Northern Alberta with Jack

Jack teaching art at grandson's grade three class. he is the one holding up his paper,in front of bulletin boardThe School is in Whitecourt Alberta


Here Jack is being intoduced by grandson Tyler,in his grade 4 class

Here we are on Lesser Slave Lake,at Fault Alberta This is a Walleye of 20 " in length.You were allowed to keep only one fish over 17". the rest had to be released,and since we used barbless hooks it was easy , My tally for 3 days was 198.We had 14 family members in our group ,and we ate 45 fish in the three days,fried baked & deep fried. On Sat., night there was a huge steak fry,all you could eat at 4:30 pm, followed by a huge fish fry Sunday at 8:30 pm.a breakfast buffet the next morning all for $ 35.00. We were stuffed never had to eat untill late Sunday

This is at one am., in the land of midnight sun, by 4 am the sun was up at about the 10 am., position here. We only had rain just out side of Whitecourt on the way home ,the average temp up there was 23in the day and 11 at night. After the fishing and Art class we spent a day with Tylers class at Fort Edmonton in Edmonton. then left for home at 5:oo am the next day, tired but very happy.

And the Winner Is!

Recently one of our members, Shirley McFarlene, took first prize in a juried art show. Congratulations Shirley! A wonderful artist and person.

Welcome Back Diane

It was great to have Diane back at our weekly meeting today. Diane has been absent for several weeks and was certainly missed. She had been back to her home in northern Ontario for an extended visit with her mother who is recovering from surgery. Diane exhibited three paintings today - all three were great, however this is my favourite. During our luncheon, Diane had a story to relate. Ask Diane about her evening out for a glass of wine while she was up north!

Josee Rocks!

Josee returned to the group today after vacationing in Luxembourg. Prior to Josee's vacation, Sharon snapped candid photos of Josee as she virtually pranced around with a guitar. Dolores then did a quick painting to capture the moment. Imagine Josee's surprise as the painting was unveiled during our morning critique. The group also met today at Paddy's for our monthly luncheon where we heard Josee relate the story of her voyage to Canada on a freighter when she was just 21 years old. We heard how she was the only female on the ship!! Long moon lit nights crossing the ocean - I wonder what stories we did not hear.

Views of Niagara Falls

Recently we returned from four days in Niagara Falls, where we enjoyed sightseeing on both sides of the river. The American views are not as well-known as our familiar Canadian side, but it's still a thrill to get so close to the rushing water. Here are just a few of the many pictures that I took on the trip. If any of these inspire you to pick up a paint brush, please feel free to use them as reference material!

Here is part of the spectacular view from our 21st floor balcony.

This is the American Falls, looking towards Canada, with the Horseshoe Falls at the back.
American Falls: we could walk right up close, and feel the spray.

The Falls are illuminated at night, and this night there were also great fireworks.

This lovely park is across the road from our hotel, with the Falls there at the back.

A type of peony flower, perhaps?

We saw three wedding parties in a couple of hours at the park, on the Saturday in this "Honeymoon Capital of the World". This shot just shows more of the lovely flowers there.

First Friday

A beautiful summer evening, Sarnia's downtown sidewalks filled with patrons of First Friday, galleries alive with so many people - that was the scene last night for Sarnia's First Friday Artwalk.

With a friend, I first stopped at the Imperial Theatre to view "Public Displays of Affection". Photography by Hailey McHarg captures souls and lets us into what her subjects love. A showcase to help others recognize the passion of these individuals.

Hailey on the left chatting with a viewer.

Next stop - Gallery Lambton to view this year's Student Art Exhibition - very lively with a sense of fun. Working in cooperation with nine of Lambton County's secondary schools, this art exhibition features art work by students from grade nine through twelve. A wide range of media is represented, including work in painting, drawing, print-making, design, sculpture, mixed media, photography and computer art. Through this exhibition Gallery Lambton encourages the idea that art is for everyone and that learning is both knowledge based and experiential.









Left - Band outside Gallery Lambton.
Below - art by students.




































Pierre Houle along with live music from "Operation Hot Mother" appeared at the Cheeky Monkey. Pierre Houle has had a life long passion for the beauty of the natural world and captures this vision with his camera. Pierre captures breath taking panoramic images of Sarnia and Western Canada.

Mary Louise White showed her acrylic paintings and glass at Bear Creek Studio. Mary Louise operates a gallery/studio in Port Stanley and her work was also featured as a part of the Grand Bend Studio Tour.

It was a tight squeeze to get into Artopia Gallery - people wall to wall! Ian McLean was the featured artist with his latest series of paintings exploring imagined private residential exteriors. An established local artist, Ian McLean has exhibited extensively in Ontario and teaches art at Northern Collegiate.

An inhabited home built on the roof of a tall building downtown is shown below. High in the sky!





This is high living!








The Lawrence House featured Wolf Mendritzki demonstrating printmaking in the FROG Studio. Wolf is pictured to the left.


Barbara Klunder's "Deep Papercuts" and book signing took place in the main gallery.





Upstairs in the Turret Room multimedia artist Cat Cabajar displayed her art. Cat demonstrated the delicate and ornate art of henna in the form of tattoos.


Below are photos of the band at the Lawrence House and Cat drawing a tattoo along with a finished tattoo - interesting canvases.















































At First Sarnia Place, Peg Kivi's art enhanced the model suite. The condo came alive with the addition of Peg's acrylics so rich and textural. Her style has developed from realism to abstraction and most recently to conceptualism. Peg invites her viewers to allow themselves to be taken into her painting and to derive personal meaning through the rich layers of colour and texture.







On The Front Restuarant featured the unique and lively art of Judy Brady. Beautifully framed, jewel like acrylics on canvas filled the round room on the fourteenth floor of the First Sarnia Place building . Above, Judy poses with one of her paintings.







The evening ended with drinks at On The Front Restaurant.

The band plays on the balcony. What a great view.

Below are photos taken from the balcony
on the 14th floor restaurant.

Harmonious Triangle

While surfing the Wet Canvas site tonight I came across this diagram for placing the center of interest in a painting or photograph. It's called the Harmonious Triangle in Composition and is yet another method to achieve a pleasing composition. Depending on your subject and the orientation of your scene, you would place your center of interest on either of the intersections.



Rule of Thirds, Golden Mean, or Harmonious Triangle - sometimes breaking the "rules" works as well.