A portrait honouring past presidents of The Heliconian Club of Toronto, founded in 1909 to support women working in the Arts is a special request. I studied past portraits. They are almost all monochromes in graphite, charcol or conté. I had recently received my Derwent Award of Excellence set of 72 Lightfast Coloured Pencils. In the set were 3 different blacks. Black. Midnight Black. Mars Black.
A monochrome in three different colours! Our president Margaret Wilson and her companion Molly
For a long time my dream horse was “Tobin’s Island”. Tobin would replace my first horse Shennamere Rd (Shenna was sold in the usual ups & downs of an Artist’s life). Tobin would be a blood bay OTTB, with one white sock and distinctive blaze. In 1979 I even went so far as to create a portrait in pen & ink. Life intervened. Today, while originals file tidying up it turned up, a mere 48 years later. Hard Proof that ink hard copy on decent paper lasts.
“Tobin’s Island” Koh-i-noor Rapidograph pen & Ink on Tracing Vellum .7.5 x 6.25 on tracing Vellum
Meanwhile those spiffy convenient compact electronic digital files can and do suddenly disappear, often without a trace.
The Heliconian Club Monday Life Drawing Group’s Annual Show “Drawing from Life” Opened on February 7, 2025 at the Heliconian Hall. This show is open to everyone figure drawing in the Monday sessions. Short poses in the morning Sustained in the afternoon
Up to three works may be entered. These three works, in coloured pencil were all completed in class in January 2026
Looking North, 12.75” × 14” Coloured Pencil, Watercolour, Gel Pen
Last fall Sam’s Point on Lake Joseph became“Looking North” an abstracted experiment in mixed media, Colored pencil, Watercolor & Gel Pen. Looking North was submitted into the Colored Pencil Society of America’s “Explore This 22”. As of February 1, 2025 it won The Derwent Achievement Award, one of 11 award winners, in well over 300 submissions.
Off The Wall is your opportunity to take home a special Small Work to fit into a nook as it enhances your collection. For instance a tiny “Red Pine Sprig” 7”x 5” in Coloured Pencil
or…
a resist block out experiment in watercolour, with a dancing brush “Greener Grass 9” x 12”
Pictures came long before words. They allow the viewer to bring their personal imagination to an image.
There is a challenge making images beyond usual expectations. Coloured Pencils can take an expected outcome in a whole new direction. They allow, encourage the precision the Avant Garde was renowned for in a new unexpected medium.
“Marianne-Knot” A twenty minute reclining figure study enters a whole new world, as she explodes from a chequered surface in a full body suit.
“Sam’s Point Looking North” was an en plein aire graphite sketch created while standing in the water. It interprets the entrance to Little Lake Joes’s channel as if an enlarged 72 dpi screen grab.
“I’ve Got My Eye On You”, is finally back in Toronto after a year and a half touring across the USA. Both he (aka “Mr. Snearfulness”) and “Log Into Water” are included in The Heliconian Club’s Exhibit “Encounter 2025”
The other day I got a message: “Look what we found in the local fish & chip restaurant.
“George” is a coloured pencil, pen & ink portrait, dated 1982.
I had zero recollection of “George” and no record.
But, the restaurant is fairly close at hand so a visit was in order. There was “George 1982” and companion “Angus & Lucy 1982”.
The former owner on retirement and selling up, had given the two works to the new owner. The new owner is delighted to discover she owns two original works by a well known artist. I’m delighted to rediscover the two works They were completed when I was very pregnant working on a 6’5” x 7’ drafting board space in our tiny unfinished house. The restaurant was in different place. It too less fancy.
Meet Tony the Pony, aka Temper of Tony. He is 18 years old, a homebred from Schomberg Ontario.
His rider, Cameron, has outgrown him, so he is retiring after an active show career in Pony Jumper, plus Hacking, Hunting, 3-Day Event, and Barrel Racing on the rodeo circuit.
Their Pony Jumper successes led to a special invitation to the 2022 USET Pony Championships in Lexington Kentucky. Tony was 16, Cameron 12. They won, with 4 clean rounds. But there was glitch, Tony & Cameron are Canadians. Despite their special invitation and written assurances of eligibility, they were not allowed to win. The competitor from California (on a very expensive imported German pony) was declared the winner. After a good deal of fuss the competition was declared a tie.
Tony is not retiring, rather he is going on to teach his 8 year old owner about cross poles in the pony hunter ring. Cameron is moving up to horses for more adventures.
This image is the Christmas gift to his now14 year old too tall rider, to celebrate and remember their career together. It joins two of my other portraits, created in the 1980s for his parents of their mounts successful careers.
Tony’s 2024 portrait, is coloured pencil on 300 lb Arches Hot Press. Coco’s from1988 is egg tempera on museum board. Lucky Charm’s from 1983 is pen & ink on Rising hot press bristol. The textures and colours of the coats are created through multiple layers of cross hatched strokes.
Roosters. Personality Roosterfied. Imperious. In charge. …and an endless subject, in any medium
“I’ve Got My Eye On You” has done it again. He will be off to New York to the Salmagundi Club!
I’m honoured to have him accepted into this prestigious historic exhibition and sale.
Now he has gone on to win the Fredrick Wong Prize.
https://americanwatercolorsociety.org/2024-annual-award-winners
After New York he will be part of the traveling exhibit as it wanders around the USA
And, there is an article in Forbes Magazine about the 157th Exhibition.
It’s almost too exciting!
Pictures speak. Pictures came before words. Pictures are timeless. Pictures record our world.