Creating Artwork Can't Be Rushed!

Over the last number of months I have been asked to paint signs for a number of people.  This is great as it helps fill in the gaps between other pieces and styles of art, and it is a chance to be creative.

What I have found is that some people believe that something can be created instantly. This I believe is because we live in such an instant world. A world that is filled with drive through everything from banks, restaurants, coffee shops, wedding chapels and there are even drive through funeral parlours. Every possible way of gaining instant gratification! I have eaten, banked, wedded and done my duty paying my respects.

This is a shame in my opinion, sitting down and enjoying a meal. Greeting the bank teller. Watching the. Bride walk down the aisle. Saying good bye to a friend and passing your condolences on to the family. What has happened to the world we live in?

This idea has been passed on to how people see anything being made for them. As an artist I have to say that it takes time and patience to create a piece, in particular if that piece has detail in it. Hand painting letters, in many places a lost art unto itself, takes time and care. Painting the details of wildlife takes time, it is not instantly done.

I don’t sit down and whip off a painting, a paddle or a sign in a matter of minutes, it takes days to do a proper job. A painting could take weeks, even a couple of months, I have a painting of an owl that is on my easel and it has been there for a couple of months, it can’t be rushed.

What I would love to have people understand is that any craftsman, artist, writer needs time and takes time to perform their craft. A true craftsman worth his weight will take time to perform his craft. Please world give us the time to do so, give us the time to create. We do not live in an instant world of gratification, we live in an old world where time is used to create that piece of art, write that book, that sculpture. 

A fine meal takes time to cook, ask any chef. A car takes time to go through the factory. A book is not written overnight. A painting takes time to create. As the old adage goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Please consider this when buying anything made by any craftsman.

Wilkie Fine Art becomes Backwoods Country Arts.

I have been painting on and off for a good part of my life. A number of years back I started A Frame  Studios, which encompassed my wife's creativeness and my ever growing desire to paint. We have changed things over the last few years due to Julie's illness. I have been using and will keep Wilkie Fine Art but I do so much more than fine art.

Yes, I love to paint scenes of this great country Canada, I paint images of the Canadian landscape, much of I have seen, and these scenes can be seen in my work. I paint areas of Canada I haven't been to, through photos sent to me. I will continue to paint the Canadian landscape, wildlife in nature because we have pillowed so much of it under to build cities, push through highways endangering the beauty around us.

I have painted other items over the years as well. I have painted over 500 canoe paddles of varying sizes and shapes. I have painted on slate, rock and wood.  Most of these items were custom orders, a gift for birthdays, anniversaries, friends and more. 

I love to paint. So over the last number of months Julie and I have been discussing what we should do. Out of that has come Backwoods Country Arts, which is me, Doug Wilkie, working under a name that covers more than fine art. 

I am painting traditional fine art, momentous, sayings and more. All hand painted all Canadian made. My supplies are when ever possible made in Canadian. I believe in this country and believe we should promote this country and all that it has to offer.

Backwoods Country Arts, a creative corner of my life, that expresses more than a painting on canvas. A company of one, creating pieces for as many people that would like something for their; home, cottage, office, man cave, garage, nursery, family room, garden patio, etc.

Backwoods Country Arts is Doug Wilkie, in Omemee Ontario, in the Kawarthas.

https://www.facebook.com/backwoods.country.arts

Home Decor And Subway Art

Every artist that I know loves to paint and has a desire to see their work sell, or hang in a gallery. We want to see our artwork be enjoyed by someone other than ourselves in our studios.

Lets face it though, it isn't everyday that you sell a painting. I have sold some of my work, but I have sold a lot more of my work that many would class as a craft. I have sold a great number of custom ordered hand painted canoe paddles. Of late it is home, garden decor and what is known as subway art. It pays for the supplies and puts some money in the bank.

 

The paddles still allow the creativity of a piece of work on a canvas you name out there. To me this is still art, the "canvas" may not be traditional but it is still a canvas, it is a form of media that allows you to express yourself.

 

I also do other kinds of work, subway art, home and garden décor. Again it lets you use your talen in a different way.

 

They all allow creativity and allow you to help pay for supplies. Until next time have fun, let the creativity flow.

In Between One Style of Art We Create Another

I don't think that I have hidden my love and desire to paint, if the economy would allow it I would retire to a life of art and spending more time with my wife Julie. Life hasn't granted me that so I paint in my off hours.

I love to paint images of Canada, the back roads where so few get to see the beauty that is Canada. But I also paint other items like cottage and home decor. This includes hand painted canoe paddles, mail boxes, slate, wood panels and more. What I paint on these items vary, often it is custom orders, over 500 canoe paddles later, a number of mail boxes and wall home and cottage decor.

It is a form of relaxation, self expression while helping to fulfill my desire to paint. It has been said that no artist becomes famous until after they die, I don't expect to do that for a great number of years. I don't paint to become famous anyway, it is just something I love to do.

Prairie Flight

A couple of simple layouts I have put together, they haven't been painted I use these as a guide on the surface that they would be painted on. Yes, each piece is hand painted, not printed.

This is two finished pieces, painted custom orders. One on canvas the other on board. These are just a few examples.

To quote St. Francis of Assisi, "He who works with his hands is a labourer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsmen. He who works with his hands, his head and his heart, is and artist.

The Small Studio, The Small Business, Local People Helping The Economy

As I was driving to work earlier this month the announcers on the radio were talking about the economy and how it can effected by local businesses. All small businesses can have an effect, either positive or negative on local economy and the greater economy that surrounds it.

I have seen many a small locally owned business close its doors in my life time, and with the doors closing went jobs for local people. At the same time the local economy suffers lose whether it is visible or felt immediately. The more small business that closed their doors, that were bought up, the local economies suffered as did the local community at large.

My friends we can all see changes happen in our towns and cities if the entrepreneurial spirit returned to people. That spirit would be encouraged if the community supported small local businesses.

Julie and I buy local as much as we can, if it isn’t available where we live we will get it as close to home as possible. I would rather support a local business person, even if it means paying a little more than to buy from a company that has no interest in my local community.

This is why we look for locally made or grown products and items that show they are “Made in Canada” Our small studio supports the local economy.  We are not a big enough to change the Kawartha Lakes economy, or the Canadian economy, but if we all looked to support locally made, locally grown the economy would improve. It is time that the pendulum swings back from mass production that leads to cheaply made products that don’t last and don’t employ local people.

I purposely don’t buy made in China, unless there is no choice, sadly “Made in China” is the case more than I like it to be. We let people know that what we produce is locally made, Canadian made, even if the base pieces were not, the rest of the production is Canadian.

Canada was better off when we had local production of the products in our homes. Canadian made furniture, clothing, and food. It is true, Farmers Feed Cities!

 Relaxing! By Doug Wilkie

At The Cottage. by Doug Wilkie

Two of my paintings, done with locally purchased supplies, from smaller business not globally owned mega business. We would love to grow our little cottage industry studios into a large enough enterprise to open a store front that would be open to hire others, and even make room for people who were of similar creative spirit. 

Wilkie Fine Art Calendar

When you start painting you are never sure if you will gain any kind of recognition. I have been lucky so far, I have had one painting selected for an auction to support Children's Art programs through the National Art Council. I have had another that was selected for auction in support of Children needing medical attention. Recently I was asked if I wanted to do a calendar with my art. I was surprised but more than happy to try as it also meant I would be given an opportunity to have a lot of people see my art. So now I have a calendar available immediately on Amazon U.K. and it will be available for sale soon in North America. It is listed on North American sites, but not yet priced or shown as available. Here is a link to the U.K. listing.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wilkie-Fine-Art-Canada-Featuring/dp/1325045152/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417997605&sr=8-1&keywords=Doug+Wilkie

Here is the front cover.

Changing Subject Matter Can Be Inspiring

I have been painting wildlife for most of the last year, it has been a growing and a learning experience. I have enjoyed it and will continue to paint the wild life of this great country. As I finished the series I was doing that included some baby raccoons, a bear and a couple of moose I decided to do something different.

So for over the last couple of weeks I have been working on something different. It has been enjoyable, and inspiring. When I posted them to a fine art website I have some of my work on they were both viewed by a number of people very shortly after posting them. I have noticed that the people viewing my art work has definitely gone up in the last year, but these ones jumped ahead of how those were being viewed.

This piece is "Prairie Flight".Canada Geese having rested in an old prairie farm have taken to flight over an old wagon. The geese can be found just about anywhere in Canada. The old family farm is not as plentiful any more, and just like this wagon, left in the field and forgotten. It is sad to see the farm, all the hard work it represents, how the family farm helped to build this country being set aside.

 A walk through the forest in the fall, seeing all the colours as the hang in the trees. When you walk the same path again, a few days, a week or so later you will find the "Forest Quilt" as the leaves have fallen covering the ground in a quilt of colour.

As I have said before Canada offers so much  beauty outside of the concrete jungle.

"Beyond the concrete jungles and paved roads is a wonderful world waiting to be discovered, looked upon in awe and loved. It gives us a place to escape to from the pressures of life to a place of freedom and inspiration." D.W.