A Morning Remembered

A few weeks ago I met a lovely young woman who commissioned me to do a painting for her. July was a busy month with shows but at long last her painting is ready. It's called "A Morning Remembered" and was one of those pieces that was a joy to paint.



*All Image Rights Reserved © Wendy Ryan

Home From Hillside Festival

It always takes a day or two to come down from Hillside Festival. It's one of those special summer festivals full of great music, amazing food and friendly supportive people who stop by my tent and go home with a piece of my art. And if I'm very lucky, I'm blessed with my "Hillside Moment"...that one little treasure that I'll hold in my memory until the next Hillside comes along. And 2008 did not disappoint. This is my 2008 Hillside Moment.

Shortly after six pm on Sunday, just moments after Stuart McLean had taken the stage, the wind blew, the heavens opened, and the rain came down. I can’t remember exactly how many people took refuge in our tent, but we all hung on and prayed that it would hold tight until the storm had passed. The wind was crazy, the rain was pelting down, but it was all over in a matter of moments. The sun came out, the tent cleared, and the show went on…

It soon became time for the Aboriginal Circle to close. As the participants, including eight Tibetan monks turned to face the four corners of the world, singing and drumming, the brightest, most breathtaking rainbow you can imagine arched perfectly above the wigwam.

Everyone was snapping pictures…except me…I never seem to have my camera…but I think I prefer having this one stored away in my memory rather than a photograph...

So now it's time to return to my paints...maybe tomorrow I'll have something new to post...

Madonna Icon Revisited

Sunday night and time to clean my brushes and turn this machine off! I've been working on a few commissions these past few days. One is a gift so of course I can't share it until after the surprise is delivered.
But I can share this one...it's a recreation of one of my previous pieces...a little tweak here and a little tweak there and it's a brand new piece. I've sent a pic off to the collector and they are delighted. This is the best music to my ears.



I loved painting this one...reminds me of pre and early Renaissances. I used lots of texture and gold leaf. Tomorrow, after it's glazed, I'll add a few Swarovski crystals.

*All image rights reserved © Wendy Ryan *

The Garden Pond

Somehow the week has gotten away from me. I started this post last Saturday and the clock ticked away and it remained a draft... But I'm going to go ahead and post it...so for the next paragraph, just pretend it's Saturday.

A glorious weekend off...well, I'll still be painting, but happily, we're not packing up the car for a show! The sun is shining, no sign of rain and even the humidity and mosquitoes seem to have taken bit of a holiday. I don't often share personal photos or stories, I'm not a good photographer, nor a great writer, so the focus of this humble little blog will remain my paintings. But as I so completely enjoyed my morning coffee in the back yard, I thought I'd share a shot of my unkempt garden pond. I made the garden warrior using a hypertufa recipe I found on the interent. I poured the mixture of cement, sand, and peat moss into a plastic pail, caught it before it set and carved it using an old paring knife. He's been guarding the pond for the last four years, surviving even the harshest of winters.


So that was Saturday and now it's Tuesday and I've been painting of course, so I'll share some work with you.



This painting is called "Favourite Friends". It's a collage on gallery wrapped canvas and I've got it up for auction on eBay.

Ive been experimenting with this really cool texture paint I found at the art store. This Frida is definitely Art Deco...a bit industrial, a bit naive, maybe even a bit Nouveau.

It's also for auction on eBay .

*All Image Rights Reserved © Wendy Ryan *

Etude

Back from the Cobourg Waterfront Festival and very happy to have three weeks off before Hillside Festival. I've been so busy with these shows I haven't even had a chance to check out the line up - until tonight. I am so excited! Vinyl Café, Hawksley Workman, Sarah Slean, Cowboy Junkies, Sue Folley, and so many more. It is going to a fantastic weekend! But in the meantime, I've got work to do and bills to pay.

So, the brushes were flying today. I finished this little Frida and have listed it tonight on eBay She's all a-glitter and sitting pretty with her violin and sweet little birds.

I've called this little piece "Etude"...I love music terminology.

*All Image Rights Reserved © Wendy Ryan*