Lily S. May–Life with Art
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'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
I wanted to show you some more oil paintings that I've done over the past few years. These two are related. The house you see in House Spirit was next to a friend's place in Toronto. Here, it was in the process of being torn down. It was a beautiful old house that reminded me… Continue reading House Paintings
Over the years, I've done several self-portraits. This one is from 2009, again in water soluble oil paints on canvas. It's one I enjoy for the freedom of the brush strokes and the feeling it expresses. I painted it directly while looking in a mirror as opposed to using a photograph of myself as the… Continue reading Self-Portrait
When my father died in 2007, I took up oil painting again after not having painted with oils for many years. I made the three paintings in this post to express some of my feelings about his death and my life. Each one includes a self-portrait plus a portrait of him. In the final painting,… Continue reading Portraits on the Theme of My Father’s Death
On the theme of garden paintings, here's a fourth oil painting I did several years ago. The setting is part of the same garden I showed in my last post. This time, my husband is quietly taking in the healing of the place.
I was recently in the Grey Bruce area of Ontario on vacation. There I went to Earthbound Gardens where I had been before. Earthbound is one of several gardens you can tour on your own in the area. I took photos of an old door and windows that the gardeners have placed in the midst… Continue reading Photos and a Painting
Arts of May 