Audrey Hayes Art - Canadian Artist

another show

Today I dropped off two paintings at the LOOK 2011 Arts Exhibition.  This is an annual art show put on by the Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria that runs for the month of February and will be showing around 500 art pieces from paintings and fabric art to jewelry and sculpture.

It is showing at the Bay Centre on the bottom floor (next to Esprit).  So if you happen to be downtown between February 4 to March 4 go have a look.  

I wanted to paint two new paintings for the LOOK show, but because I have been working hard to get my paintings ready for my other art show, Boundless, I only had enough time to paint one new, so the other is an old favourite.  

I wasn't expecting to have paintings in two shows so early in the year that run the exact same dates:  February 4 to early March.  I am pretty exited.  Can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds for me.

Have a fabulous Monday!

join me

You're Invited

(click on invitation to enlarge)

I would like to invite you to my first non-juried art show.  We are a group of nine artists, all with very different styles. This is a small works show with a maximum canvas size of 12”.  Although we are bound by size, the possibilities are “Boundless”.  With the diverse styles of each artist, there is sure to be something for everyone’s tastes. 

I will be showing 10 paintings, six new and a few recent favourites.  I’d love you to join us at the Opening Reception at Goward House on Sunday, February 6 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm.  But if you can’t make it, all paintings will be on display until March 2.  So feel free to drop by Goward House anytime.

Let me know if you have any questions.  Hope to see you there.

don't put off until tomorrow...

As you know I have an art show in a couple of weeks with a group of local artists.  [Invitation to come]  We had a loose deadline of January 15 to have all of our paintings complete.  Our hard deadline is January 24.  Well, I am the kind of person that will always take the latter.  No problem because I had all week to paint. Right?  Wrong!!  I ended up teaching on a couple of my "painting" days.  And to top it off, Macy came down with a fever on Monday night and has been home from school all week.  So my 4 or 5 painting days are now gone.  Yikes!  I now have two days to finish the rest of my paintings.  Wish me luck, I am REALLY gonna need it.

I still haven't found my camera cord. So still no photographs to share.  The problem is, my house is a mess and the cord could be anywhere.  Once the aforementioned paintings are completed, I am going to rip through this house like a Tasmanian devil and get this place back into working order.  And then I will get some photos happening here.

Until then, adieu!

rain + bows

While Sean watched the dreadful Seahawks game and began work on tiling our fireplace's hearth, the girls and I set out on some much needed mother-daughter time. 

We headed out to Sidney.  While it rained in town, the closer we got to Sidney, the sunnier it became.  Throughout our drive, rainbows kept popping up in front of us, some large and vibrant, others faint and distant.  But they were always beautiful.

In Sidney, we met friends for a couple of games of 5 pin bowling.  It was the first time bowling for both of the girls, other than Wii bowling ;)  As it turns out, Emmy is a natural and spanked all the other girls who are at least 1 1/2 years older and 6 inches taller.  She has been bragging ever since about how she won both games.  Macy was really good sport considering she was no where near Emmy's scores.

After we said goodbye to our friends we had a rare visit to Ronnie Mac's.  If that wasn't bad enough, after McDonald's we drove over to Dairy Queen for dessert. [McDonald's was out of ice cream and I had promised myself them a treat]  I can hear you chanting "Shame, Shame..."    

By this time it now felt like spring.  It was at least 15 degrees outside and we had all stripped down to our t-shirts.  I LOVE it!!!  Nothing like spring weather to make you want to shop.  We strolled around Sidney for a bit before picking up a few groceries and heading home.  

As we drove towards town the skies grayed and the rains began again.  Turns out it had been raining all day, in town. 

We ended our day with dinner at the grandparents.  A lovely end to a lovely day [and no dishes to clean].

Have a fabulous week.

so typical

After deciding to take my blogging more seriously by looking for things to take photos of, I can't find my camera cord.  What?  I always leave my cord in the same spot.  Always.  Today I took a few photos, nothing too exciting, but I promised that today I would take photos of things that I see or things that happen throughout my day.  That is what I did.  I was just about to upload said photos only to find that my cord is missing.  I have looked in every possible place it could be.  No luck.  I'll keep searching, but until I find it, I can't keep my promise.  sorry.  

TODAY:  I painted!  Yay!  I had a good chunk of time to muck around with my paints.  I have two wee paintings on deck and I am hoping to get a couple more going by the weekend.  I really need to have them close to finished by next week.  It's going to be a busy weekend of painting for me.  I am looking forward to it.  

Hopefully I'll have some photos to share soon...if my cord shows up.

getting inspired

When I first started blogging I had a hard time thinking of things to blog about. It soon became easier and I started to see things everyday that I wanted to blog about.  I used my camera a lot and I often found that I had much more to blog about than I had time for.  I would usually blog every other day and at times, everyday.  But as you have probably noticed, I haven't blogged much lately.  I just can't think of anything to blog about.  Yes, this is partially a blog about my art, but during those in between art days I haven't had any inspiration or motivation to blog.  I don't think about blogging they way I used to.  I have been blogging without thinking/planning/taking photos.  Boring!!  And it obviously isn't working for me. If I want to enjoy blogging and I want you to enjoy my blog then I am going to have to step it up.

Yesterday, I was reading Brandi's blog and it really made me think about how I blog.  She always seems to have something to blog about.  She has challenged herself to put up a great photo everyday.  And it really works.  I think I need to take a cue from Brandi and give myself something to blog about much more often.  I need to dust off my camera and find inspiration in the things around me.  Okay, starting tomorrow.

TOMORROW:  serious painting.  I have fallen way behind in the paintings that NEED to be done in the next week for my upcoming art show.  I am getting an early start and going full force.  

The weekend is almost here.  Enjoy your Thursday.

bruiser

No good deed goes unpunished.  

That was true for me yesterday when I tried to donate blood.  But after being poked and stabbed and jabbed in both arms with a really big needle, I was told that my veins are too small.  I had failed.  I have tried to donate three other times, twice successfully and once without any luck.  So I guess there's only a 50% chance of blood from me.

Before they sent me packing, they wrapped both my arms in ice.  Yup, I am bruiser.  And by the time I got home I was black and blue with bloody, tender holes in my arms.  

I have to wait 56 days before I try again.  I think I will.  Because... blood, it's in me to give.

TODAY, TOMORROW, THE NEXT DAY, AND THE NEXT DAY...:  I have an art show coming up next month and I need to have some new paintings to show.  So that is what I will be doing for the next few weeks. 

Have a fabulous weekend.

dream big for 2011

As much as I enjoy the holidays (and I really did enjoy them this year), I always like when they are over and I can get back into a more reasonable state of chaos.  There is about a week where I don't feel like I need to do anything and then all of a sudden it is time to start a new to-do list.  It is during this week that I start to think about what is ahead for the new year.  I try not to make resolutions that I can't keep, but of course I have the same resolutions as most...eat healthier, exercise more, spend more time with friends and family...the usual.  What I also try to do is make a goal for myself with regards to my art. 

When I started this blog (two years ago), my goal was to blog about my paintings as a way of showing my art to friends and family (and blogland), in hopes of selling some paintings.  And guess what? It worked.  I started to sell paintings. 

Last year, my goal was to get my paintings into an art show.  And guess what?  It worked.  I managed to make it into three art shows in 2010 and one of my paintings even won a viewers' choice award.  

Now, I am starting to dream BIG.  For 2011, my goal is to get some paintings into a gallery.  I am not sure how or where to begin.  I guess I need a portfolio, a CV (yikes!), business cards, confidence...oh yeah, and a whole lot of paintings.  Busy days ahead.

I have a group show coming up next month which I will tell you more about soon.  I would also love to have a solo show sometime this year.  And of course, most of all, I would love to just sell A LOT of paintings.   Wish me luck.

Hey, by the way, I finished up a few commissions before Christmas.  They are all on my website now.  I didn't post them earlier as they were Christmas and anniversary gifts.  But now I can.

These two were painted as a diptych.  [The hills are actually more red than orange, hard to tell from my poor photography skills.] 

Each one is 16" x 16", acrylic on canvas. 

I am dreaming of a BIG year for 2011.  Sean and I will be turning 40 this year and I really want this to be the year that BIG things happen in the best of ways.  

Welcome 2011!  I wish all of us BIG successes.  Thanks for reading.