November Birdsong Studio Update

It has been far too long since I sat down at a computer and did some writing. The paint is drying on my latest piece, my coffee cup is full, and porridge is cooking on the stove. It's a perfect time.

We are in the middle of our Birdsong Clearance online silent auction being very intentional about clearing some space in the studio. There are two reasons we want to make room. First, and most immediately, we have invited several Okotoks based artists to join us for a LIGHT UP SHOW AND SALE next Friday.

Dale Deglow, Jerry Epp and Rob Kunz need space on the walls to display their work.  Secondarily, we want to create room for new creations and energy.

In this time of inflation and financial struggle, it feels like I have to work harder than ever to market our stuff. Art, in many cases, is a "nice to have". There is not a lot of wiggle room in peoples' budgets for the things we desire but may not absolutely need. I get it. That's why we're offering starting bid prices that are historically low.

You can check out 100 original paintings and gallery canvas prints here: https://www.32auctions.com/birdsongclearance

Following our LIGHT UP SHOW AND SALE I will be getting ready for our market booth at The Saskatoon Farm north of Okotoks. Thousands of people converge on this incredible place during the lead up to Christmas and we are excited to be a part of it for three weekends in a row.

Creatively, I've been exploring a new technique or style that was inspired by one glance at another's artists painting on Instagram. I looked at whatever it was for a microsecond and it led to this five painting exploration. It brings in several techniques and tools I've been using for some of my tree paintings and abstract landscapes.  

You can obviously see the visual through line between them. I'm looking forward to hanging them in one section of the studio. As today is Saturday, we will likely have a few visitors in the studio. I'll be curious to watch how they react.

We had a great first week of sales of our first collaborative book: Colours of the Wild, Animals of the Americas. If you want to buy a copy or two, send me an email and I can set it up. You can reach me at russell@birdsongstudios.ca.  They are only $21 + gst each. A dollar from each book sold will be donated to an animal rescue and ecological reserve in central Mexico (Angelitos Sanctuario de Animales y Ecologica Reserva).