Hi Friends and Art Lovers,

This painting is Keating Channel in November, Oil on Canvas, 20"x24" which I painted in November 2011 on a blustery and cold day. I had to lay the canvas down on the stone wall to paint it, and even then it wanted to take off like a kite. This is one of the paintings I am currently showing with the Don Valley Art Club at Todmorden Mills Papermill Gallery. The Show's Judging Panel, which awards prizes in a number of categories in our Annual Spring Show, awarded this painting the Mac Murdock Award for the Best Marine Painting - an award for which I am truly honoured to receive. This painting is one of my Toronto Harbour Series which I am currently working on. This painting is still on display at the Todmorden Mills Papermill Gallery until Sunday May 20. Directions are in previous blogs below. Enjoy.

Cheers,

Charles

Hi Friends & Art Lovers,

As promised, this is the ad for my up-coming show. The opening is Friday May 11, 2012 from 6:30 PM until 9:00 PM. I have two paintings in this show. As described in my previous blog, they are from two different series. I like to work in series and some series look quite different from others. For me, how I apply the paint depends on the subject matter and I usually make those decisions before I start the painting, often when I first start observing my subjects.

Anyway, the show is on for two weeks. I encourage you to come and enjoy the show. Let me know if any of my paintings interest you. Also let me know if you would like to receive an invitation to my next show. I can be reached through my web site contact page at www.charleswakefieldartist.com or via Charles.Wakefield@sympatico.ca or follow the links

Cheers,

Charles 

DIRECTIONS - SEE MAP

Hi Friends & Art Lovers,

Looks like I haven't made any posts since last August. Shame on me! I have been quite busy though. Sorry it didn't all get noted on my blog and web site. I have been painting a couple of series, one based on photographs I took when I was in Haiti in February 2011. I took about 1800 photographs in just over three weeks, mostly in Haiti, but some in DR on the way in and out. I did a little painting in Haiti, but my access was very limited. We didn't have the luxury of spending too much time setting up an easel and painting the scenes I would have liked. But I could take photos and shoot video. So I did that and will be posting a few of my paintings based on that experience shortly.

I am continuing a series based on the Portlands in Toronto. I have one of these on display with the Don Valley Art Club at Todmorden Mills this up-coming weekend, from May 11 through to May 20, 2012. It is one of Keating Channel at the mouth of the Don River, which I painted in November on location.

I have wanted to start painting an evening series - and have the first of this series also on display at Todmorden Mills for the next two weekends. This is based on a photograph I took in Montreal last November, which I painted during the winter of 2012.

Stay tuned - I will be adding some new paintings to the site shortly.

Cheers,

Charles

Views Along the Don

Hi Friends & Art Lovers,

We have an interesting show at the Paper Mill Gallery at Todmorden Mills Heritage Site at 67 Pottery Road, Toronto. The show runs from July 27 closing September 4, 2011. It is open 6 days a week, being closed on Mondays. The Official Opening Reception will be this coming Thursday, August 11 from 6 to 8 PM. I am also planning to be at the gallery on Sunday afternoon of August 14, in case you would like to see me when you stop by.

The show is of views of the Don River valley, including Todmorden Mills, the Don Valley Brick Works and the Don Rover itself. As I have painted many paintings of these subjects, I have put 10 paintings in to the show, so it is a good opportunity these paintings in the flesh, as opposed to my web site. There are many other very good paintings in the show and if these subjects interest you, it will be a very interesting show.

Accessing the show is a little tricky. Pottery Road is under construction, but Todmorden Mills is accessible by car from Bayview or from the walking path (a little steep and muddy) from Broadview. The construction workers will give you access, but during the week it may take a couple of extra minutes to get through. I have put up signs at both Bayview and Broadview (at Mortimer) and hung a banner on the silt fence at the gate to Todmorden Mills.

Details are below. If you have any questions about the show or paintings included in the show, you can contact me directly through the web site.

Cheers,

Charles

DVAC Show at Todmorden Mills, Toronto, ON

Hi Friends and Art Lovers,

I am hoping that some of my sailing buddies will also have a chance to view these paintings, either in my blog or at the DVAC Show. One of my favourite past times is sailing, and I also enjoy painting from the quiet solitude of my yacht clubs in the winter, but occasionally, I also get in some painting at the club during sailing season. The first painting is of an Albacore dinghy returning from an evening sail at a club on Cherry Beach in Toronto. The next is of a wonderfull 8-Metres with dark sails which I painted from a photograph which I took a few years ago, precariously perched on the rail of my friend's J24 and also using his camera as mine had run out of batteries, and trying not to drop it into the drink.

Some of you may wonder about the horizon line in the second painting - and you may not like it - but, I think the sailors among you may be able to relate. When I first painted it, the horizon was level, but I changed it to capture some of the tension which I feel when I am beating my way to the windward mark in strong winds. If this painting makes you feel some of that tension, then perhaps I have succeeded.

The paintings are below, followed by the invitation:




Albacore at Sunset on Cherry Beach (Oil on Canvas, 12"x12")




8-Metres in Strong Winds Off Gibralter Point (Oil on Canvas, 12"x16")








Don Valley Art Club
Annual Spring Art Show & Sale 2011



The Don Valley Art Club cordially invites you and your friends to its Annual Spring Art Show & Sale at Todmorden Mills Museum and Arts Centre

Opening Reception
Saturday May 7, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Show Dates and Hours:
Saturday May 7, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 8, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 14, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 15, 12 p.m. to 3p.m. (last day of show)

Location
The Paper Mill Gallery at Todmorden Mills Museum, 67 Pottery Road, Toronto

Free parking
Visit our website for more details http://www.donvalleyartclub.com

Haitian Humanitarian Mission

Hi Friends and Art Fans,

In February of this year, I spent a little over three weeks in Haiti helping with the Lifewater Mission there. We were testing wells which had been installed by various other humanitarian missions over the years. Our work involved testing the wells and also noting the locations of the wells, putting numbers on them and taking down a description of the well, how deep they were, where the water was, etc.

Our tests had to be quite simple, since there are no available testing laboratories in Haiti. So, we tested for basic water quality parameters using test strips and then we tested for the presence/ absence of bacteria. A further test was conducted on wells which were found to have bacteria, to determine whether the water contained harmful bacteria such as coliform bacteria or e-coli. For this test I found a little incubator in the USA for a small sum of $500, shipping it to Florida cost $100, getting it to Haiti cost an additional $300, but getting it through Haitian Customs and their Port in Cap Haitien apparently cost $1200. Go figure!

To make a long story short - our mission was successful, but there is still much work to be done. Our volunteers will continue to go to Haiti to try to bring safe water to the people.

I have attached some slides of the places I was and the people I was working with. These are not the best photographs in the world, but I think they convey a sense of the experience I had while I was there. Many of these were shot through dirty truck windows as we lurched our way through the egg carton like roads of potholes. They haven't done much work on their roads in the past 20 years, and they are long overdue for re-surfacing. Currently, a dog can safely cross any road in or around Cap Haitien during rush hour, with little risk of being hit. I didn't see a dead dog the whole time I was there. I thought I did a few times, but as we passed them, their tails would flick or an ear would twitch - they were asleep. When the roads do get repaved, there will likely be carnage!

There was cholera in the villages we visited. There were many little stores selling coffins and auto parts. But, we found the people to be for the most part warm and receptive to our work.

I did find some time to do a little painting while I was there, but I was restricted to painting on the compounds, and was not allowed to venture out unescorted. While I never felt the least bit threatened, this is still a lawless land and you have to be careful. To paint in public for half a day might draw the wrong kind of attention. So, I will be generating some paintings from the other 1700 photos I took while I was there and in my next post I hope to include photos of the sketches I made while I was there.

Enjoy the slides,

Cheers,

Charles

Haiti - Lifewater Mission

Some exciting news. While this is not necessarily art related, I am going to assist with a humanitarian mission in Haiti for a few weeks. I hope to provide a few more up-dates and include some photos of our work and perhaps some of my sketches over the next few weeks. We are going to be testing some wells and assisting the developing of some wells. See the www.lifewater.ca website for details.

Cheers,

Charles