Forest Light

View this email in your browser

What strikes you as beautiful?

Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.

- John Muir

Out with Neighbourhood Friends

Lori Ridgeway
oil on canvas 40" x 30"

Our Canadiana: True North exhibit continues. We feature a wonderful new artist on the scene, Lori Ridgeway, in this issue, in the windows, and in the gallery interior.

The show also features no less than sixteen other artists!

IN THIS ISSUE

Introducing Lori Ridgeway

Lori's Perspective

New Works by Sara Alex Mullen

Seeking Neighbourhood Artists

Other Upcoming Events

Introducing Lori Ridgeway

"A cathedral, he'd said; and she supposes there is something rather celestial and awe-inspiring about the tall, arched trees and the light streaming in golden shafts through the soft green branches, filtered as though through stained glass."

- Hannah Richell, in "The Peacock Summer"

Flutter of Batik in the Evening

Lori Ridgeway
oil on canvas 22" x 28", framed

This summer, we're featuring a very strong array of painters of the Canadian landscape. There are seventeen artists exhibiting in the show, which will run through the end of August.

We were recently very pleased to make the acquaintance of Lori Ridgeway through a mutual friend. Lori has been working seriously on developing her abilities as a painter since her retirement a few years ago. As you can see, she's developed a personal style that's both charming and sophisticated, one very suited for and informed by the Canadian natural landscape. We're honoured and thrilled to provide her first gallery representation!

I Had Planned a Picnic
Lori Ridgeway
oil on canvas 24" x 24"

As you can see, each piece begins with its own unique and striking palette, flickering at the edge of realism, verging on a sort of mystical light. Then each painting uniquely brings out a different and strong pattern in the landscape, taking the familiar and bringing out the beauty in it.

The strongest landscape art brings together an appreciation of our natural landscape with an appreciation and celebration of the patterns of light and shape that the landscape offers up to us when we take the time to look. We think Lori Ridgeway is doing it right!

Lori's Perspective

"We feel cold, but we don't mind it, because we will not come to harm. And if we wrapped up against the cold, we wouldn't feel other things, like the bright tingle of the stars, or the music of the aurora, or best of all the silky feeling of moonlight on our skin. It's worth being cold for that."

- Phillip Pullman, in "The Golden Compass"

Lori Ridgeway is a landscape oil painter, originally from Alberta now
living in Ottawa, Ontario. Since returning to painting seriously in
2013, she has been inspired by the forest, grasses marshes and
shorelines in and around Ottawa, concentrating in her paintings on
expressing patterns of line, shapes, colour, and light and shadow in
the near landscape – complexity that lies below the superficial and,
often, everyday notice.

"My aesthetic was mainly shaped by my years spent in the high backcountry of the Rocky Mountains. It is where I first explicitly thought about the dazzle of light and shadow, colour and even scent and sound that creates my sense of immediate ‘place’, which stopped me in my tracks as often as the incomparable vistas. It is now how I am inspired in nature where I live.

"I thus want to share how I see the patterns in landscape revealed by lines, shapes, colour and light and shadow — the very weft and warp of the fabric of our surroundings. I want to capture and amplify, through mark making and colour, that which often escapes everyday notice — the contrasts of line, and positive and negative shapes to create interest, texture and movement in my paintings."

- Lori Ridgeway

Lori has a graduate degree in economics and after teaching in university spent her career in Ottawa in economics and policy in the Department of Finance, Privy Council Office, a diplomatic posting at the OECD in Paris, France, and running policy and integration Branches in Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and chairing processes internationally including the UN. She closed her career mainly in international policy, becoming Canada’s Chief negotiator for many international policy agreements and a treaty in fishery and oceans related issues, including the Arctic.

She began her interest in art in High School, where she was active in the visual and other arts. Her professional career ultimately took a different turn, but she never lost sight her love for art, and spent many long hours on the edges of her international career in galleries and art neighbourhoods in North America and around the world.

After a long career, she immediately returned to painting in 2013, this time in oils. To make up for lost time, she has followed classes since 2014 at the Ottawa School of Art, Winslow Art Centre, and many workshops and courses by diverse renowned artists. She and her husband have travelled annually since 2013 to spend in-depth time in various art centres featuring contemporary painters.

Linger a While

36" x 36"

If You Could Read My Mind (detail)
30" x 24", framed

There is No Lustre Without Light
30" x 30"

Jewel in the Crown
30" x 30", framed

all oil on canvas or cradle board by Lori Ridgeway

Lori's new on the scene, but we'd commend the attention of the serious collector to her work. We think these paintings will appreciate as more people come to appreciate these paintings!

See Lori's whole collection at this link .

New Works by Sara Alex Mullen

“No one who loves the woods stays on the path,”

― Millie Florence

Since the Canadiana exhibit opened, we've had two influxes of new work. In addition to the lovely pieces by Lori Ridgeway shown above, we received a number of new works from our neighbourhood stalwart, the popular and delightful Sara Alex Mullen. If you follow our social media, you've seen some of these, but we'd be remiss in not bringing them to your attention in this newsletter as well!

Hidden Path
60" x 36"

Bubblegum Clouds
28" x 22"

Flowing
28" x 22"

Centerstage
16" x 22"

Reflections on the Lake

28" x 22"

all oil on canvas by Sara Alex Mullen

Characterized by bold strokes and vibrant colours, Sara’s oil paintings reinterpret classic Canadian landscapes in a contemporary fashion. Intuitively, Sara paints loosely from photographs and impressions from her travels across Canada. She utilizes dry brushing, palette knifes, and carving tools, painting alla prima, to maximize texture and create energy in her work.

Sara’s work is represented at various galleries across Ontario and has been featured in Ottawa Life Magazine. Her work is in private and corporate collections across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Sara lives in Ottawa and founded the New Edinburgh Artist Studio Tour.

Also featured in the Canadiana show: Elisabeth Arbuckle, Elisabeth Baechlin, Karen Bell, Pat Carbonneau, Karen Taylor Dyrda, Phillida Hargreaves, Chris Kingsley, Peter Leckett, Pina Manoni-Rennick, Susan Reiter, Barb Sohn, Irene Tobis, Anita Utas, Mary Ann Varley, and Karen Whyte! Each brings their own unique vision to the Canadian landscape!

Seeking Neighbourhood Artists!

Art lovers in our neighbourhood were discouraged that the New Edinburgh Studio Tour ("NEST") was cancelled for the second year in a row, owing to pandemic uncertainty.

To soften the blow, and to keep awareness of New Edinburgh as an artistically vibrant neighbourhood in people's minds, Electric Street Gallery is planning a special multi-artist "hyper-local" art exhibit! Featuring artists living or working in New Edinburgh and adjacent neighbourhoods and including guest artists who have participated in past studio tours, this will be an Electric Street Gallery show, co-sponsored by NEST.

If you are eligible and interested in participating, please contact us by telephone at 613 748 - 2008 or via email using this form.

Other Upcoming Events

True North: Canadiana Exhibit continues through August 31. Please don't miss it! It's quite amazing.

August 19 - 31: Art for India Benefit show. The first weekend the art will be displayed in the windows, the second weekend in the gallery interior. More details in our next newsletter.

Weekend of August 19 - 22: Gallery interior will be closed. Online sales are still happening, though.

September 9 - 29: "Neighbours of New Edinburgh". Featuring NEST artists and artists who live and/or have their studio close by the gallery (roughly speaking, comfortable walking distance). If you're eligible and interested, please contact us directly for information as described above.

October 7 - 27: "Equestria" Horse themed art, featuring the amazing wild horse photography of Sandy Sharkey. Contributions of horse themed art are welcome! See our submissions page.

In the holiday season this year, our theme will be "Music". We'll interpret this broadly. Songbird themed art is included. Again contributions are solicited. See our submissions page.

We're open!

We now can admit up to three (human) visitors inside at a time. A single well-behaved leashed dog may also visit. Masks (for the humans) remain required.

We're at 299 Crichton Street (at Electric Street).

Our open hours are 11 AM - 7 PM, Thursdays through Saturdays or by appointment.

We are frequently on site at other times. Unless a "Do Not Disturb" sign is in the door (usually because we're on a conference call or busily rearranging the displays), we'll welcome visitors at such times as well, "by happenstance".

Photographs of art don't do them full justice! We encourage you to come by and have a look, to get the full impact of these marvelous artworks. Welcome back!

We're located just off the Rideau Pathway, so wander by on your urban hike, visit the geese, take in the summer scenery, and have a peek at our display windows while you're in the neighbourhood!

As always, we try to keep the Gallery windows interesting for passers-by.

While we're happy to welcome visitors again, curbside pickup and local delivery (within the city limits) remain available.

We also can ship many of our pieces within North America.

We and our artists greatly appreciate
you shopping locally!

11 AM - 7 PM Thursday - Saturday
or by happenstance
or by appointment

299 Crichton Street
or shop online. 24/7/365.

Telephone inquiries welcome at 613 748 - 2008.

Or contact us via email using this form.

SUBSCRIBE!

If you're reading this via email, you're already subscribed!

If you're seeing this newsletter via a web link, and you enjoy it, we encourage you to subscribe, using this form.

You can see past newsletters here.

galerie electric street gallery