September 11, 2012

Festival d'art érotique de Montréal 2012



From August 24 to September 2 the Festival d'art érotique de Montréal 2012 was enticing the public. Three pieces from the ‘Journey project’ were part of this exciting event where the art of 42 visual artists was shown and which held at LaCenne. On Thursday August 30 Pazit and I attended the very popular vernissage and were very surprised when they announced that our pieces were awarded by the jury as ‘Best of Show’. We feel very honoured that our work has been recognized in this way and we wish to thank the jury and organization of the Festival d'art érotique de Montréal 2012 for this amazing opportunity!


All the world’s a puzzle


This past weekend my husband and I went on a little road-trip to GenCon, the largest board gaming convention in the world, which is held in Indianapolis each year. Just like last year we had a blast trying out new games and meeting other gamers. One of the highlights for me was meeting one of my favourite authors, Brandon Sanderson a well as the voice of the Daleks, mr Nicholas Briggs. But I will not bore you with all the geeky convention details.

While we were driving and the world was passing by my window I noticed that my view of the world has significantly changed since I’ve started photographing for my Boroughs Project. Nowadays, when we pass a building of significance or a quirky urban detail I see them almost like a puzzle piece. My minds eye will immediately try to find the angles that would be most useful in a piece. 

I’ve been photographing with pieces in the back of my mind for quite some time but this change in view has never presented itself this strongly. It must have something to do with the difference in approach. Previously most of my photography was done on vacations where the photographing was secondary and the piece was in the back of my mind. When I work on the Boroughs Project I research each borough, finding the most important landmarks, with the piece being the primary reason for the photography session. 

It will be interesting to see how this change in view will influence my future pieces. 

Absolut Blank Fun



This past Thursday, August 9, 2012, Pazit Perez and I had a last minute outing showing off some of the pieces of the ‘Journey’ project at the Absolut Blank event at Terrasses Bonsecours. Despite the rain it was a very successful event that brought together a consortium of different artists (from celebrity chefs, to body painters, caricature artists, art exhibitors, dj's, steel drum bands and so on.) While our work was being shown downstairs we had the amazing opportunity to enjoy a meal by celebrity chef Theo Gumbs and meet the chef himself afterwards. The evening was an all around success, you can find images and video of the event here.

A couple of the pieces from the ‘Journey’ series have been selected to be part of the Festival d'art érotique de Montréal - 2012, which will take place from August 24 to September 2, for more information about the event click here.

My ‘Boroughs Project’ is still keeping me busy, as of now I have only 9 boroughs to go when it comes to photography so I should be able to finish that before the first snow fall. I will keep you posted on the developments.



July 30, 2012

On schedule so far...



I’ve managed to stay on schedule so far. This past week I’ve photographed three boroughs, finished one borough piece and created a composition for another borough piece. And I’’m going to try and keep it up this week as well. Right now I’m planning my photography route for Cote de Neige - Notre Dame de Grace, which is on schedule for tomorrow and I hope to be able to go out later in the week to do Le Sud Ouest. Today I’m working on another composition and if I have some time left over I’ll head back into the studio for some painting, I’m working on a piece of L’ile Bizard - Sainte Genevieve. 
I love this project! especially after going out again this week for some borough photography. The island of Montreal has so many hidden gems and this project allows me to go out and explore and discover them all. I always do some research and plan my route in advance so I don’t miss anything and every time I am surprised by the amount of unexpected beauty I encounter. I’m excited to go out in the next couple of weeks and see what the uncoloured spaces on my little map have to offer. 

July 23, 2012

Boroughs, boroughs, boroughs...


The next couple of weeks will be almost completely devoted to my ‘Boroughs project’. This morning I’ll spend some time behind the computer creating another composition and this afternoon I hope to be able to finish my Dorval piece and start the transfer process on another one of the boroughs. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I’ll go out to photograph Ahuntsic-Cartierville and if I have some time left over I’ll try to shoot a second borough as well. I want to get myself into a nice flow where I can shoot at least two boroughs a week and finish at least one, preferably two pieces a week as well. This is going to be quite a rigorous schedule and I’m sure I won’t be able to hold myself to it all the time but this is going to be my goal at least until I’ve managed to photograph all the boroughs. 

July 19, 2012

To breathtaking beauty and back

After all the craziness of FIMA 2012 I was very happy to step on a plane for a well deserved break, 9 days of breathtaking beauty, desert heat and Vegas magic. After two day’s of relaxation and entertainment in Vegas we went on a little road-trip to see some of the most stunning scenery on this planet. On the agenda were Zion National Park (see above), Bryce Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Horse Shoe Bend, Monument Valley and The Grand Canyon. Having lived in the States we’d already visited the South West a couple of times so this time we picked our destinations carefully and made sure we reserved some time for some more in depth exploration. 

2000 photographs further and thoroughly inspired and relaxed we’re now back home and ready to get back to work. I spend a little time sorting my photographs so I could give you a little taste of our wonderful trip and I had some cleaning up to do after the fair but now it’s time to head back into the studio and concentrate fully on my ‘Boroughs project’. 

I’m very happy that I already prepared a couple of pieces so I can easily get back into the flow of working without the pressure of starting new compositions. I have three boroughs that are ready to be transferred to their supports, one of which I started work on yesterday. I’ve also got one unrelated piece that I’m working on. I’ve decided that I definitely want to finish all my boroughs before the end of the year, which means i’ll have to work really, really hard. I’ve photographed about half of the boroughs so photographing the rest will be my first priority. I’ll take advantage of the nice weather to go out there as many days as possible to get them all done before the end of the nice weather. I also want to get into a rhythm where I can finish 2 pieces a week. It’s always been an ambitious project but all my last minute preparations for FIMA have taught me that I can be super productive when I’m in ‘the zone’,  I thrive under the pressure of a looming deadline. So hereby I’m declaring the deadline for my Boroughs, they will be finished before the end of the year.












FIMA 2012 Video

A little look at FIMA 2012, for photo’s click here.


FIMA 2012




We have about a week to go until the start of FIMA 2012 and all the preparations are in full swing. As is customary with preparations, everything is happening late. Luckily I still feel like I’m somewhat in control and slightly on schedule. I’ve been working really hard to create 6 brand new pieces to present at the fair and I’ve also been able to create a cute series of “City Vignettes”. Last week I got very stressed out and decided I had to create some smaller pieces to make sure I have a nice variety so several of those are still in the works and should be done in time. 

Tomorrow I’m picking up a series of silk screen prints that will be hand coloured and presented at the fair for the first time. I’m very excited about those. We are also working on a unique merchandise product that will be presented at the fair so come check us out if you’re curious about those ;)

We are both very much looking forward to this experience. We hope to see you there! For more information about the show and our location click here.


May 28, 2012

Just a quick update...

It’s still quite busy and that deadline is still looming but I should have time for just a quick update. Things are still on schedule for the most part. There’s a lot of stuff that still needs to be done and in my studio there are a lot of paintings awaiting my attention. But I managed to finish three pieces last week and I’ve even had time to create a new composition. 


I really love being this busy, that deadline brings out the best in me. I do have to be careful to still pay attention to the details. However looming that deadline me be, a painting cannot be rushed, it will take it’s time and be finished when it’s ready to be finished so I have to stay sensitive to that. Luckily I tend to forget about everything else when I‘m painting so I’m really not that bothered by deadlines when I’m working. The fact that I’m pretty organized helps with that as well, I trust myself to be ready in time so I can just let go off the pressure and work which is a blessing. 


Today I will spend some time on another composition, since I’m already behind the computer that seemed like the sensible thing to do. I hope I’ll have time for another quick update next week.

May 10, 2012

The 'Journey' Forward

Things are happening, I can’t talk about them in detail yet because we’re still in the very early stages but ‘Journey’ (my collaboration project with Pazit Perez) is moving forward. We recently finished the third piece in the series and we had a very extensive meeting earlier this week wherein we discussed our future plans and ideas for the project. It looks like I’m going to be quite busy the upcoming weeks, but that’s just the way I like it :) I will keep the updates coming when they become more tangible, I promise, it’ll be worth the wait ;)

April 24, 2012

Productive Beginnings



This week has started our very productive. On Monday I managed to finish two compositions of Rome, I was only planning on doing one piece of Rome but while I was working on it I had so many great images that didn’t fit in my first composition that I started a second one on the side. So now I’m working on the prep for two pieces at the same time. 


Having had such a productive Monday really gave me a boost, I can’t wait to get this prep work finished so I can get started on painting ‘Sin City’! I’m, already half way there, I’ve finished cutting out al the pieces for the large Rome piece, now I just have to wait until my drip layer is dry so I can assemble the piece on my 24x48 panel. 


I’m actually typing this blog entry in my new studio. We’ve set up my old iMac here so I don’t have to drag my panels up 2 flights of stairs to assemble them. I can now check my digital compositions for the placements of all the elements right here in my studio, it’s truly awesome! I still create them in the office upstairs but all the messy stuff, including the cutting, now happens here. 


On Thursday evening we will start a new series of Acrylic Transfer classes at Viva Vida Art Gallery. This will be a series of six 2 ½ hour classes in which we will go from properly prepping a wood panel all the way to a finished acrylic photo collage, it’s going to be loads of fun! You can still join us by signing up at Viva Vida Art Gallery: (514) 694-1110


If you’re curious about my techniques and work process you can check out this video. It’s the artist talk a gave for the Art & Architecture show at Fleurbain on April 14th. You should also check out the talks of the other artists in the show, it was truly an amazing group and I’m very honoured to have been a part of this wonderful show. 

April 17, 2012

Street lights and trash cans

I just came back from my first Borough photography session of the year, I had forgotten how much fun it is to go out and discover a whole new part of the city this way. Cote-St-Luc was on the agenda for today, a borough that I hadn’t really been to before. The weather was beautiful, if a bit windy, which made it a perfect day for photographing. I did most of it by car although I did walk around a bit as well. Cote-St-Luc is mostly a residential area with a lot of high rises at it’s centre. I keep being amazed by the distinctly different atmospheres that each borough has to offer. 


The distinct street lights and trash cans were something that really jumped out to me for this borough. The boroughs in this part of the city are fairly small and close together so while driving around Cote-St-Luc I ventured into a different borough a couple of times and it would immediately be obvious that I had left Cote-St-luc just by looking at the street lights. The street signs is another very distinctive thing for each borough, they all have different shapes, sizes and colours.


When I was finished with my photo session I drove through Montreal Ouest, one of the boroughs that I haven’t visited yet and I immediately got excited for my next photography trip! This is probably one of the smallest boroughs on the island of Montreal bit it has big character. I can’t wait to go out there and explore! 





April 10, 2012

Let's talk Art at Fleurbain

Although I’m not yet back at the productivity level I was at before the move, I’ve at least managed to finish the composition for the next piece in the ‘Journey’ series and I’ve been able to do some more direct transfer stuff. I’ll need some more practice but I do like the technique. On the side I’m working on two private pieces to put up in our new house. 


I’ve got a whole bunch of pieces from the ‘Boroughs Project’ in several stages but since I want to use them as examples in the first class of the next image transfer course I’m teaching at Viva Vida Art Gallery later this month, I’ll have to wait a bit before I can finish them. Instead I think I’ll start my piece on Rome as an in between project, it will be a large piece but I can at least start the composition. 


Next week I want to start going out to photograph again, I still have about half of the boroughs on the island to go so that should keep me busy right into the summer. It also means I’ll have some new borough adventures to blog about :)


On Saturday there’s another round of artist talks at Fleurbain as part of the Art & Architecture show. The talks start at 3pm and I’ll be one of the three artists talking, each artist will talk for about 15 minutes, questions and discussions are encouraged after each talk. It’s open to the public so if you feel like talking art this Saturday please come and join us! Fleurbain is located at 460 St Catherine Street West, Unit 917, Montreal, QC.

April 04, 2012

Price increase

Because of the amount of sales in 2011 there will be a 10% price increase on all artworks up to 7676 square cm (=1190 square inch) in size. Prices for artworks larger then 7676 square cm (=1190 square inch) will stay the same. To ensure equal gallery and online prices some prices have been adjusted to include framing. 


We would have wanted to do this at the start of 2012, which would have made more sense, but with the move, the presentations and group shows we didn’t have time to fully implement the price change until now. 

March 28, 2012

Preparations and Presentations


I had two presentations to give in the past week s preparations were in order. On Wednesday I was invited to be a guest speaker at the Artistes Hudson Artists Association. They asked for a demonstration of my techniques so I had to prepare multiple pieces indifferent stages so I could demonstrate every step of the creation process. Luckily the pieces of my Boroughs project are the perfect size and I had several in different stages of production. Since my work is partially done on the computer I had to bring my laptop and projector as well, it almost felt like I was moving again with the amount of stuff that ended up in the car for the drive to Hudson.  

With the exception of some minor computer glitches the presentation went great, the Hudson Artist Association is a great bunch of people and they made me feel very welcome. Everyone was very interested and the time flew by. I was really surprised that I managed to fill 1 hour and 15 minutes just talking about my process. I had a great evening and met some amazing new people so all in all a very successful evening. 





When I gave my image transfer course at Viva Vida Art Gallery February a couple of people asked me if I could give a demonstration on how to use epoxy resin on your artwork. So on Monday a crowd of 20 people had gathered at Viva Vida Art Gallery to see me wield my blowtorch, probably secretly hoping I would set my artwork on fire ;-)) Luckily no fires were set and the demonstration was a huge success. Doing a demo on epoxy resin required some planning and preparations, especially because the process is very time sensitive. We ended up splitting the evening up in two parts with a nice coffee break in between. This allowed me to go over the process first and demonstrate it after the break. Having the food and drink out of the way for the demonstration was important as well because epoxy resin fumes are never healthy. To make sure everyone was safe we provided dust masks for everyone which was quite a funny sight. More picture of the evening can be found here. 


Now that all the presentations are done I’ll be able to start work on the next piece in the ‘Journey’ series. The pieces of my Boroughs Project that were part of the demonstration on Wednesday will have to stay like this for a little while longer, just until after the first class of my next image transfer course, which is due to start in the second or third week of April. This will give me plenty of time to work on some other pieces in the meantime and maybe even start photographing the rest of the Boroughs.

March 19, 2012

Back in Business!



I feel like it’s been ages since my last post. After two weeks of moving madness I’m finally back in business and ready to go! My new studio space is ready to go, my computers have been connected to the interwebs and my office space is in some sort of working order. Over all the move has gone very smoothly, we had tons of help and after just one week most of the boxes have been unpacked and there are only two rooms that still need work, the rest of the house is as good as done! About time too because I am more then ready to get back to work! I can’t wait to start working in my new studio, it’s awesome! I have so much space, my very own sink and twice as much table space then I used to have. We’ve solved the lighting issue with some well places daylight lamps but I was actually surprised by the amount of natural light I do get. I placed my easel to catch as much of it as possible and my beautiful new easel lamp makes up for the rest. 





I’ll spend this morning getting back up to speed on the things I’d been working on before the move. I had several pieces in different stages of development and there are a couple of finished pieces that still need to be photographed. I also have to start preparing for my artist demonstration this Wednesday at the Artistes Hudson Artists Association, the pieces I’ll be working on are already in the proper stages of the process so I’ll just have to fine tune everything. I’ll also have to start thinking about the resin demo I’ll be giving at Viva Vida Art Gallery on March 26th. Working with resin always requires some upfront planning, especially if I have to do it on location. On march 31st at 7pm and April 14th at 3pm the artists of the ‘Art and Architecture’ exhibit at Fleurbain will be talking about their work, the talks will be followed by a group discussion. 


There is still time to come and see the two group shows I’m involved in this month. ‘Women in Art’ will be up at the Ward-Nasse Gallery until March 31st. the show is open to the public Tuesdays to Saturdays from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sundays from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm at 178 Prince Street NY-NY. ‘Art and Architecture’, can be seen at Fleurbain until April 14th. The show is open to the public Tuesdays to Saturdays from 3-6 pm or by appointment at 460 St Catherine Street West, Unit 917, Montreal, QC.

February 29, 2012

On Competition, classes and coinciding events


February has flown by, March is already knocking on the door and things have been busy here in a snowy Montreal. The move is going smoothly so far and even though it’s been distracting me from my painting I’ve still managed to be somewhat productive. I’ve mostly been working on my Montreal Boroughs project, three pieces are now completely finished, one piece is ready for it’s final layer of paint and I have three other pieces in several stages of development. I’ve even managed to squeeze in another direct transfer experiment although I haven’t been able to finish it yet. 


This past Monday was the final class of the Acrylic gel transfer course that I was teaching at Viva Vida art gallery. We had a great group that produced some amazing pieces. I never thought I would have this much fun teaching a class, I am looking forward to the next one, which will start in early April. If you would like to join us you can contact Viva Vida Art Gallery at 514 694 1110.




This morning I received a lovely email from the people at New Master Artist telling me that I am one of the winners of their New Master 2011 Expert Top 10. I am very honoured and would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people that voted for me as well as the New Master Artist website for this amazing opportunity. The great thing about this competition was that there were no entry fees which is very unusual for an artist competition. The New Master Artist website is a unique independent online space where artists and qualified art experts from around the world form a community where they can openly share information and discover each others work.

Over the weekend I’ll be traveling to New York City for the opening of ‘Women in Art’ a group show to celebrate International Women’s Day to be held at the Ward-Nasse Gallery. Women of different nationalities will be displaying works in painting, drawing, sculpture, and photography, from March 1st to March 31st, 2012. The Ward-Nasse Gallery is a nonprofit artist-administrated space for visual, spoken and performing arts, located in the heart of Soho. The shows opening reception will be held on March 3rd from 7-10 pm. “Women’s in Art 2012” will be open to the public Tuesdays to Saturdays from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sundays from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm at 178 Prince Street NY-NY.



This weekend will also see the opening of ‘Art and Architecture’, a group show that features art about architecture, and art by architects, Presentations and artist-talks to be announced during the exhibition. This show will be held at Fleurbain which is conveniently located close to McGill and Place des Arts metros, with plenty of street and paid parking nearby. See their website and blog for information on workshops, herbalism, art, and all things verdant about life in the city. The vernissage will be held on March 3rd from 7-10 pm. “Art and Architecture” will be open to the public Tuesdays to Saturdays from 3-6 pm or by appointment at 460 St Catherine Street West, Unit 917, Montreal, QC.

February 14, 2012

Valentine fun

Happy Valentines Day to all my trusty readers!


My Valentines day is being spent doing some necessary shopping for our move, looking at truck rental prices, doing the administration and hopefully start work on my prep for next weeks class. Tonight we’ll have a ‘very romantic’ quick bite to eat at the mall while shopping for a new internet/tv provider and then we’ll drive to the new house to drop off some boxes and clean some floors :D It’s all very romantic ;-)) 


As I predicted the move is being a big distraction when it comes to painting. I did manage to squeeze in a new composition last week but I didn’t really get to paint. I do have one painting that’s ready for it’s final layer of paint so I’m going to plan at least one day in the studio this week so I can finish that one.


The class I teaching at Viva Vida Art Gallery is going really well. Next week we’re going to start transferring our gel pieces to our panels so that is going to be an exciting class. It does require some preparation from my side since I’ll need to bring along several gel skins as examples as well as doing some paper removal on the spot. So I’ll need to find some time to do that as well. The good thing is that I use actual pieces as demonstration material so it’s work I need to do anyway, it just requires some thought as to which pieces I need to bring and which stage they need to be in. I’m really enjoying teaching this class though, it’s a great group and it is a good way to analyze your own process and find room for improvement. 


We’ve actually decided to do a second series of classes in the spring. I’m also going to do a demonstration on applying resin. If you would like some more information about the course or the demonstration you can contact Viva Vida Art Gallery at 514 694 1110.

February 06, 2012

On the move...

Turns out I’ll be moving soon. Now don’t panic, I’m not leaving Montreal, we’re just moving to another house, different borough, same island :). In December our landlords notified us that they were ending our lease which meant we had to look for a new place. Instead of panicking about the huge amount of stuff we need to move we decided to look at this as an opportunity to find someplace awesome to live, which we did.


Things went a lot faster then we had initially planned for, but when the perfect place comes along you don’t say no :). The house we found is new and has a big unfinished basement for me to work in. The unfinished part is a huge bonus because it means I don’t have to worry about getting paint on the floors or walls. Yes, I do that sometimes, I’m a messy artist :). Our new landlord is even going to install an awesome laundry tub sink in the basement so I have a place to wash my brushes :), I am going to be so spoiled!


The moving part is going to be a challenge. I have a large metal cabinet for drawings and a very heavy drawing table that are no fun to move and we have a huge amount of stuff in general. The good thing is that we have plenty of time, we have about 6 weeks to move all our stuff which means we can take it easy.


Yeah, March is going to be an interesting month, a lot of things were already on the agenda (see my previous Blog post) and now with the move I’ll have to make sure I do some early preparations. It’s a good thing I’ve been extra productive the past couple of weeks because painting while moving usually doesn’t really work.

January 31, 2012

Good things are happening...

I’ve been enjoying my studio time immensely and it has definitely been fruitful. I’ve managed to finally get a good start on my Boroughs Project with two pieces finished and two that are about half way and I’ve even been able to do a good many other pieces on the side. 


But next to all the productivity there are a lot of other things brewing on the horizon. In March I’ll be traveling to New York City for ‘Women in Art’ a group show at the Ward-Nasse Gallery in Soho and today I was very pleased to receive an email that stated that my work is being considered for the ‘Art and Architecture’ exhibition in downtown Montreal in March.


Last night I taught my first class at the Viva Vida Art Gallery, this class was part of a 5 class course I’m teaching on the creation of gel skins and how to use them in a composition. We have an awesome group of eight talented people and I’m very excited to see the results after we are finished. I’ve never taught a class before, it’s actually something I thought I’d never do, but I had a great time and I hope the people in my class did too. I’m already excited about next weeks class, when we’re really going to start building the compositions. 


It looks like I will be working on another piece in the ‘Journey’ series soon as well, I received information that my collaboration partner has scheduled the photo shoot for it so I’ll be getting material for that soon. I’m very happy that we are finally getting to the third piece, I really like the collaboration aspect and I think the resulting pieces look awesome. 


So good things are happening in the near future, which means that I have to keep up my productivity for now. Soon there will be things that will get in the way of spending time in the studio, good things. 

January 25, 2012

New Pieces





The side effect of being very productive in the studio is that I don’t spend as much time behind the computer to update my website. So this morning I’ve decided to show you some of the pieces I’ve been working on these past couple of weeks. The two pieces you can see here are ‘Petit Paris’, a piece I created for ‘Women in Art’ a group show that will be held at the Ward-Nasse Gallery in New York in March and ‘NYC Traffic’. I've also finished a small commission on Prague for a couple that is getting married. The piece will feature on their ‘Safe the Date’ card, which I created as well.


There are a couple of pieces that are almost finished amongst them is a small piece on ‘Burano’ that I created with a direct transfer technique instead of the gel skins I usually work with. I’ve been wanting to experiment with this new technique for a while now and finally found some time to do so. It’s a very interesting technique that has a lot of potential but also has some challenges that come with it. I will have to experiment with it some more before I’ll be able to fully implement it but it’s definitely worth exploring farther. 


I’m trying to work on my Boroughs Project at a steady pace, which is going well at the moment, I have one piece ready for transferring and one that needs to be copied and then gelled. I try to do other pieces in between to mix it up a bit. I discovered a whole bunch of awesome sized wood panels at a downtown art store last week which got me pretty excited! I’ve already got a sprawling city scape of Rome in mind for one of them :) 


It’s been really awesome to spend so much time just painting, I want to take advantage of it while I can because there are going to be other things that will get in the way of studio time in the near future. I’m going to teach a workshop on acrylic gel skin transfers at Viva Vida art gallery starting next week, for which some preparation is required and I have some preparations to do for the NY show and an artwork presentation/demonstration coming up in March. Lots of fun stuff coming up! But until then I’m going to enjoy being productive!

January 09, 2012

Artistic produtivity

I’m working on quite a few projects at the moment and although I seem to have found a bit of a groove I still have difficulty finding the right balance. My Boroughs Project, which should be one of my main projects, seems to be suffering from this the most. I’ve only managed to photograph about half of the boroughs in 2011 and the first piece is still waiting in my studio for it’s final few transfers, other stuff just gets in the way. I received a couple of commissions that off course have priority because they are paid for in advance and there are deadlines involved. And then I have my Journey project, which I’m doing together with another artist so naturally I have to keep those deadlines as well. I also want to be creating other pieces, work that is not related to either project and I’d like to have some time to experiment, do some other collages, try out new techniques, that sort of thing. 


On top of that, being a full time artist comes with a lot of secondary activities. I have to take the time to update my website, write this blog, go to meetings, be active in social media and so on. So there’s already that balance I need to find. 


Now I am in no way complaining! I love being an artists and a busy artist is a happy artist in my book! It’s just that my own personalty gets in the way sometimes. I’m a very organized person and when there’s something that needs doing I’d rather do it now, I like finishing stuff. The bad thing about that is that I can get so focussed on one thing that I kind of forget about everything else even if this one thing isn’t really the most important thing on the list. Luckily I’m aware of doing that most of the time and it’s usually best to just go with it anyways because I’ll be more productive afterwards. 


Productivity is a funny thing when you’re an artist. Most of the time you set your own deadlines so it’s hard to prove to the world outside that you’re being productive. I probably shouldn’t even want to prove that I’m productive but somehow that’s important to me. 


For now it’s just really important to me to be in my studio and create art, I’ve had so little time to do that in the last couple of months that I just feel the need to create. For now that’s my focus so if I’m ever a bit late in updating this blog, or I’m not as active on Facebook or Twitter, I’m probably in my studio painting. As I mentioned, I do seem to have found my groove. The first week of the new year has been very productive and if I can manage to keep this up this is going to be a great year!

January 04, 2012

Happy New Year!

First of all I’d like to wish you a very happy New Year! I hope your holidays were filled with joy and 2012 will be the best year ever!


For me 2012 has started out as a very productive year, which it is supposed to be with all the projects I’ve got going on right now! I’m actively working on 4 separate pieces right now and I’ve got another piece in the finishing stages in my studio.


I’ve got loads of plans for the new year! I need to work really hard to get somewhere with my boroughs project so that will be the next batch of pieces I’ll be working on. I’ll also have to start preparations for the workshop I’ll be teaching at Viva Vida Art Gallery later this January. In March I’ll give an artist presentation in Hudson for which I’ll have to do some prep work as well. 


I hope to be able to start work on the third piece of the Journey project soon as well and ideally I’ll be able to create some experimental collage pieces on the side. I still haven;t had time to experiment with the direct transfer technique I learned from Melanie Matthews last year. 


I have plans for a solo later this year and hope to be able to do a couple of group shows as well. I’m also going to start looking for a gallery in Toronto this year. 


So 2012 is shaping up to be a productive and creative year for me, let’s hope I can keep up ;-))