Photo Friday Beauty in the Ordinary

Have you guessed what it is? Photo by Jason Newcomb

Art Quote Monday- Twyla Tharp

"Without passion, all the skill in the world won't lift you above craft. Without skill, all the passion in the world will leave you eager but floundering. Combining the two is the essence of the creative life."


Twyla Tharpe, Choreographer and Creativity Genius The Creative Habit p. 173

Photo Friday

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

Art Quote Monday- Van Gogh

"Anything complete and perfect renders infinity tangible, and the enjoyment of any beautiful thing is, like coitus, a moment of infinity."

Vincent Van Gogh

Photo Friday Fruit

Art Quote Monday- Mozart on Genius and Creating

"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius."


Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Photo Friday- The White Queen

"The White Queen" 7x10" mixed media ©Shayla Perreault Newcomb

Art Quotes- Seth Godin on the fear of criticism

"Constructive criticism, of course, is a terrific tool. If a critic tells you, "I don't like it" or "This is disappointing," he's done no good at all. In fact, quite the opposite is true. He's used his power to injure without giving you any information to help you do better next time. Worse, he hasn't given those listening any data with which to make a thoughtful decision on their own. Not only that, but by refusing to reveal the basis for his criticism, he's being a coward, because there's no way to challenge his opinion."
Seth Godin, Tribes p.47

Photo Friday- Black

Can you guess how this was made?

Behind the Scenes

"Ecstasy" 48x48" ©Shayla Perreault Newcomb 2006 

'Behind the scenes' is going to be a weekly, regular feature around here that will show a picture of what's going on in my life (mostly artsy stuff, studio pics etc.) or will highlight another artist's studio. Here's a sneak peek before it starts with regular publication. 


This painting caused Jason and I a lot of excitement recently since RBC Dominion Securities bought it for their permanent collection. It's the biggest piece I've sold so far. It looks different from what I'm doing right now, still I found it satisfying to see in their space. It warmed it up and made it look inviting and dynamic. 

McKenzie College Gallery November 2006

This pic is of my first show while I was still a hobby artist. The venue was in a college with a space meant for encouraging 'would be' artists and this was the only wall that had any coherence. My style was all over the place, I hadn't found my 'voice' and I learned a lot from seeing all my experiments 'screaming' off the walls. Developing a coherent series is more like finishing a thought without interruption than it is copying yourself. It doesn't mean I don't try other things or I limit myself creatively. Now I get pleasure in seeing how one painting leads to the next, like a conversation. While that's my preference, it's not the only thing that works. Some artists prefer to put a little bit of everything in the show and can pull it off.