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Friday, May 23, 2008

New Image & Adventures in Huntsville


Here is a new illustration, just a tiny little guy measuring 6"x6" done in coloured pencil.

It's funny and lovely how our techniques grow and change. Just last year I would have said 'no way' to using any kind of black outlining for my work, if I needed black in any area of my pictures I would mix it using browns, blues and reds. Now, without really knowing where I veered off from my 'no black' policy, I find that a nice even black outline on some of my newer imagery really helps them pop and I love the effect. It just goes to show you that even when we think our creative minds are closed to an ideal, they may not be closed tight, ha ha.

So last Friday, on our way home from Toronto, we decided to take a break and spend a few hours in Huntsville. It was a perfect, sunny day and though I've been to Huntsville before, I just fell in love with the place during this short visit. We strolled up and down the main street, went into amazing furniture stores, one of my favourites was 'Saturday Afternoons". We ventured into an adorable local bookstore, had a wonderful lunch at "Aroma" and topped it off with an ice cream cone before hopping back into the truck and continuing the rest of the way home. I could just envision myself moving to this idyllic town and opening up my very own "Bijou's Whimsy" Gallery. It had a wonderful mix of quaintness, dense surrounding forest, and near by water making me feel very at home and cozy. One of my favourite places that day was the amazing 'Shutterbug Gallery', owned by Kelly Holinshead, a local and very talented photographer. This gallery also featured work from some other local people and I was enchanted with the needle-felt work by Sherry Peddie, after seeing her creations I know I will soon have to try my hand at this new artform/craft. Not only did the artwork in this gallery win me over completely but also the building itself, it was so inspiring to see how some one so perfectly turned an old building into a creative gallery space.

Another thing that struck me with this adorable little town was the Group of Seven inspired public murals scattered throughout the main street area...here are some of my favourites.



I hope these mural photos inspire you as much as they inspired me. Until Monday, Take Care and Be Kind to One Another.

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