Sandy, with a few of her favourite people, and places
One of the paintings I created in Dubai influenced by all the great architecture and building going on there
taking a friend up flying
Kayaking with a friend near Ontario Place we found a tunnel
New River Gorge Bridge WV where Sandy rappeled 850'
going down to the harbour, Crail, Fife, Scotland
fun kayaking, W. Australia
climbing Uluru with my son Clay, central Australia
evening kiteboarding in W Australia
meet Ella, the most recent addition to our family
Ella at 5 weeks ... "I think I can"?!
Kaiden getting tired
"my daddy teaches English"
In case you don't know me, or about some of my adventures ... here are a few of them ... and some of the photos! I couldn't resist puting some of my more recent ones in from Scotland and the US. I still can't believe I am SO lucky that I can travel the way I do!! My Australian photos are here now too! My work is in Las Vegas right now! Unfortunately I'm not with it!!
Just before I tell you all about adventures and work ... any time is a good time to give a Sandy Brand Studio Gallery GIFT CERTIFICATE! They are valid for 12 months towards: the purchase of original artwork, lease or rental of original artwork, art classes, art supplies, for something specific, or for any cash value you choose! How's that for flexibility! The "Exhibitions" part of this site tells you where you can see my work too. I hope you'll take a little time for yourself soon and head out gallery hopping for fun ... and perhaps to buy an original piece of art!
My next workshop is in Alcona at our cottage this Sunday, (please watch my "classes" page for the next one). I only have space for 4 of you. So if you want a space, contact me NOW! The next Etobicoke class will be in September, where I'll have space to do printmaking with you. You can make some original greeting cards with me! So please sign up soon, it's $35 before the class or $40 if you wait till the day, (assuming there is space left for you)!
I'm back from an Australian trip ... what an amazing country! One of my sons lives in Freemantle near Perth in Western Australia, so I visited there and we went south 3 hours around Margaret River too. We camped under the stars near Uluru (the "red centre")and Alice Springs, and had a few days in Sydney. My photos are up, and my paintings are changing again because of this experience!! The sand around Uluru is even redder than the sand in Dubai! (I brought some home for my paintings, so you'll see it soon!)
I visit my youngest son and his family in Florida as often as I can in winter. Their elder son Kaiden is 2 now, and his new little brother was born in mid June! His name is Brody. Ella was born to another son and his wife on 1st February, closer to home, which is wonderful, as I can see her every week! I do love little people! His dad and mom are pretty neat people too!
We're enjoying our cottage up in Alcona (in Innisfil, just South of Barrie), which means I am spending more time up that way these days. A cottage is something I never thought I'd enjoy that much ... but it's fantastic! It's on a river running into Lake Simcoe and my kayak is right below my deck (in the river!) It's SO pleaceful and quiet and new art is already starting to happen based on how that feels. As I'm there so much, my work has to be as well, and I'm pleased to announce that Gary Owen's gallery in Barrie has my work again. You will find him on the lake side of the road, (downstairs), at 89 Dunlop St East. His phone # is 705-727-4003 if you'd like to give him a call. An accomplished artist himself, he really has an amazing spot with quality art. I'm delighted to be there!
We went on our last drawing/painting/photography trip with a few people to Scotland, (where I grew up), in May and June in 2008. The Glasgow tour and the bed and breakfast we stayed at in Oban were fantastic! We found some grrrreat places for us to go play!! The trip was awesome! Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired us all, and we had a lunch in his Willow Tea Rooms on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow - in the Salon de Lux even! The train ride up to Oban was fun, past Loch Lomond to the Highlands and islands on the West coast. We ate really fresh fish and big Scottish "chips". We watched the sun set from McCaig's Folly. We visited the ghosts of Glen Coe, and the Islands of Mull and Iona (where about 48 Scottish kings are buried!) We cycled and walked on the Island of Kerrara and drew and painted everywhere, even on the deck of our B & B, admiring the sunsets. I even discovered that the owner of the B & B went to the same school as I did long time ago! Brian and I went early and enjoyed a few days visiting friends and family too, which was good.
I am always struck by how beautiful those dramatic big rolling hills are. They are old old mountains, dotted with old buildings and little villages, many still just like they were 50 years ago, which is amazing! I have family there with a little house overlooking the harbour in Elie in Fife, which is on the East coast not far from St Andrews. Elie is where my family rented Amphion House each July when I was a child ... where there are lots of great memories! I'd forgotten that the light looked yellowish too. Even the blues look different. Experiencing their short days in Winter, and that yellow - seeing it again always affects my art. As usual, I did lots of drawing and little watercolors while I was there. I'll be taking people back for an Art Adventure in early June 2010. So in you're interested in joining us, let me know!
I've been back in Nanaimo in BC which was terrific. Fran Willis Gallery in Victoria has closed as Fran is now in semi-retirement, but Gallery 223 in Nanaimo has my work. The house in Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, is great. I love being there but I have so many wonderful fiends here, I just can't leave you all! But I have lots of friends on the Island as well ... ! The Nanaimo house is right beside the ocean ... so kayaking plus mountains are really hard to beat! I took part in the CADS (Canadian Assoc. for Disabled Skiers) Festival at Kimberley, BC when I was over a while ago. Unfortunately I shattered my collar bone skiing, but it's better now!
I was privileged to go and work with the to the Scarborough Arts Guild. It was primarily about creating their personalized place mats, but we did lots of other talking too! I've shown the Don Valley Art Club an amazing powerpoint presentation I have on my spiritual journeys to Nepal and the big mountains there along with my art which came from them! Please let me know if your group would like an inspirational show of amazing photos of my journeys, the treks, my drawings, some paintings, the people ... and allow me to share some awesome adventures and stories with you!
The Don Valley Art Club are a super bunch of people with lots of amazing ideas of their own. In my work with them this time we focused on acrylic painting and all it has to offer. There are just SO many things you can do with that stuff - I love it!! Needless to say, they all did really really well, and I had a great time too! Last Spring I was out helping the York Artists Guild with their painting; showing them how to figure out how to abstract reality amongst other things! That's always fun!
What a fantastic two weeks I had in Dubai at their Symposium. Although it's a while ago now but I'm still reeling from it. I still e-mail and facebook lots of the other artists who were involved all over the world!
The United Arab Emirates flew me over to represent my country as one of Canada's top professional painters. The Emaar International Art Symposium provided all the materials, (though I took my favorite brushes and some paints and odds and ends). IT WAS AMAZING!! As one of my friends said, "It is like being on another planet where everyone speaks the same language - that of art."
We painted in and around a huge tent at the Marina. I created 6 finished paintings, one of them a 55x110" dyptich! As my work progressed, changes started happening. The last 2 canvases were quite different. I used modeling paste and knives to sculpt and paint the city and desert I found myself in. I was so excited about this growth - changes still keep happening fast. The art we all created in Dubai is installed permanently in the world's tallest building (or it was the tallest last time I checked!)
The interaction with the other artists was amazing. We all grew very close in that short time. We found most of us shared similar hopes, fears and dreams. We talked about tecniques, ideas, galleries and projects - I learned so much and am so grateful for the opportunity to have taken part in this Symposium. As I watched us all work and our work progress I knew I belonged there, and found it validated my work as truly that of an accomplished, professional, international artist.
The photos of the paintings I created in Dubai are in my portfolio on this site. And by the way - I DID get to ride a camel in the desert when I was there! It was great ... I want to go for a longer trip sometime!
The Village Gallery in Port Credit had an exhibition of my new work after I returned from Dubai. I was showing with painter Lucille Weber and photographer Paul Teolis, which was awesome. Paul had been working in the Antarctic and Lucille in Guatomala, while I had been in Dubai. We're an interesting bunch of travellers with artistic eyes and senses! Our work looked fantastic together. The gallery still has lots of my work although that show is finished.
I was playing (supposed to be "teaching"), some Grade 2 and 3 students not long ago. We had such a great time! We were looking at "what I want to be when I grow up", and as I told them, I'm not sure what I want to be when I grow up ... I just look old, actually I'm a kid in disguise! Paper mache symbolic sculptures, drawings, paintings and collaged creatiions ... we crammed it all into an action packed wonderful whacky time!! Their teachers were terrific too. Thanks to Arts Etobicoke for their Arts Discovery program for making this all possible.
I keep updating my on-line portfolio. So please check it out to see my new work. As I get rental paintings turning over, and back in the studio for a little while, I'm photographing them and including them on the site. I hope you find just the right one for you! At your request I've included part of my art bio. on this site to let you know some of the corporate clients who have purchased my work. If you'd like to know more, or give me any feedback, please e-mail me at artist@sandybrand.com
Touched by Fire at http://touchedbyfire.ca) and Portfolios.com are excellent sites to view both my, and other artist's works. They are really easy to navigate and have some images that may not be in my own site.
A US based company called the Art Exchange now has 20 of my paintings available for sale through the web - which makes purchase REALLY easy. Please find them at www.art-exchange.com
Myartspace.com is another on-line gallery where you can see my work.
