Saturday, September 22, 2012

Two New Musician Paintings

I decided to do a couple small pieces, to round out this collection. Both of these are based on photos I took at the Southside Shuffle festival a couple weeks ago. The change in colour scheme I blame on the influx of new music. I think these will be the last paintings I will have time to complete before the upcoming show at the Art Gallery of Lambeth. The opening is October 5th. I'm curious to see how they hang everything.... better not forget my camera this time!

Acrylic on Canvas
11x14" 
Acrylic on Canvas
11x14"

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Large Painting = Lots of Time

Trio
Acrylic on Canvas
24"x30"
Finally got this large piece finished... it's the largest thing I've done in a long time, even if it's still not huge. It's just big enough to hang over my piano without looking lost. Thought I was done a couple times... then I'd catch a glimpse of it while I was walking past and see something else that bothered me. Two weeks later.... now I remember why I don't usually paint any larger that 16x20. Apart from the fact that it took every second of my painting time for two solid weeks, it also made it difficult to move around in my very tiny studio. I had to clear the easel and the space around it, and I still really couldn't get back far enough to get a good look. I think if I am going to do more large pieces, which I'd like to, I'm going to have to do a little rearranging in there. And maybe keep the door closed, because every time I turned around I was tripping over a dog.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Shuffling Southside...

This weekend was the "Southside Shuffle" in Port Credit, Mississauga's annual Jazz and Blues Festival. They close off Lakeshore Rd. and the bands line the street, just far enough apart so they don't interfere with each other. They also have 4 large stages set up in the park by the Credit River, and the music goes on all weekend. I had to go and take some photos, since this is really my last chance of the summer to get what I need to finish off these musician paintings. Lots of bands with horn sections... I'm really a sucker for this stuff. I guess I just love shiny things. I saw a lot of wonderful musicians, and bought a load of new music. I love picking up CDs from local independent artists.... they all seem to be flogging them and its a good way to support the local music scene. Many of the bands I saw were from the general area. Later in the evening I ventured into the park to see Jack deKeyzer, who I've seen many times before but he never disappoints. Here's a shot of him with his band... it was starting to get dark so it isn't really the best photo, but it's the best of the bunch that I took.

Jack DeKeyzer at the Southside Shuffle








I have been painting like crazy lately, but have no photos of new artwork to post. I had lent my camera to my son (he's 15) so he could take some photos of his friends, and it was returned to me, minus the SD card. We finally found it (in his friend's computer), but when I got it back, it was completely full. I spent about an hour laughing at silly pics of all sorts of stuff... the sky, the park, their shoes, close ups of their teeth, the dog's teeth, the boys with their instruments, the boys on the playground equipment with their instruments (!!!) etc. etc. It was funny. But anyway, I haven't had a chance to get my paintings out and photograph them, but it's definitely on the agenda for this week. I need to get it done before I drop them all off at the gallery, and the deadline for that is quickly approaching!!