The McMichael Volunteer Committee presents the Autumn Art Sale

Once again I am delighted to be participating in the Autumn Art Sale Fundraiser presented by the Volunteer Committee of the beautiful McMichael Collection in Kleinburg Ontario.

 From the volunteer committee:

With accomplished artists from across Canada applying for 50 coveted positions, the Autumn Art Sale is recognized as one of the most prestigious events displaying original works of art from some of Canada's most talented painters and sculptors. This sale is a major fundraiser for the iconic McMichael Collection. There is no better venue than the gallery's stunning Grand Hall to showcase these top artists. This is your opportunity to invest in a beautiful piece of original Canadian art that will provide a lifetime of enjoyment and exceptional investment.

If you're in the area, I'd like to invite you to come for the sale.  Admission is free with your $5 parking.   Stay for the gala on Friday night, or visit the beautiful gallery and walk the gorgeous property of the McMichael Collection on Saturday or Sunday.

Thanks to your support last year, I was one of the top 10 participating artists of last year's event. I hope to see some of you again this year. I will have over 40 new paintings available at the sale.  I'll post some of them here in the next few days. Or visit my facebook or instagram pages @shannonreynoldsart .

The Year of the Rooster...or the Coxcomb?

French Black Copper Maran Rooster (sporting a glorious coxcomb), oil on canvas panel, 8" x 8"

A rooster is often characterized by his coxcomb: the fleshy crest found on the heads of many gallinaceous (you know, the order consisting largely of domestic fowl) birds.  A variant meaning of coxcomb especially in Shakespeare and earlier literature is a loud, vain, and self-important man.

My favourite reference has to be from Henry V:

If the enemy is an ass and a fool and a prating
coxcomb, is it meet, think you, that we should also,
look you, be an ass and a fool and a prating
coxcomb? 

--Captain Fluellen to Gower in Act IV scene I

Silver-laced Wyandotte Rooster, oil on panel, 8" x 8"

So, in the spirit of synecdoche (a pronunciation trap for introvert readers if ever there were), whereby a part stands-in for the whole, I think it might be more apropos to rechristen this the year of the coxcomb.

Apologies to the celebrants of the Lunar New Year and roosters everywhere.