A Flight of Fancy

Sometimes I just need to let my creative spirit fly free. ‘A flight of fancy’ Transparent watercolour 15 by 19 inches painted purely from imagination.

I have to confess I’ve had a tough month dealing with a nasty virus. For a while I couldn’t physically paint so I did the next best thing… I closed my eyes and created a painting in my imagination.

I wouldn’t trade my imagination for anything. The act of creation lifts my spirits and thinking outside the box is fun. Yes, it involves taking risks. You have to be prepared to try new things, be willing not to know and be ok with making mistakes.

But what if I fail? I hear you say

 My answer is… but what if you fly! Until you spread your creative wings you will have no idea how far or high you can soar. 

It’s been so much fun bringing this idea to life on paper over the last few days.

 

  Ona

Exciting News!

I received a very exciting surprise e mail a few days ago from Beth Erikson at F&W/ North Light Books.

'Congratulations! Your piece "Waiting" from Strokes 6 has been selected to be in our new compilation book, Art Journey Animals: A Collection of Inspiring Contemporary Masterworks. Art Journey Animals will showcase the best animal art.

Harry and I can't wait to get our copy!

Strumming my Pain with his Fingers

It was the lyrics from  'Killing me softly with his song'  that gave me the idea for this painting.

 'Strumming my pain with his fingers, 

singing my life with his words, killing me softly with his song' 

 

 I love starting with lyrics such as these and just seeing where my imagination takes me. Transparent Watercolour 28 by 17 inches.

Ona

Forever and Always

Drawing this over the last few days has been a fun way to pass the time. Harry, as usual, was a very willing model. Wherever I go he is always at my side so eager to make me smile.

Scratchboard on Ampersand panel 8 by 10 inches.

Ona

Harmonic Distortion

I have been quietly working away at this full sheet Transparent Watercolour for nearly a month now and finally finished it yesterday.

Everything we see is an illusion. Even our perceptions of reality are illusionary and are usually distorted by our beliefs and ideals.

Sorry I didn't share the WIP photo's with you all as I painted this but I felt it would spoil the fun of the final illusion if you knew from the onset what was there. How many musicians can you count in the whole painting? Click on the image to see a larger version and to see all the fun distortions of the musicians in the clear bell shaped glasses.

Ona

46th Louisiana Watercolor Society's International Exhibition Acceptance

'Animato Assai' has been accepted into the 2016 Louisiana Watercolor Society's International Exhibition. It is such an honor to be included with so many amazing artists!

 I love to include snippits of real music hidden in my music series of paintings. The music flying off my subject's hair in this painting is from the song 'Happy'. It seems very fitting this evening.

Ona

Sweet Heart-Ted

With Valentine's Day just around the corner I couldn't resist painting this miniature Ted watercolour.

Little 'Sweet Heart-Ted' is seeking a home where he will be loved and thinks nothing would be sweeter than coming to live with you. Will you be his Valentine?

 Transparent watercolour (5.5 by 3.5 inches). 

Give somone a hug this Valentine's Day and make sure they know how much they are loved.

Ona

Flight of the Imagination and A Penny for your Thoughts

The selection of entries for the Watercolor Art Society-Houston's 2016 International Watercolor Exhibition has been completed by juror Anne Abgott, AWS, NWS and I was very happy to learn yesterday evening that my painting 'Flight of the Imagination' has been selected to be part of the exhibition.

The exhibition will take place from March 8-31, 2016

Edit: I also had notification today to say that my painting 'a penny for your thoughts' has been selected to be part of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America's  40th National Exhibition. This exhibition will take place from May through to August at the beautiful Kenosha Public Museum

It's been a good 24 hours
Ona

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