Right now my kitchen is filling with the smells of coconut butter, oatmeal, walnut cookies.
Continue readingWhen Cookies Baking in the Oven and Gallery-Opening-Time Coincide
art gallery
Gallery Opening on Saturday May 28, 2022
I wanted to let you know that Bear River Artworks Gallery which I am part, is opening for the season on Saturday, May 28. On this first weekend, all the artists decided to be there to hang out with whoever drops by and to enjoy the fruits of our labour.
Continue readingPaintings Hopping in May at the Lucky Rabbit Art House
Today my month long solo show “Courage My Love” opened at Lucky Rabbit’s Artist House Gallery in Annapolis Royal where 21 of my paintings are on display until May 28, on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10am till 4pm.
Great Opening and Painting Demos
This week is busy in the best way possible. The art show opening was amazing. It was great to share my paintings with interested art lovers, artists and collectors. 5 6 7 paintings sold! This and the week’s conversations with interested visitors are a validation of all the work I put into this show. Continue reading
My Floral Paintings on Display in Bear River, Nova Scotia
Images and stories of flowers from my exhibition of paintings at Bear River Artworks Gallery, 1913 Clementsvale Road, Bear River NS.
April 15 – 23, 2017. Daily 1 – 4pm
Paintings can be shipped. Interest-free payment plans available. No HST. Continue reading
My Rural Landscape Paintings on Display in Nova Scotia
Here are images of my current exhibition of paintings at Bear River Artworks Gallery, 1913 Clementsvale Road, Bear River NS.
April 15 – 23, 2017. Daily 1 – 4pm
Paintings can be shipped. Interest-free payment plans available. No HST.
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I painted this from the shadows of the vegetable garden. I was startled by the strong light cast on the distant lawn and how it silhouetted the tree. Continue reading
My Paintings at the Flight of Fancy
For the past 9 seasons, my paintings have had a home at the Flight of Fancy in Bear River. Rob Buckland, the owner and curator of this gem of a shop, has promoted my work since we arrived in Bear River in 2007. Over 200 fine artists and fine craftspeople have paintings, jewelry, pottery, sculpture, and glass in his two-storey gallery. It is a destination for art lovers and the collection is an inspiration to all. Continue reading
Nurture and Nature Paintings – one more week only!
It is a wonderful feeling to see the fruits of my labour on display in a gorgeous gallery. Sharing the experience with a fellow painter is better still!
Susan Geddes and I hung our paintings and hoped that people would come out to see them. The place was hopping during our opening and it was wonderful for both of us to share our visual view of the world with old and new friends. Thank you for being part of it – in person at the gallery or right now, virtually.
You can still see the paintings daily in Annapolis Royal (closed Mondays)until November 23rd at ArtsPlace at 396 St. George Street. I’ll be there on Saturday Nov 15th from 1-3 pm.
Tulips are a favorite flower (are they ALL my favorites??) This oil painting went through quite a few versions until I arrived at this final one. You can see my progress here.
As attached as I am to that tulip painting, in this moment “Earthly Delights” (below) is my favorite of the show. I think it has an under-water quality and has a depth to it that I don’t usually use.
I started it in the spring using poured acrylic inks in the background. When the lilies bloomed in summer, I added them and in the fall the last ‘poser’ was a brilliant orange Chinese lantern. So really, I painted all the flowers in the bouquet as they bloomed. It represents, to me, the entire flowering cycle, hence the title.
My next favorite paintings are these three and I described in this post about where my inspiration came from to abstract my Bee Balm garden flowers on the canvas.
I can’t help myself. I keep planting lilies and I keep painting them too. I was a little inventive with the colours “In a Field of Lilies”. I WISH there was a blue lily. This painting inspired me to plant a new, deep maroon lily this fall. I think they are one of the happiest flowers in the garden. With their heads in the air they are true optimists.
These are 8″ x 10″ paintings I started at the Historic Gardens in Annapolis and finished in my studio. I got to make full use of the sgraffito style that I like to play with.
Red as a Geranium ©Flora Doehler, 2014 Acrylic, 8″ x 10″ $125
In a Victorian Garden ©Flora Doehler, 2014 Acrylic, 8″ x 10″ $125
In the Cool Shade ©Flora Doehler, 2014 Acrylic, 8″ x 10″ $125
Salvia ©Flora Doehler, 2014 Acrylic, 8″ x 10″ $125
This is the World ©Flora Doehler, 2014 Acrylic, 8″ x 10″ $125
So Wild and Perfect ©Flora Doehler, 2014 Acrylic, 8″ x 10″ $125
A New Voice ©Flora Doehler, 2014 Acrylic, 8″ x 10″ $125
I also painted lilies and other flowers using acrylic inks and paint on paper and then adhered it all to boards. These are 12″ x 12″ and are another reminder of summer. I enjoyed combining drawing and painting here.
My artist – friend Susan Geddes flew in from Victoria BC to share this show with me. I love her use of colour and texture. Her paintings have a dreamy, ethereal quality to them as well.
Stop in this week and see her work — and mine. Details about the show are at the bottom of this post.
Acrylic, 16″ x 20″
On the Road from Realism to Abstraction in Painting
There were years and years when I believed that all abstract work was bourgeois and decadent and wasn’t actually art. The shift in my thinking has been gradual and unexpected. All I can say for sure is that the more I paint, the more I feel drawn to the work of abstract artists. I notice this when I view art exhibitions or when I look at online works. The bold colorful paintings of abstract expressionists past and present excite and move me.
And yet what I paint still remains literal… That is, the viewer knows exactly what they’re looking at. Even when I try to paint in a non-representational way it gradually morphs into a flower painting or landscape. I can’t seem to help myself.
So I decided to create a series of works that would challenge my way of approaching a painting.
This series that I created for my October 2014 show in Annapolis Royal is my way of abstracting flowers. Instead of painting live flowers, I painted from sketches of mine of live flowers. The “big deal” for me was to use a previous drawing as a point of reference rather than the actual plant or flower.
The original drawings are ink and ink stick on watercolor paper. I cropped them that I would be forced to paint a larger-than-life version of the flower which is also not my usual way of painting.
20″ x 20″
The finished paintings are one painting removed from the original subject and have morphed into an abstracted painting that suggests a floral theme. I would like to experiment by cropping these paintings and developing new and changed versions of them.
It’s like playing “broken telephone” with the brush.
I’ve very excited to explore a new approach to a favorite subject and I can’t wait to hang these in a couple of days at my show in Annapolis Royal. Please come, if you have the chance!
The Paintings Revealed!
Today our power, water, phone and internet was restored after a long 4 days. At this moment I feel a deep appreciation for all those things that I usually take for granted!
The tropical storm Arthur also bumped my art show opening to this Saturday July 12 from 2 -4 pm. I will also be present in the Gallery on Sunday July 20 from 2 -4 and the Shambala Art Group of Annapolis will have an opening in the larger gallery on that day. The show continues until July 23.
This post is a debut of the 8 paintings that I created for my show Fairy Tales and Transformation , followed by images of each painting.
Why Fairy Tales?
Last winter I created a piece for the Fairy Tales and Fables show in Bear River – I was reluctant at first, because I usually don’t like to work to a theme. I prefer to paint what inspires me in the moment. Working in collage with a story was a huge departure from plein air painting.
I enjoyed the challenge and wanted to explore the theme and technique further so I created this series to fit into this space in the Mym Gallery at Artsplace / ARCAC.
I’ve always loved myths and fairy tales and I have wonderful memories of being read them by both my parents. In turn I spent many summers reading legends and fairy tales to our children on camping trips. What can be more thrilling than to read a dark Grimm Brothers’ tale than in an evening forest setting?
And dark they are! Coming back to these stories now, I see how horrendous the circumstances were for the young heroines in these stories. They endure and transcend injustices such as abduction, confinement, loss of family and isolation. All are liberated from their situations with help from princes, sparrows and woodcutters and magic and are transformed forever.
Painting Technique
My ‘painting materials’ are collaged pieces of my watercolours. Like the young heroines in these stories, they are transformed in my studio to tell this visual story.
The archival watercolour paper pieces are glued onto cradleboard that has a birch plywood top and basswood frame. Three coats of acrylic matt varnish seal and protect each painting.
Pricing
The larger paintings (16” x 16”) are $450.
The two smaller paintings (12” x 12”) are $300.
I welcome creative payment plans – please contact me at flora.doehler@gmail.com
©Flora Doehler, 2014
16″ x 16″
mixed media on cradleboard
$450.
©Flora Doehler, 2014.
12” x 12” mixed media
$300
©Flora Doehler, 2014
mixed media, 16″ x 16″
$450
©Flora Doehler, 2014
12″ x 12″
mixed media on cradleboard
$300
©Flora Doehler, 2014.
mixed media on cradle board
16″ x 16″
$450
©Flora Doehler, 2014
mixed media on wooden cradleboard
16″ x 16″, $450
©Flora Doehler, 2014
16″ x 16″
mixed media on cradleboard
$450
©Flora Doehler, 2014
16″ x 16″ mixed media
(sold)
