Tangerine Dream Officially Closed as of September 1st 2014

Huge thanks to all of our customers, neighbours in the Bay, friends who loyally supported us with our gallery venture, students who attended our workshops, and especially our artists. It was a wonderful couple of years, and we are so grateful for all of your support!

For the latest updates on what both Lesley and Pipi are up to post TD please check out our websites:

http://www.lesleyfountain.blogspot.ca/

http://www.pipihomedecor.com/

NEW BEGINNINGS!

Beginning in September, Pipi and Lesley will be dividing the space into two working artist's studios - with Lesley Fountain Studio on what is currently the gallery side, and Pipi Home Decor on what is currently the studio side.
 

The gallery will be officially closing on August 31st, so please make sure you get down to take advantage of some of the bargains as we offer a final blowout sale on much of our artwork between now and the end of the month.

Both Lesley and Pipi are really excited about the new directions they are heading! It will be a great opportunity for both to spread the wings they have grown over the past year and a half. Pipi is focusing her full attention on designing and creating her gorgeous tableware, and has some great ideas percolating, and Lesley's focus is on facilitating creativity in others through workshops, open studio drop in time, classes and special art events. Both are excited to continue working right next to each other.

We would both like to thank each and every one of you who have supported us at the gallery by attending events, shopping in the gallery, taking workshops or just generally talking enthusiastically about our space and encouraging others to come and see for themselves. It has been a fantastic experience for us running the gallery, and we couldn't have done it without all of you. We love our community and feel so grateful to be continuing “the dream” in our beautiful Cowichan Bay locations.

Please keep your eyes on this blog and our Tangerine Dream facebook page for news and updates about the launching of Lesley Fountain Studio and Pipi Home Decor. We can't wait to re-open our doors in September and both have lots of exciting plans cooking!

Thanks so much to each and every one of you for being a part of our amazing time as Tangerine Dream.

Lesley and Pipi

A little cross posting - new abstracts by Lesley

 Fall at the Foot of Thee

Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna drown in your blue sea?
Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna fall at the foot of thee? - U2

A post about Lesley's new abstracts on her studio blog - http://lesleyfountain.blogspot.ca/

Nomads and Homebodies - July 29th - September 14th

  
Some folks love to roam the world and some are content cosied up by the hearth at home. This month we are featuring the work of Sue Bayley, Nomad Artist, and Lesley Fountain, self identifying Homebody. The one commonality of these two artists is their love of colour. Both artists enthusiastically embrace it as they express their outer and inner worlds.

Sue Bayley -  Nomad Artist

"Much of my art is inspired by my nomadic life traveling the world working in environmental conservation.  Landscapes attract me but I find I am always circling back to paint wildlife: animals are my muse - powerful shapes, ancient wisdom.  I give them voice - “See Me, Feel Me, Hear Me” and in many cases “Protect Me”. Ten percent or more of all my art sales are donated to conservation projects. Recently, my painting, “Jelly Feast” was used by the Ocean Foundation to raise money for a community turtle sanctuary in the San Blas Islands of Panama.

I use colour for its emotional impact, I do not try to make my subjects exactly life like, my camera does that. But to demonstrate the essence of the animal or place with an expressionistic style.  Exploring colour is part of my nature and a major component of my creative process. Often a large part of my painting is done with my hands deep into pots of creamy acrylic paint. I love the childlike feel of the paint running from my hands as I dance the colours across the canvas. My whole body is involved in the creation of my art, as I dance around the studio; hands, trowels, spatulas, house brushes and a variety of tools splashing a riot of colour onto the canvas. The energy that I create as I dance with the paint transfers to the canvas to give spirit and life to the work. Often I am laughing at the expressions and antics of the creatures in their natural environment, and I want my paintings to convey that joy and humour. They should bring smiles to you, the viewer’s face.  In a moment I want to grab your attention, say - ‘Watch, explore and wonder at the magical natural world.’

I have always had a gypsy soul; wandering the world and following a creative life. First as a ballet dancer, then in music and film production but always an artist. My backpack has few clothes but there is always a mobile art studio in there! Raising my three sons in Whistler and later Vancouver gave me a home base where I worked in film production as a location and production manager. I never stopped painting and I had many exhibitions and my paintings are in many residences in both cities. When my youngest left home, I did too! I have been travelling the world working on marine conservation projects in the tropics. I always return to BC for the summer and work with whale watching companies in the Gulf Islands or on Vancouver Island.  My paintings are in galleries in France, Hawaii, San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, various Caribbean Islands and now Cowichan Bay. My art can be seen at the Salish Sea Gallery, Fentiman Avenue, and Tangerine Dream Gallery and Studio.

The birds are all part of my "Avians with Attitude" series.  The ‘Punk Pelicans’ are from the beaches in the Baja where I spent several winters. The eagles are inspired by the birds at ‘The Raptor Centre’ on Herd Road. The crows are from all over the valley.  The puffins are from my travels in California on my journeys to the Baja. Turtles are one of my favourite subjects and part of a larger series of paintings of marine wildlife including whales, tropical fish and dolphins. As I have taken hundreds of underwater photos when working on marine conservation projects, I have lots of inspiration for new paintings.

Facebook Art Page - Nomad Artist - Sue Bayley's Paintings
Website - www.SueBayleyArt.com

 Lesley Fountain - Homebody 

Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, art has always played an important role in her life, and early experiments with finger paints and papier mache led to painting on silk, cotton, canvas, wood, ceramics, paper, and clothing. She began exhibiting and selling her work while living in Britain in the 1980s. After returning to Canada in the 1990s she continued painting and began creating large papier mache sculptures and mixed media artwork. She taught children and adults through continuing education classes in community centres, as well as workshops in her home studio.

In the late '90s Lesley moved to California and discovered the limitless creative power of art software. She created artwork using Corel Painter software and a pressure sensitive drawing tablet. After seven years in the US Lesley returned home to Canada, and now lives in Mill Bay on Vancouver Island. In 2012 she wrote and published the book The Passionate Life - Creativity, Connection and Community, which profiles twenty-two Cowichan Valley women passionately pursuing the lives of their dreams, and in 2013 she published the follow up book, The Passionate Life II, which tells the stories of fifteen more women. 

 Vibrant colours and a spontaneous, contemporary style characterize Lesley's work. She enjoys working with the combination of hidden and exposed, images and text, and densely layered colours and textures. Her paintings are painted in the intuitive painting style and are comprised of many layers of paint and texture. Her recent graffiti series (she has named it Kind Graffiti) features quotes, words and song lyrics over layers of stenciling, stamping, scratching and spray paint. Her mixed media banners - created on hardware store roofing paper - feature acrylic paints, shimmering metallics, oil pastels, collage elements, and embellishments of braid, charms, milagros, tassels, sequins and found objects.

Lesley is co-owner of Tangerine Dream Gallery and Studio in Cowichan Bay, BC, and teaches workshops in intuitive painting and mixed media at her studio, Shine Art Studio, in Mill Bay. 

Graffiti Workshops - Free Form Creativity with Amazing Results

This past Saturday I taught another "Graffiti style" painting workshop. I often notice when I begin my workshops with a very short preamble and then a "let's get started, choose some paint" that some of my students develop a bit of a deer in the headlights look. I like to get stuck in - in my mind the learning is in the doing - and I am always delighted to look around 10 minutes later and see the students happily applying paint using all kinds of tools, including their hands, smearing, stamping, and dripping colour randomly. They are in the zone - not thinking and planning, just experimenting. Not having a plan is exhilarating! Often times the "mistakes" (there are none, in my opinion) turn out to be favorite areas of their paintings! Other times they simply offer up the opportunity to make new choices. It's just paint! It's just canvas! There are no rules! (Deer in the headlights looks again.)

My graffiti style evolved after an evening in my studio after a particularly trying day with a person I have a challenging relationship with. I was working very quickly, grabbing paint and tools and making lots of loose and loopy marks. I did not have any intention for the painting, I just wanted to get my feelings out. This painting was the result:

I was really delighted with the process and the result, and in the following weeks created these other paintings using the same technique. I call it Uplifting Graffiti!:

These are the paintings my students created in Saturday's workshop. The process includes layers of dripping, stamping, stenciling, etching, lettering and spray painting:

My next Graffiti workshop will be held Sunday, August 24th, at Shine Art Studio in Mill Bay. Please contact me if you would like to register! 

 

tangerinedreamgallery@gmail.com

Ladies Paint the Blues

On exhibit until July 25th - the work of local artists 

Carolyn McDonald, Julie King and Bernadette McCormack

The palettes of these three talented artists feature our favorite Tangerine Dream colours: blues and oranges! Each woman's style is unique, and the combined effect of the three together is quite magical.

Carolyn McDonald grew up in a small town in the countryside of Jamaica. Her "Jamaica series" expresses so well the luscious colours and gentle rhythms of the tropics. Carolyn's paintings invite the viewer to "fill in the stories of special places that may seem familiar and yet hold a sense of mystery."

Julie King was born and raised in England, and worked in London as a designer and colourist before moving to a small island in the Caribbean. There she was inspired by the colours of the tropical waters and began painting seascapes in oil pastel. Today Julie lives in the Cowichan Valley and works primarily with acrylics and watercolours. Her work is textured and multi - layered in vibrant blues, creams and purples.

Bernadette McCormack is from Lamont, Alberta. A long time traveller, she began her painting journey after a trip to Mexico in 1992. Bernadette also spent time in the Caribbean - she lived for a year in Santo Domingo. The Caribbean is a common thread with all three women! The inspiration of Lauren Harris and Ted Harrison, combined with her multicultural background and her love of travel lends an indigenous feel to her work. "Love, life, and patterns found in nature are my immediate inspirations. My paintings are created to remind people of the beauty that is within and around us."

ENTER OUR DRAW TO WIN A DALE NIGEL GOBLE PRINT!

Artist Dale Nigel Goble is gifting a lucky winner a print of "Flowers" from his Canadian Postage Stamp Series. This hand signed, oversize 38 x 36 enhanced archival print usually sells for 250.00.

Draw will be held June 28th. Make sure you get in and enter to win!