Judith Stockwell Taylor - upcoming solo show

This last week, I have been framing up a pretty special collection of pastels for an upcoming show. They are the creations of Judith Stockwell Taylor of Ormstown, Quebec, and will be on exhibition at the Huntingdon Municipal Library (Lorne Street in Huntingdon, Quebec) starting this Saturday, the 28th January, 2012 (Vernissage 2 - 4 pm). And yes, she is my Mum.

"Dancer" pastel, 24" x 18", Judith Stockwell Taylor

Here is her statement: "After drawing, sketching and doodling away spare moments for decades, Judith Stockwell Taylor is discovering the joys and challenges of pastel painting. Her formal art training was limited to elementary school in her native Montreal and a single summer sketching course until the 1990s, when she first enrolled in the Painting and Drawing courses offered by Pat Walsh in the Chateauguay Valley. She immediately fell in love with pastels, with their rich colors and spontaneity of execution, and chose them as her preferred medium. After moving from Montreal to Ormstown with her family in 1970, she spent a total of more than 20 years working for the local newspaper, the Huntingdon Gleaner. Now retired, Taylor, who majored in English and History at Bishop's University in Lennoxville, is enjoying the switch from words to visual images as a way of portraying her world."

I think this work is impressive. Pastel is a challenging medium, yet she loves it and applies it with spontaneity and confidence. She has a great eye, and sense of colour, and ability to render. But what strikes me most is how these pictures communicate. Viewing her work is a somewhat poignant experience: you are subtly - perhaps nostalgically, or ethereally - moved. They are emotional, without being sentimental or in your face. Sometimes cryptic, the pieces nonetheless evoke a response. There is interplay between the subject and application of the medium. Step back and view: they are beautiful, many are masterful, and all are worthy of a visit.

Nearly all are framed and ready to go. And when they go, I will miss visiting them every day.

"End of Summer" pastel, 12" x 18", Judith Stockwell Taylor

Water Horse

Mixed media 10" x 12" 2007
SOLD
Digital prints available, image area about 4"h

I was just going through my blog posts, and found this image as a draft. This little painting was one of my first sales, and prints of him are quite popular - he is so BLUE (but in a happy way)!

CRAG Annual Juried Exhibition 2012

I am pleased to learn that all 3 of my submitted pieces were accepted into Cornwall Regional Art Gallery's Annual Juried Exhibition.

This is a diverse show featuring all types of artists from the Eastern Ontario region. The gallery is located right in downtown Cornwall on Pitt Street, right near Schnitzels European Flavours Restaurant (yum!) http://www.schnitzels.ca.

The show runs from January 25th to March 2nd 2012.
www.cornwallregionalartgallery.ca

"Plough Down Sillion Shine"



City

Organic 5 - Appleseeds

Showing at Arbor Gallery - Centre for Contemporary Art

15  6"x6" acrylic and found images on canvas by Erica Taylor
Photo by Jessica Sarrazin

http://www.arborgallery.org/exhibition.php?id=79

Small Horse Paintings - 'Cosy Horses' and others

Many little horses are up at the gallery, waiting for someone to bring them home. I have run out of canvases, having painted 20 in all. But I plan to do more, they are lots of fun.

They are sketched freehand (and right out of my head) directly on the canvases, then the backgrounds are painted and then the horses. Blankets are printed found images, cut to 'fit'. 2 coats of varnish over all. It's amusing to see how some end up resembling horses from my past, like Abby (of course - and I'm keeping that one!), Ranchy, and Grand Pré.

Here are some pics. They're not great; I must replace my broken camera. Anyway, more horses to come!

All images copyright Erica Taylor

Cosy 6"x6" acrylic

Abby and My Old Quilt

Fire

Thoroughbred

Opal

Sketches on canvases

New Work for Small Works Show

Just finished 18 little paintings: some horses with blankets, and some horses nekkid, and one burro. Yesterday sold 4 out of the studio, and 2 are staying home, so 12 are making their way to the Arbor Gallery CFCA. All together they look like a quilt themselves, which is neat as quite a few are actually wearing quilt-like covers. They are each named and for sale individually.

11 acrylic and found image on canvas 6" x 6"
1 acrylic on canvas with handmade paper 6" x 6"
6 acrylic on canvas 6" x 6"

Arts Ontario East

This is a great resource for anyone interested in the arts of the region:
http://www.artsoe.ca

LOTS of great artists of all types featured here. Check out their profiles (and mine too!).

I attended a workshop last night on audience development for visual artists, which was presented by AOE Arts Council and given by Denis Bertrand of  the marketing agency 50 Carleton http://www.50carleton.com/. It was informative and insightful, and I welcomed the affirmation that talking, sharing, and appreciation of your audience are all more valuable and attractive than 'the sell'. I also liked Denis' concept that the arts audience consists of 'omnivores', referring to the idea that a lover of one of the arts (say, a collector of paintings) most likely also has an appreciation for the other arts (music, poetry). Forthwith might we artists combine forces and feed the omnivores well! I myself do love a good artistic feast.

Anyway I'm reassured that the regional artistic community is alive and kicking, and I'm happy being part of it.
Thank you all for reading my blog and looking at my art. I hope you find it tasty.

Every Good Team Deserves a Treat

Copper, 4.75 x 6.5"

Art of the Harvest group show

I have 5 new pieces in this one.
www.arborgallery.org
Meet the artists Sept. 10, 2011, 3-5pm

"Plough down sillion Shine"

Sculpture
18"l x 8"w x 9"h
found objects, resin, copper, horsehair

Title from 'The Windhover' by Gerard Manly Hopkins
Thanks to Judy Taylor for bringing this poem to my attention - after the sculpture was done!

Monoculture vs. Diversity

Installation
2' x 5' x 10"
found objects

For the Art of the Harvest show; I got thinking about cropping techniques.

Big Red Workhorse in the Morning

24" x 18"
Acrylic, gold leaf, silver leaf, copper, on panel
Incl. artist-made frame of stained and varnished pine with brass

Gingerbread Totem

Outdoor found object sculpture, ~ 8' x 4', installed at Arbor Gallery/Centre for Contemporary Art in Vankleek Hill, Ontario. Vankleek Hill proclaims that it is the 'Gingerbread Capital of Ontario' - referring to the fancy wooden trim on many of its houses - so it seemed appropriate to pay homage somehow.

Illustration

It is my pleasure to be creating a series of ink illustrations for some short stories by Hannah Ridolfi of Howick, QC. Her tales cleverly weave natural history with imagination to create a whimsical, lavishly detailed description of the goings-on in her garden. Here is the drawing for 'The Winter Robins'.

'Power of Self' feedback

I received some nice feedback from Marietta Davis, guest curator for ArtistsWanted, on my entry for the self-portrait competition "Power of Self":

"Your (entry) is an intriguing interpretation of the self-portrait in the sculpture genre. I enjoy the creativity and experimental nature to Mother, Seeker, Shining, Dark. I really like how tactile the piece is and the unusual materials and composition. Your work is very strong and I look forward to seeing it progress even further!"

Mother, Seeker, Shining, Dark

'Mother, Seeker, Shining, Dark (Self-portrait)
4.5" x 6.5"
Brass, artist's hair, resin, acrylic, copper
I thought I would do a self-portrait for a contest. Self-portraits are difficult, and bizarre... is there anything that would seem more self-absorbed than an artist creating a self-portrait? Anyway, here is my attempt: a different approach to your standard 'here is my face' take.

And here is what I wrote about it:

"This sculpture consists of a vessel, like a psyche, with a vector and a shining edge. It is lined with the artist's braided hair. The amulet-like contents, each representing a force or a personal state, nestle within, except Seeker, who is always reaching. Mother is central, nurturing and rock-like. Shining is joy and energy, Dark is shapeless and still. These are all totemish creatures. The artist has them cupped and cosy."

Here is the competition: http://www.artistswanted.org/

Here is my entry: http://ericataylor.see.me/aw2011

Ontario Arts Council

Good News! I am proud to be a recepient of an Ontario Arts Council 'emerging artist' grant. Thank you, OAC.

Attempt to Quantify

Carved and punched pine, enamel paint

Tess Face (without glare)

Mysterious Gate

17" h

Marble, wood, resin, variegated leaf, porcelain

Dressing

12.5" h

resin, wood, copper wire, acrylic, marble, beads, abalone

Link to Eros Exhibition - Vernissage February 12 2011

http://www.arborgallery.org/exhibition.php?id=67

Woodland Frieze

Complex, yet basic, women - recumbent amid curling vegetation - hang out symbiotically with plants for a while, and reflect.

Copper, 10" x 4"

In The Woods

Painting complete, paintbrush not included.

"In The Woods"

23kt gold leaf and acrylic on panel, 11" x 14"

So difficult to photograph, the gold confuses the camera. Colours are close, but better 'in the flesh'.

"Autumn ecstasy: she draws the sun-given life from the fallen leaves into herself; enigmatic forces curl into themselves for winter's sleep, and a small voyeur looks on, all under a metal sky".

Work in progress

11" x 14". Here is the original sketch, full-sized sketch, and gold-leafed panel, waiting for paint. Un peu Art-Nouveau, n'est-ce pas? For the upcoming 'Eros' show at Arbor Gallery.

'Toxic Landscape' in Cornwall juried show

Cornwall has its share of toxic landscape; however this one is easy to manage, as it's rather small.

I am pleased that this sculpture was chosen to be a part of the annual juried show, exhibiting at the Cornwall Regional Art Gallery, February 1 - March 11 2011.

Toxic Landscape 12" x 10" resin, circuitboard, MDF, acrylic

www.cornwallregionalartgallery.ca

Logo: 'Raise the Roof' campaign

Logo designed for the Raise the Roof fundraising campaign in Ormstown, Quebec, whose mission is to replace the roof on the historic Ormstown Fairgrounds arena. The Ormstown Exhibition was once the premiere spring fair in Eastern Canada, and still is a major fair event drawing huge crowds every June: http://www.ormstownfair.com/

'Poised to Escape'

2009 Oil on canvas board, 22" x 28"

More Copper...

Image area approx. 4" wide.

Like him? Order one!
email for info!

Copper Embossing

I just thought I'd give it a try... and of course, I had some scrap copper lying around (one benefit of being a found object artist!). I love copper, and I like how it lends itself so nicely to relief work.

A handy skill! And neat on its own, or as part of larger things...

Cave Horses

14" x 22" (approx.) hand-carved relief, HDU and acrylic

Fungi and Hellebore

acrylic on canvas board 14" x18"

"Copper Horse"

Approx. 12"x12", copper leaf on resin, pine frame with brass
SOLD

"Abbies"

Hand-pulled screen print, approx. 20x16"
some prints available

"Ironwood Tree"

25" x 11
Rusty iron, pine, resin
SOLD

"Sky and Clothespins"

Acrylic and 22K gold leaf on beechwood panel, 16x12"

She is calm and confident, and eco-conscious. Post-afternoon-delight, he is just leaving the frame, and she is OK with that; she is bringing in the blanket they lay upon. This is an exploration of media and composition, celebrating femininity, the outdoors, and practicality.

"Fencepost Man"

Sculpture, found objects, 30"h

"Fencepost Man" is made from the remains of a cedar fencepost, with electric fence insulators and copper wire. He is very happy to be a man. Yay!

"Underneath"

48" x 12"
Salvaged mirror, metallic and acrylic paint on masonite

"Underneath" explores the mixed feelings many of us experience as we contemplate our naked bodies and our sexuality. Initially, we see the surface: the reflection in the mirror. But there is another layer beneath that unstable plane, shadowed by its fragments: the self-image which is vulnerable and uncertain. Hopefully, we can also see the beauty there.

"A Taste of Motherhood"

Black and white photography, digital print, image area 6"x6.5"
Prints available

"Dark Has a Bone" woodcut

Woodcut print on Stonehenge paper, edition of 3, 1 left, 24" x 32"

"Temple"

Temple, sculpture, 24"h


The "In the City" show (Arbor Gallery), from my statement:

I am firmly rooted in a rural way of life, and my take on 'City' is tinged with apprehension, awe, and a touch of cynicism. I appreciate the beauty that can be found there, but I am uncomfortable with some of the forces behind the pulses and the monuments of urban life.

These sculptures acknowledge the discovery of the hidden treasures within 'City', and the adulation of the flawed, decaying deity called capitalism, and the toxic marring of the Earth's surface by the industry of these seething colonies of humanity.

 They are not meant as a judgement, but as an observation of things that are quietly present while we tour 'City' seeking shiny, colourful, tasty things.

"City"

Sculpture 36" h, cedar