RECENT PAINTINGS & NEWS

A Branch from the Lightning Tree

2012-03-01T18:36:00.004-08:00

we are story carriers

‘storycarrier’ - someone connected to the wyrd beauty of their own walk in this world.

I have been immersed in Martin Shaw’s ‘A Branch from the Lightning Tree: Ecstatic Myth and the Grace of Wildness. I was inspired to do so after reading a review in Earthlines Magazine.

Have we fallen out of our own story? ‘Where does the story land within you? ’asks Shaw. ‘We all need stories. We also need nature to bring out the stories. Nature holds a series of mirrors much the way stories do’

March

oil on waxed panel, 12x40in, 2012

Earthlines review:

‘Martin Shaw gave up a three-album recording deal with Warner Brothers to live in a tent in the Welsh mountains for four years, during which time he learned to live outside in ‘the kingdom of wood lice, badgers, elder, nettles, brambles, roe-deer, and ivy that gave feral lectures endlessly into my fool ear, the shattering cold of the waterfall that was a morning shower, [while] bellowing out ancient stories from the black hills of Wales, the source of the stream.’ If there’s a better qualification for a rites-of-passage wilderness guide, let alone a storyteller and mythologist specialising in initiatiory experiences, I haven’t yet found it. Martin is now based in Devon, and runs the Westcountry School of Myth and Story (http://schoolofmyth.com) in between teaching in the US, UK and Europe and serving as a visiting lecturer in Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Leadership Programme at Oxford University. ’

A Branch from the Lightning Tree explores the relationship between myth, story and the wild in prose that is beautiful, poetic and vividly alive. It’s a book that is both entertaining and scholarly, and if you like your Barthes, Derrida and Heidegger leavened by Trickster and Baba Yaga, then it’s a must-read. The heart of Shaw’s thesis is that we have forgotten how to be wild: we have exchanged the old longing, the old call to a deeper knowledge of the world for ‘a trance state, engineered by clumsy media spells’. And so the essence of this book is a rediscovery: the psyche’s journey from the civilised world back to the wild. We can, Shaw tells us, regain a Culture of Wildness through rites of passage, through necessary initiations into the wild that is still within us. And we can be guided through this process of initiation by myths and stories. ‘The heart of ecology is mythology,’ Shaw says. ‘With this in mind, it’s possible we could re-vision through story a kind of curious genius that wraps us back into accord with the great tapestry of earth. In short, we could remember what story we are actually in.’

Sharon Blackie

Two Ravens Press

Westcountry School of Myth and Story

More Murmurations

2012-02-24T18:26:00.002-08:00

mmmmmm

Murmuration

part 1 of triptych, 10x10in

mixed media on aluminum primed panel

Jan Yates, 2012

Murmuration

part 2 of triptych, 10x8in

mixed media on aluminum primed panel

Jan Yates, 2012

Murmuration

part 3 of triptych, 10x10in

mixed media on aluminum primed panel

Jan Yates, 2012

Murmuration

10x28in

mixed media on aluminum primed panels

Jan Yates, 2012

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“Starlings are great virtuosi, wonderful mimics as well as splendid singers, and incorporate so many different sounds into their songs that a flock of them is called a murmuration.”
Simon & Schuster: Birdology
“A murmuration occurs when many thousands of starlings flock together in preparation to land and settle for the night.”
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph
“murmuration' make fantastical shapes as the flock wheel and dive through the air.”
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph

Encaustic Workshops coming in March

2012-02-23T08:58:00.005-08:00

The upcoming month will be crazy busy but I did manage to arrange two encaustic 'mini' workshops and possibly a third full day workshop-still fleshing out dates/time on my calendar for the latter.

I enjoy conducting these shorter workshops and my students, some never having picked up a paintbrush, quickly become excited and inspired-shedding any pre-conceived notions of how intimidating art-making might be.

For returning and practising artists that are familiar with the medium, these sessions offer time and materials to explore new and challenging ways of working and enable them to expand on ideas and approaches.

Participants will thoroughly immerse and engage in a variety of techniques, or if they wish, can focus on one or two. At all levels, there will be lots of hands-on time to play.

Encaustic Workshop @ the Grimsby Public Art Gallery
Wednesday March 7, 2012 (1 session)
From 5:00pm– 8:00pm
$30 + $20materials
to register
phone: 905 945 3246 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 905 945 3246 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
email: gpag@town.grimsby.on.ca

Ancient and intriguing, this method of painting originated in Greece, where it was used for the earliest easel and mural painting. A heady combination of colour, melting wax and heat, encaustic mixes dry and oil pigments in hot beeswax. Artist & educator Jan Yates has been working with this luscious medium for over 15 years and will share techniques including image transfer, photo collage, colour, glazing, layering, drawing, mono type and cold wax techniques. Classes are enjoyable for those with no previous art-making experience as well as returning artists who want to further explore this alluring and tactile medium

Encaustic Workshop @ my studio (Grimsby)
Tuesday, March 13, 6~9pm
$65
to register: jan@janyates.com

studio sale

2012-02-20T07:28:00.001-08:00

Even though I have expanded the studio, I am running out of space so am offering a few original works at a reduced price.

This plein air painting, titled ‘September’, 30x40in, is oil on canvas and painted on location (Niagara Escarpment.) I am willing to reduce 30% from the listed price.

Works can be safely shipped anywhere in North America, Europe or Australia. Buyer pays all S&H. Payment can be made securely online via paypal.

Just contact me and I will be happy to personally arrange this sale. jan@janyates.com

winter plein air & random show images

2012-02-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

This week I have been working in the studio -still drawing - but I needed to get out and paint from direct observation. For the last month I have worked in either encaustic or dry media and have been craving the sensation of painting with oil- in it's fluidity, immediacy and movement. So I packed up my gear and set off late afternoon when the light was interesting, but didn't venture far from the studio. I wasn't sure how the weather would hold and in feeling so rusty only brought one small canvas. (which is NOT what I tell my students-always have at least two surfaces, no matter what!)

This painting is merely a study-an exercise. It was good to be back out there-felt like home-which I was, I suppose.

February (study), Niagara escarpment, oil on panel, 8x10in, available

Below are some random images from the exhibition 'This land is OUR Land: the Greenbelt Dichotomy

As usual I forgot to take pictures at the opening, but it was packed and a LOT of fun! Thanks to all who came out-your continued support is deeply appreciated.

Planting by the moon, encaustic on panel, 10x10in, 2012

Fallow, encaustic and aluminum on panel, 12x40in, 2012

Greenbelt Dichotomy

Tired Eskar, installation by Jefferson Cambel Cooper, portraits by Michelle Teitsma

greenbelt dichotomy close up 2012

Almanac Moons

May, Supply & Demand

Oil on canvas

30x36in
Collection of J & K Barrett

Statement

‘Niagara’s very limited fruit lands are the best in North America, and they are much threatened by development despite the Greenbelt protections. Fruit farmers are aging and are increasingly under huge financial pressures, and neither their farm expertise nor the land can be replaced elsewhere. And, crucially, if the government is not prepared to save this unique part of the Provincial Greenbelt through a substantive investment in the land and the farmers, through payments for easements, we will be left not too far in the future, with a “token” fruit belt having blossoms but no real farmers on the land. In fact the very success of the Greenbelt will be totally undermined, as after all, if the government cannot save the best lands in Canada what other part of the Greenbelt can they protect for farming and for feeding Ontarians?’

Val O’Donnell, President,

The Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PALS)

drawing on reflection and murmuration

2012-02-12T13:54:00.001-08:00

play

I don’t think I am alone –fellow artists have told me that they feel a little lost after a show. It is part of growth--time to reflect as well as be open to ideas that have been waiting until deadlines are over. I really enjoy this transition time. I go into the studio with open heart and mind-no plan-and intuitively pick out media-intuitively play-intuitively follow my gut-no pressure-no deadline-just be.

These mixed media drawings came out of this 'letting go'-and I now have an inkling of where they are taking me, although I won’t be disappointed if we change course.

I have always been interested in migration, primarily in birds and the natural world, although lately our own migration, and im-igration, also seem to occupy my thoughts. Perhaps it is because I will be travelling to Ireland soon for my residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. I find myself interested in perusing a series of starling murmurations. Although I have seen them here on the Niagara escarpment, the magnitude of this phenomenon went viral when posted on this video. Ironically it was filmed in Ireland.

study-Murmuration, mixed media on aluminum primed panel, 10x10in, 2012

So a few of my latest ‘art plays’—will see where they will take me.

Reflection, Niagara Escarpment, mixed media on panel, 12x40in, 2012

Kama's beeswax crayons, aluminum pigment, and charcoal

February, mixed media on panel, 8x10in, 2012

*my friend Mockingbird 'ducking' for cover on the studio porch...

Upcoming Classes: encaustic & paint play

2012-02-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

playplayplay
I have just updated new class dates-info below....

Dates and Times

This series is ongoing

The next class session begins on

Monday, February 20

6:30-9PM

series of 4 classes:$85

A materials list will be provided upon registration. Media is in oil or acrylic

Dates and times

Tuesday, February 14, 6~9PM

$65 includes materials

Tuesday, February 22, 6~9PM

$65 includes materials

Tuesday, March 13, 6~9PM

$65 includes materials

*Class size is limited and students will have lots of hands on time to work with this luscious medium

Located in Grimsby, On, Canada

for registration please contact the artist:

email

*registration can be paid securely online via paypal

Protect

2012-02-03T21:12:00.000-08:00

This past week was hectic in planning, packing and transporting work to be featured at the Grimsby Public Art Gallery for the much- anticipated exhibition: This Land is OUR Land: the Greenbelt Dichotomy.

Below is a series and statement that the director selected for the show.

One element of being part of a public exhibition is that the director/curator has the last word on what is selected and where it goes. Some works intended for the show were edited out-and I have to accept that. This is part of the deal -not fun-but in the 'big picture' of this group show, where it is all about balance, her decision was sound.

I have also posted an intro video, although they hadn't finished installation and my lighting was not yet adjusted. I hope to remember to bring the camera to Sunday's opening when everything is pulled together.

Protect

encaustic collage triptych on panels, 8x30in, 2012

Statement to accompany work

Since the Greenbelt policy was implemented five years ago I have noticed more abandoned fields in rural Niagara. Once farmed and thriving with orchards and vineyards, these fallow fields are now housing wildlife. They grow milkweed for monarch butterflies, sweet wildflowers for our bees, and provide food and camouflage for many bird species.

One species of migrating birds, the Bobolink, are provincially listed as ‘species at risk’. For the past few springs, in open escarpment fields, I have had the immense pleasure of encountering these bold as brass yellow headed songsters. The unmistakable " bubbling delirium of ecstatic music that flows from the gifted throat like sparkling champagne," "a mad, reckless song-fantasia, an outbreak of pent-up, irrepressible glee," and "a tinkle of fairy music, like the strains of an old Greek harp." Such exuberance –especially after making one of the longest migrations in the Western Hemisphere—a round trip of approximately 20,000-km from Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina!

‘Ontario's Greenbelt is home to 78 of over 200 provincially listed species at risk in the

province, like the Bobolink, Redside Dace and Jefferson Salamander.

Since being established in 2005, it has prevented the conversion of natural and agricultural lands into sprawling residential development.

Despite this early success, this report highlights the need to strengthen existing provincial policies and laws to address on-going threats to the integrity of the Greenbelt from pressures like road development and aggregate extraction.’

David Suzuki Foundation

Drawing on Time

2012-01-24T19:35:00.000-08:00

The image below (48x72in) will be part of an installation for the upcoming show 'This land is OUR Land: the greenbelt dichotomy'

I was fortunate to receive funding from the Ontario Arts Council towards the production of new work for this exhibition. I also took a few weeks from teaching in order to fully immerse myself into the project and have relished in every moment.

I am still busy finishing up a series and very excited to see the exhibition as a whole and what the other artists will bring to it.

*no time lately to leave comments on my favourite blogs but still looking-especially enjoyed Krista Howell's new work as well as Caroline Simmill and Sheila Vaughan

The More Things Change

charcoal & aluminum on panel

48x72in, 2012

yes, more aluminum -I just find it so intriguing. Below is the same drawing, but in low cool light. the reflective aluminum light seems to move around the work in a continuous cycle of change-

Full of Moons

2012-01-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

Climate change and it's impact on farming compelled me to investigate the twelve full moons.

'Predicting the weather has been a human passion for ages. Farmers wanted to know what kind of a season was forthcoming -- would there be enough rain or would there be drought? Would the winter be cold or mild? How could they tell if a violent storm was coming?'

Farmers Almanac

Full Moon Names and Their Meanings

National Geographic

One of the most dramatic sights in the night sky—and inspiration for poets, artists, and lovers for millennia—full moons captivate us like nothing else.

Every month Earth's moon goes through its phases, waning and waxing in its constant transformation from new moon to full moon and back again. Full moons occur every 29.5 days or so as the moon moves to the side of Earth directly opposite the sun, reflecting the sun's rays off its full face and appearing as a brilliant, perfectly circular disk.

For millennia, humans have used the movement of the moon to keep track of the passing year and set schedules for hunting, planting, and harvesting. Ancient cultures the world over have given these full moons names based on the behaviour of the plants, animals, or weather during that month.

January: Wolf Moon

Native Americans and medieval Europeans named January's full moon after the howling of hungry wolves lamenting the midwinter paucity of food. Other names for this month's full moon include old moon and ice moon.

February: Snow Moon
The typically cold, snowy weather of February in North America earned its full moon the name snow moon. Other common names include storm moon and hunger moon.

March: Worm Moon
Native Americans called this last full moon of winter the worm moon after the worm trails that would appear in the newly thawed ground. Other names include chaste moon, death moon, crust moon (a reference to snow that would become crusty as it thawed during the day and froze at night), and sap moon, after the tapping of the maple trees.

April: Pink Moon
Northern Native Americans call April's full moon the pink moon after a species of early blooming wildflower. In other cultures, this moon is called the sprouting grass moon, the egg moon, and the fish moon.

May: Flower Moon
May's abundant blooms give its full moon the name flower moon in many cultures. Other names include the hare moon, the corn planting moon, and the milk moon.

June: Strawberry Moon
In North America, the harvesting of strawberries in June gives that month's full moon its name. Europeans have dubbed it the rose moon, while other cultures named it the hot moon for the beginning of the summer heat.

July: Buck Moon
Male deer, which shed their antlers every year, begin to regrow them in July, hence the Native American name for July's full moon. Other names include thunder moon, for the month's many summer storms, and hay moon, after the July hay harvest.

August: Sturgeon Moon
North American fishing tribes called August's full moon the sturgeon moon since the species was abundant during this month. It's also been called the green corn moon, the grain moon, and the red moon for the reddish hue it often takes on in the summer haze.

September: Harvest Moon
The most familiar named moon, September's harvest moon refers to the time of year after the autumn equinox when crops are gathered. It also refers to the moon's particularly bright appearance and early rise, which lets farmers continue harvesting into the night. Other names include the corn moon and the barley moon.

October: Hunter's Moon
The first moon after the harvest moon is the hunter's moon, so named as the preferred month to hunt summer-fattened deer and fox unable to hide in now bare fields. Like the harvest moon, the hunter's moon is also particularly bright and long in the sky, giving hunters the opportunity to stalk prey at night. Other names include the travel moon and the dying grass moon.

November: Beaver Moon
There is disagreement over the origin of November's beaver moon name. Some say it comes from Native Americans setting beaver traps during this month, while others say the name comes from the heavy activity of beavers building their winter dams. Another name is the frost moon.

December: Cold Moon
The coming of winter earned December's full moon the name cold moon. Other names include the long night moon and the oak moon.

The Blue Moon

Each year, the moon completes its final cycle about 11 days before the Earth finishes its orbit around the sun. These days add up, and every two and a half years or so, there is an extra full moon, called a blue moon. The origin of the term is uncertain, and its precise definition has changed over the years. The term is commonly used today to describe the second full moon of a calendar month, but it was originally the name given to the third full moon of a season containing four full moons.

I might add to this series for the forthcoming exhibition 'This Land is OUR Land: the Greenbelt Dichotomy. A few installation works will also be included -am working like mad as deadline is looming, but I like the rhythm of creating when there is deadline-so much planning and problem solving-the pieces are falling into place and I'm feeling very excited!

This is a group show -Gordon Leverton, Michelle Teitsma and Jefferson Cambel Cooper bring an interesting and controversial slant on the issue of protecting green space and what the impact is on farming as well as urban sprawl.

*With gratitude to the Ontario Arts Council for assisting with this exhibition.

Winter Wine Festival

2012-01-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

For those of you that live close by, there is a fabulous event happening in Niagara......

I've been gearing up for this weekend's Winter Wine Festival in Jordan Village-10% off everything in the Jordan Art Gallery, including this wee winter vineyard.

January
oil/aluminum on canvas
8x10in, 2011
available

*don’t miss ASHLEY MACISAAC
FREE CONCERT this SATURDAY NIGHT!!!!!January 14 at 8:30 p.m.

Just 1 of MANY events celebrating good food, wine, art, apparel and more- all distinctive of Niagara

There are free shuttles from the festival in downtown Jordan to various wineries in the area

Twenty Valley Winter Wine Festival
THIS WEEKEND

Jordan Village, ON, CANADA
www.twentyvalley.com

All is flowing

2012-01-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

Change

Said the sun to the moon,

You cannot stay.

Change

Says the moon to the waters,

All is flowing.

Change

Says the fields to the grass,

Seed-time and harvest,

Chaff and grain.

You must change

Said the worm to the bud,

Though not to a rose,

Petals fade

That wings may rise

Borne on the wind.

You are changing

said death to the maiden, your wan face

To memory, to beauty.

Are you ready to change?

Says the thought to the heart, to let her pass

All your life long

For the unknown, the unborn

In the alchemy

Of the world's dream?

Kathleen Raine

December, (greenbelt disaster) oil & aluminum on canvas, 24x48in, 2012

This is another painting for the upcoming February show: This land is OUR Land: The Greenbelt Dichotomy. More on that later, although I must admit - am presently frazzled and a wee bit terrified...

Desiderata: things that are yearned for (sold)

2011-12-31T08:06:00.000-08:00

On the eve of a new year I always think of Max Ehrmann's (c.1920)

words of wisdom:

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

December (missing Guinn)

oil on canvas

30x36in, 2008, sold

Solstice and change (sold)

2011-12-22T06:53:00.000-08:00

This December, on the day before solstice, it was warm, misty and rainy, looking more like April in the Niagara Region.

April, Niagara Escarpment
cold wax/oil on canvas

16x20in, 2007, sold

last December we had a nice layer of snow.....

December, Remains of the Day

oil on canvas

14x36in, 2010

available

Climate change is affecting the world and can't be ignored-for too many reasons I won't go into here.

I am happy, however, that there will always be a solstice and that the days are now getting longer!

full circle

2011-12-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

It takes a long time to grow young.

Pablo Picasso

My grandparents had a farm and when I was growing up it was where I would be. With a sense of adventure and imagination I’d wander their open fields of possibility in anticipation of what I might see. Even then I relished in being alone (excepting dogs) and loved the hidden feeling that the wild meadows provided.

And here I am more than forty years past yet only five miles from where it all began. wandering fields. with dogs. alone. I love it. But I can’t help wondering: are the field wanderings of my youth to blame for my ongoing obsession?

The location of the painting below is where I stop and meditate on daily walks and resonates with me on many levels.

December (greenbelt disaster)

Niagara Escarpment

mixed media on canvas

40x40in, 2011

Snow, Sky: November's farewell

2011-11-30T18:35:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been so very scattered and I know it is because I have not 'allowed' myself enough creation time. And by that I don't mean the physical act of making art-as we all know it's the 'before' time to process that fuels the work.

November, Remains of the Day

mixed media on canvas, 8x8in, 2011, available

But I see light at the end of the tunnel-a winding down with business and personal issues that are getting in the way. So today was my transition day. I went for a long rejuvenating walk-and it started to snow! It was light, gentle, tentative -and like a cleansing-then the snow melted and left without a trace that it was ever there.

Back in the studio around 5PM, I glanced out the window and was struck by an incredibly turquoise and pink sky. I grabbed a wee canvas and just responded. Change is often sublte but in a matter of hours can be so splendidly different.

Below is an earlier work, a first snow in December 09, but it put me in mind of today's transition.

December

oil on panel

14x14in, 2009

available

*

She loved a November Sky

2011-11-27T18:06:00.000-08:00

The image below was made as respite from the paintings I am working on for the February show, although I may include it as it relates to the theme.

Initially I wanted to explore the field, as I love the way is sits this time of year. The dormancy and texture put me in mind of a tapestry, and the particles lifted and swept by the wind remind me yet again that nature is never still-minute microcosms playing in the air.

But when I got into the painting the sky seemed to take over and I let it. My Mother, who passed away less than a year ago, loved the yellows in a grey November sky. I remember our November walks and country drives-pulling over to the side of the road to marvel at the simple splendour of a November Sky.

As I’ve mentioned before, I often like to paint on top of older paintings and that’s exactly what I did here as I thought it might add to the texture of the field. There was a lot of red in the under-painting which I think added to the depth in the land portion. I did, however, prime the sky portion with aluminum and am happy I did as the greys and lighter hues retained their clarity more so I think than had I not used it. I did get carried away though-when the painting was very wet I gently dispersed some fine aluminum powder throughout the sky as well as in the field-in hopes of emulating the wee field particles caught in the shifting light. It did work-depending on how the light hits it there is a subtle trick of the eye quality-a bit of movement.

November(She loved a November Sky)

Niagara Escarpment

oil & aluminum on canvas

30x30in, 2011

Unfortunately because of the aluminum’s reflective qualities, it makes it REALLY difficult to photograph. In the actual painting, the tones and value shifts in the sky are closer-the top left more subdued and even and the willow tree on the lower left horizon line much lighter/brighter. I will let the whole painting dry and re-shoot.

Liah's Tree

2011-11-14T22:32:00.000-08:00

This is the other small painting made last week during my plein air hiatus-it was a very grey misty day yet with evocative light meandering in and out.

November, Liah's Tree

oil on canvas

11x14in, 2011

available

plein air & murmuration

2011-11-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

The painting below was made last week during a 'plein air hiatus' from the large works going on in the studio...

November

oil on aluminum primed canvas

11x14in, 2011

available

*And I am sure by now most of you have seen the 'Murmuration' video-good to know that nature has gone viral!
I can't get enough of it, so here it is-Rhonda and Katherine V I can't help but think of you....

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/31158841

Winter Moons

2011-11-10T18:27:00.000-08:00

I was painting in the studio today and time got away from me so didn’t get out for a walk until the sun went down. The fresh air was quite brisk and it was invigorating to be out in it after such a long day. I love how the fields look this time of night-full of mystery! On one side of the field the sky held smokey clouds highlighted in crimson and yellow from the just-departed sun, and on the other side was a full bright moon in a luminous blue haze.

When I got back I made these little paintings on small canvases that were primed with aluminum pigment. I worked with hardly any paint, mostly dry-brushing and wiping out passages to reveal the reflective aluminum. It’s difficult to photograph works on reflective surfaces and one can’t see the nuances in tone but I’m quite pleased. I think that I will work larger on the same surfaces-if I ever finish current paintings that I have on the go!

Winter Moon 2

oil on aluminum primed canvas

6x6in, 2011

available

Winter Moon 1

oil on aluminum primed canvas

6x6in, 2011

available

cycle

2011-11-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

'For me November brings a new cycle of inspiration and tends to be one of my most prolific months. As I write there are already a couple of ‘Novembers’ waiting on the easel in various states of ‘undress’.'

It's funny that these words, written last November, apply to this one. I am still madly working on some larger studio works (not the same ones). But since the weather is behaving this week, I have managed to sneak out for plein air breaks. They still need some fine tuning so in the meantime, an earlier 'November'-and yes, they are the same trees out of my studio window that you have seen in previous posts.

November, Letting go

oil on canvas

24x36in

Sold

A Pretty Good Day So Far

2011-11-06T06:39:00.000-08:00

I think one of the main reasons I paint outside is to let the natural world transport me from the responsibilities and worries that life tends to throw our way. And it doesn’t have to be painting- hiking the same path daily with my dogs will continually show me something new-whether it be the milkweed-open right now with fluffy cotton seedlings waiting for the wind, or red sumac standing against cobalt sky-or the sight of deer out of the corner of my eye, standing very still hoping that I won’t see. Nature is pretty f#ing amazing, and lately I have been thinking about how much I have ‘gotten through’ because of it.

This is an older painting, but one of my favourites:

A Pretty Good Day So Far

oil on canvas
8x10in, 2001

last Illusions & Aluminum

2011-11-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

November always seemed to me the Norway of the year.
- Emily Dickinson

The leaves were falling on all sides like the last illusions of youth under the tears of irremediable grief. A brood of chattering birds were chasing each other through the shrubberies, and playing games among the branches, like a knot of hiding schoolboys. Every landscape is, as it were, a state of the soul, and whoever penetrates into both is astonished to find how much likeness there is in each detail.
- Henri Frederic Amiel

Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.
William Cullen Bryant

November

oil on aluminum primed canvas

11x14in, 2011

available

I have been using pure aluminum powder with my encaustic works and today I thought that I would try it as a ground for my oil paintings. I have, in the past, painted straight onto steel but was curious to see how a stretched canvas ground, primed with aluminum pigment, would take the brush and paint. I quite like it so far as application. This was painted fairly thin and I am wondering if, once it settles a bit, any of the reflective qualities of the aluminum will shine through...(in a good way I hope)

Encaustic workshop FUN

2011-10-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

DETAIL: A Way

Yesterday I held an encaustic workshop and actually remembered to take some pictures. I am usually so busy that I never get time to take pics and regret it afterwards.

This was a really nice session with just two willing participants, so they had lots of hands-on time.

Edie & Freda were a pleasure to work with and so very inspiring!

Edie Pett

Freda Cook

I was so inspired that after they left I resumed-and finished-a work started quite a few months ago-thanks girls!

A Way

encaustic on panels

7x10in, 2011

yellow afternoons

2011-10-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

You wanna make Van Goghs
Raise 'em up like sheep
Make 'em out of Eskimos
And women if you please
Make 'em nice and normal
Make 'em nice and neat
You see him with his shotgun there?
Bloodied in the wheat?
Oh what do you know about
Living in Turbulent Indigo?

Brash fields, crude crows
In a scary sky ...
In a golden frame
Roped off
Tourists guided by ...
Tourists talking about the madhouse
Talking about the ear
The madman hangs in fancy homes
They wouldn't let him near!
He'd piss in their fireplace!
He'd drag them through Turbulent Indigo

"I'm a burning hearth," he said
"People see the smoke
But no one comes to warm themselves
Sloughing off a coat
And all my little landscapes
All my yellow afternoons
Stack up around this vacancy
Like dirty cups and spoons
No mercy Sweet Jesus!
No mercy from Turbulent Indigo."

Joni Mitchell

October (it was that kind of day)

cold wax/oil on canvas

20x30in, 2011

available

Encaustic workshop -openings- Oct 26

2011-10-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

If you live nearby and want to have some fun, there is an opening at next week's encaustic painting workshop.

I will share techniques including photo transfer, collage, colour, glazing, layering, drawing, printmaking, mono type and, new: cold wax/oil techniques.

Classes are enjoyable for those with no previous art-making experience as well as returning artists who want to further explore this alluring and tactile medium.

Below are a few examples of the versatility of encaustic painting.

*These encaustic tapestries are from a 1998 series that I embarked on after becoming interested in ancient cultural icons-please excuse the glarey photos.

Detail, Red Bow spirit 5

Red Bow spirit

encaustic on canvas

16x30in, 1998, private collection

Detail: Red Bow spirit (2)

Red Bow spirit (2)

encaustic on canvas

16x30in, 1998, private collection

Today was a very changeable day. The wind was throwing leaves from the trees and the sky was trying to catch them.

2011-10-15T18:38:00.000-07:00

I've been working all week on a large painting in the studio and trying my darned-est to ignore the fast-changing colours of the land outside.

I did need a break though-what I find about working on large paintings are the continuous choices and decision making throughout the process-from start to finish. I require complete concentration so I can fully engage with the work so schedule at least 7 hours per session for large scale paintings. This exhausts me after a few days and I find I have to switch gears.

Time away from the work is just as important as the work itself, allowing for consideration re where I will go with the work and why, as well as reflect on and distill what I have learned from the process.

so in the meantime....

Today the strong winds were dancing with boughs and branches before throwing last leaves to the ground - I just had to catch the whirling remains before they, too, surrendered to the season.

October

oil on canvas

11x14in, 2011

available

*for those who follow my work this will look familiar. It is the view from my studio window and I have painted -and will paint-it many times. These same trees are featured on top of this blog, but on a foggy November day.

***

Harvest

2011-10-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

Day is the hero's shield,
Achilles' field,

The light days are the angels.
We the seed.

Against eternal light and gorgon's face
Day is the shield
And we the grass
Native to fields of iron, and skies of brass.

Kathleen Raine

October, Remains of the Day

oil on canvas

30x30in, 2011, available

I’ve had my eye on this field since Spring. It is behind my property and through the years, different crops have been planted. When my neighbour told me that it was soy this season, my heart jumped. I love the russet colours and mottled texture that it becomes in the fall. (I prefer to think that it isn’t GMA)

As lagged as I am from my trip, I just had to get out and paint. To to be greeted with perfect fall weather-warm, sunny, low breeze and no bugs-irresistible- there won't be many left..

***

Amsterdam with Van Gogh & Rembrandt

2011-10-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

mmmm

When I planned my recent journey to Germany, I also, with a lot of help, mapped out a detour before heading home and made a train ride pilgrimage to Amsterdam to visit the Van Gogh Museum.

I have experienced Van Goghs’ work 'live' in California as well as here in Canada but needless to say I was so very moved by the body of work presented in this museum. So much so that I held back tears more than once.

Like many artists who depict the natural world, I feel a symbiotic connection with Van Gogh. Throughout the years I have developed a deep regard for his unwavering faith in his work and his courage to continue on in his own path-despite the onslaught of obstacles that he endured. And when he could endure no more, he took his life rather than take a different road. I admire a lot of artists who go out in the land and paint; but only a few I feel deeply in regards to how they become one with the land with such raw, honest emotion.

It was fascinating to view Van Goghs’ influences (so much more than I realized re Japanese), the artists who influenced him, and artists that were influenced by him. It was also riveting to follow his earlier dark works as they brightened in their chroma and varied in malleable application. I was also quite pleased to see works that I have never seen in print (and through the years I thought that I had seen them all!).

In all the works depicted, I found his self portraits to be unnerving-I can’t put into words the expression in his eyes –but I think if I did not know anything about him, I could see everything in them.

A while back I posted a note about a new website that depicts all of Van Gogh’s letters-here is an excerpt from the museum’s site.

The letters of Vincent van Gogh

October 2009 saw the culmination of the extensive and prestigious Van Gogh Letters Project. Fifteen years of research into the correspondence of Vincent van Gogh by the Van Gogh Museum and the Huygens Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences will be crowned by this special exhibition, the launch of a freely accessible website encompassing the complete research results and the publication of a six volume book in three languages. Various aspects of Van Gogh's letters are also highlighted in the iPhone application and the Van Gogh blog.

http://www.vangoghletters.org/vg/

I also visited the Rijksmuseum, which houses many of Rembrandts' works, as well as Vermeer and many Dutch masters. Rembrandt lived and painted in Amsterdam so it was really a thrill to be here and experience this exhibition.

It also holds artists whose work was inspired by Rembrandt and I was interested to see the influence he had on Degas and his development as an artist. Depicted were small portraits and etchings of Rembrandt rendered by Degas, presented with works rendered by Rembrandt.

*thanks to Liah, Mat & Mogi for the journey

both sides now

2011-09-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

I am still in Flensburg, taking a wee breath to catch up on the other side of my life. I was hesitant to bring along my computer but so very happy I did. I can still listen to CBC radio in English and also do research-as well as visit the artists’ blogs I so enjoy.

Although I did get some painting done here I will refrain from posting just yet. So far this journey has me filled with such overwhelming emotion and exceeded any type of expectation I might have had. No time now to sort the words and get them down.

The leaves are turning here and remind me that summer has officially gone, so I thought I'd share this painting, rendered a few years ago.

October, oil on canvas, 24x40in, 2009

fall into temptation

2011-09-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

In the last post I mentioned that I did not have much time to paint before my trip. Well, I've just contradicted myself. Today was so beautiful I could not resist temptation and got outside for some plein air.

September, (feels like October) oil on canvas, 18x24in, 2011, available

*

Sky & journey: Baltic Sea

2011-09-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

I’ll be travelling to Germany next week to visit my Daughter. She is living in a small village on the Baltic Sea very close to the Danish border. Although I am extremely excited to be spending time with her I am feeling apprehensive because of the language barrier. She says not to worry - even in that remote village, most people at least understand English—but I can’t help feeling anxious… I am sure once I get there I will feel differently. In staying almost two weeks I hope to drink in as much art and architecture as possible. But what I am very intrigued with is the Baltic Sea. I have been doing some research and will pursue this by bringing along some materials for art-making.

Needless to say with all the preparation for the trip I don’t dare attempt to make the time required in resuming studio works in progress—so I have been stealing time in my field -preparing my palette and backpack ahead of time-to save time-for catching patches of sky at the remains of the day…

September, Remains of the Day, (1) oil on canvas, 11x14in, 2011

September, Remains of the Day, (2) oil on canvas, 11x14in, 2011

curious thrill seekers

2011-09-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

mmmmmmm

September (detail center)

Last September my painting comrade and I set off outdoors with very large canvases (at least for plein air). The hike itself was quite an undertaking, making our way through tall grasses and the kind of weeds that tangle around ankles in order to trip and maim. Trudging through the dense unruly field and uneven ground resulted a few tip-over’s for our gear-laden wagon, but we soldiered on. The destination?-a heavenly perch on a field of purple alfalfa, garnished with loaves of earthy hay that had been sitting since June.

September (detail left)

The view from the hill looks down at least half a mile to a vineyard and beyond to an open field speckled with a few distant farmhouses (omitted from my painting).

September (detail right)

We painted from afternoon until early evening and were completely immersed in our work. At one point I shifted my eyes to check the light and there before me stood the silhouette of a little woman. At first I thought she was an aberration, but then Dora saw her too. It turns out this wee Irish lady caught sight of us from her farmhouse below. Overcome by curiosity she climbed through the tangly weeds and made her way through muddy vineyard rows (in her proper shiny shoes and tidy cloths) just to see what we were ‘up to’. I love that-artists aren’t the only curious thrill seekers. But the encounter did put the kibosh on painting any further, which was fine as I managed to get down the composition and build up some of the masses enough to use as a guide when I resumed the work. But it is another that I put aside in hopes to get back to it in this new September. And I did, however this time working in the studio by intuition and recall. I thought I would post it as some passages are perhaps not yet resolved. Right now I am too close and need to look again with an objective eye.

September, oil on canvas, 24x48in, 2011

foolhardy pear

2011-09-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

Today was a total washout-literally-my friend & I got absolutely drenched while painting in the vineyard-wind /rained washed the paintings right off of our 30in canvases-foolhardy pair we were-

so a wee pear of a different sort, created in a DRY studio....

detail: Harvest 4, encaustic on barn board

Harvest 4

encaustic on barn board, 6x14in, 2011, available

leave

2011-09-03T21:48:00.000-07:00

September is bittersweet for me...birds are leaving..leaves are turning...I am searching for what was but look on to what will come

Sumac

encaustic on panel

7x10in, 2011

available

Ms. Aubergine

2011-09-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

My studio is beginning to look like a produce market with Bartlett pears from the fallow orchard, tomatoes from our garden and my favourite, Ms. Aubergine! I find it absolutely impossible to resist the allure of her shape, colour, texture and gesture.....

' Feelin Groovy'

encaustic on panel

8x11in, 2011

available

Who are we?

2011-08-31T20:05:00.000-07:00

Not that I remember, but that I am

Memory, am all that has befallen

Unbroken being and knowing

Whose flow has brought me here, laden with the forgotten

Time and places, once here and now

Of those where were, from day to day

From life to life as I,

Presences of that omnipresence without end or beginning

Omniscient through our being,

That brings and takes away the unremembered living

Moments of joy and wisdom, the once-familiar

Rooms and temples and fountains, the long ago gardens

Of a thousand summers, music once heard,

Travelling through me and on, like a wave

Of sound, a gleam

Irrecapturable. And who we are

Who gather each one leaf, one life of the myriadfold tree

Of the lost domain, and mourn

The flowing away of all we never were, or knew?

Promises, messages reach us, instruct us,

The untold, untellable, undying

Heart’s desire, resonance

Of elsewhere, once, some day, forever

Kathleen Raine

August, Remains of the Day, oil on canvas, 18x24in, 2011

*

Greenbelt Harvest Picnic

2011-08-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

Harvest 1, encaustic on panel, 8x11in, 2011

I have finally recuperated from Saturday’s outdoor Greenbelt Harvest Picnic, and, exhausting as it was, it was also F#-ing BRILLIANT!!! My only regret is that I didn’t get any photos of my set up.

The location couldn’t get any better, as the visual artists were exhibiting right beside the stage!!!!!

Thousands of people attended and the music line-up was fabulous, with performances by Canada’s Sarah Harmer, Gord Downie (Tragically Hip), Daniel Lanois and others.

Sarah Harmer

The highlights were EmmyLou Harris and Ray Lamontagne. I had not heard of him - and by the time he came on we were starting to pack up the tent-but when his band started to play and this absolutely powerful, sensitive raspy voice started to sing, I floated to the edge of the stage and stood there mesmerized for song after song after song....

Yolanda's Garlic, acrylic on canvas, 30x30in, sold

There was a large area with farmers’ booths chock full of fresh, regional produce as well as baked goods-it was so refreshing NOT to see the usual vending trucks with their processed foods.

Harvest 2, encaustic on panel, 8x11in, 2011

Harvest 3, encaustic on panel, 8x11in, 2011

Lanois wants to make this an annual event and I am hoping to be a part of this next year. There was a fabulous response to all of the artists' work that was juried into this show and I am so very pleased to have participated in this inaugural art/

/music/ farming event. (it was a long day though-set up at 8AM and by the time we tore down and left it was after midnight!)

Daniel Lanois & EmmyLou Harris

a time for every purpose (under the sun)

2011-08-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

This is another painting that I began last August and it is another that I purposely waited to resume until this August.

It is under-painted with oil and cold wax because in subsequent applications I wanted to manipulate and draw into it. In order to build dimension with impasto I also enjoyed working into the waxed surface with a large painting knife.

August, Remains of the Day

oil/cold wax on canvas

30x30in, 2011

available

I’ve made a conscious effort to assess and resume work that I’ve put away for long periods, sometimes because at the time I was ‘hitting a wall’ and feeling lost, or others, like the one above, simply because now the time is right.

in progress

2011-08-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

I enjoy it when other artists post their works in progress so thought I'd share mine.

This is the path behind my studio that leads into my beloved painting mecca. Right now it is chock full of August--goldenrod, dried grasses and fruit that are trying their best to emerge from unkempt trees.

Yesterday was so lovely re light and temperature as the humidity was taking a hiatus.

August, in progress, 24x36in, oil on canvas

I think I more session might tie everything together but I like the composition and movement thus far. I just have to wait for a day with the same weather & light to continue. !

Rendezvous with Queen Ann

2011-08-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

I had started this painting last August and did not have time in that same month to complete it. Driven by the seasons I don’t like to resume a painting at a different time i.e. I could never paint summer when snow is flying outside. well. Having said that, sometimes I do-just to warm me up and keep my memory sharp(:0

The days here this August, with the atmosphere overcast and heavy, inspired me to resume ‘August with Queen Ann’. I am always struck by the patterns and shapes that wild flowers make and lucky for me, these vineyards have been left ‘un weeded’

August with Queen Ann

acrylic on canvas

36x48in, 2011

available

The intention was to build the work with an acrylic under painting. Although I made preliminary sketches I knew there would be compositional challenges. Acrylic, for me, is a little easier to work with until I get the underlying structure and pallet sorted-especially on a large surface.

I kept going with it though as I enjoyed working thin and with glazes. Also since my studio has been boiling hot with all of this humidity (miss my big shady tree) painting with lots of water and a spritzer felt a wee bit cooler. The downside of working with acrylic in hot humidity is that it does not completely cure-especially if you use it with a medium. Because it is a polymer and really works like glue, in the humidity it can adhere to itself rather than the substrate you’re working on.

I had to use my blowdryer a LOT to thoroughly dry the work between layers. Hence contradicting my ‘keeping cool’ theory…

below is another rendezvous with Queen Ann ...

August, Morning with Queen Ann

acrylic on canvas, 12x24in, 2009

sold

my art & Daniel Lanois??!!!!!!!

2011-07-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

*not exactly in the same billing but it reads well...

2011 Greenbelt Harvest Picnic
Saturday, August 27 (28 rain date)

I am ECSTATIC to be sharing this news:

I have just been selected as one of the artists who will be exhibiting work in conjunction with an exciting music event that features Daniel Lanois and Friends including Emmylou Harris, Gord Downie, Sarah Harmer and more!!!!

The 2011 Greenbelt Harvest Picnic is designed to raise awareness about the importance of the region’s local conservation lands, the arts, local agriculture and home gardening. Along with art and live music, visitors will also be able to enjoy a local farmers market, horticultural workshops, food and beverage areas, fishing, swimming and good old fashioned picnicking.

http://www.harvestpicnic.ca/

August, Greenbelt Disaster

oil on canvas, 9x12in, 2011

sold

I submitted work from ongoing visits and interviews with farmers on Greenbelt protected land and work created on that land. The series has been a driving force in my artistic practice.

August, Greenbelt Disaster

oil on canvas, 9x12in, 2011

sold

Last year I also connected with 3 other concerned artists (Michelle Teitsma, Gordon Leverton & Jefferson Campbell Cooper ) re greenbelt protected land and together we formed the ‘Greenbelt Collective’ with an upcoming exhibition (2012) at the Grimsby Public Art Gallery. We are hoping to travel with this show to raise awareness of how this legislation affects the agricultural and urban sectors in Ontario.

February

oil on canvas

36x48in, 2009

sold

Right now though I am still reeling -I have seen Daniel Lanois perform a few times but to be exhibiting at the same venue has kinda knocked my socks off- and Emmylou Harris?? am well chuffed!

For ticket information click here

the more things change & the drive from Hildreths'

2011-07-19T22:15:00.000-07:00

Detail-the more things change

A few new works related to an agricultural themed exhibition I will be participating in -more about that later.

The more things change...

encaustic mixed media on barn board

7x20in, 2011

the drive from Hildreths'

encaustic mixed media on barn board

6x15in, 2011

my friends will tell you that the short season of sweet peas have me on a mission to hunt down and devour every last one-we have shared many conversations while consuming these delectable little green pearls of flavour.

Hildreth's is a local market and they have the BEST

*

A few new strays (sold)

2011-07-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

Below are a few encaustic paintings where I incorporated and transferred representational (somewhat) images to integrate with the work.

Fire Fly Moon Dance

original painting embellished with encaustic, 8x11in, 2011, sold

I am quite happy with this image. The original sketch was done on black gessoed card that I masked off. It was rendered with acrylic and charcoal-I wanted that gauzy grainy and velvety blackness that only charcoal can do.

I then drew on the right side of the panel with charcoal and oil bar and my homemade pigment crayons. After transferring the original painting onto the support I built the whole surface with encaustic glazes and did a lot of manipulation with the iron. What you can’t see in the image are very fine grains of silver leaf that really emulate the sparks of light on the right in a nice subtle flow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

July, a time to rend

image transfer embellished with encaustic, alfalfa & mixed media on panel 8x11in 2011, sold

For this work I transferred a small copy of my 24x36in painting onto the panel, than embellished it with alfalfa plucked from the field where I painted the original. A few layers of encaustic clear glazes are applied, then with pigment, followed by a final application of gold and copper leaf.

During the process I intermittently drew with oil bar and wax/pigment sticks that I made. This was in order to reveal subtle colour nuances exposed from underneath when scraped and carved.

July, Remains of the Day

original painting embellished with encaustic & mixed media on panel

6x8in 2011, sold

This is a small oil sketch painted last week with my students. I transferred it onto a panel, than embellished it with encaustic in the same manner as described in the previous work. (I just brought it into the gallery today and it has sold!)

*If you'd like to learn some of these encaustic collage techniques, new classes start this week-just contact me : jan@janyates.com

*

art-making under a full moon

2011-07-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

It is one of life's bitterest truths that bedtime so often arrives just when things are really getting interesting. ~Lemony Snicket

Fire fly Moon dance

encaustic on panel

6x8in, 2011, available

I have willingly surrendered myself to moonlit summer nights of art-making

And the Moon Swept Down

encaustic on panel

6x8in, 2011, available

I often think that the night is more alive and more richly coloured than the day. ~Vincent Van Gogh

Fire fly Moon dance

encaustic , mixed media on panel

12x15in, 2011, available

There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.

George Carlin

‘I heard it in the wind last night

It sounded like applause

Chilly now

End of summer

No more shiny hot nights

It was just the arbutus rustling

And the bumping of the logs

And the moon swept down black water

Like an empty spotlight’

Joni Mitchell

6 new encaustic works (sold)

2011-07-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

looks like a new series evolving

'Quiet Conversations' ~ -incorporating drawing and glass-will see where it takes

Quiet Conversations

encaustic/mixed media on panels

9x12in, 2011, available

Quiet Conversations

encaustic/mixed media on panels

4x12in, 2011, available

Quiet Conversations

encaustic/mixed media on panel

5x20in, 2011

sold

Quiet Conversations

encaustic/mixed media on panels

9x12in, 2011, available

The next 2 images incorporate paintings rendered quite a few years ago.

I have 'framed ' them by drawing with beeswax crayons that I made, as well as oil bar, then I fused them with heat and polished to harden. I attached a small frame on the back so they look like they are suspended from the wall and have a tapestry-like quality that I am liking.

Quiet Conversations

encaustic/mixed media on panels

9x12in, 2011, available

Quiet Conversations

encaustic/mixed media on panels

9x12in, 2011, available

*

Winter Encaustic Workshop Dates

2011-07-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

Encaustic Painting

Ancient and intriguing, this method of painting originated in Greece, where it was used for the earliest easel and mural painting. A heady combination of colour, melting wax and heat, encaustic mixes dry and oil pigments in hot beeswax.

Artist & educator Jan Yates has been working with this luscious medium for over 15 years and will share techniques including photo transfer, collage, colour, glazing, layering, drawing, printmaking, mono type and, new: cold wax/oil techniques.

Classes are enjoyable for those with no previous art-making experience as well as returning artists who want to further explore this alluring and tactile medium.

Tuesday evening, February 14
6-9PM

$65 includes materials
_________________________

Tuesday evening, February 22
6-9PM

$65 includes materials
______________________________

Tuesday evening, March 13
6-9PM

$65 includes materials
_____________________

*Jan is also available to teach private and group encaustic workshops. Please contact the artist for details.

Turbulent Indigo

encaustic on panel

sold

now accepting registration:

janyatesart@gmail.com

*Registration can be paid securely online via paypal and you don't need an account with them to do so.

class size is limited and location is in Grimsby, On, Canada

Jan Yates is an established and well known arts educator in the Niagara region. She has worked with artists that have gone on to earn recognition in their own careers, crediting Jan for mentoring them. Her own work is represented by the Jordan Art Gallery, of which she is a partner. While best known for her spontaneous plein air work she also creates larger, more developed paintings in-studio, using these smaller outdoor studies as departure.

The Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland has recently awarded Jan a residency and she has been elected as a member of the Society of Canadian Artists and Landscape Artists International. Yates has garnered recognition and awards from selected juried exhibitions in Canada and the United States and has been awarded four grants from the Ontario Arts Council. Her work is held in public and private collections throughout North America, Southern Ireland, France, England and Australia.

see Jan's encaustic paintings here

balance & letting go

2011-07-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

On Sundays I work at our gallery - located in a tourist driven region of Niagara. In the summer we are fortunate in that we have visitors from around the world, and I am happy –and very thankful- to say that through this venue my paintings have moved to new homes in other countries.

I am especially happy, however, when they make their way to dwellings close to home. When local residents connect with the vineyards, orchards, fields and sky indicative of this region it touches a deeper chord. Such was today. I actually had the opportunity to meet the couple that purchased ‘May’. Often I don’t so the chance to discuss the painting and hear why they responded to it was deeply gratifying-and so exciting to see it through their eyes! In discussing the work it inevitably brought back the inspiration and process so when it was time to part it was also bittersweet.

I guess the reason I am writing this is affirmation, for lack of a better word, that, as an artist, what I do can sometimes make a difference in not only my, but another person's, well being- being well. This always surprises me-like a revelation. Then my constant insecurities are momentarily quashed with the wonder of it all. Through many years and many paintings I have questioned why I continue to do what I do. (as if I have a choice??) I've given up a LOT-(would kill for a weekly pay check). Family, friends, loved ones are often put on the back burner. But making art is like breathing -I can’t NOT do it-so these intimate encounters with kindred spirits that 'get' my work enough to want it in their daily lives is something to behold-for me at least.

I’d love to hear from other artists on this-what have YOU sacrificed for your art?

"May" with Doug & Pat

encaustic & quiet conversations (sold)

2011-07-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

A few new encaustics - new series. I have been making wee sketches in the early evenings and will be incorporating them into encaustic as well.

Clearing out my summer studio (garage) has taken priority and now that there is room to roam I will be hosting new encaustic workshops. I love working out there with the door wide open-especially when it rains and storms –I feel like I am right in it but remain dry:)

In the meantime I have been working on a very large painting and it is taking me forever..which is okay but I am starting to get in that obsessive stage i.e. all my waking hours and now even in my dreams. That’s another reason I like to transition after working all day on large paintings- I love the silence in creating at night and seem to get away with it more in the summer months.

Quiet Conversations

encaustic on box

6x8in, 2011

sold

Quiet Conversations

encaustic on box

6x8in, 2011

available

Saying nothing...sometimes says the most.

Emily Dickinson

The world would be happier if men had the same capacity to be silent that they have to speak

Baruch Spinoza

*my favourite

fire fly - moon dance (sold)

2011-06-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

For me a summer night is especially evocative. I am not the only one. It is the stuff of songs, sayings, poems & plays.

What a marvellous night for a moon dance.

Moon Dance

mixed media on panel

6x6in, 2011

Fire Fly

mixed media on panel

6x6in, 2011
sold

Summer (sold)

2011-06-22T11:21:00.000-07:00

Love is to the heart what the summer is to the farmer's year - it brings to harvest all the loveliest flowers of the soul.

Author Unknown

To see the Summer Sky
Is Poetry, though never to the, in a Book it lie -
True Poems flee.
Emily Dickinson

In June, as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them.

Aldo Leopold

No price is set on the lavish summer;
June may be had by the poorest comer.

James Russell Lowell

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world.

Ada Louise Huxtable

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language

Henry James, Jr.

July

Niagara Escarpment

oil on canvas

36x36in, 2010

HAPPY SUMMER !

RECENT PAINTINGS & NEWS

A Branch from the Lightning Tree

More Murmurations

Encaustic Workshops coming in March

Encaustic Workshop @ the Grimsby Public Art Gallery Wednesday March 7, 2012 (1 session) From 5:00pm– 8:00pm $30 + $20materials to register phone: 905 945 3246 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 905 945 3246 end_of_the_skype_highlighting email: gpag@town.grimsby.on.ca

Encaustic Workshop @ my studio (Grimsby)Tuesday, March 13, 6~9pm$65to register: jan@janyates.com

studio sale

winter plein air & random show images

drawing on reflection and murmuration

Upcoming Classes: encaustic & paint play

Protect

Drawing on Time

Full of Moons

Climate change and it's impact on farming compelled me to investigate the twelve full moons.

Full Moon Names and Their Meanings

National Geographic

Winter Wine Festival

*don’t miss ASHLEY MACISAAC FREE CONCERT this SATURDAY NIGHT!!!!!January 14 at 8:30 p.m.

Just 1 of MANY events celebrating good food, wine, art, apparel and more- all distinctive of Niagara

There are free shuttles from the festival in downtown Jordan to various wineries in the area

All is flowing

Desiderata: things that are yearned for (sold)

Solstice and change (sold)

full circle

Snow, Sky: November's farewell

She loved a November Sky

Liah's Tree

plein air & murmuration

Winter Moons

cycle

A Pretty Good Day So Far

last Illusions & Aluminum

Encaustic workshop FUN

yellow afternoons

Encaustic workshop -openings- Oct 26

Today was a very changeable day. The wind was throwing leaves from the trees and the sky was trying to catch them.

Harvest

Amsterdam with Van Gogh & Rembrandt

The letters of Vincent van Gogh

both sides now

fall into temptation

Sky & journey: Baltic Sea

curious thrill seekers

foolhardy pear

Today was a total washout-literally-my friend & I got absolutely drenched while painting in the vineyard-wind /rained washed the paintings right off of our 30in canvases-foolhardy pair we were-

so a wee pear of a different sort, created in a DRY studio....

leave

Ms. Aubergine

Who are we?

Greenbelt Harvest Picnic

a time for every purpose (under the sun)

in progress

Rendezvous with Queen Ann

my art & Daniel Lanois??!!!!!!!

the more things change & the drive from Hildreths'

A few new strays (sold)

art-making under a full moon

6 new encaustic works (sold)

The next 2 images incorporate paintings rendered quite a few years ago.

I have 'framed ' them by drawing with beeswax crayons that I made, as well as oil bar, then I fused them with heat and polished to harden. I attached a small frame on the back so they look like they are suspended from the wall and have a tapestry-like quality that I am liking.

Winter Encaustic Workshop Dates

balance & letting go

encaustic & quiet conversations (sold)

fire fly - moon dance (sold)

Summer (sold)

Encaustic Workshop @ the Grimsby Public Art Gallery
Wednesday March 7, 2012 (1 session)
From 5:00pm– 8:00pm
$30 + $20materials
to register
phone: 905 945 3246 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 905 945 3246 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
email: gpag@town.grimsby.on.ca

Encaustic Workshop @ my studio (Grimsby)
Tuesday, March 13, 6~9pm
$65
to register: jan@janyates.com

*don’t miss ASHLEY MACISAAC
FREE CONCERT this SATURDAY NIGHT!!!!!January 14 at 8:30 p.m.