an ongoing journal of Canadian artist Helen Utsal

  WoW! The Square Foot Show at the Purple Onion is the first exhibition the West Coast Art Collective has put on, and judging by the attendance and interest at the reception, the group is a welcome addition to the Comox Valley Art scene.
Thank you all for making the event so happy and vibrant! Out of the 84 paintings exhibited at the opening, we sold 23 and there was barely room to move for 3 hours.
Many of the artists who participated in the show: Corre Alice, Kira Neumann, Patti Didiomete, Lisa Kirk, Lucy Schappy, Jennifer Weber and myself, discussed the unexpected benefits they discovered while making the small pieces for the show. Many of us felt so liberated doing small 12"x 12" panels. We experimented with different media, and techniques knowing that if it didn't work out, its not the end of the world, its only a small panel, and we could always paint over it if it was a disaster. Of course the opposite happened and feeling free to make mistakes, we all ended up producing new work that was exciting and fresh.
I am more familiar with making larger paintings and I found the smaller panels refreshing to make. Being smaller, they were less 'precious' and I felt free to really indulge myself, trying new wierd colour combinations and playing with composition.
This painting was a nice little sea and sky landscape in silver, blue and red. I wanted to paint in the surfers but wondered if there was a place for surfers in fine art. I went ahead anyway, feeling that if it wasn't working it wouldn't sell, but I wanted to see how it would come together. The show opened at 7pm and this painting was sold at 7:04!
I was amazed and felt so encouraged to just paint what feels right. The audience is there.
Thanks again to all that came, and fueled us with their enthusiasm.
The Square Foot Show will definitely be an annual event from now on.