Final Days in the Window Dragonfly Arts on Broadway in Orangeville

It's a sunny warm day at last in southern Ontario.  The snow may finally give way.  This is very late notice, but if you're up for a country drive this weekend, maybe a curvy turn along the Credit Valley and on to Orangeville's scenic little downtown, you could take in my solo storefront window exhibition at Dragonfly Arts on Broadway,  where I'm one of many Canadian artists represented. 

Grey Pony Pair in Harness, oil on panel, 12" x 12" ©Shannon Reynolds

My show comes down Tuesday morning, so don't delay.  Some paintings will stay with the gallery, but most others will have flown. If you arrive outside of business hours, but see something you'd like, please contact me, or the gallery directly.

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.

Portraitist Goes to the Birds

Globe Studios Art Show and Sale Friday November 25th and Saturday November 26th

Well, not entirely.  But I admit I've been painting many birds lately.  I've always been a birder, albeit a non-competitive, opportunistic one.  Birds are a living example of a prehistoric past, astonishing in their variety, and possessors of the perpetually amazing ability to fly.  Given their ubiquity and my recent acquisition of a super zoom camera, I've been turning to them as models more often.

Bird On a Wire, Northern Mockinbird, oil on panel, 12" x 12"

Birds of many a feather I've painted will be on display and for sale at the Globe Studios Art Show and Open House today and tomorrow, from fancy pigeons, to urban gulls, and birds of prey.  Some fish and fauna and even a landscape are also part of my little wall space.  I hope to see some of you there.

Osprey (left side), oil on panel, 12" x 12"

Osprey (right side), oil on panel, 12" x 12"

For more details of the Globe Studios Open House: http://globestudios.org/

McMichael Volunteer Committee Autumn Art Sale Fundraiser Opens Tomorrow night

 
At the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg Ontario
 
Opening Night Gala Friday October 21 from 6 to 10 pm Complimentary Hors d'Oeuvres, Free Parking and Admission, Cash Bar
Sale continues Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm, $5 parking includes free admission to the fundraiser. Regular admission rates apply to the McMichael Art Collection and exhibitions.

From the McMichael volunteer committee:
"The annual Autumn Art Sale is recognized as one of the most prestigious events to see and purchase original works from some of Canada’s most talented artists. There is no better setting than the gallery’s stunning Grand Hall, surrounded by 100 acres of beautiful conservation land, to showcase unique one-of-a-kind works.  Over the course of three days, art will be on view and available for purchase from 50 juried artists who will be in attendance. The quality and variety of works on sale will please the taste and budget of seasoned art buyers as well as those beginning to build a collection.  This is your opportunity to invest in a beautiful piece of original Canadian art that will provide a lifetime of enjoyment."

I am delighted to be one of the 50 artists selected to exhibit at this year's sale.  I will have over 30 paintings available at the show, many of them new, and I would love to see you there.

Under the eaves

Our neighbour's porch and carport is supported by flat topped pillars that provide a perfectly sheltered platform for birds.  Right now, even in late September, a mourning dove is sitting on her nest (such as it is) for what must be the fifth time this season.  The doves are amazingly prolific, but their nest building skills are nothing compared to the woven mud and grass architectural creation of their robin neighbour. The building process was touch and go for a while, but the but  the finished product was an artistic masterpiece. 

Three demanding alien creatures emerged.

American Robin's nest under the eaves, oil on panel, 8" x 10" ©Shannon Reynolds 2016

This painting will be available for sale at the 2016 McMichael Volunteer Commitee's signature fundraiser, the Autumn Art Sale  which runs from October 21-23 in the beautiful lobby of the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg, Ontario.

A delicate balance

I seldom see two chickadees on the feeder at one time.  They typically swoop in and out individually, in an established order.   Lately,  I've spotted two birds seemingly surprised to encounter each other.  Maybe they're still working out the social hierarchy.

A delicate Balance, two black-capped chickadees, oil on panel, 6" x 12"

What's black white and blue and sounds like a squeaky clothesline?

Two Young Blue Jays "How do I open this thing?" oil on panel 8" x 10" ©ShannonReynolds

Though often denigrated by birders for their loud and thuggish ways, I find blue jays to be smart, handsome, and engaging. They are known to imitate the cries of red tailed hawks to scare off other birds, and their natural curiosity and sociability leads them to strike some very entertaining poses.  At this time of year I can hear their distinctive clothesline cries all day, and often spot them, especially the young ones hanging out on the maple tree branches outside my studio windows.


This is one of the paintings I plan to take to the 2016 Autumn Art Sale Fundraiser, created and run by the McMichael Volunteer Committee, in October this year.  I'll be writing more about the show in future posts.

Angry Birds Through the Front Window

...of the Red Brick Cafe in Guelph, where they can be seen daily for the next few weeks, while my exhibition is hanging.

Angry Birds (detail), oil on birch panel, 30" x 40"

Angry Birds seen through the front window

My show at the Red Brick in Guelph is in its second week.  It runs through December 13th, so you still have plenty of time to stop in for a look.  Get in touch if something catches your eye.

When Thanksgiving falls just a week before a federal election...

the dinner table can become a battleground.  Fortunately for us, we banned all political talk beforehand and the potential melee was forestalled...

Clangor, oil on panel, 18" x 18"

Cacophony, oil on panel, 18" x 18"

at least until after dinner when we relieved any lingering tensions by throwing fallen walnuts at each other in the nearby park.

Too cold and Damp for Nuit Blanche...and Barn Owls

We didn't brave the cold to see the overnight art spectacle this year, but I heard we missed a sculpture of one of these stealthy killers constructed entirely of Lego blocks by Toronto Artist Ekow Nimako.

Barn Owl sketch, oil on panel, 6" x 6"

This is my far more humble sketch of a Barn Owl painted earlier this year.   Even in Southern Ontario, we're at the very northern tip of  its habitat.  Maybe if global warming continues, the Barn Owl will venture farther north, and then we'll have yet another reason to preserve small family farms, which offer ideal nesting and hunting grounds.

Wrong Bird Right City: Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole in Magnolia, oil on panel 8" x 8"

We usually get one of these on our Magnolia Stellata, which blooms before anything else, each spring.  The oriole's orange and black is always a shock after so many months of grey, but would blend right in with our sugar maples over the next couple of months. 

Oh, and I'm not usually one to jump on the bandwagon, but Go Jays Go!

Black Swan for a Blue Monday

Head of a Black Swan, oil on panel 6" x 6"

Globe Studios Art Show and Open House

Once again it's time for the Globe Studios open house and once again I'll be among the juried guest artists exhibiting in the halls.  It promises to be a great show and a perfect opportunity to reduce your Christmas shopping list.

Amongst the paintings I'll be showing are these two small swan portraits:

Head of a Mute Swan, oil on panel, 6" x 6"

Head of a Mute Swan, oil on panel, 6" x 6"

Globe Studios is located at 141 Whitney Place, Kitchener in the former Bonnie Stuart Shoe Factory.  The show runs Friday, November 28th from 4-9pm, and Saturday, November 29th from 11-4.   I hope to see you there.

Art In Support of FLAP Canada

Some of my recent gull paintings are going to be at the juried show at Gallery 1313 in Toronto in support of FLAP Canada whose bold mission is safeguarding migratory birds through our urban environment.  

Great Black backed Gull on Rocks (detail), oil on panel

The opening reception for the exhibition titled Flights of Fancy is Thursday, November 13, from 6:00 pm, with general admission starting at 8:00.   Gallery 1313 is located at 1313 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON.  
If you'd like your name on the guest list for the preview, please let me know to avoid disappointment. 

framing the gulls

Sky Sea Rock Gull

I've returned from another inspiring trip to the East Coast and am hoping to conjure some of the elemental experience of sea, sky, and land in some new compositions.  At the same time, I'm continuing to take a portraitist's approach to the wildlife that seems as archetypal as the landscape.

Solitary Great Black-backed Gull, oil on panel, 12" x 24"

While gulls, genus Larus, are found almost everywhere in the world, I associate the Great Black Backed gull, Larus marinus, the largest gull in the world, with my trips to the Nova Scotian coast.

For all of its imposing size, this a shy bird, and never allows me to come very close however stealthily I paddle my kayak.  It seems to sense, with a predators keen eye, when it is being looked at with intent and abhors my paparazzo efforts.

Splish Splash

Splash #1 Common Grackle, oil on panel 8" x 8"

Sleek handsome and suave one moment, outrageous posturing goofballs the next: the grackles have returned.  I've missed their strutting, sky pointing, and puffing up to the point of exploding before releasing discordant squawks.  We have a peanut mix in the bird feeder right now and when a grackle picks one out, it parades around with its prize, dropping it and picking it up, washing it in the birdbath, in a sustained effort to break it into smaller pieces.

Splash #1 Common Grackle, oil on panel 8" x 8"

I'll be showing these two paintings among others at the Globe Studio's Spring Open House and Art show this Friday and Saturday where I'll be one of several guest artists exhibiting work alongside the resident studio artists. Click here for more information about the show.

Globe Studios Art Show and Open House

Spring Hunter: American Robin (detail), oil on panel

 The ultimate harbinger of spring.  Lethal foe of grubs and earthworms.

Spring Hunter: American Robin, oil on panel, 9" x 12"

I'll be showing this painting among others at the Globe Studios Art Show and Open House where I'll be participating as a guest artist this May 9th and 10th. Please visit the studio facebook page here for more information.

You lookin at me?

Some toughs have taken up residence around the bird feeder, and it's not who you might think.  No hawks here, just doves.  Dove toughs.  They hang in the locust tree and whenever some smaller species lands near the feeder, they whir down and bully the little birds away with sheer size, and numbers, and that jerky, bobble-head, stink eye thing they do so well. 

Mourning Dove, oil on panel, 7" x 12"

Drawing at the Royal Winter Fair 2012

Ice Pigeon: just one of the gorgeous impractical creatures in the poultry show--a pigeon with feathered feet. I saw this one being judged and having #1 marked on her tag.

Last week I packed up a lean sketching kit: sketchbook, watercolour and graphite pencils, and a brush pen, and spent the day sketching at the Royal.  I planned my visit for one of the two days featuring the poultry show which is my favourite event at the fair.  All those lovely birds, captive and at eye level, make perfect drawing subjects!  Of course, the rest of the fair is great too and one day isn't nearly enough time to see and draw it all. Once again there were many fellow sketchers (even the high school kids are now taking advantage of this opportunity). 

Brown Swiss dairy cow

This sweet-faced calf was bellowing for her stable mates who were off being groomed somewhere.
Her complacent expression belies her agitation. I drew anyway.

Piglets!

Beltsville Small White male turkey

This grotesque, but magnificent turkey was strutting constantly and "gobble, gobbling" to the screaming delight of the taunting hoardes of school children.

Nestling pigeons

African Brown Goose "old male" category

Call Ducks

The call ducks are unflappable despite the cacophony all around them.

Toulouse Grey geese

The bonus: this year there were many Ontario cheese makers at the fair selling their goods at less than retail price.  I came home with an armful of cheeses from Monforte, the Upper Canada Cheese Company, and Woolwich dairy--partly offsetting the price of my admission.