Silent Art Auction Fundraiser for an excellent cause!

I can't believe Christmas is almost here -but I am sure you feel the same way! It seemed like September lasted a good long time, and then it has been fast motion since then. I chalk that up to the fact that I have been very busy, primarily teaching online workshops. I am so encouraged to discover that online teaching has MANY unexpected benefits: I can teach emerging artists from all over the world Nobody has to leave their homes, so they can't forget their supplies and the most important one in my view -the classes are all recorded so that the student can watch the lessons, pause, go back a bit, and paint along with me, and all at a time that works for them! I am happy to report that sales have been good this quarter, and I have you to thank for that. I am truly honoured when someone choses one of my paintings to grace their walls. I pray it brings them joy whenever they look at it. Which reminds me...I often hear people say that they wish they could own another painting, but they just don't have any room left on their walls. You know what I say back? I tell them what I do in my own home! I have a large art collection (not just my own work!) and much of it is in storage. Every spring and fall I take all of the art work down. Then I exchange it with the art from storage and put those paintings on the walls. When I take out the art, I remember how much I love it -it's kind of like finding buried treasure! You see, when you keep the same art in the same place all the time, it becomes like white noise, and you fail to even notice it. A fresh rehang will not only brighten your home, it will bring you even greater JOY! And that brings me to the main purpose of this email! I have begun my Second Annual "Pay What You Want" Christmas Auction! Last years sale was such a success, that I wanted to bless you again by making 14 of my original plein air oil paintings available to you at a 'pay what you want' price. The minimum bid is 25% of the retail value of the work. Brand new this year is a double gifting surprise: 50% of the proceeds of this sale go to support "Inn From The Cold", a local charity that provides support for families that are, or may become, homeless, by finding affordable housing, access to social support services, and temporary emergency shelter if needed. Given our harsh winters here in Calgary, I am thrilled to be able to help people come 'in from the cold' in partnership with you!

Take Me To The Christmas Sale!!

The sale begins on Thursday, December 9th at 6pm. I did a Facebook Live event  on my Facebook Business page. I showed the work, and told some of the stories about certain pieces. The sale will end on Wednesday, December 15th at 8pm sharp.    Click the green link above to go to the sales page and read all about how this unique silent auction works, and to view all of the artwork!

This will be my last blog post for 2021. I want to thank you again for all of your support over the course of this very difficult year. I hope that the new year will bring more ways for us to meet again in person, but if not, I am grateful to be able to talk with you here. And please, comment below if you want to share something with me! I wish you and yours a VERY, VERY, VERY happy holiday season. I pray you will be able to be surrounded by friends and family, and that LOVE will overcome all the things that want to try to separate us these days. Love Sharon

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September News!

Can you believe that summer is over??? It was such a weird summer for me with the cold rain, hot dry and smoke, I spent a lot of the time inside, and didn't even get out to paint plein air once!  It was an interesting summer for my garden however. I rented a plot at our local community garden where I planted some things I had never tried before: potatoes, red carrots, spagetti squash, celery and broccoli. That garden did great and it was so nice to get to meet other gardeners in my community. In my home gardens, I planted beets, potatoes, snap peas and carrots, which were all attacked by VOLES! One day I went out to check on my 3' high pea crop and it was like someone cut off all the plants 2" above the ground. They didn't eat them, just destroyed them! I now have some bait traps in place to try to rid myself of these destructive rodents, but not before they decimated my entire beet crop. The tops looked great, but when I dug them up, they were all eaten around their centres. As if it isn't hard enough to garden here with Chinooks, cool nights, hail and early frosts! But we gardeners persevere -a nutty bunch. In order to try to get my art 'out there' to a new clientele, I decided to try the 'tent show' gig this summer. I am now a pro after having 5 of these shows: 2 in Rosebud, 1 at the Leighton Art Centre, 1 at Okotoks and 1 in our community of Oakridge. Now let me tell you, it is a LOT of work, but it was sure fun to meet people who were new to my work. I absolutely loved the comments "What a breath of fresh air!" and "Oh my goodness, I LOVE your colour!!" Here is a pic from one them:

And here is what my tent looks like:

New for this year were boxed sets of Hastinote cards with my artwork on them -a great size when you don't want to say too much, but want to show you care! I will have them again at the Elma Street Artwalk (see below), and then they will be available at the Leighton Art Centre.

Exciting News!

I have shared with you, in the last 2 blog posts, about my new series of work based on the sketchbook class I took in the spring. Well the collection has now grown to 17 paintings completed as of today, and a couple more to come hopefully. The largest one is 30x30", which is a big size for an encaustic painting. I have decided to launch this work as a COLLECTION on my website on Saturday, September 11. All the work will be on a special page with links to be able to purchase. As my very special friends, you will have first dibs on the paintings! Also, there will be a special bonus to those who purchase in the first week. If you join my newsletter list now, you will find out all the details. Just go to my website at https://www.sharonlynnwilliams.com and fill in the form. Then you will get a  newsletter on Friday announcing the link and all the details. ❤️ I love a little bit of suspense, don't you?

Exhibitions

I have 2 big showing opportunities this month. The first one is the Elma Street Artwalk in Okotoks.

The second one is my BIG show at ACCLAIMED FINE ART on September 18 & 19 at Crescent Heights Community Association. I will have a TON of my art there. I hope you will mark it on your calendar and plan to come to the show and have a chat with me all about ART!!

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Update on New Series!

I am off to our cottage in central Ontario tomorrow, so thought I would post a newsletter before I go. The new series now contains 15 paintings, 12x12" down to 6x6", the first 5 of which were in the last newsletter. I have prepared a bunch of large cradled panels and am excited to get to them when I get back mid August.

Here are the next three in the series, all 8x10" and showing the 'dry' stage of mark making, inks and collage, and then the final (maybe they are done??) work after being taken into encaustic. The wax is lovely for its ability to yield transparent glazes of colour, translucent veils which partially obscure what is underneath, and gorgeous solid opaques that completely hide what is underneath. The encaustic also gives the paintings a lovely warm glow, and they smell so good! I still don't have a name for this series, so if you have any ideas, I would love to hear them!

Not sure where the puppies came from, but they were so cute, I kept them!

Upcoming shows!

My time at the July Rosebud Artisan Market was so successful, that I have decided to return for a second market on August 14 from 10-4pm -yes, we get in the night before and have to be up at 6 to get to Rosebud in time to set up. Hopefully the vacation will be relaxing!! A new venture coming up on August 21 from 11-3pm is "Art In The Park". This is the first Art Market to be held at the Oakridge Community Hall. We are gathering artists from our area to participate. I have dreamed of doing this for so many years, I am thrilled to see it actually coming to fruition. We will be having food trucks and musical entertainment to go with the market, so it should be a fun time for all. Hopefully I will have a poster about the event to share with you in my next email. And last, but not least, I am in a 2 month show that Art On 9TH is having in Invermere, BC, that begins shortly and runs until the end of October. If you are in the area, I hope you will stop by and see the gorgeous work from a wonderful collection of talented artists! I hope you have a wonderful rest of July and beginning of August! I will write again when I am back from holiday and give you the newest scoop on my series! Blessings Sharon

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Beginning a New Series!

I am so excited to share a new idea I have for a whole series of new paintings. I shared with you in my June newsletter, that I am taking an online sketchbook workshop with Karen Stamper from the UK, and shared a video of its pages in progress. Well, I have fallen so in love with the methods I am learning, that I decided that I wanted to explore the ideas further in actual paintings. I have made it my goal to produce 25-30 paintings in all sizes as part of this series. I have NEVER done a series of this depth and magnitude before, and I am super pumped by the idea. I thought that I would share some insights into the work with you here in my newsletter -if you are not an artist, you might be interested to see how these things come about, and if you are an artist, perhaps you can be inspired to create a series of your own! I knew I had as my starting parameters that I wanted to work with inks, dry media and collage as the under layers of the paintings. I decided that I would then take these beginnings into my encaustic studio to complete the work. Interestingly, I also decided to severely limit my palette for this series, based on the more neutral paintings I showed you in the last newsletter. (BTW, thanks so much to all who wrote to me to encourage me in this new direction!!)  So now I had the kernel of an idea! The following are the first 5 pieces as they looked at the end of the first stage of the process. I have used blue and black india ink, charcoal, water soluble crayons, brown Artgraf chalk, sepia calligraphy ink, graphite sticks and collage in all of these. The beautiful yellow green was made with black india ink plus some diluted yellow acrylic ink. For the collage, I hit up my HUGE stash of papers that I have hand made, or collected in the case of the text pieces, over the last 20 years. (Did I mention I LOVE making collage papers?)  These are very rough and full of possibility at this stage. I decided to stick with the colour scheme of blue and yellow-green (which I realized later are my branding colours -no wonder I was drawn to them!) and some burnt sienna, plus black and white. It was fun to search all over my 2 studios to find dry and wet media that conformed to these colours. As I decided that I would take these to encaustic, I needed to be careful NOT to select anything that had acrylic paint on it, as wax and acrylic do not mix! As an aside, before I got the idea for this series, I had decided to sell all of my encaustic supplies, as I have a small fortune invested and figured I was unlikely to use them again. So using the wax in this series was to be my final 'kick at the can' as they say. The reality is that I had forgotten how much I loved to work with hot wax! The smell of the melting beeswax, the quick working time and the ability to make changes rapidly by adding or taking away, make this medium so alluring.

This is what the paintings look like now, after several layers of wax, both pigmented and clear. The wax gives a beautiful dimension to the work as its translucency just makes the colours and elements glow.

The first piece is 12x12", the next 3 are 10x10" and the last one is 8x8". I love the challenge of working in a square format These pieces may change further from this point, but I am onto the next 6 pieces, which I will share with your in the next newsletter! I would love it if you would please hit reply and give me your impressions of my series idea and the work I have done so far. Do you find it intriguing? If you want to follow their progress, and see video of the process, tips and insights, I invite you to follow me on IG or FB (links are at the bottom of this page).

Exhibitions

I will be back in Rosebud, Alberta THIS SATURDAY for the Rosebud Artisan Market. I did this market last year and it was a lot of fun. Saturday is supposed to be one of the cooler days in the forecast, so it should be a great day for an outing. I hope you can come out and see the show, especially if you have not yet had the opportunity to see my tent show!!

This is my tent show from last August, just to give you an idea of what it looks like. I will have mostly new work that I have painted since that show on display!

Here is a short video of last year's market!

I will 'see' you in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime, I wish you a  happily memorable summer.  Blessings Sharon

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It's Plein Air Season!!

And to celebrate, I have put my "Watercolour on Location" DVD on SALE for 50% off. Back by popular demand! From altering the scene to tell YOUR story, choosing a palette, materials, techniques, all the way to the finished painting, this professionally filmed video has it all.There are only 20 copies left, so get one while they are available. After they are gone, there will NOT be any more. To purchase one, simply go HERE  and follow the prompts.

You might notice that this email looks a bit different than in the past. Blogger has discontinued using Feedburner for their subscription service, so I have moved to Follow.It. Hope this service works even better than before. If you have any trouble, please let me know!!

Blessings

Sharon

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Just a Reminder!

This is just a short reminder that registration closes on SATURDAY NIGHT, APRIL 24 for "The Illustrated Life: Journaling in Ink & Watercolour" online course. Please go HERE to read all about the course. This is for YOU, or someone you know that would LOVE to capture their memories, in their own hand, to enjoy for a lifetime! Anyone can do it, from the person who has never painted before, right up to professional artists seeking new, quick ways to capture their travels. BTW, it also makes a fantastic Mother's Day gift!!

Thanks so much for your time and your interest in my art journey. You matter to me more than you could ever know!

Blessings and Happy Earth Day 🌎
Sharon

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"The Illustrated Life: Journaling in Ink & Watercolour" online course is opening!!

I hope this finds you well and happy! I am excited to let you know that I am once again opening registration for 'The Illustrated Life: Journaling in Ink & Watercolour' online course. NOW is the perfect time to take your sketchbook outdoors to capture what you are loving. Registration for the course begins on Tuesday April 20 and runs only until Saturday April 24.

Inside the course there are SIX full demonstrations broken down into manageable sections, making them easy to follow along. There are also lessons on finding inspiration, complete supply explanations, lessons on colour mixing, and SO MUCH MORE!

In addition, there is a very active free Facebook group where you can see other's sketches, post your work, and get encouragement for the journey. I respond to every post, so you get continual access to me to help you, answer any questions you might have, and to make helpful suggestions and support you on your sketching path.

You will find out all the information on the course you need HERE. There is a video there that explains how the course works, as well as FAQ's to answer any questions you might have and more.

As well, I have decided to do a LIVE ZOOM CALL to talk about the many benefits of plein air (outside) sketching, and to take questions about the course. The call will be on Tuesday April 20th at 7pm Mountain time. If you would be interested in joining me for the live call, please click HERE to register. The call will be recorded if you are unable to join live, you only need to email me to ask for the replay.

TESTIMONIALS

I have had 75 people go through the course now and this is what some of them had to say:

Dorothy S. said " What appeals to me is I get to learn how to draw quick and simple sketches to help me capture my adventures. I am not good at retaining memories and the feelings that I felt.  Sharon's explanations of using the pen to make containers for the shapes, and what to look for as the focus of your sketch, was fantastic. The lessons on colour mixing were a wonderful thing for me. I struggle with consistent mixing and the cool/warm colour stuff.  I get and understand the instructions because her delivery is easy for me to understand. I have learned so much from just these videos." 

Beth H. said: "I think your course is a good entryway into experiencing art, the creative process, even for those who have not been creative in the past.  Participants can be surprised by what they create with line and colour, especially if their stumbling block is, "I don't know how to draw".  I'm not sure what group this taps into, but when I think about this past summer, top of mind is the afternoon spent in the backyard, being outside and painting a sketch.  It was a way to enjoy my environment, made me feel like a kid again, even though I now have some physical limitations.  I'm wondering if gardeners, would be a group?  I spend time making my yard look beautiful, I finally had a way to experience it in a new way; to keep enjoying it and take it in. There is something about the process that is very therapeutic; increases mindfulness.  Mindfulness is a popular buzzword, so somehow it creates a path to mindfulness for the super busy woman sandwiched between children and aging parents. .... like my daughter.  It's like the Calgon bath that takes them away.  Also can give them a fresh perspective on their surroundings (that they might be tired of or feel trapped in) or remind them of why they used to enjoy something..."

Finally, Nancy said "The simplification of the sketching process was key for me.  Although I have taken a sketchbook when travelling, I often got bogged down with too much detail. This method with the watercolour works so well.  I have taken other courses from Sharon and enjoy her style of painting and instruction."

 

I sincerely hope that you will join me on the call, and then to join the course. See for yourself how relaxing, meditative and life-giving pen and ink sketching can be!

Blessings,
Sharon

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Is finding artwork for your home stressful or joyful?? I can help!

I know that it can be a scary thing to purchase original artwork for your home, and want you to know that I offer a couple of different services that can help.  I want you to feel comfortable purchasing artwork from me, so I will do my best to make that process smooth and easy. 

Firstly, I can bring a few different pieces to your home, if you live in the Calgary area, for you to try out for up to a week, to see if it brings you the joy you were hoping for. Just let me know which pieces you might be interested in, and we can set up a time for a visit (masked and distanced of course). This lets you try it before you buy it!

Another thing that I can do, is to send you a photo of what a piece might look like in the spot you are wanting to fill in your home. You simply email me a photo of your room and let me know what pieces you might be interested in. With the magic of digital editing, I can superimpose the work on the wall so you can get a good idea of what the work would look like. 

The painting below is called "Magic Kingdom", and it is 24x30" acrylic on gallery (deep) canvas. I wonder what it would look like in your home???

You can see more of my art on my new website at https://www.sharonlynnwilliams.com. Please let me know if there is anything there that interests you!! ❤️

See you soon!

Sharon

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New year, new blog posts!

Hello friends! I know I have been rather sporadic at keeping this blog updated, but I hope to do a better job going forward. All I am promising is that I am going to try to make at least one new post per month, maybe more if the inspiration hits. I think part of the problem is, I don't know who you are, so I really don't know who I am talking to! With this in mind, would you please take a moment to comment below this post and tell me a bit about yourself, if you are an artist and at what level, and what you would be interested in seeing me post here. I really want to talk about the kinds of things that you would find useful and informative, so thanks, in advance!

Last post, I mentioned that I have a brand spanking new website at http://sharonlynnwilliams.com. I hope you have had the chance to check it out, and hopefully subscribed to my newsletter. The newsletter contains new work that my subscribers get first dibs on, as well as news of exhibitions and classes, as well as any interesting art stories that I find on my travels on the net. If you didn't already, please go over there and do that. I will wait here for you!

You did that, right? Good, and thanks again. 

One thing that has been very interesting in my art life is that I have just formed a group for artists called 4C Artist's Network. The 4C relates to my mission statement to provide transformational content in the context of committed community -4 C's, get it? And it is also cool that when you read 4C, you might hear the word 'Foresee', which speaks to the intention of the group which is to help artists reach higher in their work and their business -you do know that artists run businesses, don't you? Especially if they want their work to be seen in the world. So the group is teaching all things art as well as all things business, with a little of the life of an artist thrown in. And don't forget the all important mindset issues. Who hasn't gone through the artist's cycle:

"I think this work is wonderful!", 

which leads to "maybe it isn't as good as I think it is",

which leads to "actually it sucks", 

which leads to "I am an imposter", 

to "maybe this isn't so bad", 

hopefully finally to end with "This work is wonderful!"

At least I hope we all end up in that place!

As a bonus for sticking with me for this long, I am sharing my latest work with you. 

This is called "Baby, It's Cold Outside!" and is 16x36" acrylic on gallery canvas. These little creatures keep my entertained all winter!

And its partner, "Take Out", also 16x36" acrylic on gallery canvas. I have been very fortunate when huge flocks of Bohemian Waxwings descend on my Mountain Ash tree each winter, stripping it bare in minutes.

See you next month!

Sharon

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