As part of their 150th Anniversary celebrations of the Ontario Society of Artists, Honourable Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdswell selected artworks for display at the Ontario Parliament Building and images of the artwork to appear in a booklet to give to all of her visitors.
One of the paintings selected was my piece Winter Solitude, a 24 x 30 inch oil on canvas painting of a scene on Shaws Creek Road in Caledon.
The sky is completed first, as it sets the mood with the depth of the forest achieved with a blend of alizarin crimson, and Prussian blue. To bring out the impression of trees, various tones of colour are added with the main greens as olive green and Prussian green, with triple zero brushes.
Viewers perceive the snow as white, but if they look closely, there is no white, but instead thin glazes of cobalt turquoise, magenta, cerulean blue and rose dore in an overlapping effect.
To glaze, I use a heavier amount of Liquin Fine Detail with a tiny amount of paint so that it becomes transparent shades, and mix in a saved jar cap. Spaghetti sauce and relish lids are the best.
Trees in the foreground are introduced after the background is complete.
Participating artists were invited to a reception at her residence and the invitation specified business attire. There are different interpretations of business attire, and usually one thinks of business suits and blazers, but for artists, business attire holds a different meaning.
When you visit me at the Alton Mill Arts Centre, I would be in my paint-covered jeans (I’m a messy painter) and each imbedded streak of colour represents hours of hard work and concentration on a work of art.
Part of my business attire are my fuzzy socks, and I have an assortment, different colours, some with faces, and some that look like paws.
People describe an artist as eccentric and usually roll their eyes. However, eccentric means unconventional or slightly strange, but I would classify myself instead as comfortable. I think if you are inviting artists in their business attire, this is what you would expect to see.
Those around me disagreed (except other artists) and I had to pass dress inspection, before heading to this wonderful event. Accompanied by another invited artist, we took the subway to our destination, but it shut down for a period of time stranding us in dim light waiting for mechanical issues to be resolved. I know lighting would have been improved if I was wearing my neon lime green fuzzy socks.