Alesha Fowlie Fine Art

2009-02-25T19:02:00.000-08:00

I am moving my blog! You can now find me at artwithalesha.blogspot.com
Just click on the link to the right ->

2009-02-04T23:11:00.001-08:00

Its hard these days to get a lot done
My daughter is home schooling
I am teaching four classes
I painted for awhile today
but I have been enjoying doing these little collage tins.
They are a quick creative fix
I don't fuss with them
And I like the way they turn out
I love cutting out things and sticking them down
Then adding paint and varnish
Somebody bought the cherries one on my Etsy shop a few days ago
I think I will make some more tommorow

2009-01-09T20:31:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!
I have been spending my days organizing my studio and planning my upcoming four classes [click on my current event blog for more about those.]
I have a lot of unfinished paintings that are close to being finished but not ready to be photographed so here is a painting I did when my daughter was a baby.
This piece is an old favorite of mine. I painted it using watercolour, gouache and ink on Rives BFK Paper. It hung in the Island Blue Classroom for awhile before a student of mine was nice enough to buy it from me. Thanks Carol!

2008-12-21T11:03:00.001-08:00

This is a lovely photo my daughter took of Zackery and I after the first snowfall. The snow is kind of overwhelming to us here in Victoria, we dont get it very often and when it comes it kind of plays havoc with everything. Its very pretty but I hope it moves on soon.
Happy Holidays!

2008-11-15T18:46:00.000-08:00

I hate the term Craft Fair, it makes me think of the church basements bazaars I used to go to with my Grandmother when I was a kid.
That being said I will be selling my tile pendants, magnets and art cards at two Craft Fairs in the coming weeks:
Out of Hand-A "high end" craft fair
Thursday November 20th-23rd Victoria Convention Centre Four days and two night worth of shopping pleasure
and
Noel Bazaar-a more urban, hip approach to the craft fair idea put on by the Rebel Rebel Clothing store.
Wed Nov26th-28th Victoria Event Centre
This one is mostly nights 5-10 on Wed and 2-10 the other two days.
Contact me if you need more details!

2008-10-15T13:41:00.001-07:00

The winner of my give-away is Heather at http://croqzine.com/blog/ who won this sushi magnet set.

Thanks again to all that entered, your comments were extremely helpful and I really enjoyed reading them. I wish I could send you all a prize!

2008-10-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

Thank You so much to all of you who entered my give-away! I am going away for the Thanksgiving weekend and will be back Monday night. I will announce the winner on Tuesday.

2008-10-04T14:41:00.000-07:00

Along with a few other Etsy sellers we are having a little give-away this week. I am giving away a magnet set or pendant and cord. Your choice of design, anything you see in my shop is available. To enter just post a comment here and tell me why you like the item.
The contest starts Sunday Oct 5th and ends Friday Oct 10th. Remember you can pick any pendant or magnet set, not just the ones pictured here.
The link to the shop is on the right
And here are the links to the other Etsy sellers having give-aways:
Here's where to go and what you can win:

Laura Bucci *bags and accessories
Win a retro-styled felted wristlet
Enter here: http://laurabucci.com

Designed by RJ ~ Jewelry for the Playful Spirit
Win a pair of Lamplight and Brass earrings - Your Choice of Colour
Enter here: http://designedbyrj.blogspot.com

rikrak, modern & sustainable patchwork
Win a quilted wallet / card case made of repurposed vintage fabrics
http://transcanadaetsyteam.blogspot.com

Thanks!!!
Alesha

2008-10-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

I honestly dont know how I end up with so many animal paintings, I guess because I do demonstrations of things my students are interested in. Sometimes I wonder what my work would look like if I wasnt teaching and I could paint whatever I want, [not that anyone is stopping me but its hard to find the time.] As Zackery and Rhiannon get older I am finding more of that so maybe things will change. Another thing that will help is that I am giving up the wholesale component of my home-based business. I will no longer be making those little glass magnets except for in my Etsy shop. Surely not having to make 3000 little glass magnets after a trade show should help me find more time to paint? I am hoping but I am teaching more as well so we shall see....
Here is a painting I completed in a wet on wet class I taught at Monterey a few months ago:

2008-09-27T00:03:00.001-07:00

My Week
Things to do:
1. Clean studio and try to make small cramped space an encouraging environment for creative development.
2. Pay some attention to offspring, nurture etc..
3. Chuck out a bunch of old paintings started in classes-or find some way to recycle
4. Lesson plans for 3 classes this week and 1 workshop, prepare samples
5. Finish a painting-just one, don't try to work on ten at once, it just confuses you
6. Add items to Etsy shops [see link at right]
7. Start reading book you just took out of library " How to Deal With Your Acting Up -Teenager by Robert and Jean Bayard]
8. Housework?
9. Start getting stock ready to send to Prince George Studio Fair by Oct 12th
10. Pay some attention to husband.

2008-08-30T19:54:00.001-07:00

This is a painting I completed in 2005
"Fish Out Of Water" watercolor and mixed media

Okay its been a long summer, I haven't finished a painting since June.
Its been one thing or another-I taught 4 weeks of intensive all day classes, one four session class, one week long half day teen class, plus a one session art gallery class for 6-7 year olds....
And I went up island with my family for a couple of days.....
And my Etsy shops continued to produce sales, albeit at a slower summer pace.......
Then I put my back out moving furniture so my studio is STILL all torn apart. The chiropractor is richer and I am still not completely mended.
And the kids were home a lot......need I say more?

This weekend I judged the art competion at the Saanich Fair and I am demonstrating there for a couple of days.
I have lots of new classes coming up in the next couple of weeks, if you follow the link to my class and workshop blog you can see.
Hopefully I will have something new to post when I get my studio back together!
Thanks for all of you who took summer classes with me, I thoroughly enjoyed them!

2008-07-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

2008-07-07T20:33:00.001-07:00

Good News!
I got a piece in the Sooke Fine Arts Show. The show is well attended and I always sell lots of cards and sometimes the actual painting sells too.
It wasnt this one though-they picked the cityscape on Yupo I posted awhile ago.
This little hare-also watercolor on Yupo, was not so well favored.......

2008-07-04T17:38:00.001-07:00

My daughter went to a week long choir festival and took my camera with her, so I cant take any pictures of my new paintings. So this is an old one- one of my little Kermode Bear Paintings. I have done quite a few....This one is quite small, about 5 inches square, and is for sale in my one of my Etsy shops www.alesha.etsy.com

2008-06-09T13:29:00.001-07:00

It is a strange thing to try to duplicate a painting you have already done. I have attempted it a couple of times when people have wanted to purchase a painting that was no longer available. For a painting like this it is especially difficult. The original [which can be seen on my facebook and flickr portfolios] was painted two years ago and donated to Art Incognito. I never got a picture of it before framing it so I photoshoped the crappy photo I took of it in its frame under glass.
So I find myself trying to re-create a painting that I dont really remember exactly, using a doctored photo. hmmmm.
So what do you think? Is it done? What else should I do to it? I changed the fish in the painting to a Sockeye rather than a Coho,[or whatever it was.] I have stuck to the same color palette and tried to keep the same concept in mind while painting, but with a painting like this I just dont know....Any suggestions?

2008-06-08T23:25:00.001-07:00

Another of my tile pendants

2008-05-27T23:58:00.001-07:00

New Pendants

I think I finally have found a good way to make these, and it doesn't involve cutting and fusing glass which pleases me no end.
Can you guess what they are made from?
Check out www.starryeyedstudios.etsy.com for details.

2008-05-10T23:41:00.001-07:00

ol.
I have always loved assemblages but rarely make the time to create them.
This one was started in a Papier Mache and Sculpture class I taught at Island Blue a few weeks ago.
I finished it as an example for a Pro-D Day workshop called "Sculpture in The Classroom" I recently conducted for a group of teachers.

2008-04-20T23:31:00.001-07:00

Watercolor Self Portrait
Did this one a few weeks ago for a workshop
I think I took creative license and shaved off a few years....
didn't mean too, it just happened!
I could look a little happier though.....I also lost interest before I completely finished it.

2008-03-12T23:46:00.000-07:00

Okay this is one I started in my watercolor workshop on the weekend. It was inspired by a Georgia O'Keefe Skull Painting. The question is should I keep it as a skull or morph it into a lanscape?
I just cant decide. My daughter and her friend Koa voted for Cow Skull. They say I have too many landscapes.
But it might be too scary for me :[

2008-02-22T19:01:00.001-08:00

This is a painting I have been working on over the last few days.I have a couple of cityscape watercolors on the go-this one is on Yupo paper. I am loving painting on that slippery synthetic paper these days. The surface is so white the color just pops!
I think I may let the city scape theme go for awhile though-I am finding the painting of the actual buildings to be kind of tedious.
Just my little attention deficiency asserting itself!
I do like this painting and it is almost finished. It was inspired by the view from my studio which I just love.
I just wish I got to spend more time there.

2008-01-25T22:39:00.001-08:00

Well I was all booked to go to the Toronto Wholesale show this weekend. I was not going to be there physically but my friend Kelly was going to take my product as well as hers.
Well that didn't happen-She had a death in the family and we had to cancel at the last minute.
So I updated my website, sent off my product and it turns out I didn't need to......
So am I devastated? No.
The money coming in would have been nice....
But the crazy all out frantically trying to get all the orders out is usually very stressful...
And I would really like to finish some paintings....
and spend some more quality time with my neglected family...
So maybe the universe is trying to tell me something. Hopefully the next time you visit the blog you will see some new art work that doesn't have a magnet or necklace attached. So stay tuned!
But in the meantime check out my etsy shope [link at right.] I am going to be putting some energy into that as well in the next few months and you can see all my new designs that I did for the trade show. My favorite the Bird Themes [pictured.] And please check out my class and workshop blog for what is happening on that front.

2008-01-04T10:03:00.001-08:00

As you can imagine there hasnt been a lot of paintings finished with all this holiday nonsense going on. Right now I am making some new designs for my Cannery Row Art Magnets. I have a big trade show coming up and I have to get all my stuff ready and shipped off to Toronto.
These are inspired by Day of the Dead Calaveras and Sugar Skulls.
I start teaching again next week too-busy busy!

2008-01-04T09:55:00.000-08:00

2007-12-01T12:36:00.001-08:00

Awhile ago I got an email from an artist in Singapore named Sabrina Sit who was promoting her etsy shop. I checked it out and decided to order some of her portrait mini cards. They were only $4.00 and I thought it would be nice to get her started, [It was her first sale.] The cards when they came were far beyond my expectations.
I had been to her deviantart site and liked her work but her etsy shop photos did not do justice to these little delicate works of art.
I got a whole bunch of them and they are beautiful little ink and pencil lines with accents of shiny painted texture-truly special and unique.
I can see also why people get into mail art. Receiving this envelope full of treasures from Singapore was a lot more uplifting than the hydro bill and bank statement that came through the mailbox at the same time. If you want to have a similar experience for only $5.00, check out Sabrina Sit's etsy site www.abigblankcanvas.etsy.com. and order the portrait mini cards while she still has some left. You can go to her deviant art site as well, that address is on her Etsy site.
While you are at Etsy you can also go to my shop, [follow the link at right.] From there maybe you could do some browsing and spend some time exploring the fabulous world of the hand crafted and handmade.

2007-10-05T21:22:00.001-07:00

This is a new version of a painting I did called Midnight in The Garden of Lilies
The old one was about 12 square and sold last year.
This is a commission I did that is a little different but along the same lines. I was inspired by an underwater photo of a lily pond I came across one day.
This acrylic painting measures about 24 inches square and is called Shannon's Lily Garden.

2007-09-17T18:07:00.001-07:00

It is the dilemna of the artist to try and make a living from what they love to do.
I do sell the odd painting but mostly I eke out a living teaching art and making stuff to sell.
This is a pendant I made from glass I cut and fused myself [I have my own kiln now]
The print is of a watercolor on Yupo paper I did a few years ago.
Check out my Etsy shop if you are interested in seeing some more stuff, [link to the right]
Weather permitting I will be at Government St. Market Sunday Sept 23rd. from 10-4:30

2007-08-30T21:57:00.001-07:00

This is a painting I did during the Moss St. Paint In back in July. Yet another one of Rhiannon. I like working in my comfort zone when I am demonstrating in public, this type of painting is very straightforward, not like the other stuff I do which requires lots of contemplation and angst.
I have been so busy with the five summer week long workshops that I taught this summer, plus all the other stuff I do..... I am looking forward to doing some more painting in Sept when things get back to normal.
I will try and post at least once a month-I am writing it on my calendar!

2007-07-13T23:32:00.001-07:00

Sorry I have been so long away!
I have been teaching a lot and painting....but I have'nt taken any new pictures.
This is yet another fish inspired artwork-a small collage I did awhile ago.
Come see me at the Moss St. Paint In on Saturday July 21st between 12-4.
I will be around the Revercomb St. Area.

2007-05-27T20:47:00.001-07:00

I always get lazy when I paint a portrait.
This one of Rhiannon I did in about an hour for a demo in my acrylic class. It was from a photograph she took as a self portrait. I wonder if I will ever finish it?

2007-05-16T23:53:00.000-07:00

I should be going to bed instead of messing around with this stuff but it is much less messy than getting out my acrylics..... This is from another one of those acrylic on paper paintings. This is one of my experimentations. Its actually only a small detail from a larger painting

2007-05-05T23:42:00.000-07:00

Its amazing how you can "soup up the color" on pictures with photo shop. I am finding it an interesting tool for deciding on the next step for a painting. This is one of three abstract acrylic on paper paintings I have been working on and off [mostly off] on for about a year.
The real painting looks much less color saturated than shown here. Just by clicking on "auto contrast" I got this.
Much easier than painting and repainting over and over again which I must admit I have already done. I tend to do that with abstracts.
By looking at this I know how I am going to finish it now.

2007-04-11T21:29:00.000-07:00

I found "Reverse Crow" in a pile of unfinished paintings. I did it last year in a drawing class. I love finding these little treasures I have forgotten about...I do that a lot.
This is a combination of watercolor and gouache with a little pencil thrown in.

2007-03-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

I have had a couple of weeks off between classes, most of which I have spent trying to clean up and researching lesson plans for upcoming sessions. I also had some fun volunteering in my sons school, [helping with art] and hanging out with my daughter during Spring Break. So not as much time working on my own stuff as I would have liked,but I have managed to make a few new cards. This one is called " Vancouver West End"
I will post more ATC's on my flickr site [link on left column] as I make them.

2007-03-08T19:16:00.001-08:00

2007-03-08T19:14:00.001-08:00

2007-03-04T22:34:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of Artist Trading Cards? I am building a little portfolio of them. It started when I started teaching a class for kids at the Victoria art gallery. It wasnt a class I came up with myself, it was set and they hired me for it: "Cartooning and Artists Trading Cards"
If you look at my art work it isnt exactly "Cartoony" but this encouraged me to look at what kids love about this style of art and to really look into it. I am looking forward to my next session now that I have a little experience under my belt.
So I also became interested in these little cards. I have sold a couple on Ebay, but mainly I just want to have a little stash of these little 2.5 by 3.5 inch works of art.

2007-02-16T15:17:00.000-08:00

This is a little sketch I did in one of my watercolor classes a while ago. The inspiration was Mt. Fuji in Japan.

2007-02-10T18:47:00.000-08:00

Artists trading cards are a fun way to stay creative on a small scale. They are cut to a standard size of 2.5 x 3.5 inches. I have this Lobster [pen, ink, watercolor.] posted on Ebay right now. I have yet to collect any but I think I am going to start. I love the idea of exchanging cards with artists all over the world

2007-02-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

Okay I have posted some still life stuff on Flickr, if you click on the link to your right it will take you there. I used to think it was pointless doing all these types of paintings, more for the benefit of my students and not for me at all. But now I have a group of them I am suddenly into them. I will post more as I paint them.

2007-01-27T21:37:00.000-08:00

I end up doing a lot of still life stuff in my watercolor classes. While I enjoy painting them I guess I have never really thought about them as serious "paintings." When I was cleaning up my studio [still] I went through my hundreds of unfinished paintings [I am not exaggerating] and I was pretty pleased. I think a lot of the ones I thought of as unfinished are good the way they are. Whether or not they are good to frame they speak of the journey I am making as an artist. Some of them I will frame as the opportunity arrives.
The most surprising of the bunch was the dozen or so flower still life paintings. Flowers have never been my favorite subject matter but when I lay them out together I like them quite a bit. I plan to take pictures of them and post them as a flickr slideshow or something. If I figure out how to do that and I can figure out how to link it you should see it soon. Here is one of the unfinished ones. Its one of my favorites and the only one that fits on the scanner. I like the simplicity of it and the negative space.
I dont think I will do anything else to it, I have never been able to leave well enough alone so we shall see if I can actually resist continuing to work on it!

2007-01-27T21:30:00.000-08:00

2007-01-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

This is an acrylic on paper painting I started in the summer.
It's a work in progress and I havent worked on it lately- but it reminds me of warm weather and afternoons at the beach. That and its warm soft colors put me in mind of better weather as I spent the day cleaning my studio [still not finished] and gazing outside at yet another rainy miserable winter day in Victoria. I havent picked up a brush in a couple of weeks and am really looking forward to starting my classes next week at Island Blue [check out www.islandblue.com for schedule] and finishing some paintings. That will get me through the dark and wet days until spring!

2006-12-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

If you are in Victoria on Sunday Dec 10th check this out:
Myself and some other artists and freinds will be hawking our wares and sharing Christmas Cheer.

2006-11-14T23:49:00.000-08:00

Alesha Fowlie Fine Art
I will be at the Victoria Conference Centre for the Out of Hand Show Nov 23-26

2006-11-14T23:43:00.000-08:00

Many people have seen my Spirit Bear Painting but I will have prints available at the Out Of Hand Fair.

2006-10-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

Wow its been a long time since I posted anything! Disgracefull really.This is a really terrible picture of the piece I put into "Art Incognito" an auction at the Vancouver Island School of Art which took place in Sept. It has a fish [as usual] I think I am not finished with fish, I still like to paint them. Unfortunately I forgot to scan it before I submitted it so I had to take a picture of it in the frame behind glass which never works very well.

2006-08-26T00:10:00.000-07:00

2006-07-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

Cannery Row Products

2006-07-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Busy week- Two days of teaching, kids classes at Vancouver Island School of Art. Sculpture is a great class because it offers so many possibilities. Then I am flying up to Comox for four days of the Filberg Festival. I am mainly taking my Cannery Row stuff but also prints and art cards. Should be fun! Then week and a half of holiday with my family, then two days of teaching teens at Island Blue, Then a whole week teaching adults with my Creative Acrylic Class [also at Island Blue.] I am really looking forward to that one.

2006-07-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

2006-07-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

I am going to be at the Moss St. Paint In Saturday July 15th between 12-4. It should be fun, if you come see me look for spot #75 behind the Fairfeild Church. I will be working on a series of paintings based on these small collage paintings. I didnt get to keep these, they were created to be included in corporate sponsership packages for the Vancouver Island School of Art. I did find them inspiring however, the yet untitled series was started today and am very excited about them.

2006-07-02T23:48:00.000-07:00

2006-07-02T23:44:00.000-07:00

This is a painting I created for the show the Victoria art gallery is putting on. They wanted to have paintings 15X15 or smaller. I am not too sure what it is about, I got the letter to submit with my Moss St. Paint In letter. I think I called this one" After Hours In the Garden of Lilies."

2006-06-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of my "pin up drawing" kind of a smorgasbord of different elements I have drawn, painted or collected.

2006-06-01T23:22:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted anything, I have been busy. Taking care of kids,filling Cannery Row orders, teaching, volunteering, working in the art store, and......I am working on a series for my gouache and drawing classes. Yes I am cheating and combining both projects. I am even incorporating in a few things from the classes I am teaching. The series originally was extinct animals, small paintings and drawings but I think there may be more on the horizon...I want to incorporate found objects,sew things on to my paintings, all the stuff real artists do.
Current Events
I am demonstrating at Art Fair at Island Blue Sat June 3rd
Watercolor Portrait Workshop June 10th
Kids classes at VISA in July and Adult classes at Island Blue
www.vancouverislandschoolart.com and www.islandblue.com

2006-04-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

Well I decided if I wait to finish a painting no one would ever see anything from me. Here are a few that are close but not quite done. At any given time I have about 20 works on the go. These are three I have been actively working on in the last couple of days

2006-04-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

Work In Progress

Watercolor

2006-04-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

Work In Progress

Watercolor and Inks on Yupo

2006-04-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

Work in Progress

Watercolor and Mixed Media on Hot Press Paper

2006-04-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

I had a great monoprinting workshop on the weekend and I am really looking forward to doing more acrylic monotype with my Acrylics class. There is still time to register for that, it starts Tuesday the 19th at 1:30 pm.
Today I am going down to my new space at the Art School to do some painting, hopefully I will have a new picture to post here soon!

2006-04-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

Beeswax Collage
"Chaos"

2006-04-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

Beeswax Collage
"Chaos"

2006-04-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

Well I am not one of those people who use thier blog as a form of creative expression. Too bad. My friend Amy Rubin has a couple of interesting ones on the go right now,[See links.] I appreciate the opportunity to let people know what I am currently up to.
I am filling my wholesale orders right now and spend many days assembling my "canned art." I have enough orders right now to keep me going through April, May, & June. But I am still hoping to have at least one of my art classes go at Island Blue. I have never had such a sluggish session. I will be disapointed if they dont run for a couple of reasons: My students inspire me creatively, and the steady income of teaching is very handy to pay those pesky bills.
I am very excited about joining the residency program at the Vancouver Island School of Art this month. I will have space there and feedback from the instructors and students. My art room here is chock full of stuff from my home based business and the home environment is just too distracting to paint in. I have been painting at the open painting studio at the schoolMaybe I will have a chance to finish some of the hundred or so paintings that are unfinished? Keep an eye on this space i will do my best to put some new works on in the next little while. My classes coming up are: April 8th Monoprinting [one day workshop] and Experimental Acrylics [ eight weeks starting April 18th] and Beginner Watercolor 2 [starting April 27th]

2006-03-06T22:41:00.000-08:00

2006-03-06T08:24:00.000-08:00

Well I am busy trying to get ready for yet another wholesale show. I am in the By Hand section of the Vancouver Gift Show March 12-14th. I was hoping to have another product by now, I would like to create prints or some other product based on my artwork but I dont seem to find the time. I have managed to create some new designs for my Canned Art Line and I guess that will have to do for now.
I continue to pursue my main passion-painting, athough I usually only have time to paint in brief intervals, small amounts during my classes and a couple of hours during the open painting sessions at the Vancouver Island College of Art. I am currently working on several, who knows if I will ever finish any single one. I am going back and forth between acrylics and watercolors [mixed with mixed media] Most have some type of imagery attached but I am having some fun with abstracts as well. I will post some photos when I can.
I have several classes coming up. Expressions in Watercolor and Mixed Media at the end of March is the first one. I fear it will be cancelled however, I dont have enough sign ups and time is getting close. If that one doesnt go I also have Experimental Acrylics and Absolute Beginner Painting 2 in April. One of them at least will probably run. If anyone is interested they should check out www.Islandblue.com