Looking back at 2020

 

It has certainly been a far different year to the one I had imagined this time last year but in a way (for my art only) I am glad it happened. This may seem an odd thing to say when I was unable to send paintings to exhibitions that I had been accepted into, or to take the reference photos that I had hoped and planned to take for new paintings, but the lockdown forced me to take stock and reflect upon where I was in my art journey and the direction or path I wanted to continue along. 

The four paintings of Isla in the photo above were not the only paintings I did this year but they were significant for me because the lockdown and then the year of social distancing forced me to look again at previously discarded references with a new more imaginative eye. 

I decided in each painting I created to consciously focus in on what was  important and develop a story or capture a certain mood in each through use of colour and value.  I have always loved using the luminosity of transparent watercolour, but this year I wanted to use it with more purpose creating pathways of light and soft high key edges. With no deadlines I was able to take my time. to stop and reflect when needed and sometimes even to start again until I felt the painting conveyed what I had initially hoped for.

Top left: Cookies Aint Just for the Big Guy

Bottom left: Small Wonders

Bottom Centre: Sharing is Caring

Right: Distant Dreams

Painting them has been an interesting  journey and has reinforced both why I love painting and make clearer to me the path I want to continue along in my art journey. (I promise that I will explain more about this 2nd part next year)  For now... I think I have rambled enough for this year.

Do you have a favourite?

These Cookies Ain't Just for Santa

 

 'These cookies ain't just for Santa' Transparent Watercolour 11 by 15 inches

Did you know that if Santa took just two bites from every cookie left out for him on Christmas Eve, he would consume roughly 336,150,386 cookies in one night!!!..... Isla thinks this is way too many for even a magical fellow like Santa to eat in one evening on his own but I am not sure she is going to share them with anyone else but Santa. Do you?

 Leaving cookies and milk for Santa—and perhaps a few carrots for his reindeer— really took off as a holiday tradition in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. The practice, brought over by European immigrants, was encouraged as a way to teach children generosity, even during the most meager of times. By leaving out cookies and milk for Santa, children would learn to be more grateful for the gifts they did receive, as well as, hopefully, to be giving to those who didn’t have much to eat during the Christmas season. It was a way to reinforce the idea that if you give, you will receive much more than money could ever buy... the knowledge that you have helped someone else to have a happier time.  It seems especially fitting to remember this motto this year when so many people have had such a hard year. I am sure Santa won't mind if you 'shared his cookies' around this year. See if you can support a food bank or gift drive to help those less fortunate than ourselves and involve the young ones if you can too. 

Hanging out to dry

 During this past summer I helped to raise over 20 monarch caterpillars.   In the wild only 1 in every 100 monarch eggs will make it to adult butterfly. Not only do they have to find milkweed to feed on and deal with predators as they grow but they also have to go through the process of metamorphosis. Ideally when ready a caterpillar will climb up and away from the milkweed they have fed on  and find a relatively safe hidden underside of a leaf or twig to spin a thread and hang from as they pupate. I quickly realized though that ideal isn't necessarily reality. My little crew would find all sorts of strange and less than ideal places! These little ones have found some washing drying on a clothes line to suspend themselves from. When they eclose they then need a couple of hours to dry their wings before they can fly. It gives the term hanging out to dry a whole new meaning doesn't it.

Transparent Watercolour  15 by 22 inches

Sharing is Caring

Inspired by a photo I took a while back of Isla eating strawberries and my new garden friend the red squirrel who also adores eating the juicy fruit, I decided to combine both Isla and the squirrel into one painting.... after all it's so much nicer when you can share isn't it. I have given it the title Sharing is Caring for now but am open to other ideas if anyone thinks of a good one. My squirrel friend seemed to enjoy being my model. Maybe it had something to do with the seeds nuts and fruit I put out for him each day. I have a little feeder on my studio window that he thinks is just the right size for him. The photo below is one I snapped while painting the squirrel. It was wonderful to be able to see his markings up close as I painted.

Eggspectant

Had so much fun over this last week teaching an online virtual workshop Eggsperimenting with Texture in Watercolour. This was my demo painting which I have called 'Eggspectant' 

 Momma goose waits for the time when her eggs will hatch (and yes, we had a bit of an egg theme happening all week and much laughter and eggslporation as well as learning). In our virtual group we had artists from California, Minnesota, Alberta, and Ontario. It was a workshop that was originally planned long before COVID that would have taken place in Cambridge Ontario. Being virtual allowed people from much further afield to join us. Thank you to the workshop organizer Tiina Price for being flexible and working with me to find a way to present it online.

People's Choice Award

 Just before the COVID lockdown, I received news that my painting 'Distant Dreams' had been juried into the Red River Watercolor Society's National Exhibition. Sadly, due to COVID I was unable to frame and ship my painting to the US. The Society very kindly allowed me to be part of the online component of the exhibition but It was not eligible for any awards by the juror. The society did allow it to be included in the people's Choice voting which was done online  and I am delighted to announce that Distant Dreams has won this award.

The painting was also featured in an article about the exhibition.

With the drop of flowing watercolor paint, luminous colors spread out like thoughts, emerging into the world as tangible works of art.Representing the past, present and future of things to come, all of these elements are encapsulated in one painting, Ona Kingdon’s “Distant Dreams,” one of the 50 pieces included in the Red River Watercolor Society’s 2020 National Juried Watermedia Exhibition.“Our art is our dream, and in this dream we often dwell on our thoughts,” Kingdon says.In her artist statement for a painting pondering a little girl with her mind on nature, Kingdon expresses messages of hope that future generations will be able to grow up in the beauty of the natural world, not a distant dream."

You can view the entire exhibition online https://www.redriverws.org/Wordpress/2020-national-juried-watermedia-exhibition/

I have been taking a couple months off from painting and have been enjoying our garden and getting lots of inspiration for future paintings. Hopefully I will have lots to share with you once I begin again in a few weeks time. Until then, stay safe and enjoy the lovely summer weather.

Ona

Hope you enjoy this Paint Along Video

I was asked  by the Richmond Hill Public Library to create a paint along video. Hope you enjoy it.

For additional information on how to paint, a jpg of my finished painting and the outline please visit my website. Hope you all enjoy it. Have fun and do share your attempts with me. I would love to see them.

Ona

Byron Levy Memorial Award

 Oh this news has made my day! The Juror of the Louisiana Watercolor Society's 50th International Exhibition Juror Z. L. Feng AWS, NWS has awarded my painting “Small Wonders” The Byron Levy Memorial Award. I am honoured.

Thank you to everyone at the Louisiana Watercolor Society for making the exhibition online this year to help protect us all. Thank you also for making the exhibition available for so many others to see at a time when many are staying at home. I know it will be appreciated. You can see the full exhibition here. The rest of the awards will be posted on may 2nd.

A Drop of Love

I often get asked how I think of ideas for my paintings...I have an ideas sketch book and sometimes I just like to play around with thoughts in it. This small watercolour 'A Drop of Love' was the result of my 'play' today.

 
 If you show someone even the slightest act of kindness without expecting anything in return, imagine the ripple effect and just how many people it could affect. Like the tiny water droplet hitting the surface of the water in my painting, a small act of love can ripple far from its source and affect many people. Be that tiny water droplet today and help me spread some love around our world.

Distant Dreams

Our art is our dream, and in this dream we often dwell on our thoughts. Our dreams are possibilities of things to come, records of what is now, or distant memories of things that once were. I hope that when this child grows up the beautiful natural world that we live in is not some distant dream for her.

Distant Dreams: Transparent Watercolour 20.5 by 26 inches

I had a lot of fun with this one playing with the idea of double exposure to capture her thoughts and concerns visually. 

Visions Adjoin

'The Little Girl with the Curl' is currently hanging in the Joint National Watercolor Society/ Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour 'Visions Adjoin' exhibition in California US. As both a signature member of NWS and an Elected member of CSPWC it is an honour to be selected to be part of this exhibition.

For those of you who are unable to see the exhibition in person in the US or can't wait until it comes to Canada later this year, here is an online view of the paintings.

Thank you to all the people of NWS and CSPWC for making this exhibition happen.

Gifts for the Creative Mind

I thought it would be fun to use some of my artwork to create these fun and useful gifts. They could be used in a number of ways but are especially useful for us artists.

 The versitile zipper  'Carry All' pouches can be custom ordered in sizes from 10 inches to 16 inches wide to best suit your needs. They are made with vibrant printed durable canvas and have a hard wearing denim lining.

I have also designed smaller zippered pouches to keep your pencils, paint tubes or a small travel palette and brush neatly packed inside.

Lastly I have designed 2 special books. The design on the front of these spiral bound notebooks  is protected by a frosted polymer cover. You can choose from acid-free sketch or drawing paper and use your books to sketch in or to write your art notes. Each book has a high quality reproduction of one of my paintings on the front of the book and information about the painting on the back.

Visit my Store on Art of Where to choose your favourite designs and customise your order.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

I had full intentions to embrace winter again in the first couple months of this year but as the snow covers  the ground here in Canada, I find am longing for spring and just can't get motivated to paint 'winter'.

A few weeks ago, before I last big snowfall, when our garden was briefly snow free I spotted a very brave woolly bear caterpillar wandering around. I guess the slight raise in temperatures woke him up and sent him in search of some food. He found a dandelion leaf which he happily munched on and then he crawled back into a large hollow log where he is spending the winter. This encounter gave me an idea for a painting.

Woolly Bear caterpillars are fascinating to watch, especially for young children. Looking after one is a great way to teach them about caring for a living creature too. I painted my woolly bear with a nice wide orange band as folklore says this means we will get an early spring.

'Small Wonders' Transparent Watercolour 15 by 21 inches