Backyard View

The  wooden fence marching haphazardly along the border of these backyards seemed to point to the roofs asking me to look up and see this. And so, once again I was attracted to roofs! This time their assortment of shape, size and direction is what interested me and made me want to paint this happy place. The garden shed, although not the most important building, nevertheless, is the star of the show, as is only fitting as far as myself and other gardeners are concerned. 

Home On Elmwood

I have both driven and walked by this home on Elmwood and have always been intrigued by it. One beautiful sunny day I had my camera with me as I passed by and took several photos. I used these as references to paint this. The shadows created by the strong sunlight seemed to highlight the features of this home which make it both unique and enchanting.

Autumn In The Village

A group of friends and I were on our way to enjoy coffee and treats at The Black Walnut on Wortley when we passed by an opening between buildings which captured my attention. Luckily I had my camera with me and took a couple of quick photos and then hurried to catch up with the group. Much later, I used the photos as references to paint the scene I have called Autumn In The Village.

There's Something About Rooflines

 I am not sure what I find so attractive about roof lines, but perhaps it is the rhythm created as they repeat and diminish. Their contrasts of light against dark, earth bound against the sky, hold some kind of magic for me.

In The HeART of Old South: Porch Light

If you are walking down Wortley Street you won't see any pink houses and yet this one in my painting is! This home always seems to me to be a very happy place and so I made it a happy colour. Incidentally, it was the chair on this porch which started me thinking about chairs, and was the inspiration for Summer Chairs #1 and 2

Old South's beauty saluted by artists who know it well | Entertainment | London Free Press

Old South's beauty saluted by artists who know it well | Entertainment | London Free Press

The Heart of Old South: Vespers

Vespers

The end of a Spring day in Old South celebrated by birds overhead singing the sun to sleep as they rest on a wire, basking in its last rays. This was a wonderful evening for a walk through the village and a good source of inspiration.

The Heart of Old South : Wortley Village Homes

Wortley Village Homes

This painting is the result of  a walk through the village with a good friend noticing the amazing variety of roof lines and porch styles to be found in Old South, as well as  stained glass windows of all shapes and sizes. In order to show the roof lines and porches, it was necessary to use an angle that did not allow a good view of the windows. I decided to use elements from a stained glass window seen on a previous walk in the village, as a border. The painting itself then became part of a stained glass window. To avoid symmetry I added the words along the left.
I have explored roof lines in other paintings which may be seen in this show.

The Heart of Old South: Window on Wortley

Window On Wortley

This is another painting that will be in the show, The Heart of Old South at The Art Exchange.
One of the really delightful things about Wortley Village in Old South is the way the independent shopkeepers take the time to make their shops attractive with unique window displays, window boxes, and signs.
If you have ever driven or walked down Wortley Road, you can't help but have noticed the shop at the corner of Emery and Wortley with its bright yellow bicycle and fabulous window boxes exploding with seasonal flowers.
In my painting, Window On Wortley, I have chosen to paint from the interior of the shop. The bicycle is purple because it works better in the painting that way. Peeking through the spokes of the bicycle are spring daffodils, one of my favourite spring flowers.

The Heart Of Old South: The Industrial Revolution

As The Crows Fly

If you are like me, when you think of The Industrial Revolution, words such as elegant, fanciful, romantic and decorative don't immediately pop into your head. Yet the Industrial Revolution provided new technologies which allowed builders to use mass-produced pre-cut architectural trim to produce houses which are certainly elegant, fanciful, romantic and decorative. The age of the machine produced some of the most elaborate and feminine homes found in Old South London. Turned porch supports, gable details, gingerbread trim and all sorts of decorative woodwork details were made possible and affordable by machine made woodworking which was then transported by railway. The growth of the rail system allowed mass produced items to be easily transported. The talented local builders were then able to use their skill and imagination to combine these items with bay windows, turrets, porches, brackets, stained glass windows and transoms and other decorative items in surprising and pleasing ways to produce enchantingly unique homes. These features appear, not only on large stately homes, but also on smaller working class homes and cottages. Wonderful!
This is my whimsical interpretation of Old South, As The Crows Fly......rooftops,decorative gables, gingerbread and fish scale trim, windows of all sorts, an Old Ontario Cottage, trees in three seasons, towers, one lovely porch pergola, steeples and, of course, the ubiquitous crows.

The Heart of Old South: Summer Chairs: # 2

Summer Chairs # 2

On the left is Summer Chairs #2 , one of my paintings that will be in the group show, The Heart of Old South, at The Art Exchange from November 21st to December 24th.
 I love the porches on many of the homes in Old South London.  As a child I spent many pleasant summer afternoons on my great aunt's porch on Winsor Ave.
As I walked through Old South while preparing for the show, I began to notice all the different chairs on the porches I saw. That started me thinking about the summer chairs we use on porches, decks and lawns in the summer. I began to play with images of chairs. Summer Chairs #1 was the result , a pen and ink piece you can see at the show or on my website. ( Just click on galleries and choose Old South London. )
I had so much fun with Summer Chairs #1  that I did a second similar piece in watercolour and pen. I added geraniums both in watercolour and in pen in the background  as a reference to all the Geranium Walks that have been held in Old South London.

Show at The Art Exchange:The Heart of Old South: "Caw Tales"

Bird Watching On Elmwood

This is one of my paintings which will be part of the group show at The Art Exchange from Nov.21st to Dec. 24th.

The working title of this piece was Caw Tale. Here is the reason.

When my grandson was very young, he called the crows, which are frequently seen and heard in Old South, caw tails. ( It was very poetic, I thought, but then, what grandmother wouldn't have thought the same thing? ).
Later, when he began to attend a daycare on Elmwood Ave, I occasionally picked him up at the end of the day. I felt like an old crone next to all the lovely young women who worked there as well as next to all the beautiful young moms.
One day, as I walked to the daycare from my car, I noticed the rooftop of a house on Elmwood and I loved the way it peeked out from the trees. Some years later, when I was preparing for our show, I decided to use the image of that particular house. I added a crow, partly because they are often to be found in the large trees in Old South, partly as a reminder of earlier years with my grandson but also as a companion for the old crone in my tale.
When it was finished I changed the title ( twice ), since Caw Tale probably made sense only to me. Its current title is, Bird Watching On Elmwood.

Upcoming Show

Occupy London, Victoria Park

My friend, Cheryl and I renewed our once a week sketching session earlier this week and returned to Victoria Park where we have spent many hours sketching. This time, rather than choosing the lovely old homes across from the park or the businesses on Richmond Street as our subjects, we turned our attention to the tents set up in the park by those who are part of Occupy London. It made for an interesting change...the tents are an intriguing combination of both organic and geometric shapes. It was pretty cold but we persevered.

Lost In Venice

This is the first piece I have completed since returning from Italy. It is a pen and ink drawing of several buildings in Venice, most of which I have repeated in different sizes to give the impression of being wonderfully lost, as my husband and I were several times. We saw the same buildings over and over from different distances. The lion statue was something we both loved and we passed it several times as we meandered, lost, through the fabulous city of Venice.