Welcome Home Ripple Effect

Ripple Effect

24 x 18"

acrylic on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2011
sold

This painting is now back home from it's long journey out east! It was in a show last summer and I am happy to see it again. I forgot how much I like the colours in it.

I am about to pack up and leave my boys for a week long class at the Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus. It is on Abstract Expressionism, so it will really help me stretch my wings and look at my work in a new way. Maybe I will return with more of these reflections I love to do... or work that is way out of the box (for me)! I can hardly wait to find out!

Brewing Above

Brewing Above

16 x 16"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2012
sold

I've been working on getting a few more pieces ready for the show at Calories. For this painting I used the 6 x 6", "Brewing", as a study. It all really flowed as I worked and I gave the credit to using the smaller piece as a study... but then... I tried another painting using a different 6 x 6 and it went very, very badly. Very. It did not translate at all to a larger. I`m in the process of trying to save it for the fourth time. Basically the lesson learned is: you win some, you lose some. And the other lesson that will be learned (thanks to Kenny Rogers) if I can`t save the other painting: you gotta know when to fold `em!

A Treasure and Show Dates

Every now and then, when I have a few extra minutes after getting groceries, I run into the used bookstore which is in the same strip mall. I make a beeline straight to the art section and look for interesting books on artists I want to learn more about. The other day I found a book on David Hockney with gorgeous photos of his work; it's called "That's The way I See It" and it is written by him. I LOVE books written by artists themselves, so I nabbed it quick-like! But look what other treasure I found- it's a book that was published for the opening of The Mendel Art Gallery. These books were obviously given as gifts by Fred Mendel because the gift card was still in this copy as you can see... and it is signed by Mr. Mendel! Coooool!

Art supplies and art books.... mm-mmm good!

And I have exciting news... I have signed and submitted the contract so my art show at Calories restaurant in Saskatoon is now official. My paintings will show on their walls from August 19- September 30. It's going to be a quick turn around because I get home from my art class on the 18th, but I can do it! The dates are now at the top of my page for easy reference.

Loyalty and Empathy

Loyalty and Empathy: 

Life on the Prairies

(commission)

24 x24 "

oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2012

sold

I delivered this painting last night to my dear friend who has always wanted a piece of my work. She came to the Family Tree show that Dad and I had in May and fell in love with two paintings, "Kindness and Joy" and "Dreams and Opportunities". She asked if I would be able to paint something along those lines for her and of course I wanted to try. The square format was a bit of a challenge as the other two were very rectangular, but I decided to zoom in on the subject even more and then I found a composition I liked.

I met my friend almost exactly ten years ago when we were both brand new mommies. We happened to have signed up for the same mommy/baby class through Public Health and when we got talking we realized she lived a few blocks down from me. We connected immediately and, in many ways, became a lifeline for each other in those early baby days. Her family no longer resides around the corner and our lives have gotten progressively more busy with active kids, but we still find time to connect and support each other. In keeping with the other two "Life on the Prairies" paintings that were inspired by friends, I have used her initials in the title- L.E. for Loyalty and Empathy. She has been a wonderful, loyal friend who has offered me many conversations filled with empathy and understanding over the years. 

 

I hope this painting gives her tremendous joy and I hope she realizes each brushstroke was applied with love.

A Painting Underway

the under-painting for a new 36 x 36" painting

I spent about two and a half hours at the studio on Sunday laying out the composition for a new painting based on the beautiful Meewasin Valley trail along the South Saskatchewan River. In my mind's eye this painting is going to be amazing- I just hope I can get it there. It is a good start, but quite vague right now. I'm hoping to have a long stretch of time later this week to really get this idea out onto the canvas. The anticipation is killin' me!

Incredible Lightness

Incredible Lightness

16 x 16"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2012
sold

Sometimes prairie skies take my breath away; certainly this happens with the stormy, wild, dramatic ones. I've been known to stop everything and high-tail it out of town to get photos of big, spectacular skies and cloud formations. I keep my camera in my purse for this very reason. But sometimes the calm, soft, delicate skies are just as breath-taking and that is what I wanted to convey in this painting.

I hope you are having an incredibly light, uplifting day!

Breaking Free

Breaking Free

16 x 16"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2012
sold

I am currently working on panels for an upcoming show using some of my favorites from the "30 paintings in 30 days- Project II" series. "Breaking Free" is based on "Rising" which you can see below. 

I have rarely used my little paintings as studies for larger work, but it is going quite well. I think the key to making this work for me is that I haven't increased the size too much from the little 6 x 6" format. I know if I went really big I would get bogged down with trying to add more information and details in order to fill up the space. I am trying to stay conscious of being loose and expressive with my brushstrokes and so far it is working in three of the four 16 x 16" paintings I have on the go. You'll have to let me know what you think as I post them.

Pile Up

Pile Up

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2012
sold

It's been awhile since I posted- I hope you are still out there! I took my kids to the lake and we stayed a bit longer than planned because the weather was so nice. I took my supplies thinking I would paint when they kids were sleeping, but as happens when you are on holidays, bedtimes come later than usual and so when they went, I was tired and ready too! I have been painting a little, but admit it is hard now that school is out. I hope to put some time in tomorrow. The last time I was at the studio I painted a 16 x 16" sky that had me walking on air by the end! I used the left-over paint to do this little one. I love the soft palette.

a new kind of row boat (perfect for shallow water!)

eagle nest

pelican

I'm looking forward to showing you more work in the upcoming week.

Dogwood Trio

Confusion

Reach Out

Surround Me

each 10 x 10"

acrylic and oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2012

sold 

If I may say, these paintings make me happy! I had hoped they would sell as a group and, in fact, they did. I am thrilled they are hanging together in a very happy home and I am sure that if I wanted I could even go visit them!

I am so excited about the class I am taking in August at the Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus. I am intrigued by abstract art (well, some abstract art) so this class called "Abstract Expressionism in Painting" should offer a good opportunity to learn and explore. I really want to play with my abstract reflections again and also elaborate on this abstract branch idea. There are not enough hours in the day! Sheesh! And I still want to experiment with portrait painting someday!!!

When I was working on these three pieces I spent time thinking about the different branches and the stories they might tell. I got thinking about my own life about a year ago when I was extremely stressed by several scenarios in my life. I lost weight, I had trouble sleeping, I was near tears 24-7 and I didn't ever want to be alone. Whew. It was a rough patch and it felt like it would never end. But it did. Now looking back I see the story and what got me through. Various things that were happening had me very confused. I felt like the branches in the first painting- my emotions were all over the map: overlapping, tugging, pulling, tangling and intertwining with each other. It was a lot of "Confusion". It didn't take me long to realize that I couldn't handle all these difficult scenarios by myself, so I had to "Reach Out" to family, friends and, in one case, the authorities!!! And finally once I had this layer of insulation in place I felt a bit of relief. Thank goodness I had people to call on to "Surround Me".

Surround Me

Surround Me

10 x 10"

acrylic and oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2012

sold

This is the last of the three abstracted dogwood branches; in the next post I will show all three together. In this one I liked how the branches seemed to envelop the slightly more open area around the mid-lower half, so that is where the title came from. This name, however, also worked with the theme (in my mind) of all three paintings as a set.

If I was thinking I would have posted this yesterday! The red and white would have worked well to say "Happy Canada Day!!!"... so but the sentiment is still there, just belated! Cheers!