toronto report
I'm writing from Canada, near Toronto, where my husband and I have been since Monday afternoon. I delivered five paintings to Gallery 133 in Toronto on Tuesday, and loved the space, the personnel, and the vibe of the gallery. Once the art business was accomplished, it's been all about enjoying the time in Toronto, a city I have wanted to visit for a long time. We've seen several of Toronto's interesting neighborhoods, eaten great Thai food, and in general relished our time in a new environment.

The friend we are staying with, Janice Mason Steeves, and I have visited numerous galleries, and we've enjoyed what seems like one, ongoing conversation about painting, cold wax medium and teaching workshops (which she also does) since I walked into her house two days ago--with barely time out to sleep.

Here is Jan in her studio, with several of her paintings in the background. Jan uses cold wax medium in her work--in fact, I first met her about a year ago at a workshop she took with me in Wisconsin. We have kept in touch since, and even met up in Barcelona in November. Her work lately has become very abstract and vibrant in color. She has developed a unique way of gouging of the paint surface that yields a most interesting line.

Don and I plan to leave tomorrow morning for the long drive back. I will take away not only great memories, bit also an appreciation for a number of Canadian artists whose work I had not viewed before seeing it today in Toronto galleries. These include Ed Bartram, Stu Oxley and Zhang He.  ¶ 6:49 PM