Roxborough Church (photograph) © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

I finally got back out to see the Roxborough Church (St. Peter’s Anglican) with the camera on Tuesday after accidentally discovering it on the weekend. It seems I am the last person in Muskoka to find this little gem of a Church in the wilderness. I think this one is even smaller than Vankoughnet’s St. Stephen’s. This church is still very active and its neighbours are year round, many of which descend from the earliest settlers.This church is a relative latecomer, built in 1933.

A few miles further down the road, the Fraserburg Church is now a United, but, I am willing to bet it started out as a Presbyterian. It is much larger and sits on the edge of a community that had to fight to get recognition. Both Roxborough and Fraserburg are towns in Scotland, attesting to the large concentration of Scottish settlers, one of which was William Fraser.

Fraserburg Church (photograph) © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

Derelict houses are in great number here and have largely succumbed to the heavy snows of many Muskoka winters. I took a few shots of one out on the snowmobile trail that I have been watching collapse over the last 7 years. When I first discovered it, I had no camera and when I finally was able to take a photo the roof was broken. Sometime over the last 18 months, it has utterly collapsed.

Fraserburg Farmhouse (photograph) © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

While taking photographs of the last house I found on this particular trip, a curious neighbour stopped and chatted with me. A furniture maker, he know everybody in the area, including a lady who had grown up in this Fraserburg farmhouse (above). According to him, this farm was held in the same family since the 1860’s. Checking the Atlas, I can guess as to the lady’s maiden name, however, I hope to get into direct contact with her this summer to learn more about the history of this oft forgotten and very unique Muskoka town.

Another collapsed house (photograph) © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

I am a couple weeks late getting into the season this year, not because my calendar is wrong, but, because the ice has been out for two weeks and Spring came early. I am excited that the season has begun again. There is lots to see before the forests hide their secrets for another year. I have been slowly plugging away on “Crystal’s Room” with several distractions slowing me further. I am getting there…

This last image is of a roadside stream that I admire every time I pass. I thought I’d share.

Creek (photograph) © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

“Everything But the Bathroom Sink” wins an Award of Excellence in Acrylic at the 2010 Muskoka Arts and Crafts Spring Members Show.

Everything but the Bathroom Sink, acrylic, 16×24 – Available
© 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

I was late arriving, but, it was very exciting to discover that one of my favourite pieces from this last year won an award at a show with artists such as Bonnie Bews, Scott Owles, Anita Stephenson and Annie Veitch. Not a bad way to begin the 2010 season. The show runs for the rest of the weekend in Bracebridge. For more information click here.

I have been out doing research on the “Twilight” House. More news with a finished “Crystal’s Room” hopefully by the end of next week!

Twilight © 2008 Michelle Basic Hendry

My last post introduces the work in progress, Crystal’s Room. I have news today….

On my way back from the doctor in Bracebridge (follow up on a routine check-up) I decided to swing by Uffington, the location of the “Twilight” house and my WIP. I had assumed by the state it was in last Fall that the new owners would tear the house down. To my surprise, there was a man on site with a backhoe – and not for demolition! The equipment was for digging a basement. The man told me the house was being moved back on the lot in order to have a basement. The house was originally built right on the ground with a small cellar. I am in the process of seeing if I can connect with the new owners and if they will share their experience with me. I hope I will get to learn more.

Mrs. Fleger’s Bedroom Door © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

Now, I plan to fill in the research gap I had left when I figured the house was being torn down. Now that it is being given new life, the complete research will be included in the upcoming book. Readers of the blog and/or the newsletter will get a sneak peek. When “Crystal’s Room” is finished, I will post what I have found by that point. The balance will be in the April or May Newsletter along with a another painting from the house bringing the total to four.

What had started in darkness is returning to the light. A part of me is feeling renewed for knowing the house that started it all for me will get a new lease on life. And, by extension, I feel that so do I.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! And Happy Birthday to my Grammy. She turns 94 today!

Wishing you the luck of the Irish!

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!