I have not been attentive to my blog this last month and nor to my paintings and it is time I talked a little more candidly about why. It has been a challenging winter, far more than I would have expected on many levels – some beyond the art. Sometimes the weight of the world, our work and our personal struggles can take the spark out of us.

This series on historic houses and rooms and the pressure I put on myself to produce the best work I could to honour them has been emotionally and physically draining for me. I have such passion for the people and places this series has brought into my life and it was almost more than I could bear. What’s more, there has been a lot of loss in the last year. What I did, I felt was never good enough. For a couple of months, I could not face the work, the stories or the photos…The light and the energy was gone from me and I struggled with extreme exhaustion. There were more days than I care to count where I could barely convince myself to get out of bed. I could barely eat and slept poorly.

As the days grow longer, the sunlight has been slowly able to creep back into those abandoned corners of my Soul. My stories have waited patiently as I have slept and dreamed and as I try to heal my body. I am not by any means feeling myself yet, but, the desire to return to the easel is increasingly powerful. I am ready to work again, albeit slowly. I have finished the planning stages and started on the final leg of the series. This is not to say that I will not be painting the old buildings anymore – on the contrary! But I will be looking at things a little differently in order to not burn myself out again. I also want to tell a little more than one might just ’see’. Their timber bones and peeling paint will always whisper to me and I will always be compelled to share their stories.

With the sun in force and Spring on the horizon, it seems that I need a kick to get going again and the best way to do that is to post a work in progress. I am ambivalent about posting the ‘ugly stage’ of a painting. As I know many of my readers are not necessarily artists, I wonder what they think? Either way, it does put a fire under my butt to finish a painting and get it posted. So here we go…

Work In Progress – Crystal’s Room © 2010 Michelle Basic Hendry

Crystals’ Room is another painting from the “Twilight” house. Tom Iddison told me that this room was his daughter Crystal’s favourite because of the comfortable bed that once was in it. When I visited, the room had a small wardrobe with a few articles of clothing and this chair with an old coat draped across it. Many of the objects that are outside the picture frame make it appear that someone came in to quickly change their clothes and left again. But the world and time has caught up. The house has since been sold and its future, uncertain.

With more and more emphasis on partnerships in this new economic climate, it is important that we make the most of the relationships we have. 80% of our sales come from 20% of our customers.

If you currently work with a Gallery that is surviving the upheaval, it behooves us to help that Gallery increase the sales of our work. Chances are, if you have been selected by that Gallery and their customers are already interested in the work they bring in, you have a very qualified audience that you need to capitalize on. The Gallery just wants to sell paintings. You have to persuade the Gallery to sell more of YOURS.

If you have been working with a Gallery or wish to sell in a Gallery these tips might come in useful:

1. Have your very best work prepared and ready to hang – It is important to put your very best foot forward. If you are new to a gallery, it is like a first date, you want things to look perfect! It is not uncommon to have clients in the Gallery (particularly the smaller ones) while you are dropping off your work. You want to make it easy for the Gallery to present work right away. They will be more inclined to work with you if you aren’t eating up their time fixing hangers or adjusting frames.

2.  Provide professional high quality and pre-cropped photographs to the Gallery. Some galleries get their own photos taken, but, it is good to have your own! It also means you have a better chance at making it into the general promotional pieces or ads. Whenever I provide a quality photo to a Gallery, I get some extra ads and that often gets a sale.

3. When dropping off your paintings, have a MEETING scheduled with the owner or the manager - You want to discuss the work – tell them the stories that relate to the work you are delivering (is there an interesting story relating to a location?), giving them conversation pieces and information that helps deepen the interest or provide a connection to the work – They need to connect to sell! Have a sheet for both yourself and the gallery that inventories the art you bring in. That way you are organized for your own sake and it gives a professional impression. Some Galleries have their own systems, but, I do this for myself because most smaller galleries enter it into a computer – later! That leaves time for things to get lost!

4. Ask the Gallery what they need from you – And be prepared to supply the Gallery with marketing materials and a portfolio. Have a photo book done of a recent series, have a Biography ready and consider supplying generic cards that the Gallery can ’stamp’. Depending on the Gallery’s commission*, they may do this, but many do not.

5. If you have developed special content, ie. videos, offer this content to your Gallery for use on their website – You then become more recognizable and have more exposure to their traffic if they take you up on it.

6. If you are having a show, be on time (or better still, early) – Be dressed appropriately for the environment and your work and have a good attitude! Also be sure to always invite your mailing list. The goodwill of any Gallery is its mailing list and if you are bringing in new customers, they are going to spend more energy on your sales.

7. Have a way for the Gallery to contact you. If you move around a lot use your cell phone or supply an e-mail address you check very regularly.

8. Link to your Gallery(s) on your website - Make it easy for your clients to find your work, especially if you do not have an open studio

9. Ask the Gallery for feedback from their clients – It is always good to know how your work is being received. It is better to know sooner than later if the match or partnership is not benefiting either of you before you use all your resources. It also can give you a good idea which paintings appeal to customers and will get the most energy from Gallery staff.

*The subject of consignment relationships and agreements is a separate issue here. I am not going to go into it in detail in this article. However, do consider the amount of work and material you have to provide in relation to the promotion your Gallery provides and be certain that the commission reflects that. If a Gallery charges 50%, then they should be responsible for advertising and invitations! Know the laws in your region.

Questions to Ask Yourself: (Feel free to add your ideas to the comments!)
What other things have you done that have improved your relationship with your Gallery and boosted your sales? Can you think of any other things that you could do?
Make a list of what you will need, print out biographies and do printed version (brief) of you accompanying stories before you visit your Gallery to either turn over work or are bringing your work for the first time.

If you are Gallery – What would you like to tell your artists?

Teresa from the Auburn Gallery in Muskoka has offered some excellent points I thought I should add to the post:

1. Keep your prices consistent in all points of sale. So whether you sell on-line from your studio or in other galleries, it is important that collectors can expect new work is worth the same everywhere. It’s good for your galleries and encourages them to support you and that is good for you.

2. Don’t be in too many galleries in the same area. If you do, you are essentially competing with yourself and that does not encourage galleries to promote your work. If you are more exclusive, people will know where to find you and be less inclined to bounce around, losing a sale for both you and the gallery.

My solo exhibition opening at Auburn Gallery, Summer 2008

Winter Birches, Photograph © 2010 Michelle Basic Hendry

During the darkest days of Winter, I am generally less productive. The time I take to recharge my physical batteries and take care of my health after a busy season can also be a valuable time to allow transformation – in thought and in creativity.

It is during these ‘winter fallow’ periods that I go inside and look for inspiration, analyze the product and projects of the year before and generally  recharge. Nature itself experiences that slow dormancy and I tend to value it. Creative projects are often less formal and more play, and the paintings to come are still in the earliest of development.

Spring is still weeks away, but, the strengthening of the sun speaks to my cells and I am starting to very slowly move forward again. My project in the works, the Book on the Echoes series, is well underway and I am preparing drawings for some of the final paintings. Release is planned for September.

I am trying a big experiment with magic realism – a 36 by 48 inch painting. It will trickle out in bits and inspirations, but the finished piece will likely take months by the time the sketches become drawings and a final drawing is set to paint. This is new for me, so we’ll see how it goes!

So in the meantime as we approach the Equinox, I will share my inspirations here and as things become ready to share I will post them.  I assure you they will be worth the wait. I am very excited about the season to come.

I will be taking a short break from the blog and I plan to resume posting on February 24th.

“Whispers of Autumn”, 36×48, acrylic © 2005 Michelle Basic Hendry

Along with old and abandoned houses, my other passion is the forest. It is a passion I am rediscovering as I wander through the archive of some of my earlier work on this cold and snowy winter afternoon.

I live in an area that is primarily made up of trees, rocks, rivers and lakes. Nothing is as healing as the smell of the Muskoka forests at any time of year. One of my favourite places to hike in all seasons is at Hardy Lake Provincial Park.

Barred Owl, photograph © 2006 Michelle Basic Hendry

The Park has a series of trails that meander through some beautiful bush and some challenging terrain. Every trail either follows a lake shore or ends up opening up onto to a lake. The most difficult trail goes up and down rocky ravines, past marshes and the reward is a small point of land in a hidden bay of Lake Muskoka. I had a wonderful meeting with a barred owl back in there. He seemed as curious about me as I was about him.

“Trailside”, 30×36, acrylic © 2005 Michelle Basic Hendry

My favourite trail circumnavigates Hardy Lake and there is the foundation of an old homestead on the far side. Just a few minutes past the homestead and a good hour in, there is a magical section of forest that seems a little different than the rest. It feels more lush, more closed, like as if you have entered another world. This is the place that inspired some of my earliest paintings, including the two in this post. “Trailside” (above) grabbed “Best in Show” with the local arts group in 2005.

I have been spending a lot of the last two years wandering though the farms that pop out of this rich forest. I believe the time has come to go back into the magical and mysterious place that darkens the edges of the old farms once again.

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I had a remarkable series of animal, insect and bird encounters on another one of my favourite trails a few years ago. There is one more of my early “forest” paintings and the story of the adventure on the “Explorations” blog. Robin – if you read this… I know you will appreciate it!

“River Guardian”, Stained Glass © 2003 Michelle Basic Hendry

While still working full-time as a graphic designer early in the last decade, I took some classes in stained glass, copper foil method. Being a designer, I was quick to start creating my own patterns. Within a couple of years I was asked to participate in and curate a show in stained glass. A few of the pieces I made for that show were heavily influenced by Emily Carr’s style of painting. Emily’s paintings made the forest feel alive and dynamic, much how it ‘feels’ to be in the trees. The variety of colours from the yellow-green to the blue-green, oranges, browns and golds showed the forest in its richest cloak. I wanted to try and capture that with Light.

The model for “River Guardian” was a tree on the side of the Muskoka River at High Falls. It was one of those trees that leaned toward the rushing river and held the bank in place. It was early Spring and there was a light mist coming off the fast moving water. The coppers and bronzes of fallen needles contrasted sharply with the evergreens.

“Emily’s Forest”, Stained Glass, 24×36 © 2001 Michelle Basic Hendry

I won an award for stained glass in 2002 for “Emily’s Forest” a design inspired by Emily Carr’s painting, “Wood Interior”. It is a design that has inspired other artists to translate this painting in glass.

“Winter Moon”, Stained Glass, 8×10 © 2005 Michelle Basic Hendry

“Winter Moon” was one of the last pieces I executed before turning to painting. It was completely imaginary, with a full moon made from pearlescent glass and solid metal tree trunks of textured zinc.

Stylistically, my glass is a million miles away from my painting. It is a difference I cannot begin to explain other than the media spoke to me in such different ways. In the coming posts, I’ll introduce some more of my early paintings. For me, this is a way to look back over where I have come to perhaps help me see where I might want to go. I am hoping you will join me on the journey!

I have returned to the Small Paintings blog I had started last year and re-purposed it. It is now called “Explorations“.  It will have some less formal posts on inspiration, stories and events that get into my head, as well as sketches and other creative work outside the scope of “Artscapes”. Feel free to join me there from time to time!

“Inukshuk”, acrylic © 2006 Michelle Basic Hendry

The Winter is a time of experimentation for me. I slow down my regular production, pick up different media and unlike most of the warmer season, I use the dark hours to read more. I have read books recently on Vermeer and Hammershøi and most recently I have taken another go at William Blake (artist & poet), as well as explore primitive art and painting. I have been immersed in the study of visionary art and shamanic tradition of late. I have great appreciation for those whose imaginations can bring a story told around a fire into the visual world through images. I like to think of visionary art as a kind of ‘remembering’.

When looking for things to paint, I use my camera for creating a reference library. My camera can be a compositional tool and then I play with the light and objects in the paintings. Good reference material is important for realism. For ‘Window Seat‘, I carried a chair out to the house through half a kilometer of overgrown field to set up the composition I wanted. Photographs are a wonderful way to record what I see for when I return to the studio. In my memory I keep the light… But sometimes, in my memory there is more than light, there is a feeling – and imagination.

In a recent dream, I was standing at the side of a bridge, watching an old steamship pass, a steamship I had been stalking with my camera throughout the dream. It was very early spring and most of the snow was gone. Suddenly, the landscape behind the ship became radically interesting. The melting snow caught in the curves of the landscape began to take on strange colours and forms. I lifted my camera to capture what I was seeing, but, in my frustration, the photo would only burn out nearly white! As I struggled with the camera, the landscape began to transform and transform again until it was plain and suddenly the camera was catching the right exposure. My camera had been useless in capturing the vision of this seemingly dull, late winter landscape that had become something only I could see.

After last week’s exploration of the Native American Visionary Landscape artist, I thought I might offer some of my favourite non-native Visionary Artists: Helena Nelson Reed, Susan Seddon Boulet (deceased), Ernst Fuchs and a recent find, A. Andrew Gonzales.

What they all seem to have in common is the unity and flow in the work. Everything seems to connect to everything else and the air swirls and colours are intense. The visionary experience itself is another layer of reality sitting just above or below what we think we see. For me, it was a dream that reminded me of thin the veil is between worlds and that the inspiration for the artists sits in wait just beyond it.

On my easel sits an interior of the Fleger House, an old bedroom. I sometimes wonder when I review reference images of my old houses, what is just beyond the eyes of the camera. Perhaps it’s time to look further.

Song for the Night Sun © David Beaucage Johnson*

Have you ever had a dream in which a landscape so familiar to you is somehow, different?

As an artist, I strive to paint the landscape as I see it. The Canadian artist of today is preceded by a rich legacy of Canadian landscape art from which to draw inspiration. We are brought up knowing that there are many ways to see and paint a landscape.

Most notably we think of Lawren Harris, Tom Thomson, Emily Carr and the Group of Seven. They attempted to see the Canadian landscape in a way that was as unique as the landscape itself. Exhibiting many of their works during the same period as the post-impressionists and the fauves in Europe, the Group of Seven created a sensation, most of which was far from positive. Gradually, the the critics came around and the works of these painters came to represent the our Canadian landscapes.

But, what of the People who knew this land very differently and for considerably longer? How did they see the world?

It wasn’t until 1962 that an ‘indian’ ever had a solo exhibition in a gallery. The climate in the art world had changed substantially by then and in a world primed for abstraction, the launch of Norval Morrisseau in Toronto’s Pollock Gallery resulted in a sold out show. Morrisseau saw the world  with a very different VISION.

Norval Morrisseau founded the Woodland School and the Indian Group of Seven. His art has been called ’shamanic’, inviting viewers into the journey between worlds. Morrisseau saw himself as a teacher that transmitted the stories of his people through art and his work a bridge between cultures. His work opened the door for a generation of First Nations painters and artists, including Arthur Shilling.

The Landscape

Native culture is very connected to the land and so I was interested in seeing how some native artists might interpret the landscape itself. To a people where the land is an essential part of being, how was it being expressed by these artists?

Painted Earth © David Beaucage Johnson*

There are many contemporary First Nations artists. In my region of central Canada, they are largely Anishnaabe artists, including Mishibinijima (James Simon), Roy Thomas, Daphne Odjig, Michael Robinson, Morrisseau and David Beaucage Johnson to name a few. These artists are deeply spiritual. Many of the symbols influencing the work of these artists are etched in the landscape of Ontario in Agawa Canyon, Peterborough and at Lake Superior in the form of rock paintings and petroglyphs.

Mishibinijima, Michael Robinson (poet and painter) and David Beaucage Johnson let the Spirit cross with the representational landscape in their paintings. The landscape, as we know it, is clearly visible, the places recognizable and yet, different. There is little separation between art, landscape, culture and Spirit. Their painting vibrate with an energy that speaks of the mysteries of different layers of existence. For lack of an existing term, I call them visionary landscapes.

I had the privilege of taking a workshop with David Beaucage Johnson. David is unquestionably a visionary landscape artist. His scenes are alive with the Spirits of the water, the rocks, the trees and the skies. The animals appear in Spirit form allowing the landscapes themselves to provide the context. Even the Moon has great personal symbolism in David’s works.

David’s mix of representational and semi-abstract elements create an environment teeming with the, normally, unseen. It is difficult to visit the “Teaching Rocks” in Peterborough, Ontario without envisioning the ancestral spirits David brings alive on canvas. The locations and landscapes have great significance in the paintings and are a part of the story they tell.

Rainbow Dance © David Beaucage Johnson*

David’s richly spiritual paintings have been published in two books of Ojibwe stories by Basil Johnston.

This article does not even begin to scratch the surface of Visionary Landscape and Native art across Canada. Visionary landscape and First Nations art, in general, is so often overlooked in the mainstream art world. It was no surprise to me how difficult it was to gather information. In the case of the linked artists, except for Morrisseau, who was labeled by the French, the Picasso of the North, most of my knowledge of the other artists is through my own experience of the art and personal contact. I hope that this might offer a little more insight into an art form that should no longer be neglected by the history books.

*All of David Johnson’s images are reproduced here with permission from the artist.

A short post from 2008 looking at my experience at the 2001 workshop with David B. Johnson – Art & Spirit