Boreal Forest

Boreal Forest

8 x 8"

oil on panel

© Nicki Ault, 2018

sold at Darrell Bell Gallery

This was an experiment. The underpainting and initial sketch on the panel was done in an intense magenta. I love the pops of that colour coming through the various greens.

Living In Harmony

Living In Harmony

6 x 6"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2013
 http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/nicki-ault/living-in-harmony/248458
sold 

As I was organizing my 6x6's the other day I came across "Living In Harmony" which I painted last summer, but realized I had not posted it on the blog or the Daily Paintworks Gallery. Better late than never I suppose, so here it is.

I have spent almost all of the summers of my life, for some length of time or another, in Waskesiu Lake, Prince Albert National Park. It has changed and grown over the years and is perhaps a bit more commercial than it used to be, but I still love it. It is now a real source of joy to see my children playing and exploring in this environment; we all feel a bit more relaxed and free. The kids are old enough to take off on their bikes and tour around, but they are young enough to still enjoy biking as a family. For two summer seasons as a young adult I lived and worked in Waskesiu. I was a waitress at the golf course restaurant and I LOVED making tips!  The first summer I saved every last penny of my tips which paid for a two month trip to Europe with my sister. The second summer I saved all of my tips and bought furniture for my first apartment. As time unfolds it will be interesting to see if my boys want to work at the lake.

Waskesiu Lake is situated two and a half hours north of Saskatoon, where I live, in the Boreal forest. Both deciduous and evergreen trees grow in the Boreal forest- they live in harmony, so that is where the title for this painting comes from. Clever, eh?

Up Early and Posting!

I could not sleep and as I lay in bed this morning all I could do was think about my blog! Seemed like a good reason to get up and start writing. I'm probably thinking about it because my brother-in-law and his family are arriving today from Edmonton and I likely won't get a chance to post anything for a couple of days. We are all very excited because we haven't seen their little guy for ages. He is twenty-one months and my boys can't wait to play with him.

 

Life After Death

7x7

acrylic on canvas

sold

This little painting I am showing you today was done after the large fungus you saw in the post on August 27. Ever since I did that one I have been interested in these parasitic treasures you can find in the forest. Some of them are spectacular. I don't know much about them, but from what I can tell they grow on sick, dying or dead trees. This one was growing inside a rotting tree stump that I found while walking through the forest and I am calling it "Life After Death". It is acrylic on canvas and is 7x7". I don't know if it will make it into the show or not. It is painted in a tighter fashion than say my reflections, but at the same time I don't think it is "anal". This particular one was sort of flat, yet had this undulating surface at the same time and the colours were spectacular! I had the little fungus to the left looking a bit like a derby for awhile. After a few tips from my instructor at the art camp, hopefully it blends in more and no longer looks quite so hat-like!

Have a great long week-end! And once again, thanks to all of you who have been leaving comments.

Advice Where You Least Expect It

I was flipping channels the other night after the kids went to bed and I caught the last part of the make-over show "Style By Jury". They were helping transform a single mom who was a dancer years ago, but had let that part of herself slip away. One of the confidence building exercises they had her do was choreograph a ballet piece to be judged by a panel. How intimidating can you get when you have been out of that world for awhile? However it was something she wanted to get back into and she knew she still had a passion for dance deep inside. When it was all over she was completely elated to have faced her fears and gone through with the whole process. She then had this light bulb moment which really resonated with me. She basically said that so often when we have our children we put our dreams aside to focus on them and make sure they are getting all that they need. She realized that, in fact, this  is actually the time we should bring on our dreams full-force because it is our job to inspire our children. I love this advice! And when it is put that way it makes so much sense.

I hope my boys will someday see that mommy is an individual with dreams of  her own and that it is okay to chase them... even at 41...and even if they aren't the most practical of options!

On that note I have three more paintings to post which will be going into my show in November. They are all 10x10" and acrylic on canvas. I was trying to catch the sunlight filtering through the tress in the forest and illuminating the moss beds.

Deep In The Woods- 10x10 sold

Lit- 10x10 sold

Streaming In- 10x10 sold