"In the Eyes of the Children" Solo Exhibition by Tyna Silver

An art friend of mine, Tyna Silver, is holding her first solo exhibition and sale from April 24 to May 9 at the Foto Shop Gallery in New Liskeard. The exhibit is comprised of pastel portraits of children from around the world. The portraits are painted from photos supplied by Plan Canada (formerly Foster Parent's Plan). Tyna is a supporter of Plan Canada, and will be donating 30% of the proceeds from sales of the portraits to Plan Canada.

Read her press release for the full story behind the exhibition and sale.

Several of the portraits may be seen on the multi-talented artist's new website, but if at all possible do try to see them in "person" at the Foto Shop. They are hauntingly beautiful.

Earth Day Sale!

In honour of Earth Day, I am having a sale in my Etsy Shop! On April 22, everything in my shop is 20% off!

In the top photo is a bracelet made from recycled vintage copper wire. Below that are my "Bark" rings, made from reclaimed sterling silver wire. Just a couple of the earth-friendly things I have available.

I do my best to nuture and celebrate our beautiful planet every day in my work and play, so I don't have any plans to do anything big tomorrow. I will probably just take my recyclables to town, and continue my never ending quest for earth-friendly, locally produced (in the broad sense) supplies for my studio.

How are you celebrating Earth Day?

At the Bend in the Road

I'm happy to announce that "At the Bend in the Road" was accepted into the Temiskaming Art Gallery's Juried Competition! This is an annual fundraiser for the Gallery. Approximately 24 paintings are chosen to be in a day-planner that the Gallery sells to raise funds. The day-planners are beautiful, and a practical way to get a daily dose of the creative talent of our local artists!
There will be a showing of the art work featured in the 2010 day-planner sometime in the latter part of June at the Wabi Iron and Steel Gallery. I understand that the day-planners will be available for sale then. I will keep you posted as to the date and time!

"At the Bend in the Road" is an Acrylic and Ink Collage painting. It is based on a photo that my husband took on his way to a friend's farm on "Casey Mountain". I liked the view between the tall trees into the sweeping valley with it's golden fields sheltered by the hills and trees in the distance. The sun was just coming up, so the dramatic sunrise lends interest. I tried to capture the mist lying close to the ground, but I'm not sure I pulled it off. The tiny barn with the sunlight glinting off the roof is meant to be the focal point. I think I get away with that - just!

This painting is for sale, but can't be delivered until after the show in June - unless you live in the Temiskaming Shores area, then you can take it now as long as I can borrow it for the day of the show!

Wet Pastel Workshop - Waterlily Finished!

Here it is after adding some shadows, and removing some of the pastel on the leaves so the underpainting can shine through, and a bit of other tweaking. The photo isn't showing the brighter tones, the reds, yellows and oranges are much brighter than is being shown here - at least on my monitor, anyway. I am fairly pleased with it, and will put it away for a bit, then look at it again to see if it is worth selling.

I have some pastel portrait commissions waiting to be started. I think I will try this technique with them!