Allow Me To Introduce You...

 

St. George Studio Artists' Group

I've been meaning to upload a photo to introduce you to the other artists that work in the same studio as me. This photo was taken on Nov. 27 after the Open Studio and unfortunately three had already left. They are a diverse and wonderful group of artists and I feel so fortunate to be among them... I'm like a sponge trying to learn as much as I can from their wealth of experience and knowledge. My being part of the studio is a much better deal for me than it is for them!

Going clockwise from the only dude in the group, they are:

Peter Mac Mahon- sculptor
Jane Harington- painter (website)
Miranda Jones- painter, metal worker (gallery, gallery)
Jan Corcoran- painter (website, gallery)
Moi- painter
Bridget Aitken- painter, sculptor
Gale Hagblom- painter (website)

Not in photo: Degen Lindner- painter (gallery), Carol Wylie- painter (website), Amira Wasfy- painter

Sunset Swamp

Sunset Swamp

18 x 24"

acrylic and oil on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2011
sold   

This past summer, after visiting a friend in Emma Lake, I came upon the most beautiful sight on the drive back to Waskesiu. It was a water-logged area, in part because of the work of some beavers and in part because of the unprecedented amount of rainfall the lake country had this season. The early evening light was absolutely magnificent causing the grasses to glow (you guessed it) the most beautiful chartreuse. The water was calm and the reflection was something out of a fairy tale. Many, many Spruce trees in the Boreal forest are dead because of an infestation of Spruce Beetles. These dead trees almost look burnt- they are a very unhealthy golden brown, but in this light they looked beautiful. "Sunset Swamp" is one of several paintings I would like to do from the photos I took that evening.

Deer Bed at the Grasslands

Deer Bed at the Grasslands

6 x 6"

oil on board
© Nicki Ault, 2011
sold  

In October when I went with the Grade Two class on the field trip to the Saskatoon Natural Grasslands I received quite an education. Among the things I learned was how to spot clues of wildlife in the area. Sure enough we came upon a relatively large area where the grass was packed down; not in an interesting crop circle kind of way, but more in a random free-form sort of way. This is a deer bed! Deers took a load off and chilled here! That thought made me happy, so I painted it!

Feelin' Sketchy Saturday

 10 minute contour 

 2 minute gestures

 2 minute gestures

 10 minute sketch

25 minute sketch

Happily I made it to the drop-in drawing session again today. I am enjoying the result of the contour drawing! Her right arm looks like it is only a bone and her left arm looks like it has no bone in it at all!

Incoming

Incoming

6 x 6"

oil on board
© Nicki Ault, 2011
sold  

I have really enjoyed painting these soft, stormy skies. I've got a 24 x 24" cradled panel all gessoed and ready to go. I am planning to paint a larger version and can hardly wait to get started, however, I am planning to wait until I have a good stretch of time because I know when I start I won't want to stop. Plus I will need to work while the paint is wet so I can blend and smudge. Fun!

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.