This is the first piece in a very special collaboration I've been involved in called the Intersection Art Project. Anyone who has known me for a while knows that I have a heart for non profit organizations. For the past year, I've been meeting up with the head of a very cool non profit, Encompass Partnerships, to dream up ways that we could use art to impact and reach diverse groups in Calgary. Out of this came a plan to work with each Partner group at Encompass to create a unique piece that reflects their mission and values to be put on display at Encompass Headquarters. 

The piece above is the first one for Encompass itself. It is a bridge stretching out to the edge of the canvas. It signifies reaching out, journeying and finding others. As requested, it is highly abstracted, it is meant to feel like jazz. I painted it live last week at their open house event and it was a blast. Live painting infuses work with  feeling and immediacy that is hard to replicate in a studio. So excited to do more! 

For the time being, the remaining Teacup Paintings are residing at the Leighton Art Centre's Museum Shop. Last I heard, they were being put into a little hallway vignette display. How fun! I absolutely love it there - check them out sometime if you are in the South Calgary area. 

If you are interested in purchasing a teacup, please contact them directly at www.leightoncentre.org or in person Tuesday - Saturday 10 - 4. I'm happy to also make arrangements if needed! Just let me know. 

For any other pieces, I've updated their availability on my portfolio pages. Please contact me with any inquiries. Canada Post's Holiday Deadlines are fast approaching so if you are interested in one for a gift, please note that regular parcel deadlines are:

Canada: December 11th
USA: December 9th 
Anywhere Else: already come and gone

I can of course arrange for expedited service if you are interested in a quote, just let me know. 

One of my greatest joys as a painter is to get lost in painting fine line work. Not minuscule details so much as decoding a pattern and figuring out it's essence, be that a repeating motif, a central image or a complicated web of colours. This latest series of paintings has become this and then some. I'm feeling so refreshed and ready for a challenge these days, I've been experimenting with some new techniques to keep this busyness loose and flowing. Fluid acrylics (aptly named in this application) are really helping these colours to pop on the canvas. 

As I've been buried in these details, I've had a lot of time to think and ponder. What a metaphor patterns on plates are to our own human relationships. Juxtaposed against each other, they bring out new details of their neighbours. Group a different set and the dynamic totally changes. Things that are minimal and dull in one arrangement become the centerpiece in another. 

I've been mainly working in my sketchbook the past few weeks as I'm doing a lot more behind the scenes stuff (which rarely makes for interesting photos). I dug out my little Sakura watercolor box recently - I've been enjoying the splash of color in my sketchbook. I've taken that little paint box with its tiny water brushes to Europe, Turkey and Swaziland and it's still going strong!

Last week was crazy busy, I competed in Art Battle (came in second place to the talented Belinda Fireman) it was super fun. Collected my work from the Airdrie Public Library (got to have a visit with Veronica Funk) , held an impromptu online sale via Facebook (thanks for the support!) and then packaged up and delivered my paintings for the Leighton Art Centre Christmas in the Country Sale (November 7, 8, 14, & 15)

I also got the news that I have been nominated for the Airdrie Mayor's Night of the Arts FortisAlberta Professional Artist Award! How cool is that?