Progressions

Hello again!

First off, I'd like to share a few exhibitions and other events which I'm feeling excited about, in my most recent newsletter.  

And now on to some of my studio explorations.

At the encouragement of a friend, a couple of months ago I was playing around with watercolours, perhaps my least favourite painting medium.  *laughs*

First attempt: rather heavy-handed, 

although the silver bits are alluring.

Second attempt: getting better perhaps.  With gold bits!

Perhaps in a previous life I was a magpie...

Third attempt: actually managing a bit of transparency.

No metallic bits, though  :=(

I used w/c tube paints, and also w/c crayons and Inktense pencils.  Although I enjoyed exploring the materials, I've not picked up the watercolours since these attempts.  Perhaps in future I'll give them another go.

Last month I went on a field trip to the Weaselhead Flats with 42 third-grade students, 3 teachers and 5 adult chaperones.  It was a wonderful field trip, and I completely forgot to take any photos of the charcoal drawings we did after our nature hike!  The kids - and adults too - seemed to really enjoy the various charcoal techniques I showed them.

"Who knew you could do all that with the lowly black stick?"

*laughs*  oh the delightful eye-openings.

My own sketches were made from this tree,

on the hillside above the river near our house.

The kids and having fun with shadows at Weaselhead Flats.

Back in the studio, I'd been itching for a bit of oil painting, so I pulled out some small paintings made long ago on MDF panels cut to various sizes, no two alike.

First colour layers over the old paintings.

Laid them in a drawer to dry out of the way

Subsequent colour layers.

Maybe finished, maybe not.

Remember the Fragile Planets work I made a couple of years ago?  There were some extra plates & prints, and I've been thinking whether they might be worth framing.  Here, playing around with random materials... not sure I like this aesthetic though.  Candace Larsen at CKG may have some better ideas.

So, there you have some of the "other work" I get into, besides the stuff that makes it to the galleries & exhibitions.  What fun, eh?  

I love being an artist, and am so grateful that I'm able to spend my time this way.

Thanks as always for reading my blog posts!

Three trees

Today, with happy anticipation,
I am leaving for Moose Jaw, SK.

Going to visit a few artist friends.

Last week, using charcoal,

I made three drawings of

one tree along the river.

in the blue book: 110lb paper, 6x9"

I like this last one the best :)

Exhibition: CHROMA at CKG

A few of my newest paintings will be included in this exhibition.

Click here for more info.

I'm feeling quite excited about my practice these days.  Feels like I've broken through some barriers, and the work is really beginning to flow.  It's so important to be persistent, even when it takes years to develop an idea.  Being able to teach children's art classes buys me the time I need to be patient with my studio practice.  I'm feeling grateful for the turns my life has taken.

Speaking of teaching, today I go with two Grade 3 classes to the Weaselhead Conservations Area, where we will go on a guided nature hike, and then do some sketching before heading back to the school.  I've got a couple of fun charcoal techniques up my sleeve :)

Looking forward!

Work in progress (1)

Working on this large painting yesterday and today:

drawn out and a bit of colour added

The process has got to feeling almost the same as working in my sketchbooks... a similar immediacy, although, of course, taking a bit longer to paint a large canvas than a wee page in a book.

background colour: everything left on my palette plus white

I worked until late last night, and was straight away this morning back at it.  My appreciation and love for my job is at a high point lately.

with a bit of darker patterning

This painting measures 31.5 x 62 inches, and I'm still composing them with my eyes closed.  Amazingly, this has not gotten boring yet.  At least, not for me ;-)

and then a bit more colour added

I'd say this is likely quite close to being finished.  It needs to sit awhile before the final bits.  Therefore I've just begun another, and had lunch while making this blog post, and now off I go back to the studio.

Bon voyage!

Now, later, and again

Life has been feeling very busy but that is no excuse to not make blog posts!  I've been blogging for something like 12 years, and I have realized that I don't want this to peter out just yet.  Maybe not ever.  So here we go again...  :)

Happening now:

I've made a series of art cards using images from the "Archaea" book.

Been thinking of doing this for years, and hooray I finally did it!  *laughs*

 

They are now available at Bluerock Gallery.

Displayed in a vertical column.  I like that.

Happening soon:

Leighton Arts Centre's Clothesline Festival and Art Sale 

May 31 - June 2, 2019

Their biggest yearly fundraiser, which I am happy to participate in especially after my terrific experience of installing "just turn your head a little" in their main gallery in March.

Some of my paintings on 22x30 Arches w/c paper will be available:

Subterranean - Meninx - What They Saw Next Is True

Autotroph - Integuments

And some of my (very small) "Seeds" paintings too:

These are on masonite panel, and will fit in your hand.

I will be in attendance on June 1-2, demonstrating some of my art-making processes.  Please drop by and say hello!

Have I mentioned how wonderful the The Leighton Art Centre is?  They are an education centre and make all their programs available to kids from all walks of life.  Some of the kids who access the LAC programs are inner-city poor and have rarely, if ever, spent a day out in the country.  While I was installing my work in March, a few school groups came through on tours, and I had such fun interacting with them.  

I cannot say enough good things about the LAC, and I hope lots and lots of people come buy to enjoy nature, music, and food, and purchase artworks!

Happening a bit later:

My artwork included in a book!

"Vistas of the West: Poems and Visuals of Nature"

published by Lorene Shyba.

This book will go on tour!

Confirmed exhibitions and readings:

Exhibition of art at Framed on Fifth in Calgary for the full month of August.

Readings at Sheep River Library, Turner Valley, September 8.

Readings at Audreys Books, Edmonton, September 14.

Readings at Whyte Museum, Banff, October 17.

A tour of art galleries, libraries, books stores and museums - what fun!

With more readings and viewings pending.

Until next time, dear Reader.

Exhibition: just turn your head a little

Below are a few photos of the exhibition just turn your head a little, created by Frances Vettergreen and I at the Leighton Art Centre.

Our exhibition will be up until Saturday April 13, 2019. 

While pictures and blog posts are lovely, they really do not compare to an in-person experience of any type of art.  If you have never yet been to there, this would be a great reason to go and visit the truly wonderful Leighton Art Centre!

Frances' paintings are a remembered record of her experiences.  My installation works are created in response to the place in which they are made.  

Sky Land
String drawings with hanging branches
Dimensions 26" and 16" in diameter, approx 60" height

Reflecting the sky and rolling land around the Leighton Art Centre, these drawings also pay homage to the playful nature of some of Barbara Leighton's own artworks.

Roots
Strings and tree roots collected after the 2013 flood
16 x 32" each side

Strings: to work with the window frame, and to mirror shapes in Frances' painting.  

Roots: because the basement of the LAC is a world unto itself, and knowing the roots is integral to  knowing any person, place or thing.

with Frances' painting "A Garden To Feed Her Family"

front: One suspended transparent drawing
back: Tea-dyed office paper with root and branch, 50" in diameter x 120" height

Tea-dyed office paper, because Barbara Leighton liked to offer her guests tea, and because the LAC remains operable through the efforts of the admin staff.

front: Two suspended transparent drawings
back: String drawing with stones, 59" in diameter

The string drawing is on the wall.  The stones are suspended 18" in front.  Both circles are exactly the same diameter, despite appearances to the contrary. 

This work relates to the calm and elegant feeling of the LAC.  Situated in nature, surrounded by extended vistas, the scale of human endeavours can be perceived in an alternate proportion relative to the environs.

right: String drawing with stones, 59" diameter
left: Suspended transparent drawings, 24 x 90" each

Drawings: sinuous like trees, to bring the outside in.

Transparent: to see through, as in a winter forest.

Suspended: on sensitive swivel hooks, so that they move in the tiniest ambient air currents, as trees do.  These drawings are always in motion.

front: Suspended transparent drawings
back: Frances' badlands paintings, which are also like drawings.

The part of the tree that we see above ground is the same size as the part we cannot see: the roots below ground.  In these suspended drawings, both parts are transparent.

It occurs to me that the transparent drawings can also be viewed as water rivulets...

Really, I hope they can be seen in many ways by many people.  I do love when people  see all sorts of things in my work.  Sometimes what someone sees gives me a kind of "ahhhhhhh...." feeling, sometimes it is very surprising to me.  

That is a big part of the fun of making art: we all do our own very individual thing, and at its best our work relates universally to other people, all of whom see their own very individual things in it.  I just love that.

p.s.  I should mention that I'll be teaching an all-day art-making workshop at the LAC Education Centre on Saturday April 6th.  I believe there are still some spots available if you'd like to join us.

Until next time,

Verna

Blackbook: continuing adventures

I find myself working in sketchbooks quite a lot these last couple of years.  I mean besides the portrait books which are ongoing for decades, there are now books dedicated to the exploration of abstract imagery and ideas.

Here are a few images from the Blackbook 6x8"...

First I close my eyes and draw the lines with various sorts of markers and pens, then I open my eyes and colour them in with acrylic paints, sometimes gouache.

The very repetitive process goes a long way toward developing the visual language.

installation week

Exhibition: "just turn your head a little"

by Frances Vettergreen and Verna Vogel 

March 2 - April 13, 2019

Work in progress:
my installation artworks with Frances' paintings.

Frances and I brought her paintings last weekend, and then I spent the week at the Leighton Art Centre, conceiving, creating and installing most of my work on location.

In the main gallery:
my hanging drawings move with the slightest change in air currents, 
such as those made by the movement of people in the gallery.

All my pieces, by concept and by materials, relate to the LAC in some way.

The hanging drawings of trees intertwined with circles were created by dipping twigs and branches in ink, and hung from a branch at the top.  This reflects the beautifully treed environment around the house, and the cycles of nature.

First wall piece: tea-dyed paper

The circle on the far wall was created with tea-dyed office paper.  This reflects the fact that the late Barbara Leighton liked to offer her guests tea, and also the current work of administrative staff at the Art Centre.

Second wall piece: strings and stones.

A circle created with strings and stones reflects the the simultaneously energized and peaceful feeling that pervades the property and house.

Third wall piece, in the hallway.

A multi-circular piece reflects the undulating landscape and mountains, as well as a light sense of playfulness, which I believe would resonate with Barbara Leighton as evidenced in her own artwork.

There is a fourth wall piece which uses sections of tree roots.  No photo yet, but it is reminiscent of music, and the tree roots indicate that what lies underneath the surface is very important for understanding the history of a place.

Reflections: the hanging drawings in action.

Conceiving and creating these pieces inside the gallery has been very fulfilling for me.  It's been like a mini artist residency.

Warm thanks to the very fine folks at the LAC (including the "spirit of Barbara Leighton") for allowing me to take over the house this week!