Spring Art Show POSTER12

Aeolian Hall Art Show

I am pleased to have some of my paintings featured as part of a group show at the Aeolian Hall in London, Ontario. The show is there until June 2nd – why not take in a concert and enjoy the art too? About the opening – I am teaching that night, but will try to get there near the end of the opening. 
ShepT

Sticky Stuff

Do you know that sticky stuff that they sell in office supply stores for putting posters on the wall? It comes in white or blue. I find the white is very useful for art purposes, and I’m not putting posters on the wall. First, it makes a wonderful eraser for pencil lines on watercolour paper or canvas. It picks up the pencil without smearing – similar to a kneadable eraser – but cheaper! It also lasts much longer than a kneadable eraser. As well, I use it to hold the wax paper onto my white cardboard that serves as my palette. Less fuss than taping down new wax paper when the palette needs changing. I like it a lot – even have a gob of it in my purse in a small ziplock bag! It goes along with the sketching pencil. 
CloudsT

Inspiration

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try.” Dr. Seuss Here’s a fun photo for you to ponder. Can you guess what this image is? Make your guess before reading the rest of the blog. (Find link on my homepage blog, cherylo.ca  if you are reading this on facebook or elsewhere.) Inspiration for art is all around us. And if you want to go wild with colour, take a look at the galaxy photos from the Hubble telescope, or some from macro photography – think high, think low! I’m betting you will find some colour combinations that you never dreamed of. 
Port2T

The Failure Factor

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another without loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill – You might think of me as that person who is constantly encouraging artists; at least, I hope you do. Today however I have some sobering information that you need to absorb. I call it “The Failure Factor”. Put quite simply, it is this – creative people fail more often than non creative people. This makes sense when you understand the definition of being creative. To be creative is to make something new – to combine things that were previously not combined and make something new that is useful or esthetically pleasing. So, someone who does the same thing the same way, time after time, may never fail. But they are also not being creative. It is necessary for you to grasp this failure factor so that you will not be discouraged with failing, but will understand that failure is a necessary part of being creative. Because of this, to be creative takes real courage and a spirit willing to persevere as well. Read that quote again by Churchill at the start of this blog – does it make more sense to you now?