Think and Wonder, Wonder and Think

 'Think and Wonder, Wonder and Think' is a quote by Dr Seuss which I love and I have decided to use it as the title for my first painting of 2016.

 Let's make 2016 a year in which we look for the beauty in the world around us and to remember there is beauty within each and every one of us also. It would be a very boring world if we were all the same so let's celebrate the rich diversity of life around us in all its forms.

I chose to use a hummingbird in my painting because 'legends say that Hummingbirds float free of time. They open our eyes to the wonder of the world and inspire us to open our hearts to loved ones and friends. Like a hummingbird, we aspire to hover and to savor each moment as it passes, embrace all that life has to offer. The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere and every personal connection has meaning.' (Papyrus)

Is the girl really looking at a hummingbird? Or is the small bird merely symbolising the child's thoughts as she stares into space dreaming of a world where there is acceptance and harmony, where beauty in all its forms is celebrated.

Transparent Watercolour 27.5 by 17 inches

Illuminate-Ted

I  wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Happy Holiday Season and thought it would be fun to do so with a special holiday themed Ted painting.  As you can see below little Illuminate-Ted  has been helping me to decorate and thinks he looks good all lit up.

I hope these next few weeks will be equally as bright and happy for you. Thank you for all your support this past year. See you in 2016.

Ona

Photo's from Holiday Spectacular on the Hill

It is very hard to capture the spirit of an evening such as from 'The Holiday spectacular on the Hill' in just a few photos. I wish you could have heard the beautiful holiday themed music that was conducted by artistic director Jessica Kun and played by the Richmond Hill Philharmonic Orchestra too.

 Many of my paintings were projected behind the orchestra as they played. The choices of which paintings were showcased when was beautifully done. Jessica and her creative director Cathy Clarke really had thought about the mood of the music and each painting seemed to match the mood so well. The transitions between each painting were so nicely done too.

Below are just 4 photo's from the evening.  Look at how festive the Orchestra looked. I love the little Santa hats on the tops of the cellos.

I hope this gives you just a taster of the evening. Thank you to the Richmond Hill Philharmonic Orchestra for such a wonderful opportunity.

Ona

Holiday Spectacular on the Hill

'I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and nights when I was six. ' Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas

This is a small Pen and Wash I created over the past few days for the Richmond Hill Philharmonic Orchestra to use during a reading of A Child's Christmas in Wales at their Holiday Spectacular in just under two weeks time on December 12th. During the evening they will be projecting 45 of my paintings on a large screen at the back of the stage providing a visual accompanyment to their music. The ever popular Ted series will  feature during one piece. The  music series of paintings and a couple of Christmassy ones too will also be projected during various performances. Music and art together. What a great combination!

If you live in the GTA it will be a great evening out and will be sure to put you in a great mood to kick off the Holiday season. Hope to see you there!

Ona

Accelerando!

My inspiration for this Transparent watercolour 'Accelerando' was the music 'Bicycle Race' by Queen. I wanted to try to capture a sense of motion and energy in the painting and thought it would be fun to turn the music on the stave into the velodrome track for the cyclist to race along.

This was my demo painting at the TAVES Consumer Electronics Show  It was a real race to the finish line, quite literally, to get it finished. 

 

Another of my paintings 'Animato Assai' which is in the background of the photo above was also featured in the TAVES brochure.

We had many, many visitors over the weekend. If any of you are reading this, it was a pleasure to meet you all.

Ona

Richmond Hill Studio Tour Weekend

Thank you to everyone who visited me over the weekend. It was lovely to see so many. For those of you who were too far away to visit here are a few photo's as requested.

The old farmhouse on Richmond Green, Boynton House, was decorated with Balloons by Twisted Inflations 

Just inside the front door to the right was my room.

 Over the weekend various musicians played live music. Thank you to Sarah and Oulu

Zayn

 and lastly Velma, Nancy and Jeff from the Richmond Hill Philharmonic. Your music added so much to the experience for my visitors.

 For those of you who were able to attend and took part in my ballot the winner was Sandra. She selected her free print prize this morning and is pictured here in her home with her chosen print.

Thanks again to everyone who took an interest in my work. For those of you that were curious to know the results of the votes when I asked each of my 200 visitors to choose their favourite painting. I was amazed how close the results were at the top with only 2 votes separating the top 7 paintings!!!

On the Wings of Song ..................20 votes
Giocoso............................................19 votes
Don't Fret...........................................19 votes
Sugar sugar.......................................19 votes
Acceso................................................18 votes
Heart Strings......................................18 votes
Love makes the World Go Round.... 18 votes

Ona

News

I was featured recently on the Richmond Hill Studio Tour Blog 'Art on the Hill'  as part of the promotion for the Studio Tour this coming weekend. I thought you might enjoy reading it too.

"Ona Kingdon is an internationally award winning watercolour artist and will be in the front East room at Boynton House, 1300 Elgin Mills Rd on Richmond Green on the 16th, 17th and 18th October for the Studio Tour this year.

Ona loves being able to create a story or capture feeling through her art….  

“Every blank piece of paper I use feels full of hope and promise. Sometimes I am inspired by music I hear or a phrase or lyrics from a song and this sparks ideas. Other times it’s as simple as a feeling or emotion that inspires me. 

 Although I usually have a very clear idea in my mind from the onset what I want to create, the painting journey is full of times when I am unsure of how to proceed, times when I need to stop and think, or times when I make a mistake and have to decide whether to live with it and use it or to find a way to remove it.”

 From initial reference photo to the finished framed painting, this composite photo outlines the journey of the creation of Ona’s painting ‘Heart Strings’

“ As a fellow watercolourist said to me recently: Watercolour is such a delicate and unforgiving medium but the trials during each painting journey often seem to enhance that feeling of accomplishment at the finish line.... It’s this journey that I love the most.” 

  We wondered if Ona had a favourite painting that she had created…

 “There are a couple that I am attached to for sentimental reasons (usually those of my children) but generally my favourite changes with each painting I do because what I love most is the process of creation. There is nothing quite like taking an idea only I can clearly see in my mind and capturing the essence of it on paper so that others can share in the emotions or story attached to it.”

 In this photo Ona is painting the watercolour ‘Sugar sugar’ watched by one of the hummingbirds as she carefully paints each note of the song in the background.

During this year’s Studio Tour Ona will have many of her music series watercolours for us to see. She says:

 “I love how you can be having such a dismal day, you hear a piece of music and it can uplift you. Equally it can calm or energize you too, so in my music series I set about finding ways to capture visually the many different ways music touches us. For example, in Sognando I wanted to capture that almost dream like feeling when music transports you to another dimension" 
 

Both Zayn and Sarah, the musicians in the photos above will be playing live at Boynton House during this years Studio Tour. Several of Sarah’s fellow musicians from the Richmond Hill Philharmonic Orchestra will also be joining her. It promises to be a great event.

 "I am really excited that some of the musicians that helped inspire my paintings are going to be with me on the Friday evening and Saturday and Sunday afternoon of the Studio Tour playing live music for us all. They are also bringing some of their musician friends so not only will my visitors be able to see the art but also hear some of the music that inspired me to create it.”

Check out the brochure for location info, dates and times of the Studio Tour!"


I have also had a painting featured on the TAVES consumer Electronic show web page. The show will take place at the end of the month and will have a few paintings on display there the weekend of October 30-November 1

Hope to see some of you at one of these events.

Ona

Music is a way to dream and to go to a different dimension

"Music is a way to dream and to go to a different dimension" Dido Armstrong

I managed to finish the watercolour I have been working on today and will now get it matted ready for the Studio Tour in a few weeks time.  Have you any ideas for a title? I love Dido's quote but its a little too long for a title.

Ona

Put the dates on your calenders

It will soon be October and this means it's soon the Richmond Hill Studio Tour. I will be at Boynton House on Richmond Green again this year and have a very exciting tour planned for you including live music, lots of unique gifts and cards to purchase as well as original artwork!

Click on the invite to enlarge. Hope to see many of you next month. Please share the invite with family and friends too.

Ona

WIP 2

After 4 days work the hair is now finished and the last of the skin tones have been added to the face.

Thank you all for your e mails and messages about the music. Well done to all of you that guessed  correctly.  I hope you will enjoy listening to Bevani playing her version of 'In Dreams' from Lord of the Rings.

Ona

WIP 1

 I have been working over the last week on a new music series painting and have really enjoyed creating the sense of light on my subjects face. I love the luminosity of transparent watercolour and the way it allows you to capture light in a painting. In my opinion no other medium can compete.

My inspiration for this painting is a quote by the singer Dido" Music is a way to dream and to go to a different dimension". I wanted to try to capture this idea in my background so decided to paint some written music disappearing off into the far distant stars as a backdrop to my subject. Just as sound travels through the air, our minds travel with it as we listen to music. Whether you are listening to or playing music, it can transport you into another dimension.

Any guesses what instrument my subject is going to be playing? or indeed what music he is playing? (there is a clue in the background for those that can read music)

Ona

Joan Wignall Young Award Missisippi Grand National Exhibition

I had some great news yesterday evening.

"Midnight Blues" was selected by juror Paul Jackson for the Joan Wignall Young Award in the Missisippi Grand National Exhibition.

The exhibition will run from October 5 – November 22, 2015 at the Arts Center of Mississippi Jackson, Mississippi.

Ona

This weeks News

I love being part of the Richmond Hill Studio Tour each year. Today was the start of our promotional exhibition at Covernotes. My watercolour Content-Ted will be on display there until October 1st. Covernotes is a great place to stop for a snack or beverage and this month you have a huge variety of art to look at by several Richmond Hill Studio Tour artists while you sit and relax there or catch up with friends.

We have also just finished printing my music series watercolours on fine art cards. I am so pleased with how they look. I wonder which ones will be the most popular. 

Ona 

Snips, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

 For those of you that have been following my progress or watched me as I was painting at Tastes of the Hill last weekend here is the finished painting.

 Mischief and Giggles, Fun and Love, That's What Little Boys are made of. This young child has found a snail and is seeing how well he can walk the tightrope. It's a long way down!   

This was a lot of fun to paint. Hopefully it brings back memories of when you, a sibling or your children were young and would get up to mischief. If you have any stories, I would love to hear them.

Ona

News News News!

Yesterday I worked on my current painting at 'Tastes of the Hill'  a large Richmond Hill event. It was a fun day with lots of interest in my work.  One of my blog readers Diane  stayed quite a while watching the progression so Chris snapped this photo of the two of us together. Thank you to everyone who popped by to see me work. It was lovely to be able to share a snippet of how I work with you all.

Today was both a sad and happy day for the Teds. It was take down day  for the exhibition at the Aurora Public Library. Many of the staff were sorry to see the Teds leave but two of the paintings have sold and  were collected today by their very happy owner Jody.

Its amazing to think that 12 of the 24 Ted paintings have now sold and live in their new homes in various parts of the world. I have just released the remaining paintings so if you are interested in any of them please let me know. Here is the link to the Ted Gallery page  Click on any small picture or title to find out the price of each remaining painting.

Lastly I am honoured to have my painting on the home page of the Transparent Watercolour society of America's website at the moment. Thank you TWSA!

Have a great week

Ona