Rowan

Poised

Blue Vase

Recent Works

Three of my Pastel pieces that were featured in the Drawing Explorations group show at NPCC last week. 

Drawing Exploration: Works by the Thursday Night Group

Sunday, March 22 is the last day to see my group show at Neilson Park Creative Centre .

We will be hosting  a reception on Sunday, March 22 from 2:00-4:00. I hope you can join us!

The Royal

The Royal Winter Fair happened in November, but I thought these drawings of the animals would warm up a cold January day. It was a fun day - I have a soft spot for the goats as we used to keep two when I was younger, Genevieve and Tinkerbell. These are done on Strathmore Charcoal paper using pastel pencils.

Summer at Haliburton

I am thrilled to be included in the line-up of Art Instructors this summer at Haliburton School of the Arts. I'll be teaching Painting and Drawing the Figure: Media Explorations, August 3-7. Looking forward to an exciting year!

Winter Classes!

Wow - that went fast. Three days into the New Year and it's that time - registration is open for Winter Classes at Neilson Park Creative Centre and Visual Arts Mississauga. I'm looking forward to another art-filled session with lots of drawing. 

 At Neilson Park I'll be teaching Contemporary Figurative on Wednesday mornings and
Drawing Explorations on Thursday evenings.

At VAM, I've got Pastels on Monday evenings, Beginner Drawing and Intermediate Drawing on Tuesday mornings and afternoons, Teen Art Discoveries on Wed. and Figure Drawing on Saturday afternoons. 

Get your hands dirty - join me!

Wishing you all a Very Happy New Year!

Costumed Model

When I asked our model for my Contemporary Figurative class to bring a 'costume', I was delighted to have her enter the room with a fabulous 'do', silver mini-dress, silver boots and - to complete the B-movie Starlet ensemble - a toy Phaser with spinning lights. 

Needless to say it was great fun. I couldn't resist sneaking in a few minutes of drawing from my duties as instructor.

Making the News

I was chuffed to have my solo exhibit at Visual Arts Mississauga covered by the Mississauga News last week. They said really nice things and took a pretty decent picture. The show runs through this week until Sunday during regular business hours. I plan to be in attendance on Sunday if you want to drop in and say hi.

Coil

A new Paper Sculpture piece for my upcoming exhibit at Visual Arts Mississauga. 

I've been playing with spirals and how the paper responds to gravity and tension as it unwinds. This is the third of what seems to be turning into a series. Another is in the works and two are currently hanging in the "Imagination" show at Neilson Park Creative Centre. 

The Fall Season is upon us. A great line-up of classes is scheduled at Neilson Park Creative Centre and Visual Arts Missisauga. I'll be teaching Figurative Drawing, Pastel, Intro to Drawing and Intermediate Drawing this term.

Up The Hill

Water Soluble Graphite on watercolour paper. 

September

I'm looking forward to mounting an exhibit in the Emily Carr Gallery at Visual Arts Mississauga, Riverwood (https://www.visualartsmississauga.com/contactus.php). 

I've been working on new drawings and paper sculptures and will be showing them as well as some recent large paintings and pastel pieces. 

Kickstarting the Fall Season!

Short Poses

I've been working with water-soluble crayons in class, then playing on them with water when I get home. Liking the effects of various applications. 

5-minute drawing in blue pastel.

Water-soluble crayons.

Playing with Media

I was asked to teach a Figurative Drawing class at Neilson Park Creative Centre with a mandate of exploration and experimenting with different media and addressing artistic ideas - concept, design, etc - something right up my alley! This is the second session and I'm having so much fun. These are pieces done either as samples or growing out of the experimenting. 

Derwent Inktense watercolour sticks on watercolour paper. The image was drawn on dry paper and I used water once I was able to control the media back home in my studio.

Pastel on raw canvas. I used very soft Diana Townsend and Sennelier pastels - really like the feel of them on the canvas. I ironed over them with a steam iron on a piece of scrap cloth to set the pastel into the canvas. I plan to explore this technique more fully when time allows.

Warm colours in the foreground, cool colours in the back. Pastel added to fast gestures after the fact. Soft pastel (Rembrandt) on Manilla paper.

Inktense sticks on watercolour paper. I saturated the paper with the crayons as much as I could (dry) so I could get really dark areas when I wet the paper. Then puddled the water and blew the colour into the white areas of paper. I enjoy the feel of drawing with the Inktense and then playing with it as watercolour in the studio.

 Late Blooms

A pastel piece of the hollyhock that finally bloomed by my back door. 

Two sample pieces for a demonstration on Pastel Techniques using sgraffito. It works best when there is a strong contrast between the paper and the pastel colour. A fun technique that can be very adaptable.

Spring Pop-Up Workshops

This weekend, April 5 & 6, two great days of Pop-Ups at Neilson Park Creative Centre. Then, four Saturday afternoons of Pop-Ups at Visual Arts Mississauga

Take your two-dimensional paper art to the next dimension!

New Work

I've been working with a standard format of 5.5 inches and backing the pop-ups with a finished cover. They work well displayed on a small easel, pinned to a flat support so they stay open. I currently have a piece on display at Neilson Park called 'Fortress' for the Etobicoke Art Group's Gap Show. 

Pop-Up Lecture

I am very excited about my Pop-Up Lecture coming up in March. Honoured to be asked by the Etobicoke Art Group. It will be a bit of Pop-Up history, a lot of artists and book artists who are currently working in the medium and some demonstrations of my own work. I'm looking forward to a fun evening. 

For those who want to try making pop-ups for themselves, I will be doing a two-day workshop at Neilson Park Creative Centre on April 5 & 6, 2014. For more details contact Rena Sava through Neilson Park

or through my Artist's page on Facebook.

 Gesture Drawings

One and two minute poses done in pastel on newsprint.

 Quick Drawings

These are from five and ten minute poses - pastel on white paper.

Quick Drawings

Spruce Blue pastel on newsprint. Different colours of pastels have different physical features...something to do with the chemical make-up.  I love the tactile qualities of Nupastel blues.

Funky Paper Packing a Punch

Anticipating upcoming Pop-Up Workshops, I've been enjoying a summer of playing with paper. What else can you call it? The studio is awash with painted, printed papers and punches, while I divine what colour/shape/texture needs to go where and trying to put more POP into the pop-up! This is one in a series where I've been working in two standard formats just to narrow down my options. 

Here's the link for the VAM workshop, 'Book Art: Pop-Up Book Sculpture': https://www.visualartsmississauga.com/class_info.php?class_id=1462

 Pop-Up Book

Some new Pop-Up work inspired by Green Man. I will leading a one day Book Sculpture Workshop at Visual Arts Mississauga on October 26. 

Tidal Pool Pop-Up

A trip out to Vancouver Island and some beautiful sea-side walks inspired this series of small pop-up sculptures. The wonderful colours, textures and shapes of pot-holed rocks and tide pools gave me lots of new ideas! The papers are a mix of Japanese, commercial and hand-painted.