Fall is Here

Been very busy working away in my studio. First off, pleased to say that my painting “UCLUELET” was selected for the Colour and Form Society 66th Open Juried Exhibition.

This exhibition will take place from November 1st to November 29th, at the Etobicoke Civic Centre, 399 The West Mall, with an opening reception on Sunday November 4th from 2 pm to 4 pm.

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The Circle Foundation from Lyon, France has published a video of some of their Contemporary Artists, and I am at about the 3 minute, 40 second mark. Here’s a Link :D

https://vimeo.com/294133424

As well I am in their Artists to Watch section, and their newest Spotlight Magazine is off to the publisher right now, and I have been included.This is an International magazine that tell the story of what art looks like today, printed in Europe. Available to read online for free.

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I have just completed two paintings . First one is “The Sunbathers”, 8 by 10 inches, oil on canvas. Here you see close friends basking in the afternoon sunlight in their pond.

The second completed painting is “Meshed”, which is a scene from the old woods on the family homestead in Ecum Secum, Nova Scotia.The trees have withstood the harsh elements at Davidson Point and seem to have meshed together with their branches for support. The painting is a 16 by 20 inch oil painting.

Both paintings are SOLD.

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Currently I have three paintings “On the Easel “ that I am working on. They are in different stages, and of course, not all on the easel at once, just shown here so you have an idea of what the next ones will be. There are several more planned out, but I like to just concentrate on three main canvases at one time. When one gets completed, another begins its journey.

Back to the easel.

Lynden

Circle Foundation of the Arts

Very happy to say that I was contacted by the Circle Foundation of the Arts to see if I would like to join them.

Apparently when the Circle Foundation of the Arts gives you an invitation to check them out , because they like your work, it is still a very stringent, jury process that you go through , before they decide if you are worthy. They look at your website, your CV, and several of your paintings, with a panel deciding about you.

About The Foundation ( from their website)
Our office is located in Lyon, France but we function as an international organization, currently representing over 300 artists in our online gallery. Circle Foundation is a platform for the active artist, orchestrating the development of a variety of visual arts projects. Our goal is to provide a stage for the remarkable visual artist, who can use this platform to publish, exhibit, win grants and awards, boost their resume and become established within a notable network.

soooo, yes... interested, and went through the jury process.

Part of the confirmation , I received...... .
We have looked at your website and it is a pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted to become a CFA Affiliate Artist.

The 5 images selected for your CFA presentation are: 
1 FORKS of the CREDIT
2 FiddleHeads
3 The Wetlands
4 RiverBank
5 Arrowhead Rockery

They will also be publishing about me in their magazines, and include me in the videos they make for art collectors, and gallery alliances.
They sell internationally and I am interested in the exhibitions as well.

So, now I will try out this International relationship for the next year, and see what adventures it brings.

Looking forward to this.

Lynden .....Circle Foundation of the Arts... Artist :)

Been a Great Summer

In the last two weeks of August I flew off to Ireland, which was my first time there, accompanied by my husband and daughter. The scenery was lovely, and the places to explore were wonderful. We even found the remnants of the homesteads for both sides of the families, from where our great,great,great,great great grandparents had lived long ago, and we took lots of photos. The old stone fences from way back then are still in the same boundary positions as they were never changed.

But now summer has come to a close, and even though it has been busy and wonderful, it is time to be back at the easel in earnest. There are exhibitions and competitions coming up.

One upcoming exhibition that I was really happy and honoured to be invited to participate in , is the VIBE, CANADA show in LONDON, ENGLAND. This is the first time I have shown in a gallery in England, and I hope there will more opportunities.

Just completed one painting titled Miners Bay, and the scene is located about 10 km from Minden, Ontario. It is 24 by 36 inches, oil on canvas, and if you look very closely you will notice that most of it has been painted with a triple zero brush (my favourite).

Hope you like it.

I am getting very close to two other canvases being finished and will show them when done.

Bye for now,

Back to the easel !

Lynden

Summer Flying By

I cannot believe how quickly summer is marching through the calendar, but I think I have filled every space that I can of each day.

June 21st. The group I exhibit with began an exhibition in Yorkville (Toronto) at the Hittite Gallery.This is the Southern Ontario Visual Artists third exhibition for the year, and we have one more for the SOVA group coming up in November.

In the second photo you see Robert Chisholm and myself in front of our paintings in the Hititte Gallery in Yorkville.

July 15/2018 The Light/Space & Time gallery published the following..

Lynden Cowan – Artist Showcase Feature

Lynden Cowan is an Ontario, Canada based artist. Lynden creates representative landscape paintings. Lynden was selected as 1 of the top twelve finalists of the gallery’s recent Solo Art Exhibition Series #9. The placement in this competition qualified her art to be showcased in this feature.

Lynden’s Artist Showcase feature will be promoted to over 350+ major news outlets, with inclusion on Google News & Bing News. In addition, the gallery will also be featuring and promoting her landscape paintings in the gallery’s various social media networks for further exposure.

Below are Lynden’s Artist Biography, Artist Statement and 5 images that were submitted to this competition.

Artist Biography:

When I was eight, I created my own paints from berries, vegetables and other available compounds, and would use leftover pieces of wood that my father had as my canvas. A teacher gave me art supplies a couple of years later, and I was thrilled to have actual paints.

I am a self-taught artist, and my main medium is oil on canvas. As a fourteen year old, I started teaching, and at one point had over 80 students from age seven to seventy five, and this provided the funds for better quality art materials.

Over the years, I have spent a lot of time in the woods, and bogs as they fascinate me for the strong colours and beautiful subjects they provide. When I paint, I use for the most part, triple zero brushes, as they lend themselves to fine details.

Artist Statement:

Having spent my childhood summers in rural Nova Scotia, I was drawn into the wild landscape and adapted accessible materials from berries to crushed shells to translate the scenes surrounding me.

Throughout the years, my fascination and interest in nature has grown and I strive to envelope the viewer with the feeling of inclusion in the mood and transformation of visual presentation, to finished artwork. Her website is www.lyndencowan.com

They featured five works... Gully, Ucluelet, The Wetlands, Fiddleheads and Twisted Tree.

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July 23/18  I headed to Todmorden to the PaperMill Gallery to deliver Fiddleheads that had been selected for the juried competition.

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July 27th, 2018

On July 27th I was  notified that I was selected as a finalist in the Artavita on line International gallery competition from " over 250 high quality artist entries". They selected Ucluelet, Fiddleheads and Gully, three artworks for their exhibition of  50 artworks in the final selection.. 😊

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July 24th/2018 to July 31st 

Flew to Prince Edward Island with my Alton Mill Arts Centre studio mate, Robert Chisholm to join our other studio mate, Charlene Nickels who was already down there. We spent the week subject hunting, painting, and feeding the horse flies.  Charlene has a cottage in PEI so knows the island well. Of course we had seafood every day (lobster daily, including for breakfast on our final day). Up everyday working about 5:30 am , or a couple of times slept in until 6 am, and we fell into bed exhausted by 9pm. 

Between the very hot temperatures and the horse flies, we really earned the material we collected for future canvases, and I am excited to start painting them.

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July 31st, 2018

Flew home from PEI on July 31st and received this notification......

From Fusion Art "Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that one or more of your entries have been chosen for inclusion in the 3rd Annual Artist's Choice (August 2018) International  Online Juried Art Exhibition. "
I had entered Gully, Ucluelet, Fiddleheads,Rattlingbrook Falls and Twisted Tree, and they selected Rattlingbrook Falls, Ucluelet and Twisted Tree, which I was happy with to have three of my artworks selected for the 140  displayed by Fusion.

Best in Show and 2nd to 5th runner up will be included in an exhibition in Palm Springs, Florida in February 2019.

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August 1st, 2018

Just finished a 24 by 36 inch oil painting, titled Miners Bay.. This setting is about 30 yards into the brush in the area known as Miners Bay , 10 km south of Minden , Ontario. 

Hope you like it. :)

Time to get back to the easel. If you find a moment to visit the Alton Mill Arts Centre , I hope you drop by to say hello. 

Artistically yours, 

Lynden

Starting off June

Pleased to say that today , June 1st, I was notified that my painting "Gully", has again been selected for a different competition. This time it was juried into the Light/Space /Time 8th Annual "Landscapes " competition, and won a "Special Merit Award".

In the notification it stated....

The exhibition has been divided into two media categories. Painting & Other Media and Photography & Digital. In addition, there is an overall Winning Artists Category, which is the “best of the best” and consists of the ten (10) best entries comprised from the media categories.

The gallery also included Special Merit awards and Special Recognition awards for outstanding art. Many of the artists in either of these groups could have easily been included in the upper tier of our winners, as their art was also exceptional.

Special Merit Award Category – "These are the artists and their artwork which we felt could easily have been placed higher but due to the size constraints in each media category, this art was placed in this special category. Any of the Special Merit art, in many cases, is interchangeable with the best art that we selected for the top tiers."

The gallery received 577 entries from 26 different countries from around the world, as well as from 29 different states.

Each competition that "Gully " has been entered in, have different high profile judges, so it really feels like an honour to be fortunate in being selected, in International Competitions.

Need to finish other pieces so I can be ready for more competitions. :)

Back to the easel....... :)

Art Days

Above in the photo with the SOVA sign , you see me with my studio mates, Charlene Nickels on the left, Robert Chisholm in the middle, and myself.

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I was  notified this week that I was selected as one of the top 12 finalists ( apparently out of several hundred International entries) of the recent LIGHT SPACE TIME Online Gallery “Solo Art Series” #9 Art Competition. 
Four of the 12 were selected to have a solo online exhibition, and I am with the remaining 8 that will be featured in the gallery's Artist Showcase Section.

The 8 Artist Showcases were awarded to the following artists and will be posted in the following order every 2 weeks starting on May 15, 2018;

Julia Michry 5/15, 
Ilona Abou-Zolof 6/1, 
Ramana Karkus 6/15, 
Sheri Emerson 7/1, 
Lynden Cowan 7/15, 
Leif Sohlman 8/1, 
Stephen Way 8/15
Julia Harwood 9/1

Here is a link to this section of the Light Space & Time website www.lightspacetime.art/artist-showcase

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Quoted from the notification...

"The process of selecting 12 finalists from those who entered was extremely challenging. The high quality of submissions made creating the final rankings excruciating. You should be very proud of your achievement in making the finalists and ultimately into the Artist Showcase.

We are very excited about featuring your art on our website. In addition, we will also be featuring and promoting your art in 350 worldwide press releases and in our various social media networks for further exposure to the artist.

Thank you for your attention to these matters and again, congratulations!"

I feel very honoured and happy to have been selected. :)

Time to get back to the easel.

Art is Life,

Lynden

Staying Busy

Received notification and Congratulations that my painting titled “GULLY", was accepted for the Ontario Society of Artists 145th Annual Open Juried Exhibition. Out of 462 images, the jurors selected only 38 works in various media, including painting, photography and mixed media and 9 sculptures.

Exhibition Dates and Location
April 10 – May 4, 2018
John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto
900 Bay Street (at Wellesley), Macdonald Block
Toronto, ON M7A 1C2

opening reception April 12 from 6 to 8pm.

This is quite an Honour and I am very happy to be fortunate in being selected.

Saturday March 24th and Sunday March 25th I will be participating in the Huttonville Craft and Antique Show , and taking limited edition giclee prints. 

This show is actually at the David Suzuki Secondary School , 45 Daviselm Drive, in Brampton and runs from 10 am to 4:30 pm both days. 

The giclee prints will be returning to the studio in the Alton Mill Arts Centre, the following week.

Back to the easel,

Lynden :)

February

The SOVA exhibition is at the Etobicoke Civic Centre now until March 22nd..

From left to right, SOVA artists , Margaret Pardy, Steve Wilson, Charlene Nickels, Helen Duplassie, Robert Chisholm, and myself, Lynden Cowan.

Had a tv interview today at the Etobicoke Civic Centre by Fairchild Television about my art and about the Southern Ontario Visual Artists group for their "What's On" section. Apparently this segment will will be aired in March. 

I am sharing a photo of a painting called Early's Farmhouse from 30 years ago. The original is owned by a collector in Victoria, British Columbia, and I came across the photo today when going through things in the studio. The house itself has long since disappeared, but it's nice to remember the Early family who used to own a Livestock Feed business (also long disappeared). Though the photo is in black and white, but the painting is not, you can see how I do detailed brick work now, starting to develop.

Back to the easel .

Lynden :)

End of the Year

Cannot believe that the year has slipped to the end.  So this week I was saddened to hear that Johnny Bower passed away on Boxing Day. I always thought of him as a very personable, sweet man. In 2005, I was selected to create a painting for Peel Regional Police to be presented to Johnny as he was their Honorary Police Chief. They had certain key elements they wanted in the painting, and the family sent private photos so they could surprise him at a banquet. I painted the background as a feeling of ice to tie all the elements together. Johnny, you will be missed.

September was quite busy. I joined with three other SOVA artists for a wonderful exhibition at the Art Square Gallery in Toronto with an opening reception during Nuit Blanche (the large Toronto Art Festival).

 Had several successes this year. My painting "Gully" was completed, and was selected for the Colour and Form Society 65th Open Juried Exhibition.

It was wonderful that my second painting Twisted Tree was also selected for this exhibition. The Colour and Form Society even selected it for their invitation and program, as seen in the top left image.

As well, Fiddle Heads was selected for the ADC 2017 International Juried show, so it went to Cincinnatti, and I was also pleased that my painting Ucluelet, was selected for the Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts juried show.

I am looking forward to seeing what 2018 brings. With the SOVA group we have several exhibitions planned for this year, starting with Etobicoke Civic Centre at the end of the month, and the Carrier Gallery in the Columbus Centre in the spring, as well as the Hittite Gallery in Yorkville.

Come and visit me in my studio in the Alton Mill Arts Centre, or drop me an email. I plan to keep building this site, but the old one was so out of date I needed to change over, even though there are more things to do.

Artistically ,

Lynden

Halfway Point

Been a very busy year so far and I cannot believe we have slipped into the halfway point of 2017.

First off, I would like to remind you that I am involved with another website , that I feel you would really enjoy.   It is www.southernontariovisualartists.com.

I recently finished a painting of a area found while hiking in the woods. The scene really captured my interest , because of the way the sunlight played across the plantlife and rocks.

The title of the painting is “Gully”, and at times when I was working on it, I had a small “critic” to supervise me. :)

"Gully" is a 24 by 30 inch oil on canvas painting.

SOVA has been involved in several shows. In April we were in the Holcim Gallery at the Milton Centre for the Arts, and right now all of the SOVA artists are in the Sisnett Lobby until Aug 19th, at the Halton Hills Cultural Centre, 9 Church St , Brampton.

Fellow SOVA artists setting up the exhibition in the Sisnett Lobby.

Here you see me beside my painting "Athabaska Falls".

At the moment I am working hard to complete new artwork. From Sept 25th to Oct 9th , I will be with three other SOVA artists exhibiting at the Art Square Gallery , 334 Dundas St. W, Toronto. Please note that this is during NUIT BLANCHE.

Hope you get a chance to visit with me in my studio.

Back to the easel now :)

New Year of Painting

It’s been such a long time since I found time to work on the website…been doing house renovations, spending lots of time in my studio in Alton Mill, been busy with shows AND proudly became a first time gramma   Now life is a bit more back on track and I will try and update regularly.

I have different work that is progressing well and will show at a later date. I’m also working on the new website , which I hope everyone will enjoy.\

Recently I was involved in a show at the Etobicoke Civic Centre which ran from Nov 26th to January 11th, and was well received, with fellow SOVA artists .

Upcoming shows already booked are the Holcim Gallery in Milton in April, the Sisnette in the Halton Hills Cultural Centre June 12 to August 21, and the Art Square Gallery across from the Ontario Art Gallery in Toronto during Nuit Blanche.

                                    "FiddleHeads"

This is my newest painting “Fiddleheads” done from a subject hunting trip in Nova Scotia. Hope you like it. 

Pop by and visit me in studio 202 at the Alton Mill Arts Centre. Look forward to seeing you there.

Lynden

August

Just returned a few days ago from a "subject hunting "trip to places such as Tobermory, Manitoulin Island (enjoyed staying with a close friend there one of those evenings), Agawa, Sault St Marie, and Mackinaw Island , with great places in between. Looking forward to working on the canvases from this trip.

Was notified today that the "Featured Artist" section for Artsy Shark was published today, and is being shared on Facebook,Twitter,Google +, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn and StumbleUpon. They asked me to explain how I came to painting, and my background, so I hope people enjoy it. :)

Here is the link to the article: http://bit.ly/2bbSywJ

My newest painting "Ucluelet"  will be in Alton Mill as one of the artworks I am showing in the SOVA ....Southern Ontario Visual Artists exhibition in the Headwaters Gallery from   August 17th to September 11th, 2016.
Opening Reception - Sunday August 21 from 1 - 4pm.

The original painting is oil on canvas and is 24" by 30". When you see the painting in person, all the subtle hues come out at you, and you can "feel" the mist. Absolutely beautiful location on Vancouver Island.

Don't forget to check out the SOVA website.     www.southernontariovisualartists.co

If you can't make it to the Opening Reception to meet the artists, you would be welcome to visit our studios.

Bye for now. Back to the easel :)

Painting Time

Met lots of interesting people recently visiting my studio in Alton Mill. Always nice to have visitors.

Just got notified that I have been selected to be one of the featured artists for Artsy Shark, very large on line magazine, with several thousand subscribers, a lot of them in North America, but also in Europe. Happy about that :)

I have a painting in the juried Colour and Form Society show on now at the PaperMill Gallery at Todmorden Mills . 

Working hard on the paintings, as SOVA has an upcoming show in August at the Headwaters Gallery, in Alton Mill. Different pieces are on the go, and I hope to have at least three smaller ones completed by then. See our website, www.southernontariovisualartists.com

Right now the painting that is from Vancouver Island is starting to "close" in some areas. Still has a ways to go, but if you look at the detail, I am getting satisfied with some of the rock sections. Will be completed soon and is at the point where I need to start thinking of an appropriate title.

Hope you like how it is developing. See you in the studio :)

Bye for now.

Federation of Canadian Artists

Been a busy time, and I get to the studio in Alton Mill as much as possible. When it actually isn't possible, I cram in some painting time in my home studio, sometimes painting till very late at night.

I will be in the Colour and Form Society show next month on Pottery Road and will tell you more of that  another time, but the latest bit of news is that my painting "The Wetlands" was selected by jury for the Federation of Canadian Artists International show. The Federation has been around since 1941, and exhibits in various galleries, but this particular show is June 1st to August 31st on line. They sell a lot of work from this show, and use their commission to make bursaries for deserving up and coming artists. :)

Just completed a large painting titled "Mackerel Sky", in reference to to the cloud formations that appear as "ribbing". They form in such a manner when there is unsettled weather, and the maritimers have a saying that goes with it.

Mackerel Sky, Mackerel Sky,Sometimes wet and sometimes dry.

This particular scene is from Beach Meadows (near Liverpool) Nova Scotia. In the background you can see a pair of Loons that frequent the area. The painting is being taken by a private collector, but giclee prints will be available soon.

The painting from Vancouver Island is now my primary piece for working on, and will be nearing completion soon, then offered for sale.

Hope you come visit me in the studio. :)

Welcome to my website

As a self taught artist, I have been painting since the age of eight, and prefer traditional oil on canvas. On the odd occasion, I also do GPS , and egg tempura, and I'm a realist artist.

Though I've exhibited and sold artwork through many galleries over the years, right now you will find me in Studio 202 in the Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen Street West, in Alton , Ontario. The whole atmosphere is wonderful, from the country drive from my home to Alton , to painting with the sound of the creek that runs beside the Mill, as background music. 

I still show in different galleries, but also enjoy exhibiting with the Southern Ontario Visual Artists www.southernontariovisualartists.com, and the Colour and Form Society.

Artwork has been sold across Canada, and the United States, as well as Switzerland, to both corporate, and private collectors.

If you have any questions about any of the artwork , please email me at lynden@lyndencowan.com

See you in the Studio,

Lynden :)