I'm hoping to write a book "Memories of a small town" featuring stories from local residents. Have a look at my series and if you have a special memory or a bit of history on any of these locations please message me or email me [email protected].
Happy painting!"
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I’m happy to share that my first solo show is happening in January 2023 at the Kent Farndale Gallery. As an artist it is quite a boon! I am super excited and also motivated to create more pieces in my series. Right now I have 8 completed and I’d love to have 15. Between now and January I think I can make it happen. The focus right now is complete some smaller pieces as they take less time. My largest piece at 3ftx4ft took a month! With the amount of detail and of course the sheer size, I knew that would be the case. Currently I am working on a 18x20 canvas which is going very smoothly. It’s been about a week thus far for the Port Perry United Church project. I anticipate another few days and I’ll be done. The next in my series will be the Port Perry Railway which will be 18x20 and completed in black and white (as shown here). I like the idea of changing my style. Thus far with my other pieces, I’ve divided the building in half and completed half in color and half black and white. Why would I do that? First of all, the railway line existed back more than a hundred years ago. Logically speaking, there are no color reference photos. The real reason I chose to do this picture in black and white is because it gives the picture an overall sense of nostalgia. I’ve always been a fan of black and white photos. There are so many shades between black and white. I find this harder than color because creating shade is as simple as adding a bit of burnt umber. In this case, a shadow isn’t necessarily pure black. I find it’s a touch lighter than black and then gradually working to create a lighter shade as you move out. The black you see in this painting is more a rough outline of certain shapes. I use it as a gauge to assess if my perspective is correct. In this case, I’m pretty happy with how it looks. I think I may take on a few more black and white pictures. It’s more a whim at this point. I like the idea of black and white so I’m going to follow my gut. I’d love to paint one of the historical houses in the area. Alas, I have so many ideas but I need to focus on one project at a time. I never have a lack of ideas! I just wish there were two of me sometimes. I’m looking forward to sharing more with you. Happy painting! The Artist Within This piece was accepted in the Scugog Arts Annual Juried Art Show! I'm so excited.
"Chasing bubbles" will be on display at the Scugog Arts in Port Perry from July 26th - September 6th 2022. The juried show will be held on Saturday July 30th from 1:00-3:00pm. Please stop by and say hello. Happy painting! It all started with a blank 18x30 canvas. Sometimes I just get a whim to try something different. I can’t explain it. Living here for twenty years, I realized I didn’t know much about the history of Port Perry. I was honestly looking for a way to take a typical landmark and paint it in a unique way. I stared at pictures of the Old Mill from a hundred years ago. While they hold a certain appeal, it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I wanted to move a bit further ahead in time in order to make it more relatable to those in our town. I couldn’t decide whether to do the Old Mill in color or black and white. I decided, why not do both? And so my series “Old and New: Buildings of Port Perry” was born. I like the idea of connecting the past to the present. You’d be surprised how certain places hold special memories. The stories are fascinating and illicit happy memories of living in a small town. It is these shared memories and experiences that connect us to people and places. I don’t know about you, I feel like we need that connection more than ever.
Port Perry is rich in history and I’m on a pursuit to learn more. If you have a special memory or know some history of this landmark please email me [email protected] and share your story today! Town Hall Theatre, Port Perry 24x36
"Greetings from the Artist Within! Here's the latest in My series "Old and and New: Buildings of Port Perry" Share with me your fondest memory using this t locations as the backdrop for your chances to win an 8x10 print. Keep it within 300 words or less! Share your love of Port Perry! Please send it to [email protected] today! Contest ends Sunday June 12th"
I worked on my recent series of birds over the Easter long week end. To be honest I have been working on a piece that requires some intricacy and I needed a break. Life has been particularly chaotic so I decided I needed simplicity. Sometimes your brain just needs a break.
Remember the goal was simple… I spent less than an hour on this guy. While he’s certainly not perfect, I’m pleased with the result.
I decided I want to see how acrylic reacted on toned paper. It’s super absorbent so you can’t put a lot of acrylic without warping the paper. I much prefer acrylic to watercolor. You can thin out the acrylic if necessary but I laid a couple of layers on thick and this prevented the paper from warping. Sure, some might say that acrylic doesn’t belong on toned paper but I politely disagree. You just have to know how to use it. My Baltimore oriole and pileated Woodpecker are done in acrylic. I used my black charcoal pencil to fill in the black. I thought what the hell! If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Such is the joy of art! Try and see what happens. Happy painting! The Artist Within April 2022,
Lately I feel inspired by the buildings in our small town. Port Perry is rich in history which we take for granted. I wonder who has walked these sidewalks before me. I admit I am not a born and bred Port Perry resident. I am blessed to call this place home for twenty years. I am always amazed what you see by merely looking up. We walk by store fronts and window shop. As an artist I tend to see things a little differently. I’ve made it my mission to really take a look. The brick work on many of our downtown shops is so intricate. It took time and dedication for someone to create it. It takes more than bricks and mortar to create a building. This is what art means to me. It takes time, patience and skill to create intricate details that people often overlook. It’s a keen eye that creates symmetry. I often wonder how many people have walked by these very same bricks over the last hundred years. My latest series of work is called “Old and New: Buildings of Port Perry”. The purpose is to demonstrate how people and places truly connect us. Those of you may have seen my latest, “Strolling through time on Queen Street.” I truly understand the intricacy of the brickwork where our beloved “Piano Café” resides. The woodwork itself was quite the challenge as well. It makes me appreciate the detail of our downtown buildings. Now the trouble is deciding what building to take on next… I encourage you to take a look up sometime. Art is truly in places you least suspect. So look up… way up. This small town is truly full of art. Happy painting “If I could paint, this would be the picture I’d do.” A client at the gym told me. Naturally I was curious, so I asked her to send me the picture. Here I thought it was a beach in some tropical location. Alas, the picture was taken in Cornwall, England. I decided I’d give it a try as I’d never painted moving waves before. I’m always up for a challenge.
First of all, I’d be the first to admit that waves are hard. I’ve seen what seasoned artists can do and I merely strive to become that good. With anything in life it’s about practice. My first round of waves were not to my satisfaction so I painted over it and started again. The trouble was making the waves look like they were rolling in as opposed to being stacked on one another. I stood back and the waves didn’t look right. While I am 100 percent happy with the finished product, I know my waves need more work. Sometimes I like tackling projects that are just a bit above my skill level. That’s just how I roll. If I can’t do something, I’ll do it again and again until I get it. I like how I did the sea grass and the sand! With a bit of white and burnt umber, it helped create the sandy effect. You really have to dilute the burnt umber. I used a lot of white with a dab of burnt umber for the lighter parts of the sand. Using straight burnt umber is way too dark. For the sea grass I used light yellow ochre for the lighter aspects. I tend to start with black for the under brush and gradually add lighter layers to get the bushy effect. Depending on where the light is coming from, I add light ochre for the brighter aspects. Perspective is everything. This one was a challenge for me. The beach is further away so you’re actually venturing down the sand dune to get there. Once again, this was tricky for me but I did my best. Honestly, if some part of the painting is off I go back and fix it until I’m happy. I go by feel. At the end of this painting my feeling was that I was happy. It exudes that summer feeling being at the beach. You can taste the salt in the air! Welcome to Perranporth, Beach. I hope you’ll bask in the summer sunset for a moment or two. Happy painting! The Artist Within "Tiger lily " |
Lauren Walker
As The Artist Within, I use the love for my small town of Port Perry as inspiration for my work. As a long time resident and artist I love to showcase its vivid landscapes and bold colors. There is beauty in our own backyard! Archives
February 2024
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