In the news
Not only was yesterday Canada Day, it was also the Vernissage or official opening of another art exhibition. The “Marvelous Montréal” art show is being presented by Artists in Montréal, a local arts organization, to raise funds for the nearby Sainte-Justine Hospital. Fifteen percent (15%) of all sales will be donated by the artists to the charitable foundation of this children’s hospital.
Participating artists were limited to one artwork each, all fifty-five (55) of which are now on display at the Valmi Gallery. Located in the trendy Outremont area of Montréal, this gallery is well-positioned on a street corner with two full walls of windows – it’s filled with beautiful natural light.
Unfortunately I couldn’t make it to the Vernissage, as my husband and I have been spending a lot of time at a rehabilitation centre while his dad recovers from major surgery in his 90s.
So I stopped by the gallery earlier, and was thrilled to see that my watercolour painting of a raccoon was one of the first artworks to greet anyone walking in the door. What a lovely surprise! Another nice surprise was to find that my raccoon was paired with a watercolour squirrel, painted by an artist I know from two other art groups. Sometimes Montréal seems like a small town, particularly within the arts community – a lovely feeling.
You can take in this free visual arts show from 1000 to 1800 daily, until Sunday July 5, 2023, at: Galerie Valmi, 1595 Van Horne (just north of Rockland Avenue), Outremont.
For those of you who aren’t in this area, here are just a few photos of the “Marvelous Montréal” exhibition.
After a cool and rainy start to spring here in Montréal, we had several spells of much warmer weather from late May into June. Too warm, in fact, as we’ve already broken several heat records. On June 1 “a 131 year old temperature record fell, with a high of 34.8C (95F), surpassing the 1892 record”. Then our traditional mid-summer humidity kicked in, earlier than usual, triggering several heat waves with RealFeel or Humidex temperatures above 38C (100F).
Although I could do without the humidity kicking up the heat, this warmer weather has meant that I’ve been able to get back to my favourite form of watercolour painting; en plein-air, or outdoors, off the back of my bicycle.
There’s a tangible sense of artistic freedom in setting off from home on two wheels, under my own power, with all the art supplies I’ll need packed into my saddlebags.
As a bonus, my trail-ready bike allows me access to secluded natural areas where the only sounds are birdsong and rushing water. I particularly enjoy riding the older and almost abandoned trails within local waterfront nature parks and reserves, so my plein-air paintings are often scenes of the creeks, lakes, and streams in the Montréal Island area.
Painting en plein air isn’t something that I can do in cooler weather, because my right hand and arm are affected by CRPS rare disease – which makes this limb extremely sensitive to cold temperatures – so it’s something that I’ve been looking forward to since early last autumn. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is also responsible for my ‘mild cognitive impairment’, and for the severe and constant chronic pain in my right hand and arm.
That’s why my motto is Art Despite Pain, because I’m painting in spite of this nasty rare condition and the multiple autoimmune and neuro-inflammatory issues that it causes – and because I’m using watercolour painting as a form of movement-therapy for my affected limb, combined with aerobic or cardio exercise as part of my pain-management plan. And one of the reasons for which I began learning to paint a few years ago was research showing that art skills-learning could be used as a form of brain-plasticity training, that might help prevent further cognitive decline over time.
Painting off the back of my bike isn’t only fun, it’s a way to combine different aspects of my disease-management plan and to share the beauty of our natural world.
Last night I attended the opening night vernissage for another art event in Montréal. This one was to celebrate the exhibition of Montréal's annual city-wide visual arts competition, in which I won First Prize in the amateur Watercolour & Gouache category last year. Past prize winners are ineligible for any new awards for a period of four years, which means that I can’t win any prizes in this competition until 2024. I was still invited to participate in the exhibition, with one artwork, so of course I was happy to do so!
The first photo shows the moment the doors were opened, the view into the centre of this large gallery; the following two photos show the right and left sides of the long exhibition space - and some of the crowds.
There was already quite a good turnout at 1900, despite the dinnertime schedule!
As for my painting, I chose this particular watercolour because it's a local scene. I painted this one from a series of photographs that I had taken during a rest stop on one of my bike rides, just a few kilometers from this art show.
This old boat was intermittently catching the light, as it drifted around its anchor in a sheltered bat on the Lake of Two Mountains. I was drawn to the gorgeous shimmering light of the boat's reflection in the water, and know immediately that I wanted to paint it.
This art show continues until July 5, 2023, with no entrance fees or tickets needed, so feel free to drop by. It's open every day except Mondays, and also closed for the Canada Day holiday on Saturday July 1, at the Pierrefonds Cultural Centre (lower level), 13850 Gouin Boulevard West, Montréal.
Weekends: 1300-1700
Monday: Closed
Tue-Thu: 1300-2000
Friday: 1300-1700
Visiting an art show is a lovely way to celebrate the transition from spring to summer, so I hope you'll be able to stop by before July 5, 2023!
A lovely surprise was waiting for me this weekend! I'd just started reading the latest issue of Artists Magazine, which I'd received in Friday's mail. My sweetheart and I were sitting on our patio quite early in the morning, having coffee and enjoying the sound of birdsong. I flipped one of the pages of the magazine, and my name in print caught my eye.
At first I thought it must be another artist with the same name, but as soon as I saw the title of the page I realized that I was indeed being quoted in an art publication!
Back in mid-April, I replied to a question on the publisher's social media, asking: "What is your favorite seascape painting of all time, and why?"
I then forgot all about that question, and my response.
The Artists Network, by the way, publishes several print and digital art magazines, including Artists Magazine, Paste Journal, Southwest Art, and Watercolor Artist.
They occasionally ask a question, through their social media, and then select their preferred responses to highlight in their posts – or even to publish in their print magazines.
Are you wondering now which seascape I chose, as my all-time favourite?
This is what I replied to that question, and exactly what appears on page 14 of the July/August issue of Artists Magazine:
"My favorite seascape is Claude Monet's Twilight, Venice (also called San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk or simply Dusk) for its use of luminosity and brilliant colors, particularly in the water and reflections."
Isn't it gorgeous?
Note: I can legally post a photo of this artwork only because this Claude Monet painting is now considered to be in the 'public domain'; he died in 1926, and the copyright term in effect are the author's life plus 95 years (i.e. to 2021). This particular photo of Twilight, Venice is from WikiMedia Commons.
I'm truly honoured to have been selected as the Artist "Client of the Month" by a Montreal non-profit organization, in recognition of my intertwined art practice and patient advocacy.
YES Montreal provides three different streams of programs and services; one for artists, another for employment and job-search assistance, and one for entrepreneurs and small-business owners. This organization has been active in our area for almost thirty years, due to Montreal's "thriving creative landscape, encompassing everything from video game development to music to visual arts".
Within the arts sphere they "offer a variety of artist focused workshops and events that will help you grow your artistic practice", which is particularly helpful for emerging artists like me.
I've taken a number of virtual webinars and workshops with YES Montreal since last year, and was even juried into their one-day outdoor pop-art show last summer; "What the Pop!" 2022. It was a fantastic event, run as an outdoor art fair, and I adored having the opportunity to chat with visitors about my art - and to raise awareness of chronic pain at the same time.
You can read my interview-style profile on the YES Montreal website here:
June Client of the Month: Sandra Woods
I just found out that my intertwined art practice and patient advocacy will be featured by a local organization. YES Montréal is a "community-driven" arts and entrepreneurship non-profit, and an important part of this city's art scene since 1995.
As an example, they organized the popular "What the Pop!" series of outdoor art events last year. Held at four different venues around the city, throughout the summer, these events showcased the work of almost 50 emerging artists - including mine!
The upcoming profile will be an interview-style piece, to appear on their website and in their monthly eNewsletter.
I'll post a link once the feature has been ePublished, and look forward to seeing how my chronic pain and rare disease advocacy will be interwoven with my artistic activities.
In the meantime, here's a flashback photo to "What the Pop!" 2022.
The annual juried art exhibition of the Women's Art Society of Montréal (WASM) wrapped up yesterday, at Gallery GORA, in downtown Montréal.
The closing event was a lovely excuse to spend an evening in the city’s artistic and cultural hub with my husband, as the Gallery is just a couple of blocks from the "Quartier des spectacles"; a car-free zone spanning several city blocks which hosts temporary art installations, concerts, and more.
The City of Montréal describes this entire area as "a space for living creation, open to artistic and cultural diversity; a territory where everyone who enjoys Montreal’s creativity comes to congregate... to share exceptional moments that enrich and bring colour to their lives."
On our way to the Gallery we took a long walk, to check out the latest urban street art and installation artwork around the downtown area.
After the closing at Gallery GORA we walked in the other direction, towards one of our favourite ‘foodie’ gems in this city
TimeOutMarket Montréal is part of a global movement that has been called “the city’s best chefs under one roof”.
After the success of the first TimeOutMarket in Lisboa (Lisbon) in 2014, several others opened in North America in 2019 (Montréal, Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York) and then in Dubai in 2021. With pandemic restrictions easing around the globe, plans are afoot to bring this concept to other cosmopolitan cities in countries including Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
After a fantastic dinner we took a sunset walk, stopped for espresso, and then headed home – just as the rain was starting.
Today I’m already preparing for my next two art shows, the Summer Show at Galerie Valmi Gallery downtown – a fundraiser for the St. Justine’s Hospital for children – and the annual show of the Pierrefonds Art Contest.
I’m not eligible to win any prizes at the latter this year, as I won First Prize last year (in the amateur adult Watercolour & Gouache category), but I decided to participate anyhow as the exhibition takes place in my Borough.
Last night was the Vernissage or opening night for the 128th Annual Art Show of the historic Women's Art Society of Montréal (WASM), with two of my watercolours on display.
The WASM was established in 1894, at a time when women weren't yet permitted to join (men's) art societies.
The exhibition continues through May 20, 2023, at the Gallery Gora in downtown Montréal. The Gallery is "a magnificent 9000 sq ft space, in proximity to the Place-des-Arts and the Montreal Contemporary Art Museum".
The theme of this year's art show is "Women in nature", so I selected watercolour paintings showing human's impact on the natural world - with typically Canadian landscapes. The one on the top is a scene from the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, near Banff. The elk there graze right up to the doorsteps of the cabins.
The painting on the bottom is an area of small farms northwest of Montréal, and you'll notice that there are cloudlike shadows on the glass in this photo - the Vernissage was very crowded, so it was impossible to get a photo of this one without anyone's shadow in the glass!
If you'd like to visit this art show, here are the details:
Gallery GORA:
279 Sherbrooke Street West, on the northeast corner of Park Avenue, Suite 205 (second floor); there's an elevator. The exhibition opening hours are:
Mon-Fri: 1000 – 1700; Saturdays: 1300 - 1700 (closed on Sundays)
Admission is free, and no tickets or advance reservations are required.
Last December one of my landscape paintings won First Prize in the amateur Watercolour & Gouache category of the 35th edition of the Montréal-wide Pierrefonds Art Contest.
This year, due to a change of venue, the art contest and exhibition will be held in June and July rather than in December through January.
All artworks for this exhibition have to be delivered next week, so I spent some time today matting and framing one of the watercolours that I'd just finished.
I'm quite pleased with how this one came out, even though you can probably see stripes of vertical reflections in this photo - particularly near the bottom - as it's notoriously difficult to get a reflection-free photo of a framed watercolour under glass! Anyhow, this photo is meant to show off the frame...
I buy Canadian-made wood frames at a local independent art supply shop, in a variety of colours and finishes, so that I'll always have 'the perfect one' on hand when I'm reading to frame one of my paintings for a show.
The finish on this one has a beautiful lustre or glow, that caught my eye when I first saw it standing empty in the shop... and I think it looks even better now, with my watercolour!
As for the painting itself, this is a scene from one of my lakefront bike rides.
I'd stopped to rest in the shade at a nature park, while cycling on a very hot and humid day, and watched this old canoe swirling in the slight breeze. Every now and then the wind would still completely, and I'd catch sight of an almost perfect reflection of the white canoe in the water.
I knew immediately that I wanted to paint that moment in time; that reflection with the marsh grasses to the side and in the distance.
The next time the breeze lulled, for just a moment, I was ready to snap the perfect shot with my phone.
One of the best things about living in Montréal, to me, is that I'm never far from the waterfront because the entire city is on an island. Most of my cycling is on routes that follow streams, river, and lakes, and this is often reflected in my paintings. (Pun intended!)
The exhibition for this year's Pierrefonds Art Contest, open to all of the over 2 million residents of Montréal Island, will take place at the historic Pierrefonds Cultural Centre from June 16 through to July 6, 2023; I'll post opening hours and other details next month.
By the way, don't expect another announcement that I've won a prize in this contest - winners of the 2022 edition aren't eligible for prizes again until 2024, although we are allowed to participate in the exhibition.
For folks in the Montréal area...
Two of my watercolour paintings will be included in an upcoming juried art show at Gallery Gora, presented by the historic Women's Art Society of Montréal (WASM).
I use my art to raise awareness of chronic pain and as a means to help manage my own high-impact pain from an autoimmune & neuro-inflammatory rare disease named CRPS.
The Vernissage opening night for this art show, which will be open to the public - for free and without any need for reservations or tickets - will take place on Friday May 12, from 1730 to 2030.
I plan to be be there at about 1730 for a first look at the artworks, and then again after an early dinner with my sweetheart.
Gallery Gora:
279 Sherbrooke Street West, corner Park Avenue, Suite 205 (second floor)
Exhibition opening hours:
From May 8 through May 20, 2023;
Mon-Fri: 1000 - 1700
Saturday: 1300 - 1700
Sunday: Closed
