First Snow

L'Euphorie de l'anticipation 12"x16" oil on canvas © Shayla Perreault Newcomb.

We got our first snow today! They are the big fluffy flakes I love best.This painting is about when you go out on a clear winter night, after a fresh snow and it smells wet and clean. It's not a smell that comes after rain, only snow. There seems to be more oxygen in the air and it feels fresh, stimulating, exciting. I've used that sensation to represent a place in our lives when we're savouring anticipation. There's no doubt now that what we've wanted is about to become reality.

Here Jeanne is speaking with Line Massé from AAAPNB, a Francophone artists association.

The art opening on Wednesday went well. Jason, my spouse-guy, was a big help in greeting our friends and he also took pictures. It's great to have a friend helping out, and this opening was easier than usual because Jeanne, my mentor, and Maurice Henri, the Library Gallery Dealer made for a super team.

Florine Leblanc from Women in Business spoke about their new mentorship program for local businesses. She was the one that introduced Jeanne and I, and got the idea to start this program based on our mentorship experience.

Another highlight was City Councillor, Nancy Hoar, representing the city and speaking about the importance of the arts to Moncton. She brought out some of the concrete ways that the city has invested in the arts.

I'm still resting today, but have kept up with art every day. I have a Julia Cameron coloring book that has been fun to use and I started a forgotten art journal practice I'd meant to do this year. More on that later.

Art Every Day Month Challenge

L'aube des rêves 16"x20" oil on canvas © Shayla Perreault Newcomb.

This painting is about that soft, warm feeling when a dream is first born, we're just letting it glow a little, feeling the wonder, and no critical voices have tried to snuff it out.

November 1 marked the start of the Art Every Day Month challenge. I like the idea of this challenge. It fits with the idea of rituals and habit. Thirty days is what it takes to set a new habit. An art every day habit would keep me in a creative frame of mind, and would hone my skills.

My ms. perfectionist side is not invited. An approach of curiosity, play and humor are going to go a lot further production and happiness wise. That means that some days I may color in a coloring book, scribble, or dance in the kitchen. It doesn't have to be painting.

To keep that perfectionist side at bay, I figured it would be better to keep track in my art journal instead of posting every day. I'll post as per usual.

So far my Art Every Day month has consisted of working on a large oil painting.

Exhibit Up Early

We finished setting up the exhibit this morning, instead of next Tuesday. You get a glimpse of my paintings in the second row of the first photo, the first row in the second photo, and I'll post close ups soon. The rest of the paintings are by my mentor, Jeanne LeBlanc Mullin.

I finished photographing my paintings individually this morning and only one needs to be retaken. The morning light was fantastic. No shadows, and it represents the golds more accurately.
Now there's some more printing to get done and errands for the show.

Desire Turns Concrete

16x20" Desire turns Concrete.

This painting is about what it feels like when your desires start coming true. It's the next completed painting in the series for the upcoming show.

Invitation

Here is the invitation for our show in November (clickable). My mentor, Jeanne Leblanc Mullin's painting on top is called, "A New Perspective" and my painting below "Life and Breath" was featured in the last post.

Jeanne and I only see each other's art at our art openings as a general rule. Our meetings are mostly about marketing and the local market. What's funny? eerie? cool? is that our art has a fair bit in common. Neither of us saw the work of the other and both have been working on a similar compostion, sometimes similar colors, similar themes and feelings. Perhaps it was from choosing the title of the show last spring that we ended up thinking and feeling similar thoughts. Our personal lives have things in common too, that are being revealed through the art.

There are many ways to keep the well of creativity full and some of them are a bit mysterious.

Life and Breath

20x16" Life and Breath.

The inspirational spark for this painting was from Neil Young's song "Heart of Gold." It was the yearning in "keeps me searching for a heart of gold" part that resonated. Somehow in the painting it became more literal. It could have been in part my own yearning for the physically sound. In my imagination it turned into a real heart beating in the body, standing for the physically sound, gratitude for life and breath. I know gratitude has been a key in my healing. In the end, I can say this painting did bring me greater contentment and better health.

A little hello to my mailing list, if you're reading. Due to a computer crash, my email mailing list is gone. I still have paper copies of home addresses so I'll be rebuilding it as much as possible. I'll have an invitation for you shortly. To make double sure you don't get missed, feel free to send me an email and I'll add you back in. My address is shayla@hiddenplacestudio.com

Top Six Art Books

"Neo-Totemism" copyright Heather Busch

Here's my list of favorite art books discovered recently at the library.

The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Arles- 5 stars, great drama, better than fiction, fun to read.

False Impressions by Thomas Hoving- Suspenseful true tales of art fraud and fakes plus reveals on getting aged patinas. Two popular choices with fakers? Burrying it in animal dung or skins.

Mary Pratt by Sandra Gwyn- A local artist who's also a member of the Order of Canada

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf- not a new subject, but her insights on women and creativity are handled with an uncommon grace.

Why Paint Cats-The ethics of feline aesthetics- A great spoof, but plenty of food for thought and no matter what the intentions of the authors, it's imaginative and gets the creative juices flowing. You can follow the controversy on their website or see what Snopes had to say (I promise, no kitties were subjected to toxic materials).

Mouse Guard - by David Petersen. I'm smitten with his illustrations. This book was a library discovery that I loved so much I had to buy my own copy.

The last two books were bought with money raised from Magnum Opus charity art auction in years previous. I've been happy to stumble across them and can't wait to see what they'll be able to purchase this year. Do you have a favorite art read? Let me know if you have any to recommend.

Magnum Opus and Artist Mentoring

Today we had the opening for the group show "Magnum Opus" at the Moncton city library. The paintings will be auctioned off at the Magnum Opus Gala on Sunday, October 25. I may not get a heads up to my mailing list in time, so everybody you're invited.

This charity does things a little differently than usual. The work wasn't donated. All the artists are paid for their paintings. The auctioneer has done a fabulous job in making a $20 000+ profit for the charity even after the artists were paid.

Photo bottom left to right- Jennifer Evans, Grace Ward, Jeanne Leblanc Mullin, Me, Jules Landry. Second row left to right- Joel Culligan, Diane Ryan, Cecil D, Georges Goguen, Marc Blanchard and Josette Mallet.

To see more artists, the paintings and all the details, check it out.

This is a photo of me and Jeanne Leblanc Mullin. She's been my mentor for the past two years and has been the best teacher for a perfectionist like me. Rules paralyze me. I try to stick to them so perfectly that I end up artistically constipated and unable to paint. She never lays down the law when it comes to work in the studio. Her comments are subtle and give me the freedom to explore. Often it's months later that one of those comments will click and lead to growth. Here she's talking about the importance of contrast, value plans and how Rembrant is the guy to study to learn more. She knows about the local market so her insights on marketing have been invaluable. If you're an artist and would like to progress more quickly, mentoring is a great accelerator.

After the show we got lunch at Caluctus, yummy vegetarian fare and talked about our upcoming November show, "Dynamics of the Spirit". This is the second mentor ship show that Maurice Henri has organized for Moncton. The program is still growing. If you're local and would like to be involved you can contact me for more info. I've got some homework to finish by showtime but am happy to say that my biography passed. I'll post it later.

"Thin Red Line"

"Thin Red Line" 20x16" oil

There's a tale to be told here. The expression "Thin Red Line" refers back to a battle where a few hundred men defeated a Calvary of thousands. 'Little defeats big' makes for such a good story.

This painting stands for holding firm despite limited resources. How do you think the story ends? A)Continuing to struggle heroically or B) Kicking Butt or C) Wah?!! You lost me.

It's the first oil I finished once I got used to working with the paints and they have completely changed my process. I've been able to relax, let things dry, pick them up again later, stop stressing about "mistakes", smear, rub and even 'draw' on my canvas directly from the tube.

Health wise things are better than before, but will still improve. I was touched to receive this gorgeous piece of jewelry today from Tracy of Pink Purl in a gesture of love and healing. We're both crazy about pink and I'd shared with Tracy that I love it because I think it represents health, energy and healing. She made this piece with those very wishes for me. What a sweetheart!

Something you can't tell from the internet is how good the weight of these stones feel. The quality too, just doesn't show up in a photo. Some things are just better in person.

More about pink. It's starting to work in my creations. I'm putting it in and getting that 'glow' I was hoping for instead of a saccharine look I was fearing. "Thin Red Line" has a layer of pinks under the golds that affect the lighting of the finished piece.

Running into technical difficulties (grrr!) and not having resolved them yet means posting and commenting may still be a little erratic. I'll be in touch asap.