Audrey Hayes Art - Canadian Artist

exhale

Phew!  Well, I did it.  I had my first Studio Tour this past weekend. It was a lot of planning and weeks/months of painting to get ready for it.  It was well worth it.  We had over 100 people come to our house and view almost 30 of my paintings.   

For me, the purpose of the tour was to get experience and exposure.  But the bonus was selling several pieces of art.  What I wasn't expecting was how positive and complimentary people would be or how much I would enjoy talking to people about my paintings.  

I was a fabulous two days and my house has never been tidier.  

Thank you to those of you who were able to come by and chat.  I hope you enjoyed it.

Here are some photos of what my house looked like all set up:  there were paintngs everywhere, even some hanging from my kitchen cabinets.

a la...

Several years ago I met local artist Laura Harris. We talked about the possibility of her doing an art workshop and she said she had tossed around the idea. I love her art and really wanted to learn from her.  Over the years we would see each other, usually at the art store, and she would tell me that she hadn't forgotten about doing a workshop and she really was going to put something together but had been so busy.  

Then finally, last April I got an email, the email.  Laura was ready to have a workshop, a weekend of inspiration, a revelation of her artistic secrets.  I was thrilled.  

So on a warm, sunny summer weekend, myself and 15 other admirers watched and learned and were inspired by Laura.  We spent two days on a 100 acre property out in Metchosin surrounded by mountains, ocean, and golden pastures.

Each morning began with a light breakfast in a beautiful log cabin and outdoor yoga overlooking the ocean.  After an inspirational morning of painting we were nourished with scrumptious west-coast themed lunches made from fresh, organic, local ingredients.  Painting continued in the afternoon and by the end of it we walked away with three paintings.  It was an amazingly creative and inspirational weekend.  

This was one painting I completed after the workshop. My painting...a la Laura, hence the title.

A LA - 24 x 36 - acrylic on canvas

 

Gung Hay Fat Choy!!

three-zero-zero

WOW! This is my 300^th blog post. Before I started this blog two years ago, I would read other blogs that made it look so easy.  Then I started my own, but had no idea how much effort it would take.  What I didn't think about was that I actually had to write the posts and make them interesting, which was/is really hard.  After my first post I thought, OMG, how am I going to keep this up.  But somehow I have.  Not as often as I would like.  Not as interesting as I'd like.  

After 2 years, 300 blog posts, and almost 20,000 page hits, I will keep on posting.  To those of you who keep coming back...THANK YOU!

MY ART:  I recently finished this larger canvas, part of my little buildings series. 

24 x 24. Acrylic on Canvas.

Just finishing up a commissioned tulips painting and its companion piece which I'll post next week.  

3-0-1, here I come.

seeing red

Yesterday, I went to an art demostration by local artist Linny D. Vine.  It is always fun to watch artists in action.  Interesting to see their style and how they accomplish their look.  

After this two hour demo I stopped by a new gallery on Oak Bay Avenue called the RED Gallery.  It is owned by another local artist Marion Evamy whose work I really like.  Fun, colourful, contemporary.

While I enjoyed seeing two fun artists in one day, what I didn't realize until today, was that someone had hit my car bumper while I was at the art demo.  There was a note on my car but I didn't realize it was an "I hit your car" note until I looked at the note again this afternoon.  SUCKS!!

TULIP SERIES:  yet another tulip painting.  I don't have a title for this one yet. Any ideas??

30 x 40. Acrylic on Canvas.

Another busy week ahead.  But I am still hoping to find some time to paint.

Happy Monday!

snow daze

Oh what a week.  I was pretty sure with spring just around the corner, we had no chance of snow in our future, but I obviously spoke too soon.  Of course, it doesn't snow when I have no plans, it decides to snow when I have to substitute teach.  It is already a 25 minute commute.  Add on driving the girls to my parents' in the opposite direction in 6 inches of snow.  Not fun!  I did make it to school with just minutes to spare.  It is the one thing that Sean and I strongly disagree on...SNOW!  He loves it, the girls love it, I HATE it. Oh well, the worst is over...I hope!

ART SHOWS:  Boundless and LOOK are just about over.  One week left for both shows.  If you were hoping to check either of them out, Boundless ends next Wednesday and LOOK ends next Friday.

Here is the final painting that is on display at Boundless.  [I didn't get a chance to take a proper photo of this one.  I quickly took a photo of it on my mantle and so the image below does not show its true colours.  I will take a better photo and post it next week after the art show has ended.]

DEUX POIRES

12 x 12.  Acrylic on Canvas.

I have just finished another tulip painting.  Much larger than the rest.  I will post it shortly.

TOMORROW:  weather permitting, I am going head to the art store to stock up on much needed painting supplies and start a new commission.  YAY!

Stay warm, it's a cold one out there.

pink

Pink is one of my favourite colours...except when it's in the eye.  If having a nasty cold wasn't enough, now poor Macy has pink eye.  And even though we have been washing our hands to the bone and disinfecting everything, I am sure there will be more pink eyes in our future. Whatcha gonna do?

MORE ART:  Here is the final tulip painting of the foursome on display at the Boundless art show.  

STANDING OUT

12 x 12.  Acrylic on Canvas.

I have posted all of them on my website Gallery page, too.  This little group of paintings are really very cute and are much nicer in person. I quickly took photos of them before taking them to the show, but I didn't do a great job. 

I have one more painting from the show left to post...next time.

Happy Weekend!

bug-off

I CANNOT wait for spring.  Not because I am sick of the rain...which I am.  Not because I am tired of being cold all the time...which I am.  Not because I miss sunny days...which I do.  I CANNOT wait for spring so we can say adios to cold and flu season. I am so sick and tired of my poor family being SICK and tired for the third go round since Christmas.  

Over the holidays a nice little bug made its way through our house and through each of our intestines, if you get my drift.  Then only a few weeks ago Macy was off school for a week with a fever which she passed on to Emmy.  Now, after only a couple of weeks of being healthy, Emmy has the dreaded cold and cough making her a real grump.  Being the generous soul that she is, she has selflessly shared this little bastard bug with her dad and Macy.  And you know I will be down for the count in no time.

Thankfully, tomorrow is a day off school.  We are going to chill at home all day and try to kick this cold in the rear end.  

I can tell that spring is near though.  Flowers are starting to pop up all over the place.  My personal favourite...tulips.  

Speaking of tulips, here is yet another tulip painting on display at the Boundless art show:

 BE YOURSELF

12 x 12.  Acrylic on Canvas.

NOW:  Time to disinfect my house and pop some vitamins.  

Stay healthy, everyone!

Yesterday we decided to go downtown with the girls and have another try at the LOOK art show.  It was much more fun this time.  We were able to have a good look at all the art and I was really impressed with the show. And I was really excited to see the red dot on my painting.  

It was a beautiful, sunny day and it felt great to be walking about downtown. We treated the girls and ourselves to some Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory chocolates. YUM!!  It was a nice little family outing which we haven't done in way too long.

Here is the 2nd of 4 tulip paintings showing at Boundless right now:

REDHEADS

12 x 12. Acrylic on Canvas

Hope you had a love-filled Valentine's Day!

He{art}-full

It's been over a week since my paintings were hung at the Boundless and LOOK art shows, and I just received some exciting news...TULIPS SOLD!!!  I am thrilled by this as there are over 400 paintings at the LOOK art show and at last year's show only about 5% of the paintings sold.  So I had no expectations of selling a painting, just hoping for some exposure.  How awesome is that?

I thought I should finally post my newest paintings that are showing at Boundless.  This one is from my tulips series. I'll post the rest over the next few days.

THERE'S ALWAYS ONE

12" x 12". Acrylic on Canvas.

It actually looks nicer in person, my photography skills don't do it justice.

Boundless, at Goward House, and LOOK, at the Bay Centre, will be running until the beginning of March.

TODAY:  making Valentines for classmates.  Hopefully getting some much needed painting time [working on another, bigger tulip painting].  

Happy Heart Day!!

tulips + pears

Tonight was the Opening Reception for the LOOK 2011 art show.  I have two paintings on display.  One is my old favourite, "Cinq Poires", and the other is from a new series of tulip paintings that I have been working on.

"TULIPS"

acrylic on canvas.  12" x 36"

There were hundreds of paintings hanging on the walls.  Cinq Poires was a bit hard to find, low to the ground, but Tulips was easy to spot.  

We decided to make a night of it by taking the girls out for dinner to Ebizo before heading over to the Bay Centre to see the art show.  

We had just finished our sunomono salad and smoked duck salad when Macy announced she felt sick.  Nothing puts a damper on an evening like a sick kid. She wasn't quite sure what kind of sick she was. So not knowing if she was about to puke all over the table, Sean and I wolfed down some sushi and quickly left.

She seemed to rally a bit, so we headed over to the art show and had a very quick look around.  It was hard to have a good look around while worrying that Macy was going to projectile all over someone's painting.  After about five minutes we decided we shouldn't push our luck, so we headed home.  

Thankfully, the show is on for the whole month, so I will go back on my own another day and have a better look at all the paintings. 

I am happy to report that within 15 minutes of being home, Macy was feeling fine and back to her old self.

Have a fabulous weekend!

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!

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.

the big six-five

You'd never know it was November around these parts.  The past couple of days have been beautiful, it felt more like September than November.  Hopefully another day of the same (it's supposed to be 17 degrees) and then we can look forward to November rains.  

As promised, here is painting #4 of my latest series of paintings.

12 x 12 - acrylic on canvas

I really like the look of these little guys together.  I think they would look great arranged vertically as well, perhaps on a narrow wall or at the end of a hall.   

You can find these paintings in my Gallery.

Today is a very special day.  My most FAVOURITE father-in-law was born 65 years ago.  For six and a half decades he has graced the lives of those around him.  

HAPPY 65^th BIRTHDAY, MIKE!!

And, Happy Hump Day, to you!

oh no-vember

November simultaneously excites me and stresses me out.  It marks the start of the busy season in the Hayes household.  Birthdays are in abundance this month. And as we make our way through all of the birthday celebrations I am acutely aware that Christmas is just around the corner.  So, today, I bought my first Christmas present.  It was more like a stocking stuffer, but I am on my way.  

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MY ART:  Although there are busy days ahead, I am committed to making time to paint.  I have just completed two more paintings in my newest series.  

Here is painting #3 of my wrap-around, one-foot squared paintings.

12 x 12 - acrylic on canvas

I'll post #4 tomorrow.  I am looking forward to creating more of these little guys.  And I also have another couple of paintings that I am really excited about.  So lots of creativity flowing in my studio these days.  I'm loving it.

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Today kicks off the first birthday of the month.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my BIL, Pat.

Only 52 shopping days until Christmas.

wrap around art

I have been painting a new series of pieces for an upcoming art show (in February 2010).  I am really enjoying these ones.  I posted the first one last week.  Here is the second in the series.  I haven't signed it or varnished it yet, but you get the idea. 

12 x 12   acrylic on canvas

They are all 12" x 12", acrylic on canvas.  They are really cute in this size and I like the square style, too. I am definitely going to try this style on a larger canvas.  I think they would look great as a big canvas on a big wall.  

What I really love about these paintings is that I have wrapped the image around the edges.  On all of my other paintings, I have finished the sides in black and that allows you to hang the painting without a frame.  Most artists do it that way.  But these paintings lend themselves to continuing the painting on the sides.  Which means that you can enjoy the painting even if you aren't right in front of it.  

Here are the two painting together on my mantle. You can see how the image wraps around the sides of the paintings.  

Thanks for stopping by.

splat!

Last year I teamed up with a group of local artist to put together an art show which will be held at Goward House in February.  Although the show is not for another four months we needed to have some images of our paintings to go on the Goward House website.  Last Friday was the deadline, so I have been working hard to come up with some ideas for paintings.  I have known of this deadline for some time now but I have been putting it off.  Waiting for the creative bug to bite.  Doing anything and everything else to avoid having to think of what I should paint.  Believing that if I get everything else out of the way my brain will be freed up to imagine and produce.  Nothing like a deadline to squash creativity...or light a fire under it.  As it turns out I spent much of last week painting up a creative storm and finally feel like I have produced some pieces that are me...what I like...what I want to create and get joy from while I am creating.  The only way to get creative is to create.  Just do it and it will come...sooner or later.  And that is was happened for me last week.  I made my deadline and even though I can relax now, I am totally charged to keep painting.  

Here is one of my new paintings:

 12 x 12. acrylic on canvas 

I now need to update my Gallery and get some new paintings on there.  I think it is also in need of a revamp, a reno.  I just need to find some time to do it.  I need to find a balance between painting, blogging, working and living.  It has been more of a challenge than I expected these past few weeks.  And as the holidays are upon us (starting with Thanksgiving this weekend) it may get even more hectic.  But I'll do my best.  

Thanks for coming back.  I know it is so annoying to check blogs that don't get updated often.  I really do appreciate you coming and checking out my blog. 

Hope you are having a great week.

wax on, wax off

This is a piece I did at an encaustic workshop, today.  Encaustic is the process of painting hot beeswax on wood and heating it to set.  There is a lot of layering of different colours of wax, etching, heating and repeating the process.

  

I completed two pieces.  This second one was created starting with a photograph I took of a magnolia from Sean's grandfather's tree. Then there was a lot of wax, etching, and heating.  But now that I've had a chance to look at it again, I want to work on it a bit more.  I don't like the butter knife looking thing in the middle, it is very distracting.  I need it to blend more.  [don't mind the poor photography, I didn't take them in the best light]

Tomorrow, I will buff them up with a soft cloth and this will give them a glossy looking finish. 

I really enjoyed trying encaustic. But what makes me most happy about learning a new technique, is how inspired I get to paint and see if I can incorporate it into my own work.  See if I can achieve similar looks using acrylic paint.  

Now I am going to finish my day as it began, creating art.  

Happy weekend!!

eight

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary.  Although we both almost forgot about it, the girls didn't and performed a little dance for us.  They presented us with a homemade card with a drawing of "love tree" (with the branches being different stages of our relationship).  And they requested that we end their celebration with a kiss.  Too cute!

Last night I wanted to fool around with painting. I have been working on a painting for over our mantle, but that requires a lot of thought and I just wanted to do something fun and playful.  This is what I came up with.  Sean and Emmy think these look like popsicles.  I think they are more like banners or flags each with a heart of my three favourite people. It can be anything you want it to be.  love. joy. happiness. my heart.

I may paint more tonight as I am feeling inspired.  Or I might just cuddle up with my hubby and watch a movie.

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Well, it finally feels like summer is here to stay.  Even our garden is starting to fill out.  It had a slow start.  Last year at this time it was overflowing but it will get there this year, hopefully. It is nice to have salad fix'ns at our fingertips.  Fresh and organic...gotta love it. This is our main garden space but we also have a nice little garden around the side and pots which are producing huge strawberries, tomatoes, beans, peas, and arugula. We are waiting for carrots (orange and purple!) and pickling cucumbers. But for now we have a steady stream of kale, beets, and peas. YUM!!

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Last Friday, I finally finished the 30 Day Shred and it only took me 32 days. Okay so I missed a couple of days but I made up for them. I have to start running again.  I am feeling more toned than when I began, but I still need to keep working on shaping up.  

One week of summer down, only 9 weeks till back to school.  Enjoy!  

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

laundry night

For the past month there has been usually two artists' studio tours each weekend.  This weekend, not a one. I have to admit I am a bit relieved.  Since early April my weekends have been so full with birthday parties, studio tours, kids fairs, art shows, and life.  And as fun as all that stuff is, I am happy not to have anything to do this weekend. 

Now I just want to paint!  Every time I finish a painting, I am eager to get another started.   So that is my goal this weekend.  

Here is my latest.  It is similar to "Neighbours".  I like painting on a vertical canvas.  I always think this orientation fits perfectly on a narrow wall or at the end of a hall.  

Laundry Night.  acrylic on canvas.  12" x 36".

My favourite time of day is dusk.  I love when it starts to get dark that you can still see some colour and glow in the sky.  This is the feeling I wanted for both of these pieces. 

I don't know what it is with me painting laundry though.  Strange considering I absolutely hate doing it.  As I type this, I have 6 loads of laundry to fold...yes, 6!!  

Happy End-of-the-Week!!

plum like

For the past few years, on the girls’ birthdays I have drawn a message on the driveway in chalk.  I like the idea of walking out the door and being greeted with a birthday wish.  But when we woke on Monday, Macy’s birthday, it was pouring rain.  So later in the day while the girls were out I snuck home and chalked up the driveway.

But the sky looked grim and I was sure the rains would come before we arrived home.  

Thankfully, it didn’t rain and Macy was surprised to see a birthday greeting and a chalk treasure map which she had to follow around our entire long driveway. 

   

She was delighted to find the “X” that marked a final birthday present hidden under a nearby bush. Being a kid is so much fun.  And so is being the mom.

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I finished this painting the other night.  Not sure about it though.  It is the same style as Cinq Poires, but just doesn’t quite have the same feel.

 plums. acrylic on canvas. 12" x 24".

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I have had a lot of inquiries about the vintage bus scroll I painted for myself a few weeks ago. I would love to create custom bus scrolls for people. I have seen them done by companies and I think they are probably computer generated and printed on canvas or paper.  My bus scroll was created using paint on canvas and I kind of like that this allows for imperfections that you wouldn’t get from a computer.

I am just trying to get it set up so that you can order one if you’d like.  So bear with me as I get the information like sizing, pricing, etc. worked out.

TODAY:  I had a few hours to myself this afternoon, so I painted.  YAY!!  I think I have actually finished another painting. I started it a few weeks ago and finally managed to finish it up.  I just want to have one last look and see if it needs anything else before I sign it and shine it.  I'll post in tomorrow.

HAPPY HUMP DAY!!