A Sneak Peek of my Current Painting in Progress

A Sneak Peek Detail of my Current Painting

a blow up of a small detail of my current painting of the Blue Bridge and Upper Harbour.

 Regardless of what this section will look in 3 weeks, many areas and details evolve and change as I work on a painting. It may confuse you (the viewer) to see it here because this image is not to scale of the original painting but I feel you may enjoy this close up so you can see some of the paint strokes and textures of my painting.
 

Stayin' Cool in the Studio

Summertime and the Livin' is Sticky

Each summer here on the island, we usually have one week of crazy hot weather. We are often very content with our standard Mediterranean climate but it can go horribly wrong and get very hot and very uncomfortable.
I am a very big fan of 19 Celsius and when the temperature hits 29 blast furnace degrees C. it is just something I must write about. On these extreme days, we wish desperately for a swimming pool and the closest thing to a swimming pool is our beautiful backyard pond. Daily, in the hot weather, we are secretly tempted to take a dip in our pond but wisely refrain, knowing the neighbours are dying to share on the Internet, candid photos of the unusual artist neighbours splashing about in the pond.

Stayin' Cool in the Studio

To combat the 29 degree heat, I fling open my one north facing window which brings in a overwhelming cacophony from wood chippers, chain saws and deafening leaf blowers. Our open window is also an invitation for a migration of over sized spiders who seek shade and refuge from our frenzied neighbour's many electrical garden type power tools.
Yes, we have been meaning to upgrade to a more appropriate cooling system and it would be smart to have a proper air conditioner in the studios. Our two cooling fans are not EnergyStar rated and were purchased during the heat wave of '76. Every summer as we try to stay cool, our Hydro bill skyrockets as we dial our fans up to 11 and hope for a comfort level that will allow us several productive hours of painting.
 

I have not yet grown accustomed to the forced air flow of the fans and the fluttering of assorted sketches and small paintings whirling past my head and shoulders. Even with the distraction of blowing air, I am always optimistic that I am going to get a tremendous amount  of painting done if I am not accidentally knocked out by a flying art object. As the day slowly ticks by, the room gets hotter and hotter.
 

Melt Down

 By 2 pm everything in the room feels tacky and it is all suddenly sticking to me. Sipping my ice tea and trying my best to paint and stay focused, my room feels like a desert with super heated gale force Santa Ana winds. Not surprisingly, tumble weeds roll past my ankles, heat waves appear on the roadways of my painted cityscapes, all the lawns in my paintings are turning yellow and a prickly cactus has started growing in the corner of my dusty window sill.

As the relentless heat plays with my mind, things start to get really weird. In the corner where my monitor usually sits, I notice a large jug of icy cold Kool-Aid with a big smile on its face. He winks at me seductively. Having kicked the Kool-Aid habit years ago, I resist.
Knowing it won't go away easily, I thwart this powerful nostalgic mirage by bravely cranking up my fan to 13! Dealing with the vibrating and moving furniture, I successfully anchor my painting to my table and try to ignore the big spider who is happily cooling off in my ice tea.

                                                                       A spider finds a spot to cool down

                                        

                                       

By 4 pm, I hear Vic's panicky voice from his studio, "Barb, the dishes, cutlery and rugs have started to melt ! "....

 That's it, my survival instincts kick in and we pile into our Volvo and race off to the air conditioned wine store. As the wine store merchant welcomes us, we leisurely browse the cool oasis and isle upon isle of wine and 92 point selections.
 I ask Vic, "why didn't we come here earlier ?" Our over heated minds finally cooled down and hundreds of ideas for sublime wine and food pairings become abundant. After taking a few hours to decide which wine would be perfect for our dinner, the wine store staff politely ask us to make our selection and leave.

By 7 pm we are refreshed and renewed. We head back home where we open our bottle of 2009 Beso de Vino and serve it with a selection of our summer fare. Nestled in the comfort of the cooling basement atmosphere, we find just enough room for a spontaneous romantic dinner of "take out" beside the washer and dryer.



 

***********************************************************************

Victor Bosson's Link to the Outside World

Visit Vic's new on line art print store and see his new digital montage art prints.

Click here    www.galleryartlife.etsy.com

                                      

                              

                                               In My Dream, I saw The Queen"
                                                        Digital montage Art Print 
                                                               By Victor Bosson

Cheerful, whimsical, affordable and often thought provoking, Victor Bosson's art prints make perfect gifts for the home and office.

Receive a free gift with your purchase, offer expires soon. Vic will not try to sell you a vacumn cleaner.


=============================================================

OLD NEWS is Good News
My Blue Bridge painting is developing nicely and I am adding lots of details to the view of the working harbour and old town area. Prints of my finished painting will be available in November 2012 and I will keep you posted as to which galleries will be carrying my new prints of my new Blue Bridge painting.

  Here is an small detail of my Blue Bridge painting in progress. This detail is a small portion of the painting only and does not show the whole view of the composition. 

The painting measures 16 x 26 inches and is an expansive view of the working harbour and the view looking south to the Legislature. I am looking forward to showing off the completed painting.




I reserve all rights including copyrights to my images and writing. Permission to use material within this blog will be given in writing only.

Art and Exhibitionism and my very first Fridge Exhibition

ART and EXHIBITIONISM
Yes it is true, we visual artists still remember grade one and still look forward to any chance to "show and tell". Artists of all ages have an overwhelming need to exhibit their drawings, paintings and scribbles.
As budding artists, initially our first exhibitions were on the fridge. Vic recently proclaimed that he had his first sell out show at GALLERY WESTINGHOUSE at the tender age of 6. I, on the other hand, was a late bloomer and I had my first sell out show on the fridge at the ripe old age of  7. My first successful show was all due to my decision to dump the pathetic and pigmently challenged weak colours of the school supplied clay crayons and advance into glorious colour expressions with my first box of Laurentian pencil crayons. My favourite colour was the Peacock Blue!! Barbie's Expressions In Blue First Fridge Exhibition debuted March 11th, 1960.

FINDING YOUR VOICE
After those heady days of exhibiting on the fridge, I was ready for more radical display of my individual art expression. There was no holding me back. I, like many creative kids of my age, drew and painted on everything, my arms, my school binders, my cut off jeans, my runners, and most regrettably the white shirt of the boy who sat in front of me in grade 7.
 High school brought more surfaces to paint on. My first commercial and public art installation was in Calgary's hippest coffee house THE NEON CATERPILLAR. I was hired to paint a full impact 10x10 foot mural. I couldn't believe my luck... this was a thematic dream job for any artist... picture it...an Alice in Wonderland scene with Alice peeking over the edge of the mushroom as she talks to the giant smoking caterpillar. I worked day and night for 3 weeks before the coffee house opened.
Opening night, I was so thrilled to see my mural displayed under the black lights, Alice and the Caterpillar's neon paint jumped off the walls as every coffee drinking customer grooved to the late 60's  rock that seemed to rumble, boom and then pour out of every carefully placed surround sound stereo speaker.

COFFEE HOUSE HISTORY
It was a fabulous opportunity as a young artist to paint a mural in a public space. In fact, I was thinking Alice and the giant caterpillar would be there forever adding psychedelic ambience to everyone's lunch hour or coffee break. Some of the big events or projects in life need to be documented and I regret that I did not think to snap a picture of my finished neon Alice in Wonderland mural.
Two years later, as I was busy in art school learning new and less pyschedelic methods of painting, I heard that the coffee house had closed down and my mural was destoyed during the new owner's renovations. As a teen, this was my first lesson - not everything you create or build will be around forever.

MORE NEWS ..........................

THE GLOBE AND MAIL article
 I am happy to announce and very honoured that Tom Hawthorn from the Globe and Mail wrote an article about my Neighbourhood Series and the studio tour event. I have included a link to the article below.

Click this link below to read about my art in the The Globe and Mail newspaper article April 30th, 2012
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/in-a-city-too-often-swathed-in-grey-an-artist-of-the-sun/article2417371/

To view 3 of my painting images in the Globe and Mail photo gallery, please click on this link.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/gallery-the-paintings-of-barbara-weaver-bosson/article2417403/

NEW PAINTING IN PROGRESS
As noted and displayed in my recent April blog archive, I am currently working on my Inner Harbour painting---starring the Johnson Street BLUE Bridge, old town and the south view towards the legislature. I am always about the details, and my painting of this upper working harbour view also includes active tug boats, fishing boats, pleasure boats, rowers and kayakers.


OUR STUDIO TOUR thank you to all
Many thank you's go out to all of you who came to our studio tour exhibition April 28 and 29th. It was so good to see you all. Vic and I love and appreciate you and thank you for supporting our community art event. Our studio exhbitions are a rare opportunity to give you a peek at our studio working space, our prints, paintings and the new artworks Vic and I are currently working on. We look forward to seeing you again at our next art studio event.


NEW ART PRINT ON CANVAS

From my original painting titled Rooftops Moss and Howe

Rooftops Moss and Howe
Fine Art prints on canvas
 image size 12 x 17.5 inches

Rooftops Moss and Howe art prints on canvas
 Available unframed $195.
 framed $ 295. and up.

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