Visit our Studio April 28th and 29th, 2012

Hello friends and art lovers,

This past two months have been so much fun and ultimately busy with friends and family from the colder or wetter climates who are desperate to escape their regional weather hell and see and feel spring at its very best.
At this moment we Victorians are blissfully smothered in cherry and plum blossoms and the parklands and gardens are amass with sunny yellow daffodils. I must remind you, bragging about our milder Canadian climate automatically comes with our Victoria citizenship card. Much to the irritation of many friends or family who live in other parts of Canada, many Victoria residents use their bragging rights card privileges more liberally than others. I use it frequently much like my car and artistic licence.

The sunshine has graced us enough that we are not so grouchy and are happy to walk the dog 6 or 7 times a day rather than usual 2. We don't actually have a dog at this point in time but enjoy watching the multitude of owners and their pooches hourly parade past our home and up to the park. I get the impression most of the dog walkers are curious to check out the progress of the 5 of the 7 new monster homes that are being built along side of our Moss Rock Park perimeter. Once all the homes are finished and sold we will have many new friends and neighbours.

GOOD NEWS
I have a new painting in progress and would love to show my Blue Bridge painting to you during our 11th annual

Fairfield Artists Studio Tour
 Sat. April 28th & Sunday April 29th
 11 am to 4 pm


 

In Progress.. A View of the Blue Bridge
 (from Bay Street looking south)
NOTE
This is a DETAIL of a small unfinished view of one of the many areas in my 16 x 26 inch painting.
 White areas are yet to be painted.

 Prints of my finished painting will be available through my galleries by November,  2012

Victoria's Johnson Street "Blue" Bridge that connects downtown with Vic West will be torn down.
The rail side of the bridge has already been removed. By European standards this bridge is not very old and over its short life has given our city's working harbour and inner harbour truly authentic character and important historic relevance. Many of Victoria's residents and visitors to our city will truly miss the iconic Blue Bridge.


MORE GOOD NEWS
To see Victor Bosson's new online art print store
visit http://www.galleryartlife.etsy.com/

Visit our studio during the Fairfield Artists Studio Tour
 Apr 28th and 29th, 2012
Vic and I welcome you and your friends to visit our studio and the 33 artist's studios on the tour during our FAIRFIELD ARTISTS STUDIO TOUR. The FAST as we call it, has been going for 11 years and is a huge cultural arts event for our neighbourhood and Victoria. FAST is a fun and free event which allows all 49 Fairfield artists to show you their art and their working environment. Some artists will demonstrate their craft or painting techniques.

Vic and I are #16 on the tour map.

Our Art tour maps are available at

Fairfield Plaza's Thrifty Foods, Harbord Insurance and Fairfield Eyecare, Lazy Susan's
Cook Street Village's Serious Coffee and The Royal Bank
Picture Perfect Gallery in the University Heights Shopping Plaza
Loves Olde Towne Gallery on lower Yates Street 

To download our art tour map and view the FAST artist's website visit  http://www.fairfieldartistsstudiotour.com/

Park and Walk
Five artists are at a public sight at the Garry Oak Room on Thurlow... so you can park for the day at the Garry Oak parking lot, visit these 5 artists first and then walk up to our studio to say hello and enjoy our 5 studio rooms jammed full of art and then on to the other studios in the area and the outer reaches of Fairfield.
 
Don't forget to visit some of the studios east of us... Terrace Ave and on Richmond Ave.
 
 
Bring your friends along! The FAST 2 day art tour is Victoria's ultimate arts event!

Venetian Fresco
acrylic painting on panel by Barbara Weaver-Bosson 2010
9 x 12 inches
 colours may display differently on different monitors

Giclee prints are now available $ 85.

Please inquire e-studio@shaw.ca

 

Artists and Their Unique Lifestyle

My studio at night. 2011. Hercule Poirot is stumped in The Mystery of the Clean Studio

 

PRODUCTIVITY

Over the years I have detected a pattern of behavior in our group of artist friends.The New Year shows up and then one month slides by without a peep from your artist friends. You know that everyone is either in Mexico, Maui or has skipped the trip to the tropics and have locked themselves in their studios and are being their focused productive selves once again. Being productive is good but it can produce long term eccentric indoor behaviors and malnutrition.

REALITY TV
If Vic and I were in a reality TV show, it would not be glamorous or garner high ratings or a big audience. It would be a rather boring show because Vic is not a loud aggressive guy and we don't shout profanities or throw paintings or stuff at each other or scheme to sabotage each others projects and most importantly, I don't wear skin tight sexy designer outfits to the studio (just when I go to the grocery store). I must grant you this, we are not your typical married couple either. Both being artists and living in our cozy home/studio has its advantages and disadvantages. We live in a gallery of sorts and are surrounded by art and projects in every room. Every morning I wake up and within a few minutes I am staring at one of my paintings in progress. While sipping my first cappuccino of the day, I look closely and take mental notes about what area of the painting needs this, that or the other thing. Often I will see my slow and methodical approach in the painting is working and other days I see the need to rework an area that bothers me or seems wonky.

THE VIEW OUT THE WINDOW
Over more cappuccinos, Vic and I check out the view from our big dining room window. The view out the window is one of the many reasons we live here. Our backyard pond is a great draw for wildlife and we often look out the window towards the pond hoping to see Mr. and Mrs. newly wed Mallards. Beside the daffodils, tulips and cherry blossoms, the ducks are delightful and are the high point in the spring. They don't usually show up until March but we are always hoping for their early arrival and their first big splash landing in the pond .

The deer are the newest visitors to the pond and in the late spring, summer and fall, they admire the pond and then happily munch their way through our yard. Our once gorgeous Japanese Maple is now just a pathetic looking stick in the garden. Last summer when our "water feature" was undergoing a new liner/coating, two young bucks got into trouble as they tried to walk across the thin plastic cover that was stretched over the pond.

The bird feeder is always a great source of entertainment and high drama especially when the multitude of little and big birds battle it out for their space and turn at the feeder. Some of those feisty feathery things toss about $15.00 worth of feed on the ground daily. The Juncos are smart and always benefit from the spillage on the ground. I have a sneaky suspicion they gather all the seed up and wholesale it by the pound to the Junco's who work at Art Knapp's Garden Centre.
Where there's birds, there's cats and our neighbour's cat, the lovely and self important Lynx Siamese is fun to watch. We call him Max and he shows up around 9 am and struts around the pond and garden area dutifully marking his territory. Max is a bit silly and totally ignores the birds but loves to jump back and forth over the pond several times or brazenly run after the fat old raccoon whom I had to chase off our sundeck a few times. As the early morning animal kingdom show comes to a close, Vic and I soon gravitate back to our studios and lock into our projects at hand.

MAKING IT WORK

The type and the scale art work we do suits our life and workspace. We are very self contained and Vic works in his computer studio in the front gallery area and close at hand is his professional printing system. This area is open and sunny but the hallway through the house is tricky for Vic. Daily, Vic patiently navigates with precision and grace in his manual wheelchair up and down the hallway and often has to back into some of the rooms. I am full of admiration for Vic's amazing steadfast patience and navigation skills. I know that if I was in a wheelchair full time, I would dread the trip to the other end of house and would most likely injure myself while taking out some of the frame work and walls.

MULTI-TASKING

Many artists live intensely in their creative imaginations and their focused work mode. Hours roll by easily as we do creative work. It is often Friday but it seems like it should only be Tuesday. Sometimes I feel like the absent minded professor because I am so involved with doing a million things that relate to doing art or preparing to do art, working on my commission painting, preparing for exhibitions, printing art cards, playing Facebook scrabble with Janet, and making and showing up for our appointments. Part of each day I will also assist Vic on his Gallery ArtLife art print projects.

Like many of us creative types, we both just loose track of time and all of a sudden I notice that Vic looks 10 pounds lighter.... then I realize there is no food in the fridge or cupboards and we have not had any real meals since Tuesday or was it Friday?

ALL I CAN SAY
All I can say, with our lifestyle and if we had children, they would have learned quickly how to make  cappuccinos and get themselves off to school and most importantly find out how to make healthy balanced meals or order in.

Study of  Homes Along Gonzales Bay      Acrylic painting  9 x 12 inches  by Barbara Weaver-Bosson  C 2008

Happy New Year Friends and Art Lovers.

The final  few hours of 2011 remain and I look back at a year filled with many hours in the studio, adventurous road trips and precious time spent with Vic, our friends and family. As time flies by, we appreciate even more our good fortune, our good health and cherish all our precious friends and family.

  Vic and I also want to express that we cherish all of you who have come by over the past 25 years to visit us during our exhibitions, outdoor art events, studio tours and private showings. Life can get so busy and we are absolutely thrilled that you have taken time out of your busy schedules to come by and say hello. Without you and your kindness, many of us hard working artists would  not be able to dedicate our lives to art. Your participation and support in our arts community is so valued and so appreciated. Thank you for all your generous support over the many years and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year.


Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and may 2012 be filled with good health, good art and good fortune.

Cheers,

Barbara and Vic

Barbara in Summerland B.C. August 2011

Vic 2010

Tis The Season

The Neighbourhood Skating Party by Barbara Weaver-Bosson

Available as a Fine Art Print and Greeting card

                          Neighbourhood Series Greeting cards are available at Thrifty Foods in the Fairfield Plaza

Options Picture Framing, Picture Perfect Galley, Broadmead Gallery and The Side Street Studio

and the topic for today is 

HEALTH AND WELL BEING

December is a month filled with great expectations and my personal list of should dos, can dos, hope to dos and didn't get tos, has been compressed into 2 weeks of good health in early December and 1 1/2 weeks of down time with an early gift of the Pre Christmas Send You to Bed Flu.

My blog post today is a combination of a health topic and an art therapy session. Thinking that sharing ones own horrific experiences helps one work through the trauma of it all.... so I am sharing this December Health issue with you. I know there are a lot of you who have had this same experience with the wretched flu and how you have to absolutely put everything on hold while you are lying in bed moaning and quietly gasping for air.

I NEVER GET SICK

Not counting a few neck and shoulder problems, I have always been healthy and rarely get a cold but catching something awful in September and the most recent of invading viruses made me pay for all the bragging I have been doing over the years. This nasty flu pounced on me with a vengeance. First came a sore throat, then came the blinding headaches, joint aches, pains in my hair follicles, eyebrows, and pain in every other part of my body, put me in bed so fast, it made Vic drop his glass of Italian wine and come to my aid. The relentless upper respiratory cough twas hard on my tiny 5 foot 3 framework and soon Vic was cooking simple meals and bringing me lots of liquids and making sure I was comfortable. This flu stole my delicate and lovely speaking voice and I knew squeaking through our favourite Christmas carols was right out. Coughing took on a whole new meaning as I lay awake night after night coughing.

THE BIG LIST
 I would like rough up those evil forces who launch their like clockwork spread of the "Seasonal Flu" virus and tell them how they are ruining innocent peoples lives and plans for a joyful life and Christmas. We all have important work to do, and when we can not contribute to the heavy work load that this time of year demands, we get a bit cranky and mad especially when we can not ---

1)  look after the many other family members or friends who need our help
2)  do our work whether it be painting in our studios or working at the office
3)  attend parties and events
4)  make meals 3 times a day for ourselves and families
5)  return library books that are due
6)  do laundry (so Vic and I can look respectable)
7)  finish designing, printing, publishing and mailing out our Christmas cards before the Dec. 12th    deadline
8)  donate to our favourite charities
9 ) write our art blogs
10) wrap up gifts and post them before the deadline
11) finding the perfect Christmas socks to buy everyone on your list
12) and most importantly share eggnog and brandy with friends who drop by.

METAPHORS GALORE and It's a Wonderful Life
Even though I suffered though all of the guilt and anguish of not being able to complete everything on my to do and daily list, I finally found a happy place where I felt it was going to be a different kind of Christmas this year. Forget about looking after everyone in my world.... just get feeling better.
With the aid of a nice doctor's prescription for a Codeine cough syrup, I recently have had a good nights sleep and as they say, I slept like a baby. Even though this flu stopped me dead in my tracks for 10 days, I am actually happy to say I am now looking on the bright side and believe what doesn't kill you, will make you stronger and further more, I also believe that talking about how fragile we really are, can put us on the road to recovery.

Today I feel pretty perky and I am actually looking forward to Christmas Day as I can now foresee a rather relaxed and pleasant day of opening gifts and cooking a big turkey. I also feel confident that I can pack on a few of those LOST pounds by eating far too many mashed potatoes. I know if I have my way, those potatoes will be generously slathered with savoury gravy.

   

Victor and I send you our Warmest and Best Wishes and hope

your holiday is filled with lots of love and relaxation, and a healthy serving of mashed potatoes

Cheers for a very Merry Christmas

and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

Our new Christmas Tree-  a 7 foot mixed pine

Exhibition and 25th Anniversary Celebration of The Island Illustrators Society

Welcome to my October post.
We have been very busy with group exhibitions lately and hope you can attend our

Celebrate Success

The 25th Anniversary Celebration and Art Exhibition of

of the Island Illustrators Society. 

Victor and I are life time members of the Island Illustrators Society (IIS) and we want to invite you join us at the Gala Opening Art Exhibition and Celebration. Enjoy artworks by 27 members of the Island Illustrators Society. Meet many of the artists who appear in Ray St Arnaud's 68 Studio visits

Thursday October 27th  7 to 9pm

The Gallery Cafe

Cedar Hill Recreation and Arts Centre

3220 Cedar Hill Road.

Victoria B.C

Enjoy Hors d'oeuvres and a no host bar

Exhibition continues October 25th through to November 27th, 2011

Gallery Hours
Monday - Friday 6:30 am to 10 pm
Sat and Sun  8 am to 9pm

Island Illustrators Society Website www.islandillustrators.org
 
Please scroll for more info

 Also on hand for purchase opening night, will be Society members art cards, illustrated children's books, and our special 25th Anniversary books

68 Studio Visits by Ray St Arnaud
and Coastal Moments 

 


Anniversary Celebration Books by artists of IIS

* Coastal Moments is a gorgeous Journal book illustrated by 44 members of the Illustrators Society.  A colourful gift to yourself and others. Perfect for your own journal thoughts, poetry, or sketches.

* 68 Studio Visits  is Ray St. Arnaud's extensive and revealing photographic book of past and present IIS members. Concept and photographs by IIS member Ray St Arnaud.

http://www.raymondstarnaud.com/gallery/illustrators/index.htm

Enjoy and celebrate the arts and culture of Victoria

Hope to see you at our gala opening Thursday October 27th 7 to 9 pm.

Snap Shots and Painting in the Great Outdoors

Summer is always filled with outdoor experiences and lots of travel. Vic and I love road trips and I make sure to pack my camera, paint box and canvas with me because you never know what you'll see or who you will meet along the way.

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

I look forward to painting on location  during our road trips. Painting is a must but I need to do a bit of planning and make sure we have enough time to find a quiet spot with a nice log or a provincial park picnic bench and settle in somewhere comfortable for a few hours. After finding a breathtaking view which usually includes a few rocks, a tree and a cabin by the lake, I set up with paints, brushes, panels, or canvas and this is when I notice it's the exact time that the bugs find me. Bugs love me and all the insects in the area end up buzzing in my ear, crawling up my pant leg or doing the backstroke through my paint washes on my canvas. It is a minor distraction and I am learning to tolerate them. I must remind myself that I am invading their turf, their territory and natural habitat.



study/sketch of McNeill Bay, Victoria B.C.
5 x 7 in acrylic painting by Barbarsa Weaver-Bosson
all rights reserved

TOO BRIGHT

Vic's favourite tool for painting is his computer which also includes his stylus,Wacom tablet and art software program Illustrator, Painter and Photoshop. For our painting trips here and abroad, Vic envisioned getting a travel friendly lap top that he could easily use to sketch or paint on location. After borrowing a friends laptop for the day trip to the beach, he quickly found out the outdoor light creates a glare on the monitor and makes working on outdoors on a lap top a big disappointment. Vic's mentioned that perhaps if we got him a big dark tent to work in, he could then poke his head out through a peep hole to catch a glimpse of the lake or landscape or the mountain goat peacefully grazing by the tent. If we get him a lap top, then we could get the tent, an espresso machine, table, air conditioner, lounge chairs, a printer and a cooler filled with fine wines and cheeses.

SNAP
For the quick road side stops, I do love taking snap shots and 60 or 70 snap shots is often all I need to capture ONE successful shot of an awesome squirrel, mountain scape or a charming 200 year old barn that is leaning 30 degrees to the left. I admit I am not very good at using a camera and by no means a "photographer" but love clicking and snapping away. Sometimes I point the camera out the car window as Vic drives our trusty Volvo station wagon through the winding mountain roads. I happily snap away and have documented most of the ditch and mountains from Hope to Calgary.

STUDIO PAINTING and PLEIN AIR PAINTING
Studio painting and painting outdoors are two different experiences and each has its benefits. Traveling about and painting at random outdoor locations gives me a sense of freedom because my expectations for the painting is simply, I have no expectations but to enjoy the spontanity of it all. Outside in the wilds in my favourite neighbourhoods, or traveling in the interior or seaside beaches, I am totally wrapped up in the experience of capturing the essence of the scene and enjoying all the pleasures and the sights and sounds of nature. Plein air painting makes me feel totally refreshed, and connected to my inner outdoor self. Extremes do happen and if the sun is not blistering hot, the unexpected gusts of wind and rain create unwanted but note worthy distractions. Often my eyes are tearing up due to the wind, my paint tray has blown off its support and is upside down in the dirt or my hat has been carried off into the water. Not to forget Vic, who is quietly turning blue and wishing he was warmer and having lunch at the bistro with a cappuccino in hand.
Painting in the studio is warm and dry and I don't need sunscreen and I can reheat my cup of cold coffee 3 times if needed. Often I enjoy some background sounds like audio books, the cable channels 80's, classical, the Chill Lounge music, my Moby CD's or the summer sounds of our gardener's melodic leaf blower or edge trimmers.



THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

 My studio is a comfortable painting space where I can totally focus on the task and details at hand. I can work any hour of the day or night but now that I am listing off all the attributes of both, I feel there is something missing in my studio work environment. When I am in the wilds painting and observing all the beauty of nature, I am never alone. I know Vic is close by in the car staying warm and never too far away from my ear, pant legs or painting, are my good friends the bugs. These friendly winged or crawly, chewing creatures are happy to keep me company and are the becoming a very entertaining part of the outdoor painting experience for me.

THE BUG OLYMPICS

So for our next upcoming painting expedition into the great outdoors, I will be sure to bring my camera along and shoot the antics of my little bug friends and document their continuous and tireless efforts to totally immerse themselves in my paint and if I am lucky, I can capture one of their typical synchronized swimming events and dare devil diving into my painting.

I can expect all the usual spectacles to play out as the bug teams in yellow and black or purple jerseys flip and flop and dive and backstroke their way through the pools of water colour washes in my Olympic size paint tray. After much effort to stop the events, I resign myself to their constant persistence and I put down my brushes to enjoy their gold and silver medal round competitions. As the light on the my water view dims and the last bug has made purple footprints through the sunset sky of my painting, I anticipate the next stage of the planned festivities-their gala awards ceremony and lavish dinner celebrations. From my past experiences and delight, I, once again will be their guest of honour and their main course.

GOOD NEWS update Sept 6th

I have just heard through a very reliable source that there are laptop shade covers available for artists and photographers who like to work on their digital artworks outdoors. Many thanks to Francis for letting us know about these covers for laptops, Vic will enjoy working outdoors now.

Weaver-Bosson's Art Print GALLERY LOCATIONS

WELCOME TO MY ART BLOG

Here you will find news about my paintings, prints and gallery locations.

To learn more about my zany life as an artist, please visit my monthly blog listings on the right side panel.



Acrylic painting Fairfield Road- Spring Blossoms by Barbara Weaver-Bosson

 Fairfield Road-Spring Blossoms is available in archival fine art prints.
 Image size 7 x 10 inches $65. Please inquire through my galleries.

WHAT'S NEW?
Please visit my new website

http://www.weaver-bossonart.com/

My snazzy new website includes my current available art print titles and an overview of my 1993 to 2008 Neighbourhood Series prints.... plus a big biography... who am I? where did I come from? and how did I get to be a such a dam serious artist.

You can see my updated status of what prints and art card titles are still available for purchase.

Looking South to the Blue Bridge
A view of the Johnson Street Bridge and Victoria's working harbour

Acrylic painting by Barbara Weaver-Bosson, copyright 2012
Now available as Art Prints and Deluxe Giclees on Canvas
 and Fine Art Watercolour Paper

 Image size 15.5 x 28 inches
$ 60 and up

colours displayed may differ on each monitor
 

A few new giclees and art prints 

*Looking South to the Blue Bridge 15.5 x 28 inches art prints and deluxe giclees on Premium Fine Art Canvas and Fine Art Watercolour Paper and also available as greeting cards.

*Rooftops Moss and Howe  12 x 17.5 Giclee on Canvas. View image http://weaver-bosson.blogspot.ca/2012_05_01_archive.html 

*Springtime-Gonzales Bay  12 x 16 inch giclee print

*The Neighbourhood Skating Party  8.45 x 12 inch giclee print
 This joyful seasonal winter scene is also available in greeting cards.
 



Giclee Print 8.45 x 12 in  Neighbourhood Skating Party
   by Barbara Weaver-Bosson, copyright 2010

 


 Current GALLERY LOCATIONS
To order all available NEIGHBOURHOOD SERIES and JOHNSON STREET "BLUE BRIDGE" art prints and art cards

Please phone these galleries first to inquire about your print and card selections.

Picture Perfect Gallery
University Heights Shopping Centre
# 324 B- 3980 Shelbourne Street
Victoria, B.C.
Phone 250-721-1313 

Broadmead Gallery
Royal Oak Shopping Centre
# 102 - 4440 West Saanich Road
Victoria, B.C.
Phone 250-744-1447

Options Picture Framing
2651- Douglas Street
Victoria, B.C.
Phone 250-381-4022

Loves Olde Towne Gallery (for order inquiries)
# 102-535- Yates Street
Victoria, B.C.
Phone 250-385-6722

Neighbourhood Series Art Cards only

Thrifty Foods
Fairfield Shopping Plaza
1590 Fairfield Road

cards are displayed by the Customer Service Desk

Side Street Studio  
# 204 2250- Oak Bay Ave
Phone 250-592-1262
Sue Hays is happy to order any art prints


To see a complete list of my published Neighbourhood Series Limited Edition prints, currently available art card titles and how to arrange a studio visit, please visit my new website

http://www.weaver-bossonart.com/