A Brush with Life - Issue #111 Over The Moon

Pssst! It is here. The Gallery Pod is sitting in the driveway as of Wednesday. Yes!!! With all of you supporting my work and especially adding paintings to your collections late last fall, we did it! Congratulations to us and thank you so much for your ongoing appreciation of art and landscape paintings. You are amazing company to have on this creative journey! Since I am already over the moon with excitement, let’s start with the Sturgeon full moonrise and see where this takes us from there….

Sturgeon Full Moonrise

I was out chasing the Sturgeon Moonrise on the evening of August 11th at Bennett Bay here on Mayne Island in British Columbia. Tell me, how did you like your super moon? It is the last one for 2022.

The weather was a bit hazy for any detail but a lovely evening just the same.

I really love the abstract quality to this next one. I had my big camera with the big lens on it which I haven’t used in a number of years actually. It is the big lens I haven’t used. The big camera gets used reasonably often.

A friend had come to join me just by chance. It wasn’t a planned thing just a spontaneous coming together on our small island to watch the moonrise. What a nice way to visit for a short while. Then just before we left I tried one last shot with just my phone to see if I could get the device to do anything at all.

This is about the extent of my creative output this past two weeks. I had two lovely and rejuvenating sets of company last week and this week has been taken up with getting things organized for the Gallery Pod’s arrival. I am glad that my art collectors gave a little nod in my direction so there is something to share…

Collage of a Terrill Welch Art Collection

I received the most wonderful surprise this morning in a note from an art collector. We met online several years ago when she was finishing her PHD. As a celebration when her degree was completed,  her and her husband came to Mayne Island and purchased their first of my original paintings. I have several art collectors with large collections of my paintings and many with more than five in total. However, these are the only collectors who regularly will add both original and decorative prints, sometimes equal to the size of an original, to their collection. The decorative prints mostly happen when an original they really love is sold or it is too large at this time to add to their collection.

The art collectors were asked by a friend if they had purchased any more of my paintings recently and, in the process following answering, a collage was developed that you see above. I love the result and thought I would share it with you. In this collage, eleven of the originals are in their collection and six are decorative prints. Of the decorative prints, two of the originals are with another major art collector of my work, two painting are still available (The Storytelling Tree which is 60 x 40 inches and Rolling up on the Strait of Georgia is 36 x 30 inches), one is in my own private collection and one is in another private collection. All but five of these paintings were inspired by Mayne Island. Not all of every painting is showing but enough that we know which one it is.

P.s. If you wish to make your own private collection of desired or already collected Terrill Welch paintings, most of my released paintings can be viewed online at the link below which is currently organized to display from largest to smallest paintings…

Art by Terrill Welch | Artwork Archive

View the full portfolio of artwork from Terrill Welch

New Releases

I did release a plein air painting sketch this week that I did in March this year and it is now available for your consideration.

Seaview Grey Study by Terrill Welch | Artwork Archive

Artist notes: I just wanted to take my brushes and paints outside and I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to rain. The temperature was around 10 degrees Celsiu...

And then there is this large city seascape completed at the end of June which will be the anchor painting for the first show in the new Gallery Pod. I have been holding it back for just this occasion.

City Summer by the Sea by Terrill Welch | Artwork Archive

Artist notes: There are places that become boomerangs for decades of memories even at first glance. Trafalgar Park lookout along King George Terrace in Victo...

Opening Celebration September 1st - 6th

Everything is lined up to prepare the Gallery Pod for the hanging of the first show and to open the doors between 11-4 starting Thursday September 1st to Tuesday September 6th. During these dates, both the Gallery Pod and my home studio will be open for walk in visitors. Generally, visitors to my home studio will require an appointment because it is within the private space where we live. But for these casual opening days, we are offering full access to browse paintings and work in both the Gallery Pod AND my home studio. Exciting, yes!?

During this Opening Celebration we have a special offer…

Gallery Pod Opening Savings

For every purchase, online or in person, of an original Terrill Welch painting during the opening days of Gallery Pod between September 1st and 6th there is a possible savings of [NO LONGER AVAILABLE] on your purchase. An exception is being made for newsletter subscribers! Yes you! You can take advantage of this offer starting today! The amount of your saving will be disclosed on your invoice and has been determined by chance. If you are already a collector of Terrill Welch Gallery paintings, then your art collector savings still applies in addition to our opening savings.

Seven Savvy (and slightly cheeky) Reasons For Purchasing During Our Opening Savings

One - Our home needs a (or another) Terrill Welch painting on that wall. (Of course it does!)

Two - I cancelled one of my trips for this summer. I can do this! (Sorry to hear about your trip but great idea!)

Three - With the current pace of sales for Terrill’s original paintings, the price is going to go up again soon. (Good guess!)

Four - Winter is coming and it will be nice to think about spring/summer/fall on Mayne Island. (Winter comes every year but we never like to argue with our art collectors.)

Five - Artists require our ongoing support to keep bringing us new work. (So very true this!)

Six - It is better than leaving the money in the bank because this way at least I can look at it. (Okay, we’ve heard this one many times but we will let you have it.)

Seven - Because we want to! We don’t even need a reason. (Best reason of all and happy choosing from the 125 painting choices!)

First Glimpse of our Modest Gallery Pod

For its size, this modest gallery space is destine to punch well above its weight category, especially when paired with some online assistance. This is my vision for it at least. I am reminded that “Courage is a desperate gamble that will place you in the arms of the creative angels.” - Jerry Saltz (in How to be an Artist, chapter 29). I truly have no idea how well this adventure will work but I will never know if I don’t give it my best effort. There truly wasn’t many reasonable choices for commercial gallery space options available on our small island following closure of my previous gallery space. So here is the Gallery Pod, at its very beginning, nestled into location…

Well, perched might be a better description right now than nestled. Eventually, we will move it back another foot and half. However, this levelled beauty is almost ready to go to work.

The pearl white walls are staying as they are. I have tested them with a couple of paintings and they are going to work brilliantly.

It will be a change from our past gallery spaces with their soft grey but a change is sometimes a good thing.

Just the track lighting and hanging system to put in and we are ready to hang the first show. My thanks goes to Adam Benning, Owner and Principle Operator of West Coast Container Homes. Adam is a gem to work with and kept me in the loop for the duration of this project. He is naturally a warm, respectful, hardworking human being and likes a quality job while taking into account environmental impacts of his building practices and materials.

If you are looking for a small gallery, studio, office, writing, yoga reading space these durable, completely finished plug-and-work container pods are worth considering. Also, I understand there is the beginnings of a rental fleet as well. Anyway, if you have ideas, check out their website and have a chat with Adam.

West Coast Container Homes | Backyard OfficePods BC

“Our officepods combine the unique aesthetic and functionality of industrial steel with a clean and modern, ready to use interior space. Our high-quality units are handcrafted right here on Vancouver Island using minimal waste practices, which is something we are very proud of.” -Adam Benning, Founder

Other News of Interest to Art Collectors

First, Canada is in the process of changing its copyright laws for resale of artwork that would see a royalty paid to artists or their heirs for the duration of the artist’s copyright of the artwork.

Artists to cash in when work is resold with update of copyright laws - Richmond News

OTTAWA — Artists are to get paid when their work is resold in a shakeup of copyright laws that would give them a slice of collectors' profits.

This isn’t in place yet in Canadian but the proposal is that a 5% royalty would be collected and paid to the artist or their heirs if an artwork was resold at auction or through a gallery. The proposal is still working its way through legislation and the details of implementation are yet to be determined. However, it is something worth noting and we will be keeping an eye on the outcome.

The legislation is being positioned as a way to help address artists living below the poverty line. However, an artist will have already had to receive a certain amount of success to have their work sold at auction and to be represent in commercial galleries where this royalty will be applied. This doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing, only that it is not going to be a significant solution to the many artists making up such a large segment of the working poor. Thankfully, most years, I am not one of them. But in general, there is a long, slow start up to being an artist and a life time career in this field can be rather bumpy. So every little bit helps.

Second, I think you will find this next Artwork Archive article of interest along with the guide to art collecting which is accessible in the link as well. Most of you who have been following and reading my posts and newsletters for a time will find very few surprises in this material but it is nicely presented and easily shareable with others. So here you go…

Five Rules To Know When Buying Art | Artwork Archive

New to collecting art and not exactly sure what the rules are around talking to and working with artists? We have some tips to ensure that you don't burn any

And remember, rules are sometimes made to broken. I do it frequently. I consider it taking a calculated risk. 😉

Until Next Time

By our next issue of “A Brush With Life” we will be sharing our first Gallery Pod show and be in the middle of our special opening savings event. How exciting is this! If you are on island, I do hope you find a few minutes to drop in for a browse between 11-4 and say hello. In the meantime, I must get back to getting everything organized and in its place! Please do drop me note if you have any questions or thoughts about what is to come!

Terrill :) 👩‍🎨🎨❤️

Contemporary Terrill Welch Gallery West Coast Landscape Paintings

An Art Gallery in the middle of everywhere.... Do sign up for our newsletter and visit our online gallery of Terrill Welch’s Paintings. PLEASE NOTE: We have physically moved and now have three visiting opportunities in two locations… ISLAND TIME ART - 492 Dalton Drive. Open the same hours as Dragonfly Gallery, 10-5 Wednesday through…