Wild Woman...In progress

I paint wild women. And that means I am surrounded by women who heal themselves, speak with their own voices, practice gratitude and are curious. A wild woman loves herself and honors her body with confidence. She is a self aware force to be reckoned with. And how I long to be a wild woman! But... I am a work in progress. I often struggle to feel good about my body. Even as I work closely with women, help them strip free their barriers, and revel in their beauty... I still struggle to see those things in myself. My response is anger at myself; anger and depression about being so willing to hurt my own feelings. It lays me low, every time. Maybe it's this insecurity that allows me to relate so well to other women. As Rumi once said, "We're all just walking each other home."

"She's Whiskey In A Teacup"

I recently divulged (on camera,,, gulp) that this painting is a self portrait of my butt. I painted it in response to an online shopping experience where I was labelled everything from a size large to a 3XL. Talk about laying a woman low! This experience negated all the good things I felt about myself, in one fell swoop. It diverted me from my journey towards being a wild woman. Against everything society is telling us, all women can and should feel good about their bodies. Like whiskey in a teacup, it will be unexpected, and it will be wild!

Wild Women... hold my hand and walk me home. I am still on this path and I am still working to be like you.

International Women's Day

International Women's Day is just around the corner, and so is the opening to a new art show I am participating in. I have prepared some new works alongside the works of 6 other amazing women. 

March 1 – 19, Women without Borders at the Gage Gallery 2031 Oak Bay Avenue.

A Group Exhibition to Celebrate Women and International Women’s Day.  Seven artists have come together to create an exhibition that is humorous, poignant, evocative and celebratory.  People were coming in off the street to see it while we were setting up. It is a celebration and we want everyone to join us in celebrating diversity and courage, ancestry and a bright future. There is something here for everyone. You will laugh, reminisce, celebrate and feel part of the celebration.  Join us in a celebration of Women. 

Angela Menzies (acrylic on canvas) painting of the female nude,  Suzanne Jensen (acrylic on canvas) drawing and paintings of women at work, Bonnie Coulter (acrylic on canvas) paintings of home and family, mary e coakley (photography) photographs of International Women, Joanne Thomson (watercolour) tributes to women artists and grandmothers, Sharon Bussard Grove (clay) sculptural commentary on how women see themselves and how they are seen and Muriel Sibley (clay) altered vessels celebrating dance, welcome and a female crocodile with pink shoes and a purse! 

JOIN US THIS Friday March 4, 7-9 pm.

AND Tuesday March 8 from 7- 9 on International Women’s Day: for a dress up party. We invite you to come as a woman who has been influential in your life. Have some fun with it.  Yes, men, you can dress up too!

(press release written by Joanne Thomson)

I'll be dressed up as a steampunk version of Wonder Woman!

Wonder Woman series by Angela Menzies

Angela Menzies

Muriel Sibley, Angela Menzies, Suzanne Jensen

Bonnie Coulter, Muriel Sibley

Sharon Bussard Grove

Muriel Sibley

Joanne Thomson

Bonnie Coulter

Suzanne Jensen

Angela Menzies' work in the window.

Even Wonder Woman...

I was recently asked why I felt the need to depict Wonder Woman as a plus size woman. Seriously? We're having this conversation? Okay. I didn't feel the need to do anything. The fact is, this is the wonderful woman who had the lady balls to show up and pose for the painting; and if the Wonder Woman boots and corset fit (and they do!) you lace those bitches up and wear them. Because that's what Wonder Women do, they rise fearlessly to the occasion as symbols of female empowerment. We all have a Wonder Woman inside us, and we need to stop talking about what the physical parameters of what she looks like "should" be. So, just go be wonderful already!

"Even Wonder Woman's Underwear Ride Up"

"Even Wonder Woman Takes Her Bra Off At Night"

Who's Your Doctor?

“I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams” - Eleventh Doctor

I am a huge believer in making Christmas gifts for my loved ones. I try to never even step foot in a retail store after mid Nov. This Christmas, my dad and I put our heads and skills together to create this awesome Dr. Who Tardis bookshelf for my son Raine. And like the real Tardis, it is of course, bigger on the inside.

The process began when I handed off conceptual sketches and dimensional measurements to my dad. Fifty hours later, my sketches became reality (because my dad is a genius).

Now, it was my turn. I spent 15 hours priming and painting the Tardis to get it just right.

On Christmas morning, my dad and I will deliver the Tardis to Raine's room, where he will fill it with his massive collection of graphic novels. And then after that, who knows?

“Books! The best weapons in the world!” - Tenth Doctor

F.Y.I 

Pantone 2955C - BBC Approved "TARDIS" blue

The Way Of Crow

"The way of crow

shook down on me

the dust of snow

from a hemlock tree.

Has given my heart

a change of mood

and saved some part

of a day I had rued."

Robert Frost

The Way of Crow

10" x 10" gelatin print

$100

(also available as holiday cards)

The annual Stinking Fish Fall Tour begins this weekend. I would love to see you!

I will have small whimsical paintings for sale,

lots of knitting...

and a few books as well.

So if you haven't already marked the dates down in your calendar, you better do it! You want want to miss all the Stinking Fishers under one roof.

Nov 14 and 15 @ West-Mont School

4075 Metchosin Road

Cahooting In The First Degree

When Efren invited me to participate in his "In Cahoots (Synergy) Art Show", I knew exactly who to call. For years, my dear friend Kathy and I had pitched ideas of collaborating with each other. And of course we wouldn't dream of doing so without our partners in crime: Kathy's husband Selby and my mom, Bonnie. And so, cahooting in the first degree began in earnest.

Kathy and I, about midway in our process. 

Kathy brought her extensive knowledge of quilting and manipulating textiles to the tables. Here, you can see the acrylic painted nude figure I created as a jumping off point.

When we first met, I had the broadest sense that I wanted to design a piece about motherhood; about the fear of the unknown future; about aging children growing up and flying the coop. In the back of my mind, always lay the quote by Virgina Woolf, "Fear no more, says the heart." The foundation for our project "Fear Not" was laid.  Rough sketches of a woman climbing a wall of motherhood memories and looking towards her future, quickly evolved into a richly layered and subtly exquisite journey in fabric collage.

Original concept sketch.

My acrylic painted figure emerging on muslin fabric.

Over the next couple of months, Kathy and I worked to distress, manipulate and hand sew tattered layers of fabric into a background. Selby took our Virginia Woolf quote and hand lettered versions of this alongside my personal observations of motherhood throughout. We just couldn't get over the artistry of his penmanship!

Selby, getting started on the lettering.

Detail of the lettering. 

Selby kept notes over many a cup of tea and plate full of brownies and captured some of my ramblings in ink; such as "I get the stuffing hugged out of me (every day)."

My mom, who works in mixed media and assemblage art, had some fabulous ideas for copper and metal inclusions. Not to mention, she was our constant source of humor and quick thinking  problem solver.

Bonnie, knitting with copper, and keeping us  quiet introverts entertained!

"Fear Not"

22" x 30" acrylic, fabric and metal stitched collage

$950.

Angela Menzies

Kathy Saluke

Selby Saluke

Bonnie Coulter

You are invited to see this piece in person at the Slide Room Gallery this Friday night.

The Opinionated Dinner Guest

“A magpie can be happy or sad: sometimes so happy that he sits on a high, high gum tree and rolls the sunrise around in his throat like beads of pink sunlight; and sometimes so sad that you would expect the tears to drip off his beak.

This magpie was like that.” 

― Colin Thiele, Magpie Island

"The Opinionated Dinner Guest"

10" x 10" acrylic on wood

$100