Lily S. May–Life with Art
We watched the U.S. election closely from Canada. In the wake of the outcome, I have felt fear and sadness. Yesterday, I headed off to the Art Gallery of Ontario to be amongst art works that helped me feel calmer. Today I thought of posting two oil paintings I did in 2008. The first is… Continue reading Aftermath
Here's 2 photos I took today at the Art Gallery of Ontario of David Milne's Black Waterfall. This is the painting I love that I wrote about in 2014 and included in my last post, A Poem for an Old Woodcut. David Milne lived from 1882 to 1953 and as far as I can tell it appears that 50 years… Continue reading Black Waterfall
The growth and colours of Spring got me thinking about this oil painting I made a few years before 2010 (I neglected to put the date on it). It's a fantasy of abundant life that I recently brought out of hiding and onto a living room wall. I hadn't thought of making strings of flowers before looking at… Continue reading Abundance
I have loved this autumn. Last week, I was on the grounds of Todmorden Mills Heritage Site to see an art exhibit and enjoy the still colourful day before the more muted part of autumn arrived. A few years ago, I started experimenting with black and white photography in the fall just to see what would arise in… Continue reading Captivated by Autumn
It's federal election day in Canada. In honour of that, and after voting earlier this morning, I'm posting this portrait I painted of our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, in 2009. It was autumn then, as now, and I happened to have some ornamental gourds in my apartment. I placed one of them on his head… Continue reading Election Day in Canada
I've been very affected by the report of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission that came out last week. The widespread extreme abuse of aboriginal children by the government and churches who ran residential schools was aptly named cultural genocide. In addition to presenting chilling historical testimonies of survivors and noting the thousands of children who… Continue reading Truth and Reconciliation
Last week while looking through the sketchbook in which I found the artwork for my previous post, I came upon a drawing I had forgotten. A few years ago I used the drawing as a starting point for an oil painting. The painting was, in its style, unlike other work I had done. In the painting,… Continue reading The Road
Here's another painting that I don't have hanging up at the moment that was good to see again as I was organizing the art give-away I held. I'm keeping this in my collection. I painted it in 2009 with water soluble oil paints on canvas. It was one of several expressive works I did--meaning that I allowed… Continue reading Revisited Oil Painting
This past weekend, I held an art give-away. Over time, I've sold some of my work, but after decades of making linocuts and woodcuts plus painting, sewing and felt making I have accumulated a vast amount of work. So, I decided to keep a copy of each print for myself and to offer the others as… Continue reading Art Give-Away
Here's the last painting in the series of self-portraits I did at year's end, 1991. This one also refers to the surgery I had as a teenager and to feelings of mortality.
Arts of May 