NEWSLETTER

I have had 2 paintings accepted for the FCA Abstract Show starting March 24th going to April 5th.

I have been experimenting with a couple of different things recently. For some of my paintings I have added a high gloss finish as the top coat by pouring an acrylic medium over the surface. I like the look it gives - although it is difficult to see in a photo it seems to bring out the layers and textures of the abstract painting below

The other thing I have been playing with is the exaggeration of figures -- although I have been doing this for the last several years by abstracting the objects in my still life paintings I have found it difficult to do with my figurative work. The painting below called Gossip Girls is starting to move in the right direction I think.

in my last email I sent a link to society six which is a company that reproduces your art as prints and on canvas as well as other cloth items such as pillows and totes Etc. I just received a pillow and a tote that I ordered and I am very disappointed. I would not recommend ordering these products - I am not sure how the prints would turn out but I have decided to take my stuff off this website. It's unfortunate as it really looks quite good online but the color is grayed down and the fabric is very coarse.

Sorry

I have made a few changes to the organization of the galleries and to the layout of this website in order to try to make it clearer and easier to navigate. Please let me know what you think.

Workshop (April 10, 11, 12)

As I mentioned in my last e-mail I will be giving another workshop this April on Collage technigues. Sandra Taylor another Collage artist will be joining me to demonstrate her approach to mixed media which will give you lots of options to chose from. This workshop is suitable for beginner and intermediate painters and we believe in having fun!

The workshop runs for 3 days, APRIL 10, 11, 12 at the South Delta Artist Guild in Tsawwassen. This workshop is now posted on the website www.southdeltaartistsguild.com Click on Workshops to sign up.

Interview

As I also mentioned in my last e-mail I was interviewed by an art blogger, Carolyn Hastings and that interview is posted at www.riffsanartblog.com/2015 Thanks Carolyn

FCA - Artists Choice Show (Feb 3 to 15)

I have had 2 paints accepted into the next show at the Federation of Canadian Artist on Granville Island. The painting below is called Orchid Branch -- not too original a name but descriptive.

AION Art Gallery and Film rental ( www.aionart.com)

I am now listed as one of the Artists in this Gallery with 16 paintings available for rent to the film industry. I will let you know if any more of my paintings appear in productions filmed in BC.

Society 6

I am trying out something new by making some of my paintings available in prints, tote bags and pillow cases. If interested check it out at www.society6.com/lindabell

Show ---- In the Company of Three April April 20 to 26th

Last but not least --along with Nancy Dean and Birgit Coath I will have a bunch of work in a show at the SDAG Gallery. The show this year will only run for a week and we are meeting soon to finalize our arrangements including a date and time for the reception. MORE TO FOLLOW ABOUT THIS SHOW.

www.lindabell.ca

Happy 2015 to all of you. How fast 2014 went by.

2014

I just looked back and it has been many months since I have sent out an e-mail ,so the end of one year and the beginning of another seemed like a good time to do some artistic reflection and to let you also know what is coming up in this New Year.

2014 was an eventful and exciting year for me. It started with me achieving Signature Status (AFCA) with the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA), which was very encouraging. I also had a number of paintings selected for juried shows including 5 shows in the FCA Gallery on Granville Island, the Ferry Building in West Vancouver and the Oil and Water Show in South Delta. I won a couple of awards as well and one of my paintings was selected to be included in the FCA 2015 Calendar.

I took a couple of art workshops and I also gave a Collage Workshop and a couple of demonstrations this year.

The other fun thing that happened was having some of my paintings show up in film productions. AION Gallery rents art out to productions being filmed in BC. One of my paintings showed up in the TV series "Arrow" and 3 of my paintings appeared at the end of " Grumpy Cats Worse Christmas Ever". The Gallery has asked me for some more paintings this year so who knows what could happen.

2015

I had a wonderful surprise in the last week of December as I was notified that one of my paintings has been selected for the Publication called Incite, The Best of Mixed Media. This is the third edition of this book and the focus this year is on The Art of Storytelling. This is the first time I have ever submitted anything to a publication like this so it is really a thrill to be selected. It also can be a bit of a challenge as the photo requirements are quite exacting and my current camera and photography skills are limited. So I may have to embark on a whole new learning experience in terms of high resolution photograpy and editing. My understanding is the publication date for Incite 3 will be in September 2015.

I was also contacted by an artist in the USA, Carolyn Hastings who writes a artists blog in which she profiles various artists. I just finished a number of interview questions from her and I will post a link to her blog on my links section when it is available.

Collage Workshop

I will be giving another workshop at the South Delta Artists Guild (SDAG) along with fellow collage artist Sandra Taylor in April this year. It will be a 3 day workshop April 10th, 11th and 12th. Last years workshop was a lot of fun - so I hope that some of you that live in the lower mainland of BC will consider participating.

Three Women Show at Gallery 1710 (SDAG)

Once again I will be part of a members show with two of my fellow artists in the SDAG, Nancy Dean and Birgit Coath. This show will also run for a week in the 4th week of April.

I will be sending out more information on the Collage Workshop and the Three Women Show in the coming months.

As I said 2014 was a good year and 2015 is looking interesting too. I would like to thank those of you who have been so supportive to me and have given me such wonderful and helpful feedback -- the best to all of you in 2015

I have continued to look at my existing paintings with a more critical eye and to make some changes that I think will improve them. I have been reviewing some of the paintings I did after my visit to Africa and the first change I have made is to the background of the Zebra painting. See below

Once again after looking at this painting for awhile I could see some things that I had to change - I think the 2nd version is better.

First version update

One of my paintings " Rock Paper Scissors" was chosen for the FCA 2015 Calendar. It is the November Painting.

Check it out at www.artists.ca

I am learning that I need to live with a painting for a while before I post it. I often discover things I want to change when I have not looked at a painting for a while - I see it with a fresh eye and have a better idea what might make it better. The painting catnap looked too cool and I wasn't satisfied with the values so I added a bit of warmth changed the girls top and strengthed the values. See below

I expect I will make some changes to the painting Men Working as well sometime soon.