Being With What Is

July 21, 2011July 21, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 18 Comments

Waking quickly, I glance out through the big window next to the bed. I can see the sun streaming its warmth across the valley floor. After being up until two hours past midnight, I have slept in. It is 8:00 am. Feeling panic, I do a head-rushing leap onto the cool tiles. It is summer. We have the heat off. I had wanted to water the garden. Then I remembered it was raining hard when I went to bed. That job is done. I can relax and be with what is rather than what I had planned. This is my summer so far. I had planned to do a lot of plein air painting. It is not yet happening. Either it is raining or I have another commitment to take care of. So today I am going to share with you a few images that have come about because I have just been with what is – and mostly I have been out and about on Mayne Island with David and my camera.

It stormed all day but the evening was grand….

(this image is available for purchase here.)

with the sandstone shore turning to gold.

(this image is available for purchase here.)

A sailboat sailing a sacred sail as the light catches the surface of the water.

(this image is available for purchase here.)

Just for a moment Georgeson Island is caught in the evening sun’s brilliance and we happened to be there… being with what is.

(this image is available here. There is also a beautiful new poem that poet Bat-Ami Gordin is inspired to write about this image posted in the description.)

Night is coming. The tide is high… a boat house with mist rising.

(this image is available for purchase here.)

Sailboats anchor in the soft edges.

(this image is available for purchase here.)

Night settles in.

Only to have another day begin in a tangle of Arbutus and sun.

The trail ends but my desire continues… off across the sea, over the hills and into the distance.

(this image is available for purchase here.)

Then, without complaint or longing, I am squarely back to the summer grasses beneath my feet, being with what is.

Sprout question: How are you being with what is?

STUDY OF BLUE solo exhibition open until Wednesday July 27, 2011.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

Art Opening (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Interview with Terrill Welch by Bill Maylone (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Rainy Summer Day in Navy Channel (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

Summer Crossing

July 18, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 15 Comments

I know I said I was only going to post as I chose this summer but it seems as if I choose to post frequently. Maybe it is the good sales of my work last week. In addition to the medium size canvas photography print, I also sold another original oil painting from the STUDY of BLUE solo exhibition. The 8 x 10 inch painting of SALISH SEA THREE is going to buyers from Vancouver B. C., Canada. This means there are only 10 paintings left to choose from so if you have been mooning and musing over a particular piece, now is the time to act.

In the meanwhile, let’s do a summer crossing starting at Tsawwassen across Georgia Strait.

When I look back towards the ferry terminal I realize that it is no wonder I have done a study of blue.

I often feel that I am wrapped in time when at sea.

There is an openness

and a containment when traveling across the straight on a small vessel like the Bowen Queen.

Ah yes. One more stop at Galiano Island while I admire the Mayne Island lighthouse with Mount Baker looming in the background.

I shall be home soon.

Sprout Question: What creative crossing might you traverse this week?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

Be Patient (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Rainy Summer Day in Navy Channel (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Beyond Blue mixed-media painting (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Port of call – Mayne Island (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

Rainy Summer Day in Navy Channel

July 15, 2011July 16, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 15 Comments

Another medium size canvas print of “Witness in Georgia Strait” has sold from the Green House Restaurant where I share wall space with another Mayne Island creative being Barbara McIntyre. It is the second of this image I have sold. Summer is the time when our island doubles in size and we share this beautiful island with weekenders and tourists.

But in all honesty it has been a rather wet and dreary summer so far. Yet, it is the wettest and mistiest days that often find me leaving the house with my camera. It is like I must connect, I must be close to the earth’s surfaces taking in her breath as if we are one.

The day is hot and humid. My bare arms feel the moisture in the air and I leave my raincoat draped haphazardly around my waist. With the tide out, I scramble along the small beach and over the rocks in Navy Channel.

While noticing a straggly molting heron feeds in the shallows

I almost step on the most magnificent huge purple starfish.

(this image may be purchased here)

Looking west it is hard to make out Salt Spring Island in the distance.

But it is two large boulders to the east that have captured my attention. Huddled, as if braving the grayness of the day alone, they squat on the shore.

As I draw closer I can see that they are now separate and each holding a space of its own.

However, I opt for an image that has a stronger connection to their oneness, my oneness and our oneness as we experience being separate.

(this image may be purchased here)

The magic of summer rains and mist defies our capacity to mistakenly dwell on our separateness.

Sprout Question: What clarity comes from your today?

Terrill Welch’s STUDY OF BLUE solo exhibition is up until July 27, 2011. At this time, there are still eleven paintings to choose from. Your personal favourite may still be available and can be purchased today online.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

Port of call – Mayne Island (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
An invitation to buy a painting (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

Beyond Blue mixed-media painting

July 14, 2011July 14, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

While the STUDY of BLUE family is pulled together in the glare of a summer day and readied for my solo exhibition, another small painting found its way onto my easel.

It started with a canvas print of “Beyond” as an underpainting.

I then freely added oil paint until it feels done. The work may be the seed for something new or it may be a one-off experiment. It is just too early to tell.

BEYOND BLUE mixed-media 8 X 11.75 inches on canvas $300.00

The painting is showing in the summer group show at the Mayne Island Reading Centre (the Library) but you can contact me directly via email at tawelch@shaw.ca if you are interested in having this piece hanging on your wall.

Sprout Question: What are you finishing and then beginning anew?

STUDY OF BLUE solo exhibition is up until July 27, 2011. At this time, there are still eleven paintings to choose from. Your personal favourite may still be available and can bepurchased today online.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

Art Opening (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Interview with Terrill Welch by Bill Maylone (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Port of call – Mayne Island (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

Grandness when faced with our need for resilience

July 12, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

The year has been filled with moments of extreme and unusual weather in North America and around the world. There has been lots of rain, cooler than usual temperatures and high winds. Privately, we have been tentatively blaming it on the tipping of the earth from major earthquakes. But I have done no research to see if weather scientists feel the same. Maybe it is global warming and maybe it is just part of a normal cycle of change. But whatever it is, the results have been unpredictable and destructive.

Yesterday my friend Laurie Buchanan’s community of Crystal Lake, Illinois was hit by 75 mile an hour winds which snapped and up root full grown oak, hickory, and maple trees. At the same time, Alison Elliot in North Carolina reported that the torrential rains had caused a slide filling her house with mud and water. Then there is Daisy Hickman in South Dakota who has been keeping us current on the Missouri river flooding. Another friend reported that my former home community of Prince George, British Columbia was also on flood warnings due to heavy rains and late snow cap melting because of cooler temperatures this summer.

With this kind of a situation, I find it important to focus on renewal and the resilience of ourselves and nature. Therefore, I am posting this grand maple tree as a focal point for our intentions, as trees are cleared and mud is cleared out and we go about creating a new normal during trying times. If you look near the bottom right you will notice another young maple coming up beside it – a grand tree in waiting.

Sprout Question: Do you have a special symbol or item that you use to set an intention for resilience?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

Art Opening

July 11, 2011July 15, 2021 / Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

The large canvases are wrapped in sheets and plastic and stacked with even larger pieces of cardboard lying in between. We ceremonially carry each painting and place them into the back of my rather tired old ford pick up. The plywood dry box is already carefully stuffed with smaller canvas oil paintings. Now ready to drive the short distance to the exhibition venue I realize Miss Prissy’s cargo is worth many times more than she. But as usual, she doesn’t seem to mind. I am sure there isn’t a snobbish piece of metal in her paint-chipped body. Tomorrow, STUDY of BLUE will open.

The Oceanwood Restaurant and Inn has done a fantastic job of creating gallery space.

We take our time, deciding on the best location for each piece of work.

The next evening, with toes sparkling new polish, finger nails buffed and decked out in a very fun balloon dress I open the show.

I handed my camera to my daughter Josie who did her best to capture the evening. However, she said people kept looking like deer in the headlights so she stopped taking photos after a while.

We do have a few though.

The food was extra delicious, delicately flavoured and served with elegance.

And there is nothing quite like seeing a painting through a grand piano.

Somewhere between 40 and 50 art-loving individuals wandered around looking at each painting. Stepping forward. Then back. Then on occasion bringing a friend over to have a look as well. Sometimes eyes would snap with excitement and an intrigued viewer would say: “That one! That one is my favourite.”

My favourite comment of the evening was from a long-time resident who came by near the end of the evening to thank me for putting on the exhibition.

“It is good, very good. We now have culture right here on Mayne Island.”

I don’t think there was ever any doubt but it was a pleasure to be a spark for such sentiments. I would like to thank the Oceanwood Restaurant and Inn because they are ultimately responsible for orchestrating such a classy event which then garnered this comment.

At the end of the evening FIR TREE SKY sold to a lovely couple from Michigan, bringing the total sales so far for this exhibition to four original oil paintings. Considering our economic climate, I am pleased with these early results.

What is next? I have an offer to show at a venue on Salt Spring Island. I have an invitation to hang a piece or two in another local venue. There is a restaurant in Vancouver that is accepting original art work. I have also been asked to provide a cover image and feature interview for a regional magazine’s September issue. But I am wondering, is it time to seek gallery representation? If so, where might be a good place to start? Or do I put my focus into building my direct relationships with buyers? Or is it both? Possibly both but I am still thinking. While I think I shall paint.

Thank you for your special part in the STUDY of BLUE journey with me here on Creative Potager, and on twitter and facebook.

Sprout question: What is creatively next for you?

STUDY OF BLUE solo exhibition is up until July 27, 2011.

Note: Current paintings available can be viewed and purchased at TerrillWelchArtist.com

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

Interview with Terrill Welch by Bill Maylone

June 27, 2011June 27, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 23 Comments

It is not the cover of the Rolling Stones but for Mayne Island it is the next best thing. It is the kind of coverage that a person casually hands a copy over to family with a smile and a shrug. I figure blog friends are a close second to family when it comes to being supportive. So with a quiet, lopsided grin… following is an interview by Bill Maylone for our local monthly magazine – the MayneLiner. Plus, my oil painting “Henderson Hill” made the cover.

Bill knows art and is an excellent writer so I was thrilled when he asked to come by and see the paintings for the STUDY of BLUE solo exhibition and to interview me for an article. Enjoy!

TCAC (Trincomali Community Arts Council)

Art On Mayne by Bill Maylone

Terrill Welch, who is active in the Trincomali Community Council and other Mayne Islandgroups, is an accomplished painter, photographer and writer. She has sold paintings to patrons as far away as New York and Switzerland. Her method of working and her finished work intimately reflects her relationship to her subjects. Terrill moved to Mayne Island with her partner, David Colussi, in May 2007. “I need to have access to a natural world and to have a relationship with the environment”. Looking down from her back deck, in a view framed by large Douglas fir trees, eagles fly in wide spirals above Meadowmist Farm. Its fields and meadows are dotted with sheep and deer, and beyond Heck Hill across the valley, a distant squall sweeps across Navy Channel. Here, and in her exploration of the Southern Gulf Islands, she finds the inspiration and the subject matter for her work as an artist.

She always carries a camera when she’s exploring the Islands. “Digital photography really changed the way I go about painting. It was never practical to take a lot of photos of a subject for reference because of the cost and time and inconvenience of chemical photography. So I’d draw a lot of sketches at a location to try to capture the essence of a place or a subject to help me remember what it was like and what I saw. Reference photos are useful, but you need to take a lot of them. I’ve taken up to 120 for one painting. Each one gives you a different angle on the subject, but no single one captures what I try to express through the painting that ultimately ends up on the canvas.”

She begins a painting by exuberantly spreading a thin layer of blue, cadmium yellow or orange paint across a canvas or hardboard surface. One advantage she finds in using oils is that they dry slowly, allowing her lots of time to play with the paint and gradually work recognizable shapes out of the suggestive abstract forms on the surface. The technique, known as underpainting, creates a foundation on which other layers of paint are built upon. It also sets up a basic emotional tone through the use of colour.

The painting process is an active and physical one for Terrill, and it relates to how she perceives her subjects. “I like to work standing up because it lets me dance around the painting and look at it from a variety of perspectives. When you visit a place, you don’t see it from just one angle; every time you take a step or move your head, new parts are revealed to you. The place itself is active, too: the waves and clouds are always changing. The wind moves the leaves. The light is different each moment.”

She works the whole canvas at once, which tends to give her pieces a strong sense of unity. She explains, “I don’t worry about trying to get some detail just right. It’s bringing along the entire painting as a whole that’s important.” What emerges is not intended to be a photorealistic image, but an impressionistic and emotional picture of not only what she sees, but of what she feels about the subject. “The painting I create reveals my relationship to a place.”

Her solo exhibition titled, “Study of Blue”, a collection of new and recent paintings, opens at the Oceanwood Resort at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 30th, and it runs until July 27th.
Why blue? “It’s a personal thing. There’s something deeply emotional to me about blue. It’s a visceral experience that I want to share with others.”….

Note: This article was published in the MayneLiner Magazine Volume 21 – Number 6, June 2011 on page 51. It has been posted here with permission.

Sprout question: If you could be interviewed by anyone, who would it be and why?

STUDY OF BLUE solo exhibition opens Thursday June 30, 2011.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

FromMayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

An invitation to buy a painting (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Port of call – Mayne Island (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
The nuts and bolts of buying an original painting (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

Poppy Opening

June 21, 2011June 21, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 23 Comments

Poppy Opening

Poppy petals unfold,

their crinkly wrinkles.

Laundry on a summer line.

Sun-kissed and fresh.

Moving gently with the breeze,

these frocks of orange.

(image is available for purchase here.)

Happy Summer Solstice.

Sprout question: How might you celebrate summer solstice?

STUDY OF BLUE solo exhibition opens Thursday June 30, 2011.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

FromMayne Island,British Columbia,Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

Promise of Summer (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Port of call – Mayne Island (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

My Grand Studio

June 17, 2011June 16, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 26 Comments

I have had this idea since last fall that I would like a most grand studio, one as large as the whole outdoors. What do you think?

Will this do?

I have painted en plein air over the years but not so much recently. And not so much since returning to oil painting. It is time.

Not having taken the time to put a ground on the canvas and being that an underpainting is impractical, I adapted a few squiggles for use to guide me into the painting.

As usual in my painting process, I can feel the image starting to take shape early on.

I search for patterns.

With my water miscible oil paints becoming deliciously warmed by the sun, I work. I puzzle. I work some more. Hours pass and the morning slips away. I stand back.

The light has changed. My body and mind are pleasantly stiff from my efforts. I am done for now. It is time to pack up and take the canvas back to the studio where I can get a good look at it.

I shall let this 12 x 12 inch original oil painting, AT THE BEACH, rest for awhile and decide what, if anything, I want to do to it.

While we are musing I have an announcement. It is almost the longest day of the year – no, that is not it. It is just that, well, I need to wallow in these summer days. I need to whisk away as many routine commitments as possible. It feeds my resilience, a kind of adult playing of hooky…

I hereby give notice that Creative Potager has gone to the beach – wooden French box easel in tow. If you wish, proceed with a subscription. There will be unpredictable and sparse blog posts between now and the beginning of September. Summer speeding is prohibited and shall result in going directly to winter.

Okay, I’m a responsible hooky player. I give notice and I let you know where you can find me. If you have a few spare minutes, feel free to wander down.

Sprout question: What might be unpredictably irregular for you this summer?

STUDY OF BLUE solo exhibition opens Thursday June 30, 2011.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island,British Columbia,Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com