SOLO SHOW AT BIAGIO'S RESTAURANT

SOLO SHOW AT BIAGIO'S RESTAURANT
Three days ago, with the help of two great friends, I hung up 21 paintings for my solo show at the beautiful Italian restaurant Biaggio's on Richmond Rd. in Ottawa.http://www.biagios.ca/Home/tabid/2095/Default.aspx
We then had a great lunch!
I hope you will drop in at Biagio's if you have a chance. My show will be up throughout the Holidays and until at least the end of January.

My New Wall at the Kevin Dodds Gallery

I am a permanent artist at the Kevin Dodds Gallery at 1101 Bank St. Ottawa. The owner has just done some changes in the gallery and I love my new spot!

He has put quite a few of my miniatures and smaller paintings either on two narrow tables or on shelves. Thank you, Kevin, for displaying my art so well.

My newest painting is on the top left: a colourful giraffe with a textured gold leaf background. Looking at it makes me smile every time:-)

Have a wonderful week.

Fall Show of the Nepean Fine Arts League

Last week, from Dec. 4 to 6, I participated once again in the Nepean Fine Arts League Show on Byron, in Ottawa. As usual it was a fabulous show and I was very pleased with my sales. Thank you so much to everyone who dropped by my booth to say hello, discuss art or purchase some artwork.
Such a show always makes me feel so energized.
Tomorrow I am setting up for a two-month solo show! More info to come soon.

Judge's Pick -DailyPaintWorks

Click Here

I feel honored that my watercolor painting "Coconuts at Sunset" was one of the Judge's Picks in the October online art competition on Daily Paintworks. All the entries were great!

This original painting is in transparent watercolor on 140 lb Fabiano Artistico Soft Press watercolor paper and measures approximately 19" X 14" before matting in white to 25" x 20".

 I will soon post the WIP I am working on...a million leaves, or at least, that is the way it feels:-)

Have a great week.

"Anticipation" -Semi-Abstract Bird's Nest

"Anticipation"- SOLD

 Here is my latest "Bird's Nest" painting. It is 11" x 14" in acrylic on an ampersand panel. I framed it very simply in black.  In a semi-abstract way, I tried to suggest a bird flying with the bird's nest on top. I really enjoyed creating implied textures especially near the edges of the painting.
This painting is now on display at the Foyer Gallery in Ottawa.
Do let me know what you think.

"Colorful Zebra"

Colourful Zebra: My latest painting
16" x  20" plus frame
Watercolour (varnished) and gold leaf

SOLD

I painted a miniature zebra less than 2 months ago and it now happily resides in Wisconsin. I loved it so much that I wanted to paint a much larger one. I had great fun painting this colorful 16" x 20"guy against a gold leaf background. You have to see it when the sun shines on the gold leaf...

This painting is now on display at the  Kevin Dodds Gallery and Studio at 1101 Bank St. (near Sunnyside) in Ottawa, Ontario.On my facebook, I show a photo of this painting, framed,  in the gallery window...no sun, unfortunately at that moment:-)

The painting is on Ampersand Aquabord panel, a very unique surface I have been using quite a bit lately and now love...after almost giving up on it until I found ways to make it work for me. I am now planning a companion piece for this zebra...more to come soon.

If interested in this painting, please contact me

Hope you are having a wonderful October.

The Glebe Fine Arts Show and Upcoming Shows

My Booth at the Glebe Fine Arts Show

I should have posted this photo two weeks ago. It represents part of my booth at the Glebe Fine Art Show, September 19th and 20th.  It is a wonderful show and am so happy to have been juried in...I now have right of return as long as I don't miss a year.

I will have a fairly busy fall. Here is a look at my upcoming shows

•  a small group show at the Glebe Community Centre starting this coming Monday with the Glebe  Fine Arts Association
• Oct. 20-Nov. 8: Foyer Gallery,  Group Show, "Shape of Art"
• Nov- Dec.  Solo show at the Biagio Italian Restaurant in Ottawa
• Dec. 1- Jan. 3 - Foyer Gallery -Group Show, " A Little Art"
• Dec. 4-6 - Nepean Fine Arts Fall/ Winter Show and Sale, 
• Dec. Ottawa School of Art - Annual Fundraiser Show ( dates to be announced)   

And of course, my work is on permanent display at the Kevin Dodds Gallery 

I think I won't have time to get too bored :-)

Have a great weekend.

Good week at the Kevin Dodds Gallery

Good week at the Kevin Dodds Gallery & Studio

Thank you, Kevin Dodds for the sale of 5 of my artworks in the past week.
Here are 3 of them...small watercolours on aquabord.
I will have more of these watercolours at the Glebe Show ( see below) on the 19th and 20th.

Lunch Time - SOLD

Queen of the Pond - SOLD

Iris and Buds - SOLD

 Have a great weekend.

Upcoming Art Show

The Glebe Fine Arts Show is coming up on Sept. 19th and 20th in Ottawa, Ontario. This is one of the very best art shows in the area and I will be participating for the first time. I am honored! This show has 30 juried in participants which have right of return for the following year; consequently, new participants are juried in only when one of the artists decides not to return. This year, there were two openeings and I got one of them. I am honored and excited.

 On the poster, you can see a detail of my award-winning " Neptune's Sea Horses" - first photo on the left, second row.

If you are in the Ottawa area, please drop in!

Partnership with Carleton University in Ottawa

I was very pleased to be approached by Carleton University International Student Services Office who wanted to offer their new students some very Canadian art:. three of my Polar Series with hand embossed pewter.

I have several more paintings in this series currently on display at the Kevin Dodds Gallery & Studio at 1101 Bank St. in Ottawa.

 These paintings are on cradles birch panels and the designs on the acrylic background are in pewter that I cut from metal sheets and hand emboss. The sizes range from 4" x 4" to 24" x 24". I sometimes  ( time permitting) accept special commissions for designs in this series or in my Spirit of Africa series.

Have a great first week of September!

"Three Promises"

Three Promises - SOLD

My latest bird's nest on an 8" x 10" ampersand claybord panel. I loved creating the textures on this painting. This is a very loose painting for me and it feels very "freeing" to paint like this.
I love nests and all those interwoven twigs. Humans really would not build betternests than those tiny birds...on the contrary, perhaps!
It just sold to a couple with three little miracles of their own:-)
Wishing you a great weekend

What I Have Been Up To

My last post was weeks and weeks ago! Unforgivable!

I have been busy in spite of a pinched nerve in my back and inflammation of the sciatic nerve....I am slowly getting better.

Here are some of my latest paintings...small ones, since my back was not cooperating:-)

Beautiful Giraffe -SOLD

 "Beautiful Giraffe "  is on a 5" x 7" Ampersand Aquabord that I am starting to really like. I have been working quite a bit with gold leaf and, as for "The Zebra" below, I decided that it would be perfect for the background: the gold translates the heat of the burning African sun.
I then sealed the gold leaf and varnished the entire painting and added a resin-like finish. This finish adds depth to the painting and its shine makes it look almost like a ceramic tile. Really interesting!
I am very pleased with this piece....I hope you will be too.

The Zebra - SOLD

 I found the perfect little frame for The Zebra. It sold the first day it was posted,on DailyPaintworks.

Below are two acrylic paintings with negative painting à la Linda Kemp with whom I took my 5th or 6th workshop in July. She is great!

The paintings of birds nests are on 8" x 8" Ampersand Claybord.I have not yet had a chance to look for frames for them. With their one and only egg each, the paintings are called "Precious I" and Precious II.  I would like to make a series of these and intend to try much larger sizes...The intricate interweave of twigs in the nests really fascinate me...perhaps because I was a hand weaver many, many years ago:-)

"Precious I" - Available

"Precious II" - Available

I hope your summer has been great so far! Thank you for stopping by!

My Polar Series in Canada Day Window

My polar series in hand embossed pewter

Above is part of the Canada Day window display of the Kevin Dodds Gallery in Ottawa, Canada. Kevin chose my hand embossed pewter works to add a very Canadian touch to his holiday window.
All these pieces are on a wood panel with the pewter work on an acrylic background. The polar theme includes polar bears, Inukshuks, wolves, kayaks, whales...and a maple leaf to complete the Canadian theme.
I am very fortunate to work with a gallery owner who is so supportive of my work.

Great Fun with Aquabord

For the past week, I have been playing with 4" x 4" Aquabord, the Ampersand panels made for watercolor.
I had tried this surface once before, but without success. This time, I really like what I am achieving. The result is not the same as a watercolor painting on paper, but it certainly has its advantages. The surface does not buckle or tear, paint lifts back to the white so easily, and it is very easy to varnish.
Disadvantages: well, when you paint in layers, the previous layer will have a tendency to lift ...and you need to adapt your painting techniques. I don't think anything will ever replace for me the pleasure of working on my Fabriano SP paper, but I am certainly having fun with the Aquabord.

SOLD

SOLD

   Above are three florals I painted in the last week. I think they look great on a small mini easel, but they can as easily be inserted in a regular frame for wall display.

What has been your experience with Aquabord?

Judge's Pick Winner - May 2015- Daily Paintworks juried monthly contest

 

I have been a member of the international online gallery "Daily Paintworks" since it was created a few years ago. However, this month, for the first time, I entered one of their monthly juried contest. The work submitted was my  "Neptune's Sea Horses - Florence" a 15" x 31"  ( before framing) original watercolor....( see detail below) .....and I found out this morning that I was one of the Judge's pick winners!

Check out the winners and entries of the May competition and the previous ones :http://www.dailypaintworks.com/contests#previous

"Neptune's Sea Horses - Florence"- detail of watercolor by Christiane Kingsley

What a nice way to start the week!

Activity at the Foyer Gallery

I was thrilled to find out that one of my paintings, Waterlily, won the Viewers' Choice Awards at the Foyer Gallery during the show "Configurations" that ended on May 10th.

This painting is a 18" x 24" varnished watercolor mounted on a cradled board.

Foyer Gallery visitors have the opportunity to vote for their favorite artwork by filling out a voting ballot. The winning artwork of this Viewers' Choice Award gets to be displayed for an additional amount of time in the gallery and on the gallery website.

The new show at the Foyer Gallery is called "Textures of Life" and I have three highly textured paintings in this show. Two are shown on the poster below.

Here are my entries:

Blowing in the Wind - 16" x 16" acrylic

Our Trail - 20"x 30 acrylic -palette knife

Dreamscape  - 16" x 16" - Acrylic and copper

I am also working on three commissioned pieces in hand embossed pewter, copper and gold leaf. I am hoping to get these finished by the end of the week and will then post some photos.

What are you working on? Do you work better during the winter or when the nice, warmer weather finally comes?

Busy and Fun Times

 In the last few weeks, I have been very busy with great shows.
First, April 24-26, I participated in the annual Spring Show and Sale of the Nepean Fine Arts League.

I was especially keen on getting feedback on my two latest watercolors: "Those Eyes", pictured above, from Michelangelo's David sculpture and on  another Florence-inspired watercolor, Neptune. I had these two framed professionally in a wide wood frame...more costly than the regular metal frames, but more suitable, I think for these two pieces.

In the photo above, you can catch a glimpse of three of my Spirit of Africa Series in gold leaf, hand embossed pewter and copper on cradled wood panels. This series which I was presenting for the first time in such a show was very popular.

Overlapping the Nepean Show, I am currently showing in a three week show at the Foyer Gallery featuring four artists. Last Saturday was our official show reception and the show runs until this Sunday, Mother's Day.Shown below from left to right: M. Chwialkowska, Liz Arbuckle, Luminita Serbanescu and myself.

It was hard to decide how to divide my paintings between these two shows and at the same time keep a dozen of them at my main gallery, the Kevin Dodds Gallery:-) I love these busy times.

 I seem to need deadlines to do my best work. Are you like that too?

My website

News

What happened to my great January resolution to post regularly on this blog??? Well, I will try to redeem myself over the next few months:-) Maybe it has been just to cold here in Ottawa to think about blogging:-)

For the past week, I have been the featured artist at the Kevin Dodds Gallery  in Ottawa, Ontario. I am a permanent member in this great gallery representing local artists and the front window exposure has brought me several nice sales!
 
I have several shows coming up and two that will take place at the same time in the last part of April! Yikes! It means I will need enough paintings to cover my two regular galleries ( the one above where I always have over a dozen paintings and another where I only have 3) and two shows. Consequently, I am feverishly working to produce new artwork! The first show will be at the Foyer Gallery where I will be returning after a one-year leave of absence. It  will be a 4-artist show from April 21 to May 10th.  The next show will be a great weekend show organized by the Nepean Fine Arts League on Aprils 24th to 26th.

I was thrilled to be selected as one of the two new artists to participate in September in the Glebe Annual Fine Arts Show, one of the best shows in Ottawa. Once an artist has been juried in, she has right of return; new artists are juried in only when one of the 30 decides to leave. The quality of the work in this show is very high and the venue is beautiful. I am really looking forward to it although it will be only a few days after my daughter's wedding...another busy time coming up:-)

I will be back next week with another post...Take care.

Revisiting Neptune's Fountain in Florence

Very strange! My post seems to have disappeared.
Here is the painting I had shared:

"Neptune"- from Neptune's Fountain in Florence, Italy

It is my latest watercolor painting and measures approx. 14.5" x 21.5 inches before matting and framing. It is on Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper.
About a year and a half ago, I painted the lower part of that fountain, my " Neptune's Sea Horses" and wanted to paint the top of that fountain, Neptune's head.I fell in love with the details of this white marble face. I decided to add warm colors on the left hand side of the painting and cool colors on the right hand side. The photo was taken inside with a flash ( still too cold in Ottawa to take photos outside,I feel), so the colors are not entirely accurate.

It represents the head of a huge marble statue by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1563–1565) which was commissioned on the occasion of the wedding of Francesco I de' Medici with Johanna of Austria in 1565. The Neptune figure, whose face resembles that of Cosimo I de' Medici, was meant to be an allusion to the dominion of the Florentines over the sea. It stands in the middle of a beautiful fountain.(Wikipedia)
I hope you will like this painting!

Happy 2015!

It is hard to believe that it is now 2015!!!

I have identified some of my goals for 2015...and one of them is to post regularly on my blog since it is always such a source of online feedback, support and friendship.

I have just finished grouping many of my paintings in a new website. I hope that in the coming days or weeks, you will have a chance to visit and let me know what you think. It is a "free" website, but it seems to offer all I need.

Meanwhile, here is the last painting I created in 2014.

Spirit of Africa - 12" x 12" on cradled wood panel

The palette for this painting with hand embossed pewter is quite the departure from my Polar series of hand embossed pewter polar bears, inukshuks, kayaks etc. This piece has gold leaf in the bottom third, a pewter elephant and a copper sun on a very warm background. The painting incorporates glass beads, texture paste, and slivers of copper and pewter...It may be the start of a new series.

It is available either from the Kevin Dodds Gallery in Ottawa, Canada, or on my DailyPaintworks site.

 I wish all of you a healthy and creative year!