Saturday August 24th will always be a red letter day for me, as this was the date that I took part in not only my first artwalk, but my first exhibition to the general public. Before this date, all my shows had either been private bookings in my gallery or charity auctions that I had arranged for friends and family. So, for me, this event was a big deal!
The day began with some good old fashioned manual labour. My wife and I got the cars loaded with canvases, grid walls, easels, paint supplies and a 10′ x 10′ tent. After the 30 minute drive to Burloak Waterfront Park, we got to work setting everything up, which all in, took over an hour in the blazing hot August sun 🥵
But, as 10am rolled around, everything was ready to go. Art enthusiasts and general members of the public alike began casually moving from tent to tent, browsing the work of the participating artists. I felt lucky to be listed among that company, as some of the art on display was utterly incredible. So many different styles and bodies of work.
I decided to try something I had never done before: en plein air! It was a beautiful (although terribly hot) summer day; I had a prime view of Lake Ontario from my tent location; I was surrounded by art, and so, surrounded by inspiration; And I had 6 hours to keep myself occupied!
And so I painted a 36″ x 36″ canvas live in the park. I went with an aquatic palette, inspired by my love (and view) of Lake Ontario.
I had prepped the canvas the night before with my usual recipe of modelling paste and black gesso. It had some wonderfully gnarly textures by the morning!
I mixed some lovely teal-blue as the main field, but added in a field of buff titanium for softening. Then, the orange, pink, emerald and iridescent green-blue highlights followed.
Anyone who signed up to my mailing list on the day was also entered into a prize draw to win this painting, so it was a good conversation starter as it was drying in the open air!
I also had a visit from my kids in the afternoon. That was definitely a lot of fun. My five year old son was so excited about the prospect of helping me “sell art in my shop” that he quickly jumped into action, shouting out loud “PAINTINGS! PAINTINGS! COME AND GET YOUR PAINTINGS!”. He also got excited whenever someone approached my tent, calling to me “Daddy, you have a customer!”.
Can you tell he’s going through his “shop” phase 🤣
This goes without saying, but meeting the folks at the artwalk who came into my tent, shared their stories and asked me about my paintings was perhaps the best highlight of all!
I connected with so many interesting people, both spectator and fellow artist, and it was very fulfilling to finally find a community of artists and art lovers who were supportive and encouraging and were just as happy to be connected through our mutual love of art as I was.
It was a tiring but enriching, wonderful experience and I look forward to the next one.
Thanks for reading ✌🏻
