Art and Wine, a perfect match

Last fall my husband picked a pail full of wild grapes from the neighbour's fence. He has produced 4 bottles of his "Mowat Ave Red Fox Wine" as he calls it. Not to be outdone by the vineyards who commission artists to create labels, I was asked to print out 4 of my pastoral scenes for his exclusive and very limited varietal. Some vineyards pay the artists outright; others supply them with wine. I think I'll go for the latter.
Here in Ontario the Hillebrand Winery in Grimsby has an annual contest for artists:

"Our long standing support of the arts comes to life in Artist Series. Each bottle features the original work of an Ontario artist, a beautiful piece that captures the spirit of our province and shows the incredible talent found here. Inside the bottle is the work of our talented winemaker, Darryl Brooker. "
You can see some of the past winners here.

Next time you visit the LCBO remember to support the wineries that support the arts!

"Now What" is nearing completion

still untitled, acrylic on canvas 24 X 36

Today I worked on this piece, I posted an image of the underpainting earlier this week and waited for the inspiration muse to arrive. Putting work aside when I am at an impasse seems to be a good strategy but it means a lot of unfinished work sitting around the studio. I'm also waiting to decide if a piece is finished. Sometimes it looks great when I stop for the day and the next morning it may look like poop! Right now I'm thinking this one might be close to DONE. The layers are formal, somewhat meditative and playful too. Hints at a natural order that keeps us on an even keel. It has my landscape line thing going on so maybe you can see some consistency with other recent work.

Red Hills

Red Hills, acrylic on board, 18" X 34"

Sometimes a painting seems to have a life all it's own, you just have to be there holding the brush and let it happen. This was one of those paintings. But no brushes this time, I used a brayer and various rags and paper to blend. I had to work very quickly as the paint dried much too fast, rag in one hand water spritzer in another. I almost had it, but put too much information in the foreground, trying to define grasses of various colours. It was OK but not the atmospheric feel I was after. A few hours later I redid the lower part as distant hills and Wham! There it was, a gentle painting smiling back at me. I knew it was time to back off. Where did this painting come from? Can I go there again and get another?

Mixed Reviews

"green & gray" acrylic on canvas 20 X 40" (click to enlarge)

This painting is getting mixed reviews. M, the artist who lives down the street, was immediately drawn to it to noting some hints of Wolf Kahn. M has politely ignored my earlier work that is traditionally narrative.
My friend W was practically rhapsodic about this piece:

THIS is my favourite! There are strong determined brushstrokes here. No doubting, very confident and assured. But, at the same time, flexible and highly sensitive. The transition from marsh – to sky – overlaid by light brushstrokes of mist is cleverly done. I wanted to say “a vaporous blending of blue and green”, especially at the horizon is masterful. The long slender wisps of paint complete the scene. It is contemplative and yet, evocative. This piece really takes my breath away. It is powerful.

Of course I love to quote W! However the folks at WetCanvas website Critiques are not quite as impressed with this piece:

I see where you're going, but you're going to really be careful that when you simplify, you still have a powerful compositional stance. This one is lacking in strong value patterns, or center of interest. It's simple, but I am left wondering what it was about what you're trying to show us. The things that make you love this should be apparent.

and:

I myself, to be honest...do not find this work speaking to me, not as yet who and what I am in life, and apparently what I respond. Perhaps that is what I personally and individually demand and expect of art...and ultimately says more about me than about your work. Am I majority? Am I in the minority? Does it even matter? Who cares? Have I become numb to such? I'm not sure...but if the work is important to the artist...and if the artist has intent for the world to understand the importance of its making...it then becomes an issue of importance to the indvidual making the work.

The 2 main critics at WetCanvas are excellent, one is primarily a landscape artist, the other a superb portrait painter. I respect them both.

All that being said this painting is currently my all time favourite work I have ever done. It soothes my soul, I rest, am at peace and my breathing slows. I can, at least for awhile, forget about global warming, the death of the oceans by 2050 and colony collapse disorder. (It's time for another news fast.)

Starting in the Middle

I have probably started at least 10 art blogs, some here and some at WordPress. I've wrestled with trying to come up with really clever intro's, a great bio and a nicely ordered presentation of my art. The blog just wasn't coming together so now I've decided to just jump in, where I'm at now, and add the sensible stuff later. Or not.
Here's a recent painting-

"August" 23 X 40" mixed media on canvas

I have been painting a lot of field pictures, trying to capture their simple beauty in a loose impressionist or abstract way. This one was done outdoors and if you click to enlarge it you will see the help I had from Mother Nature. While working it started to rain softly, leaving dots on the wet acrylic. This happy accident added to the feel of the piece and I didn' try to correct it. Since then I have tried to copy the small rain dots on new work using a spray bottle. But it has been impossible to recreate the lovely dots of real rain.