April flutter (sold) & encaustic workshop

April rains are the handshake guarantee of growth and renewal.

*And without them showers, there ain't no flowers!

The full image in this post is another vertical so included are four detail images with the full dimensions to follow.

 

flutter, detail, encaustic on mirror 

 flutter, detail

Flutter, encaustic etc on found panel, 6x30in, 2013, available 

This Saturday I will be teaching another encaustic half day workshop  at my Grimsby studio and there are openings. Please contact me if you would like to join us. The shorter time is a great hands on intro to this beautiful and forgiving medium and you are sure to knock off at least one masterpiece!

Please click here for info and to register.

Below, a few images of workshop participants and their encaustic paintings. I am not good at remembering to take photos when I teach- usually I am too engrossed with the gang. I will have to be more diligent in the future!

silent meeting

When I sound the fairy call, gather here in silent meeting,
 Chin to knee on the orchard wall, cooled with dew and cherries eating.
Merry, merry, take a cherry, mine are sounder, mine are rounder,
 Mine are sweeter for the eater, when the dews fall, and you'll be fairies all.”

 Emily Dickinson

April, waiting for May, encaustic on panel,16x20in, 2013, available

art announcement

 see more constructions and discoveries here




Some upcoming art gigs:

City of St. Catharines juried exhibition It is with great pleasure to announce that “LAND MARK” has been juried into the City of St. Catharines 2013 exhibition: Beyond the Wall: Unpacking the Layers of St. Catharines’ Walls. The opening reception will be held at St. Catharines City Hall on April 24, 2013, at 4PM. All are invited to attend. For more information: Jennifer Tupling Culture Coordinator City of St. Catharines jtupling@stcatharines.ca www.stcatharines.ca

Upcoming Exhibition at Earls Court Gallery in Hamilton, ON


I am thrilled to announce that I have been invited to take part in a two person show with Dara Aram at the renowned Earls Court Gallery in Hamilton, ON.

Show runs August 9 – September 8, 2013, with the opening to be announced.
http://www.earlscourtgallery.ca/

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Upcoming workshop at the Art Gallery of Hamilton

Introduction to Encaustic painting
Artist Jan Yates will introduce a new painting technique to the AGH Studio programme—the art of painting with bees wax. Participants will learn to control heat and pigment to create brilliant and tactile paintings.
Sundays: June 2, 9, 23
Time: 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm

 To register please contact:
 www.artgalleryofhamilton.com

Lucid dreaming

 Last night I had a dream that it rained all night and when I woke up, it was May

April, waiting for May, oil on canvas, 30x36in, 2013, available

what is it about an orchard?

I have been spending as much time and energy as my schedule permits immersed with painting. Spring brings out the best in me I think. The returning birds are back to welcome me on my daily walks, and even though there are still patches of snow on the ground, the earth is warming up and showing green.

The orchards will not be in bloom for another month at the earliest, but after the monochrome and dormancy of a long winter I crave some colour and light and those familiar with my work know of my orchard obsession. 

I have a few canvases on the go and this is one of them. 

 Waiting for May, oil/cold wax on waxed support, 24x30in, available

 Although I usually work from paintings made on location, ‘Waiting for May’ was made by intuition, intention and recall. I hope it t echoes my optimism and although you may not see the birds in this painting, I like to think I speak for them as well.

happy spring

"Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush." 
 - Doug  Larson 


I've been working long days in the studio-just realized today was the first day of spring!

below, a painting from last Spring's Ireland residency

 I lar baire (in between)

 mixed media on mylar  16x30in 2012

upcoming painting workshop

You are invited to participate in my next series of playful art classes to be held at the Grimsby Public Art Gallery. Open to artists who like to learn and have fun-and you can bring your ipads and laptops to class!!!

for info and to register:
Grimsby Public Art Gallery
18 Carnegie Lane, Grimsby, Ontario, L3M 1Y1
905-945-3246
gpag@town.grimsby.on.ca
www.town.grimsby.on.ca/ArtGallery/Main/

International Women's Day

in light, some early work

 

 warning, oil /cold wax on canvas, 26x48in

painted in 2000 in response to a poem by Jenny Joseph. There is a whole movement around this poem-which I dispute, as the meaning  of the words is non-conformity. In my humble opinion, women grouping  together  to dress up in purple goes against the very core of the message.

murmur

Although the current weather begs to differ, murmurations I am seeing on daily walks tell a more optimistic story of what is to come. 

The three images in this new encaustic work feature young starlings that were perched in the trees outside my window. 

 I am enthralled with the dialogue that birds have with one another-whether with gesture and flight or verbal. These two seemed to be showing off and chattered and scolded incessantly-perhaps they were courting.

I am still salvaging and painting on surfaces from my surroundings rather than purchasing anything new. 

Although I have been working on top of failed paintings, this image was rendered on a panel I had made for a show some time ago but never used. I have to admit it felt strange to be working on a ‘clean slate ’!

The dimensions (12x48in) make it difficult to photograph so I have included sections with the full image at the end of this post. 

I incorporated powdered aluminum as well as a wee bit of gold leaf, which doesn’t show in the digital image, but the light moves through the work nicely with these reflective touches.

Emphasized also is the linear movement, and I enjoyed making the feathery charcoal smudges

 

Murmur, encaustic etc on panel, 12x48in, 2013, available

March/April Workshops

I've just sent a newsletter to students and collectors so thought that I should post it here as well.

 New dates  for classes in encaustic painting, cold wax painting and paint play are now updated for March and April.

Just contact me if you require more information about any of the available dates listed below or to register. For full course descriptions please visit my website here.
Registration can be made conveniently and securely online via paypal.

2013 Encaustic Workshop Dates Saturday, March 16, 10-4 Tuesday, March 12, 10-4

          Sunday April 7th, 1:30- 4:30
         location: Grimsby Public Art Gallery

Saturday April, 13,  10-1 Saturday April, 20,  10-1

2013 Cold Wax Workshop Dates Sunday, March 17 , 2013, 10-2 Wednesday, March 20, 2013,10-2 Saturday April, 6, 2013, 10-1

info, fee & registration here

unless otherwise indicated, workshops are held at my studio in Niagara, ON, Canada

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PAINT PLAY
This stimulating series will open up new ideas and fresh ways of seeing. If you are new to art making this is an opportunity to engage in a nurturing, encouraging and FUN environment. For practising artists, this series invites you to expand on new ideas and individual goals, and to push beyond your comfort level.
We will work from direct observation as well as learn how to use reference materials so your paintings look fresh and vital-not copied. Choose your preferred subject matter i.e. landscape, abstract or still life.

March 26, April 2 and April 9
6-8pm
Grimsby Public Art Gallery
18 Carnegie Lane, Grimsby, Ontario, L3M 1Y1
To register:
Brigitte Huard, Education & Media Coordinator
gpag@town.grimsby.on.ca
905-945-3246

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if the heart’s not in it

For such a short month, February seems to be the longest. As I thaw from another treacherous hike braving icy terrain and skin-splitting arctic wind, I must admit that winter is taking its toll on my well being-and being well!

 see more land art here

Right now l am longing for Spring; for what is to come-anticipation is that much sweeter because of February’s monochrome.

Today I want colour, and although I see artists painting colourful spring and summer landscapes from photo references, I can’t work that way. I am affected by seasons and cycles when it comes to painting the land and if I don’t feel a symbiotic connection with the current environment, the work becomes an illustration. If the heart’s not in it than why do it?

Featured here is a very early encaustic image. It triggered a series titled ‘Liberty Garden’ and it is one of my favourite works. It warms me up.

 Liberty Garden, encaustic, seeds & packet on found panel, 6x14in, 2005

a sense of place

As I write, wolves and coyotes are being persecuted in the US and Canada. There are coyote killing contests and bounties; they are hunted down and torn apart by hounds; they are being trapped to trim winter coats.

As an advocate I do my best, but then I feel helpless and just can’t stomach the awareness, so I turn to making art.

 The artwork below represents winter where I live on the Niagara escarpment. There are coyotes up here, and although I rarely see them, I hear them at night and it is a privilege. 

 Beautiful Vagabond (winter), encaustic on found panel, 6x16in, 2013, available

While working on this, I was thinking about urbanization and whether we will ever live harmoniously. As well as a sense of place and connection, I hope the imagery conveys a wee bit of optimism…

upcoming plein air workshops

Plein Air Painting
for the outdoor enthusiast
Winter/Spring, 2013

held on the Niagara Escarpment, a Unesco world biosphere reserve Painting outdoors improves your skills when working back in the studio. It is a great exercise to enhance observation and make sound choices when it comes to composition. Learn about what to wear, packing light, preparing surfaces,  simplifying your pallet, and working fast in the changing light and temperature. Painting tools as well as mediums, including cold wax for oil, and polymer for acrylic, will be addressed. You will be responsible for your own supplies and a list is provided upon registration.  Some outdoor easels are available.

For over two decades, in the tradition of Emily Carr and the Group of Seven, Yates’ focus has been to paint directly from the land. She will share techniques including  pre-mixing predominant seasonal pallets, building composition and economy of brushwork. Ongoing Tuesdays throughout the winter: 10am -12:30pm  $85 for a series of 4 sessions.   $25 for 1 session  register  here

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something waits beneath

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show. 
Andrew Wyeth 

It felt great to be outside working again. There was no wind and consistent warm sun. Well worth the climb through snow banks

February, oil on canvas, 9x12in, 2012, available

encaustic workshop

In today's encaustic workshop, participants were interested in learning how to work in a somewhat representational style. Below are two works that started as oil and cold wax under-paintings, and then were built up with layers of molten wax and pigment.

 winter 5, encaustic on panel 14x20in, 2013

In this  advanced class, participants also explored shellac burn techniques as well as warmed drawing, monotype and mixed media.

 winter 6, encaustic etc on panel, 9x12in, 2013

As usual, I was so engaged with my students that I forgot to take pictures in-situ. I emailed them and they promise to pass on their finished paintings so I can share them as they made some really exciting work. 

I will be posting dates for March and April encaustic studio workshops soon. For info please visit my website or contact me.

a landscape as it was before

There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before.

Robert Lynd (1879 - 1949), The Blue Lion and Other Essays

For those who follow my posts, you have probably noticed the recent succession of encaustic works. 

 That is partly because I have been conducting  encaustic workshops here at the studio, and the class participants always inspire me. Most of the works shown in the past few months, started as demos

 However I think it will be the last you will be seeing of my starling friend for awhile. 

The image featured was created on another piece of wood weathered from the seasons here on the Niagara escarpment.
 

 I enjoy sealing the worn wood with beeswax, letting the molten liquid pool into the porous crevices to protect it forever. 

 And I just couldn't resist the uneven asymmetrical quirkiness of this panel

beautiful vagabond, encaustic etc on found panel, 7x50in, 2013

beautiful vagabonds

The very idea of a bird is a symbol and a suggestion to the poet. A bird seems to be at the top of the scale, so vehement and intense his life. . . . The beautiful vagabonds, endowed with every grace, masters of all climes, and knowing no bounds -- how many human aspirations are realized in their free, holiday-lives -- and how many suggestions to the poet in their flight and song!  

John Burroughs (1837 - 1921), Birds and Poets, 1887

 Starlings in Winter, encaustic etc on panels, 12x10in, 2013, available