kelly grace

New Studio and the One of a Kind Christmas Show Preview

2011-11-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

Video preview for the One of a Kind Show.

For 6 months we enjoyed having an outside of the home studio.

We made tonnes of work here in that short time and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. In October, Shaun and I decided to move to a new studio with two fellow artists.

Since all four of us moved in there we have been in full production mode. Gosia, Kyle Stewart and I are in the upcoming One of a Kind Christmas Show that starts on November 24th.

I will be exhibiting new paintings from my fair tours I went on this summer and fall. As well as new street scenes. I will be unveiling an ALL NEW DATE NIGHT SERIES at the show. Visit my artisan page on the One of a Kind Show website for a sneak peak.

New this year at One of a Kind, on Thursday, December 1, 2011, for ONE NIGHT ONLY, the Show will open late until 11pm. Meet and shop from a star studded lineup of artisans, and get ready for an evening of Late Night Star Gazing at One of a Kind.

SPECIAL PERKS

From 6pm to 11pm on December 1, don’t miss these One of a Kind perks:

* FREE parking after 6pm (Thursday, Dec 1, 2011 ONLY)
* Door crasher prizes at every hour from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm
(for your chance to win One of a Kind Show Dollars to spend at the Show)
* Free coat check from 6pm
* DJ set with DJ Eric Ling
* Bar & signature drinks

That night only I will be giving away a free Kelly Grace piece of art in a draw. So please visit me at BOOTH K5 to enter your name.

Gosia will be at BOOTH F33

Kyle Stewart will be at BOOTH K22

See you there!

Summer 2011 Art Show Preview

2011-07-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

A Summer 2011 teaser trailer for Kelly Grace's upcoming art exhibitions. From August 13 to September 1 at Marten Arts Gallery in Bayfield, Ontario Kelly will be exhibiting new works based on her summer tours of local Ontario carnivals. From September 9 to 11 Kelly will be exhibiting at Cabbagetown Arts Festival which is an outdoor art in the park show at Toronto's Riverdale Farms.

The One of a Kind Spring Show 2011

2011-03-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

After years of wanting to try this show I am finally doing it. The One of a Kind Spring Show starts this Wednesday March 30th. I have never done two shows of this magnitude is such close proximity before. I am speaking of The Artist Project Toronto that happened 3 weeks ago. Although I've been holed up in my studio since TAP ended it still feels like months ago that that show happened.

Stay tuned for a double post about both shows. In the meantime, here are a few new paintings I will have on display at the OOAK this week.

You can also check my product page on the One of Kind Show website. I will be exhibiting in Booth H-06.

The Artist Project is here!

2011-03-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

I was going to post this last night but decided to relax and have some wine instead.

This body of work in particular has been challenging to create. I think it's my most diverse in terms of size range. My smallest paintings are 3" x 4" and my largest 25" x 50". That's quite the gap!

Here are a select few of the images that I will have on display at this weekend's Artist Project. I will be there in Booth 541.

3" x 4" (each)

9" x 12"

8" x 10"

18" x 30"

The Artist Project Toronto 2011....it approaches

2011-02-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

I've been working oh so very hard in prepartion for this upcoming show. Tonight will be allnighter #5 which will be my last night of painting.

Some new work for the Artist Project. Coming up this week from March 3-6, 2011.

Brand new "Movie Night" series.

I will also have many new little paintings. Most of which are of Amsterdam. I guess this city is sort of my muse in a way. I love painting it and have no plans to stop. I will also have more of everyone's favourite, Carnival and Carousel imagery.

I launched my hair blog last week where I will be giving video tutorials on old hollywood vintage hairstyles.

The One of a Kind Show Approaches....

2010-10-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

A preview of some of the images to come in my upcoming show The Christmas One of a Kind Show.

Hand Cramps from Drawing

2010-10-14T12:26:00.000-07:00

New Drawings! More to come.....

Dr. David Suzuki

2010-09-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Here is the full painting and some details of the piece I did for Star Portraits of Dr. David Suzuki. There is a link to the full episode in my previous blog post.

Star Portraits with David Suzuki.

2010-09-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

Watch the Star Portraits episode I was on! It's now online watch it here.

More new drawings and a TV show

2010-08-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

New drawings! Images for my upcoming show the Cabbagetown Arts Festival. It takes place at Riverdale Farms on September 10-12. Also, I am on a show called "Star Portraits". The season premiere is my episode! It airs on Bravo on September 11th. Watch me and 2 other artists paint David Suzuki from life!

Shaun and I made a video of his BP Portrait Award experience. Watch it here.

Results of a Drawing Marathon

2010-06-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the results after several days of nothing but drawing.

I'm almost ready for the Riverdale Art Walk this weekend. I'll be at Booth 31 in Jimmie Simpson Park.

New Studio and New Photo shoots

2010-05-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

I love my new studio! After sharing a studio/living room with Shaun for the past five years, this room all to myself is a welcome change. I can actually have work up on the walls all the time. It's studio visit ready most of the time. Sometimes I feel like I'm working in my booth display because it's set up very similar. It rules!
In this photo I'm working on a piece that shall remain "top secret" until September 2010.

I was fortunate enough to meet this wonderful girl at the One of a Kind Show this year. Her name is Gosia and she's a fellow artist. She agreed to pose for me the other day. These are some of the fantastic shots I got. I don't usually share my source photos with the public. These were just too awesome not to post. She was a great sport, she allowed me to glue elf ears tips on her and wore a rented costume from Malabar. I couldn't be happier with the pictures I took. Look for the images I will make from these in my upcoming show, The Riverdale Art Walk on June 5th and 6th, 2010. Also check out Gosia's fantastic art. We made a trade at this year's OOAK that I am absolutely thrilled with!

Overdue Artist Project Toronto Update

2010-04-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

My 20 foot booth!

Here is my long overdue Artist Project 2010 update. This year's venue was changed from the fancy Liberty Grand to the Queen Elizabeth Building. Although the new venue was way more coherent for the visitors I did miss the glitz and glam of the Liberty Grand. This change did not affect sales for me so I'm not complaining but the lack of "fancier" surroundings did make it feel a bit less upscale than in the previous years. The show is growing though so the Queen Elizabeth building was better accommodating to all the artists. All the artists got seen by the visitors to the show as opposed to 2009 where a lot of booths on the mezzanine were missed. That being said, the show was still spectacular and I had a lot of fun participating in it. The 20' foot booth and professional vinyl lettering were a nice touch. That five extra feet makes a difference! I'll be back next year.

Updates and Upcoming Shows

2010-04-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

We moved to a new studio! During our moving saga I haven't had a chance to update my blog and write my Artist Project 2010 update. That's coming in the next post. These are two paintings I did entitled "Moving In" and "Moving Out". They are based on our recent move to a new and bigger space. They will be exhibited at the Affordable Art Fair in New York City from May 6-9, 2010. These paintings and more of my work will be in Blunt Collective's booth. They are a Toronto based artist collective that invited me and some other artists to participate in the AAF. I attended the AAF in London, England last fall and it was great. I'm looking forward to the NYC one.

Also, congratulations to my husband Shaun Downey on having his entry to the BP Portrait Award selected for exhibition. Visit his blog for a sneak peak! I'll be posting my Artist Project 2010 update soon.

New drawings for the Artist Project.

2010-02-11T13:25:00.001-08:00

One of a Kind Show 2009

2010-01-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

After a much needed and relaxing Christmas break, I'm finally getting around to writing about the One of a Kind Show. It went well but was quite busy. Due to our European trip the month before I had one month exactly to create new work for this show. We were actually coming home every night from the OOAK and doing work! It was the hardest I've ever worked for a show but it was well worth it. One major highlight from the show is that I sold the carousel painting "Florence in October" to a couple that actually got engaged in front of that very carousel in Florence in October!
Here are some pictures from the 11 day show.

After receiving so many commissioned portraits because of this show and throughout 2009 I am making a commissions album on my website very soon.

I am already busy preparing more work for The Artist Project Toronto which is coming up in March.

Happy Holidays!!!

2009-12-30T10:15:00.000-08:00

One of a Kind Show Painting Preview

2009-11-26T22:34:00.000-08:00

One of a Kind Show Preview

2009-11-14T15:03:00.000-08:00

Europe Trip 2009

2009-11-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

I have recently returned from a European vacation/ business trip. We collected over 2500 images for new paintings and drawings. I will be previewing some of these upcoming images in the next couple of weeks. The new paintings will be exhibited at this year's Christmas One of a Kind Show in Toronto. It takes place from this November 26th to December 6th.

New from the Studio

2009-09-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

"The Seamtress" This is a wedding present for a friend. The other two drawings are self portraits.

Sunnyside Preview

2009-08-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

Upcoming Sunnyside Beach Show

2009-08-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend is my last outdoor art exhibition of the summer. Despite losing prep time to blackout in Toronto, I am still working to finish one big painting and many small pieces. Here are the study drawings of some of the new work. I am drawing from my own family's carnival past. These are based on actual photos from my childhood and my dad's childhood. And yes my Grampa was a clown.

The Vanity Portrait - The Beverly Owens Project

2009-08-07T20:19:00.001-07:00

Pics from my opening last night of the group exhibition The Vanity Portrait at the Beverly Owens Project in Toronto's Queen West. The wonderful artists I showed with were Beverly Owens herself and Jennifer Wigmore.

The Toronto Outdoor Show Recap

2009-07-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

Lots of fun was had by all at last week's Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. Despite the rain on Saturday morning the weather was very nice all weekend. Here are some pictures from the show and of a few items that were best sellers. Stay tuned for more info on my next show on August 5th at the Beverly Owens Project.

The Outdoor Show approaches.....

2009-07-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

Some sketches for pieces in the upcoming Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition where I will be showing new works from July 10-12 on Nathan Phillip's Square in Booth #432.

Rouge Gallery in Saskatoon

2009-06-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

I now have Saskatchewan representation. I shipped paintings to Sasakatoon, Saskatchewan last week for a show at Rouge Gallery. The group show "A Touch of Rouge" takes place from June 26th to August 29th. I sent the gallery six paintings including this new one(below) "Self Portrait on Carousel". I am looking forward to a great relationship with Rouge Gallery.

EYE Weekly Cover.

2009-06-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do the cover illustration for Toronto's "Eye Weekly". It's a portrait of Sharon Jones (and the Dap-Kings). She's headlining at the Toronto Jazz Festival. It's the June 18th - June 24th issue so all you Torontonians pick up your copy today!

Riverdale Art Walk Recap.

2009-06-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

The Riverdale Art Walk went well last weekend. Here are some pics of my booth on the second day of the show. Once again many pieces of art went to wonderful homes.

My "Dj Dianna" piece was on display in the window of LPK Culinary for the whole weekend.

It was my first time doing this particular show. I will definitely be back next year and for many years to come!

Riverdale Art Walk Preview

2009-06-04T07:59:00.000-07:00

These are a few images that will be for sale this weekend at the Riverdale Art Walk.

More drawings........

2009-05-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

In the Studio

2009-05-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

I am working away for my upcoming show; the Riverdale Art Walk. I'll be exhibiting along with about 100 other Toronto artists at Jimmie Simpson Park on June 6th & 7th. I have 20 all new head studies and several new mixed media pieces. I will be in the the park at Booth 32. I am also pleased to announce I was accepted into the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. That takes place July 10-12th 2009 at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.....more details to come.

Back to the drawing board......

2009-05-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

"Birthday"

2009-05-02T17:01:00.001-07:00

2009-04-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

More sketches

2009-04-21T11:51:00.001-07:00

New sketches!!!

my first video post

2009-03-13T22:57:00.000-07:00

The Artist Project Toronto Oh Nine

2009-03-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

The second annual Artist Project Toronto ended on March 8th, 2009. I am pleased to report that it was great fun and a success, despite the economic climate! Myself and a few fellow artists had a wonderful time all weekend. These other artists include Jennifer Wigmore, Greg Shegler, Kyle Stewart and Peter Mitchell.

I sold 8 paintings and several mixed media pieces in total. They all went to fabulous homes.

More New Sketches

2009-02-21T21:14:00.001-08:00

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

2009-02-19T22:13:00.000-08:00

The drawing below is a self portrait. It is inspired by the photo above it of my dad at a carnival in California,1954.

New Drawings

2009-02-17T19:13:00.000-08:00

These are some study drawings for the next mixed media pieces for the upcoming show.

When I Take Breaks

2009-02-13T16:15:00.001-08:00

In between paintings and drawings I knit hats. I'm learning the felting process which is quite fun.

A Painting in Progress

2009-02-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

Here is one of my paintings in progress. I call this the "ugly stage" since it doesn't look like a very good piece at this point in the game. I will be posting more progress shots as it starts to look a little less like a five year old child painted it.

Upcoming Show

2009-02-05T01:39:00.000-08:00

My next show is The Artist Project Toronto. I am feverishly working to create 10 new works for a March deadline. Pictured are the next canvases all gessoed with their drawings transferred on. I will also be including new mixed media pieces. The show takes place from March 5-8, 2009 at the Liberty Grand in Toronto.

the finished painting

2009-01-27T22:52:00.000-08:00

"Autumn in Florence" is finally finished. I enjoyed this challenge to paint my biggest canvas ever. Here's to more big paintings to come! It has gone to a wonderful home.

paintings from around town

2009-01-25T14:28:00.000-08:00

These are a series of paintings I did from locations around Toronto.

paintings from europe

2009-01-24T14:39:00.000-08:00

Rome

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Florence

Florence

Florence

Milan

Florence (our favourite place on the trip)

biggest painting ever

2009-01-24T10:27:00.000-08:00

finished at 2:00 am!

in progress............................

For the past few months I have been working on my biggest canvas to date. Since I work totally flat for some of the process I am limited to a maximum of about 25 inches for the height of my paintings. It is going well and is almost done!