Christmas came early for me this year. I was very happy to see that my holiday-themed painting made it into a local news story!
You can read all about it on the toronto.com link right here!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Another Christmas Market memory ...
Another Christmas market come and gone for me this year. Yesterday was my last of this season as a participating vendor at the Very Merry Market.
Lots of folks managed to find their way to the lower level at the Eastminster United Church to shop for seasonal goods and listen to some live music.
Thanks to all the new and the familiar faces that dropped by my booth.
Now its time to get back to painting!
Cheers!
Recap of this past weekends shows (Nov 5/6)
My vendor table at the St. Barnabas Christmas Market this past Saturday November 5th.
Thanks to all who came out on Saturday to the St. Barnabas Christmas Market. We welcomed lots of shoppers through the vendor aisles. It was great to see art aficionados in person again.
This was a successful market for me. It seems my Christmas ornaments were very popular. I sold out of the streetcar themes. That will keep me busy creating new ones for the next Christmas Market in less than two weeks.
For anyone who missed St. Barnabas, drop by my booth at the Very Merry Market at Eastminster United Church on November 20th from 10am to 4pm. 310 Danforth Ave., Toronto, near Chester subway station. This show does have a $5 admission fee with all admission proceeds going to Animal Justice, Toronto. Their website explains what they do. Be warned that the website can be disturbing to look at. It has that affect on me yet I am glad that there are people out there advocating for the humane treatment of animals.
The AGS Show this past Saturday/Sunday November 5/6 at the Centennial Recreation Centre.
After the successful St. Barnabas Market, I had a not-so-successful Art Guild of Scarborough Show. Although there were some sales among the various artists, such was not the case for me at this fall show. Having done art shows for a few years now, I know that “some days you’re the windshield, some days you’re the bug” (to quote local portrait artist, Brian Smith). It’s just the way it goes. All that said, its still enjoyable to be out meeting and mingling with fellow artists and art lovers.
My next group show is the Don Valley Art Club’s Holiday Art Show at the beautiful Todmorden Mills Papermill Gallery. I’ll be dropping off my painting there tonight as the gallery prepares for Wednesday’s opening. Lots of great art to view both in person and online at this show.
Thanks for dropping by my blog!
Cheers!
Ramona
Prepping for Christmas Markets
Getting ready for the upcoming St. Barnabas and later in the month, a Very Merry Market. Yes lots of us makers are getting ready for the holiday season. It comes up so quickly.
Today I just finished a small series of miniature paintings. Something new to add to my available art items for these type of shows. It was fun to create these little works of art. Each one comes complete with its own little easel. How cute is that?!
Now on to my next projects...
TBC
Closing Night Party at the Tilted Glass
Thanks to Monique Ra Brent of the Oshawa Art Association for putting on a Halloween themed art show at the Tilted Glass. A variety of “spooky” art from local artists were on display during the month of October.
Last night culminated in a closing party with the artists and the public. Lots of great costumes on display with prizes to be won and of course some excellent live music.
If you are out in the Bowmanville area, stop in at the Tilted Glass to pick up locally brewed craft beer.
Cheers!
Monique was part of this duo providing great music to the audience.
Taking in as much of the season as I can...
This year seems to be a great year for the fall colours. Some years are better than others. I’ve seen a lot of reds, oranges, ambers and yellows to fill my palette. Until those trees are bare, I’ll be out as much as I can enjoying nature’s kaleidoscope.
OAA Fall Art Festival Wrap Up
What a fun show that was for me. It was great to get out and meet lots of fellow artists in person and it was fun to meet all the art afficiandos that came through the show.
This was my first time on the grounds of Camp Samac and it is beautiful! The fall colours were spectacular. Having the show inside a log cabin (hall) was a unique venue and one that I was happy to be a part of.
Thanks to everyone who came out.
Beautiful fall colours!
Silent Lake
Spent this past weekend hiking around Silent Lake and Algonquin Park. I think this is the best time of the year for hiking - great weather, no bugs and bea-u-ti-ful colours.
Lots of great scenery equals lots of possible reference photos for future paintings.
I’m very lucky to combine two of my favourite past times….hiking and art.
Peck Lake, Algonquin Park
Sanita & Ellie
This small painting was recently completed for a friend’s birthday. I waited until she received her gift before posting any images online. This is the first time I painted a double portrait on one canvas. It looks like the recipient is happy with the finished product! And that makes me happy!
Chennai Kitten
Fresh off the easel, Chennai Kitten is complete!
The fabulous reference photo for this is thanks to my husband Peter. This was taken during a trip to India. This kitten looks like its posed within a photo studio. However, it was a unique photo opportunity and Pete was there at the right time to get this shot.
The spirit of this beautiful feline is captured and lives on forever within this painting.
Enjoy!
Gearing up for fall
Last night was the first time I felt the need for a jacket. Autumn is slowly making its way to us here in southern Ontario. It’s bittersweet. I love the fall colours and have mixed feelings about saying goodbye to warmer days and nights. Have to look at the bright side. Cooler weather is great for hiking through spectacular fall colours. It’s also a lot easier to stay home and paint during the shorter and cooler days to come.
Currently I’m working on a few pet portraits and a couple of other projects.
Will post my progress here.
Fresh off the easel is a recent pet portrait commission…”Winnie” 8x10 acrylic on canvas.
Final cropping and mounting to an art board and “Winnie’s” pet portrait is ready to be handed over to her people.
Breathing new life into older painting themes
A call to artists was the inspiration to dust off a few older themed paintings and create new versions.
Both of these are geared towards a Halloween theme. Dare I say that is only about 2 months away now.
Pump Kin Pie is a twist on Edvard Munch’s famous Scream painting. This pumpkin looks on in shocked horror at the piece of baked Pump Kin pie - a relative?!
NightLife stirs the imagination about what goes in on the forests around us while we are off in dreamland - Or is this a painting of dreamland? You, the viewer, gets to decide.
Enjoy!
Pump Kin Pie. 16 x 20 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.
NightLife. 18 x 36 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas
New life into this painting
I started this painting “Hunter’s Bay, Huntsville” quite awhile ago but have never been satisfied with it until today. After trying several variations and upgrades, I set it aside for awhile.
Originally this painting was 24 x 30. I have now tweaked it and resized it. Hunter’s Bay is now 16x 20 and I’m happy with the results!
A beautiful spot in Huntsville is now permanently reproduced on canvas. The canvas has been mounted to an art board and is suitable for framing. It is currently housed within a simple black frame.
Onto my next projects!
Cheers!
Ramona
Riverdale Art Show 2022 Update
Thank you to all who came out to the show this past Friday and Saturday at the historic St. Barnabas Church. It was a hot one! Even so, it was great to see all the artists and art aficionados in person again.
Having the show in the summer rather than the autumn and hosting inside the church was a new experience for this group of artists. The Riverdale artists and organizers will get together soon to chat and decide if we will host again in a similar venue and time frame or what elements we will tweak for next year. I will definitely let you know what we decide.
For anyone interested in purchasing a painting post-show, please feel free to contact me ramonarickenart@gmail.com and I can arrange a payment method and delivery. Later this year, I will be set up for e-commerce on my website.
Thanks again for dropping by my display and I hope to see you at another art show soon!
More florals coming your way!
The past few days I have been busy painting a couple more floral pieces for the upcoming Riverdale Art Show.
The first is my rendition of Starlette Lillies. They are a beautiful mix of yellows, oranges, purples and reds and really pop off the canvas against the blue background.
The other is my second painting of sunflowers. Between the darker edges of the flower centers and the red background, the beautiful sunflowers practically fly off the page.
Both pieces will be avialable this coming Fri/Sat, August 5 and 6th at the Riverdale Art Show. Check my events page for more details.
Hope to see you there!
Guildwood Festival Weekend Update
Thank you to all who came out to the show this Saturday. It seems everyone needs and wants to get out into the world again as the event was well attended. It was great to see familiar and new faces dropping into my booth #80. As you know I love this park and this particular show.
This year I showcased fabulous prints thanks to my recent purchase of an Epson pigment-based printer. I love the results and it seems many of you did too as I sold quite a few of these during the show. Some of my printed greeting cards will make their way out into the world after this weekend’s show. And I’m happy to say that my most recent painting, “Autumn Sun” has found a new home.
For anyone who came out on Sunday, many art vendors, myself included, chose to dismantle our booths due to extreme weather forecasts. Printed materials will not do well under those conditions. Hindsight is 20/20 they say and as it turned out, I think we could have managed well enough as the predicted storms did not materialize during the festival hours. Next time a situation like this occurs, I will store printed materials in my car and keep my booth up and running. Lesson learned.
The winner of my draw for the 12 x 18 matted art print giveaway is “Roslin S.” of Scarborough. She has been notified in a separate email. Congratulations!
Thanks again for dropping by my booth and hope to see you at another art show soon!
Ramona
A sample of my printed reproductions for the Guildwood Arts Show
All this work is paying off. I’m really happy with the print quality results from the Epson printer and I’m very happy to have finished all of the mat cutting required for this show! An assorted sample of some of the matted prints are included below.
Still several more tasks to complete. It’s keeping me busy!
Will update again soon.
Cheers!
Prepping for this weekend's art festival!
Art work isn't all painting. Cutting mats to complement my beautiful printed art reproductions for the Guildwood Festival this weekend. A lot of work and the end results are worth it!
Introducting my newest addition...
The upcoming Guild Arts Festival motivated me to invest in this Epson top notch printer. I LOVE IT!!!
Amazing quality prints using 10 pigment based inks to create fabulous art reproductions that will last for years to come!
Stay tuned for more updates about this weekend show and these lovely art prints
http://www.guildalivewithculture.ca/
https://www.ramonaricken.com/new-events?view=calendar&month=07-2022
First painting post-surgery is complete!
It’s been just over 6 weeks now since my surgery date and all is going well physically. That being the case, I can now put more focus on my art.
I’m happy to have completed “Autumn Sun” as my first post-surgery painting.
I’ll be including this piece in my upcoming shows. July 23/24 at Guildwood Park Arts Festival and August 5/6 at the Riverdale Art Show inside St. Barnabas Church.
Hope to see you there!