Pastels and portraits with Joan Larson

This past weekend I spent time at one of my favourite places - Twincreeks - with some of my favourite people, doing my favourite thing - creating images of horses. Last spring I did a painting horses workshop at Twincreeks and mentioned to Deb that we should try to get some other artists to do similar workshops. Through good fortune, Deb and Launie were able to talk Joan Larson into doing the workshop to share her skills.
Now, I often say that when I buy a horse, I can tell a lot about the horse by the owner. I think I will extend that sentiment to artists as well. I have always been a fan of Joan's work and after spending a weekend with her, have even more respect for her. Generousity and humility are virtues that I value highly, and this lady exudes plenty of both. She shared graciously her own lessons, goals, tips and secrets. When I left, I truly felt blessed to have learned from her - to have benefited from her eyes and suggestions on my work and to have watched her in action. Sometimes in life, but rarely, the stars align for us. When they do, we need to be attentive, responsive and observant. I look forward to spending more time with her and the other artists I spent the weekend with. Thanks Deb and Launie, once again for your hospitality. I hope that the little gift of "Topper" graces the walls of your home and welcomes future guests for years to come.

My art goal this year was to learn pastels so this was great. Joan gave us a demo Friday night and I saw lots of ability to transfer lessons from drawing and acrylics over to this medium. So, I started with a photo of a filly of Linda and Tom Baxter's that I fell in love with this fall. That went well (fourth photo), so I moved onto another photo of Topper that I did this fall as well. I must admit that it was great to have good source photos of my own - helped me immensely with inspiration and quality lighting. The last one I tried (second shown) was out of my ordinary - pinks and purples - a horse that must be a Peruvian by the way he holds his feet - looks a bit like a friend Linda Warnock's horse Smoke so I called him "Pucka Pucka". The other shot is of me giving Deb the image of Topper - and we have Joan in the photo as well. So, lots to practice to learn this new medium but I love the way it works so am looking quite forward to adding it to my repertoire. Thanks Joan!

iphone shots - sorry they aren't the best quality!

Mulled wine and art

This past four days was the annual Cedar Yellowpoint Artisan Tour. My second year on the tour, this one proved to be even busier than last year - so thanks to my friends Brenda and Lesley for helping out at the til! Six paintings, two commissions and lots of other art items sold - so by all means, a real success.

The idea of artisans working together to build a cluster and cooperatively market their goods is something I strongly advocate for in my "other job". Rural operators and those in the arts often have extra barriers to overcome to make their entrepreneurial visions come to life. So, I feel quite fortunate for where I am in terms of the artisans near me.

I had a two guest artisans - Lesley Lorenz, a friend who does wonderful acrylics and portraits (and who will be offering two workshops this spring), and Davis Hammer, who does amazing photography. Also, I had friends like Micki McCartney, Joan McCartney, Mary Carr, Sylvia Hall-Andrews and my sister Michelle Smith all contribute items to the mix. Thanks gang, everything was a big hit. We raised about $350 for the Big Heart Rescue via sales of painted animal ornaments and ""surf girl" soaps.

I am trying to use the Broody Rooster to inspire all things creative - and take in the many talents of the friends close to me in providing opportunities for others to find something that works for them. We have launched a fantastic workshop schedule for the 2012 spring season including everything from painting to photography, quilting, portraits, canning, furniture repair and pastry making. If you are keen to sign up, the entire schedule is on http://www.broodyrooster.com/ and you can also pay online too.

Gifts for the hard to give for...

We all have those special people in our lives that are super hard to buy for - they have everything or could just purchase it on their own. One gift to consider getting for these types is a gift certificate for a photo session or a commissioned piece of art. This type of present will last forever and capture the things that are important to them - memories.

I provided a special offer to the Take Five Magazine in this November's edition - so will make it available to people here as well as they are great discounts. I have these gift certificates done up in pretty packaging so you can give them in a stocking or as a main gift.

Photo session $125 (2 hour session with a CD of images in high resolution) Regular $200 value!
Commisioned painting $125 for an 11x14 or $200 for a 16x20. 15% off!

So, stop by the Broody Rooster during the holidays (open weekends til Dec 20 from 10 - 4 pm) to grab one of these for the hard to give folks on your list. AND - if you get to me in time, there is still a possibility that I can do the painting for you in time for Christmas! (happened last year as a surprise).

Hope to see you next week from Nov 17-20 during the Artisan Tour!