 Join me on a whimsical creative adventure. I love creating these funny colourful characters. Over the past twenty years I have filled many sketch books with characters, creatures, doodle and more.
One day when I was looking through the pages of all these funny friends, I asked myself…”what more can do with the designs to get really creative”? Then it came to me- copy them, cut them up and redesign them into whimsical wee wonders!
Each piece is hand made by me… Bonnie McQuillan. I use copies of my original drawings, found images, acrylic gel mediums, acrylic paint, and acrylic paint markers. I don't try to hide the cut marks in my collages, look closely - you will see them. I find it creates a transparency between what is found and what is created and painted. I also like the texture they add to each piece. All of my 12" x 12" pieces are on gallery cradled birch board. They come wired and ready to hang on your wall.  
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 I am excited announce that I have been accepted as a new member of the Foyer Gallery . The gallery is located inside the Nepean Sportsplex, 701 Woodroffe Avenue Ottawa, Ontario
Because of the galleries proximity to the pool and other recreational facilities I thought it would be a great place to show my UNDERWATER series.
 Due to the current COVID-19 lock down, the gallery is not open but members of the marketing team are creating a great online sales portal. 
  In July / August 2019 I was fortunate to attend an Artist Retreat through CPAWS ( Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society) On day three of the retreat I spent the day on Cullin Lake and painted three studies of the area. This blog post is about the steps I took to create the 36" x 48" painting of Cullin Lake in my studio. If you would like to see more about the day of painting on Cullin Lake it can be seen in another blog post here https://www.artwithbonnie.com/blog/day-3-dumoine-river-art-retrea
Step 1.I start most of my paintings with a value study in one, sometimes two colours. I usually use acrylic ink because they are fluid and transparent.  Step 2 & 3
Steps 4 & 5
Steps 6 & 7
This painting and several others as well as a variety of artworks by 18 different artists from the retreat will be for sale in May 2020. Official date coming soon. Current information about my show, classes and new artwork can be seen on my website at www.artwithbonnie.com   Cullin LakeDay 3 (August 2, 2019) brought us to Cullin Lake . A short bumpy ride and then a wee hike bought us to another beautiful location for a day of painting. Today I joined Tina, Olivia, Charlotte and John for another beautiful day of sun and scenery.
 The "beach" wasn't quite as big as we thought it would be but the view was fantastic.
 The piece below started as a painting of the trees with the canoe - above. But canoes are a strange shape and hard to do. I will have to practice a bit more. Needless to say - the canoe got painted out. ( You can still see a few of the canoe outlines if you look closely.  11"x14" Acrylic on gallery wood panel by Bonnie McQuillan Who did I paint with Today?
    Draw - Dumoine River art for wildernessI had the honour last week ( July 31 - August 6, 2019) of attending an incredible art retreat as part of a conservation effort on the Dumoine River in Quebec Canada. This was my first year being a part of the retreat but the third year of the event. The event was initiated by artist Aleta Karstad with CPAWS Ottawa Valley (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society) Day 1 & 2 ( July 31 & Aug. 1, 2019)Day 1 consisted of getting there, getting set up and getting acquainted.
When I first heard about the retreat I was excited about the prospect of having six days of painting outside in a beautiful wilderness setting. And that was pretty much all I focused on until I finally got the word from John McDonnell, (CPAWS Executive Director – Ottawa Valley Chapter) that I had been accepted to be a part of the retreat. After that the reality set in that I would be camping - ah camping, outside. (It had been awhile). And that I would be going into the bush with 15 people I had never met before. Very quickly I was I starting to have second thoughts. However, once I got here that all changed very quickly. 15 strangers quickly became a group of people I felt like I had known for years. And it just kept getting better from there.  Day 2 - August 1, 2019 - Painting with Phil & MarkPhil and Mark were painting pals at lasts years retreat and were kind enough to let me tag along with them on the first day of painting.  This is the spot where I painted for the first day - "Le Grande Chute" . If your acrylic paints dry to fast, try painting beside a misty river lol.  "Le Grande Chute" 11"x14" Acrylic on gallery wood panel by Bonnie McQuillan
We arrived early in the morning in heavy fog and mist off the water. But as the day went on the light emerged and revealed a whole new landscape to paint throughout the afternoon. 
Watch for my next post with more about the Dumoine River Art Retreat  |
