Trip to Brunate in the Funicular

This is our trip to the town of Lake Como. We took the funicular to Brunate and enjoyed the viewand the church. We headed back down and has a free day to explore the shops and ruins in the ancient town center- one of the oldest inhabited settlements in northern Europe.

Hidden Talent Painting trip to Italy included the amazing Villa Carlotta- an artist's dream!

Lucky! Lucky!
This is the second year we went to Villa Carlotta -in FULL BLOOM and in the SUNSHINE! It's pretty much like winning the lottery twice.
The pink and purple azaleas blossoms are on bushes the size of small houses and are clearly visible from across the lake. There is great variety- from bamboo gardens and bonsai to a fragrant herb wall and turtles in a pool with Calla lilies.Needless to say we split up and proceeded to photograph everything that wasn't another tourist.

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The gardens of Villa Carlotta

 We spent the whole day touring around the grounds and ferried back to Belagio then back to Lezzeno for our chef cooked supper.

Always time for a quick watercolor sketch!

Paint in Italy- Varenna

Varenna is a painters paradise-one of the many places that begged to be painted on this  trip!

Next was a trip to the most beautiful town in Europe! Varenna never disappoints- even on a cloudy day. The colorful buildings, the mountain mists and the reflection in the Lake make this a perfect place to take out the paints and capture a moment in time.

Varenna- a short walk from the ferries along the lake take countless photographs!

A short walk past the gelato booths brings us to Villa Cyprese. Two minutes past that is Villa Monestero. Both are worthy of a day to explore.

Can't resist the urge to paint!

Roman landscape elements and informal gardens and orchards!

Artists LOVE to paint in Itlay!

Painting trip to Italy- Villa Melzi

Villa Melzi is just like entering a painting! Every plant is placed where it can be seen at it's very best- different hues of green against vibrant reds and oranges with jewel pinks and reds for accents! This is one of our favorite stops- and a short 5 minute walk down a flower lined promenade to the world famous Belagio.

Artists in Italy!

ED, our tour guide takes some reference photos of the gardens

Painting the Lake Como view!

We took out our paints and had a great view of some orangey burnt sienna buildings with a flower lined path leading down to the lake. Great perspective practice! Ed and Brian headed to Belagio to reserve a table for a late lunch- an awesome morning!

Painting trip to Italy!

Early May is the 'Goldilocks' time to visit Italy-not too hot, not too cold! This was our second trip to Lake Como with enthusiastic students from Hidden Talent. Donna and Brian, Dan and Teresa were our first 'couples' to go. Brian was a non artist, but was a heck of a great photographer. Needless to say, with all that magical scenery around us he was as awe struck as we artists were. Joan, Barb, Yoon Joo and Jeanne were the other artists/photgraphers who came on our adventure.We pooled most of our photos and ended up with over 6,600!!!

On this trip we visited a few different Villas than the 2012 trip.
This time when we ferried to Varenna we walked to the enchanting Villa Monestero where we saw early Roman architecture and age old gardens. There was a lovely place to sit and paint the lake view beside the main Villa.

Villa Balbinello is directly across Lake Como  from our Albergo and this year we hired a private boat to take us to Lenno, visit the market and then walk the  15 minute path to the Villa! Well worth the trip!
A full day in the town of Lake Como was fun for the shoppers and with the old Roman gates and walls, exceptional for the photographers. It is a busy city and there was even the familiar MacDonald's where we got our full sized coffees!
Here are a few photos of our arrival:

AFRICAN WILDLIFE WORKSHOP WITH GUY COMBES

Guy Combes Workshop July 2013

Here we are! Four days of learning and painting! Thanks Guy for a wonderful look into the world of professional wildlife artists! Africa awaits!
All these students signed up for next years workshop..so I think that is a ringing endorsement. We are planing workshop #2 so if you are interested, just let me know before the rush...780419-2055.

EXCELLENCE IN ARTS TEACHING, MAYOR'S GALA

Awards Night

Quite a while ago some of Hidden Talent Artists submitted my name for the Excellence in Arts Teaching award to be presented at the Mayors Gala this spring. Pearl Der organized the entry and Wendy Pfeifer and Sylvie Fergusson wrote letters of recommendation. To say the least. I was humbled and excited that my students would honor me with this nomination. Truly, the nomination was the reward!!

Wendy, Laura, Michelle and Joan.

Missing: Jeannette, Barb and Jeanne

Pearl, Donna, Sandy, Marla, Laura

On March 19 some of the Hidden Talent Artists and myself were all gussied up and had a pre award celebration at The Cajun House- What a fun and supportive group! I vamoosed early to attend the Mayor’s Private Champagne reception with my biggest fan, my husband Ed. We met other nominees and dignitaries and talked to past winners of the arts awards.  I had very stiff competition- Joan Bilau, Vocal Instructor        and Darrell Marko, Dance Instructor.

We later met up with the Hidden Talent Artists at the Reception and I saw many faces I haven’t seen in a long time…so wonderful to be able to gather the St. Albert arts community in one place!

Our evening was one of entertainment! And it was exceptional! There was a dance theater co production, a one act play, Jazz Trio, Ballroom dancing and the rock band Tupelo Honey. All of them with strong ties to our community.

I  was very relieved that we didn’t have to wait long- the Excellence in Arts Teaching was the second award of the evening, so after that we could all relax…Much to our surprise and delight… I WON!!! Many many thanks to all of you for your support and friendship!! I was beyond thankful for such recognition!

My Excellence In Arts Teaching Award

Thanks Jeanne!!

The Art of Hanging Art

Laura Watmough explaining how to hang art in your home.

The lovely Susan Jones and  gifted Photographer April from the St. Albert Gazette come by the studio to interview me on how to hang art work. I have many  gallery shows a year and my husband Ed hangs art in my clients homes, so I was happy to help out.

Here is the article:

The Art of hanging Art

Gallery hanging:

Now, homes are very different than galleries. There are times that I have to hang Hidden Talent Art SALOON STYLE- which means art from top to bottom on a wall. This method was used extensively in the French Academy of Art in order to exhibit all the art that was submitted for awards. This can still be seen in some museums  ( Louve) and private art collections.

The ideal situation would be that each artwork would have enough space around it to separate it from the others and show it off to its best advantage. In retail galleries, wall space is expensive and artworks from a popular artist would have the most prominent position.

When I hang student shows I try to have a theme or a dominant color- ex. animal art in a grouping or a bit of red in each area of the gallery. This helps with the “visual flow” and leads the viewer through the gallery on a hopefully very pleasant visual experience.