2nd Place PREMIO TLÁLOC

Very happy to be able to share this news: I am so honoured that 'Puzzled' has been awarded 2nd place in the PREMIO TLÁLOC exhibition in Mexico.

Thanks for the photos Michael Solovyev and for accepting the award on my behalf.

2nd Place NFWS International Exhibition of Transparent Watercolor

I received another exciting e mail today to say that my painting 'Tigantai-the butterfly'  won the NFWS Second Place Award in their International Exhibition of Transparent Watercolor.

Thank you to the NFWS board members for all their hard work organising the exhibition and to juror Iain Stewart. Congratulations to all the other award winners.

3rd Place in the North East Watercolor Society's 43rd International Exhibition

I have just had a phone call from Richard Price, President of the North East Watercolor Society in the US to tell me that my painting 'Oh Baby, it's COLD outside' was awarded 3rd place by juror Ken Call in the 43rd International Exhibition which opens tomorrow.

Such lovely news. Thank you to all who have helped put the exhibition together. I wish I could be there at the opening tomorrow and congratulations to all who have won an award.  If you are in the area do go and see the exhibition.

Kent Art Association, Main St. (Route 7) Kent. CT, USA

'Visions Adjoin' Exchange Exhibition

The Little Girl with the Curl” has been chosen to be part of the CSPWC/NWS “Visions Adjoin” exchange exhibition. This will be a special exchange between the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (CSPWC) and the US National Watercolor Society (NWS). 

My painting will be one of the 30 representing Canada. 60 paintings in total will be shown in this joint exhibition in NWS Gallery 915 South Pacific Avenue, San Pedro, California, United States February 6 —April 17, 2020 and then at the Helson Gallery Halton Hills Cultural Centre, 9 Church Street, Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada June 10—July 18, 2020

Heinz Jordan and Company Ltd Award CSPWC Open Water Exhibition

I am so excited to receive the news that my painting 'Fly Away Thoughts' has been awarded the Heinz Jordan and Company Ltd Award in the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour 94th International Open Water Exhibition.

I wish I could be at the opening in Calgary Alberta tomorrow to receive the award in person but I will be Introducing people to Watercolour at the Aurora Public Library  here in Ontario as part of our Canada Wide Culture Days event. Its going to be a busy weekend all around Canada.

Smiling is Infectious or A Ray of Sunshine?

I had a wonderful time over the summer taking photos of another local artist's granddaughter. Thank you to Sim Wong and her family for giving me permission. This is the first of several paintings I am planning to do of her. Sometimes the expression says it all and there wasn't much need for me to do anything else to convey the message so I kept the background very high key. Her smile is so infectious isn't it. I couldn't help but smile as I painted her.

It was painted on Winsor and Newton Cold press paper and I really enjoyed working on it. I haven't decided on the title yet. What do you think? 'A Ray of Sunshine' or 'Smiling is Infectious"?

The Little Girl with the Curl

After a summer in the garden I am finally back to painting. I really enjoyed bringing this young child to life on the paper. Well, who could resist this oh so innocent face with a hint of mischief in her eyes?

  'The little girl with the Curl' seems to be dreaming up her next act of mischief. Any ideas what that might be?

I really wanted to use the sense of light to focus in on her face, little hand and that tiny little curl on her forehead so had a lot of fun adapting the lighting and background as I painted. 

Transparent Watercolour on Arches 140lb Cold press 17 by 22 inches

CSPWC Open Water International Exhibition, North East Watercolor Society International Exhibition and el Premio Tláloc 2919 Exhibition Acceptances

I have three paintings which will shortly be on their way to exhibitions this fall.

'Fly Away Thoughts' has been juried into the CSPWC Open Water 2019  International Exhibition which will take place at the Leighton Centre in Calgary Alberta. The exhibition will open on September 28th and run until October 27th.

'Oh Baby it's COLD outside' has been accepted into the North East Watercolor Society 43rd International Exhibition which opens October 20th and runs to Nov 3rd in Kent, Connecticut

'Puzzled' has been juried into the el Premio Tlaloc Exhibition which will take place in Mexico City, Mexico and will open on November 9th.

Burlington Workshop

Just finished my Expressive Portrait Workshop in Burlington. Thank you to everyone for making me feel so welcome there and for taking that giant leap of faith in my process and painting along with me.




 This is my finished workshop painting.



 Thank you Shelley Prior for your wonderful hospitality, the delicious lunches and making everyone feel so welcome. These are some more photos taken during the workshop by Shelley.

Garden Tour

I had a lovely day last Sunday being an artist in residence at one of the gardens in the Schomberg Garden Tour.

Several of my original watercolours were placed around the gardens

and I sat under this large sycamore tree and demo'd painting a rose. This was my demo painting.

It was such a wonderful day. Thank you to everyone that stopped to talk or who just quietly sat beside and watched me paint. Thank you also to Teri Hastings Arts Society King and the Schomberg Horticultural Society for organizing the event.

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day weather wise.

Workshop news!

I had a wonderful time recently teaching a workshop at the Cambridge Arts Centre. The class were enthusiastic and very eager to learn.

We were exploring the theme of colour. These two paintings were both created from the same reference photo using the same colour palette but just used in different areas of the painting to create very different effects.

Here are a few photos taken during the weekend.

Thank you to the organizer of this workshop Tiina Price and to all 19 artists attending it for such a lovely weekend. I am really looking forward to coming back again next year.

The Dance of the Falls

As we gaze at the majesty of the falls and listen to its thunderous music we certainly feel its mystic power. In the power of this moment though we can miss that fact that this thunderous cascade is made of  millions of tiny droplets of water and each of these droplets has an important message for us. If we are flexible falling will not hurt us. There is hope at the bottom of even the tallest  most powerful waterfall and although life can drag us down and at times even tip us over the edge if you embrace the experience and have courage you can move forward. There is calm at the end of even the most raging torrent and maybe you won't actually fall  because you may be lifted you up like the mist that rises from the waterfall. This is the Shamanic dance of both nature and life and is how magic happens.

Niagara Falls Transparent Watercolour 11 by 15 inches

Award of Excellence Illinois Watercolor Society National Exhibition

I had some great news yesterday.

Vertigo' was awarded the Award of Excellence 3 in the Illinois Watercolor Society National Exhibition.

Thank you to awards Juror Laurie Goldstein-Warren and to Ken Call and all the volunteers at the Illinois Watercolor Society.

The exhibition continues until May 24th and can be seen at the Next Picture Show, A fine Arts Center, 113 W. First Street, Dixon, Illinois USA.

Let's Tweet

It's time to put away the snow boots in Canada. New leaves are budding on the trees, and many birds that migrated over winter are back to join those that stay all year. Spring is definitely in the air!

 There is a definite pecking order between our song birds when it comes to snacking at my bird feeders or stealing seeds. It seems though that a few birds have discovered  a new blue bird. I guess the gardener was tweeting about #spring. I wonder what these birds would say if they could join in. Any ideas?

#Spring Transparent Watercolour 24 by 15.5. inches

Exhibition and Publication News Update

It has been a busy month preparing paintings to be sent to exhibitions around the world.

I also received this e mail yesterday "Congratulations! We are very happy to inform you that your watercolor 'Chocolate Chipadees' has been selected for publication in Splash 21: Capturing Mood!" The book is scheduled to be published August 2020.

 This painting was also juried into the Adirondacks National Exhibition of Watercolors which will open in August this year.

 Another of my paintings 'Vertigo' was accepted into the Illinois Watercolor Society National Exhibition which opens next month.

  This painting is also part of the Grandmasters of Fine Art online exhibition.

 'Once Upon a Dragon' was invited to be part of the World of Watercolor Masters 2019 Exhibition in Holland. This event takes place later next month

 and 'Wings of Enchantment' will be part of the IWS Finland exhibition in July this year.

 I also recently finished a small painting 'I see you' for an invitational to the Joint IWS Switzerland and IWS Thailand joint exhibition in Zurich this summer.

 I would like to thank the organizers of each of these exhibitions. I know how much work goes into the planning of large exhibitions and I am honoured to have been invited to take part in them. Oh, to be able to squeeze into the tube or box with my paintings and visit all the wonderful places they go to.