A Brush with Life - Issue #113 Late Summer Gold

Our ordinary everyday can sometimes be humbling. If we set global news and events aside,  this past two weeks have mostly been about establishing new routines and taking stock. Or maybe even if we take external events into consideration, it has still been a time of taking stock. I am reviewing what are the key painting priorities for the rest of 2022 and planning for 2023. There is no urgency to this task. It feels like swirling in a slow eddy while gazing into the water from a sturdy dingy. This is not without its risks of being shot out into the main current again and yet, there is a reprieve. The air has been filled with smoke for several days from regional wildfires. Poor air quality has had me indoors mostly until the winds change and the sky clears. We had to make a trip to Victoria for new lenses for my glasses and pick up a painting for the new show in ISLAND TIME ART that went up on Wednesday. I ordered more tubes of M. Graham walnut oil paint while noting that the large tubes were not available at this time. I have been plein air painting and visiting with family over the phone and friends and art collectors in person. The past couple of weeks have been pleasant and restorative. Let’s have a look shall we? But before we do, I wanted to highlight that I am changing my writing and sharing process for “A Brush With Life” slightly. I use to do the first drafts of my stories and adventures on Facebook and then rewrite them to fit for this newsletter as appropriate. I am spending far less time on social media right now and, as you might know, I want to continue in this direction while still maintaining the quality of our newsletters. To manage this shift, I have activated my Creative Potager blog and I will sometimes include direct links to posts you might be interested in reading rather than copying and pasting the content to the newsletter. The Wordpress blog format is similar to the newsletter format and presents things beautifully. I think you will enjoy this approach and you will be able to more easily be selective when reading some of my longer “A Brush With Life” issues. Anyway, we are going to try it. Let me know what you think.

New Red Line Painting

Now resting, the painting still needs the edges painted and a final photograph before releasing “Arbutus and Salish Sea” but here is the story about its development…

Latest Progress on Arbutus and Salish Sea | Creative Potager

“Arbutus and Salish Sea” is the latest painting completed in my Red Line Series. Since its beginnings during the last week of August, I knew this work was going it be part of this red line body of work. I started the painting in the usual manner with a yellow ground with a few pencil…

Breaking Blue and Gold

With island rambles along the trails and down by the sea, there is a cozying up to September that means much better light for photography and plein air painting…

Breaking Blue and Gold | Creative Potager

Starting with Monday, this has been a week of deep connection with nature, family and friends. Nature is at my doorstep. A friend made the trip to the island for a visit and my family has been connecting via telephone across many km from a different part of the province. There is a fragile, yet…

Late Summer Gold group show

I worked with our gallery artists to pull together a new show for ISLAND TIME ART and we used the new gallery pod that was closed that day for a handover of returning work and a staging area for the new show that was going up. Look at that colour! This is why the show is called Late Summer Gold.

Then a couple of hours later, the show is up and opened Thursday, Sept 15, 2022 at 492 Dalton Dr., Mayne Island, B.C. in the ISLAND TIME ART room within Dragonfly in the blue building above the ferry terminal. I invite you to drop by and see for yourself. Browsing is welcomed and encouraged.

The Late Summer Gold show will close on October 17, 2022. Day trips from Victoria are relatively easy now that we are in the shoulder season. Visitors even come from Vancouver sometimes just for the day. As a reminder, the ISLAND TIME ART room is currently open 10-5 Wednesday through Monday. The Terrill Welch Gallery Pod at 428 Luff Rd (and also on Mayne Island) is open 11-4 Thursday through Monday for the shoulder season and by arrangement at other times.

For those who can only view online, here is a link to a Still Life Paintings collection that includes all of the paintings by all the artists in this new ISLAND TIME ART room show.

Art by Terrill Welch | Artwork Archive

View the full portfolio of artwork from Terrill Welch

What Has Sold

“August Still Life with Cezanne and Matisse” by Terrill Welch, a larger 36 x 24 inch oil on canvas, has found its forever home and is now sold.

I have always loved this painting and had hung it in our hallway for the open home studio days that accompanied the opening of the new Terrill Welch Gallery Pod.

One of the gallery’s art collectors took this painting home on trial to consider purchasing and decided to make their relationship permanent. Many of my paintings have a specific job to do in the home of art collectors and this one is no exception. I am honoured that it was chosen for the important work it has been assigned in rememberance of a very special human being I have also had the pleasure of knowing.

What I Have Been Watching

Besides following reports on the war in Ukraine, the dismal global inflation and ongoing worries about recession, I make sure to take time out to find positive inspiration. Such is this video about Akiko who is a pottery that immigrate to the United States and with hard work and ingenuity has her plates used by some of the finest Chefs.

How a Japanese mother found her passion in stoneware pottery and turned it to a successful business

"Akiko’s Pottery: A Story of a Potter” tells Akiko’s story, from coming to America from Japan to raise her family, to finding her passion for stoneware potte...

Take Your Time and Hold Your Nerve - opinion piece

I recently saw an infographic that outlined how to distinguish what is out of our control and what is within our control. This landed squarely in relation to some of my current musings. We have all seen these kinds of infographics from time to time and for me, this one never gets old. We cannot control such things as the past or the future or the results of our efforts or the actions of others or what happens around us. We can control such things as where we set our boundaries and the goals we set and our thoughts and action and where we place our energy and how we handle challenges. During times of great turmoil and impending change and uncertainty, it is more important than usual to take time to assess our situation and hold our nerve by focusing on the things we can control. This is an approach that has allowed me many times in my life to stay in a place of critical thinking and creative problem-solving rather than flailing and lashing out in anger, fear or anxiety. By nature, I am an individual that keeps my eye on the horizon and our current circumstances in relation to climate change, war and global political and financial uncertainty do not come as a surprise. As an artist and a gallery owner, I am a little bit like a spider and spin a global web of reference points to find the best information I can. I do this because I am not an expert in any of these areas. But I am pretty good at finding reliable, trustworthy reference points. When this self monitored web starts to giggle repeatedly in one area or several, I know to check things out and proceed accordingly. This doesn’t mean that I always get things right or that I can foresee the future. However, it most often allows me to move forward with cautious optimism and handfuls of gratitude. All life has a begin, a middle, and an ending. The beginning and the ending are not my concern. The middle however, I do have some say about, at least within the areas of my control.

The Terrill Welch Gallery is going into the rest of 2022 with confidence and the gallery and our artists are well positioned for 2023. The gallery has secure show space at our doorstep with the gallery pod and overall, even with ISLAND TIME ART, we have ensured our overhead is low. All of our artists know about ordering their art supplies six months to a year in advance to adjust for any supply line shortages. All artists will likely need to raise their prices slightly due to material and shipping costs. I will be raising my own prices for this reason and simply because of ongoing demand and sales of my work. However, we are in a position to stall a little longer yet before any increases to see if prices of supplies and shipping come down again in the next few months. Do not wait for, or expect, any major sales on original works in the near or far future. We can go forward protecting the current prices of our work for our art collectors who have offered ongoing patronage over the years. In all of these areas we have collectively taken our time and can hold our nerve. We will be focusing on producing our best work possible during the coming months and we look forward to sharing the results with you.

We know that these are uncertain times and we want to make it as easily as possible for you to say “yes” to purchasing the original artwork you love and you are passionate about. Do reach out to us if a payment plan may be helpful. We cannot always do this but sometimes it is possible to purchase a work over several months. Give us a chance to possibly say “yes” to making your purchase possible. We can also consider commissions in a size that is right for your current budget. And finally, we love it when you simply come to browse and enjoy the work either online or in person. We know how important art is and the kind of difference it can make in your day just to be with the paintings for a while. As we said at the beginning, take your time and hold your nerve. Together, we can do this.

Until Next Time

Mid September and late summer golden light and sunflowers has a bitter sweet edge of shifting between enjoying our shoulder season and preparing for our short rainy days of winter with intermittent windstorms. I love this time of year. It is a time of gathering food and preparing physically. But it is also a time of mentally and emotionally gathering oneself together for the quiet cozy season ahead. Take good care and we wish you all the best in your own preparations.

Terrill :) 👩‍🎨🎨❤️

Canadian Contemporary Terrill Welch Gallery

Self browsing is available in our well ventilated Terrill Welch Gallery Pod and it is open today between 11-4 and each day through to Monday at 428 Luff Rd on Mayne Island, BC and day trips are pleasant adventures from Southern Vancouver Island to Mayne Island. Or with reservations, come to the island from anywhere for…