Exciting to look ahead and see how 2024 unfolds, but should finish off 2023 first.
Usually people think of male artists when discussing art in history... Rembrandt, Colville, Krieghoff ( I clearly remember as a kid when my teacher showed everyone a picture of a painting done by Krieghoff... Blew me away and he remains a big favourite.)
But wonderful women artists have always been there but seem to never be recognized or remembered.
At least now there is more effort to enlighten the public that you do not need to be a guy to have artistic skills.
Southwest Art Magazine ( sold across Canada in Indigo and other bookstores, and in over 1,000 Barnes and Noble bookstores in the USA as well as other places), did a special section on Women Artists in their October/ November issue, and I am pleased to be included.
After spending a wonderful few weeks being exhibited at the Woodstock Art Gallery, my painting Camouflage , 12 x 12 inches is now at Lourdes University in Ohio.
Only 39 paintings were juried into this very special exhibition with two Canadian and two American judges.
Here is an article in the Toledo paper about the exhibit.
Above is the painting Camouflage
Proud to announce that my painting Secluded Pond , 24 x 36 inch, oil on canvas, was juried into the Perspectives exhibition.
Only 34 artists were selected for the exhibition which was at the Etobicoke Civic Centre by the prestigious Federation of Canadian Artists.
Exhibition date was October 31st to November 30th.
Artwork in the poster is Nancy Wardle's acrylic, 8x8 inch, Thumbs Up
My painting Fishing, 30 H by 24 inch wide, oil on canvas, was juried and selected for the prestigious Colour and Form Society's 71st Annual Open Juried
Exhibition, and was exhibited in the Studio M Gallery Studio M Gallery, 951 Lakeshore Rd East, Mississauga November 4th to November 17.
I was Proud to have my artwork included in the prestigious Artists for Conservation hardcover book, which is showcasing its 16th annual juried exhibition held at the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens recently in Vancouver.
My painting shown is titled Emerald Reflections, 24 x 36 inches, oil on canvas, and is of Emerald Lake , British Columbia. This piece is Sold.
Was happy to be notified that I tied for 5th place in the Realism Landscape cateagory of the American Art Awards, out of 72 countries.
The judges are the top art galleries and museums in the United States.
Picture Pathway published a new story of one of my paintings today . Thank you Patti
https://picturepathway.ca/camouflage/...
CAMOUFLAGE
by Lynden Cowan
October 30, 2023
Turtles are known to have originated around 230 million years ago, and like most people, I am fascinated by them.
Every year at the Alton Mill Arts Centre, we are blessed with several nests around the pond, and the artists keep faithful watch over them until they hatch.
Camouflage is a 12 x 12 inch oil on canvas painting of one of our resident turtles and was challenging to create because I used a limited palette of olive green, Payne’s and Davy’s grey, burnt sienna, blush and naples yellow dominating background shadows created from a blend of Prussian blue and alizarin crimson. A tiny bit of bismuth yellow was applied as an accent on the turtle’s head.
Camouflage by Lynden Cowan
The combination of Prussian blue and alizarin crimson as opposed to just using lamp black, is important because depending on the amount of one colour used with the other, it adds depth and a 3D approach to your subject.
Payne’s grey and Davy’s grey are the base colours for the dried grass and rocks surrounding the turtle.
To achieve the under water appearance, a series of very thin glaze was used with a mix of over 90 per cent Liquin Fine Detail and a tiny amount of pigment.
Currently Camouflage is on tour, first selected as one of only 39 pieces into a special exhibit held at the Woodstock Art Gallery and Museum by four judges, two American, and two Canadian.
This exhibition has now travelled to Sylvania , Ohio, and was on display at the Cantricle Center Gallery at Lourdes University until December 22, 2023.
Artists who understand how to control colour are able to convey to the public information, or create certain emotional responses, or influence the viewers perception of the subject.
Painting and learning how to control your colours teaches children and adults patience, and allows them to feel relaxed and comfortable while creating a piece of art. It takes a significant amount of concentration and calls for focus without the stress of studying that tests and homework can bring.
Artists love painting because they can give the perception of depth through layers of pigment applied over a period of time that is virtually impossible to otherwise achieve.
This skill does not happen overnight. When I look at anything now, I automatically understand what colours I need to put on my palette.
I really believe that this knowledge should begin with children, and for that reason my grandchildren enjoy oil painting in my studio (4 and 6 years old), and have free choice of what colours they wish to raid from gramma’s supply.
Colour is Life.
This is a recent finished painting and is titled Guardian. The painting is a 16 by 20 inch oil on gallery wrap canvas, of two painted turtles, and sold already. New home is in Kingston, On
The Painted Turtles reside in the Millpond that is beside my studio at the Alton Mill Arts Centre in Alton, Ontario, and the larger turtle appears to be protecting and guiding the smaller one.
Fishing, 24 by 30 inches ,oil on gallery wrapped canvas ,was juried and selected for the Visual Arts Mississauga "Why do you Create" exhibition.
The exhibition will be from January 15th to February 11th at VAM Riverwood,
4170 Riverwood Park Lane, Mississauga, and Online January 15th to June 30th, 2024.
Delivered my painting Ucluelet (24 by 30 inch, oil on canvas) to the Ontario Legislature where it will be one of a small number of artworks that were juried and selected to be displayed for 2024 (returning to me in January 2025.)
Honoured to have been selected.
PicturePathway did a story in January 2024 about this piece.
https://picturepathway.ca/ucluelet/?
Ucluelet is described on the internet as a district municipality on the Ucluelet Peninsula found on the West Coast of Vancouver island in British Columbia.
I just describe it as beautiful.
The painting of Ucluelet is a 24 by 30 inch oil on gallery wrapped canvas, which I thoroughly enjoyed bringing to life.
Most artists simply paint rocks as grey, but I feel that is wrong. When you examine a rock, or in the case of the Ucluelet painting, which has large boulders, you see a kaleidoscope of colours, a multitude of pigments you did not expect to see.
To start the painting the boulders were all done with a combination of Prussian blue and alizarin crimson. This combination picks up the light a different way and creates depth, whereas just using Lamp black, would be too flat.
Usually my sky is started with cereleum blue and titanium white, but knowing that I was going to position a rolling fog, I opted for cereleum blue , and a combination of flake white and davy’s grey. This gives the duller impression as a base that you would expect to see on a foggy, misty, grey day.
Building the boulders was done with a triple zero rounded tip brush, and a series thin layers of Paynes grey, cobalt turquiose, mauve , and pure davy’s grey not thinned.
When the boulders were almost complete, shadows of light magenta, cereleum blue and davy’s grey mixed with flake white, were added in small areas.
Trees and greenery were kept simplified with burnt umber, magenta, Prussian green, Terre Verte, and tiny areas of cobalt turquiose.
Rolling fog was introduced after the buoy and tiny sailboat were completed, so that they would also drift over these two items, pushing them to a distance.
Using a glaze technique repeated multiple times you get the impression of the heavy mist moving in and can almost feel the dampness on your cheeks. If you have never done a glaze effect, it is accomplished very patiently. In my practice I use Liquin Fine Detail with a very minute touch of whatever colour you are using added. This creates a very thin, almost transparent painted area, using again a round tip brush, and loose free flowing strokes.
So where is this painting now?
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario known to us a Queen’s Park, juried and selected a small number of paintings from Ontario artists, to grace the building and be exhibited there for all of 2024, and I feel honored that Ucluelet is one of those artworks.
Hope you will have a chance to visit me in my studio at the Alton Mill Arts Centre. I am in my studio on the weekends and sometimes through the week. Lots to see there, multiple studios, and makes a wonderful destination for a family activity.
Time to get back to the easel :)
Lynden
https://altonmill.ca/