May I Introduce To You, Laura Payne!

Hex XX

© Laura Payne, 2016

Not only do I love making art, I love collecting it! And not only do I love collecting it, but I love taking a break from blathering on about myself, *yawn*, to tell you about other artists! I am absolutely ecstatic that this summer I took some of my personal savings (set aside specifically for art) and purchased this stunning creation by Laura Payne. The photo I took doesn't show it, but you can tell by the shadow that it is three dimensional.

Laura is just the loveliest person and I have had the pleasure of getting to know her since she began working at Darrell Bell Gallery. Every interaction with her is delightful and I always enjoy seeing her when I stop in. I knew her for a little while before I realized that she was also an artist. I remember one time Darrell made a joke about Laura's love for stripes and I thought that was kind of cool because a little known fact about me is that I totally love stripes, but then I saw some of her artwork and I realized he was referring to what she creates not necessarily fashion! I knew the minute I saw her work that someday I would find a way to buy a piece and I always thought it would be a striped piece, but when I saw the above creation, "Hex XX", I knew it was mine.

 

© Laura Payne

Laura has had an extremely exciting 2017. Her striking work of art, Enneadec II, was short-listed as one of fifteen finalists in the 19th Annual RBC Emerging Artist Painting Competition. This is a huge and coveted honour. There were 682 applications made to the competition this year! You can see Laura's submission as well as the other fourteen finalists at this link.

© Laura Payne

Laura earned her BFA at Western University (2010) and her MFA at Maryland Institute College of Art (2013). She currently lives in Saskatoon where she works at Darrell Bell Gallery and creates in her home studio.

© Laura Payne

If you happen to be in Saskatoon this weekend or over the next few weeks, stop in to see Laura's work at Darrell Bell Gallery where there is currently a show of modern art installed. You will find Laura's exceptional work at the front of the street level gallery and a spectacular exhibition of Eli Bornstein's work in the fourth floor gallery space (Canada Building, 21st Street). This is all coinciding with the exciting opening of the Remai Modern in Saskatoon this weekend!

© Laura Payne

Another super cool development is that Laura's work recently captured the attention of Danielle Krysa who is the well known art blogger of "The Jealous Curator" and author of the book "Your Inner Critic Is A Big Jerk" (which I own because I wanted to come to terms with my inner critic who is a real jackass). Check out this post about Laura on her blog!

© Laura Payne

There is something in my gut that says Laura is one to watch. Unfortunately my photos do not do her art justice, but hopefully they have you intrigued enough to click the links- especially to her website - where she has better images. In person, they are something to behold. This young woman is on her way! 

Art Show Eve and Some Tweaks

This is where I'll be tomorrow and I am getting excited! For those that are not familiar, the Forestry Farm Park is home to a beautiful picnic area with a fishing pond and a fantastic new playground. There are many trails to bike or walk, there is a small butterfly sanctuary and also beautiful (and I mean beautiful), peaceful Japanese-style garden. As if that wasn't enough, Saskatoon's zoo is located at the Forestry Farm and I hear there are two new little lion cubs this spring! It is a great way to spend several hours with family and friends.

The art show and sale is in the historical Superintendent's house; I will have my 30 daily paintings there with a few larger pieces. There will be eight other local artists besides me, one of whom is the spectacularly talented fibre artist Monika Kinner-Whalen.

I spent some time in the last couple of days tweaking four of the daily paintings that I was not 100% happy with- I knew exactly what I wanted to change...

   

The first one is the new version of #20- Good Night Sun. I added more branches, toned down that yellow background and added depth to it, and darkened some areas of the hill. (sold)

On the left is the revised version of #21- Waterlogged. The treeline bugged me- it looked like it was dropping off in an odd way on the left side, so I brought the trees up into the sky a bit more. 

 

The revision of #27- Loom is mostly in the colour of the water. I like the blue more than the green. I also tweaked the clouds a bit.

Finally, I thought the tree on the hill in #28- Unmade Beds and Buttercups was too dark and imposing, so I softened it and brought the Wolf Willow a bit higher. There were a few other small changes here and there throughout.

I'll post some pictures of my set-up at the art show tomorrow evening. My fingers are crossed for good weather.

Abundance

#24- Abundance

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2012

(30 paintings in 30 days - Project II)
sold

Again, working on a little painting took my mind off my exhaustion- I think I am really run down. Lately I feel more tired when I wake up than when I go to bed, but I hate to complain because things could be a lot worse and I know this will pass. Painting, more precisely creating, can be such therapy. As I worked today, my mind drifted and relaxed, troubles fell away for that bit of time. As I painted this prairie scene, I found myself feeling thankful for this protected land which is found right within our city limits. It provides safety, food and a resting place for animals that wander in along the river. It is abundant in so many ways and is a place of education for our children. And the natural progression was to think about the abundance in my life- not the abundance of material things, but the things that really count like family and friends (and art!). I am lucky. So the plan is to pick myself up by the boot straps, take a load of Vitamin D and start pumping the Cold FX to get the immune system back on track. And if that doesn't work I can always summon a calming manatee to help me feel better!

Transitions

#23 - Transitions

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2012

(30 paintings in 30 days - Project II)
sold

For an all-too-brief chunk of time painting this little picture helped distract me from how miserable I was feeling. Thankfully as the day winds down I am cautiously optimistic that I am on the upswing.

I am finding it difficult to stay away from big prairie skies on this project. I was attracted to the transitional layers of this particular sky. Once in awhile I feel like I can see green in the sky where the yellow glow of the setting sun meets the cooler blue of the sky. It doesn't happen with every sunset; I assume it must be when conditions are just right in the atmosphere. Right at that transitional spot I think I see the yellow and blue mixing to give a hint of pale green. Or am I imagining it? This was one of those skies.

Three In A Row

#16 - Three In A Row

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2012

(30 paintings in 30 days - Project II)
sold

I was really wiped-out after this weekend and I still haven't quite recuperated. Which is why this post is so short!

Silver Dance

#13 - Silver Dance

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2012

(30 paintings in 30 days - Project II)
sold

I got up early again today so I was going to get my daily painting done but had no board to work on. Quite frustrating! However, I crawled back into bed and rested while listening to the rain pound on the roof. Just as well really because the second day down at the "Family Tree" show was extremely busy! Maybe even busier than yesterday. Dad and I are both overwhelmed by the response. I'm basically shell-shocked (in a very good way)... I sold 21 paintings! What? Is that for real? Unbelievable. And all sizes... from the 6x6's right to the largest one I have ever done (30 x 60). And I think Dad sold 34 out of the 48 bowls he brought, plus a bunch of beautiful wooden topped wine bottle stoppers. Craziness. I am extremely grateful for the support and reaction to my work and I loved seeing each and every friendly face that walked through the doors. I only wish it was easier to visit. Thank you so much!

Quirk 3: An Experimental Sky

#9 - Quirk 3: An Experimental Sky

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2012

(30 paintings in 30 days - Project II)
sold

Well this one morphed from the original plan of a swirly dark-bottomed sky to a new quirky sky. It's different- I'll give it that!

Brewing

#8 - Brewing

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2012

(30 paintings in 30 days - Project II)
sold

Well this was fun! I happened to get a look at it from upside-down, and now I have yet another idea for a sky- with the dark part near the horizon and the lighter clouds above. Hmmm...

September High Noon

#1 - September High Noon

6 x 6"

oil on board

(30 paintings in 30 days - Project II)

© Nicki Ault, 2012
sold

I am somewhat hesitant in making this commitment, but here we go! I am starting another short term daily painting project like I did last year. Once again I am going to make 30 small paintings in 30 days which I will then take to the 2nd Annual Friends of The Forestry Farm House Art Show and Sale. I will be posting these paintings in my Daily Paintworks Gallery, however they will not ship until after this event which is on May 27th. I want to have the entire series on display that afternoon, so if something sells before the show it will be displayed with a red sticker beside it.

There is so much happening right now... the show at O'Reilly Insurance ends in a week, the show with my Dad is pulling together, the daily painting project is now under way and I am on a committee planning an event for June (which I can hardly wait to tell you about... but it deserves a post of it's own). Stick with me and see how it all turns out!