Featuring John Nussbaum and Canada Day Art Exhibition

Art is a Journey

John Nussbaum is a wonderful watercolour artist, and new to the Richmond Hill Studio Tour. He has shared some musings on his artistic process as well as his beautiful works of art.

Art is a journey that travels in several directions, to many destinations & in all kinds of weather.  The important thing is to have fun, make the most of it & enjoy the activity. Successfully realizing one’s creativity generates a great deal of satisfaction, with a fair dollop of frustration on the way. Even greater enjoyment arises when hurdles are overcome & positive feedback springs from appreciation by others.

For many years I have found time to paint & enjoy a variety of media.  Watercolour is, however, my favourite.  The interplay of colours, shapes & transparency fascinate me. They facilitate a great degree of freedom and fun. The wet flowing colours & shapes create happy effects. A free hand characterises my works, emanating from a loose approach and an emphasis on colour as the dominant element, setting the mood.

Multiple layers of masking fluid come into play within my work. This generate a fair amount of dynamism and reveal my distinctive style. Another technique I apply extensively is mounting my finished watercolour paper on a rigid surface (often gallery canvas), then spraying & brushing several layers of fixative & varnish for protection. The result is contemporary and ready-to-hang painting. You will find more of John Nussbaum's work on his website and during this year's studio tour, which will be held on the October 15th and 16th weekend.

Canada Day

The most anticipated event of the year in our community amazes thousands every year with live entertainment, a children's village and teen zone, a beer garden and food pavilion, a family-friendly midway and a marketplace and art exhibition. 

This is an event not to be missed!

Event Details:
Richmond Green Park (located at the northwest corner of Elgin Mills Road East and Leslie Street)
Friday, July 1, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Fireworks: 10 p.m. (rain or shine)

Visit http://www.RichmondHill.ca/CanadaDay for more event information, including schedules, shuttle bus routes, entertainment and sponsors.

We look forward to celebrating Canada Day with you!

Lori Dreyer Spendiff: The Magic of the Medium

This week's blog post is written by Lori Dreyer Spendiff. Although new to the studio tour, Lori is not new to the making of art. She is a highly skilled watercolourist and beloved fine art educator. 

Orange Dream

Drop Aureolin (yellow) onto wet watercolour paper and watch it spread.  Add a puddle of Permanent Rose and then watch the two colours mingle to make orange.  Repeat with Prussian Blue.  Tilt the paper, letting gravity do its job, and you’ll see purple, green and grey appear in the mix.  It doesn’t matter how often I demonstrate this basic watercolour technique, it never fails to impress me. I love the process and challenge of watercolour.  The endless variations and possibilities are a constant source of inspiration.

Primary Colour Blend

I enjoy working in the traditional watercolour method.  Layers of transparent washes are built up to create intense colour, deep shadows, and inviting textures.  As the only white I use is the white of the paper, the challenge is to build the layers without losing the lights.  Once you lose them, they’re gone.  And too many layers of even the most transparent paint can become muddy, especially in the dark areas and shadows.  Put down the brush and walk away!

Jet Eye

Creating texture can be difficult, but fun, even when it backfires.  Watercolourists are the original faux-finishers, and we use all kinds of items and tools (salt, plastic wrap, sponges, just to name a few) to disturb the paint while it dries, or to apply paint on a dry background.  Many of my texturing experiments have inspired future pieces – I love the results, which are sometimes not what I expected, and look for a way to work them into a painting.

Fall Colour

Translating the images in my mind onto paper is not always easy.  Watercolour can be unforgiving.  There is nowhere to hide, no cover-up, and no turning back.  But it is also exciting – those first few washes are filled with so much possibility.  I never know exactly how the pigment will settle into the pores of the paper until it has dried completely.  Many of my paintings are never finished, but I find the process so satisfying that I am inspired to try again.  And again.  When all the elements do come together, and the painting works – it’s magic!

Fort Myers Pier

I am honoured to be a part of this year’s Richmond Hill Studio Tour.  Drop in and see my work at the Boynton House during the tour, on October 15 & 16, 2016.  For information on my classes and workshops, please visit my website or my Facebook page.

Sue Foerster: Works In Progress

Sue Foerster is giving us a sneak peak into her artists studio this week as she prepares for this year's Studio Tour, which will be taking place during the weekend of October 15th and 16th. Sue will be showing her work at the Mill Pond Gallery site.

Sketch of Barbie the ballerina.

Preparing a background in oil and cold wax.

Painted figure work in progress.

If you would like to stay up-to-date on her progress, please follow her on her blog. And subscribe to our email list, and have fresh images from talented artists such as Sue delivered to your email each week!

Yvette Daou-Yacoub: The Beading Artist

When I started beading 13 years ago, all I wanted is to create jewelry and accessories. I love jewellery, I love fashion. To me, no outfit is complete without accessories. What got me started first and foremost was the fact that I could never find the proper pieces of jewellery or accessories when I went shopping for clothes. Yes, the market is flooded with accessories, but never the proper ones for me. And, when I found a piece that I like, either it was very expensive or not in line with current fashions. At that point, I made me decision: I had to start making and designing my own jewellery.

So, this is how my beading journey got started! I signed up for jewellery making courses, beading workshops and taking gemology courses. My first gemology class was the study of pearts at the Canadian Jewellers Institute. Pearls are the most amazing organic gemstones, and with the technology of today, they are produced in so many forms, shapes and colours, sometimes natural and other times cultivated or even artificially made.

The more I educated myself about beads, the more I fell in love with the trade. I started designing jewellery for myself, then for my sisters, then for my friends, then for neighbours and colleagues, and the circle started getting wider and wider…  I started showing my designs by having jewellery parties and open houses.  All the ladies kept admiring my pieces and complimenting me by saying: “Yvette, you are so talented, your work is a piece of art”, “Yvette, you are such an artist, I love your work. I have been receiving so many compliments on that necklace I bought from you last year”. Suddenly, it dawned on me; beading is a form of Art!

Few years later I started receiving orders for Bridal Parties, it was not just to make jewellery, but it was for centre pieces.  One bride needed crystals drops for her tree as a centre piece.  So I started creating and designing beaded items for decorations, and Holiday themes.  My beading journey took a different turn all of a sudden. I cannot call it just beaded jewellery anymore, I am designing and creating more than just that, I had to change the name to Beaded Art items, so I can include all the other decorative items, such as: Holiday items, Key Chains, Book marks, Sunglass holders, napkin rings, purse enhancers, Tiaras, hair combs, window Sun Catchers…

I am called the Beading Artist now, I am creating items with beads, and I am designing jewellery with all sorts of beads.  My horizon have widened so much, the sky is my limit.

The studio tour is during the weekend of October 15th and 16th. Please mark your calendar and plan on visiting some of our amazing artists.