Workshop at The Hills Health Ranch

Back home from the B.C. Cariboo at 108 Mile House.

Here are a couple of pics from the Workshop there. Great group: folks from Prince George, Chase and Barriere as well as local 108-ers. The Cariboo (cowboy country) is full of friends and neighbours!

Head's Up!

Back in the swing of things again! It's wonderful to be able to look at the world in an upright position once again. The retinal surgeon gave me a thumbs up report a couple of days ago and made me realize how much I have to be thankful for, especially for all your best wishes and prayers!

Getting prepared for the upcoming workshop at The Hills Health Ranch from October 5th to 8th.

This will be my third Autumn Playshop there and just a whole lot of fun. The huge expanses of this incredible place open the creative pores in you body and the paintings just flow! This year the emphasis will be on Watercolours and Acrylics, either individually or combined and with that combo, you can pull off anything (well, maybe not your clothes!).

Acrylics are a medium that I've returned to lately and tried on a number of surfaces. It can be very watercolour-like on paper and on other surfaces if undercoated with Golden Absorbent Ground. When used on Masonite or Canvas, it can act like oil paint, either impressionistic impastos or very detailed photo-like images. In the painting shown here I've used it on canvas quite thinly but impressionistically. Now, with the addition of Absorbent Ground on regular canvas or the recently marketed Watercolour Canvas, you could do much the same thing on canvas with watercolours!

I know that some of my old students will be back for another run and am really looking forward to seeing them again. Hasta manana at the HillS!

An Aye for an Eye

Eyesight is one of our great gifts. Do visual artists have any greater appreciation of this gift than others? I doubt it. Most people cherish their vision, becoming accutely aware of it when it begins to weaken with age and eyeglasses become part of their life. Doctors discovered a hole in my retina about five years ago, a condition I found I could live with until lately.
On September 11th a retinal surgeon will repair it in about an hour. No big deal, except for the entire following week it is imperative to keep your head down, eyes parallel to the ground, twenty out of twenty-four hours a day. The surgeon replaces the vitreous jelly in the eye with a gas bubble which then must rise to rest against the healing retinal hole. The entire healing process usually takes about eight weeks, but I will have one good eye as the other one heals.
I don't experience too many "firsts" in my life anymore, so this tends to put some variety back in my existence.
I'm trying to think of ways in which I will be able to amuse myself: 1. Looking down, I could become very rich by finding a lot of money. 2. Do a thousand small sketches. 3. Write a novel. 4. Play a dobro. 5. Clean up the garage on my hands and knees. 6. Examine anthills. 7. Search for four-leaf clovers ---- the list is endless, so I can see I will be having a ball!
I need to heal quickly, however, because on the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th of October I will be teaching a Watercolour/Acrylic Workshop at The Hills Health Ranch at 108 Mile in The Cariboo.

Wish me luck!

August, 2008 - BIG CHANGES COMING UP!

I have done some editing on our blog, so bear with me for this latest update. I am also learning a bit more about blogs, so if you would like to respond, I WILL try to answer you.
August has been our busiest month in the gallery since we opened it nearly twen ty years ago. At first we operated out of a small area that had once been our living /dining room. Twelve years ago we added a large addition to create about 2000 sq. ft. of gallery space and included custom framing as a service. We have had it open for regular hours most of the year and from May 1st to October 15th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 7 days a week. It has been a wonderful experience to meet so many art lovers but there comes a time when changes are in order to create a positive movement in your life. We need to free up some time away from the gallery.
October 15th will be the last day the gallery will be open for regular hours. Henceforth it will be open by appointment only and framing will be permanently discontinued. Our website, however will play a big part in displaying my work and we intend to enhance what is even now an outstanding site.
We intend to keep in touch with our gallery friends with a newsletter. If you would like to be included on our mailing list, please send us your e-mail address.
Who knows, I might even have the time to keep this blog up to date!

Happy 2008!

It's New Year's Day , 4 degrees Celsius and raining on North Vancouver Island. My last blog was in September and since then I've taught two workshops in October, the first at Hills Helth Ranch at 108 Mile in the Cariboo and the next one at Moorecroft Camp in Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island. For three weeks in November my wife, Ann and I took our first trip to Hawaii on Maui. We both loved it! I took a small set of watercolours with me and I sketched on most days. The included pencil sketch is one of many I did on the beach just minutes from our suite in a private home. Look for some Hawaii paintings on our website this spring.

I have a 93 year old mom who lives a day's drive from here and has suffered ill health during 2007. We,ve spent a lot of time with her and had to forego time from art. Moms are one of a kind and it's payback time.

We are going to make some big changes in Henschel Fine Arts this year. Probably the biggest changes in ten years. Plans are in the making. We'll keep you posted!

Plein Air Painting

September! My favourite time of year for some plein air painting. This is a term introduced by the French Impressionists who broke away from their studios to paint outdoors! Imagine - the nerve of those guys to break away from established rules of painting in your srtudio. The reason I love to paint outdoors this month is because of the light. During June, July and much of August, painting during the middle of the day(when it's warmest and comfortable to sit quietly for hours) gave you a sun directly overhead and very few shadows. Light and shade is what make landscapes come alive, so painting is limited to early morning and evening for interesting shadows. During September you get those beautiful long shadows all day long and the weather is still comfortable to sit out there. Usually it's not as rainy either, which is nice. October brings the autumn colours but you better take along some warm clothing! Al in all, we are in for some exciting outdoor painting during the next couple of months. Time to gather sketches and ideas for some winter studio painting. This was the usual routine of The Group of Seven: out to Algonquin Park or Great Lakes country to get some autumn material for their winter studio painting. A.Y. Jackson, one of the group, rarely painted in the summer as he quite disliked green! But we must give the hardy old boy his due because he often sat out in the snow drifts and painted during the winter. So, painters, let's take a lesson from The Group, grab your paints and get out there!

Hazy but not Lazy

Hi, folks. Don't give up on my blogging just yet. I intend to get on this blog more frequently and my intentions are honourable! WE ARE BUSY with our gallery. The summer of 2006 showed a decrease in tourism of 40% on North Island, probably due to the sinking of the Queen of the North, the very popular cruise between here and Prince Rupert. This summer the visitors seem to be making up for it and showing up in unprecedented numbers. Today, a Sunday, was a good example - from 9 a.m. to after 6 p.m there was always somebody in the gallery! Often the parking lot was full of cars. It is wonderful visiting with everyone. The nicest people in the world walk through the door; everyone is in a good mood. They are on holidays and are interested in ART! They come from all over the globe but we are getting more visitors from B.C. than usual. I believe they have finally discovered the incredible beauty and tranquility of North Island.