The ABC's of art...so far.

I would be remiss if I didn’t share this with you. Over at Lisa Bachman’s blog, The Studio News, she has undertaken the task of re-defining the alphabet for us artists. Earlier in the year she started a series of sketches related to art and the alphabet and while I suspect she did it for her own enjoyment it has clearly taken on a life of it’s own and has become thoroughly enjoyable for those that visit her blog. She just completed the letter ‘R’, a letter of the alphabet I’m quite partial towards. ;)

Instead of sharing my own art today I’d like to direct you to Lisa’s art because, truly, this is a project worth sharing. You can find ‘A’ through ‘R’ on her blog, here. While I’ve really enjoyed all the sketches so far I’ve got to admit that “Boss of the Block” for the letter ‘B’ has been my fav so far. I knew a few Mom’s like that when I was growing up...


I was waiting for ‘Q’ and wasn’t disappointed when I saw what she came up with. All I can say is I gotta get me a bottle of Quink... if nothing else but for the sheer amusement of saying the word “quink” over and over again.



Quink... I love it.

So it rained a bit...

"Dancing in the Dark" (working title at this point)
11x14, coloured pencil on Pastelbord
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Okay, actually, it rained a lot. And thunder... don't forget that as well.

The week-end was a bit of a bust you could say. When you're holding an outdoor art fair at a Provincial Park where people are generally staying in structures that don't have solid walls they're not particularly inclined to buy art.

Lack of sales aside I still had fun and got to see folks that I hasn't seen in awhile, do an interview for a paper covering the show and also got to meet some folks that had seen my work in other venues and proclaimed they were "fans". That's pretty darn neat if you ask me.
The Other Half and I also got to do some camping and get some nice shots of animals and unusual mushrooms. One of them looked like the ones that Smurfs would live in but, alas, I saw no evidence of Smurf habitation in said mushrooms.

After all the excitement of the week-end (and vain attempts at staying dry) I'm very tired and have oodles of laundry to do. We also have to set some things back up, like the canopy, so it can dry out or it'll be growing mushrooms on it... and I sincerely doubt I'll find Smurfs in those mushrooms either.


So stay tuned for later in the week when I get back to van Gogh and Vermeer and why I've decided to study both of these Dutch Masters. Keep on art-ing!

And we're off!!

Well, in the interest of not rushing through my van Gogh/ Vermeer postings I’ve decided instead to do a gardening post. The Masters took their time, I think it would be in my best interests to do the same in studying and posting on them.
Also, the Other Half managed to get home early because we're having/ had some severe thunder and lightning storms come through the area and operating heavy machinery in those kinds of conditions is a no-no.


This summer has been a bit different than we’ve had for the past 2-3 years. We’ve has lots of rain (which is a relief when you’re on a well) and the temps have been erring on the side of cool-ish. My kinda Summer.

With that in mind it’s fair to say that it's been super for the good ol’ veggie garden. This year I decided that despite the Other Half’s distaste for them that I would grow green beans because I sure do love them. I built myself 2 little tee-pees and planted my bean seeds and waited for them to grow.

They started out innocently enough. The little beans poked their way through the soil and their little tendrils started to climb and climb... and climb some more. Then they kept climbing and they didn't stop, in fact, they still haven't stopped. If you don't believe me, look below:

And the mighty bean sentinels tower over their garden keep...

Fortunately, mammoth, out of control bean plants also yield lots and lots of beans just like these ones:

Mmmm, bean-y goodness.

At this point the plants have twined around the eggplant, the zucchini and the sunflowers that surround them. I'm pretty sure if I had planted the tee-pees about 2ft closer to the house they'd have started growing up the walls and by the end of the Summer we would have been held captive in the house by bean plants gone wild.


So there you have it. Me, I'm off to pack up the cooler, finish loading the truck and off we go. Just in case you're hankering for some art though here's the fox kit WIP. I've gotten more done on it than this but I'd like to keep you in suspense, dear reader, until I return from the Bon Echo Art Show. :D

Fox Kit, WIP
8x10, coloured pencil on Colourfix
Copyright Rita Woodburne

I know... you're just dying to see how it turns out.

Only a few days left...

So today’s the week, Bon Echo is fast approaching and I basically have today, Monday and Tuesday to get myself organized. The Other Half figured we’ll have to pack most of the things up on Wednesday since we’re heading up on Thursday after he returns from work... and he’s even so excited about it he’s going to try and leave early from work (a thing unheard of during the busy Summer months!)

Fox kit, WIP
8x10, coloured pencil on Colourfix
Copyright Rita Woodburne

I still have 1 piece I’d like to finish up (pictured above in all it’s WIP glory) and a few ACEO’s I’d like to bring as well. The ACEO’s aren’t a big deal since I can just bring them with me and finish them up at the show which makes for a super conversation starter with potential buyers. I’ve already spent a good portion of the day digging out my display racks, the covers for said racks and making sure that I have all the hardware I need for setting up the racks and securing my work. I’ve also been re-packaging my cards into the outdoor friendly packaging of plastic sleeves. That task in and of itself has proven to be interesting because the sleeves I ordered are a rather snug fit for the package of cards and more than a few expletives have been uttered in an attempt to get them in without giving myself multiple paper cuts.


Trials and tribulations aside I really have to say that I think outdoor art fairs are great because it always seems as though there’s a sense of camaraderie amongst the artists showing their work. If one person’s display topples over there’s always at least a few artists that will rush over and help them. If someone needs to attend to the call of nature their neighbours at the show will be more than happy to watch their booth (and if they’re really good they’ll make a few sales for them too!) Most importantly they can sympathize with you if you’re a newbie to the whole art fair thing and, as has been my experience, everyone is more than happy to share their experiences with you with some of those learning curve stories being very funny.


So with my busy schedule ahead of me (and the possibility of a trip to the store to buy some band-aids) I will have to go. I still have stacks of cards to package up and, of course, the piece above that needs to get done. Throw some housework into the mix and it’s a wonder if I'll even have time to eat or sleep before Thursday arrives and we’re off and running.
In anticipation of the hectic rush I’ve already started to prepare another post on Vermeer and van Gogh that I’m hoping to post on Wednesday evening or Thursday afternoon before we leave, so be sure to check back later in the week for that post and to see if I’ve completely lost my mind by then.

Toodles!

Throwing Vermeer into the mix

What the heck is it about Summer that makes things slow to a snail's pace? I'm not really sure, but after this Winter I'll throw my hat in the ring for saying that any excuse to be outside is a good one. I'll also say that Blogger's image uploading system was seriosuly lacking in co-operation earlier in the day... but I digress. With all that in mind today I'll do a brief overview of Vermeer's history so that either this week or next I can talk about why I'm combining van Gogh and Vermeer.


Without further ado...

"Woman in Blue Reading a Letter" J. Vermeer, c. 1662

Vermeer was born in 1632 in the city of Delft and up until the time he married in 1653 there isn't a whole lot of information about him, not even any clear indication of whom he may have studied under. His parents, Reynier Jansson(F) and Dignum Balthasar(M), were considered lower-middle class by today's standards and both were not particularly well educated. They worked very hard and despite this it seems that Vermeer's family was in constant debt. This may have something to do with the fact that Vermeer's own grandfather was a counterfeiter (who was arrested and convicted, I might add) and his grandmother ran illegal lotteries. It has been indicated in a few sources that it took well over 15 years for the debts from Vermeer's grandfather alone to be paid off.

Hardy the stuff of fairly tales.

"The Milkmaid" J.Vermeer, c.1658-1660

After marrying Catharina Bolnes there are many more records of Vermeer's existence as he became a professional artist and was actively involved in the local art community. It has been indicated that although Vermeer didn't enjoy widespread fame (nor wealth) from his painting during his lifetime he was a well-respected individual and held a head position in the local art and artisans guild on several occassions.
Vermeer and his wife had an unusual family situation in that they lived with Vermeer's mother-in-law, Maria Thins, as well as their children (they had 11, four of whom died in infancy or early childhood) and a maid. It was also unusual in that Vermeer married 1- outside of his social class and, more interestingly, outside of his religion. His family was predominately Protestant and his wife, Catharina, was a Catholic. This was very unusual for the time considering the religious hooplah taking place in that region at the time and also because it was the husband (Vermeer) and not his wife (Catharina) that was adopting a new religion in order to fit into/ be accepted by the family.

We're not here to talk about religion though, we're here to talk art.

"Woman Holdng a Balance" J.Vermeer, c.1664

With Vermeer there's lots to talk about and I suspect in the interest of not taking oodles of time I'll let you ponder (and drool as I have) over his art and think about why I've combined him and the absinthe- imbibing wonder in my studies. They're both Dutch, but that's as far as I'm going at this point.

Discuss. ;)

Excitement? Here?

So you came back to find out the exciting news, eh? Well, here it is...


I’m going camping this week-end!!

Okay, no, that really wasn’t it (although I am excited about going camping this week- end, what with me being a tree hugger and all...)


Okay, the real exciting news is that the Other Half and I became engaged as of June 18th.

Really!!! :D


So does this mean I have to start calling him the Significant Other Half? Does this mean I have to change my name? Does this mean I have to start thinking about the potential cost associated with having an open bar at a wedding with people that are predominately Irish?

The answer to the first two are ‘no’ but the answer to the last is a definite ‘yes’.


We’re very excited but intend to enjoy our engagement for well over a year as we haven’t set a date, but do know that we’d like an Autumn wedding. That gives me enough time to train my dog, Rosie, to carry flowers without dropping them and I also have to figure out a way to keep Al, my horse, clean until after wedding pictures have been taken. The cats have indicated that they have no desire to participate in the wedding itself and instead will contribute by keeping the property blessedly free of rodents... and for that I thank them.

She's female, her name's 'Rosebud', I think that's really all
the qualification she needs to be called a "flower girl"... right?

Mr. Al Mansur Primo... if there's a mud puddle to roll in, he'll find it.

So that's the exciting news. Pretty exciting, eh? I thought so.
I'll be back later in the week with an art update and more on Vermeer!

Oh those artsy- fartsy Dutch people

"Beyond Black & White VI" ACEO
Copyright Rita Woodburne

The other day I picked up my art from Greystones in Bon Echo and I must admit that I’m glad to have “the kids” home... my studio walls look full again. It was also nice to travel up there and stoke those fires for getting excited about the Bon Echo show which is coming up in less than 3 weeks!

Since I’ve been on hiatus for the past while I’ve been working more on my van Gogh project and I’ve also incorporated another artist into the mix for my studies. As I mentioned at the beginning of the year in my Plans for 2008 I was hoping to study 2 Masters this year making them 2 separate projects. However, if you’ve been following along in my adventures in art, you’ll know that I decided to extend the van Gogh project throughout the remainder of this year and I’ve also decided that I’m going to study my second Master in conjunction with van Gogh. The other artist I’ve decided to study is Vermeer, yet another Dutchman with a rather colourful family history. Although I’m not going to touch on this until next week or the week after (‘cause there’s a whole lot of information to cover) I just want to give you a heads up and let you know that I haven’t forgotten about my project. Heaven forbid!

If you want to get a head start on reading up about Vermeer here are some links you may find interesting and if you really don’t feel like reading at least you can look at and drool over his art:

Wikipedia's info on Vermeer

Essential Vermeer

WebMuseum info on Vermeer


Until next week, keep on art-ing!

PS- I also have some very exciting news to share with you next week... but you’ll have to wait until then to find out what it is! ;)

Happy Birthday!!

Today is July 1st and that means it’s Canada’s birthday. Folks across the country will be BBQ-ing, going to cottages, having picnics and family get together’s, attending community events that may feature music, art and various kids’ activities and invariably for many people the night will end with a spectacular fireworks display.

Wandering through the "Back 40"

Canada is a super place to live and I wouldn’t trade living here for anywhere else in the world. From an artists perspective Canada is a veritable gold mine of inspiration with it's magnificent natural spaces, oodles of wildlife and ever changing seasons. If you don't believe that the appreciation for this great country extends from one ocean to another here's a list of just 100 reasons us Canucks love our country:

100 Reasons to love Canada

An old barn on Bronk Rd. in Corbyville

So Happy Birthday Canada, 141 years old and still looking good! ;)

My view when canoeing through Murphy's Point Prov. Park