Barb Sohn Art

A Gift of Time
Let me start by saying I’m excited! After months of isolation and cancelled events, I am thrilled to announce that I have a solo show coming up at the end of July in Kingston, Ontario at Gallery Raymond. I will be bringing out all the new paintings from my Pandemic Painting Period . Hopefully our opening night will be able to go ahead and we will somehow practice social distancing, and you will be able to see some of my recent art in person.
This has been an unusual year for me as an artist, as it has for everyone. I have had a number of shows and events cancelled as far away as September. All of my classes, workshops and speaking engagements are gone. Our local studio tour, among other events, was cancelled for June. This is the event where people come and see where I live and create in my little studio in the woods. And I get to bring all of my art out of the corners to make room for new art.
These cancellations have an impact on me - I miss the direct contact with people who love art. I miss the conversations about art in general. I love to hear what people like, because it motivates me to go into my studio and produce new and different paintings.
But there is a silver lining to this isolation These past five months, I've been given the gift of time. Time to slow the pace and acknowledge the importance of my art community and friends. When I go out to my studio in the morning, I bask in the “room of my own” feeling – surrounded by my paints, easel and the view out my windows into the forest. I was lucky enough to have several commissions this spring, which fueled my creativity, and because of the gift of time, I was able to slow down and work with enthusiasm and focus on some larger paintings. And I had the time to study other artists that I admire and understand what it is about their work that draws me in.
And so, in August, I have a show of my new work at Gallery Raymond in Kingston. On Friday, July 31 from 7 to 9 pm come and meet me and to see my work in person. If you can't make the opening, the show continues until September 24.

The Toronto Artist Project is possibly the best show in Ontario to see exceptional art, and I was very honoured to be juried into this show for 2020. The show opened on a Thursday night with a reception and party, and ended on Sunday and never once stopped being busy! What a week! I met many new artists, who I hope will become my friends, and many people who seem to love my art.  Thanks so much! And, I would also like to thank the organizers of the show for the excellent job they did. I will be back in 2021.

 MERA (MacDonald's Corners Recreation and Fine Arts)  Award of Excellence in Fine Arts and Fine Crafts was created in 2008 to acknowledge local artists who demonstrate excellence in their work.  I'm happy to say I was the runner up in the 2019 MERA Award of Excellence for my work as an artist living in the Perth, Ontario area. The award was presented by Lyndal Neelin.  Thanks so much to MERA for this exciting opportunity! 

I am very happy and honoured to have been elected as a member of the Ontario Society of Artists after a 2 step jurying process in November, 2018 !

The OSA has a very long tradition which began with its founding in 1872. They are Canada's oldest continuously operating artists' society. 

The Society was instrumental in establishing major art institutions, including the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Ontario College of Art and Design. 
Today they are are a province-wide professional organization with over 260 members from many diverse backgrounds working in a wide range of media. 

It was an adventure getting to Toronto for the 2nd step- they invited me to bring a painting to the Arts and Letters Club for the second step of jurying.  I left Perth with the weather forecast of a snow storm on the way, and sure enough, about Trenton it began, just as it was getting dark.  By Port Hope, I pulled into a gas station parking lot, looked up and saw a hotel.  This was as far as I got that day.  The next morning, after a walk in the snow, I completed my trip to Toronto.

Luckily for me, it was well worth the trip to Toronto.  I look forward to participating in different events throughout the year.

It was one of the hotter weekends of the summer (wait, weren't they all hot?) when I set up at the Fine Arts Festival in Buckhorn, Ontario. But the benefit of having a show in the Kawartha Cottage County is that there is a lot of places to go swimming, which I managed to do before the vernissage in the evening.  It truly is a beautiful location - set in the community centre and in a string of cottages in the forest.  

I brought current paintings of Murphy's Point Provincial Park and the Yukon.

I had the honour of being an artist neighbour to Dave Rheaume, Catherine Schissel and Dwayne Richard James, all of whom kept me laughing all weekend.  It is a fun event for everyone.
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I also had the honour of being the 4th highest seller in the show! That was a surprise! And I will be back next year.

​​​Doesn't that painting look great hanging on the door? The painting is sold, as is the larger one on the right! And two little favourites on the mantle gone to new homes as well. Doesn't this scene look like a scene from the Friendly Giant?

After a wet and dreary summer, we took a break and left Canada for a few weeks in Scandinavia.  It was a hectic trip - and the highlight was a train ride to the mountains of Norway and then a boat trip into the fjords.  Lots of painting material you say? Yes, but as soon as we got back to Canada, a beautiful Indian Summer began, and I got carried away with the rich golden and red colours that speak to me in the early morning light.
So, finally, on October 24, I began to paint again - back into my fall colour paintings. may of these will be seen at my next upcoming show "Holly Jolly Art Show" at Algonquin College in Perth, Ontario.

We did a trip to Vancouver Island in March.  We hoped to get away from the dreary March weather in Ontario, but it was the exact same weather in BC;  maybe a couple of degrees warmer.
Anyways, we were based in Brentwood Bay for the 3 weeks that we were there, and we did trips up and down the island.  The highlight was our 3 day stay at Wickaninnish Inn at Tofino, where I photographed like crazy and came away with a ton of material.  What a stunning location!
Since March, I have been painting larger works from those few days at Tofino: Chesterman's Beach (above), Long Beach and the Wild Pacific Trail at Uclulet.  I'll be showing some of these works at upcoming shows, such as the Rideau Lakes Summer Show, in Perth in July, as well as the Buckhorn Fine Arts Festival in the Kawarthas at the end of August.
Looking forward to seeing you!