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.

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.

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.

My Heart's in the Highlands Wherever I Go

Black and Tan, Highland Cows, oil on panel, 11" x 14" © Shannon Reynolds 2016

I was thrilled to find a beautiful small fold (rather than herd, apparently) of Highland cattle at our hotel in Baie St. Paul in the Charlevoix region of Quebec when we stopped there for a couple of days en route to Nova Scotia.  Bred for the harsh climate, rugged landscape, and wily predators of the Scottish Highlands, this breed looks the part completely with their impressive horns (even on the cows), shaggy double coats, and sturdy legs.  I was able to observe and sketch them right from the balcony of my room.  The only drawback was the high railing which partly obscured my view.  If I went again, I'd request a lower floor. 

Sketches of Highland Cattle, watercolour and gouache in Moleskine sketchbook 

Over a couple of days of observation, we could see the hierarchy in action.  The beautiful black cow was the matriarch of the fold, and the mother of the one young calf (who seemed to outrank one of the other cows by association).  She was the first to run to the farmer in the mornings for the special feed and often stood atop the hay manger as if to claim it for herself.  Besides cows, the hotel had chickens, a sow with piglets, sheep, and ducks and a beautiful produce garden.  It's a bucolic place with sweeping vistas to the St. Lawrence and luxurious rooms...and a fantastic place to draw.

Cow in the manger at Hotel Le Germain in Baie St. Paul 

Sketching the highland cattle from my balcony

Happy Canada Day (or how to paint your berries and eat them too)

In honour of the big birthday party, I decided to paint a composition in red and white with the last of the season's strawberries.  These were painted from life in the studio in a single session today (technically yesterday).  It was a struggle not to eat my berry models while I painted.

Last of the Summer Strawberries, oil on panel, 8" x 8"

Strawberry still life on the easel in progress

Sadly, the berries have now been eaten, every one.

Garden Nemesis (aka Eastern Cottontail Rabbit)

Garden Nemesis (aka Easter Cottontail Rabbit), oil on panel, 12" x 12"

Every Fall, in an ritualistic bid to ensure the return of Spring, I plant tulip bulbs--gorgeous extravagant bulbs: parrots, fringed, sword tipped, black as night, streaked with sherbet colours, bulbs that would've required a second mortgage in the 17th century--bulbs that take a backyard rabbit about 30 seconds to eat from stem to tip. 

Garden Nemesis (detail)

My yard seems to be a rabbit paradise.  I have at least one healthy breeding pair, and lots of quickly growing babies.  My garden is their all-you-can-eat-buffet.  Though I'd probably never have the heart, nor the wherewithal, to do what author Jeanette Winterson did with her rabbits, I'm empathizing with Mr. McGregor, and dreaming of eating rabbit pie and becoming a falconer. 
A girl can dream, right?

A Caribou is a Reindeer, but not an Elk

A caribou is a reindeer by another name.  Both belong to the species Rangifer tarandus, although their long separation across continents--caribou in North America and reindeer in Eurasia--means some differences have crept in over thousands of years.  As far as I know, for example, Canadian caribou don't fly.

Woodland Caribou, oil on panel 8" x 10"

Even so, I painted this Woodland Caribou for last year's Christmas postcard.  The original painting is available for one more week at the Red Brick Cafe in Guelph where my solo exhibition continues until December 13th.

We Caribou You! postcard © Shannon Reynolds 2014

And, of course, neither a Caribou nor a Reindeer is An(ne) Elk.

A languid Elk at my brother's family's campsite in Jasper this summer

Solo Exhibition of Paintings at the Red Brick in Guelph

Shannon Reynolds
at the Red Brick Café
8 Douglas St. Guelph, Ontario, Monday- Saturday 8am-11pm, Sunday 11am-5pm
October 26 through December 13

My paintings will be hanging at the Red Brick Café in downtown Guelph until December 13th. The exhibition features a few large paintings and many smaller landscapes and animal studies as well as some oldies but goodies from earlier series, notably my dj hands.  There's something for everyone.  The historic cafe/gallery space is high-ceilinged and light-filled with several comfortable rooms.   If you are in Guelph over the next few weeks, I hope you stop in for a cappuccino or a craft beer and let me know what you think of the show.

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.

Gouache portrait sketch

A quick portrait sketch of model, Bill, in my Moleskine watercolour sketchbook from last night's life drawing session with Fabio at the Cambridge Centre for the Arts.

Bill, profile, gouache in watercolour sketchbook 5" x 8"

Sketchbook and palette

That half of the year, well, we'll never be friends

Local Character Study #5 Black Squirrel with Granny Smith Apple, oil on canvas board, 8" x 8"

My winter-long love affair with the backyard squirrels is officially over.  As in Leslie Feist's lyric from Gatekeeper, this is the half of the year when we'll never be friends.  It's the half of the year when the cute fluffy animals struggling to survive the bitter winter and posing as ready models around my bird feeder transform themselves into wanton destroyers of beauty.  No tulip or magnolia or crabapple blossom is safe from the ruthless biters.  It's the season of anticipation when, when instead of flowers, alas, there are only bare stems and strewn petals. Ugh.

Local Character Study #4 Eastern Grey Squirrel Looking Out, oil on canvas board, 8" x 8"

The two admittedly cute squirrels in this post were painted with snow still on the ground.  Future squirrel portraits, at least those painted in the next six months, will be far less flattering.  If I wanted to be truly realistic, they might even have mange.

Three-hour painted study from life

I've been taking advantage of the opportunity to paint from life at monthly three-hour single pose sessions at the Cambridge Centre for the Arts.  The brief single session forces concentrated observation and loose paint handling.  This one is from the January session.

Robin (detail), painted study, oil on prepared paper

Robin, painted study, oil on prepared paper, 11" x 14"

Mercedes

Mercedes (detail), oil on panel

Mercedes, oil on panel, 11" x 14"

A three hour painted sketch of model Mercedes in oils.

Bridget

Bridget, oil on panel, 12" x 16"

A painting of my gorgeous niece in typical contemplative mood in the late day sunshine.  Hope you like it, Bridget!

Wonder Woman glances up

Donna as Wonder Woman , oil on canvas panel 8" x 8"

A painted sketch of my good friend Donna as Wonder Woman, as requested by her adoring husband.

Summer gone but not forgotten

Here are some small gouache landscapes from my summer vacation spot.

Sea cliffs, gouache on art panel, 5" x 7"

Southwest Cove from the water, gouache on art panel, 5" x 7"

Owl's Head, gouache on paper, 5" x 7 1/2"

Painting and Drawing from Life

Rachel, oil on panel, 11" x 14"

I've recently discovered a life drawing group offering a regular, three-hour, single-pose session, which allows me the luxury of painting from a live model.  It's great for for forcing a broader, more economical painting style.

And here are some drawings from the regular format life drawing sessions, which typically begin with quick gestures and progress to longer poses:

Jenna, gesture, vine charcoal on paper

Jenna, gesture, vine charcoal on paper

Jenna, gesture, vine charcoal on paper

Jenna, chalk and charcoal on gessoed paper

Govan, chalk and charcoal on gessoed paper

Govan, chalk and charcoal on gessoed paper