Carol Goes To Spain - Indiegogo Campaign

Carol's Art Residency Campaign from Carol McQuaid on Vimeo.

Follow this link to check out the details - Here's a preview: you can buy a postcard sized original linocut with watercolour for $30, and I'll mail it to you from Spain!  Campaign ends on February 16th, the day I head to Spain. 

Carol Goes to Barcelona

My Weekend at Grandmas

I've spent the past few days at moms (you'll call your mom grandma after you have kids too), hiding out with a stack of prints to paint. I leave for Spain in two weeks less a day, and will be featured in two shows here in Vancouver while I'm gone. I wanted to leave enough finished pieces that any purchasers could get what they want without waiting for me to come back. One of the shows is the Federation of Canadian Artists Annual Landscape Show. It's my first show as part of the federation and I'm  super excited to have been accepted. There's a pretty stiff jurying process to get in their shows. The other show, Urban Echoes, is a printmaking show at the Firehall Theatre. It's a four artist show, and one of the artists is my favourite printmaker and the person I took my first printmaking workshop with. I wish I could be at the openings, but being stuck on a vineyard in Spain with a printmaking studio at my disposal is sweet consolation. 

Another Grey Morning - Sketch at Tap and Barrel

This is one of the million beautiful viewpoints on our daily dog walks.  As I sat and sketched this I found myself signing 'Another Grey Morning' by James Taylor.  It ain't exactly a tropical beach scene, but Vancouver has its own kind of beauty this time of year.  Plus it's good practice capturing a full range of greys.  The tiles in the foreground were fun.  I didn't relish the idea of slavishly trying to capture the pattern, so I grabbed one of those red plastic netted bags that you buy oranges in.  I twisted it into a formation I thought might work, anchored it with random objects and pounced a loaded brush on top of it.  Voila, one million tiles in 20 seconds. Works for me :-)

My show at the Cultch came down today.  It was a great experience all around.  Many thanks to those of you who came out.   I'll keep you posted for the next one.

Invitro

Went out and bought all the ingredients to make butternut squash ravioli last night. Was dreaming about it all aft, picturing myself all covered in flour, laying sheets of freshly made pasta onto my new ravioli mold. Then somehow, when hunger struck and I hadn't even made the dough, going out to try the new restaurant in our hood became an obviously better alternative. Invitro is the latest incarnation in the heritage house around the corner from our place. The place is great, the food inspired (I had the pasta wth leeks and cream and we shared a bococcini salad) but chef/proprietress Sarah was definitely the best part of the experience. She's a creative soul (music, art, food), and she's pouring all her passion into this lovely little nest of a restaurant. I foresee many more cooking plans shelved in favourite of a walk around the block for whatever's on the menu.  Welcome to the neighbourhood. 

Reading Pablo

In prep for my upcoming Spain trip I've been reading Patrick O'Brian's biography of Picasso. It's so well written, and they actually knew each other well which provides for some good perspective. I'm reading on my kobo, so no pics, which I think will make it feel like even more of a discovery when I get there and see his work and legacy in the 'for reals'. 

And... look at this big chunk o' linoleum he's playing with!  My kind of guy. 

Art Opening at The Cultch

We had such a great evening at The Cultch on Wednesday night; what a crowd!  All my party favorites were there, and lots of great new people I'm so happy to have met.  Thanks to all who came out, to artists Atty and John who are showing there with me, to Jenn at the Cultch, and a special big thanks to those of you who are taking home a new piece of artwork.  Show is up until January 8th. 1895 Venables in Vancouver. 

Here are a few snaps:  

And here's me recuperating the next morning with the chocolate bar Trent brought me as a present. Thanks Trent. 

Spanish Art Residency - Pre Game Plan

A huge part of the fun of any adventure is the anticipation that fills the gap between deciding to go and getting on the plane.  Well, I’m happy to announce that I’ve entered that phase.  My art residency in Spain is booked!  I’ll be leaving on February 16^th, spending 2 weeks sketching and traveling with my favourite trip buddy/husband, then spending all of March at Estudio Nomada on the outskirts of Barcelona exploring different methods and creating a new body of work.  I've confirmed with Estudio Nomada who offered the residency through www.resartis.org, we booked an adorable flat in Madrid through www.airbnb.com, and traded our house with a couple who live in the heart of Barcelona through www.homeexchange.com.  How did we do these things before the magical interweb?!

So here’s how the pre-game goes for me: First  I do up a reading list.  It’ll cover some history, geography, culture, travelogues and the like.  This time it includes lots of Hemingway and Michener, and books on Dali, Velasquez and Picasso.   I started chipping my way through it  when I first got the invite from the residency, so I’ve already hit some big stuff like Don Quixote (it may be heralded as the first modern novel, but it’s still a bit of a slog in spots).

Then I make a language study plan.  In this case it’s easier than past trips, since Spanish is my strongest ‘non-english’ language.  I’ve been reading my fave Spanish books (el Alquemista, Cuentos de Eva Luna) and listening to audio books in Spanish like ‘El Monje Que Vendio Su Ferrari’.  I’m also using www.notesinspanish.com audio podcasts and worksheets from Marina Diaz and Ben Curtis.  They’re an adorable Spanish/British couple who make great learning tools at all levels.  They discuss really interesting topics, anything from environmental concerns to the Heroes TV Show.  She corrects him when his Spanish isn’t perfect, and  together they explain any unusual terms or idioms.  Super effective.  I’m watching my way through every Spanish movie Netflix has to offer.   There is a January session at www.holaspanishcentre.com  right around the corner from my house that I'll be attending, and www.meetup.com has Spanish meet-up sessions at the bar a few blocks in the other direction.  Que conveniente!  I know when I get there there’ll be lots of people who speak English everywhere, but it’s far more fun to torture them in their own language J

Now I get to plan the art part: what supplies to take and what tech-y tools I’ll need.  I'm envisioning tucking into the streetscape, capturing wild Gaudi structures, old Moorish buildings and contemporary marvels all jumbled together.  I'm so excited about this destination!

Then comes the promo stuff.  This time I’ll be using something like Indiegogo to raise funds to cover the trip.  I’ll do up a video sharing my dream, showing my methods and what people will get if they invest in my adventure. 

So, I hope you’ll follow along.  Empazamos!