“Creating a restful space that makes your shoulders drop the moment you walk through the door can be achieved in many ways,” writes Sally Denning in her book “Calm: Interiors to nurture, relax and restore.”

Sally continues, “Getting the colour palette right is one of them. Colours can stimulate and excite, but they can also make us feel relaxed and at peace.”

Included in her list of calming details, she references nature as key, like calming textures with a connection to the outdoors such as ‘patina on old wood’, collections of nature elements like sticks, and rocks. She refers to rhythmic patterns and palettes found in nature.

Her own home is featured in the book, which expresses soft palettes, wood, soothing landscape paintings, and handwoven textiles.

Sally says including inviting tactile textiles will have the same effect as “a hug from a friend.”

We know that original art can invoke strong emotional responses. Art can offer a feeling of rooted, and grounded. It can help us connect to beloved places, and loved ones. Nature art can instil a sense of healing, and belonging. Soothing colours in blue and green palettes are the most calming of all colours. Not surprisingly, they are the colours of lake, cobalt sky, moss and evergreen. Nature’s palette. 

Sally says its so important to feel a sense of calm today, that it can “allow us to flourish, and feel nurtured and secure.”

The season often encourages a sense of calm in our surroundings. Intention of outdoor work turns to refurbishing infusing interiors with that which bring our hearts joy and peace. 

It’s the time of cozy sweaters, fireside chats, curling up with a good book.

For me, it’s the season of easing up storing personal garden tools, and stocking up on art supplies. I have so many ideas for new work, my hands yearn for the brush with the deepest of intentions. 

In other news, I am currently looking for a gallery representative, if you know of a gallery in your area, that would be a good fit, please reach out with their details, and if possible, mention my work to them. 

If you’re still following along in the blogs, and want them to continue I would love to hear from you. Some suggest the time of blogs is past. They might be correct, as it seems many reach out through instagram, or directly to purchase or keep updated on my art. 

My instagram page is updated usually weekly with new work, I welcome you to follow along. @dawnsartworks

New Work attached, please email for details.

It’s more than a little ironic, and sort of funny, the very first time I offer you direction and story with a new collection some of you cannot hear or see me. Yikes.

My unbridled enthusiasm for this new collection is still present, just a little quieter! It is, however critical for you to have perspective in this new collection, to hear the narrative explanation.

The tech people tell me the reason you may have not had sound on the previous post video, or had trouble opening it, is partly due to the device you were watching it on.

The only way for me to avoid this issue, is either, I direct you to my Instagram or Linked in pages where the video opens and sounds fine , or resort to you tube, which I was trying to avoid.

So, you tube it is..

I will write the narrative here in case you still have issues.

“Welcome to the studio, thank you for checking in. Happy New Year!

Thank you for messaging, following the work, remember this is my full time gig, so if you love the work,

I would love to help you with your collection. Please share the work and my information with anyone you know that loves and collects art.

Most of you that follow me know that I have two big missions the work.

1. To encourage you to explore nature in real life, to be outdoors and immerse in nature. I think the more we engage with natural spaces, we become a healthier humanity.
2. To bring this concept to you through art, to immerse in nature imagery (with the emotional connection if nature) to your interior spaces. To surround yourself with nature imagery in your spaces brings great positive benefits.

These two concepts are what has partly driven this new collection. I was thinking to myself about how to start that conversation. How to communicate the enjoyment of being in the natural outdoors, and inviting you to this kind of experience.

I started thinking about postcards as a tool of communication.
Postcards originated as gestures of appreciation.

I love this idea! A sign of appreciation to the recipients and of these places. They were art form..actual paintings and drawings on cardstock, sent to loved ones. In the 1970’s, women, being rejected by art galleries because of their gender, mass produced their art on postcards to give their art exposure.

There are so many unique thoughts around postcards.

I love that they are a gesture of welcoming to a place, an invitation, and also a celebration of a place.

I am also inviting you to enjoy art in this way. “

The first in this collection is 18×24 oil on canvas

Next is 16×20 oil on canvas.

please let me know your thoughts, and I hope these paintings bring you joy!

d

I am in the business of making people happy. 

It’s a good business. Rewarding, purposeful, and humbling. It’s always teaching me. As the work continues to evolve, so do I. 

Since I can remember, forests have felt like family, lakes soothe, mountains beckon, and immersive skies connect me to what I cannot see.

Alone in nature, I feel a sense of oneness, surrounded by powerful love. Energizing and comforting all at the same time. It’s this sense I work to convey in the art. 

Nature focused art has a unique ability to connect humanity to nature and each other. 

This feeling of shared experience combined with the transformative power of viewing nature is tremendously positive. 

Researchers say viewing images of nature can elicit some of the same benefits as being in nature, including increased immunity, reduced blood pressure, decreased loneliness, increase cognitive ability, communication skills, among a host of other benefits.

Fostering a relationship with nature is also a positive step helping to understand and aid our planet’s health.

Being in the business of making people happy, it’s easy to forget the business part. 

Some days I would like to.

 It’s a lovely dream to have endless supplies, paint prolifically, and magically, the art finds their forever homes without having sleepless nights about where or how to sell it. 

An engineer brought her little girl with an ambition to be an artist, to my studio one day.

In our conversation, she asked about my daily work. I explained part of the day is set aside for painting, the other part, for business.

“What kind of business?” She asked. “Art business.” I responded.

“Whatever do you mean?” She asked.

“Sending updates to clients and my media, sourcing new venues and dealers to sell the work, contact existing dealers, ship work to galleries, etc.”

“I had no idea there was a business side to it. I never thought of it.” She said. “I just thought you painted.. .. and people just.. found you.”

So this is me, waiting for you to find me.

In the meantime, I am knocking on doors, with recent positive conversations with reputable dealers to represent and sell the work. Fingers and toes crossed. 

Perhaps, I will return to the studio full time, make my living doing what I love with purpose..and realize the dream of painting with endless supplies and no worries, while the paintings find their forever homes making people happy. 

~

“Ultimately, you don’t want to paint to decorate storage rooms.” Dealer. 

All New work below range between 8×10 and 11×14 in size. Please email to purchase. Dawn@dawnbanning.com

Snow crunching footsteps echoed through the phone, carrying a million memories, warming my heart. I listened with closed eyes as we spoke, enjoying the sound of his voice and foot plantings. It’s a sound in the snow most heard when temperatures drop considerably.

I have run and walked miles in that kind of weather, breath forming frost, lungs singing from chilled air. Eyelashes laden in ice. The temperature brings such wondrous clarity of perspective, Cobalt blues, periwinkles, light sparkling.

Hearing my brothers gentle timbre among his rhythmic gait, with snow underfoot on a mountain hike, transported me there with him, and to our childhood, bringing a wonderful sense of peace.

Some believe as a nature artist, inspiration comes from the aesthetic, by strong visuals of the landscape. Truthfully, it is in accessing all our senses while in nature that makes artwork come alive. What we see is only a part of the process. What we hear, sense, smell, touch, the feel of the temperature, and emotional connection, all of these elements combine to bring the experience to the viewer.

Having this kind of awareness in nature will assist in recalling the experience later. It’s good practice for anyone. In times of stress or waiting in long lines ups, how wonderful to be able to recall a special place with mind, body and spirit, bringing a welcome sense of peace or invigorating energy.  

I recently read the tremendous positive effect in the act of viewing art ( emotionally, physically, mentally), occurs because it is direct human experience. Human experience to human experience. We are hardwired to react deeply to our first language, which is art. 

It’s this powerful communication that can spark connections with people beyond borders, spoken language and history. Direct human experience resonates.

One article suggests, it is also because art can depict sense of spirit. That art “not only has a spiritual quality, but a moral one.”

ART ~

• Snowy Forest~ 18×24 oil on canvas ~ $1,460
• Lake~  8×10 acrylic on birch ~ $600
• Above the Trees ~ 18×24 acrylic on canvas ~ $1,460

Top photography taken by my brother.

Further reading links below.

https://www.strathmoreartist.com/blog-reader/5-reasons-why-looking-at-art-makes-your-brain-happy.html

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10339-017-0805-x

Instilling a sense of wonder can heighten every dimension of human experience, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

The tremendous impact of this isn’t to be overlooked. 

“Researchers define awe as the feeling we get in the presence of something larger than ourselves that challenges our usual way of seeing the world. A great work of art, a breathtaking vista, a moving speech, the first flowers of spring—these can all evoke awe.” Juliana Breines PHD “Mindfulness”, March 2016.

Awe can decrease feelings of loneliness, increasing feelings of connectivity with others. It will lower blood pressure and inflammation, increase happiness, compassion and resilience. It will inspire curiosity, creativity, innovative thinking, and offer a sense of place in the world. Not only does awe lower stress, it’s stated it can” transcend our frame of reference.”

Experts state now more than ever, we need to ‘protect our sense of awe’ as we emerge from a global pandemic where much of humanity has been isolated. 

There is great importance to reacquaint with, recognize necessity of one another, and to our deep restorative connection to nature.

“One experimental group, when asked to draw pictures of themselves, literally drew themselves smaller in size after having an awe experience. Such an effect has been termed “unselfing”. This shift has big benefits: As you tap into something larger and your sense of self shrinks, so too do your mental chatter and your worries. At the same time, your desire to connect with and help others increases. People who experience awe also report higher levels of overall life satisfaction and well-being. 

It also helps us build relationships. Though feeling awe frequently happens in solitude ,it draws us out of ourselves and toward others and inspires pro-social behaviour like generosity and compassion

“As the pandemic era goes on, more than ever we need ways to refresh our energies, calm our anxieties, and nurse our well-being. The cultivation of experiences of awe can bring these benefits and has been attracting increased attention due to more rigorous research.”

Not surprisingly, art and nature experience are at the top of most recommended lists of instilling wonder.

Cultivating daily awe is also a practice, with experience one can develop a sense of wonder in what may previously gone unnoticed.

"A popular practice known as an “awe walk” involves simply getting outside somewhere that nature surrounds you and being aware and appreciative of the beauty of our planet.
 Of course, awe-inspiring experiences come in all shapes and sizes—like beauty, awe is in the eye of the beholder. Works of art are often considered awe-inspiring, and for good reason. Art is a purposeful representation of emotions or stories, and being able to appreciate the intentions of the creator (or even your own interpretation of the work) can bring tingles to anyone’s spine.” Life Intelligence: awe and the overview effect what wonder can do for your well being.

~

All original paintings are available for purchase with the exception of the last image: Lake.

Sunrise ~ oil 18×24

Sunflower~ oil 5×7

Flowers~ oil 8×10

Boreal Shore ~ oil 8×10

Summer Retreat ~ oil 18×24

Family ~ 12×16 acrylic on board

Sky ~ 8×8

Lake ~ 5×7

Please be in touch if you would like to add wonder to your spaces with my original work. This month has been a very special time for me to create new work and enjoy the wonder of creativity. Next month I will be returning to three other jobs, with very limited time to paint.

With limited art available, if there are paintings that you wish to welcome to your spaces. I urge you to connect soon. Thank you for your continued interest!

dawn@dawnbanning.com

It’s fascinating to witness people speeding into 2023 with such exuberance. For some, it’s about putting last year ( perhaps last few?) behind them.

A new year on the calendar may represent new beginnings and letting go of the past. With global protocols evolving, it may signify reuniting with family and friends, returning to the gym, travelling, or wandering art galleries.

New Year’s Resolutions abound with possibilities.  Goals are shared over networks, among friends, family and neighbours while shovelling snow. Or to anyone who will lend a listening ear. 

While I share and commend their enthusiasm, most of you know I have never made New Year’s resolutions. 

The simple reason? I believe each day is an opportunity for growth and renewal. With each sunrise arrives possibility, the ability to dream and plan for new beginnings, to evolve and reflect. In a way, I celebrate New Year’s every day.

While some grasp the New Year with unbridled enthusiasm, if life allows, I like to spend the month enjoying restoration and routine.

I love the month of January, one of the quietest months of the year. It embodies winter, in delicacy and light. Snow brings welcomed muffled sound. The birds of spring have not yet arrived. Stillness of winter on the cusp of a new year is alluringly beautiful. 

December is commonly known as the month of peace, yet I find it’s January where peace unfolds. 

I am especially relishing these early quiet weeks in January. 

I do hope to continue to pursue art, when time allows. As a business that work is dependent on demand and sales.

This year begins with a brand new opportunity working for a new company. Perhaps as early as this month, I will be gardening & landscaping in two locations full time. 

I am so grateful to be starting 2023 with a 3rd job in work opportunities I enjoy! 

HAPPY NEW BEGINNINGS friends! thanks for following, and collecting the work.

May you be well, safe and happy. 

~d

Please feel free to share posts, website/ instagram/ Linked In with those you may feel will enjoy, or collect original art. I encourage you to do this with any artists work you follow. It’s an easy free way to assist artists who continue to find challenges in these times. 

Returning to painting is like taking a long drink of fresh air and basking in the warm summer sun.

I am so grateful to recent collectors purchases which enable me to step to the easel for the moment. This allowance is precious, time is valued. I won’t waste a second.

Paintings that seem to have all the elements of a great composition, may sit undiscovered or passed by, making the studio feel a little like the land of misfit toys. 

Putting work put aside for lengths of time, then examining with a critical eye encourages growth. Regardless of whether I see room for improvement, without storage here, the work needs to be sorted.

It’s felt therapeutic to sand work down, cull, or infuse compositions. Sorting the collection is a wonderful way to start fresh in a new studio.

With winter weather arriving and my summer landscaping tools stored for the moment, I have had valued time to breathe deeply in the studio, testing both skill and vision.

My painting sea legs are returning with vigorous exuberance. The new work expresses energetic life affirming connectedness to nature. 

Working in landscaping daily,  living surrounded by pines, within sight and sound of a great lake infuses the artwork in a way, perhaps, like never before.

New work~

SKY~ 18×24 oil on board $1330.oo

WATERFALL~ 16×20 oil on canvas $1130.oo

MOON~ 8×10 oil on canvas

LAKE~ 12×24 oil on canvas ~ $1130.oo

New increased pricing in January! Please email to purchase dawn@dawnbanning.com

One of the great wonders of the Canadian seasons is the inspiration they create. 

A friend made this observation when she moved to a tropical country that lacked definite seasons.

Happy to retreat from harsh Canadian winters, she loved the tropics.

“But,” she said, “ I really began to miss our dramatic change of seasons, not just the visual display, but the change of activities and inspiration they bring.”

We spoke of how that inspiration is transferable to growth within.

Each season can inspire change for betterment of health, career, residence, and new pursuits.

It’s easier to see new horizons when the one before us transforms and blossoms.

 The only constant is change. The seasons prepare us to let go, teaching appreciation in the evolution of change. 

New ART shown above

( plien air acrylic)

New~ Winter Path 11×14 775.oo

New ~ commission ~ Sea Path 8×10- SOLD

( Photos L&R Dawn, centre, Darin Larson)

New Sky & Clouds 9×12 580.oo

Birches~ Client collection, shown in clients home.

“If you have grown up near a body of water, ( that ‘connection’) it never really leaves you.” My friend Joanie McGuffin said as we watched morning blossom over the lake recently.

Her truthful and poetic words, spoken in the beautiful way of Joanie, resonated with me. I was suddenly aware of this constant my entire life. I have been fortunate to reside by fresh and salt water lakes, mountain rivers, urban creeks, the pacific ocean, and now, as Joanie would said, the ‘big water’ of a great lake. 

I can hear the gentle lap on the shore from the farthest point on our property. In the house I have felt it’s thunderous waves during a storm. The palette, moods, colours and sounds change as frequently as the wind. 

The sky overhead and pine trees teem with life. This is a migratory path of butterflies, and birds of all kinds. 

It’s a blessing to witness and be a part of this nature hub every day.

All of earth’s inhabitants, including humanity’s survival depends on these wonderful ecosystems, clean air, great and small bodies of water, boreal forests and wild grass prairies. The majestic glaciers, mountains, valleys nourish our bodies and spirits. 

It’s a passion of mine to encourage others to venture outdoors and become acquainted with nature. 

I suggest being conscious of living with nature elements, to include nature within architectural & interior design. This isn’t just a personal pursuit, there is scientific evidence exhibiting the benefits of including nature within our interior spaces.

Nature focused art plays an active role in biophillia.

I could choose any subject matter to paint, and follow trends that excite and challenge viewers. 

In truth, nature is always there to excite, challenge, delight and nourish us. I feel a sense of responsibility in the art I choose to create, for both subject matter and audience. 

You may not live near a great body of water, but by including these views in your spaces, you may feel it’s essence.

You are invited feel the shore beneath your feet, hear gentle waves, morning birdsong and bathe in the peaceful beauty of it all. 

By creating emotional experience of being immersed in nature, I gently encourage people to establish and grow a healthy, connected relationship with the great outdoors.

~

New Dawn 5ftx 3.3 ft $6,500.00 ( 2021 pricing)

Serenity ( Ocean) 16×20 $1,150.00

email dawn@dawnbanning.com asap to purchase. please feel free to share the wok, posts and my social media pages with others.

Working as a gardener has not diminished my creative skills. It’s enhanced them. 

The last few years have been filled with transitions, peaks, valleys and big decisions. After living in a busy noisy city, then cramped in a dark construction zone townhouse for a year, it is an absolute joy to be surrounded by, and work each day in nature.

Getting acquainted with landscape is a form of communication I love best. It requires gentleness, hardiness, stillness, observation and active engagement. Beauty abounds here. Contrasts bloom in the landscape, weather, and in tasks. My gait has evolved in these pursuits, with a sense of grounding in every step. 

Taking a break from the brush has been necessary, and welcome. A return to it will be with lungs full of fresh air, mind body and spirit reconnected with and immersed in nature. Tending the earth is soul enriching.

I have not stopped creating. 

The juices happily flow within landscaping and design. For the last year, Architect Michael Shocrylas has been amazingly patient with my questions and drawings collaborating on the design of our new home. Apart from jointly choosing the wood floor, Marc has asked me to design all interior and exterior materials. 

It’s been a joy to create in three dimension. To consider the landscape where the home sits, working with budget and restrictions, practicalities all the while thinking of how we move, live in space and transition to the outdoors. No detail has been left unattended, considering how we dwell, form, function, the landscape, views, colour, light, interior and exterior, transitions within. The Build is still an ongoing project, and will be for years to come.

I have relished choosing materials in unique ways, like applying flooring tile for backsplash. Asking skilled trades to trust my vision when they asked to do something new has made the project feel collaborative from the start. It’s been so creatively rewarding, I considered a new career, and blog dedicated to the build. 

It’s an unusual time to build, with pandemic pricing and material delays, there have been many opportunities to solution solve, be adaptable with vision and direction. All valued lessons. 

It helps to know one’s partner very well when taking on a big task like this. I have spent days with measuring tape watching Marc in our previous homes to see his comfort levels in space. I have observed which side he is mostly likely to open a cupboard from, and what kind of storage he prefers. I know his likes and dislikes with assurance choosing palettes and materials he responds positively to. 

It’s been necessary to be involved from the beginning of this project. Creating has been divided between the brush and the build until I stopped painting 4 months ago.

Putting the brush down was a decision from a business and personal perspective. It can be disheartening to create work only to store it. “Part of your problem,” an artist said,” is that you are too prolific. Ease off on the production.”

But as my new landscaping employers have discovered, I have one favourite work speed, and that’s whirlwind.

Last week I ventured into my unfinished studio to unpack a few things. Fingering tools, I couldn’t resist starting something new, restricted using what paints I have, knowing, if I create a new painting, one in my inventory has to go. I do not have storage space to collect work here. 

It gives one pause on what and how to begin. 

Instead of the brush, I chose rubber spatulas. The work felt necessarily tactile, familiar like the earth and gardens I tend daily. Layers of paint mingled in movement and light. 

The evergreens I love so much came to life in a way that felt dimensional and new. 

And isn’t that one of the greatest gifts of original work, to bring forth experience in a unique and dynamic way?

Evergreens 16×20, oil on canvas $1,300.00