The past four months have been consumed with finishing two enormous paintings measuring 6 feet by 9 feet for my museum show at the Art Gallery of Windsor. At the same time, I’ve been putting the finishing touches on an eight panel installation measuring 24 feet wide. Needless to say things have been pretty intense and my friends have begun calling me a hermit.

It’ a huge relief to know the largest and most challenging paintings are done. It’s now time to concentrate on finishing a series of 8 paintings measuring 3 feet by 3 feet and a series of 24 small monotypes on paper. There’s still lots to do but at least the pressure in my chest has subsided.

Creating a site-specific solo exhibition has been a major undertaking over the past two years, but it’s finally coming down the home stretch. Things are starting to get exciting.

Lots of you have been asking when and where this show will be. Here’s a screen shot of the Art Gallery of Windsor’s online listing. It’s too tiny to read on this page. Just click here and you’ll be taken to the page where you can view it easily.  Scroll down for the Curator Mandy Salter’s comments explaining what my work is about. The Blue painting is called “Blue Horizon” and measures 4 feet by 4 feet.

There will definitely be an opening reception, so STAY TUNED  for your invitation.

Art Gallery of Windsor

Exactly one month ago I was in Naples, Florida for my Opening Reception at Sweet Gallery. What a great evening. I am very grateful to Dede Sweet and her wonderful staff for making it such an incredible event.

My paintings were hung and lit beautifully. It’s always such a treat to see my “babies” displayed with such care. They never look as good in my studio.

I was especially blown away by the way she hung a 30 piece collection of framed 8″ x 8″ miniatures. People were immediately drawn to this wall to have a closer look. Even the Director of the Naples Museum of Art came and was seriously interested in this installation.

We had a wonderful turnout. Dede had done a great job with promotion. A lot of people I know have homes in the Naples area. In addition to about 100 guests and press, there were about 50 of my own friends, clients, relatives and contacts. I was overwhelmed that some even flew down from Canada for the Opening.

One of my friends who is an amateur photographer took 160 photos throughout the evening. How thoughtful of her to do that for me. It’s such fun to go through them now because the night went by in a blur. Stay tuned because I’ll be posting more of them when my website gets updated.

The past 3 1/2 months have been  incredibly intense and productive in the studio. Long 8 - 12 hour days  have been both exhilarating and draining. As a result I’ve really had no energy left over to attempt blogging.

I’ve been getting a lot of new paintings finished for my museum show this coming December, along with all the canvas stretching and preparing that goes with it. New updates to my website were just added with new paintings and events. I also revised my Artist Statement which tells a little more about where the ideas for my work come from.

And out of the blue, on January 4th, I was invited to have a solo show in Naples, Florida at Sweet Art Gallery. So I’ve been busy packing art and preparing to have it shipped.

This opportunity came about as if by magic really. New Years day, as always, I sat and thought about what I want to accomplish this year. In addition to creating a strong body of work for my museum show at Art Gallery of Windsor in December,  I decided I’d like to research and find a reputable gallery  in Florida to represent me so I could have a winter studio somewhere warm. I’ve always loved the Naples / Fort Meyers area so decided to focus on that.

On January 2nd, my husband was talking to his brother who lives in Orlando. My brother-in-law is in the roofing business and  has never really shown much interest in art. He  “accidentally” discovered on New Years day that his best customer’s wife owns a successful contemporary gallery in Naples. He showed her my website and  she was immediately interested.

Dede Sweet (don’t you just love her name) of the Sweet Art Gallery, phoned the following Monday and after a very comfortable chat she offered me a solo show for a month with the opening March 26th. If you’re anywhere near Naples on that day, be sure to come to the Opening Reception between 6 - 9 pm. More information can be found on my website under Upcoming Events.

How magical is that? My New Year goal - more than accomplished - the very next day !!! I still find it rather hard to believe.

The month of October is galloping to a close already. It’s hard to believe that 2 months from today will be Christmas day !

So much to do and so little time………………..

My show at Artspeak Gallery closed last Sunday. I was quite pleased that both the Windsor Star and Le Rempart (French language) newspapers interviewed me and wrote good reviews. The turnout at the Friday reception was awesome in spite of pouring rain. Over the course of the evening about 150 people came and went and another 100 or so dropped by the next day at my “Artist in Attendance”.

Artspeak Gallery Reception

I think the good press helped create a bit of curious buzz. To my great  delight, 19 encaustics were sold at the show. And one person came to my studio the next day looking for a large canvas for the dining room in the new home she’s building. She fell in love with this 36″ x 60″ Red Colorscape and snapped it up right away.

Red Colorscape ID #C-0906 (36" x 60" copyright 2009)

This past week has gone by in a blur. Monday and Tuesday was spent reorganizing after the show and delivering paintings to clients.

Then Wednesday morning I drove the 300 miles to Toronto for my annual pilgrimage to  the Toronto International Art Fair to overload my senses and eyeballs with world class art, see artist friends, network with dealers and just soak up the excitement.  I was also able to meet with my dealer, Leonardo Gallery in Yorkville to plan what I’ll showing for an upcoming 4-person Winter show there.

Tomorrow morning, it’s back into the studio - energized and eager to tackle new paintings.

A form of painting used in ancient Egyptian tombs has captured the imagination of Windsor artist Shirley Williams.

All of the works in Williams’ exhibit, Intimate Wax, at Artspeak Gallery, 1942 Wyandotte St. E., through Oct. 17 are composed of encaustic wax.

The combination of various waxes and varnish is heated, then allowed to cool to a hard, textured finish. The result is a durable and beautiful work of art that can be touched and even buffed clean with a cotton cloth.

The long-lasting qualities of encaustic, said Williams, are what appealed to the Egyptians when they painted tomb walls. The substance is resistant to heat and cold, and its vivid colours will never fade or peel.

Encaustic is not a new medium to Williams — she has used it for other exhibits in Windsor. But it is rarely used by artists.

“It takes hours to produce the wax,” she said. “And it can be very frustrating to use.”

Williams mixes up batches of the material in the shape of hockey pucks. During the creative process, she melts the pucks on a hot-plate, then applies it to a wood surface.

Wood must be used because the wax would crack on canvas or paper. After she applies the wax, she again heats it with a blow-torch or heat gun to create a bond between the wood and wax.

“Otherwise,” she said, “everything is lost in a puddle of muddy wax.”

Once the bonding is complete, Williams can apply more layers or carve out portions to manipuate the image.

All the material, she said, is archival and impervious to light. Her paintings in other media are on large canvases, but because encaustic starts to dry as soon as it is applied, she had to work on much smaller surfaces.

Williams has been a professional artist in Windsor since 1989, after spending several years as a documentary producer in Toronto. She has exhibited widely, from Toronto to New York and Dallas.

In 2006, Williams was commissioned to paint the cover for the Windsor Symphony Orchestra’s 2006-07 season program. The large canvas in her Colourscape series was later auctioned off at a WSO fundraiser.

In December 2010, Williams will have a solo show at the Art Gallery of Windsor.

An opening reception for Intimate Wax will be held tonight at Artspeak Gallery, beginning at 7 p.m. Williams will also be on hand at the gallery Saturday, noon-4 p.m. For more information about Williams and the exhibit, call 519-252-6855.

This past Sunday, all 45 small encaustics were hung for my current exhibition, and the Artspeak Gallery doors swung open.

"intimate Wax" Artspeak Gallery

What a devilishly complex jigsaw puzzle of a job it was to hang 45 small pieces. It took about 2 hours just to decide on the flow of which paintings should be grouped together and in what order.

And then the next challenge became hanging each individual piece so they would line up correctly but not look like a boring straight line of squares. Uneven walls and floors added to the challenge so everything needed to be measured  countless times. Thank goodness for levels and  pencil marks. Then of course lighting had to be adjusted, posters put up and all the rest of it.

Finally after 7 hours of back and forth, the job was finally done and everyone was pleased.

The following 3 pieces have already been sold. And today I met with a writer and photographer from the Windsor Star newspaper who will be doing a review of the show. Thankfully, from their enthusiastic comments, it sounds like it will be a positive review.

The Public Reception will be this Friday from 7 - 10 pm and we’ve already had over 100 RSVP’s. I’m praying the weather will co-operate so people can spill outside in comfort.

SOLD "Orange Horizon" 5" x 5" (c) 2008

SOLD "Green Colorscape" 12" x 12" (c) 2008

SOLD "Yellow Colorscape" 12" x 12" (c) 2007

Three months have flown by in the blink of an eye since my last post.

It’s been a busy busy summer, painting large canvases for my museum show next year, presenting a few lectures, and preparing for my upcoming encaustic exhibition. For the show which opens next week, there was a grant application to prepare, 45 small pieces to float-frame, and the usual preparation of invitations, posters, mailing lists etc.

In the middle of the flurry of non-stop motion, I even managed to squeeze in 16 days exploring Panama in Central America and 6 days visiting my parents in New Brunswick on Canada’s east coast.

My solo show “Intimate Wax” of 45 small encaustics on wood, opens in Windsor, Ontario, Canada this Sunday, Oct 4 at the Artspeak Gallery until Oct 17, 2009.

ARTSPEAK GALLERY

1942 Wyandotte Street East, Windsor 519-252-6855

PUBLIC RECEPTION:  Oct 9     7 - 10 pm

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE:  Oct 10    12 - 4 pm

I was thrilled to be invited to show these small encaustic pieces for 3 reasons.

1. They were all finished during the past 2 years and have not been publicly exhibited yet. Listening to people’s comments and questions during a show always teaches me something about my own work and inspires me to move forward.

2.  Although I’ve been very busy with exhibitions in Toronto and Dallas over the past several years, this is the first exhibition I’ve had locally since 2004. It will be wonderful to connect with friends and collectors who have shown me so much support at a local level during my career.

3.  The invitation to exhibit came from the  Arts Council of Windsor Region.  Through their support and  the formal recommendation by the Art Gallery of Windsor I was awarded a very generous Exhibition Assistance Grant by the Ontario Arts Council to pay for framing, invitations, posters and other marketing. I feel very grateful to have these expenses covered and most honored to have been selected.

It’s been a busy week.

To begin with, I photographed and cataloged a series of 12 small paintings. They’re part of a series of 8″ x 8″ studies in preparation for the massive paintings I need to create for my museum exhibition in 2010-2011. They’re all multiple layers of acrylic on paper mounted on 1/2″ thick wood. I plan to finish as many as I can over the next year using the entire range of hues. There’s a small chamber within the exhibition space which will feature a selection chosen by the curator.

Here are a few of them in the Green / Blue / Violet range.

It was also time to begin preparing for an Encaustic Solo show coming up in October. I stained 18 float frames which I had my carpenter build for me. Once that was done it was time to attach them to 18 encaustic works on wood, each measuring 12″ x 12″. Of course that meant adding hardware and wiring for hanging. Those are now finished, photographed, and ready to go.

I always prefer to get things done in batches and out of the way. The next step for this October show will be to prepare frames for a series of  30 miniature encaustics. These are between 5″ x 5″ and 8″ x 8″ each. I’m not quite sure the best way to present these yet and I’m still looking into different options.

This morning I was really pleased to have collectors from Dallas, visit my studio. I met them at my recent show at Alan Barnes Fine Art.  At the Opening they bought the 20″ x 20″ painting featured on the cover of my catalog. They’re visiting Detroit for a wedding this weekend and took the time to cross the border to come see me. I was thrilled to be able to show them around.

In Canada they call public museums Galleries for some reason. Perhaps it’s a holdover from the British system, but it does cause confusion at times because commercial spaces are called galleries also.

The exhibition dates for my first solo museum show at the Art Gallery of Windsor have been finalized at last.  December 4, 2010 - Feb 6, 2011

You might think that’s awfully far ahead. Although it may seem that way, believe it or not,  I need to begin preparing now.

The Curator of Contemporary Art,  James Patten has asked me to paint an entirely new body of work for this exhibition. The space is gorgeous but cavernous with several smaller nooks for more intimate work. At about 2000 square feet with ceilings of about 18 feet, it’s daunting task.

The paintings on the top photo, which are not mine by the way, are actually about 10 feet x 12 feet. They’re just swallowed up by the space. For the exhibition to have any impact at all requires massive paintings. Massive paintings require a lot of pre-planning, and major work to create.

Shipping is also a huge issue when you’ve got paintings that large. This week, I’ve been researching specially built stretchers which can be assembled and disassembled easily. I found a quality supplier right in my own Canadian backyard about 200 miles from my studio which supplies artists all over the world, called Upper Canada Stretchers.

This will allow me to remove  finished paintings, roll them, and ship along with the disassemble stretcher. Then the whole thing gets reassembled at the other end. Pure genious !

It’s been a few years since I’ve had the chance to exhibit my paintings locally. Mostly, it’s because shows take a long time to create and I’ve been busy with Toronto and Dallas commitments.

Windsor has a population of about 200,000 people and is right across the river from Detroit with another million people. With many of my loyal collectors close by, I’ve been feeling a little guilty about neglecting them.

Although I do have a Museum Exhibition planned locally at the Art Gallery of Windsor, it isn’t until winter of 2010. Those paintings are going to be massive. Besides, that’s not exactly a venue for people who want to buy.

This morning, out of the blue, the director of the Arts Council of Windsor Region called to invite me to have a Solo Exhibition this fall. ACWR is a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening and promoting the arts in our community. Their dynamic new director is a powerhouse who has made some wonderful changes during the past year.

The Arts Council has a lovely gallery space of 570 square feet called Artspeak Gallery. The gallery serves as a wonderful non-juried venue for local artists in the community.

They’ve invited me to exhibit as part of their Selected Artist Program which aims to raise ACWR’s profile and heighten awareness of their committment to excellence in the arts. In addition to myself, I know they’ve chosen 1 other artist, also a painter who exhibits internationally, for this year. I admit I was quite surprised and feel very honored.

The dates will be October 4 - October 18th. The small space will give me the chance to exhibit  more intimately scaled pieces and to reconnect with lots of people I haven’t seen in awhile.