British Columbia

Art Opening

/ 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

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

Poppy Opening

/ 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.

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

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My Grand Studio

/ 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.

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

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An invitation to buy a painting

/ Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

I am as giddy as a bee nose-first in a newly opened rose. Only 18 more sleeps.

Yes, I am inviting you to my art opening on June 30th at 7:00 pm. Yes, I would love to see you. Yes, I will give you a glass of wine, slivers of local cheeses along with dozen other tasty nibbles and a personal tour of my work. Yes, I have made it possible for you to buy these paintings online without coming to my solo exhibition STUDY of BLUE. It is a big world. Not all of you can travel the distance to arrive here on Mayne Island. I do this because I am selling my paintings. This is my personal invitation to you. I am inviting you to buy one of my original oil paintings. There you have it – right smack dab between the eyes 🙂

No matter how carefully a gallery or artist dresses up an invitation to an art exhibition, the price tag always seems to be visible. Yet, we both know the paintings must be sold, if not today, then someday. This is the practical side of Art.

To be practical something must be straight forward and if possibly – easy. Therefore, I am going to make it as easy as possible for you to research and decide on a painting to buy. I have prepared a special post on my gallery site which includes an essential link to all of the painting images with a “buy button,” a link to the price list, a link to tips for buying original paintings and a link to directions. If you need anything else, let me know and I will be glad to assist.

Ah! There! It wasn’t so bad was it? At least I hope it wasn’t. It had better not have been. Maybe it was? Oh heck Terrill! Just click post.

Please feel free to share with others who love and collect art, in particular original oil paintings.

Sprout question: What creative reality is hitting you smack dab between the eyes?

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

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

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Seasoned Drama Queen

/ Terrill Welch / 10 Comments

Enjoying one of life’s great mysteries as no two days at the beach are ever  the same. 

(image is available for purchase here.)

Seasoned Drama Queen

Old sandstones baked on the reef until lustfully sultry,

while awaiting the sea’s caress.

Together with the sky’s blue,

these three perform like a seasoned drama queen,

making so much out of so little.

Sprout question: What sensory experience has your creative juices flowing?

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

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

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Port of call – Mayne Island

/ Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

Near Mayne Island while traversing the inside passage from either direction, the Gulf Islands B.C. Ferry vessel loudspeaker will crackle. The captain then announces variations of “We are approaching Villiage-Bay-Mayne-sland. This is also the transfer point for passengers going to…..”  This last part of the announcement changes depending on what ferry you are traveling.

It is pretty hard to miss your stop. But knowing if you even want to come or how to get this far in your trip can be a little tricky. Fortunately, our Mayne Island Community Chamber of Commerce makes it easier.

Regular Creative Potager readers may recognize the photographs on the front panel and the inside of this four-fold brochure. Yes, they are mine.

Earlier this year I was asked by a chamber member if I would consider submitting some photographs for use in the brochure. There had been a community-wide call for submission. I hummed and hawed feeling that my images are not really marketing sunshine and fun. They are often quiet, subdued, reflective and moodily dramatic. Since most of my photographs are taken in low-light during fall/winter or during the bookends of a spring or summer day, I wasn’t sure what I had to offer. But I agreed to let the committee have a look at my redbubble portfolio. To my delight they chose these two images. This is the second time this year that my images have been requested for promotional purposes – a pleasant addition to my artistically aimed photography.

But you might be saying “where is Mayne Island anyway?” The Chamber brochure has a pictorial answer on the back panel. Off the west coast of North America, snuggled into a cluster of Canadian Gulf Islands and the United States San Juan Islands, that darkly coloured island is home.

Now I bet you want to know exactly where Creative Potager is on Mayne Island – right? If you open up the brochure there is a map of the island. I love the crunchy tactile unfolding of maps. This brochure has a particularly satisfying soft and earthy feeling to the touch.

Creative Potager is marked by a white-squared number 35. See it there, just below the Mt Parke Park signage near the centre of the island.

The white-squared number 35 Creative Potager home studio is open by appointment.

The best way to get a home studio tour of our timberframed strawbale la casa de inspiracion is to email me at tawelch@shaw.ca .

You will need a brochure, or wait for the chamber website to be updated, to know exactly what else is marked on the map. I can tell you that yellow-squared numbers are accommodation, green are farms, orange real estate, red services, and white shops and galleries. If you would like your own brochure it will be on the ferry or drop me a line and I can mail you one.

My STUDY OF BLUE  solo exhibition of 15 original oil paintings, opening Thursday June 30, 2011, will be held at the yellow-squared number 9 and blue-squared number 17 which is the two listings for the Oceanwood. One is for accommodation and one for the restaurant.

Fly into Vancouver or Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, rent a car, catch a ferry and you are here. It is just that easy. During the busy summer season it is recommended to make reservations for the ferry from Vancouver to Mayne Island and for accommodation while you are here. I look forward to seeing you sometime soon.

Best of the weekend to you!

Sprout question: What is your creative port of call?

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

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

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Promise of Summer

/ Terrill Welch / 31 Comments

As the grasses begin to head, even the cool weather can’t deny the promise of summer.

The first fawn of the year moves in the shadows.

We take to the beach for an afternoon weekend read.

There is a heron fishing in the shallows.

Finally it catches a dinner.

We promise ourselves many more days like this – it is the promise of summer.

Sprout question: What is your promise of summer?

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

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

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KEEPING WATCH original oil painting by Terrill Welch

/ Terrill Welch / 23 Comments

Here it is! The last painting, KEEPING WATCH, of the 15 that will be in my solo exhibition, STUDY OF BLUE  solo exhibition opening June 30, 2011 is complete.

The painting started out in the usual Terrill-Welch-fashion with an underpainting ready to start working up into a painting.

The large upright canvas did not fit on my easel so I painted down in the sun room which is a deliciously bright place to work.

The canvas had held the movement in the scene from the beginning of the underpainting and I can see that one of my jobs will be to retain that energy right through to completion.

You may guess by now that I am painting my very most favourite arbutus tree overlooking the Strait of Georgia by the light house at Georgina Point. This tree will be featured in one of my photographs on the front cover of this year’s Mayne Island Community Chamber of Commerce brochure and be distributed up and down parts of the west coast of Canada and the United States.

The painting is now starting to breathe on its own, talking back quietly to me as I work.

Now I am close. It is not finished but I am undecided as to what to do next.

I let it rest for a few days and then I finish it up.

KEEPING WATCH 36 X 24  by 1.5 inch original oil painting by Terrill Welch

If you want you can use your inspection skills and see if you can discover what I changed. One change is particularly obvious. The others not so much so.

Please NOTE: I am taking a week off from blogging. The next Creative Potager post will be Friday May 27, 2011. It is time for a little creative downtime before shifting gears into the final preparations for the opening.

Sprout question: What does creative downtime mean to you?

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

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

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Apple Blossom Special

/ Terrill Welch / 26 Comments

I am so close to, but not quite, finished my last painting KEEPING WATCH of the 15 that will be in my solo exhibition, STUDY OF BLUE, opening June 30, 2011. You are going to have to wait – maybe Friday, depending on how my week goes.

To sustain you until then, I have some lovely apple blossom photographs.

and another….

and another….

and another….

until finally, they are dancing on the branch….

(image may be purchased here)

By the way, I had the most amazing Friday the 13th. Two of my original oil paintings were sold in pre-sales and will be off to new homes July 27, 2011 at the close of my upcoming show.

ORANGE SEA will be off to a collector  in Victoria, B.C. Canada.

HEAVY CLOUD will be off to a collector in the United States.

May the pieces enrich and bless their new owner’s lives for years to come.

Friday must be one of my good luck kinds of days!

This now means that three of the fifteen paintings to be shown are already sold. A very good beginning – don’t you think?

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

Sprout question: If you could choose anyone of the STUDY OF BLUE paintings to hang on your wall which would it be and why?

(and please don’t say the one I haven’t finished yet, it just might hurt my feelings)

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

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Guess who I met on the road?

/ Terrill Welch / 16 Comments

If your read Monday’s post “Story of the Henderson Hill Original Oil Painting,” you may remember that we had to go into Victoria for dentists appointment and to pick up my dear 20-year-old blue Ford F150 4X4 pick up – Miss Prissy. I am happy to report that she will likely be of reliable service for a few more years yet.

While we were at the dentist, we had a guest come to see us. Can you guess who? Does this help?

He traveled by grey hound and city bus for over an hour just to say hello. Coen was a bit of a weary traveler and took to a nap after visiting and taking yet another city bus ride when we were through at the dentists.

Of course he wasn’t traveling alone.

In fact he doesn’t go very far from his mom at anytime yet. Who can complain about seeing the dentist with visitors like this? Not me, that is for sure. By the way, these three photographs were taken with a little android phone because that was all we had.

On another note, I didn’t get anymore painting done yet this week but I do have a photograph you may want to see.

(this image may be purchased here) 

The photograph Underneath is akin to sitting under a table as a child. It is about being in the forest looking out onto the rest of the world. I like the privacy and the unusual perspective that the image offers.

Sprout question: Tell us about a time your creativity came from underneath?

Best of the weekend to you!

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

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

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

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