Studio Show and Sale October 2012

Studio Show and Sale
October 19th 4pm -7pm
and
October 20th 10am - 4pm

I will be hosting a Show and Sale at my personal studio. I have covered the walls of my studio with all of my past work that is still in my collection. I am putting most of the work up for sale at discounted prices. Why am I doing this? -To raise funds to ship a portrait to the International BP Portrait Competition in London, England. The other reason is that I need space in my studio to work.

This is a great opportunity to add or start your art collection. Prices range from $50.00 to $3,000.00. Much of the work in the Studio Show and Sale is posted right here on my blog website (though there are several older pieces being shown that are not posted). I encourage you to browse through my many paintings posted on my blog. I post the dimensions, when they were created, medium, and price (but that price will likely be discounted during this sale), and if the work is already sold. When browsing through my blog keep in mind the versions you see on your screen lack much of the energy, texture, and overall quality that can only be experienced in person.

I really look forward to this event. I am sure that many will find it interesting to see this large body of work that spans over a decade. I love answering questions and talking about art. I will also be be working on a painting in progress as well. I encourage all that are interested in art to come and take a look. Children are welcome to come.

If you would like to attend or have any questions, please email me and I will send you an invite with directions. [email protected]

These are just a small sampling of what you can see in the studio.

Alberta Culture Days and upcoming events

Alberta Culture Days

I will be at the Stony Plain Public Library this Saturday September 29th from 10am-3pm showing and working on paintings live. There will be other arts and cultural figures from the community there as well.
You can come down and see my latest painting in progress, chat and ask me about art, and find out more info about my upcoming studio show and sale being held on October 19th and 20th that is raising funds for me to ship my work to an international portrait contest. You can also inquire about commissioned work as well ( I am still accepting commission requests for Christmas).
I am really looking forward to it. I love sharing my passion of painting with others. I had a great time last year and I know I will this year as well.

The above photo was taken by my 4 year old daughter. In the photo I am working on my latest painting that I will continue working on at the library this upcoming weekend.

I hope everyone gets a chance to celebrate art this upcoming weekend.

Confluence - The Sleeper and the Insomniac Series

 

Confluence

(from The Sleeper and the Insomniac series)

September 11, 2012

Oil on Canvas

20" x 16"

$400.00 CAN

   This painting is a continuation of The Sleeper and the Insomniac series. I started this painting before my son was born and have been dabbling on it ever since.  I finally got to finishing it. I constantly think about furthering the series. I have to find somewhere to show a larger collection of the work and find willing models (if you are interested in filling either of those roles email me! [email protected] ). I itch to paint another set of sleeper paintings.
   Now that the dawdling lazy pace of my care free summer is over, I am finding a consistent painting/working schedule. I didn't even realize how relaxed my summer was until September hit and the rigid schedules and routines of the school year commenced. It caught me quite off guard this year. I found myself waking up and laying in bed questioning why we have to be at school right at 8:30, would 8:34 be ok? This whole summer I was late and early by whole hours with not a care in the world. I marched to the beat of my own drum. Now the drum is pounding down the minutes and I swear my life is run by timers, alarms, calendars, and reminders. I know in my rational thought process it will become an easy routine that will feel more natural and in the near future I will need less caffeine and wine.
   I have started to schedule in my working/painting time. Creating a solid routine has already been beneficial for my growing painting career.  It's hard work being an artist. It's not just playing with paint all day, although luckily some days it is. I have to do a lot of correspondence work, which is often quite encouraging and inspiring.
   I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity to pursue my art career as a painter. Thank you to all the wonderful people in my life that support me especially my Significant Other and my many patrons that make what I do important. I hope you stay tuned as to what happens next. The sky's the limit in my heart and mind. On and Up!

Painting Fire

   Portrait of Lt.Billy Cummins

August 27, 2012

30" x 30"

Acrylic on Canvas

sold

   I was given the wonderful opportunity to create this commissioned piece. I was unable to post anything about it until today, which is the fire lieutenants birthday. This post is published to coincide with the receiving of his portrait ( his wife and I didn't want to ruin the surprise).
   This portrait of  Lt.Billy Cummins was an absolute joy to work on. As soon as I saw the reference material that Billy's loving wife Megan showed me I knew that it was something I had to do. Immediately my eyes started to draw out how I was going to make the composition, which type of canvas I was going to use, that it would have to be done in acrylic paint, and which colors I was going to use.
   What I love, just as much as creating the painting, is the reaction it has gotten from first time viewers. I know that I have done a good job when a piece renders people a bit speechless at first and I can see that it hits them with emotion before their language skills can even calculate what is going on. Many viewers first physical reaction to this painting was a slack jaw. It always makes me shout "YES!" inside, knowing I have gotten it right. It is very hard to judge one's own work, so I have to rely on others. When people have a bunch of comments to say right from the start, then I know I have more painting and tweaking to do to complete the painting.
   I just wish that I could take a photo of this painting that does it justice, but it's impossible. That is the great thing about owning original paintings is that they are there to be physically experienced. I did several layers of paint and acrylic gloss to create the fire in contrast to the figure which was left matte. When you walk in front of the painting from one side to the other the fire shimmers and the figure stays stoically still in it's midst. This helps to give an illusion of movement.
  Thank you to Megan Cummins, you were a joy to work with and I hope that the painting brings as much joy to your family as it did me in creating it.
   (Thank you, also to all of Billy's co-workers that helped by sneakily taking photos of his new Lt. helmet so that I could accurately portray it.)

  

My Sketchbook

Laying Female Nude

Sketchbook graphite drawing

Summer 2012



I have always had a sketchbook. I don't really remember a time in my life when I didn't have one. I think the first 'real' sketchbook I received when I was about 9. Well I think it was my 9th birthday when my parents gave me a pink hard plastic briefcase full of 'real' art supplies. There was nothing with Crayola on it. There were 'real' brushes, a 'real' pencil set, 'real' paint, 'real' artist paper, and a 'real' sketchbook. Before that I had little notepads that I jotted down drawings and ideas or practiced my writing skills. I started keeping a sketchbook long before I had any titled art classes.
Recently, I have been reading the 'Ramona' series of books by Beverly Cleary to my young children. I remember reading them myself as a child. No wonder I loved them and felt liked I connected to the Ramona character. I was not boisterous and I never got in trouble at school but I did feel the same passion for art as Ramona did. I loved her commitment to originality and self expression. Like Ramona I was fortunate to have parents that encouraged my need for self expression and made sure I could seize every creative opportunity that came my way.
I have filled so many sketchbooks over the years that I have lost count of how many I have. I have also gone through a variety of types and sizes over the years. I am greatful to my parents for funding and providing me with so many sketchbooks. I don't know how I would live without a sketchbook. I would probably write on various pieces of paper and staple them together. I have in the past been without a sketchbook and then find any scrap of paper, napkin, kleenex, or anything that I can draw on and later attach it into my sketchbook.
Now I work in three sketchbooks. I have a small sketchbook that fits into all my bags easily (the drawings shown here are from this small sketchbook). The small one I take with me everywhere, it holds all my random ideas, quick sketches, names of artists I need to look up. It also documents inspiring experiences I have had that fuel my work. I have a medium sized bound sketchbook that I take with me when I know I will have time to draw. I take it on vacations, pull it out to study various still lives, I take it when I know I may have a chance to do at least 5 drawings. Then I have a large, higher quality paper sketchpad of paper that I can easily remove the sheets from. I use this for longer model sessions, extended drawings, softer pencils, or preliminary sketches for large paintings.
I have been teaching and painting so much that I have found, when looking back, that I started putting more notes in my sketchbook than actual sketches. This summer has been full of family and kids so while I am working on a commissioned piece (that I can't share yet as it's a surprise for the client's spouse), I can share this little project I've been working on. I have been making time to sketch. I have been trying to draw more often to exercise my skills of seeing. I have been looking at other artists drawings and copying them in order to learn from them.

(Included are images of drawings of myself and my significant other -the cheap models, the rest are studies I drew of artwork done by other artists - Daniel Graves, Steven Assael, Juliette Sristides, Pierre-Paul Prud'hon.)

Self Portrait

Sketchbook graphite drawing

Summer 2012

Portrait of Wes

Sketchbook graphite drawing

Summer 2012

Female Seated Nude

Sketchbook graphite drawing

Summer 2012

Water Glass

Sketchbook graphite drawing

Summer 2012

Self Portrait

Sketchbook graphite drawing

Summer 2012

Standing Female Nude

Sketchbook graphite drawing

Summer 2012 

Grip

Grip

February 2012

30" x 30"

Oil on Canvas

$600.00 CAN

  I have experienced more life changes and made some hard decisions. Now life is reverberating the positive effects of those changes making my changes prove to be positive improvements.
   There was the birth of a son. The decision and incredible support from my significant other to shut down the classroom and to take a break from teaching for the purpose of focusing more on my career as a painter. If I do teach in the future it will not be to the same extent as I have been teaching in the past.
   I was teaching up to ten classes a week. I was quiet sucessful at teaching but it meant that the rest of my life suffered. Sometimes we are really good at things that we shouldn't be doing. Teaching comes naturally to me, it is easy (because I'm bossy and like to chat about art), and I would get a lot of outside praise for it. Just because I am good at it doesn't mean I should be doing it. I saw my own career as an artist start to suffer. I wasn't able to focus on improving my technical skills and work habits because I was having to focus too much on improving others. I'm too helpful to a fault, I guess.
   The word 'quit' is often equated to failure, but that was not what was happening. I am incredibly grateful to have been able to teach private lessons successfully. It provided the funds I needed at the time and I gained exposure for my work as well. Teaching was turning into a world wind and there were so many teaching opportunities for me. It was taking me where I didn't want to go. I am an artist, specifically a painter. I want to paint, I have lots to say with endless ability and skill behind me. Doing what comes easily is not always the path we should leap onto. Part of creating a phenomenal meaningful career is the journey on the way to being successful. I'm stepping onto that path that leads me on that journey to be a successful artist instead of the superficial easy path. My teaching would mean a lot to others but not to myself. Painting would mean a lot to me and the world forever. I want to be apart of the Canon of Art History not the person who introduces others to the artists in it. I don't remember the names of my all my art history profs and I am indeed grateful for all of my instructors and teachers that I have come across in my life. However I will always remember the names of Cassat, Picasso, Matisse, Kahlo, Freud,Warhol, Saville, Okamura, Barber, and others that have changed my life and made me want to be a painter.

   As soon as I had made the decision to focus more on my painting career I immediately received a call to do a commissioned piece (which I just started working on and am thoroughly enjoying paintings it). When I was toying with the idea of letting teaching go I was asked to be apart of two art shows.
  The above painting 'Grip' was shown at the Madplatter in Spruce Grove, AB this past spring. When I painted it I was in the throws of pregnancy hormones. It took longer than usual to complete because my back was very sore from my body being unproportionately heavy in the front. This painting reflects the changes I was facing in every aspect of my life, the relationships with everyone around me, I quit two of my day jobs that I no longer needed to pay the bills and eat up my time, and I was wondering if it was just my imagination or was my body that huge and distorted. (To my surprise, my body somehow magically reformed it's shape).
   While showing 'Grip' I received several comments and all seem to enjoy the work. I love how it meant different things to different people. It could be seen as holding on or taking action. For me it meant both.

Female Figure Paintings and Driven Landscape

 Figure on Blue

Oil on Board

January 16, 2012

$200.00 CAN

Figure on Orange

Oil on Board

January 14, 2012

$200.00 CAN

Driven Landscape

Oil on Canvas

12" x 10"

January 14, 2012

$250.00 CAN

   This past January The Paint Spot in Edmonton had an excellent idea to raise funds for new lighting for their gallery space. The Naess Gallery has been promoting local artists for a long time. Many years ago they gave me and a few of my peers at University the opportunity to show our work. It was a great experience as a fellow artist and myself were in charge of organizing the show. It taught me a lot about how to submit work to galleries and how to talk to the public about my work. It was an invaluable experience that I will never forget.

   This painting project was very interesting and I hope that they continue and make this an annual event. The Paint Spot asked artists to bring in their unfinished paintings and exchange them for other unfinished paintings which you then take and use as a ground for the creation of a completed painting to contribute to the show. I love the idea of someone creating a challenging ground to work from.
   The above paintings I see as great successes. Figure on Blue was originally a wiped out landscape which was mostly a gray blue with a bridge in the middle. I left bits of the gray blue in parts of the figure. Figure in Orange was originally just the orange background which I put a very thin layer of green on the top to give it depth and make the skin colors glow. I enjoy how the colors vibrated against each other. The last, Driven Landscape, was a landscape with a winding walking path down the middle. I kept the trees and sky and emphasized them, manipulating the sky line, added a road and placed my car in the foreground.
   I have always found that it is harder to work from a white canvas. Now with plenty of years of painting experience behind me I know that I always need to start by creating some sort of ground to work from. I cannot start a painting from a white ground, it needs to be loved up first. It doesn't matter if you just smear a bunch of paint on it no matter what color or how many colors, you just need to start of with something. White is too bright and in painting especially in oils, one usually leaves the white highlights to the end of the painting process (though there is always an exception to the rules).

Back to Blogging. Yup, I'm still here. Busy Painting and Instructing.

   I have had an amazing past 6 months. Unfortunately blogging about it has been the last thing on my To Do list, which I am going to take as a good sign. I have been painting instead of blogging, which, for me is always a good sign of productivity.
   I have been very busy with the new school. I am very proud of how the past 6months have gone and I am looking forward to how the next 6 months will go. It seems that every month the school is moving, changing, and growing like flowing water. I am now fortunate enough to be contracting other amazing art instructors as I take more time to focus on my own work and the art business end of things.
   There is of course my growing family as well. I have to mention my lovely family that is constantly supporting me. My children that are quietly doing their own thing as I am busy in the studio. My incredible man who encourages me to stay on track and do what I truly love to do -PAINT!

   The above painting is a work in progress. I started it in June 2011. I have never let a painting go so slowly in progression before. This self-portrait (I can hear my mother growning right now 'Not another painting of Daphne!'), was inspired by reference photos that I took in a hotel washroom in Canmore, Alberta. I hauled my children on this particular trip to Canmore to the Art Speak festival, where they celebrate artists. Anywhere that celebrates artists, especially painters, I felt was definitely calling my name. Canmore is also, one of my favorite little towns and I find it very inspiring.
   I continued to paint this painting as part of demo and show during the Alberta Arts Days here is Stony Plain.
   There are a few more tweaks I want to make to it before I call it done. So you can look forward to seeing it posted in its final state soon.

  Rig #59

2011

Acrylic on Canvas

 Sold

On the spur of the moment I did this commissioned painting of an oil rig that's located in Northern B.C.  In an unfortunate accident it burnt down in the summer of 2010.

.

Gold Bow

2011

Oil on Canvas

8" x 10"

$185.00 CAN

Gold Bow was painted after many drawing studies of this metallic golden bow. I had my adults drawing class drawing these bows under dramatic lighting. They got right into it and were so deep in the process there was nothing for me to do. They were in the 'zone' and it would have been damaging and cruel to disturb them, so I grabbed my sketch book and joined in. The next day I did this painting after dreaming about golden bows. I had to get it out of my system.

 Demo Portrait

December 2011

Oil on Canvas

8" x 10"

$200.00 CAN

Self Portrait

December 2011

Oil on Board

10" x 10"

$200.00 CAN

These two portraits were, again, inspired by one of my classes. In my oil painting class, the painting assignment for the day was to use a limited pallet to create portraits. Only three colors of paint were used to create these paintings. I am trying to stress to students to start out with a limited pallet, learn those particular colors inside and out and then add another color to your pallet, having your pallet grow slowly. I have run across many students that bring in a wide variety of colors beyond my supplies list and try to use them all together without knowing anything about any of them and then they get frustrated when they end up with a gray puddle of mush. Sometimes I am a 'meany' and I come along and take away their paint or supplies. We are not going to use that today. Keep it Simple! is a good way to start.

Inspired Art Studio Fall Session

At Inspired Art Studio we are dedicated to providing a positive and encouraging environment for creativity to flourish in our community. We provide a high standard of art education for all ages and skill levels. We not only support and cheer on our students but also our instructors. We are here to inspire creativity in life.

Inspired Art Studio

I am very pleased to announce that Inspired Art Studio is finally open! The studio is open from 12-9pm Monday to Saturday. We offer weekly classes for all ages, workshops, model and artist sessions, and art supply sales.

Here is our website where you can find the list of courses offered, info on our instructors, and upcoming events at www.inspiredartstudio.ca . We will be at the Tri-Leisure Centre Registration Night this Thursday the 25th from 6-9pm.  Inspired Art Studio will also have a Registration and Open House this Friday the 26th and Saturday the 27th from 12-7pm where you can come and check out the studio/classroom, register for classes, meet our instructors, and even try your hand at painting.

If you have any inquiries please contact me at [email protected]  

A bit about Inspired Art Studio...

   The Inspired Art Studio was just a sparkle of an idea that started fleeting around my brain when I was graduating from University.  In University I started to tutor and instruct private art classes and workshops. People were continuously asking if I would teach them how to draw, paint, or teach kids art projects.  Then things spread by word of mouth. People seemed to enjoy my teaching style and projects/curriculum. I kept getting offers to instruct and things seemed to fall into my lap. I truly enjoyed instructing and it helped me understand and develop my work even further. The creative energy that would surround me while instructing would propel and inspire my own work habits. This lead to instructing and giving demos for the past 10 years along with creating and selling my own work. The sparkle of the Inspired Art Studio then turned into a dream.

   A few years ago I bought a house in Stony Plain (30min west of Edmonton). It is where I grew up and in a town that I love. I bought this house for it's location and for the basement which I turned into a studio and classroom. At first I just taught a few classes here and there when ever requested. I also have a portion of it that is designated as my own working studio area. I started getting models in as well and inviting other local artists to join me in order to share the cost of a model. I started artist sessions because it gets to be a bit lonely and daunting when you are the only one you know in the area that is painting and it's hard to work without some sort of critique or input. I found it more cost effective to teach out of my home as well. It is extremely expensive to rent space in Parkland County.

   Soon, I found that every week I was getting calls or emails requesting art classes. I looked at my community and saw that there was very little offered in the way of art education. There are a couple of craft workshops offered here and there but there is no real weekly on-going fine art education, let alone classes that use the history of art and design. I see a need in our community and I am more than honored to fill it. One of my main problems and concerns is that I have small children and even if I was single and lonely there was no way that I could teach all the classes that this community needs without getting very burnt out. So I have come across some wonderful instructors over the years that are very passionate at what they do. I couldn't do it without them. They have education and/or fine art and design degrees and are artists themselves. So this fall Judy Smallwood and Ashley Hout, two very talented and creative ladies, will be joining me in instructing.

I hope you can attend our Open House and celebrate my dream come true!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years.

 

Whyte Avenue Art Walk 2011 and catching up to speed

I have been fortunate to be very busy lately. Busy enough to keep me away from blogging. Which is always hard to do in the summer. Sorry but I would rather be outside.
It has been raining for a week now allowing the spawning of trillions of blood thirsty mosquitoes, so now is the perfect time to jot some things down and get you up to speed on my artist life.
On June 25th and 26th I participated in the Alberta Ballet House & Garden Tour in Edmonton. More than several of my paintings were displayed in the 'Classic Modern' home owned and designed by Thirdstone inc [^].
Prior to that I had some of my still life work go up on display at the Tasty Tom's restaurant on Whyte Ave, Edmonton.
I have been traveling a bit as well. In May I went closer to the equator to warm up with my significant other before summer. In June I traveled to Canmore, Alberta for their ArtSpeak festival. It was a wonderful experience. I gathered inspiration and reference material from both amazing places. I am looking forward to the travels to come in the future.

This week I am gearing up for the annual Whyte Avenue Art Walk. Once again you will be able to find me in front of Laurel's Flowers 10404 - 82 Avenue, Edmonton, AB. I will be there painting, displaying my work, and chatting July 15th-17th from 10am to 5pm.

Summer Art Classes

Summer Art Week

At Inspired Art Studio

July 11th to 15th

Classes for all ages running all week.

I will be teaching during Summer Art Week at Inspired Art Studio. For more details check out the Inspired Art Studio's new website (still under construction, but functional). To register or for more information contact me at [email protected].

Inventory of Paintings from the Sleeper and the Insomniac Show

 The Insomniac #2

2011

40" x 30"

Acrylic on Canvas

$1,100.00 CAN

 The Sleeper #1

2010

30"x24"

Oil on Canvas

$700.00 CAN

 

 The Insomniac #3

2011

 60"x40"

Acrylic on Canvas

$2,800.00 CAN

 

A close up and side angled view of The Insomniac #3 to give a better view of the gloss and matte details in the dress.

 The Sleeper #4

2011

48"x30"

Oil on Canvas

$1,400.00 CAN

 Close up of The Sleeper #4.

 Close up of The Sleeper #4.

The Insomniac #4

2011

60"x40"

Acrylic on Canvas

$2,800.00 CAN

 The Sleeper #2

2011

30"x40"

Oil on Canvas

$1,100.00

 The Insomniac #1

2010

48" x 36"

Acrylic on Canvas

$1,400.00 CAN

The Sleeper #3

2011

40"x60"

Oil on Canvas

$3,000.00

Artist Reception and Appreciation

 

Me between a Sleeper #3 and an Insomniac #3

    I lost my breath when I stepped into the Gallery. Seeing my solo show for the first time had a very powerful effect over me.  All the recent paintings I have been lovingly creating are finally displayed in a distinguished environment that truly lets the work shine. It almost brought tears to my eyes. I focused, breathed deeply, and continued to take one step in front of the other confronting the work in this new light.

   The Multicultural Centre Public Art Gallery is a perfect place for my show 'The Sleeper and the Insomniac'. The simplicity and history of the space and the wonderful natural lighting provide the perfect ambiance for this series of paintings. It was very inviting as people strolled in and out of the gallery.

  I was happily overwhelmed by all my friends, family, and community that came to the Artist Reception on May 1st to meet and support me. We shared some wine and laughs. We talked about the work. I received wonderful input and encouragement. So I would like to extend my gratitude and thanks to all that have helped me to get to this point.
   My children were beyond well behaved when mommy was working in her studio. They would work on their own projects. My daughter dabbled in tempra paints and my son constructed elaborate sculptures and robots out of boxes and several rolls of tape.
   My Significant Other was incredibly helpful. He was not only forced to live around the spaces these larger paintings took up but he was also a wonderful spring board for ideas. He was an amazing listener as I was half talking to him and half talking to myself about issues and situations that came up during the process of creating these paintings. He was my model, child herder, canvas carrier, and grand encourager. With an open ear, mind, and heart he unquestioningly and understandingly supports me. I would love to climb a mountain and yell out for all to hear the emotional gratitude I have for him.

    I would also like to send a very appreciative thank you to John Maywood, the curator, and head honcho at the gallery. He threw this wonderful opportunity in my lap with much faith that I could complete the work in time. His belief in me gave me confidence. His words and critiques gave me the courage to take a few more risks with this work allowing me to be more bold and daring. This show allowed me to do work that I really wanted to create. This allowed me to create paintings that I am truly proud of.

 John Maywood and I in a discussion.

   I would also like to extend a warm thanks to Seamus Smyth who wrote a wonderful article on the show. Since his article on the show was published I have been stopped by people I don't know several times and asked about or congratulated on the show. Seamus' articles are incredibly enjoyable to read. He was very attentive and I feel he did a great job of capturing the essence of what I do visually through his written words. (I have included a copy of his article below.) I am looking forward to my next post which is a project that Seamus and I have worked on together.

   I would also like to thank Adam Swanson who so kindly came out to take the wonderful photos that I have included in this post. I think his work is amazing and he really captured a part of me. He made both me and my work look amazing.

   The Sleeper and The Insomniac will be up until May 10th. I encourage you to go and see it.

The following is the article published in the Stony Plain Reporter on April 29, 2011

Stony Plain night owl discovers beauty in her sleepless evenings

By Séamus Smyth

 STONY PLAIN - A sudden idea for a new colour, a new image, perhaps even a new project, erupts into her consciousness as she begins to consider dosing off for the evening.

Instead, while everyone she is in contact with has drifted off into a deep slumber, she makes her way down to her studio basement and turns on a sole, dim light to allow her creative forces to release as they please. 

She feels no guilt for she is not neglecting any of her loved one's time, who are sound asleep as she paints away in the heart of the night. 

Local artist, Daphne Cote embraces the midnight hours, a time where her skills appear to flourish. Her latest work acknowledges her odd work schedule, but also praises the ability of others to peacefully drift away for countless hours in her latest display at the Stony Plain Multi Cultural Heritage Centre.

"The Sleeper and the Insomniac" captures two distinctly different settings that somehow complement each other when viewed side by side.

"The Insomniac" a dark, monocramatic, acrylic piece portrays a fashionable young female who appears to be anxiously awaiting for the night to begin, or perhaps someone to join her for the evening.

"She may be waiting or she might be bored. It is clearly a dramatic scene," said Cote who made it clear that she preferred to allow viewers to create their own perception of what is going on.

"I would hope that it would evoke something in their own lives or that it might remind them of a person they know or a time in which they lived," she explained.

Suggestions such as it may remind one of a good time with friends or even a time when someone was neglected, which may be upsetting to some.

While "the Insominac," blends elegance with a twist of doubt, "The Sleeper," is a comfortable, sea of blankets.

Although it may be difficult for her to relate to someone who can sleep for over six hours a night, Cote understands that some people just need to rest their bodies and minds more than others.

Both concepts are displayed in various sizes with both reaching just under four by five feet at their largest scale.

I do prefer to go bigger. I can get a bit more physical with them; they fit like a good dress," she laughed.


Not only is it a personal preference to stretch her work out to an extravagant size, but she considers where a fan of her work would wish to place the work in his or her home.


"I do kind of hold that in mind that these will have a home in the world somewhere," she said.


She listed Ray Lamontagne as the music that kept her company during work for "The Sleeper," and Cat Power: the Greatest for her alone time with "The Insomniac."

However, there were times where she drifted back and forth between the two pieces as she began to understand their connection while the soundtracks echoed in the background.


Although she is aware of where the origins of the two works came from, she again insisted that her goal with her work is to stimulate conversation.

"These are just fleeting moments that I have caught and try to project out in the world," she said.

"The Sleeper and the Insomniac" by Daphne Cote will run from April 22 to May 10. The opening reception is Sunday May 1 from 1 – 3:00 p.m. at the Stony Plain Multi-Cultural Centre.

The Sleeper and the Insomniac -Solo show at the Multicultural Centre Public Art Gallery

You are cordially invited to,


'The Sleeper and the Insomniac'
New paintings by Daphne Cote

I encourage you all to attend the Artist Reception with complimentary wine and snacks on
Sunday May 1st from 1:00 -3:30pm.
The show runs from April 22 to May 10, 2011
At the Multicultural Centre Public Art Gallery, 
5411-51St, Stony Plain

 

The Sleeper #3

2011

40" x 60"

Oil on Canvas

$3,000.00

 Setting up of the show

 The Insomniac #2

2011

40" x 30"

Acrylic on Canvas

$1,100.00

 The Sleeper #4

2011

48" x 30"

Oil on Canvas

$1,400.00

 At the gallery on hanging day.

The above images are just a portion of the paintings that are included in 'The Sleeper and the Insomniac', a show of my most recent work. For over the past 3 months I have been working very hard on this series. It is the largest series I have produced to date. The series includes 8 paintings, mostly larger sizes.

I was kindly asked if I could put together a show in a matter of a few months. Of course I said yes and jumped at the opportunity. I had finished two paintings The Sleeper #1 and The Insomniac #1 (which were untitled at the time), and they had sparked a lot of conversations with people who viewed them. I started to see them as complementary to each other. They seemed to talk to each other and create interesting discussions by their viewers when they were shown together. So, when asked to do a show, I had these paintings and creating a series out of them in mind. 

The paintings that started it off were really exercises to push my skills and abilities as a painter. I was revisiting acrylic paint as preparation for teaching workshops, as to remind myself the qualities and abilities of the medium. The subject matter of The Insomniac started off as I dream, that turned into a day dream, that turned into a birthday present for my significant other. I took some self portraits that started off as a gift to my love and are now also the reference material for The Insomniac paintings.

The reference material for The Sleeper stemmed from ideas and images that I had daydreamed about on my many walks to and from the university when I was getting my degree over 10years ago. Then one morning I woke up to my dream come true right there in my bed. The lighting and positioning and the bedding was perfect. It was the most handsome landscape of bedding and man.

Essentially this show is me living out my dreams.

Here is the Artist Statement that is posted at the show: 

 The Sleeper and the Insomniac

Artist Statement

In this show, The Sleeper and the Insomniac, I am looking at complimentary ideas. Oil paint and acrylic paint. Men and woman. Day and night. Color and black and white. Awake and sleeping. being together and being apart. And how these separate yet complementary ideas relate when put side by side.

These paintings started off as a test of my skills in using acrylic versus oil paint in preparation for teaching. By having these complementary paintings together, they seemed to speak to each other and develop a relationship. When talking with others about the work, I found we would often discuss the paintings together. From there the series snowballed to culminate into the show before you.

The main purpose of this work, and all my work, is to provide a catalyst for discussion. Whether in the gallery, business, or home, I create my work with the intent to give a starting point for ideas. One of my favorite aspects of having a career as an artist/painter is to stand behind people and listen to what they have to say about the paintings. How do people view and interpret my paintings and what messages do they derive form them. I enjoy when people are looking at my paintings then dive into conversations such as 'I had the best sleep last night...' or 'I went out to this great place last night with my husband...' or  'that reminds me I want to wash my sheets today'. In my opinion, successful paintings invoke a sudden thought, be it even the most mundane of thoughts such as laundry. By listening in on these conversations about my work I learn more about effective means of visual communication and it expands my visual vocabulary.

I am a painter because I find I can express myself and ideas better in a visual form than in any other media. I use images from my life because they are readily at hand. My family and friends often turn into my models. They're cheap. For the same reason I use myself as a model.

Though the models used for these works are people I know intimately I don't see them as people I know intimately. Through the process of painting the figures they have turned into symbols of ideas and ultimately into universal people. They are like statues of people that you pass on a walk where their names are forgotten and they have long ago aged or passed on, they represent a point on the path of life that we can all relate to. The reference material used was captured in a single moment that has long since passed on and the people have changed. They are now just symbols of ideas and emotions.

Art reflects and comments on life. I would love to hear what your first thoughts were that came into your head at your first glance of the show and  I encourage you to email me or post your thoughts on my blog. Creating is the art of bringing things together.

-Daphne Cote