Winter Wonderland (in case you weren't convinced)

Although it was -38 degrees Celsius with the wind chill, Kya was not hindered. In fact, she loves winter!


(chewing and playing with her leash is her way of saying "hey. look at me - aren't I so much fun?")

Winter Wonderland

It has been a real winter this year. We've had snow since November and it doesn't show signs of leaving any time soon.

















I think Winter gets a bad rap.

Sure, it's cold, but it's also so pretty. If you actually stop to look at it - really look at it - it's gorgeous. The subtle colouring and sharp lights and darks. Everything is pared down to the essentials, like a Japanese print.



















Kawase Hasui,
Snow at Kamibashi Bridge, Nikko,
1930

















Kawase Hasui,
Hall of the golden hue, Hiraizumi,
1957

So, the next time you find yourself groaning about the snow and cold be sure to dress up nice and warm and go out and enjoy it instead.
























Kawase Hasui,
Ikegami Honmonji Temple,
1931

Springtime studio progress

I recently went on a gallery walk, and as it would happen the sum of all the galleries visited had an interesting affect on me. There were various landscape paintings; from the simple and elegant landscapes of Bob Sinclair at the Scott Gallery, to the sweet and chunky landscapes of Catherine McAvity at the Agnes Bugera Gallery, and finally the vibrant and bold water series of David Alexander at the Peter Robertson Gallery.

I took some ideas from what I had seen back with me to the studio. I wanted to try putting down free and brightly coloured shapes borrowed loosely from landscapes in watercolour and see where it went from there. I stretched what I thought was watercolour paper on to board. Once I got the paper wet I realized quickly that it was not watercolour paper at all. It started to pill, so I carefully finished stretching, trying not to use any more water and little handling of the paper. Once it dried it didn't seem so bad so I thought I'd at least use it as a test. I applied broad areas of watercolour, but once again as soon as the water touched the paper the surface started to fall apart. Frustrated I went home. On my return trip to the studio a few days later I discover the dried paper didn't seem as horrible as it had when I left it. Rather than attempt more watercolour I decided to work over top in pastel. Here's a little sampling of what happened-



I was pleased that it was successfully salvaged, especially considering I had thought of the piece only as a test that would most likely be thrown out. I wasn't especially happy with the path. It seemed problematic wedged in the corner and slightly cheesy. I had thought of reworking it but decided I didn't want to get too fussy, so instead I cropped the original image into two separate images.

One here -



And the second here (on the board on the easel)-



I'm still a little unsure of this second one, which is why the cropping paper is at the bottom. I'm still trying to decide....

Encouraged by this start and armed with actual watercolour paper I made my second attempt. I stretched the paper and did a loose and bright watercolour wash. Here's what it looked like -



I came back a day later and worked over top in pastel. I'm quite pleased with the results -



A detail -



Somehow with all this bright loosey goosey drawing has the studio feeling full of spring fever.



PS - click on the above pictures to see them nice and BIG.

Holiday Cheer

My Christmas elves and I wish you all holiday cheer!

Quick Studio Update

I've had a visiting studio friend a couple of times this month. It's quite nice to have someone to work with from time to time, and I think I didn't realize how much I miss having my old work mates around.

Some quick snaps -- Grace working away, isn't she cute?

I liked her set-up so much I needed to do a quick sketch. I could see it as a large painting with all those colourful stacked table tops.



Putting Dave Cantine's advice into practice and using the paint chips to tweak a painting.

Studio progress (studio visiting)

Today was a nice day at the studio. It was spent mostly visiting, drinking coffee, and picking paint colours. I love the current (and I'm sure original from 1953) baby yellow and pink, but it's quite dirty and as one of my studio-mates pointed out --- the pink kind of reminds her of boiled hot dogs. Enough said. So we spent today trying to pick vintage inspired colours that would suit the style of the studio. We were especially inspired by the old metal office table we have in the main space - grey and green. Sturdy and utilitarian but still soft and pleasant. Added bonus- other colours look great with it. So I think we are going to try a dirty greenish grey for the wainscot, with shiny bright white for the trim, and slight off white for the walls. Now when are we going to find the time to do all that painting?



We also went on a quick tour of the architectural clearinghouse. I was looking for an old enamel kitchen sink to replace one of the existing bathroom sinks. Something a bit better for washing brushes and studio goo. We saw a few possibilities, but nothing I needed to take today. We did see these beautiful toilet tops and old radiators. I also got a fantastic black and white metal cart --- with casters! -- for $10! Woo hoo.



There was even a few hours of painting, which didn't feel like it amounted to much but I think actually did. I keep reminding myself to be patient, but starting painting after a break feels like learning all over again. I am impatient for results.

Happy Halloween

Tonight was the annual Superfriends Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza. We were a smaller crew than in years past, but apparently no less messy.



My favorite is this view from inside the pumpkin......scary.



Happy Halloween.

Updates from the new studio

Today was the first day I painted in the new studio.



Of course since August I've been cleaning, moving, drywalling, mudding, sanding, and painting ceilings, walls, and trim. It's been a long time coming, and I was even starting to think that I didn't really miss painting. But I did.



I went to the grocery store with my new studio-mate to get inspiration (and even some groceries) and then it was off to work for both of us. It felt a bit awkward at first, but I know it will all come back to me if I just keep at it. So for now it's one bit at a time with little expectation. How could I have forgotten how ugly paintings are at the start?

A letter from Kya to Jodie

Today was a beautiful fall day. You know those days where it really smells like fall?



We went for a walk down by the river. The leaves are all turning colour and the light is really nice. The sun was bright, but a storm wasn't far off.



The rowing club was practicing, just beginners learning - "ease on starboard, ease".



The rowers made me want to go into the water even more than I already did. I'm sure I could swim out to them, to join them in their awkward glide - which side is port again?

Instead I had to settle for a wander and a climb.



Wish you were here. It doesn't smell the same without you.

Always lots of love,
Kya

Mailing presents

I wrapped up the wedding gifts I made for my friends tonight. I'm so excited for them to be opened. I think they'll love them, or at least I sure hope they will.

I won't post pictures of the gifts yet, just in case they happen to read this post before the package arrives. That will have to wait until later.....

Last Suppers

We have just said good-bye to our lovely house guest --- and she was lovely.



Her presence encouraged us to make nice meals and enjoy long conversations at the table.
She provided lovely vegetables and ancient grains, and her mother gave us beautiful squash and flowers from the garden.



We ate well, walked a little, talked a lot, and laughed.



I'm sad her visit passed so quickly and hope she will come again soon.

Good luck with your move Jodie Anne. Enjoy your new city.

Studio Moving

I'm currently moving to a new studio, and yesterday my old studio mates came by to see.....



and to eat and drink and celebrate the new space with a picnic. There was poppyseed cake, chocolate chip & nut cookies, strawberries, cherries, and fantastic coffee.



Even though I have sad moments thinking about leaving my old studio (I have been there for 10 years!), I know that the new space is full possibility. Here's to new beginnings and old friends to help things along.

Landlive & Stillscapces - the opening

This past Saturday was the opening reception of Landlives & Stillscapes. The weather outside was 34 degrees, but luckily the gallery was air conditioned. There was a great turn out, much lingering and visiting.



We set up still lives around the gallery to reflect our studio atmosphere.



There were also gifts of beautiful flowers.



Thanks to you all for coming out and contributing to the success of the show.

A thank-you to the Coole girls

See that cute little chalkboard garden label? Well, it's one of many given to me as a Christmas present from the sweet Coole girls.

Thanks so much. They a a wonderful addition to the garden.

Garden Update

Thought I'd do a quick post on how the garden's growing. This recent heat and all the rain has caused everything to shoot up and bloom. It looks fantastic!



The tarragon has now reached the six feet mark! What am I supposed to do with all of it? We were actually discussing growing it as a hedge around our fence, as it's a perennial, thick, and tall. To think that heaping mound started with a few seeds in a tidy row only about five years ago.



We've also been harvesting radishes and strawberries for the last couple of weeks. And this week my first snapdragon bloomed. Woo hoo. A bit different from the June post, hey?

Pie Therapy

Yesterday I was grouchy --- really grouchy.

I was feeling rushed, and tired, and too busy. I was finishing off things that had to get done, but somehow nothing was really working out and something I thought would be a quick job ended up taking several hours. You know when you have days like that?



Well, I finally just stopped. I was tired of myself (imagine how my wonderful helper felt). Instead I took some time to do something that I like to do. I ignored my email, didn't return calls, and stopped thinking about stuff I could put off until today --- and I made pies.

I made a wonderful Empanada Gallega (Galician Pork and Pepper Pie) from a recipe found online. It was dee-lish. I also made a true bumbleberry pie with Saskatoon berries collected earlier while taking the dog for a walk, and supplemented with strawberries and rhubarb from the garden.



Of course we enjoyed the left over pie this morning for breakfast!

Sneak Peek

Well, today was the day that we installed the Landlives and Stillscapes show. It sort of felt as though we'd never get there, and here we are. It went up pretty quickly and we all agreed that it looked good.



So if any of you are in Edmonton this July please stop by for a visit and tell us what you think.