Cath Sheard Art

Author: Catherine Barker-Sheard

  • Guess what I bought today?

    A new artwork by Martha Marshall; Martha sells as colorpoetry on Etsy. I am so excited. Just what I needed to cheer myself up on a semi-miserable Monday. Mind you, the day is only miserable cos I managed to burn my neck cooking salmon. I am a true menace kitchen, but this was bad even for me 😉  Three medium almost-blisters on my neck. Sigh…

    Anyhow, back to the artwork. Here’s the description on Etsy: “Skimming Stones” – Acrylic and pencil on 140 lb. Arches paper, 5 x 7″. This is an original painting on paper, painted with a 7/8″ white border.

    This is the sixth work by Martha I have purchased. I have four ACEOs, a 4×4 work on paper and now this one. Two of the ACEOs are floated with wide borders and a modern black frame; the others are waiting for the same treatment. I keep spending the framing money on more artwork instead!!

    You know all the talk of recession? Whatever. For the sake of a week’s worth of bought lunches, I have a beautiful permanent addition to my art collection instead. And I have supported a fellow artist who I admire greatly. It’s about what we do with our money, and what we choose to support. And I choose to support fellow artists. So it’s home made sandwiches this week – yuck in my opinion – but worth it.

    If you type “Martha” in the search field at top right, you’ll be able to read previous posts where I have talked about my small-but-growing Martha Marshall collection.

  • Painting the colours of summer

    Next Friday the Patea Patchwork and Quilt exhibition, as part of the Taranaki Garden Trust’s Fringe Festival, opens in the old Hunter Shaw building here in Patea. They have invited me to be the sole painter exhibiting. I am offering lots of smaller works for sale, plus some older works in order to make space in my studio for new paintings. Sort of a spring clean!

    Here’s a quick bit of history for you. The Hunter Shaw building was built as the town’s library in 1930 using money bequeathed to the town by Hunter Shaw – hence the name. The building, designed by prominent New Zealand architects Gummer and Ford, is in the Regency Revival style of 1915-1940. It is a fine example of their work and some people, architect students included, come to Patea just to see the building. The library moved out in 2002, having finally outgrown the building. I was the librarian at the time, still am, and it was a difficult decision to be part of but I know we made the right choice in the end. The local Council has kept the building, and done a great deal of earthquake-proofing and restoration. It looks fantastic and is a magic venue for public events such as this exhibition.

    So, back to the artworks. The new works I have done are all abstract, using the colours of our summer gardens as a starting point. In some cases there is a hint of upright foliage and sky, in others just the colours as a mental nod to gardening. Most of the new paintings are wee 4x4s – so that I have something very moderately priced for the travelling public to get enthused about (I hope!). All are done in artist quality acrylics and are heady to hang and enjoy. I’m really looking forward to the exhibition, because it is such a different audience for me to reach, but I am also a bit nervous about locals seeing my work – silly huh?

  • Joy with paint

    Do you paint with joy? Do you paint to bring joy? Check Jonas out – it looks to me like he paints *with* joy – and in doing so his paintings bring joy. Stunning; especially some of the landscape panels at the end of the video. Enjoy 🙂

  • My hands are tools as I paint

    Some people could eat a 4 course meal with only a fork, and not have a drop of food on them. Or cook Christmas dinner for 10 and emerge from the kitchen looking pristine. Me? I can’t eat, or cook, without spilling, dripping or slopping. It’s not that I’m clumsy as such, just – I don’t know – a bit uncoordinated I guess.

    And when I paint? Yes, the same thing applies really. They say a picture paints a thousand words; in which case my clothes, and hands, tell quite a long story. I have tools – brushes, scrapers, knives – and paper towels, rags, wet wipes etc. Yet, somehow, I always end up with paint on my clothes and on my hands. The food mess may well be lack of coordination, but (forgetting the clothes for a moment) I think the paint on my hands is really about something else.

    I am one of those people who likes to touch things. I’m a librarian by day; I touch the books, I touch my customers – sometimes I hug them if they need it – I touch my scrapbook pages, my pets, my mother, flowers, the hand of people who serve me in shops.

    And I like to touch what I paint. I pick the small canvas up and hold them in my hand as I paint. I pick up the tubes and bottles of paint and feel the weight of them and, of course, I touch the wet paint! Not deliberately, but then again, perhaps really it *is* deliberate? Perhaps for me part of the process of painting is feeling my way through the layers of paint and glazes and marks. Feeling what is right, what needs changing…

    I think that for me painting is not just about the image, the colours, the texture – it’s about the feel of the process, and the feel of the finished work. And that’s why my hands tell a story – because for me painting is as much a tactile pursuit as a visual one. How about you?

  • Being prepared with lots of paintings!

    The Taranaki Rhododendron Festival, and the Fringe Festival, are both coming up at the end of the month. The local Patchwork and Quilting group are holding a week long exhibition in the Hunter Shaw building in Patea in support of these garden extravaganzas. They have invited me to be the sole artist exhibiting amongst the textiles. Fantastic!

    In early December I am due to start exhibiting again at the Albany Garden Centre in Auckland, just in time for their Christmas trade. And in early November I am contributing to a charity auction at the Gift of Art Gallery in Christchurch. You can visit their blog here. The NZ Art Guild is busy planning towards a major charity event to be held at the Bruce Mason Centre (Auckland) in February 2009, which I will be exhibiting at also. This is to raise funds for the Leukemia & Blood Foundation – a link to more detail is on the right hand side on the Guild’s website here.

    On top of all that, I have booked an art showcase page on Etsy for November 2nd, which means my Etsy offerings will potentially be seen by up to 10,000 in one 24 hour period.

    Why am I telling you all this? Because it explains why I am painting up a storm, painting like there is no tomorrow, like paint supplies are about to run out worldwide – and loving it LOL. My wall of 4×4 canvas is becoming less like a wall, and more like a wee room divider, day by day. It’s a good thing.

    Economic recession? Doom and gloom? Financial ruin? Whatever! There are opportunities out there for those prepared to just keep on working, so that’s what l’m doing – and I would encourage others to do the same. We all create our own economic future every day; what have you done toward your future this weekend?