Barbara and Victor create Comic Book Covers for the Co-Mix Cover Art Show Aug 15 to 30 th.

visiting Victoria?

YOU ARE INVITED TO OUR CO-MIX ART SHOW

 group show and sale of Comic Cover art

now on at the Martin Batchelor Gallery

712 Cormorant St.

 Victoria B.C.

phone 250 385-7919

 Aug 15th to August 30th

 Monday to Saturday 10 to 5 pm

detail of  ROMANCE ON THE INNER HARBOUR 2 by Barbara Weaver-Bosson.
 You will see 2 covers and several captivating scenes of  boaters, dogs, seagulls, runners and all who find true love in Victoria's Inner Harbour and The Empress Hotel

    

      small detail of Barbara Weaver-Bosson's Comic Art Cover character
 CHELSEY, THE SUPERIOR BEING
 
Chesley is queen of the universe and the one and only Interior Designer to the Stars.
 See how she transforms earth's ugliest habitats and proceeds to renovate every residence and transform them into exquisite architectural CHELSIAN CONCEPTS


Victor Bosson has 3 Comic Art Covers in the Show

Meet BADA BOOM 

"BADA BOOM"  Comic Cover art  by Victor Bosson

copyright 

 2014

Escapism, Art and Drinking Wine

Like most people, I feel grumpy when my life gets way too busy but I get even more grumpy when a caller claims that he has detected that my Windows computer is broken and he will help me "fix" it. All I have to do is give him all my banking information.

KNOCK KNOCK
 Don't misunderstand me, busy is very good. I love painting, creating and working with Vic and keeping in touch and seeing the important people in our lives but when the day starts with phone calls from the nuisance and criminal telemarketers who ignore our number on the Do Not Call List, I get very grumpy. These shameless telemarketers start calling at 5 am and don't stop til 10pm at night.

 If it isn't the telemarketers annoying me, it's a group in suits with Bibles or a rough looking guy knocking at our door and trying to sell me "fresh" frozen meat. More times than I like to recall, I have turned away many young idealists who knocked on our door. Recently, a Green Peace kid kindly asked us to donate money to their very worthy cause which sounded something like Save the Aardvarks with Anxiety and Gluten Intolerance Disorder campaign.

With every knock or every phone call after 9 am, I am optimistic it will be someone we care to talk to. But now, all I can think about is setting up a force field around the house that can detect the bothersome callers and visitors and repel them quickly into outer space. This force field of course, would welcome and allow access to the good folks we actually would love to see and talk to.

RUN AWAY, RUN AWAY
Sadly, I don't have a quiet studio retreat in the woods and on occasion I will definitely escape if there is too much noise invading my studio.
Our well loved gardener, who wears ear protection, has many gardening devices and a lot of those tools I am sure are powered by nuclear fission and jet engines. Each power tool is shrill and is ear piercingly loud. If turned up to 11, one of these loud tools during war time could have possibly brought any country to its knees in one hour. As our gardener whistles as he works, his weed whacker, power mower or leaf blower noise blasts its way through the yard, into our house and right into my head.
 Since the noise is too much for me to bear, I will head out the door with my painting and supplies and jump into my roomy Volvo station wagon. Escape is all I have in mind and I will drive to the park, the seaside or a neighbourhood area that I am currently painting. I find peace and quiet as I set up my mini studio and paint comfortably while well protected and out of the wind and the rain.

Reality
I like to watch a good movie or show but regular cable TV programs these days are not for us and jammed with too many lame reality shows and noisy commercials.
Being what it is, the daily news is often so upsetting and has its negative side effects on me. It only informs me of the harsh realities of the world at large and extremes of human behaviour and the many unfortunate victims. The news truly makes me feel our world is going to hell in a hand basket.

 I finally came up with a solution to rid my day of those noisy and bothersome irritants in my life, I have recently welcomed "escapism" into my daily routine.

 ESCAPISM 101
 5 steps to Escapism PRACTICE ALL STEPS DAILY

 1  Don't watch the news

2  Reduce your stress by writing down 5 things that overwhelm you about your daily life and then write down about 25 things that you are grateful for.

3  Figure out how you might reduce or eliminate the stress in your life. After you have done that, go to the office tomorrow and tell your boss you are quitting your management position. If that's too radical and you don't have a pension you can fall back on, say goodbye to 5 of the 7 organizations you volunteer for.

4 Find a way to get rid of any guilt that stops you from enjoying your life

5 Get ready to have some fun. Clear out a private corner in the basement or garage for your new de-stressing hobby studio or wine making room

HOBBIES 101
Hobbies are good for escaping the need to check your endless work emails or escape the non stop worries about your home maintenance list and dreary domestic duties. Hobbies can redirect your energy which can give your life a creative purpose.

Your new hobby can easily start today by watching a YouTube instructional art video, going down to an art store and selecting a set of acrylic paints, brushes and canvases or signing up for a course in quilting or soap stone carving. If you are an overachiever type and like a challenge that is similar to learning to draw in the neo classical style, sign up for a 4 year university BSc course in At Home Brain Surgery courses.

Hobbies are a perfect solution and will genuinely give your life new meaning. Plus your new interests will be educational and keep your mind off telemarketers, the daily news reports or drown out the inner voice reminding you of the ongoing office politics.

 Your new enthusiasm for life will allow you time to make new choices like - skip laundry day, hire Merry Maids to clean the house once a week, pay some eager kid to mow the lawn. You might report that helpful telemarketer scammer who wants you give him your banking information which will allow him to effectively "fix" your broken Windows computer.

MY PERSONAL SOLUTION
To reduce the discomforts and the noise during my life, I have stopped watching the news, got Netflix, bought two cordless phones with call display and put a sign on our front door saying NO SOLICITING!

 Most importantly, I have taken up two new hobbies -  
drinking red wine and making silly bumper stickers.

Yes, I have found the perfect way to relax. It's creative and fun. I like the idea of having a nice glass of wine as I write meaningful messages for all people to contemplate while they are stuck in traffic. A bumper sticker has the power to share humour, wisdom or just plain old weird thoughts.

Here are my some of my New Bumper Stickers for
 Artists, Deep Thinkers and Wine Lovers


* Art gives meaning to our lives and wine makes it look better

* Drinking wine is the path to living a healthy and happy life sshhtyle

* I have run away and joined the circus

* Wine + Wine + Wine + a Designated Driver = Bliss

* A Random Act of Kindness - tell your kids you are damn proud of them

* Inspiration for Artists  =  how much wine they have in the cupboard

* Be Cool - Buy Art

* Take your Mom and Dad out to dinner tonight

* Red is the Meaning of Life

* A Random Act of Kindness - send an artist a case of red wine

* Make someone's day. Write them a loving letter and post it.

* Hug an Artist today

* I stop at all places where they grow grapes

* Support Your Local Artists  :-)

* I like Red

* Enjoy Life - Sing, dance, dress up in ladies clothes!

* Buy Art ... it is often cheaper than dinner and a movie

* I love Bumper Stickers

 
  Next

 Meet Harold, our new wine tasting enthusiast

 Harold recently followed my advice and quit his job as an Air Canada Customer Service Agent. He was on permanent stress leave but has since joined the Escapist Club. Harold proudly has fulfilled his life's dream and found a new hobby - cycling and wine tasting.

        "Harold Knew in His Heart That Wine Tasting Had Become His New Hobby"

 Digital Montage Art Print by Victor Bosson
image size 9 x 11.6 inches  $ 39.

copyright 2014 all rights reserved by Victor Bosson and ArtLife Editions

Harold is a new digital montage art print created by my partner in life and art, Victor Bosson.

 See Victor Bosson's Joy of Drinking Series art prints and other cool artworks through his online gallery

 https://www.etsy.com/listing/193840687/harold-knew-in-his-heart-that-wine?ref=shop_home_active_1

Bumper Sticker Purchases
If you like any of my bumper or window stickers, please contact me at e-studio@shaw.ca for more information on how to easily order any of my sticker titles.

Thanks for reading my sometimes funny stories about my life and art.
 Please share with your friends.


Cheers,
Barbara Weaver-Bosson

All stories, artwork in this blog and bumper sticker slogans are
copyright June 19th, 2014, Barbara Weaver-Bosson, ArtLife Editions and Victor Bosson

Weaver-Bosson's 2014 Studio Show and Sale - Sat. Apr 26 & Sun Apr 27th, 11 am to 4 pm

It has been a very busy few months and Victor Bosson and I have been working towards our annual studio show.

If you happen to be in Victoria Sat. April 26th and Sun April 27th, please drop in and visit us during our two day studio show and sale. 

Please come by and enjoy our artworks in our sunny studio 

 play our Treasure Hunt Game and enter your name into our DOOR PRIZE DRAW

Not only can you visit our studio, you can visit 19 other Fairfield artists studios during our

SUNNY WITH A LIGHT BREEZE water colour painting, 
 by Barbara Weaver-Bosson
Copyright 1993

 13th Annual

 Fairfield Artists Studio Tour
Sat April 26th and Sun. April 27th
11 am to 4 pm

 View our artists guide  www.fairfieldartistsstudiotour.com

Find us on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/Fairfieldartistsstudiotour

Vic and I are among 25 artists who will be welcoming everyone to come by our Fairfield art studios and see our art and visit us in our natural surroundings. Bring your friends and family and visit the studios of Victoria's most well established artists.

 
and who knows who you may bump into during our exhibition

MAP TO 20 FAIRFIELD ARTISTS STUDIOS

Our studio is located at # 13 on this map

a less confusing route to our studio is to  

 park on Fairfield Road and stroll up Masters Road to our studio at

347 Windermere Place

 (at the junction of Masters Road and Windermere Place)

For more information

 please contact us e-studio@shaw.ca

 

Angie Droid Takes her Two Best Friends to the Mayan Riviera

Archival digital montage by Victor Bosson

  copyright 2013

Painting of the Bruce Hutchison family residence by Barbara Weaver-Bosson 2006

Commissioned by the North Quadra Residents Association in celebration of Saanich Municipality's 2006 Centennial Celebration. This painting recognizes the heritage value of the Bruce Hutchison family home and Hutchison's legacy as a well noted Canadian journalist and a pioneer who settled in Victoria in the early days.

  

 

Victor and I are looking forward to seeing you all at our

 studio show Apr 26 and 27th !!!

 

I love Dogs and put them in my paintings

I can not believe how long it has been since my last confession.

 The truth is....I have been gathering new ideas for my next painting. Read on regarding painting dogs, cats and my process of creating one of my Victoria Neighbourhood paintings or Harbour views.

How I Have to Commit Myself 

My preparation and process for a new painting is all about research and I spend many days and weeks looking for a view that "speaks to me". When I have found the ultimate inspiring view, I start creating sketches and line drawings and then think long and hard about the other aspects of doing the painting.

Before I commit myself to a complex project that will take me many months to complete, I get plenty of rest, take my vitamins and make sure there are enough frozen dinners in the freezer for Vic. I do all the housework that will have "do" for several months and ...double check that I am head over heels in love with my view and the concept for my painting.

 I then must figure how big I want the painting to be and how the small details of my view may or may not "read" at different scale sizes. Analyzing what really interests me about the view and how I will approach painting the architectural structures, is most important.


Lots of Dogs and a Little Yellow Budgie
Most often my view features Victoria's harbour areas or Victoria's seaside neighbourhoods, I love to add people, cars, cats, birds and lots of dogs. Dogs are a delight to me and I always smile when I see any dog trotting down the street or happily sitting in the front seat of a car or truck.

Rhoda
Over the years, I have added our favourite dog Rhoda to my paintings. If you notice white dogs scattered here and there in my paintings, quite often, one of them will be Rhoda.

Telling little visual stories about people and animals within my neighbourhood paintings started back in 1985 and I have added many locals who are boating, walking, running, biking or standing around on street corners. Many times over the years and sometimes even without the advice of their lawyers  I have painted in my family, our friends, neighbours and their dogs, cats and even their birds.

NOTE The smallest bird I have added to date, was my niece's yellow budgie. Many have tried to locate it in my Beach Drive painting and give up part way through the search and declare that the budgie must have been eaten by the neighbour's cat or took a bus back to my niece's house.

Details are important and give life to my city views. 
The next phase is drawing my final image on my canvas or panel. This is a slow careful drawing and drafting the architectural buildings, surrounding landscape, mountains, ocean or harbour area onto my canvas or art panel. As I start to paint seriously, many of the simple areas will take on hundreds of finite details in paint which were not indicated or detailed in my  line drawing concept sketches.

 If I am painting a view in my neighbourhood or the city area, I will visit my location many, many times over the course of doing the painting.

The Only Constant is Change
Over time, many elements in my location views will change. Obviously, people and cars on the streets change second to second and the light quality changes on buildings. During the winter or spring any number of my visits to the location will be disrupted by unexpected rainstorms or strong winds. After my initial concept drawing has been made of, say, a complex neighbourhood view, I will notice on my next visits to the location, a few homes have been torn down or renovations have occurred.
 Far too often, on a harbour or water front, a favourite ship or several boats have left or the whole dock in my view has been moved or reconfigured. Snapshots are good for much of the basic reference but I do not rely on photos because they are very deceptive and don't always reveal everything I need to know. What I can not deciphered in a photo, I need to investigate while being there in person and that will help make sense of the structure or detail in question.
  
It is a Win/Win Situation

As I start work on the painting, I know a few subtle things will change about my location and that is OK. The neighbourhood and the world around me are in constant change and I am happy to paint the view as I see it or feel it. My art is always a personal artistic interpretation of a city view and my impression of a moment in time.
Through the research and painting process, I gain an understanding of the history, the unique character of Victoria's neighbourhoods and harbour areas. It is most gratifying and always an uplifting experience as year after year I learn more about Victoria and the areas I choose to paint.

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

The Simple Life 

During times when I want to relax and let loose, I paint playful images on paper, canvas, or on my iPad. I love to allow fun and unexpected things to happen. While in my playful mood, I use expressive colour and enjoy creating images that relate to a simple life.

Christmas Gifts
I grew up in Calgary, Alberta and snow was a big part of our lives for many months of the year. After moving to the west coast of Canada where it rarely snows, I get a little nostalgic for snow. At approximately 9 pm every December 24th, I secretly wish and hope it will snow here in Victoria. That little bit of snow will take me back to a simpler time and make the delights of our Christmas morning even more magical.

2013 Christmas Greeting card

 iPad painting by Barbara Weaver-Bosson and graphics by Victor Bosson

                                                  

May your New Year be filled with gifts of love,
 laughter and good health.

Cheers!

 from Barb and Vic

                     

Painting and Doing the Speed Limit

The Website and the Road Trip

 Here's a confession that might surprise you - I am not a multi tasking wizard who can effortlessly juggle and accomplish 137 jobs and activities at one time. It boggles my mind and amazes me when I meet someone whose daily routine consists of juggling hundreds of projects and difficult chores.

For example, a person, who will remain nameless, can tackle such things as - making Halloween costumes for the 3 kids and the dog, respond to 29 business inquiries and emails, grocery shop for a elderly neighbour, can a few dozen jars of peaches, build a fence, shampoo the rugs, change the oil filter in the car and go for a run, all before making Sunday brunch. For some strange reason, these over achieving multi-taskers never seem to reveal any visible signs of mental fatigue, or obvious over use of stimulants or declaring "happy hour starts at 9:30 am everyday."

In order to prove to myself that I can juggle 2 things really well, I thought before our scheduled summer holiday this past August, I would just throw together a beautiful new website! I don't want to brag here but before you read my story, I want you to know, I have actually taken on and I am at the moment, multi tasking 3 things - writing this blog and making a "to do" list for tomorrow and thinking about making nachos. I know I have to remain humble here and won't go on and on about my proud moment.

The Website

 Days 1 through 13

After watching numerous on line Create Your  Easy Website in 5 Minutes tutorials and setting up our new domain, hosting site and Wordpress theme, I was feeling really peppy and excited about creating my new website.

Being the pack rat person I am, I have saved a huge archive of all the newspaper clippings, magazines articles and audio and visual copies of the TV and radio shows we have appeared on in the last 25 years. Stored in one large filing cabinet and several box's in the basement, are hundreds of photos, biographies and slides of my art from the last few decades. In preparation to create my site, I was soon searching through all my Cd's and my archived image files and reviewing for days on end, all my digital and non digital photographs of my artworks that may be useful in my site.  

By day 14, things were getting a bit more intense. I laugh now but I had created far too many image and text file folders in my computer, I would often forget within the hour, where I stashed "the best re sized images 03" and the best of the re-edited text July 21". By day 17 of the project, I was asking myself why my neck and shoulders were seizing but mainly, why was I having restless nights and reoccurring nightmares about going blind? Was it from the organizational stress and overexposure to a computer monitor radiation?

By day 22, I was looking for on line help and reading forums by hundreds of whining people, just like me, who were suffering from unexplained problems in the WP theme's functionality. The trial and error factor was slowing me down and some of the defective plug-in galleries I tried, was making the site look, well, odd and very quirky. Every now and then during a battle with a glitch, I would start sobbing and babbling about computer text code, mega data, widget, dashboard, footer and header stuff. After every outburst, Vic would comfort me and say,
 "It will be all right, Barb, this website is going to look beautiful and will take a bit more time than expected."

After three weeks of being glued to the computer, I began a quick downward spiral into website madness. I knew that the challenges of my website project and the guilt of neglecting all household duties was the direct cause of my ongoing hair loss and irrational fears. Horrific tumble weed size dust bunnies started to appeared in the bathroom and then in the living room and soon they were floating through the house like giant furry ghosts. As they tumbled and rolled through my deserted painting studio and down the hall towards me, their evil dust bunny murmurs chanted... "live in fear human, live in fear, we are here to consume you and without mercy, smother your cat. ...... Oh, BTW, we don't have a cat.

Oprah always talked about these AH HA Moments

 Having not reached my unrealistic goal of creating a beautiful website in just one easy hour, I remembered that I am not one of those wizards. If asked to fill out a questionnaire, I would say the creative side of me, is a Type B, non-multitasking-semi-sort of-perfectionist-personality. Even under perfect circumstances, I am not a hurry, hurry, slam, bam, slap together a website, designer type of artist.

 I also figured out that my craziness was due to all of the weird technical stuff I was dealing with. And above all, I truly missed working in my painting studio, where my friendly paints and friendly brushes live. I missed my normal and natural way of life - mixing paint, getting messy and thinking and working on one thing only - my painting.

After all the anguish and turmoil, our holiday time had arrived.  Would a nice long road trip away from the computer with lots of painting by a lake cure my blues?  YES!

Vic and I packed our bags and my paints and warned our numerous friends and family that we were getting out of town and heading their way.

Sometimes road trips can be

 trips from heaven

 or trips from hell

Our road trip's

 priceless moments*

  stress filled incidents**

 

 FOR EXAMPLE

  * spending 5 glorious days reminiscing with my cousins and brothers about our fabulous childhoods and visits to the family cabin at Jumping Pound Creek. Watching charming and historic films that my grandpa Weaver made in the 1940's and 50's. Seeing for the first time, film footage of my grandmother, Myrtle Weaver, painting in the Rocky Mountains near Banff. Grandma Weaver, died before my brothers and I were born. Myrtle was a dedicated watercolour painter and we cherish her paintings that are still in the family collections. All of us Weaver's, are grateful Myrtle shared her artistic genes with us.

* eating 1 of the 14 fresh Dungeness Crab caught by brother Ron and his son Tim.

* painting on the dock at Sointula and at Bere Point.

** suffering from Ferry anxiety. Having booked our next stop in the Vancouver area, our hotel "deal" was a no cancellation situation, so we were bound and determined to the get to the mainland that night. The holiday long weekend ferry traffic to the mainland would be unbearable and there were no reservations available.. so..... the worrisome night before our departure from Sointula, I barely managed two hours sleep. At 5 am, I am staggering and rushing around to load the car and get us to the Sointula ferry for our 7:30 am departure. As the happy little B.C. ferry welcomes us on board and chugs along and delivers us in 20 minutes to Port McNeill, I squeal out of the terminal parking lot and drive like a bat out of hell (at the legal speed limit) to catch the Nanaimo Duke Point ferry to the mainland. After 4 hours of driving, I am a bit stressed after reading the B.C. Ferries highway sign declaring that our 3:15 ferry is 86 % FULL. Knowing that there are 3 billion people like ourselves, rushing to catch the same 3:15 pm ferry, Vic and I encourage the Volvo to do warp speed. Seeing the terminal ahead, we slowed and skidded into the terminal to line up to deal with the harsh reality of possible ferry waits to the mainland. How do you spell relief?  Y-I-P-P-I-E, W-E  M-A-D-E  T-H-E  3:15!

** while driving our very sporty 4 cylinder, luxury 1988 Volvo 740 GLE station wagon, we always observe the posted highway speeds. As we were cruising along the highway near Lake Louise, we noticed on the roadside, an RCMP officer who was deep in conversation with the driver of a red Camero. Thinking nothing of it and maintaining the legal speed limit, the same RCMP soon pulls up close to us on our left. Suddenly the RCMP speeds up and swerves and jerks right across our path and screeches to a stop by the ditch. I see our lives flash before my eyes and do my best to recover quickly from this dangerous near miss.Vic checked the mirrors and he saw the officer quickly get out of his truck and open the passenger door.

 But this gets better folks .... 10 minutes later, the same RCMP who is driving a 1/2 ton truck, ( I will call him A), passes us once again on the left. This time, he is travelling at an extra fast clip. Several minutes farther down the road, we witnessed what they say in reality TV,  the big reveal! Parked on the dividing median, RCMP A, had met up with a new RCMP cruiser B. A rather bewildered prisoner was handcuffed and was being transferred from A to cruiser B. As we analysed the whole series of events, I figured out, that the police vehicle that earlier cut directly into our pathway, must have had the unruly Camero driver on board in the front seat and that the RCMP officer had to act fast and pull over to the ditch to "quickly subdue" Mr. Camero... and the rest is history.

**experiencing variable gas prices that ranged from $1.51 per litre in Sointula to $1.11 per litre in Calgary. Our sporty Volvo wagon uses only ultra premium, high octane gas 94, which boosts the price of our gas another 16 cents a litre but again, who's counting.

*drinking wine and relaxing on David and Yvette's garden patio and reminiscing about art school days and the Mr. Camero incident

* seeing my brother Doug and his wife Sherry while attending their daughter's "wedding of the year" plus watching an amazing fireworks display as Jess and Greg's "into the night" wedding reception raged on.

** going through gallons of window wiper fluid (paint stripper strength) to remove the billions of Kamikaze suicidal Alberta bugs who decorated our headlights and windshield.

** driving behind 40 foot motor homes and breathing the tasty semi truck and trailers exhaust fumes. (which I now know these fumes have been scientifically proven to create hallucinations and insatiable desire to eat endless bags of potato chips).

*being tortured for 5 days by friends Marcie and Ron who forced us to enjoy their air conditioned Summerland retreat, art gallery and studio. We were also forced to eat other foods besides potato chips, drink far too much wine and talk for hours on end about, you guessed it, ART. Marcia and Ron never let up, as they forced us to wander down to the lake and find a shady spot for a day of plein air painting.



Happy Barb painting lakeside in Summerland
Painting on the left by Marcia Stacy and my painting on the right 

**  regretting that we left Summerland so late in the day, we drove westward and homeward bound directly into the blinding sun. Luckily we managed to see through the sun's glare and spotted the sign for the turn off to the ferries. While doing "speed limit" and out racing all the other cars heading for the ferry, we caught the last ferry to Victoria and were soon home safe and sound.

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

I am back to work and my new website(s) is moving along nicely. In my next post, I will be adding a new chapter to my step by step guide HOW TO BECOME A DAM GOOD ARTIST IN 39 EASY YEARS if you missed the first installment, you may find it if you keep scrolling or visit my June blog post.

Victor Bosson's News

Wonderful News!

 The Fox's Kettle iBook is now available in the iTunes Store

Illustrator Victor Bosson and author Laura Langston’s award winning classic story of The Fox’s Kettle, is now available as a gorgeously illustrated iBook for children.

The Fox’s Kettle iBook is enriched with music and sound. It is perfect for children to learn and read along with the narration by author Laura Langston.  Ages 4 to 9.


The Fox’s Kettle is easy to purchase through the iTunes Store with your Apple iTunes account ttps://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-foxs-kettle/id681320325?ls=1


Please note This iBook is designed especially for iPads, iPhones, iPod Touch  iOS devices.

WATCH HOW IT WORKS e-book publisher Stephen McCallum is interviewed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFmz9BKnGjA


To read more about Victor Bosson and A Boy and His Computer,
visit my new website http://www.weaver-bossonart.com/artnews/

How to Become a Dam Good Artist in 39 Easy Years

 This step by step guide to HOW TO BECOME A DAMN GOOD ARTIST IN 39 EASY YEARS, is an important tutorial for all who want to enjoy the sacrifices of becoming an artist.

Warning!
I do not encourage my readers to take my advice or follow my step by step "guide to becoming a dam good artist"..... it may lead to questionable behaviour, such as dressing funny, drinking too much, or being rude at art openings or ending up with an astronomical school loan that forces you to get a job as an accountant.

Year One fresh out of high school

1. To get on the road to become a dam good artist, first of all you must be wealthy, have wealthy parents or arrange to be adopted by a NHL hockey star. Get accepted into an accredited Art College full time, 4 years minimum. Stay away from any art school named Famous Ethel's Art Emporium, Gifts, and Art Classes.
2. Wear totally groovy clothes that identifies you as a first year art school student. A leather jacket with fringe and a head band says it all. Carry your sketch book, conte and 2 and 4 B pencils with you 24/7
3. Learn how to draw, draw some more, draw everything in site and for good marks, draw what your instructors point to but most importantly, learn anatomy! Learn how the human body looks undraped (an art school word for naked.) After you mastered anatomy and have drawn those art school issue white plaster Roman/Greek statuary figures one thousand times, move onto classical still life studies which emphasise realistic lighting, volume and shadows, patterns, texture and dead pheasants.
4. Stay up all night rushing to finish your due tomorrow drawing class project- a realistic figure study of Caesar Augustus. Make sure you add some special touches and creativity. By 3 am you should be happily cutting a mat for your heroic drawing of Caesar who is stands proudly draped in his glorious plaid toga and clenching a dead pheasant.
5. Be the centre of attention at your drawing project "crit". Get a thumbs up from your class mates for your divine personal twist of Caesar but don't expect the same respect from instructor  Wilhelm Von Strictenmeister.
6. Get concerned for about an hour after your other instructor (who will remain nameless) approaches you in a hallway to chat with you and "review" your first semester marks. Hold a straight face while the instructor reminds you that your brother graduated with honours and scholarships and that YOU may want to change your attitude or leave art school. Shake off the negative feedback about being a woman studying in the arts and know that the same silly instructor gave Joni Mitchell the same kind of negative feedback several years before. Hang out and drink with your friends, play Joni Mitchell songs and stay out very late.
7. Show up for your Wednesday's Communication Arts class - even while sleep deprived and hung over, learn how to use a ruling pen and ink, calligraphy nibs, French curves and the streaky paint called gouache. Replicate, illustrate and hand letter an authentic looking ancient illuminated manuscript by Friday.
8. Take advantage of all the school field trips for outdoor sketching and painting (en plein air). Try your local zoo for drawing studies of exotic wildlife but if you have a wealthy parent or boyfriend, I suggest the wildlife is exceptional in downtown Vancouver or Africa.
9. Make an appointment with your chiropractor for the chronic neck and shoulder pain you endured while lugging your over sized plywood drawing board and paint box to the zoo and the downtown bar.
10. Fantasize daily about showing in galleries. After some enquiries, you will find out that art school is not the place to dream about being an art god or goddess. It is a place of learning your craft and finding out who you are and what clay body and beer you prefer. For more vital career advice, wait patiently until your 3rd or 4th year. Depending on what art college you attend, one instructor may offer a new course in Business Essentials that will cover how to set up a company and save your receipts for claiming your expenses. 
11. to be continued  .................

                              Exciting News
                         
Visit my New Website http://www.weaver-bossonart.com


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

Woman in the Gallery

digital drawing by Barbara Weaver-Bosson

copyright 2013 all rights reserved

Colours may display differently on each monitor

                         

 

 Here I am in my studio with my painting in progress, October 2012. My painting Looking South to the Blue Bridge is finished and is available as art prints and gorgeous Giclees on lovely watercolour paper and Premium artists canvas.

 See my art print gallery locations link at the top of this page in the right column.

Image Strip from my website www.weaver-bosson.com
my new site is now under construction
colours may display differently on each monitor

View from the Terrace
View of Gonzales Bay, Victoria B.C. 1995
 Acrylic painting by Barbara Weaver-Bosson

Image size  24 1/4  x  32 1/2 inches
copyright 1995 all rights reserved

Limited Edition prints Sold Out 
available as a greeting card

Logo for my art prints

Accepting Art Into Your Life for Fun and Spiritual Fufillment

Accepting Art into Your Life.

Let it be known to all the uninitiated and curious - attending artists studio tours is the secret to obtaining personal spiritual enlightenment! 
It is a fact that hundreds of our tour attendees report that -visiting our art studios is a safer alternative to sky diving, street racing and DIY kitchen and bathroom renovations. Barbara Weaver-Bosson

Thank you to all who attended our April 27th and 28th Fairfield Artists Studio Tour. 
Vic and I enjoyed meeting EVERYONE who came out to our 12th annual studio show and sale. We were delighted in showing you all our paintings and art prints and works in progress.

 Our friend Donna who is awfully good with figures and counting stuff, was our gallery assistant for the two days and she cheerfully greeted many at our door and welcomed the studio tourists to meander through our 5 rooms of studio workspaces. Vic and I offered lots to see, lots of works in progress and lots of nooks and crannies to poke around in.
 My Johnson Street Bridge prints "Looking South to the Blue Bridge" and new art cards were very well received during our two day studio show.Vic had new humour art cards plus two new art prints to show off. Vic's new android characters especially Angie Droid charmed all the sci-fi and robotics fans. SEE ANGIE IN HER STRIPED BIKINI later in this riveting article.



A View from Clover Point, Towards Dallas Road Bluffs
Acrylic painting by Barbara Weaver-Bosson copyright 2005

Available in open edition art prints $60.
Image size 16 x 30 inches
and
Deluxe Archival Giclees on Premium Artists Watercolour paper 
19.5 x 36 inch  $ 495.

why do we do what we do? Do we do it for love? and what's it all about Alfie?

There is no such thing as a silly question and we are never offended Answering the many questions about our process of creating our art is the fun and essential part of what we do during the studio tour. Vic and I are always easy to get along with and will never ever get offended .... who doesn't love a good paint-by-number joke and a good story about those artists who do better after they are dead.

 For some, attending an artist's studio for the first time can be an overwhelming experience. Some artist's studios on the tour are minimalistic and elegant while others like our studio, are jammed packed with a variety of paintings on the walls, prints and paintings in the kitchen, bathroom, hanging on the doors and climbing up the walls. Lots of our paintings can hide in plain site. I was even tempted to display our art on the driveway leading up to our house but rain is very hard on artwork and Donna would have gotten wet too.

While venturing about in the artist's studios, did you happened to spot a piece of art that winked at you and wanted very much to go home with you? Did you stop for a moment and gaze into the face of a painting and your heart skipped a few beats? Did you feel confused and a bit giddy and you were not sure what you just experienced? Was your first reaction to run away from the painting or art piece that spoke to you so eloquently? Days later did you find that you kept thinking about that special painting's colours textures and how peaceful or charged up it made you feel?

Advice to the Love Sick Many gallery owners and independant artists will offer this advice to you and all who are experiencing the turmoil and confusion over that first profound moment of "love at first sight." This is the moment you must invite art into your life and take the plunge....
Do not be afraid and do not hesitate falling in love with art. Become a big fan and supporter of one artist or several artists. Don't wait or procrastinate, don't try to forget about that delightful moment you and art fell in love.
If you do not act on your intuition and gut feeling that art is good for your heart and soul, many bad things can happen.....
A serious and dedicated artist often has had many good years of producing stunning artworks that appeal to you but there will be a time when the artist artworks from a particular series will all be sold. Good to keep in mind, over the years an artist may change their style, subject matter or medium, or frequency of exhibitions. Or maybe the artist will move to Paris with her dog and take up drinking full time or worse case scenario, the artist will throw in the towel, close her studio and get a full time job operating a snow blower in downtown Winnipeg. Over time, who knows where all of those beautiful pieces of art will go? Will the favourite painting or sculpture that you thought you might buy later, end up at a Sotheby's auction house years later and selling for 179 times what you were willing to purchase it for? Many other bad things can happen and just think of those ongoing sleepless nights and anguish because you wished you had said,

 "I love you ART and need you in my life"

Purchase that special piece of art the day it made your heart skip a beat. Take the first exciting step to fufilling your dream as a bonafide card carrying art lover and art supporter.


Supporting artists in Victoria will:

1) make your hair shiny

2) make your skin glow

3) will put a spring in your step

4) shine a new light on you- friends and family will love the new you

5) many will envy your new art collection

6) your street cred and your COOL FACTOR will go up 1 million percent

7) broaden your knowledge of the artist's creative process
 and their importance to the cultural landscape of  B.C. and Canada

  
                                      

Beach Drive

  acrylic painting by Barbara Weaver-Bosson, copyright 1998

painting image size 17.5 x 24 inches

Limited Edition prints sold out

available in greeting cards

click images to enlarge

VICTOR BOSSON

Publishers Clearing House Grand Prize Winner ANGIE DROID,
Takes Her Two Best Friends to the Mayan Riviera

Archival Art print by Victor Bosson, copyright 2013
Image Size 7.6 x 9.6 inches
Available in 3 different sizes, please inquire


To meet Angie Droid,
 visit Victor's online art print gallery www.galleryartlife.etsy.com

GOOD NEWS
 My NEW website is finally getting under way! Over the next several months, Vic and I will be working on its construction. These things take time for me and I am looking forward to being more hands on with my new site. Since I am juggling many projects in my "artlife" it will be a ongoing and slow process.

This blog has been so valuable to me. Through my blog, I can stay connnected with the outside world and I will continue to keep you up to date with my projects and stories through my blog.

I will make a formal announcement when my new website is at a stage where you can take a peak at it. Feel free to email me with any questions you may have about our art prints. e-studio@shaw.ca

My art print galleries and their locations are linked on my side panel above.

Please contact each gallery with your inquiries.
Picture Perfect Gallery
Broadmead Gallery
Options Picture Framing

Each gallery can assist with your purchases. Each gallery is happy to ship your purchase to your home or office or even out of the country. 

Here is a sample of my Neighbourhood Series limited edition prints from my "under construction" website www.weaver-bosson.com

Colours may display differently on each monitor

image strip copyright 2007

all rights reserved by Barbara Weaver-Bosson

Cat in the Window

by Barbara Weaver-Bosson, copyright 2001

 Limited Edition Fine Art Print

image size  9 x 12 inches

$ 85.

 

A View from Moss Rocks

Watercolour painting by Barbara Weaver-Bosson, copyright 1997

Available in Limited Edition prints $ 98.

print image size 17.3 x 22.25 inches

 

Thank you for visiting my art blog, Archived monthly posts are on my side panel, please click each month for a different post.

 Please feel free to leave your comments.

All images, words, ideas, and content are copyright by authors and artists Barbara Weaver-Bosson and Victor Bosson. All rights reserved. Images and content can not be used in any media or publication in whole or part with out the expressed written permission from the authors and artists.