deborah nicholson fine art

waiting

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:22:00 +0000

On Saturday, October 8th from 2pm-5:00pm, I'll be unveiling my latest artwork in the company of two other artists, Holly Everett and Toni Losey at Swoon Gallery in Hammonds Plains. So, I thought it timely to share a few of my thoughts on art openings.

Different artists feel differently about art openings - some love the socializing and some love to be in the spot light. Others would simply rather hide in their studio or maybe a handy broom closet. In spite of their diverse feelings about openings, I think most artists are just a little nervous about showing new work... ok, maybe a lot nervous.

Put yourself in the artist's shoes for a moment... after investing huge amounts of time, thought and energy, anxiety, indecision, angst, even sweat, into expressing an idea, (for the most part in isolation) and then showing it to friends, strangers, family and other artists... all at once... in one fell swoop... there it is... all over the place... everyone's looking at it... well... you can't take it back!

You can't hide it under a rock, throw it down a well, set fire to it. It's too late.., everyone can see it now. It's quite like bounding stark naked into a crowded room, yelling "Look at me! Look at me!" in your best Scoobie-Doo voice. Once you're there, you can never go back.

So... if you've never been to an art opening... go! It's a great opportunity to connect with another person's ideas in a novel way. There are no expecations - you dont have to buy anything. You don't have to stand around being all art-knowing or anything. Its a party. It's a social event. It's fun! And, keep in mind that it's OK to point and comment but not if there's a naked person in the room.

Now, on that note, here's some of my art for my new show along with my artist statement. Hope to see you on the 8th!

Happier, mixed media, 36"x24"

Please Take a Seat, mixed media, 24"x36"

WAITING
Deborah Nicholson - Artist Statement

Wallpaper patterns from childhood memories of my home-made barbie playhouse have become my backdrop for Waiting.

As a young girl waiting for grown-up things to happen - a grown-up body and a gown-up home
to accessorize with grown-up things and as an adult, waiting - for boyfriends, for girlfriends, for
renovations to be finished, for meals to be served, for things to get better, for doctors, for guests to arrive, for interviews, for people to change, for children to come home, for good news, for bad news, this new series of paintings is about the links between waiting to grow up and the waiting that's done as a grown-up.

Threads of repeated visual and behavioural patterns pull back to memories of my childish playing at the business of being grown up. Everything seems to have come full-circle. When I used to play with barbie, I always felt as though she and I were waiting together and now that I'm spending time with her again, I see that she really does seem to be on the edge of her seat. I wonder how my time spent in pre-adolescent play with barbie-dolls has affected what I've waited for and expected throughout my life.

Until next time,
Deborah

primary school friends

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 15:42:00 +0000

Thanks to Facebook, we spent a beautiful sunny Annapolis Valley day with Michael's early childhood friend, Marilyn, and her husband Kurt who visited from Montreal. They were delightful company and we shared great conversation and a few giggles as we explored the local beaches and wineries.

Until next time,
Deborah

Waiting

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 01:27:00 +0000

Opening on October 8th at Swoon Gallery in Hammonds Plains, will be my first solo art exhibit. I'm feeling nervous as heck and have been busily yoyo-ing up and down between liking my new work and hating it. I really have no idea if anyone will respond to it positively or even get it. Wow! Lol! Talk about putting myself out there!

The work is about waiting - waiting to grow up, waiting for things to happen, waiting for people, waiting for news. It's about the tension of waiting - of anticipation.

This one is called Sofa Girl.

Until next time,

Deborah

Blue Goat

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 23:44:00 +0000

Greetings!

A wet dull spring is slowly... verrrrry slowly... blossoming into summer. Promised myself to maintain a garden this year AND get my new series, entitled Expectations, ready for Swoon Gallery in October. Had time to slip in some goats for Susan Paczek's Petting Zoo that opens at Swoon in July.

Here's one called Blue Goat. It's 10"x10" paint and wallpaper collage on panel, $125. I'm feeling oddly turned on to old-fashioned wallpaper prints lately. I don't know WHAT that's all about!

Until next time,
Deborah

at Designer Cafe

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Mon, 09 May 2011 02:14:00 +0000

Exchange - Mixed Media Paintings by Deborah Nicholson
From May 11^th to June 8th at Designer Cafe, Kentville

Deborah's reflected streetscapes are placeless places where fluid and fleeting exchanges between pedestrians and mannequins occur.

"We humans instantly imagine any creature, whether corporal or constructed, to have personality. This anthropomorphism is what I continually strive to express in my work. I enjoy that we instinctively apply stories to photographs of strangers, to animals, to toys with faces and even to headless mannequins!"

Deborah's a photographic and mixed media artist, having studied painting, drawing, sculpting and photography at The Toronto School of Art, the Art Gallery of Ontario and, in Montreal, at The Dawson School of Photography. Her work is enjoyed by private collectors in Canada, Trinidad and the US and has been exhibited in Toronto, Denmark and Nova Scotia. She's currently represented by Swoon Gallery in Hammonds Plains, The Copper Fox Gallery in Halls Harbour and Harvest Gallery in Wolfville.

Sharing home and studio with her husband on four acres of Acadian Forest, Deborah is surrounded by great friends, sustainable family-run farms and the magnificent Bay of Fundy.

Designer Cafe Mo- Fr 7am-5pm, Sa 8am-4pm, 373 Main St. Kentville, 902-365-3322

Give Me Summer

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Fri, 06 May 2011 01:07:00 +0000

Greetings!

The CopperFox Gallery in Halls Harbour, NS will open their doors for the first time this Friday (May 6th) at 4pm. How exciting! Come and enjoy the artwork and the company of local artists.

Until next time,

Deborah

works of exchange reawaken the love of travel

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:16:00 +0000

This is taken from Elissa's review of our exhibition at the Craig Gallery in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

"SEVEN members journey through art By ELISSA BARNARD Arts Reporter, Chronicle Herald, Halifax

This exhibit, at the Craig Gallery, Alderney Landing, focuses on Denmark and the experience of the group SEVEN — six female Annapolis Valley visual artists and one poet who went to that country in August...

... The show is interesting because their experience is rarely translated literally. These multi-media artists are thoughtful, thorough and imaginative. They get at the feeling of travel, how it opens up the spirit and how it can be dislocating.

Deborah Nicholson talks about dislocation using mannequins in store windows on crowded urban streets. Her style of drawing makes one think of puzzle pieces in these layered, thoughtful collages in pale colours with gold. Painted on panel, she sometimes lets the wood surface come through. When the mannequins have heads, their faces are ill-defined.

It’s interesting that the mannequins are advertising a "New Collection" and represent an exchange of clothes for money, an added layer in this ephemeral visual story..."

Thank you Elissa!

Until next time, Deborah

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:23:00 +0000

Greetings!

As some of you know, I went to Copenhagen last August to exhibit my art with my artist collective, SEVEN. Next month, our culminating exhibition for this project will be featured at The Craig Gallery in Dartmouth. Our opening reception is on Wednesday, March 30th from 7-9pm.

I realize that it can be a challenge to motivate ourselves to venture out on a mid-week evening, but , if you're in the area, it would mean the world to me to celebrate this big moment with friends and colleagues.

Included below is the press release for the group, my artist statement for your reading enjoyment :-) and one of my mixed media collage pieces that will be in the exhibition.

Please feel free to ask questions.

Exchange-Udveksling
Opening Reception Wednesday, March 30th 7-9pm
Exhibition runs until May 1st

Seven NS artists work together to bring a gallery exhibition to Denmark. They do this, like so many who embark on adventures, in search of an exchange.

Each member of SEVEN experiences this exchange (or udveksling in Danish) from a uniquely personal vantage. Each, using their own media, will reflect through different degrees of separation.

Words and phrases that emerge as stimulus for this Denmark-based udveksling, include: building blocks, mannequins, pedestrians, row houses, bicycles, courtyards, ancient churches, high-density populations, pastries, intersections and origins.

Come for your own exchange with SEVEN; it will be a multi-media adventure with seven artists, whose materials collectively range from wool to words.

The Craig Gallery at Alderney Landing
2 Ochterloney St., Dartmouth (next to the Dartmouth Ferry Terminal Building)
902.461.4698 www.alderneylanding.com

My Artist Statement

Streetscapes and thoughtscapes. Reflected constructions of placeless places where fluid and fleeting exchanges between pedestrians and mannequins occur.

We instantly imbue any human form, whether corporal or constructed, with personality – with story. It's this autonomic exchange which drives my work. I particularly enjoy that this anthropomorphism is applied to strangers, animals, toys with faces and even headless mannequins!

Until next time...

Deborah

thought-scapes

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:42:00 +0000

A snow day, here in the Valley... a great opportunity to indulge in some blogging!

Here's a sampling of my latest for SEVEN's exhibit, UDVEKSLING/EXCHANGE for the Craig Gallery in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, April 2011.

Artist Statement

Mannequins and pedestrians share in the

exchange - with one another, with me, with the street.

Expressions and typography are read - punctuating the timescape of reflections - creating a placeless place where the exchange can exist.

These are nearly complete 4"x4" photo/paint collages. These, with five others of mine, will be shown with the rest of the group's thoughtscapes to create a mosaic piece of about 40-60 images.

I hope to see you at the opening reception!

Until next time,

Deborah

deborah nicholson: There's a new place for art that will make you swoon...

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:28:00 +0000

deborah nicholson: There's a new place for art that will make you swoon...

There's a new place for art that will make you swoon...

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:25:00 +0000

He's passed the 30 mark, but looks 24. He won a flower arranging competition when he was 11 years old and, at age 14, opened his first art gallery. Now, he's creating beauty and buzz on Hammonds Plains Road - bringing together an amazingly collection of talented Nova Scotian artists in a scrumptiously decorated old farm house.

This gifted individual is Brandt Eisner, formerly of Argyle Fine Art in Halifax. And, he's the creative force behind Swoon.

With a limited number of galleries in Nova Scotia, many of our very talented artists fail to be seen by the art-loving public. Brandt's helped to remedy this by providing a new and fresh venue. There's something for every budget and taste in Swoon's many, brightly coloured rooms. The atmosphere is friendly and unhurried - the perfect place to find that unique gift that can't be found anywhere else.

Swoon is at 1410 Hammonds Plains near Lucasville Road. It doesn't look like much from the road, but wait until spring, Brandt's also a landscape designer!

Happy Holidays!

follow your passion

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:42:00 +0000

What gives you that tingly feeling that centres in your heart and dances out through your fingers and toes and the top of your head?

I spent much of this past summer asking myself this very question. Buried under layers of "should's" and "if'"s and "can-I-earn-a-living-doing-that's", little ideas started pushing their way up to a place where I could see them in the light of day.

These ideas were nothing new to me. I'd dismissed them many times with self-doubt and "let's-be-practical" thinking. What's changed is me. Now, at the half-way point in my life, I realized that perhaps it's time to heed those dancing tingly feelings and follow my toes to new adventures - not for any other reason that the pure joy of it.

This month I've begun studying interior design and joined the amazing team at the Designer Cafe. I'm still creating art, learning to play the violin and commercial clients are continuing to seek me out for their photographic needs.

It's incredible how much energy we can generate in our beings when we love doing what we do!

Here are two of my favourite picks from my recent photo session with the truly awesome band, HAWP who obviously love what they do.

Until next time,
Deborah

the cows come home

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:33:00 +0000

Having spent the autumn touring Denmark with the popular Nova Scotian artist collective SEVEN, my collection of artworks, entitled Adagio Cow, have come home and some are now on display at Harvest Gallery in Wolfville.

My works are an invitation to contemplate the creatures that feed us and give us the products we use everyday – an invitation to ponder that moment of eye contact when we become engaged with beings other than human.

In a lyrical abstract landscape, my subjects are suspended in time and place where all else melts away but the moment of connectedness.

I invite you to visit Harvest Gallery in Wolfville and connect with all of the marvelous artwork there, created by the many talented artists here in Nova Scotia.

Harvest Gallery 462 Main St Wolfville, NS 542-7093, Tu to Th 10 - 5, Fr 10 – 6, Sa 10 - 6, Su 11 - 5

Intentions are good....

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:54:00 +0000

Sometimes life's adventures take up all of one's time, leaving little time to blog about life's adventures. Such was the case during my adventure that began in Denmark and spilled over into these days since my return.

I embarked on this artistic exchange, fully open to absorbing the Danish culture's art, design and aesthetic - consciously unaware at the time that these are, of course, methods of communication. I fully expected to return with a new clarity to “seeing” that one often experiences after time spent elsewhere. I certainly didn't expect to come back with a new-found awareness of intent in communication.

Placing visual communication aside, I quickly discovered that travelling with three other strong, independent women, places every nuance, word and expression under a microscope of scutiny. The situation challenges one to be conscious of word choices, tone, phrasing and even silences.

By immersing myself in this exchange with SEVEN, by stepping away from my usual surroundings, routines and companions, I gained clarity – clarity of my own communication shortcomings. I've been humbled to know that after 48 years, I'm still not the great communicator I was hoping to be.

But, through this exchange, the ground has shifted - or I've shifted. I can now see how deeply affected we all are by the intention behind communication of every kind. Our intent is paramount. No matter what form it takes - be it a piece of music, a speech, a painting or a conversation with a friend, what matters most is intent. Whether we consciously realize it or not, we all see through to the real intention - the true reason for the communication, which explains why we may be moved by one thing and not another.

My opportunity now is to enhance all facets of my communications, both visually and in my everyday conversations - to hold my intent close so I can keep an eye on it.

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen...

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 07:46:00 +0000

Kevlavik Airport in Iceland

The gallery where we'll be exhibiting.

First impression of Copenhagen: Lack of needless excess in anything - architecture, produce lifestyle, decoration, selection, use of space. Place, time and activity seems to be used to the full without spilling over or being crammed. Not too much, but not too little either.

Friendly greetings in the streets
Direct and functional
Old with new
A conspicuous absence of fast food places

Sunshine. Saturday. Going to the organic market in the square nearby and then a canal tour and a day of being tourists.

Breathe

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:43:00 +0000

One week before my departure to Denmark to exhibit with my artist collective, SEVEN, and I'm feeling quite contemplative. Looking back on these 18 months of preparation, I see that my journey with SEVEN has been ripe with personal growth.

Learning to deeply and fully think as a member of a collective and not as a self-focused individual, has been quite an exciting ride. In learning to give consideration to other's ideas and feelings and making space for others to expand and change, I seen that I've also learned to give myself these gifts as well.

"SEVEN to me, is collaboration and consensus. With much play, discussion and laughter in our group, I find I'm continually challenged to see my art and my ideas from the perspective of the others."

I wrote this statement for a newspaper interview many months ago, and I feel that it's the heart of my experience with SEVEN. Thank you, ladies.

The purpose of SEVEN's journey to Denmark is exchange. Exchange of ideas with Danish artists. Exchange of our agricultural/tidal culture with our Danish cousins. Exchange of the myriad elements that form my sense of place and will cross the ocean for a genuine exchange with another place and it's people.

my place - a muskoka chair in the trees

As I prepare myself for this exchange, I think of the people, here, who create the heart of my experience of our region. They shape the land, the economy, the lives and routines of those around them by being passionate and authentic. They make you want to drive many extra kilometers out of your way to engage in an exchange with them. In fact, by going out of our way to connect with these people, the out-of-the-way becomes THE way.

These people, who are far too numerous to name and honour in the short time I have before our flight leaves, are, to me, the very breath of our place. This is the breath that I'll take to Denmark.

Peace,
Deborah

A Sense of Accomplishment

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:07:00 +0000

My artwork for SEVEN's Denmark exhibitions is complete.... big sigh... There's still much to do in the way of paperwork for customs, sending press releases and invitations, packing...

Hard work? Yes! Stressful? Yes! Time consuming? Yes! Would I do it again? ......

I'll let you know while I contentedly partake of a lovely red wine on a Copenhagen terrace in a few weeks. In the meantime, I'd be delighted to share with you some nuts and bolts of my process when creating a series of artworks:

Ideas come at any moment - while driving, while showering, while dining with friends, and the ones that stick long enough to touch pen to paper, wind up in my artbook full of sketches, torn bits of paper, phrases, paint smudges and pastel scribbles.

Over the next while, I ponder bits and pieces to the point of distraction - missing portions of conversation, driving straight past my exit... twice, placing the milk carton in the dishwasher. Honestly? I can spend days thinking about various shades of pink!

Once my subject has firmly established itself as an obsession, I begin to photograph. Hundreds of photographs - stored, selected, grouped, reselected, regrouped. Then, I embark on days of digital manipulations - printing the results on heavy weight art paper.

Mixing colours and layering upon layers, I create the lyrical abstract landscapes in which to suspend my subjects.

Here is my artist statement and, below, two of my cows:

"My art celebrates that moment of eye contact when we become engaged with beings other than human. My works are an invitation to look outside of ourselves at the creatures that feed us and give us the products we use routinely. Layers on layers press my subjects to the fore of the picture plane, openly inviting an exchange with the viewer."

cow 545, 36"x48", acrylic and photographic collage on panel, $1200

To see the rest of my herd, visit my Adagio Cow Collection by clicking on an image to the right. Readers of this blog may be happy to know that I offer these collage paintings at a special pre-exhibition price of 10% off my shop price.

Sold or not, all works in this collection will be touring Denmark from mid-July to the end of October. Imagine, you could be the proud owner of Dane-admired artwork that is very likely to bring a smile to your face each time you gaze upon it.

Deborah

cow grazing, 24"x24", acrylic and photographic collage on panel, $400

I want to know / I don't want to know – the paradox of being an artist

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:18:00 +0000

“Do you like this?” How am I doing?” “What do you think?” “Did I do ok?” Approval-seeking questions. Questions I had asked my violin teacher in the early days of our lessons. Her response - “Why are you asking me? You know how you did.”

Ahhh! There it is again – that perplexing little pop-up in my life – evaluate myself... by myself. I realize, yet again, my need for validation can only be satisfied from within.

Why would I want to know you like if my art? Art is so subjective. Everyone's opinion is so subjective. What my best friend hates may be the painting that the gallery loves. What is “good”, anyway? Why would I want another person to judge my self-expression?

But, oh deep down inside I do! I do! I really want to know. I want it be enjoyed. Appreciated! loved, even! The paradox is; this is at odds with my reason for being an artist - I can't freely create art that speaks from my true self if I'm concerned about what others think of my creations. Yet, at the same time, my motivation for creating art is to communicate my inner self. Aaaarrrgh!

While making a multitude of decisions for each painting that leaves my studio, I spend a great deal of brain energy contemplating whether I'm making each choice because it feels right for me or because I think someone out there will like the result.

What I've come up with, so far, is that I don't, so much, want to know if you like my artwork, but I really want to know if it makes you want to look longer. I want to know that my painting invokes an emotional response in you – positive or negative – and, whichever it may be, I want to know what the is mechanism is that caused you to feel your response? I want to know your story.

Deborah

What? Why? What The...? (The Importance of Explaining)

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 17:52:00 +0000

Powder room. First visit to the home of a delightful couple. Dinner party. Opportunity to get to know one other. Powder room: tastefully decorated, little shelves lined with hedgehog collection, and a bathroom guest book. How delightful! I sign - of course.

Post dinner party. Apologetic phone call is necessary to explain why I signed as I did in said bathroom guest book.

Explanation:
While traveling around England with my parents many years ago, I signed Hugh Jarse into every sign-in book I could get my fingers on. After a week or so of doing this, while in one particularly large, quite, somber, ancient church, my mother was signing in after me and read my signature:

"Hugh Jarse? Hugh Jarse!? Who the heck is Hugh Jarse?!" She exclaimed out loud (and rather loudly), attracting the disdainful stares of two old ladies lighting candles nearby. Suddenly my mother realized what she was saying! Very funny moment - gave us many years of rolling-about-laughter.

Why am I telling you this? Well, being an artist, I strive to explain my thoughts, musings and passions, using my marks, colours and materials. And then, because artists need artist statements, I search for the words to explain - Why these marks? Why these colours? Why this particular subject matter? And why does it matter?

Recently, we, of SEVEN, challenged ourselves to pare down our artist statements to 30 words each. If you'd like to try this, here's how I met this challenge:

Take 1,000 (or more) soul-searching, heart-pouring, here-is-my-inner-being-laid-bare-for-all-to-examine, words

Question each paragraph. Combine paragraphs that have similar meanings

Question each sentence. Combine sentences that have similar meanings

Get rid of all redundancy.

Analize every word in your statement, using a thesaurus, to apply the most meaning, the most impact, the most power to your statement.

Now read it to select individuals and ask them to tell you what they understood from it.

Rewrite as needed.

And voila! You have a clear, suscinct, powerful, direct explanation of what you're doing and why. Very useful for verbose artists, confused artists, and non-artists at dinner parties, gallery openings and when your grandmother asks why you don't have a real job.

So, why did I choose to sign Hugh Jarse in the bathroom guestbook after all these years? Well, the dinner party hosts gave us the grand tour, highlighting furnishings that had belonged to her mother. Got me thinking about my mother and her furnishings and when I saw the bathroom guest book – well! My mother had one in her bathroom! In one sentimental moment, it became quite clear to me what I would do to honour my mom.

There's just so much inside ourselves that is meaningless to others unless we can properly communicate it.

Cari's Mom

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:39:00 +0000

Cari's Mom in Saskatchewan loves to share her delight in her two pets by emailing photos to Cari. Cari wonders what sort of gift can she give her mother that will have a lot of meaning for her . She knows her Mom is wild about her cat and dog. Cari has the photos to prove it! Cari meets Deborah and... lightbulb moment! Lets see if Deborah can work her magic with my Mom's photographs. With lots of hocus-pocuses and abracadabras, four photographs come together and, poof! we have one very happy Mom.

Cari says "My Mom LOVES her artwork! You've really captured not only her two pets, but you've really captured my Mom!"

Don't you just love happy endings?

An Artist's Day in the Valley

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:53:00 +0000

Sunny day in February. Looking out over the snow covered valley. Spring in the air and I'm admiring my potted tulips. We have an abundance of beauty here in the Annapolis Valley and many talented artist to capture that beauty in it's every facet - from scenery, people or ideas.

For many months now, I've been helping local artists show their work at the Designer Cafe in Kentville. Most recently, we exhibited some of, comic strip writer, Mark Oakley's original cells. The internet and press coverage of this exhibition netted Mark 3 international sales - 2 from the UK and 1 from Australia. Congratulations Mark!

Isn't it marvelous that one of our local valley artists was able to sell his work internationally from our charming little Designer Cafe in little old Kentville, Nova Scotia? We live in truly remarkable times.

Next up at Designer Cafe, is Marilyn Rand. Born and raised here, Marilyn manages a sustainable family-run sheep farm with husband, Marshall, tends to eight grandchildren, teaches spinning, dyeing, knitting and felting, works at Gaspereau Fibres, is a member of the artist collective Seven, several arts groups, fibre groups, farm groups and who knows what other groups, volunteers and help everyone who calls on her, and still makes time to follow her creativity on nearly a daily basis - spinning, knitting, felting, fusioning and painting everything from fine art to fine handbags. To me, Marilyn is the ultimate Valley Girl.

Here's to our Valley - brimming over with beautiful landscapes and, most importantly, beautiful people.

rollin', rollin', rollin'... keep those doggies rollin'... rawhide!

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:56:00 +0000

Like the Fundy tides, creativity rolls in and it rolls away. I've learned over the years that, like the tide, creativity can't be held back or contained. When it's rolling in, act on it - write, draw, compose, sing! And, when it flows away, trust that it'll come rolling back in soon. When my creative energy departs for faraway shores, I focus on the non-essentials (housework and bookkeeping). But the mop will have to wait another day. I'm on a creative roll and here is another little doggie (that's what the cowboys call the cows).

This week, my good Swiss/German friend, Sandra Gunther, offered up words of encouragement regarding taking my art to the Northern European market. Her words sparked two avenues of conversation: 1. how European's will protest unhealthy, unsound farming practices with governing bodies that actually take positive action (quite the opposite in North America). And, 2. an answer to the question of what I want my art to stand for:

"I want to create works that encourage us to look at the creatures that give and become the products we use daily. I want people to connect with the thought, feeling and desire going on inside another living being; to look outside of ourselves and delight in the engagement."

Here's my latest addition to the herd that will be heading to Denmark in August.

Cow 167
limited edition (of 10), signed & numbered digital serigraph
pure pigment on unbleached 100% cotton canvas (no need for framing)
$900 for 48"h x 48"w
$500 for 24"h x 24"w

or

limited edition (of 100), signed & numbered digital serigraph
pure pigment on fine art paper
$240 for 24"h x 24"w
$150 for 12"h x 12"w

See more artwork here. For every art work I sell via the internet, I will donate 10% of the purchase price directly to farmers who pasture-raise their animals with kindness and respect - farmers like Marilyn and Marshall Rand of Lambsrun Farm in Delhaven, Nova Scotia.

Great news about Seven! We've been invited to exhibit for a month at Vaerksteds Galleriet, Dansk Husflid in Kerteminde! Needless to say, we're all very excited. We've been speaking with the Canadian Consulate in Copenhagen and are hoping to arrange some kind of exhibit with them as well..... Ah, practical matters for another day. Today, I think I'll start work on my next cow...

Thank you!

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:10:00 +0000

Many thanks to everyone who responded so favourably to my previous post about sustainable farming and pasture-raised animal practice. I've gotten some interesting leads to follow up on. Thank you! Now for some fun...

Eat Wild

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 03:29:00 +0000

Reducing our carbon footprint was one of the factors that brought us from the big city to a simpler life in this agricultural heartland of Nova Scotia. As a matter of course, we've modified our lifestyle, bought more of what we need close to home and sought out local organic foods as much as we can. We're fortunate to be friends with many farmers who, while may not be certified organic, grow without chemicals and use only sustainable farming practices. These people care for their land and they care for the animals they raise. Their animals run and play outdoors in the fresh air. They eat naturally off the land. They are not pumped full of medications and hormones. They're healthy and happy animals that live full, rich lives and when it comes time for them to meet the purpose for which they were raised, they are locally and humanely dispatched in as stress-free a manner as possible.

My art practice these past months has centred on farm animals. As a result, I've spent much time thinking about the farms I don't visit - the feed lots and factory farms, where animals live in over-populated, unhealthy, and horribly stressful conditions. I wonder at how our society can condone and financially support these institutions. As I celebrate cows in my artwork this year, I'll be celebrating all the healthy, happy, stress-free farm animals that live on the ever-increasing number of sustainable farms here in the Annapolis Valley. I've included this link to a website that will provide you with excellent information and resources about pasture-raised animals: http://www.eatwild.com/index.html

Now, here is one of my newest creations, which was photographed at Fox Hill Cheese Farm. It's a digital serigraph, which is an archival pigment-printed image mounted on aluminum. My digital serigraphs are created using special techniques that I've developed over time and through much experimentation. For every art work that I sell via the internet, I pledge to donate 10% of the purchase price directly to farmers who pasture-raise their animals with kindness and respect.

And now, appearing for the first time anywhere, here is:

Cow 165
limited edition (of 10), signed & numbered digital serigraph

pure pigment on unbleached 100% cotton canvas (no need for framing)
$900 for 48"h x 48"w
$500 for 24"h x 24"w

or

limited edition (of 100), signed & numbered digital serigraph
pure pigment on fine art paper
$240 for 24"h x 24"w
$150 for 12"h x 12"w

awakenings paintings looking for good homes

noreply@blogger.com (deborah nicholson) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:29:00 +0000

Three paintings from my artist collective, Seven's August exhibit have found temporary homes - two are at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia's Art Sales and Rental in Halifax and the third is at Harvest Gallery in Wolfville.

These not-so-little baby pigs (about 80 pounds each!) were running over to say hello, as a took the photo that inspired me to paint this 24x24 inch painting. It's done on wood panel and would make a very happy addition to your home for a mere $685.