Charlotte's Sky

36 x 48"

oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2018

available at Assiniboia Gallery

So my first crack at a big painting for the Assiniboia Gallery to debut at Art Now was dismal and abysmal to say the least. I had no choice but to abandon ship and start fresh. 

New canvas, new image, new palette, new approach. Thank goodness because "Charlotte's Sky" is the result and I LOVE IT! 

When I delivered it to Jeremy yesterday he was thrilled, which of course made me glow. We had a good laugh about my first effort because he knows I thought it was a piece of sh!t. He actually wants to see it if he has time for a studio visit today and I will be happy to indulge him. Studio life ain't always pretty!

When I was in London with my sister and family in August, we had a "free day" the day after my birthday. My husband booked himself on two tours he was interested in, my sister took the kids out on the town and I went to the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery! I enjoyed myself immensely. I will be posting work soon about the paintings I saw, some extremely famous and others were obscure, but absolute gems. One of my favourite pieces was a tiny (8x10? 11x14?) study from the 1700's. It blew my mind.

 
Daniel Swan

Trafalgar Square

  find him on Instagram
@danielkswan
 

Anyway, as I walked through Trafalgar Square from the National Gallery to the National Portrait Gallery around the corner, I spent some time watching the street artists and listening to a band play. I always support artists on the street when I spend time being "entertained" by them and in this case I was actually quite taken with the music, so I bought the band's CD! Back at the studio I played it over and over again while I worked on this big sky. My favourite song on the CD is "Charlotte" which happens to be the song that's playing in the background of my video below.

 "Charlotte" by Leon Coeur

So, thank you to Leon Coeur for inadvertently inspiring my painting sessions and helping me title the resulting piece of art!

 Leon Coeur

Trafalgar Square

Please come to Art Now this weekend if you are in Saskatoon - and check out "Charlotte's Sky" at full scale. Reception tonight!

Sleep Well Under The Vast Night Sky

#12 - Sleep Well Under The Vast Night Sky

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018

Daily Painting Project III

sold

That's a wrap!

This daily painting project was absolutely fantastic! Full disclosure: I haven't been feeling well for the entire project, but having these paintings to do each day motivated me to get out of the house and into the studio. It ended up being a great distraction.

I am very grateful for the enormous support I received over the last twelve days. Thank you to everyone who let me know just how much you were enjoying the process and looking forward to each daily post. And thank you to those who snapped up the pieces they loved. This nocturne plus the four below are available. If you are interested, please send me a message via Daily Paintworks, Facebook or Instagram. *UPDATE: Today's night sky just sold so the below four are the remaining pieces.

#1 - Lake Drama

#5 - Pale Field

#10 - Dreamland

#11 - Forest Aura

I will have the entire project with me at my Artist Talk at Art Now (Prairieland Park) on Friday (2:00- Assiniboia Gallery booth) and anything that hasn't sold will be available at that time.

Forest Aura

#11 - Forest Aura

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018

Daily Painting Project III

sold

This one photographed a bit dark. In person, the sunlight really glows behind the forest.

Suddenly the project is almost over! One more painting to go and then we are at twelve! The response has been fantastic with seven of the ten previously posted pieces already sold! Crazy! I didn't see that coming. Anyway, they will all be temporarily displayed at my Artist Talk on Friday and then released to the purchasers after that.

I am excited to reveal the new work I am delivering to the Assiniboia Gallery for installation in their booth at Art Now. A big 36x48 piece will debut along with six brand new 10x10's. These never-before-seen paintings will be on display and for sale all weekend. My plan is to post them on my social media late afternoon on Thursday, Sept. 20 and before the opening gala at 7:00 p.m.  

To top things off, my application was accepted earlier this year by the Saskatchewan Craft Council and I will have four of my 2018 6x6's framed in shadowboxes represented in their booth! I am so appreciative of their support!

The city is starting to buzz. Everyone is getting excited. It is going to be a great weekend at Art Now!

Be interesting. Buy art!

Dreamland

#10 - Dreamland

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018

Daily Painting Project III

sold

I find this one dreamy - the soft palette is making me all warm and fuzzy! It is inspired by the sunset the other night when I was driving home from the store. I was stopped at a traffic light, pulled out my camera (not phone) and took a quick photo to remind myself. When I painted it I used my little camera screen to look at the photo. Not easy but it allowed me to get creative and make a few things up, like the entire field area!

Two paintings left in the project and the big art fair is this weekend!

Clarity

#9 - Clarity

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018

Daily Painting Project III

sold

There is something so hopeful about a clear, blue prairie sky.

Three Little Evergreens, Spring at Waskesiu River

#8 - Three Little Evergreens, Spring at Waskesiu River

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018

Daily Painting Project III
sold

Ever since we did the landscaping in our yard a few years ago I have enjoyed watching plants grow again. Among our new perennial plants and shrubs, we had one tree placed in the corner of our yard; a little weeping Spruce. For the last two spring seasons I have been intrigued by the glorious colour of the new growth on the tips of its branches, so when I went to the lake in May, I really took notice of this same thing on the little trees in the forest. These sweet evergreens on the edge of the river made me really happy.

Sunset Striae

#7 - Sunset Striae

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018
(12 paintings in 12 days - Daily Painting Project III)
sold

The project is going swimmingly! At the halfway point, four of the first six have presold! The sold work will not be released until after my Artist Talk at Art Now on September 21st, so that I can display them in the Assiniboia Gallery booth before and during my presentation.

I am excited to see what develops on the next five boards, I love the punch of colour on number seven! Thanks for following along!

Tranquil Conclusion

#6 - Tranquil Conclusion

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018
(12 paintings in 12 days - Project III)
sold

I am trying to create a variety of work for these twelve daily paintings, so I felt one of my beloved (by me) subjects, a sunset reflection, was in order. They are so fun to do.

Voila! Painting number six! We are halfway there!

Pale Field

#5 - Pale Field

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018
(12 paintings in 12 days - Project III)

sold

I think the colour is off in this photo. The image on Instagram may show better. 

Did you know I am on Instagram? It is fun over there! I love making "Stories" even though I don't really know what I am doing. Unfortunately I get distracted by the feature sometimes when I should be painting, but I love it when I crack myself up, like I did with the below image I made for a Story...

*giggle*

(Do you know the movie reference?)

Also, using GIF's and stickers is really enjoyable. Sometimes I even make short little videos. Like, really short and I am never in them. Well, you might see my hand doing something. I find it all very entertaining.

Anyway, there is a link to my Instagram page on the right-hand side of this blog (see the camera icon). Check it out if you feel so inclined and follow me if you like - it's easier to engage over there, but I certainly appreciate the support this blog gets, so thanks either way!

Into The Blue

#4 - Into The Blue

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018
(12 paintings in 12 days - Project III)

sold

I love this one. The deep blue sky is my new favourite and the tiny line of distant canola actually went a long way in activating the field and making it more engaging.

So my last three blog posts revealed: 

1) I am doing a Daily Painting Project

2) I will be doing an Artist Talk at Art Now (Prairieland Park, Sept 21 at 2:00)

3) My talk will take place in the Assiniboia Gallery booth and I will have my daily paintings for sale and on display that afternoon

Here is a question though: Why twelve paintings in twelve days? Seems a bit random, you might think.

There is a method to my madness. Basically I have a four different display boards: one holds thirty 6x6's, one holds twelve, one holds six and one holds four. Because of our family holidays at the end of August I didn't have time to do a thirty day project and, let's be honest, a four or six day daily painting project would have been ultra lame. I plan to bring the paintings with me for the talk, so a twelve painting project seemed worthwhile and would also have a bit of visual impact. I had time to start the project after returning from holidays and even had time to factor in recovery from my unexpected brutal sinus cold AND give the paintings drying time before transporting them.

It has all worked out and I am loving the process of painting these little gems every day.

Silver Twilight, Waskesiu

#3 - Silver Twilight, Waskesiu

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018
(12 paintings in 12 days - Project III)
sold

I'm thrilled to announce that my Artist Talk, "The Power of Painting Small and Daily Painting", will take place at 2:00 p.m. in the Assiniboia Gallery booth at Art Now!

Two years ago when I attended the very first Art Now in Saskatoon, I remember admiring the Assiniboia Gallery and thinking how it would be a dream come true to be represented by them. Twelve months later at the second Art Now in Regina, the Assiniboia Gallery introduced me as a new artist on their roster! 

A few months ago when gallery owner, Jeremy Weimer, asked if I would consider doing an Artist Talk at the third annual Art Now in Saskatoon, I really wasn't sure if I had much to contribute to the interesting art-focused dialogue that would happen throughout the weekend. Upon further consideration, however, I realized that the evolution of my art practice is a tiny bit unique in these parts and I had loads to offer on the topic of painting small and often. As a result, I agreed to do a talk... but NOT on the stage! Ha!

Leading up to this year's event I decided it would be really fun to take on another daily painting project, although it is smaller in scope than my previous two because our family holidays prevented me from starting the project sooner.

I have always kept my 6x6 size exclusive to me. I have never sold my unframed paintings of this size through a gallery or another vendor. I have made a short-term exception for this event because I hope it will add an interesting element to my talk. The full collection of the twelve daily paintings will be displayed on my portable board and easel for Friday afternoon only in the Assiniboia Gallery booth at Art Now. They are available to purchase as soon as I post them (one has already sold), but they will not be released until after my Artist Talk. 

If you have time and feel inclined to learn how incorporating small-scale work into your art practice might be beneficial, please come to my talk! It will be fun, interesting and informal!

The Prairies

#2 - The Prairies

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018
(12 paintings in 12 days - Project III)
sold

I love this size! At one time it was the majority of what I painted and what I sold, but over the last couple of years the 8x8's have taken over. It's going to be fun for me to return to these bite-sized boards for these twelve days.

I told you yesterday that today I would reveal more details about this project. Well... and I can't believe I am about to say this.... I am doing an Artist Talk at Art Now Fine Art Fair !!! ACK!

My topic is "The Power of Painting Small and Daily Painting". I am pretty excited although I am definitely stepping out of my comfort zone, so if you are free on Friday, Sept. 21 at 2:00, I would love to see some friendly faces.

Stay tuned, tomorrow when I post painting #3 I will reveal where I will be presenting my Artist Talk at Art Now.

Lake Drama and Mini Daily Painting Project!

#1 - Lake Drama

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018

(12 paintings in 12 days - Project III)
sold

I just began a mini daily painting project! 

I will be painting one 6x6 painting every day for the next twelve days and posting them as I go.

This is my third daily painting project, the first two (2011 and 2012) involved painting thirty paintings in thirty days and in each case the project concluded with me displaying and selling the work at an art and craft market. The idea behind "daily painting" is to paint one complete painting each day for a certain number of consecutive days.... or indefinitely! This year's project is smaller than the others I have done, but I am very excited about the reason behind it. More details about this unique project to be unveiled tomorrow with painting numero deux!

Kindness and Joy: Life on the Prairies

Kindness and Joy: Life on the Prairies

30x 48"

acrylic and oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2011

NFS

Sorry for my disappearance! My family and I went on a trip of a lifetime to London, Edinburgh and Paris! When we returned last week jet lag and a brutal virus hit me hard. As I regroup and get back into painting, I may revisit the archives in an effort to get the blog going again. The coming months are jam-packed so there will be lots of new art on the way, so please keep checking in! Also, I have already posted a few snippets of our trip on Facebook and Instagram so you can look over there if you are curious (links on the right-hand side of this blog).

In 2011 I had been going through a real slump feeling like every effort I made in my painting was 💩. I had been trying to no avail to get an idea out of my head; I wanted to paint beautiful, silvery Wolf Willow branches among autumn leaves. I had been blogging about my struggles and then one day I got a package in the mail. It was a comprehensive, stunning, inspirational book about Tom Thompson and the Group of Seven. Along with it my friend wrote a note expressing her support of me and her certainty that this slump would pass and my creative energy would flow again.

A few days later I started this canvas. It went so well that I returned to the studio later in the day and painted well into the night. I returned the next day and finished. It was a surreal experience. I almost felt like I was in an altered state as I worked. I finally had the painting I was dreaming of in my head.

I tear up just thinking about it because her gesture pushed me out of such a bad head space. Her kindness has impacted me to this day. My friend's initials are K. J., so I used them for the title "Kindness and Joy". Her husband actually bought this painting for her but then she really wanted another painting I had kept in my own personal collection. I decided to switch with her and I kept this one instead. I actually ended up getting a few commissions based on this painting, so my "Life on the Prairies" series was born and I used the initials of those friends/clients to title their paintings.