New Site

Hey....I've moved...

Would love to have you follow me at my new location

Melody Madden

It's A Thursday

It's a beautiful start to another wintery type day in the village.

Yesterday we received more snow than was called for but you couldn't help but smile as it was picture postcard pretty.

P.S..... Here's what I'm working on in the studio this morning ... Day 4 and counting

Busy Times .....

I can't promise I'll be blogging much in the next little while but I will try to pop in and out if only to post a photo or a few words.   Lots of new website design "stuff" is taking priority right now.

Have a great day!

It's All Moving So Quickly

This week is moving oh so quickly and I'm having a hard time keeping up but having said that,  I nevertheless do feel great.  I imagine I feel this way because finally things seem to be falling into place and I see the progression of what I've been working towards.  I am in the flow so to speak...

Within the next few weeks I will be beginning a new blog over on WordPress.  The WordPress site will also house my website.  Nice and simple .... keep it simple!  This blog will stay as a more journaling type of blog  mostly for my friends and family but the new blog will represent the progression of my artwork and a few other fun things ... guess you'll just have to stop by and visit for yourself.

For those of you who have emailed asking me if I ever intend to sell my work online.  Hmmm... that may happen with the new site.  My vision all along has always been to sell the work in galleries as I think I'm just that type of artist and always will be but that being said, I may offer small 6"x6" or 5"x7" pieces online for anyone who is interested.  Perhaps a piece a week. Before I begin a new larger work I always, always, complete a smaller piece, a study you could say.  I never want to committ to work on a bigger scale if I haven't already worked out some of the logistics on a smaller format.  Those pieces would be the ones I would be considering offering.   I'm still playing around with the idea in my head.  We will just have to see where that goes .....

For the past year or so I've been following a gallery I would absolutely love to be a part of.  A few months ago I gathered up my courage and sent them an intro letter as well as a link to my website ( it seems most galleries are now interested in being approached this way rather than the formal package in the mail).  I heard back from them quite quickly and we've been corresponding ever since.  I will not name them because I'm not 100% sure of what will happen but I have a good feeling about the direction our conversations are taking.  They are not in Ontario which is a plus since I'm looking to find representation outside of my own province.  Fingers crossed....

It is a busy time....


A special "Happy Thanksgiving" to my friends and family in the United  States.  Eat lots of turkey and enjoy time spent with your family and friends.

Monday Morning

Monday morning = Studio time = Bliss

p.s.   watched Annie Leibovitz on Visionaries last night ..... mind blowing talent 

Change ... It's Inevitable

I haven't always been that great with change and perhaps I'm still not but I'm getting there.

But oh, I am so in love with the word Flow ... sometimes I say it softly to myself, a mantra of sorts.  To me it conjures up images of water gently skimming the surface of beach rocks or laundry hanging on the line on a breezy summer day under a cerlean sky.  When I look at my life and how Flow presents itself in that realm I realize it is all about me being open to whatever happens without resistance.  It is what my all time favourite spiritual book reminds me of everyday.  I've mentioned in previous posts how
Stephen Mitchell's translation of The Tao Te Ching resonates most with me.  I read a page everyday  ... it centers me, it balances me, it presents a slight shift that I can feel within me.

My art continues to evolve and change ... that change excites me!  Even though some of my earlier works still make me cringe, I feel it is important to revisit them now and again just to clearly see the big picture.  You can't move forward without acknowledging where you've been.

So the work moves forward as do I.  Which means shedding off the old and forging ahead with the new.  Come Monday I (along with help cause God knows I can't do it alone) will be creating a combined website and blog on WordPress ... it's time and I love the idea of having both of them together as well as creating a site which is representational of me, my art and my life.  I've also been getting a bit of help with marketing and other "art stuff" which I will discuss at some point in a future post.

The next few weeks will be busy ones but I'm up for the challenge (she says nervously biting her nails down to the quick)  Yeah, I'm slowly warming up to change because in life it is all you can really be certain of.

The Start of Something

What's getting started on the easel this a.m...... we'll see where it goes in the next few days....

Dimming Of The Day .....

Dimming Of The Day

8"x8"

Acrlic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Happy Hallowe'en

Happy Hallowe'en .......

Sierah was home last week so we decided to buy a pumpkin early as she enjoys the carving more than either John or I or Holly for that matter.  The best part as far as I'm concerned are the seeds ... with lots of salt and butter.  Not a heart smart choice by an means but delicious all the same.  This year I held off buying any candy until yesterday since I've been known in years past to plow through a box of 100 chocolate bars in record time.  What I really need to do is buy candy that I don't particularly like but since I can't think of any off the top of my head ... I must practice discipline.  Although I do despise rockets and that horrible brown sticky toffee wrapped in waxy wrappers wth a pumpkin face on it but even I wouldn't inflict that on anyone.  When I was a kid that's all we got along with this crazy old lady who threw apples at us as we were walking onto her porch.  Speaking of traumatizing childhood Hallowe'en experiences .... one of my favourite episodes of Modern Family aired last week......that show never fails to crack me up.  Watch a clip here

These three new pieces will probably head up to the Silverbridge Gallery this week......

Farewell To The Sun

8"x10"

Acrylic on Canvas

Illuminations

8"x10"

Acrylic on Canvas

Releasing Wonder

24"x36"

Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

A Walk Is Good For The Soul

I can't seem to get enough of this time of year although I've been disappointed with the lack of sunshine....Sunday turned out to be a day worth yelling "hallelujah" about.

Holly and I decided to take a walk... cause don't you know...walks are good for the soul

Saw a cool fort in the middle of the woods.........

On studio front I'm currently working on these............

Wherever you are today .... make it a good one....

A Glimpse

A Glimpse

Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

20"x40"

In The Studio

Today I'm going to try and spend half of my time reorganizing the studio and the other half working

Wish me luck....  I'm looking for balance

Things have gotten rather messy again ...

Yuck

Here's what's in varying states of completion .....

How's your Wednesday shaping up????

New Work

Even In The Quietest Moments.......

Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

24"x 24"

Autumn Has Arrived

As Promised

8"x10"

Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

Work in the studio is going well.  I'm really pleased with the direction in which my work is headed.

I had a great first meeting with Lyn at The Tangerine Gecko Gallery last week while I was in the city visiting with my mom.  She is looking for big work for the gallery so Monday of next week I'll be giving my 30"x60" a go.  Below is the 24"x36" I've just begun.  It is in it's very early stages but as you can see it will be quite dark.

The last couple of days we've been picking apples off of our two trees in the backyard, at least the ones the birds haven't had a chance to peck away at.  They are still a touch tart but I like them that way.  This morning I put a sweater on after I got out of bed ... autumn has arrived.

Monday Morning

Thought I should check in but unfortunately I don't have a whole hell of a lot to say.

I was in the city for two days last week dropping off new work for The Village Gallery and visiting with my family.  It was good times for sure.

One night after a huge helping of chinese food and a beer or two my sister decided to stay over at my moms with me.  We slept in the guest room which has two twin beds identical to what our  room was like when we were little kids.  It felt like being 8 years old all over again as we lay there talking in the dark, laughing and giggling.  Good memories shared.  My sister and I were never very close growing up as we were both so different in personality and interests but as the years have worn on I feel we have developed a relationship that has grown deep and strong.  It is a relationship that comforts me.

Have a wonderful Monday in your part of the world....

Me & The Buddha

The Summer I First Believed

24"x24"

Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

I'm doing my best to remain focused today as I've got a lot on the go and feel I'm falling behind.  I spent yesterday rearranging my cupboards and thoroughly cleaning out my kitchen which was an accomplishment but in the end I wasn't standing in front of the easel.

The above piece is either going to go to The Village Gallery or Tangerine Gecko Gallery.  I'm headed to the city next week with deliveries for both.  The Matilda Swanson I will visit sometime in later September and The Silverbridge in a couple of weeks.  

On the way back from Peterborough last weekend John and I stopped at this really cool spot that we had read about in the Globe and Mail.  It is the site of one of the largest Buddhist Temples to be built in North America, if not the largest.  It my take years to complete with the main building being 65,000 square feet.  It will be open to the public.

You can read about it here.

A few photos of the day....

The property is absolutely stunning.  I could see the Buddha's head in the distance which will be part of a stone statue weighing 100 tonnes.  I wanted to get a closer look but the gate was closed with a No Trespassing Sign and I wasn't willing to climb it.  I may have done that 20 years ago but now I'll just be patient and wait until the gates open to the public.

The Times They Are A Changin'

This Too Shall Pass
36"x 12"
Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

I received an email yesterday from Connie who asked me if I was still working in textiles as she hadn't seen me post any work in a long time.  That got me to thinking that perhaps I'd forgotten/neglected to touch on this subject or that maybe I already did but am too lazy to go back and check ... maybe the latter.

Anyway, to make a long story short... for the forseeable future the sewing machine has been retired and I'll tell you why.

Blind Faith

24"x24"

Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

A little over a year ago I began feeling the need to work on a much larger scale but couldn't wrap my head around how I could possibly manage that in machine embroidery.  I started to get the itch to experiment and to try something new.  One week while my machine was in being serviced I was cleaning out another one of the dreaded closets in our house that seems to house all the junk we've collected over the years, and low and behold I came across a couple of canvases.  I started simply playing and wow could I ever feel the hook.  Moving the paint around the canvas just felt so freeing after the years spent being committed to each stitch my machine put down.  I produced two small pieces that I somewhat liked and could see a small glimmer of hope to where this might lead.  I continued to stay within a realm I was comfortable with which was 8"x8" or 10"x10"... I was pretty scared of going too big too fast, thinking that maybe I would get discouraged and give up.  

 Here I Breathe

40"x20"

Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

A few months later I had a couple friends over who wanted me to give them a tour of my studio.  Seeing that it is a tiny space it was a pretty short tour but they saw the few paintings I had finished and asked if they were for sale ..... it kind of took off from there.

I approached both of my representing galleries at the time, The Village Gallery and The Silverbridge and they were very receptive to taking my paintings.  In September I will head up the Blue Mountain way to The Matilda Swanson Gallery who have asked that I bring larger paintings since that is what most of their clients purchase.  Last week I was speaking with The Tangerine-Gecko Gallery in Markham and they are interested in taking a few paintings as well.  So it looks like I will have a fairly busy fall.

The Summer I First Believed

24"x24"

Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

I've never really entertained any ideas of being a painter as I was pretty happy in my little niche but it just goes to show you just never know where life will take you.  Through unforseen circumstances, a desire to produce larger pieces and a whole hell of a lot of hard work .... this is where I find myself.

I will always love texile work and am so very proud of the quality of the work I've accomplished over the years but for now I am happy here in my tiny little studio, paintbrush in hand......

Strength of Character

11"x14"

Acrylic on Canvas

                

Home

So I'm back from Lake Superior ... wonderful trip ...catching up on laundry....more details and pics to follow.