Beach Studio Tour Spring 2015

Art that Connects

"Song of Spring"   Mixed Media    Ruth Hayes

 It is less than two weeks from the Beach Studio Tour on the weekend of May 1st, 2nd and 3rd and I 'm asking myself if I can possibly be ready and why am I doing this?  As with many artists I work alone and from my own inner space. It is then scary to put our creations out into the world. However what completes the equation is a connection and sharing of what has been created.
When I get asked how can I open my home and studio I think warmly of all the many warm and lovely connections I have made through meeting and getting to know people who have bought and collected my pieces over many years. I wouldn't know you if I sold only through a gallery or agent. I still have the note from a collector who told me he and his wife had just sold the family home and bought a smaller condo but somehow they had still managed to find a spot for all my paintings they had collected. I treasure my own collection of  handcrafted items and it means a lot to hear that my paintings have touched a chord, been seen, felt, or just enjoyed. The viewer becomes part of the creative equation in the appreciation and observing of an artist's work. A studio tour is a special and unique way of doing so.
I would love to meet you on the The Beach Studio Tour as you visit the different locations of various artists and artisans. Friday night starting at 6:00 pm  I will be holding a wine and cheese reception at my location 17 Fernwood Park Ave.  Saturday and Sunday I will be open 10 am-6pm.  I t would be great to see you during any of these hours. This is a free walking tour in the Beach at a beautiful time of year. Enjoy the Lake, enjoy some art, and enjoy the tour.

Ruth Hayes   Watercolour   Mists of Magic

The Mystery of Art

The Mystery of ART

"The Most Beautiful Thing we can experience is the mysterious........  "

Albert Einstein

"Tree of Life"     Watercolour  Ruth Hayes

    Having always loved a good mystery must explain I think my total love of the creative process. The mystery occurs not so much in the how to's of painting but where the soul and heart and spirit of being human are stirred and moved and touched. The tools for me are colour, shape, texture and value but for a poet it could be the use of words or a dancer movement. How can a beautiful piece of music send the soul soaring? Looking at the colours in almost any Van Gogh will amaze and delight my eye as well as heart. A mystery is elusive and hard to describe but here I am trying to do so because it drives much of how I paint . As an artist I continually try to improve my skill but am aware that  the excellence of a piece of work might have little to do with highly developed technique. This is why Art is available to all-no experience necessary. It is unconditional in its expression through any and all of us and and a mystery as to how it can speak to one but not another. It is universal but subjective, relative and absolute. Is it any wonder it has me captivated.

     As another winter slowly shifts into Spring a number of my new pieces are trying to resolve their mystery enough to be finished for the Beach Studio tour coming up May 1,2 3.  That might or might not happen. I can only hope. The weekend tour is always fun and I hope to see old friends and new.

"Song of Spring"  Mixed Media  by Ruth Hayes

Follow the Journey with this Video Tutorial
Intuitive Wet in Wet Painting From Start to Finish 

               "Art is a Journey"

Being a Mother and Being an Artist

Rambling thoughts on life's journey

Climbing Those Rocks!   Watercolour  Ruth Hayes

    Perhaps it is a cliche to say that life is a journey but it is such an apt description. What is even scarier is that it often brings you back to where you started. Starting out upon graduating with my degree in fine arts I realized I needed to discover my own voice separated from the voices of the instructors that had filled my head for four years. Within a year however my arms, my heart and my mind were filled with the arrival of my first child. I was entranced and with it came a renewed burst of creative energy. Instead of life models in a studio I had this tiny perfect being inspiring me to sketch and paint her amazing little form. It wasn't what I had envisioned as being an artist but I committed to painting what was around me in my environment. The next few years brought a challenge to find time to paint as well as raise two children but they became subject matter for many paintings. My decision to paint what I loved opened doors, and galleries and opportunities for which I am grateful.
 All artists must grow, and certainly my babies did. Time passed and I reached a point where I headed back to school to complete a master's degree in Expressive arts therapy. For me it was a journey that explored the great Mother, the dark Mother, the black Madonna and more. I went deeper and learned and grew. My painting changed. I changed. I felt I knew ART in a new way. I hold a deep reverence and awe for the power of art to heal to touch and bridge all the many realms of our human experience. I continued to paint, exploring abstraction, symbolism, myth, nature and whatever else. Years have passed and still someone will find me and inquire about a painting of  a child on a beach they bought. Am I that artist? I live in Toronto on the Beach and participate in the Beach Studio tour and this Spring as a theme they have chosen Mother's Day as a focus because our tour takes place the week before. I smile, yes, I can do Mother,  still do mother but not the sentimental aspect associated with the day set aside.  Mother, that great creator  in us all has been the inspiration of my life's journey.
   May 1, 2, and 3 are the dates of the Beach Studio Tour this spring. It would be a pleasure to see you if you care to drop by.

Grateful for the Flow

Painting and the Creative flow

Mist of Magic   Watercolour by Ruth Hayes
15" x 22"

      I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music.  Joan Miro

Another year is coming to a close and I look back over  the flow of paintings  that were like visitors to my world, not all of them easy. From all of them I am grateful for the learning. I have my stack of in-completes that might someday be finished and there are the others that received a title and even a frame. How does an artist know when a painting is finished? It is a question often asked. I joke that only when it is out of my possession is it finished.
    I would call myself more an intuitive painter and often start with an inspiration even if it is only colour play.
At some point in the painting however the reality of how to create a good painting takes over. Composition meets inspiration and there they struggle. The struggle is keeping it alive  but also making it a strong piece of work. I think sometimes it is like life. How do we keep our dreams alive and make them work in the real world. Not every dream meets reality. That's ok. With a little time over the holidays I hope to return to my stack of unfinished dreams and perhaps finish one or two more.
    Watercolour classes start again in January of 2015 and the details are on my classes page.
Have a great Holiday Season!

Art Studio Invitation

Open House Invitation

"Hint of Mystery" Watercolour  Ruth Hayes

November 9th, Sunday 12:00-4:00 PM

Location: 17 Fernwood park Ave.

Toronto, 

Beach Area

You are warmly invited to drop by to see new work, small cards, matted pieces or simply share a cup of tea and conversation. 

Painting is a solitary pursuit and what has always been gratifying

is being met and having my work received by friends and collectors. It seems part of a completion of a cycle and I am 

often touched and surprised at the insights and stories shared.

I would be delighted to see you if you can come. 

For more information phone 416-699-8609.

Morning Mist   Watercolour by  Ruth Hayes

Time and the Creative Process

Observations on the creative process

This Autumn  the decision was made to slow down a bit and focus more on  my painting. It is easier said than done. For those who see me twice a year during the Beach Studio Tour you might have noticed  I am not on the Fall brochure.  I will be back for the Spring Tour and try to participate only once a year. However for those who might like cards and other items for Christmas I will be hosting an open house Sunday November 9th. This will be a relaxed stress free event where come if you like, I will be happy to see you.

It has been  interesting to note how  for me I have to step back and enter into another realm where time gets suspended in order to feel deeply immersed in painting. That is difficult with schedules to meet and the stress of everyday life. Perhaps that is why they say Art is timeless. A painting takes as long as it takes and it varies how long it takes to complete any particular one. What is interesting is watching myself disengage from the world of everyday time and stepping into that other realm. Perhaps I can blame it on the linear world in which we live. Art is often of that dream space. Writing this feels linear where I am trying to organize my thoughts in a coherent manner while thinking of several unfinished paintings calling to me at the moment.
Excuse me while I go paint instead of write.

Landscape Impressions

Landscape Impressions

Mist of Magic   watercolour   Ruth Hayes
size 15"x22"

To dream ad-midst nature-- perhaps to find colours, shapes, lines and images to light a spark that give meaning to aimless wanderings.  Living in a large urban city finding the time each day  for those aimless wanderings can be difficult. Having a dog to walk helps a lot. I am very grateful to live so close to the lake. The vast expanse of space as the the sky meets the water is always a wonder. The play of waves against the shore is music that soothes and calms and the sky is an ever-changing light show. Perhaps it is this light show that I find most challenging. In observing some paintings I've worked on over the summer there is a theme of landscape and light and the absolute magic it can create. Light on the rock, on the water, in the morning fog or evening mist and I can only conclude it has been a beautiful summer.
  With Fall around the corner I have a new series of watercolour classes starting in September. A few of my new landscape impressions can be see in Shamanstree Gallery.