HELLO AGAIN!!!

I can't believe it's been 5 years without a blogpost! So much has happened in this time! Life does get crazy busy!

My photo for this post is of the river I live beside with the view from my computer desk of the ice melting. A few more warm days and the ice will be gone. I'm looking forward to everything greening up and the flowers and plants in my gardens sprouting! Spring is a very fresh and hopeful time of year!

I'm at the beginning of a 'reboot' with my art career. I am feeling  it's time for me to take the next step and really get organized.

I have been learning about art marketing and am dedicating the next 30 days to creating a new website with a shopping cart; creating a Newsletter that will be published on a monthly basis; getting back to blogging twice a month; posting regularly on Facebook and Instagram; and then, when I get that up and running, actually creating more artwork.

Because I work intuitively in an abstract expressionist style, what gets created next will be a surprise to me. I have a feeling a shift is going to take place and I'm looking forward to beginning these new pieces!

Spring is my favourite season and I'm really feeling the 'rejuvenation' aspect!!!

Re-working

I see it has been a very long time with no blog post - way too long!  It's been a very busy year and quite productive with commissions and sales with the two galleries I am with. My work is changing and I feel myself growing in confidence as I challenged myself with larger canvases.

The task at hand for the moment is re-working of pieces I find myself not happy with any longer. As storage space is limited this is the route to go for me.

The first two to tackle are part of a series from my last post over a year ago. It will be interesting to see what direction they take!

The "Series"

This is a successful attempt at the elusive "series" concept.  I always find it difficult to stay in a particular style or zone when painting so this time I pretty much worked on all 6 at once.  This works for me!!! I've finally found the answer. This series consists of 2 @ 30" x 30", 2 @ 16" x 16" and 2 @ 12" x 12".

The only problem is that I am now working larger (36" x 48") and space is very limited.  I can see a re-organization project of my little 'studio' space, which is a portion of a family room type area.  I'm going to need to figure out a way to get the panels up on the wall to work on as there is no room for multiple easels.   I need a heated garage!!!

Commissions

This painting, "Quintessence" was finished yesterday after a few weeks of stressful work trying to get it right.  The request was for a painting similar to one that had previously sold, only in pinks and yellows.  The last time I completed a commission piece was many years ago when I was working in watercolours and in a realistic manner.  Mixed media and acrylic in a non-representational style is another story.

This was quite the challenge for me. In trying to mix pinks, I was arriving at bubble-gum colours which made me very unhappy.  On the third attempt, I decided to work on 2 canvases at the same time and in colours that I like. The result was a 'letting go' of expectations and working on 2 at once was a very liberating experience too.  I was able to paint in my usual intuitive manner and the painting progressed quickly to my satisfaction and the second one is also coming along nicely.

I was very nervous when emailing the photo of my finished piece to the gallery where the commission was requested. The last thing I wanted to hear was that it was not acceptable to the gallery or client. I was prepared for,  and hoping for,  only minor tweaks  before varnishing and delivering.

To my delight, the gallery and clients were very pleased and all that was requested was for me to give it a name!

New experiences, though stressful, are such a thrill when there is a positive outcome! I have learned a lot about working on commissions and myself as well.  All that I needed to do was trust my instincts and inner voice and paint like I always do. In worrying every step of the way about whether the client would like this or that I put a muzzle on myself stifling my creativity totally.

Lesson learned!  Now to finish the second one for myself!

Productive Painting Time

                                         
                                           "Mind Games"

Summer weather is still here - the garden is calling to me BUT so is painting!  This 12" x 12" x 1.5" painting came together rather quickly for a change.  It is a relief to get a little one that I like in the middle of struggling with a large canvas - 36" x 48" x 1.5" and 3 works on paper to go with it.

The large one and companions are beginning to take shape and my mind is in the right place to tackle that big project.  My paintings are intuitive and emotional and a fairly clear head is needed to work out the puzzle that this kind of painting is!

A little diversion is sometimes needed - this painting was diversion #1 and a thorough house cleaning today was diversion #2.

Tomorrow it is Onward with the Brushes!!!!

"Huggie Bears"

I've been busy this past month or two enjoying summer weather, gardening, visiting with friends and family and creating!

These little bears are something new for me - amigurumi crochet bears. I am making them and donating them to CHEO - Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.  I love to keep busy and these are fun to make.  They are given to children in need of some extra comfort by volunteers at CHEO. These bears are a good size for a small child up to a teenager and are very soft and cuddly.  I'm hoping they will help some kids get through tough times.

Celebration

I am mourning the loss of a very dear friend who has left this world suddenly and way too soon.
We shared a mutual love of gardening, nature and art and she will be greatly missed by all who knew her beautiful smile,  sparkling personality, kindness and compassion.

I am titling this new painting "Celebration".  It is a joyous, colourful piece and it is a tribute to my wonderful friend and her sunny disposition and outlook on life.

Distractions

This is the result of over two weeks of painting away at this 30" x 30" canvas. A thick coat of Gesso over layers and layers of collage and paint and many, many hours of trying to work.

I love my home studio space but the open concept with no door is not working for me.  My dear
husband means well but doesn't understand the mindset of an artist working on a non-representational intuitive painting.  Constant interruptions and noise has made me think too much about something that should have no thinking whatsoever.  Impossible to do without peace and quiet.

My only solution is to buy some noise reduction headphones as my frustration level has come to a breaking point.  I now understand why studio space away from home is important. Not going to happen so I just need to relax and find a solution.

Perseverance

The title of this painting is "Patience" and it sums up my attitude towards my painting experience.

I have been on a journey of learning and discovery for 26 years now. It all started with classes in drawing, life drawing, graphic design, illustration and layout, black and white photography and development, oil painting, pastel painting, watercolour painting, intaglio and relief printmaking and various mixed media techniques and workshops.

Along the way I've been involved with many art organizations, co-op art galleries, outdoor and indoor art shows and a few studio tours.  My paintings have been shown in many small art galleries and gift shops in Ottawa and other towns and cities in Eastern Ontario.

Recently I have had the good fortune to be asked by the owner of a major fine art gallery here in Ottawa, Koyman Galleries, to show my work.  I am now a 'gallery artist' and have a permanent display space in this beautiful venue.  My challenge now is to create more artwork in 'my style' on larger canvases. Here's hoping 'Joe Public' will like what he sees enough to buy my work.

In general, I think creative people have to build a hard shell against negativity for what they do and why they do it. Pursuing a subject for the simple love of learning and enjoyment of the process is what is important to me and I want to keep that freshness of attitude in my mind going forward in this new direction.

Heather Assaf
Koyman Galleries

A New Series in "My Style"

These two paintings are the first in a new series I have been working on lately.  This style combines collage, printmaking and mixed media painting on canvas. For years I have been experimenting with many mediums and techniques and this is the end result!  For some artists, myself included, it takes a long time to develop an individual 'style'. I now feel that all the time spent learning is coming together and I'm very happy and relaxed painting in this way!

More to come!

Office Decorating Experience

Office Decorating Experience

I am writing this 'artist experience' in the hopes of helping other artists in their awareness of what I deem to be unfair practices.

Approximately 5 months ago I was contacted through my website to provide artwork to decorate the walls of a suite of offices. Having never done this before I was unsure how to negotiate. The value of all of the paintings was $4700.00 and I proposed a small rental fee of 3% per month  ( $140.00 per month ) and a commission on sales of 10% back to the office owners on paintings sold. This offer was refused and I decided to hang my artwork anyway for a period of up to 6 months on a trial basis.

Recently,  I went in to the offices to collect my artwork.  I received a 'thank you' from the receptionist. Neither of the two professionals  whose office space had been decorated for free for a total of 142 days bothered to venture away from their desks to acknowledge my presence and offer a 'thank you'. I find this inconsiderate and very rude.

I am sure this same office space is being cleaned on a regular basis of at least once per week.  I have my house cleaned on a regular basis (2500 sq. ft.) for $60 which would be $240/month.

When comparing these two services the art rental cost comes out to 58% less than the cleaning cost.

What makes some people  undervalue original artwork?  Why was my experience, education, time and finished 'goods' deemed to be of no value other than free decoration?

Artists are constantly asked to donate artwork for fund-raising auctions and other events of a similar nature. I am wondering why the services of  Doctors, Dentists, Accountants, Engineers, Plumbers, Carpenters  and many other 'professionals' are not usually on these fund-raising lists of items and services to be auctioned off for  good causes? What makes original artwork the 'go to' item to be donated or given away for 'free'???

I have learned from this venture  and will be careful  from now on to only  put my artwork out with either  a consignment contract,  rental contract or bill of sale.

Art and Life: Pain and Sorrow

Art and Life: Pain and Sorrow

Pain and Sorrow

The last 4 months have been rough ones full of 24/7 pain and sorrow. Constant nagging pain has me in a weakened state and extremely emotional. The loss of my little Duffy, the best Westie ever, is very hard to deal with in my present state. One day at a time.

This painting was done for an exhibition with a colour limitation of reds, blues and white with black being allowed only for mixing.  This is what evolved.  It was done totally intuitively and I see a reflection of my consciousness.  I see my spaced out emotions and the jagged edges of pain, both emotional and physical, spinning slowly, going on and on.

Interesting what happens on the canvas when you don't think and just let it happen.

Life is Change

The past 6 months or so I have been very busy working away trying to find a way to create that cohesive 'body of work' that has always been so elusive for me. So many techniques are calling to me and I find it hard to stay on track for more than 4 or 5 paintings in a row.

In the midst of re-working paintings that I was not happy with I have stumbled on some works that I am liking very much and that say what I want to say.

I have always been interested in life's cycles and how a 'new'  discovery is something 'old' that has been uncovered or found. I truly believe that our planet has been through every possible change many, many times before and will continue forever in a state of change as well as the entire universe and whatever else is out there.

These thoughts are coming out in my latest works with  circles, grids, layering and scraping away to reveal a hint of what has gone before.  I am excited to stay on track and get many more pieces of work done in this theme!

My favourite quote:  "Life is Change, and to have Lived is to have Changed Often" (Goethe).

A New Direction

I have been working away for many months on combining collage pieces that I am creating with random marks and lines with even more intuitive painting done with scrapers, pouring, spraying and finger painting.

The resulting works are, to me, very expressive and loose.  These are done from the heart and both fun and scary at the same time.

Exhibiting them will be a whole other thing too as they are quite different from my creations of the last few years.

I am happiest when learning new things and stretching myself in new directions and that is the main reason why I paint in the first place.

It's the putting them out there in the open for other people to judge that is the part of this art-making that I am not particularly fond of.

I know most artists share this feeling - that's just the way the cookie crumbles!

Alone Together

Because I work alone at home in a rural setting, it can get lonely and uninspiring, especially during an exceptionally long and cold winter. 

I recently joined a Thursday morning group of 6 people and this is what I produced on the first day.  I am very happy with the results of combining collage and paint in a very loose and gestural manner.  I've even got some great blues and blue-greens that come close to a robin's egg blue, one of my favourite colours!

The square one is 12" x 12" x 1.5" and I think a black float frame will jazz it up. The series of 4 will be framed in black frames with a white mat.

 After a winter of being frustrated and non-productive it is wonderful to be creating again!!

New Work

Finally!  Some new work!! I have been sick with Bronchitis for such a long time!  Today I actually felt like trying to make some new artwork and like what evolved!

This has been such a dreary winter - cold, lots of snow, but sunny!  Everyone is counting the weeks now!
I think the time has finally come for me to plant some heritage tomato seeds that I have saved.  It will be fun watching the tiny seedlings grow and the snow melt back!

I have started a 20" x 20" canvas and that will also be fun to see how it turns out :)

Focusing

This was a very busy and rewarding week - almost two weeks actually.

I've decided that a blog post each and every week is too much so I have geared down to twice a month. This way it gives me more time to finish things and possibly have something to say!

One of the 6 white canvases has turned into a vase of flowers.  It started out as an abstract but morphed along the way.  I'm thinking the deep freeze we have been in here this winter must have something to do with it.  Two more 8" x 8" canvases have been started - it would be nice to have three similar ones to be a little series but I won't know until I get going which direction they will take.  I am hoping for more vases with flowers!

This week also been a crocheting and knitting time. It all started with a friend wanting me to teach her how to crochet an infinity scarf.  I now have completed two of these scarves in different patterns and colours.  Turquoise for one; chartreuse for the other!  Next on the go is a knitted dish cloth - why I'm doing this is a mystery - the yarn just called out to me in the store!

I also read Neil Young's autobiography "Waging Heavy Peace" - an exceptionally good read!

So the next two weeks I will be on a mission to focus on more vase with flowers paintings with the goal of keeping my head in 'series' mode and not flying off in all kinds of other directions!

Happy Days

My goal has been reached this week!  Two new pieces have been finished which makes me very happy!

It feels very uplifting to have peaceful, creative time and get rid of that 'artist's block' anxiety that was wearing me down. Being able to create something from that relaxed, happy place of being in your own head and letting whatever is in there  come forth onto the canvas in it's own way is such a fun experience.

Starting another one right now!

Artist's Block!

So my goal of doing something artsy every week has kind of hit a snag - Artist Block!!!!
I have succeeded in working and re-working 2 small collages to the point that they are now in my trash bin.
The other 6 canvases shown above have been worked on and gessoed over quite a few times!
Now I have them all lined up staring at me with their blank white faces - not a happy sight!

This week has seen way too many interruptions - one of the major downfalls of having a home studio with a retired husband and a very senior dog.

I won't have time now to try anything artsy for a few more days.  This is making me very anxious and antsy as I want to DO something!!!

I know I can find my 'happy place' and concentrate on creating something just for my own peace of mind - one of these days!

I think some time on my treadmill will be useful right about now!

My consolation is that I know all creative people hit these roadblocks from time time and it will pass.  I just need this to pass quickly!!!