Vincent & inspiration

‘Is it not emotion, the sincerity of one's feeling for nature, that draws us, and if the emotions are sometimes so strong that one works without knowing one works, when sometimes the strokes come with a continuity and a coherence like words in a speech or a letter, then one must remember that it has not always been so, and that in time to come there will again be hard days, empty of inspiration.’

Excerpt of a  Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh
Arles, c. 7 July 1888

Those words resonate with me. I have been thinking about what compels me to make so many paintings of the orchard-I never think about it while I am in progress, only after I have produced a series do I reflect on why. In essence I think the orchards in bloom hold a resplendent optimism –I think the rows of white are leaning into the sublime-my friend calls it tree-worship. But what are They worshipping? Besides the bearing of  fruit, I find they are feminine in their gesture, in their stance, in their limbs. When in bloom they merge with the sky into an otherworldly guise. The culmination lasts not even a week, and I think that is what I find to be so compelling. 

May (& Joan) oil on canvas, 7x14in, 2011

This painting is one of my finals from the season. Part of it was rendered in response to a photo taken by my dear friend last week. We were WAy overdue for a good visit. With dogs in tow and drinks in hand  we  hiked out to the orchard, sat under those glorious old trees glistening in the late day sun, and caught up with our lives.

*I have been pouring over  letters written by  our Vincent. All 874 are posted on a very easy to navigate website: the Van Gogh letters

  http://www.vggallery.com/letters/main.htm

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spark

No creature is fully itself till it is, like the dandelion, opened in the bloom of pure relationship to the sun, the entire living cosmos.

- D.H. Lawrence

If dandelions were hard to grow, they would be most welcome on any lawn.

-Andrew V Mason

It gives one a sudden start in going down a barren, stoney street, to see upon a narrow strip of grass, just within the iron fence, a radiant dandelion, shining in the grass, like a spark dropped from the sun.

-Henry Ward Beecher

May, oil on canvas, 8x18in, 2011, available

I knew my neighbours would be mowing through the vineyard rows as soon as the rain ceased, taking the dappled yellow with them. I sat outside my kitchen door and caught these doomed (deemed) weeds as quick as I could—was lots of fun. Their plight was sealed just as I put down my last stroke-

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A Weekend Invitation (sold)

SALE on -

This Weekend Only

ALL of my paintings at the Jordan Art Gallery are offered for 13% less than the listed price-just think of it as a tax break.

MAYDAY (sold)

"What potent blood hath modest May."

- Ralph W. Emerson

"The world's favourite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May."

- Edwin Way Teale

"Be like a flower and turn your face to the sun."

- Kahlil Gibran

Happy May!

 May

Niagara  Escarpment

acrylic on canvas

18x24in, 2008

sold

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to everything there is a season (sold)

My earlier post expounded on how incredibly amazing April is - that we should be patient considering all she brings in growth and renewal. Well I take it back. She has wreaked havoc on far too many. 

 I’ve been  miserable thanks to April. Our majestic old maple tree was torn out by the aftermath of the US tornados. (I can’t even begin to fathom the vast devastation and destruction in the US). The tree is/was situated in front of our veranda, where the entrance to my studio is located. I know that I am fortunate as it missed the house, causing no major damage. I can’t help but feel gutted though when I look at her splayed on the ground, vulnerable, her wee spring buds on branches of hope. I feel like I am mourning as she was so significant to me and my work. The ambiance she provided when sitting out with friends or painting with students will be sorely missed. I keep thinking of all the years that she gave to the birds-some returning year after year. She was their social network as well as protection and housing. When I think of it trees are very much gathering places and places to gather. I am deeply thankful that I shared my seasons with this old girl and she will be sorely missed.

I like to paint ideas via oil sketches on black gessoed card. I have many and usually don’t share but thought I'd make an exception. Last evening I sat on my veranda and painted ‘ view without  tree’ . Serenaded  by finches and mockingbirds, breathing fragrant sweet air, colouring in yellow green land and shocks of forsythia --I might forgive April.

Almost May

Niagara Escarpment

oil on gessoed card

4x6in, 2011

available 

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read on for image of destruction....

What is it about an Orchard?

Some keep the Sabbath going to the Church 

I keep it, staying at Home 

With a Bobolink for a Chorister 

And an Orchard, for a Dome

Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice

I just wear my Wings 

And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,
Our little Sexton — sings.

God preaches, a noted Clergyman 

And the sermon is never long,
So instead of getting to Heaven, at last 

I'm going, all along.

Emily Dickinson

April, Waiting for May

oil on canvas

30x36in, 2011

available

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happy Earth Day (sold)

I’ve made a conscious effort to curb my time on the computer (besides business) in lieu of spending more time on art making and to delve into some larger paintings. I enjoy working in the studio, taking time to contemplate the work, push myself, but more importantly be open and let things happen intuitively. Such a fine line (pun intended) to connect with that elusive balance. I also have a show so really need to work as much as time will allow.

This has been a good month for remaining inside the studio as our April has been cold, grey and rainy. I love that. I feel anticipation. April is pretty amazing and quite magic. For those of you who are complaining, look how hard April is working to bring us colour and life- lets give her a break!

I do admit that I’ve been distracted by the bird wars over nesting rites outside the studio. A grapevine ball is suspended on my porch near the door window and every year it is designated as prime nesting property. I am always a captive audience to the making of the nest. (once all the materials are delivered the lucky bird sits in the centre and uses it’s little body and back feet to shape and form, then the beak does the tucking in).

These bird diversions have slowed down my painting time a wee bit so nothing to show you yet. Instead, a few wee nests.

Cardinal

conte/graphite/charcoal

6x10in, 2008

HAPPY EARTH DAY

please tread lightly......

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plein air workshop

 'By the start of May, most trees are in full leaf, many Spring flowers are in bloom and the Earth is brimming with both plant and animal life taking advantage of the high sun levels and ever warmer temperatures.'  May Day

in the Orchard

1-day workshop

 Paint outside under the sun, accompanied by the songs of birds and the sweet heady smell of spring blossoms. If you are new to art-making, this is an opportunity to play with paint and hone your observation skills.

This workshop also includes an orchard picnic lunch with complimentary glass of Niagara Wine.

 

Saturday, May 7

10AM-4pm    $90

This workshop is now full

janyatesart@gmail.com

April outside

I was able to get out in the warm April air this week to whip up a few wee paintings.... 

I sat on a hill late in the day to paint the diptych below and was especially taken with the shifts in colour and texture of the distant escarpment -and beyond just a hint of the lake. The branches of the fruit trees are so red right now with buds-always amazing to me what difference a little bit of sun can do to revive and generate growth..

 April

oil on canvas

9x24in, 2011

available

Below is a wise old cherry tree that I view every day from our south windows. Her days of blooming and bearing fruit are expired but she does bear various broods of wildlife and for that reason she still stands. Generations of squirrels, birds and raccoons have her to thank for their continued presence-- I have her to thank for standing still to let me paint her..

 April

oil on canvas

9x12in, 2011

available

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old & at risk (sold)

Earlier today I posted an older plein air work that I had found while cleaning my studio but since have abandoned it – deeming it as forever unworthy:(

Still, in keeping with the flow of Spring Studio Cleanup, I found this encaustic painting tucked away. I always keep one work from every series- this one from ‘Food for Thought’.

A few years ago I was painting food cultivated and harvested from my garden or from the vineyards and orchards where I walk. The first painting is very significant to me. My daughter had left home for the first time and as Mothers know this letting go is heart wrenching to say the least -you just want to hold them close. The other two images are portraits of bartlet pears picked from the trees that you have seen in my previous posts.

All three are encaustic, and I am thinking of opening a separate blog for my encaustic works as, even though connected with my works in oil, they are separate..still thinking..

Departure
encaustic on canvas
8x10in, 2007

Pair
encaustic on panel
6x11in, 2007
sold

Found
encaustic on panel
8x10in, 2007
sold

*On another note I have become a fan of a truly significant artist, social activist and writer. I hope you will read Nicolas Wilton's note that articulates what ( I personally feel) it takes to attain truth in all great works of art —RISK.

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encaustic workshop & Klee Wyk

The Grimsby Public Art Gallery has invited me to teach an encaustic workshop next Tuesday night, April 5, from 6:30~9:30PM. If you live close by there are a few openings still available.

The fluidity of molten wax and colour combined with the immediacy and diversity of printmaking will be addressed in this evening workshop. Incorporating drawing, painting and image transfer, you will engage and be inspired to play with collage, monotype, resist and relief techniques. We will also address temperature, adhesion, layering, surfaces and how to make your own encaustic paint.

This workshop is open to a maximum of 6 participants, allowing for individual guidance and lots of hands-on exploration.To register, please contact me

My friend and I were talking books tonight and I mentioned Emily Carr. Most people know Carr as a great Canadian painter, but she was also an accomplished author, with quite a sense of humour to her writing. Our conversation brought to mind this image below, inspired by one of Carr's books, titled 'Klee Wyk' ('laughing one')

Klee Wyk

encaustic on panel

diptych, 8x16in

sold

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fast forward

This little painting is another re-work… my impatience for May compelling me to fast forward

May

oil/encaustic on panel

6x10in, 2011

sold

I have included the original plein air work that was rendered last March. You will see that I decided to grow this painting into a fresh spring pallet and texture of a new May and the process was quite fun.

I let some of the oil paint show through in the sky and the structure of the trees and even some of the dormant umber grasses. I then gingerly applied molten pigment for the vivid grasses and blooms—intermittently using a warm iron to move and smooth out some of the pigment. Following was the final process of fusing/burning -in with heat, then a final polish to harden and protect the work.

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encaustic & British Invasion (sold)

Yes, another orchard, this time encaustic..

May

encaustic on panel

12x12in, 2011

sold

As well, an auction donation for our regional art gallery. The theme of the fundraiser is ‘British Invasion’- selected artists were given LP covers to design for the auction. This one is painted on both sides with encaustic, then I stitched wire through it to be hung diamond shaped, ideally suspended to show off the 'vibe' of both sides.

I also have 2 paintings in the show, but no photos to share. You will just have to attend the preview tonight (Friday) at the Grimsby Public Art Gallery. The gala evening of art and all things British is this Saturday night. (I wonder if the Brits ever do a 'Canadian Invasion" event...)

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the fever

Spring has arrived, resonating optimism and inspiration. April pours the bath and May soaks in it, seductive in high chroma, heady scent and song-—no wonder they call it a fever!

The painting below is a re-visit and I have also included the before. I felt there was way too much going on in before—a busy onslaught leaving no space for the eye to rest or the mind to linger. I wanted to quiet areas down but still retain that –for lack of a better phrase—‘ magic-y whirr-y’ effect—the ethereal worshippers dancing for the sky. ( you might have noticed -my imagination has no 'stop' buttons when it comes to the orchard)

May

Niagara Escarpment

oil on canvas

24x48in, 2011

available

I am much happier with the final outcome, which took very little time. It makes me wonder whether the countless hours and work that went into before factored into the seamless flourish of after... Would I have approached it differently if starting from scratch? Did I learn from both processes? Of course-every painting is it’s own-but making art is about the state of heart and mind at the time of it’s inception—the art unfolds as we do.

before

after

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Art Theft Update

‘I arrived at the gallery this morning to find a  shopping bag hanging on our
black hook outside with 5 of your little paintings in it wrapped in
plastic. An unsigned note attached…’

The above email  greeted me this morning from a gallery colleague.

For those of you that read my post about the stolen paintings—they have all been returned.

Thus is the power of social media

To my perpetrator:

I am very grateful and relieved that my blog post compelled you to follow your conscience and return these paintings. I appreciate your note of apology and am sincerely sorry for your illness. I strongly urge you to find help. Please do this not only for your sake but for the sake of others who you might be tempted to take advantage of. 

February, Remains of the Day

oil on canvas

6x6in, 2010

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Amelia

When I paint into sky it is the culmination of what was and what is to become that engages me. In all these years of sky-painting, Joni Mitchell’s words to ‘Amelia’ still resonate in my heart and mind.

March, Remains of the Day

oil/wax on canvas

18x30in, 2011

available

This is painted on a surface that was primed fairly thickly with molten beeswax and dammar resin. I smoothed it by burning in with heat, then, when cool, polished to harden it. I make my own cold wax medium to control the consistency and purity—using eco-friendly turps, beeswax, and linseed /stand oil of varying strengths. I will polish the painting when it is completely dry to give it a luminous glow and add more depth. I have a hard time photographing encaustic work or work painted with cold wax anyway, so I do it prior to this final process, trying to cut down on the ___glare! I am not too happy with the colours and digital noise on this image so looks like I will have to re-shoot regardless.

On an inspiring note I saw a red-winged blackbird today! Yay! And I’m so jazzed that we have more light in our days—things are good

*keep reading for poem and video

Art Theft

In the past six months, 5 of my paintings have been stolen from our gallery-averaging almost one every month. Even though I’ve had to resort to wiring them to the wall, my`collector`has managed to figure out a way to steal them—probably mans himself with wire cutters before visiting.

Well we know who you are Mr----who lives in a city starting with the letter B---and thanks to our new video surveillance system we will be able to prove it upon your next attempt. Since you are such a fan of my work I am going to assume you read my blog. I hope you read it because I would like you to know how hurt and disappointed I am that someone would commit such a cowardly and despicable act.

Do you somehow feel a sense of entitlement, or does it give you a sense of power knowing that you got away with it?  Either way, it is disheartening to know that my work-created honestly –is in your possession-you don’t deserve to have it.

I have included the stolen paintings below. If anyone has seen them I would be very grateful to know the details. I will happily GIVE you one of my paintings (and keep your name confidential)  if your information helps in apprehending this pusillanimous thief.

June,  oil on canvas, 6x6in, 2010, STOLEN

lions in the afternoon

March is such a changeable month! One moment there is rain and promise of spring—then gales of wind turning to ice and snow. I was looking at work from past ‘Marches’ as I was curious to compare the weather to this one. Posted below is a much warmer March and I clearly recall the day it was painted…

After a long and bleak January/ February we had a warm spell mid-March. Outdoor painters rely on the weather report as much as farmers and I was watching and waiting. Finally the day came. I selected a fairly large canvas (24x36in) for my first plein air attempt of the season-perhaps to make up for all the missed paintings due to the #@!! winter weather. On went the wellies and off I went with my three canines. After a ten minute hike I set up and started working. The painting was coming along beautifully and I was midway through when the dogs started barking. I just kept working as this is a frequent occurrence-especially in the spring with new sounds of birds and critters giving them momentum to carry on.

But the barking became rather growly and aggressive and I finally had to put my brush down and look behind into the sun to see silhouettes of- lions-quite a few-coming our way.

The magic in these fields and orchards is that one can usually be alone. I do have a friend that lives on the other end and like me, she runs her dogs here —but even then it is rarely at the same time-and they are dogs, not lions. As the lions approached I recognized my friend behind them with her 3 dogs and another acquaintance who breeds horses-and, as it turns out, lion-dogs. The official name for these lion-dogs are ‘Leonbergers’ and I don’t need to describe them as I already have- they look like- lions-but gentler and fluffier. Gentle or not they terrified my dogs who in turn ran to me for protection—thus knocking me down as well as my painting, brushes, easel-everything- smack into the dense wet spring muck. By now I was surrounded by eleven dogs and two humans who impressively managed to hold their laughter long enough to help me up. After the herd dispersed I wiped out my painting and started again.

March, Thaw

oil on canvas

24x36in, 2009

sold

In making this painting I was taken by the anticipation of a new season shared by all- birds/bees and creatures great and small - as well as the greening of renewed grasses mingled with the dried and dormant. I wanted the painting to convey growth through staccato brushwork and I exaggerated colour/movement in passages to denote a nudge for spring to hurry up and get here.

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Spring, Summer workshops

Upcoming Workshops

I am now taking registration for Spring and Summer workshops to be held here in Niagara Wine Country.

3-day workshop dates and information are listed below. Along with instruction these extended workshops include complimentary evening wine and bonfire to relax after a day of painting..

As well, I will be holding a 1-day workshop to paint the May Orchards, which will be in full bloom (we hope). I only have a few openings left so please contact me soon if you’d like to join us.
This workshop also includes an orchard picnic lunch and complimentary glass of Niagara Wine.

All workshops include demonstrations and emphasis is on observation, composition, value, brushwork/ paint application, colour/simplified palette and individual interpretation. Media is in oil or acrylic and class size is limited, allowing for personal guidance and direction. Participants are responsible for their own materials and a list will be provided upon registration. If you are travelling I can also provide your materials for an additional fee.

If you are coming from out of town I can recommend some lovely and reasonably priced B&BS and inns set amongst our world renowned wineries. Alternately and pending availability I have comfortable lodging here that can accommodate an artist and partner or two singles sharing the room. Just contact me and I will send info.

"I love your painting Mecca. What a place!" Dora Keogh

review

This painting was rendered quite a few years ago, but it is still one of my favourites. I have mentioned the importance ( for me at least and in sharing with my students) of reviewing early work to assess how it relates to current work. I find when I do this it is an honest-albeit tough-way to distill what I find relevant and why.

March, Niagara Escarpment

oil/wax on panel

12x12in, 2007

sold

This painting was rendered on location. I prepared my canvas with encaustic medium (beeswax/dammar resin ) in the studio before heading out. I smoothed the surface by burning in with heat, then painted on site using oil pigment and cold wax medium. Back in the studio I gave it a very very light burn-in (fusing with heat) and let thicker passages dry. I might start doing this again –preparing my panels with encaustic medium-as I like the way it feels when I brush paint onto the surface- as well it seems to give it another dimension and adds to the ' feel' and mood of place that I wanted to convey .

below another from the same series

April, Niagara Escarpment

oil/wax on panel

16x20in, 2007

sold

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We ARE Nature

'We often forget that We ARE Nature. Nature is not separate from us. So when we say we have lost our connection with Nature, we’ve lost our connection with ourselves.'

I have been revisiting the work of Environmental Artist Andy Goldsworthy.

http://www.goldsworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk/

• "I find some of my new works disturbing, just as I find nature as a whole disturbing. The landscape is often perceived as pastoral, pretty, beautiful – something to be enjoyed as a backdrop to your weekend before going back to the nitty-gritty of urban life. But anybody who works the land knows it's not like that. Nature can be harsh – difficult and brutal, as well as beautiful. You couldn't walk five minutes from here without coming across something that is dead or decaying." 

 "One of the beauties of art is that it reflects an artist's entire life. What I've learned over the past 30 years is really beginning to inform what I make. I hope that process continues until I die." 

*keep reading for video