Story of a painting and a Christmas Past

And Soon the Snow Began to Melt
acrylic painting and greeting card image by Barbara Weaver-Bosson Copyright 1997.


I have painted a few snow scenes over the years but in 1997 I felt the need to paint a scene of the peaceful aftermath of a rare snow storm that buried the city of Victoria during the last week of December 1996. Sixteen years later I recall

The Snow Storm of  '96

 I recall it was a very busy and crazy December and Christmas. The snow was falling fast and furious as I was in the taxi heading for the bus to the ferry. I was in dire need of a rest and my Christmas present to myself was a sunny holiday in Mexico. As the main cook and menu planner, I knew that while I was away Vic wouldn't be getting around to cooking much while he was working on his illustrations for "The Fox's Kettle."  Thoughtfully, I left him a freezer full of frozen dinners to enjoy.
The trip to the airport went smoothly but soon realized I was dressed for winter and not life on a beach. I ditched my knee high winterized rubber boots in the airport washroom and quickly headed for the gate and climbed on board the plane with the other happy holidayers. Out our tiny window seats we saw the weather turn very ugly. I found out later that we were on the last flight out of the Vancouver airport just minutes before all flights were cancelled.

 The amount of snow that fell during this storm was unprecendented and Victoria was at a stand still for days. Over the week in the beach resort, I was only able to get one successful call through to Victoria. I had no idea what our city had really gone through until I returned. Vic claims that he was not in any danger but was very grateful when two of our friends tunneled their way up to our front door and brought a him a gift of a good long visit.
 Many stories I heard from friends and neighbours were of how everyone had to dig themselves out, how neighbours trudged single file down one path through the waste deep snow, how city road crews tried to cope with inadequate equiment to initially clear roads, how CFAX radio station was broadcasting as an emergency network and arranging aid for individuals who were stranded without food or medications. Many people had to come up with make shift solutions until they could get a crew to repair damage to the caved in rooves in their homes and businesses. The great white blanket covered so much there was hardly a clue that cars were parked along the curbside or driveways. Those adventurous enough walked through the winter wonderland but found they could not carry themselves more than a block or two before becoming worn out from struggling through the deep snow. Others put on cross country skiis and headed out the door with ease. Out of town visitors had to stay put and accept the fact they could not get back home and their Victoria holiday would be extended until the roads were cleared and traffic was moving.
 
 I was away for all the challenges that the storm left but in the aftermath the story tellers all felt the storm had a positive effect on them. Most people who were not working in road or essential services and emergency jobs made sure their neighbours had the essentials of food, light and heat. Looking out for eachother gave communities a chance to get connected and help out however they could. The simple life came into clear focus for many families who played board games of monopoly or sat quietly reading by the window by daylight during the days power failure.

 The title of my painting And Soon the Snow Began to Melt  refers to my seeing only a hint of the snow left behind by the storm. In essence this painting is a statement of how life looks to be getting back to normal after one of  Mother Nature's fierce weather surprises.

Sending you my Warmest Wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. 

Cheers,
 Barbara

Weaver-Bosson's Art Prints of the Johnson Street Bridge and Victoria's working harbour.

My Print Launch at Picture Perfect Gallery

Thank you to all who came by that rainy and blustery, afternoon of December 1st, to say hello to me during my print launch. Mitchell, Angelle and Michael at Picture Perfect Gallery were so pleased you came by to view my exhibition of original paintings and my new print selection of the Johnson Street Bridge and Victoria's working habour. Many who are not familiar with my Neighbourhood and waterfront series had a chance to see a selection of my original paintings and my Victoria Neighbourhood Series art prints. Considering it was a busy time of year for many folks, I was delighted the event was well attended. Thank you,to all of you all who made my print launch a very special day for me.

For all of you who did not get a chance to see my new Looking South to the Blue Bridge prints, Picture Perfect Gallery and many of the galleries listed below have them beautifully framed up and hanging on display. Please call to inquire if you are looking for specific prints in my series.

my completed original painting Looking South to the Blue Bridge November 2012
A view of Victoria's Johnson Street Bridge and the working Harbour
Image size 14 5/8 x 26 3/8 in.

                                All fine art prints on paper are hand signed and titled
  

all canvases are hand signed on front and are titled and dated on the back

Prints on paper and canvases are ready to frame
  print image measures  15.5 x 28 inches.

Priced at $ 60. and up

Here I am with my Looking South to the Blue painting in progress October 15th, 2012

Copyright 2012 text and Images. All rights reserved by Barbara Weaver-Bosson


If you live out of town and would like to order my new prints or inquire about my available Neighbourhood Series art prints

please call first to inquire
 long distance calls please add 1
 

Picture Perfect Gallery
University Heights Shopping Center
324B 3980 Shelbourne Street (at McKenzie)
Victoria B.C. V8N 3E2
Phone 250 477-5621
 

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

 

Love's Olde Towne Gallery

# 102-535- Yates Street

Victoria, B.C.

Phone 250-385-6722

Neighbourhood Series Art Cards only

Side Street Studio
# 204 2250- Oak Bay Ave
Victoria B.C.
Phone 250-592-1262

* all edition prints can be ordered, ask for Sue Hays

Thrifty Foods

 Fairfield Shopping Plaza

1590 Fairfield Road
Victoria B.C.

*cards are displayed by the Customer Service desk

My GALLERY LOCATIONS for my Neighbourhood Series Art Prints and Art Cards

My GALLERY LOCATIONS
for my Neighbourhood Series Art Prints and Art Cards

Please call 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


Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Gallery Shop
1040 Moss Street
Phone 250-384-4171

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 will be also order limited edition art prints for you

Sample page of a few of my limited edition prints from my www.weaver-bosson.com website

                                        

logo design for my art prints

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.



 

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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.


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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