My show at Southern Accent

My show at Southern Accent Restaurant in Toronto was equal parts art and friends.



Snaps to Frances for having the foresight (and energy) to present her Once in a Blue Moon brunch which made the weekend hugely festive and yummy.





Apart from wonderful food (beignets and andouille sausage, po' boy sandwiches and potato salad, mmmmmMimosas ...) and fantastic music, there were lots of friends just chillin' N'awlins style.



We spent Saturday evening on the patio, after the day of brunch-fun, getting psychic readings, drinking bourbon sours and hanging with friends.





I think we should do this every year!



What do you think Frannie?

Listening Centre

Thank you to the

Listening Centre,
helpin' me out for at least 25 years!

Wow, a quarter of a century of support, instruction, patience -

The Listening Centre will "help people of all ages develop and improve learning, language and communication skills through a listening training program of sound stimulation, voice training and counselling"

Presumably I was born dyslexic, but spent the 1950's, 60's and 70's largely left to fend for myself on the short bus (we are still a culture not particularly kind to our differently advantaged) not knowing why I processed things a little differently from the masses.

The Listening Centre gave a name to my dis-order, and a plan for the taming of it.

And it was during my taming/re-training that my creativity was freed. Of course, for me being creative is 50% a sense of well-being (and being grounded).

To accommodate folks like myself who are not living near to a facility, the Listening Centre offers a kind of distance learning program, enabling me to bring a portable device home to continue my therapy between visits (fantastic!). Though I don't get that big hug feeling that I get from walking through the doors of the Centre, I have my own little Listening Centre, in my studio at home.

So, big barks and a woof to Paul, Morana, Darlah, Edna and the gang for their kindness and patience, expertise and extraordinary skills.

Yeah Listening Centre!

My next show in Toronto ...

I'll be at Southern Accent Restaurant,
June 20 and 21, from 11am to 4pm each day, showing my new work and helping Frances and her crew as they celebrate 25 years in business!


I've been painting pretty much as long as Southern has been a restaurant (I started painting in diapers) so the timing couldn't be more serendipitous (good word - imagine scrabble points!).

My paintings are always hangin' around at Southern, but this will be a serious infusion of my work, many with a slightly different palette for me, over a two-day weekend.

Drop buy to say hello, see what I've been up to and maybe linger later with a Bourbon Sour and some piquant shrimp!

St. Thomas Elgin Studio Tour

I'm very excited to be participating in the
St. Thomas - Elgin Public Art Centre's Studio Tour,
May 23 and 24.



This self-guided, Saturday and Sunday tour, puts the artist into the role as "host" as they welcome folks into their studios and homes.

Ah, the smell of the acrylic paint, the roar of the crowd.

The only draw-back is I can't take the tour myself (love Ethel's pottery!)
Last year was alot of fun and I'm looking forward to much more of the same.

Of course, it must be an incredible thrill for the general public, the average joe and jolene, to see an artist of my magnitude at work in my natural setting.



An opportunity for my fans to soak-up some of the glamour found in an artists studio, as shown here on my left and right (or on your right and left)

So if you're in St. Thomas over the long weekend, be sure to drop by between 11 am and 5 pm. And if you can't be in this part of Ontario - what, they don't have trains where you live?

Relish Elgin

Relish Elgin magazine is always cooking up something special, and this year they have a special dish;

Arts in Elgin County Guide 2009.

Editor Debra Bagshaw and designer Joanne Bagshaw are in the thick of prepping for a May release of this special edition and, you guessed it, I've made sure I'm in it, in all my glossy splendor.

This will surely be the essential guide to relishing the arts in Elgin County and at least 10,000 copies will be distributed across the county.





In addition to promoting, the Arts in Elgin County guide is also a celebration of the St. Thomas Elgin Public Art Centre's 40th anniversary!


Help yourself to a complimentary copy of Relish Elgin at your favourite restaurant, market, B & B, gallery etc., or visit their website at www.relishelgin.ca for more info or to subscribe.

From Spring to Summer

From road trips to Port Dover, to bike rides to the beach.

Under every leaf we rake up is a surprise of things growing - even a frog, or toad, speckled brown, snuggled next to our green rain barrel.

We missed spring in St. T last year, amidst the worry of buying, selling, packing and moving and this year we're going to take a breath and watch nature unfold. Under every leaf we rake there's something forcing up through the soil, busting out to feel the sun, just as we are.

Tulips
Forsythia
Crocus
Violets
Daffodils, in bright yellow and amber-white



Putting away the bird feeders and finding the chairs for the deck.

Clothes hung on the laundry line, trying not to scare the dovers nesting in the eave, and Frankie smelling the worms.




Now, we're almost ready to rake again and I can still feel the summer sun's warmth, briefly.

Ah ... seasons

Elgin & St. Thomas Studio Tour

When we moved to St. Thomas from Toronto last year, I got one of my first glimpses into the local art community when pal Darren drove me around to a few participating studios in the 2007 Elgin and St. Thomas Studio Tour. I knew immediately I wasn't setting up a hobby studio - I'd be working as usual, painting and showing.





And so, apart from a brief period of winter slumber during which I rested to rejuvenate and start new roots, I've continued doing-what-I-do; that magic of laying paint on canvas.





These are some of the pieces I've finished, or am hoping to, as the May 17-18 weekend deadline approaches.
(Soon I'll be hearing the familiar crack-of-the-whip as Neil gently encourages me to be as productive as possible in time for the show)



Furthering my exploration of gardens, flowers and earth, which started shortly after our touchdown from seventh floor condo to earthbound house, I'm enjoying the rich browns of soil and rock. Ah ... spring