Courageous Liquid: Bellwoods Brewery Opens In Toronto.

Bellwoods Common. An American Style Pale Ale,

one of the amazing beers by Bellwoods Brewery

"He was a wise man who invented beer."-Plato

Usually I blog about art or my travels. Now it is time to blog about another love of mine: craft beer. 

I really started to enjoy craft beer a couple of years ago. The idea that all beer was definitely not created equal, and that some were well into the definition of 'sublime' intrigued me. But I won't get into a huge rant over the nastiness of macro beer versus the deliciousness of micro brewed ales here. Instead I want to share the good news that finally, good craft beer has arrived in Ontario.

I like supporting local breweries, and I do. I must say that U.S. microbreweries really have it going on, but Ontario has been steadily gaining momentum in the world of quality craft beer as well. And it's a good thing, because the LCBO puts a stranglehold on any craft brewery from the United States trying to introduce their products into Ontario. The have virtually hermetically sealed the door on quality beer crossing the border...including Provincial borders. It is draconian and frustrating. For example, you can purchase divine beers from Brewery Ommegang (located in Cooperstown, NY, just across Lake Ontario) in Alberta, but not Ontario. Yes, well, I'm starting to rant here so I'll stop and get to the point.

Now I love Flying Monkeys and Beau's All Natural craftbeer. I also adore what I have had from Railway City, Muskoka Brewery and some from Great Lakes (the Canadian one). However, I was completely blown away by the beer I sampled this past weekend at Bellwoods Brewery, a brand spanking new microbrewery in downtown Toronto. 

A few months ago myself and about one hundred other beer devotees were selected from hundreds to be taste testers for the new beer being developed by Bellwoods Brewery. We wrote in, submitted our names, ages, genders, and a little poem, artwork, or some other creative element, along with our top three favourite beers and why we loved them. I practically submitted an essay and to my delight was chosen as a taste tester. I waited anxiously as the weeks passed by to hear when we could go and sample their crafty brews. I followed their website showing installation of all of their brewing equipment, and could monitor their progress. Finally, the email came describing our specific tasting time, and off I went to Toronto last Sunday to sample their wares.

Arriving at Union Station in Downtown Toronto

I had been in touch with Mike and Luke, business partners who had formed Bellwoods. We emailed back and forth about our favourite styles of beer and I could tell these guys knew what they liked, and presumed they probably knew how to make what they liked. They do, and then some.

Walking up to the hand-written sign proclaiming "Private Event" on the door of 124 Ossington, I had a surge of excitement to know I could walk in to said event...that my taste buds were expected. Mike welcomed me in and showed me around. I was immediately struck with how close all of their brewing equipment was to where patrons sit and enjoy their beverages. It is as though they are brewing right in your lap. Often tanks are tucked away behind walls out of sight. You know you are in a brewery but you feel somehow separate from the excitement. Not here. 

Looking down the bar, you can see the

 nice proximity of the brewing vats to where patrons sit.

I had a great chat with Mike and then met Luke. We talked about what beers they have been developing. Patrick and John, two bartenders on hand, were full of knowledge about the beer as well, and I chatted with them while sampling. 


First up was Bellwoods Common. 5% ABV (I forgot to ask IBUs). An American Style Pale Ale, it was, not surprisingly, very hop forward. It poured a deep golden colour and was bright and a bit bitter but with a quiet finish. A very accessible beer. I would recommend this beer to anyone. But accessible doesn't mean milquetoast or "safe". It is a great beer with lots of personality. It was the first of four beers I tried at Bellwoods, and stands toe to toe with the rest of them in terms of quality brewing.

Bellwoods Farmhouse Saison

Next up was a sample of Bellwoods Farmhouse Saison, a Belgian style saison that clocks in at 6% ABV. Luke informed me that it is made with Saison Dupont (nom!) yeast. Saisons, designed to slake the thirst of farmers toiling in the fields all day, are one of my favourite styles of beer (along with sours, Berliner Weisses and DIPAs). Saisons are often paler than many other ales, some are unfiltered,but all should very drinkable, like this one. It has a nice citrusy-zesty profile with all sorts of great Belgian characteristics. You can tell where its origins are from. Lively carbonation and some notes of banana were happening in the background. Would order it again. And again.

"Toil And Trouble", a Belgian Style Dubbel with a lot of personality

The third of four beers that I sampled was "Toil And Trouble", a dark and delicious Belgian Style Dubbel. I am not normally a Dubbel drinker, or a porter or stout drinker for that matter, but this beer is outstanding. At 8.7% ABV it has quite a kick, but massages your palate with kid gloves. Crafted using Chimay yeast, dark malts and Belgian candy sugar it opens up beautifully as it warms, delivering notes of dried plums, raisins and even some chocolate I thought. This is a great dessert beer and it has a smooth and buttery feel on the tongue. No visit to Bellwoods would be complete without trying this beer.

Happily, I found out that they will be offering flights when they open. Flights are samplings of beers from the brewery, often with descriptions of each beer so that you can compare them side by side and see which you prefer. It is one of my favourite components to a great brewery: a well-designed and attractively presented beer flight.

Last but definitely not least was a sample of Bellwoods' Witch Shark Double India Pale Ale. 

Witch Shark DIPA

"Witch Shark" is a 9% ABV Double India Pale Ale and lives up to it's dangerous name. This beer is everything a DIPA should and can be. It is reminiscent of the infamous Hopslam, brewed by Bell's, and that's saying a lot for all of you Hopheads and Bell's-lovers out there.It is better than Pliny The Elder in my opinion as it is smoother and not as biting. Pours a deep amber and immediately you smell tonnes of glorious citrus notes happening in the glass. It is not boozy at all, but very smooth yet full and round with all of those hops packed in there. It is a complex DIPA, with some mango and subtle fruit happening on the sides of your tongue. I basked in lupulin-induced delight with this beer. Highly recommended.


Apparently in the next few weeks they will be releasing a Berliner Weisse...I hope they save me a pint! If you are in the area or traveling to Toronto, you must stop in at Bellwoods Brewery. It is a 20 minute walk from University and Queen, or an even quicker streetcar ride. Send me a comment if you make it there. I would be interested to know what your experience was like.


There will be a retail store opening up soon next to the brew pub. For now, you can purchase their beer in growlers and at the brewery I believe. In the next few months they plan on expanding into local pubs and eventually the LCBO. I cannot wait for the day I can find their beer in my local beer store. 


I thank Mike, Luke, Patrick, John and the rest of the folks at Bellwoods for a wonderful experience. Finally, some craft beer with courage has arrived in Ontario!


Heather

"I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer."~Homer Simpson

Wordpress website revamp, exhibition dates and more...

"Self Portrait With Sasha", oil on canvas, 18"x24", available at Abbozzo Gallery

Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.~Vincent Van Gogh

So I finally did it. I have moved my website over from Flash to Wordpress. I have been dealing with this antiquated Flash site for years and now finally there's an easy-to-navigate site that makes viewing my paintings much easier. Please check it out and let me know what you think if you are inclined. I'm so happy to have a website that you can view on your mobile device now :)

Heather Horton Artwork

This site is a work in progress and I will continue to add new sold paintings to the body of work on the site. The above painting is one of only two remaining paintings that I will be posting before my solo exhibition at Abbozzo Gallery in November 2012. I want to keep some paintings back so there will be a surprise for people to see at the gallery. I have official dates for the show as well!

New Paintings

November 2-17th, 2012

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Opening Reception Friday November 2, 7-10pm

Artist Meet And Greet Sunday November 4, 2-4pm

179 Lakeshore Road East, Oakville, Ontario, Canada

905-844-4481, toll free 1-866-844-4481

I know it is a bit early to post this information but it is also good to plan ahead! In fact two paintings have already pre-sold before the show(!!), thus if you are interested in any pieces please contact the gallery.

The painting you see at the top of this entry, "Self-Portrait With Sasha", oil on canvas, 18"x24", is another painting about self-reflection and a bit of existential pondering. Sasha, my beloved Russian Blue cat, wandered through my composition while I was shooting reference as he likes being near me. I thought I would incorporate his form subtly at the bottom...not immediately evident but there upon closer inspection. 

I have had people tell me that my portraits seem sad. I suppose this could be so, but they are about contemplation and reflection rather than sadness most of the time. How often do we lie and think but have a huge smile on our faces? Not often I believe. I love smiling and to it a lot, but my paintings are about seeing someone in the middle of a moment. My great inspiration, Lucian Freud, and any number of painters over the years have not painted people smiling. But I think that is what distinguishes art from Sears Portraiture. It is not pat. It is not always tidy. It is the beautiful messiness of life that I try to instill into my paintings.

In less than a month I will be off to Western Kentucky University to lecture, critique student work and experience their wonderful art program. I am bringing some paintings down with me for a small exhibition as well. I will write about the experience here and post photos of course.

I hope this post finds you well and happy. Thank-you for following and reading. Thank-you for supporting artists such a myself and investing in our continued pursuits to express with paint what words cannot.

Heather

A couple of photographs to share with you...

My 'Alaska Fund'...saving up to return

And finally a photo that makes me very happy....one of the most beautiful stretches of road I have ever had the pleasure to drive a number of times, entering into Haines Junction near Kluane National Park, Yukon Territory. This photograph was taken last September...

The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.~Emily Dickinson

Painting Commissions: A great reward for practicing artists.

"Jared", oil on panel, 8"x10"

"The artist is the opposite of the politically minded individual, the opposite of the reformer, the opposite of the idealist.  The artist does not tinker with the universe, he recreates it out of his own experience and understanding of life." ~Henry Miller

The only thing as sure as that there are artists out there creating art is that there are people who want to commission them. I am talking, dear friends, about paintings commissions. Commissions have sustained artists for millennia. It is an invaluable method to supplement an artist's typically sporadic income. It also is a very symbiotic relationship and has many many benefits.

I do many painting commissions every year, including the portrait of Jared above and his sister Keira below. Some commissions are for strangers and some are for friends. Many are for strangers who subsequently become friends. I value and enjoy this process. I love working on a piece of art that will be in a collection for many years to come. It is wonderful to do a painting that you know will make someone happy. A loved one, a house, a landscape, whatever resonates with the client/friend, is what I will do. Half the fun is collecting the reference (I often travel to the client to shoot the reference myself). This way I am able to engage with the clients and have developed many good friendships as a result of this. After the photo shoot I travel back to my studio and begin work on their painting. If time and the opportunity permits I deliver the piece to them in person. If not, I carefully wrap it and ship it to them. There are few things as moving as unveiling a commission and having the client become emotional at the site of the piece. That is one of the best feelings as a painter...to move someone strongly when they look at your work.

"Keira", oil on panel, 10"x8"

If you are interested in a painting commission please do not hesitate to contact me in the "contact" section of this blog. I will respond to you as soon as I can. Here are a couple of other paintings that I have really enjoyed completing for clients and friends recently...

"Mills", oil on panel, 16"x20"

"Uzes Street", oil on canvas, 40"x60"

"Sneggy", oil on canvas, 16"x20"

Some people have said to me "But when you do commissions you aren't painting what you want to paint!" It is all a matter of perspective. I am painting what will make someone else happy and to also help me continue to be able to paint what I want when I am not working on these commissions! It all works together. I have made some lifelong friends through painting commissions. It is a great benefit of being an artist.

In other news I am starting the process of converting my current, clunky and just generally outdated website to a Wordpress site. I used Flash to make my site years ago and it is time for a change. I want folks to be able to access my paintings on a mobile device, hence the switch. Look for these changes in the coming weeks. My website name will remain the same: heatherhorton.com

Here is a new painting in progress that will be featured in my upcoming exhibition at Abbozzo Gallery in Oakville, Ontario. This piece is 36"x48", oil on wood panel. It is about 90% complete. Two paintings have already sold for this exhibition so make sure to keep an eye out for new pieces as they are produced! You can purchase paintings in advance through the gallery. They are happy to answer any questions you might have.

Finally, I had the great pleasure of seeing Radiohead recently in Kansas City. Such a fun show! Here are some shots from a spectacular evening...

Behold the coveted wristband indicating general admission access to the concert floor:)

They played a great selection of songs from a variety of different albums.

Most songs were from The King Of Limbs but others were taken from Kid A and

Amnesiac. 

A month today I will be in Kentucky to lecture at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. What an exciting opportunity! I will be participating in critiques, having a small exhibition of paintings and giving a lecture to the Fine Art Department! Any chance to talk to other artists and engage them in the process of creating art is a great thing :) I am very thankful to the university for extending this invitation to me.

Thanks for taking the time to read about these updates and happenings. I hope this entry finds you well and creating new work, words or ways in your life!

Heather

"Painting is a strange business."~J. M. W. Turner

Enduring the maudlin and loving reprobates

"Self-Portrait with Sasha"(in progress), oil on canvas, 18"x24"

I love to write but often feel that I need to write about a new painting or some type of epic adventure. This doesn't need to be the case. I need to use this space as more of a journalling opportunity. It is rather terrifying and also quite cathartic. Thus the next few entries might be shorter and I apologize if they are much longer with more to wade through...Regardless, here goes...

I have been watching films like no one's business lately. Recent films seen include:

My Week With Marilyn
J. Edgar
The Tree Of Life
Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close
Crazy. Stupid. Love.
The Artist
Hugo (3D)
The Descendants
Midnight In Paris
War Horse

I thought some of these films to be an utter waste of my time and others were sweet and charming. Some were poignant and a bit pat, but still very good. The most overrated films I found to be 'The Artist' and 'Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close'. I could write a whole polemic on each but will save you the time of reading them. Just please, if you want to see Hollywood schlock, watch 'Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close'. The young actor in it...is an incredibly annoying character. Trust me. I thought 'Midnight In Paris' and 'Crazy. Stupid. Love.' were excellent. They didn't try too hard. They were just lovely and hilarious. Do you know of Terrence Malick's films? Good. If not, I envy you. Malick should just do NOVA specials rather than feature films. His cinematography is beautiful but please, no more with the highly paid actors wandering about in barren landscapes trying to appear to be deep, okay?

In other news I have a new addiction: spin class. I love it. Now the instructor is crucial to your class enjoyment. The strangest and most idiosyncratic instructors are the best. I find their quirks compelling and entertaining.Therefore it is their classes that I return to faithfully. It's a great opportunity for a bang-up aerobic workout. Plus it saves your knees from all of the abuse they withstand on the road or on the treadmill. I find 3 spin classes as week combined with a yoga class, weights and running is a perfect routine to give you lots of energy and happiness. Plus I'm "training" for a 160km hike across the western edge of Greenland next year with my friend from Whitehorse so that helps motivate me as well! Goals are so important. If you don't have one, make acquiring a goal your goal. My lungs need travel to breathe. Travel and adventure are the air that sustains me.

Atop Mount White near Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory

Last but not least I was thinking about my artistic inspirations today. My first inspiration as a college student was the artist Tamara de Lempicka. She lived and painted in my favourite decade, in one of my favourite places: Paris in the 1920's. Can you imagine it? I can. Art Deco, Hemingway, Anais Nin, Henry Miller, and on and on.. Lempicka showed me the beauty and potential of female painters. Frida Kahlo's inspiration came later, but that's another blog entry. I am not as drawn to Tamara as much now, but it is important to give a nod to your inspirational roots. I have already spoken of Andrew Wyeth and Lucian Freud as my other main influences. Sargent is in there too but I'll return to them at another time.

I hope you like the newest painting I am working on, shown above. The finished painting will be on display with my upcoming solo exhibition at Abbozzo Gallery in Oakville, Ontario this autumn.  My cat Sasha wandered into frame as the tripod and camera did their reference collecting for me. I like that Sasha is very subtle and almost not discernible until you really look. He is five pounds soaking wet, five years old,and one of my best friends and closest confidantes. He's patient and never tells my secrets. He loves me unconditionally and is a positive reprobate when I am gone for long periods of time, let alone a couple of hours. I adore him for his beauty and his beautiful flaws. In fact, here is a painting of him....

So these are a few ramblings from me to you. I hope you are having a beautiful last few days of this February as it ebbs away. Thank-you for reading, following, supporting and believing in my painting and me.

Best,

Heather

p.s. I must suggest you acquire the official soundtrack to The Social Network. It is amazing. If you are a Trent Reznor fan I am sure you have it already. If not get it, please. It is perfect to work to, think to, write to, paint to, bathe to, fall asleep to, drive to. Here is a link to information about it... 

p.p.s. David Fincher is a genius.

"Woody Cove, Gros Morne"

My paintings are my friends. It's as simple as that. Your art, like your friendships, needs nurturing and, subsequently, you develop connections with your paintings. At least I do.


"Woody Cove, Gros Morne", oil on canvas, 36"x60", has been in the back of my mind for years. This place reminds me of some sort of Avalon, or perhaps some veiled world found in J.R.R. Tolkien's mind. Fortunately it is happily within reach of all of us, in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland, Canada. It lies near the center of the park near Norris Point and Lobster Cove Lighthouse. 


This painting is another piece that will be a part of my solo exhibition at Abbozzo Gallery in Oakville, Ontario this autumn. I hope you can make it out to the exhibition! I will post dates for the show as soon as I find out when it is. Stay tuned. The show will include a selection of figurative paintings, landscapes and a couple of still life pieces as well. Variety is good :)


Some of the most challenging things (for me) to paint are skies and water. This painting has a lot of both. A successful painting means you have created a successful illusion. I think the key is knowing that it will ultimately work out as you want it to. You just need patience and belief. Just keep your head down and paint. 


Mind you, stepping away and assessing your painting periodically is imperative. My college painting instructor Katharine MacDonald always told us that. Take a step back and look at your work. Don't get too close for too long or you will cease to see the painting in an objective light. In fact this technique could work for any aspect of your life. If you get too close to anything for too long, you can lose objectivity and your view can become distorted. Balance, stepping back, weighing what is working and what isn't, yields your best work and perhaps your best decisions in and out of the studio. 


The only thing more exhilarating and terrifying than a blank canvas is the first mark you make. This means you have started the uphill climb in the creation of a piece of art and a hundred, two hundred, a thousand more marks will follow this initial brushstroke. Yet we paint because we must. We love it and are terrified periodically by it. I know I am. A little fear keeps you creating your best work.


So fan the flames of a little fear in the studio and I'll be writing again soon with a new painting to talk about. 


Happy creating!


Heather

"It is the job that is never started that takes longest to finish."~J.R.R. Tolkien

"Clothesline, Fogo Island"

"..in great souls I sail before the wind without a watch,

and never reach the shore."~Henry David Thoreau

There are few places as evocative as Newfoundland. I have waxed romantic about this province before and I must take a moment to do it again. "Clothesline, Fogo Island", oil on panel, 30"x40", brings me once again back to that windy day driving around this small island on the northeastern coast of Newfoundland. Here is a link so you can see where it lies.

There is unique character to Newfoundland that makes it instantly recognizable. Certain destinations that we have had the good fortune to experience and explore remain within us while others fall away. Why is that? I believe it is because those places hit us like tuning forks with a resonance that we almost cannot explain. And it is okay not to be able to explain them. Perhaps when words fail us we are not meant to have them anyway. We simply must be held captive by Newfoundland, or Alaska, or Patagonia or wherever calls to you.

I am working on a painting currently, that a good friend saw (keep in mind I had only worked about eight hours on it) and he said "I think I've been there!" He was correct. We talked about it and he had. That is the power of landscape, to have set an indelible print within your mind that you are instantly taken back there when you even see a hint of its final rendering. Here is the painting to which he referred:

I am planning on doing a time-lapse video of this painting with the help of a friend. I will post it here when the piece is completed.

In "Clothesline, Fogo Island", I rendered the clothes in a more detailed way, while keeping with a more expressive rendering of the landscape behind them. Similar to the other clothesline I painted years ago, I wanted the clothes to almost want to fly off of the canvas and out over the water. The painting is now available at Abbozzo Gallery, where I will be having a solo exhibition of my work this coming autumn.

In other news I will be giving a lecture at the Burlington Art Centre for the Burlington Fine Art Association this month. I am excited to talk with other artists about the creative process. Also, this spring I will be a guest lecturer at the Western Kentucky University. I will give a talk, participate in artist critiques and have a small exhibition of my paintings at the university over the course of my visit. What a great opportunity! I have never been to Kentucky and look forward to an exciting road trip.

Here is a painting that I recently completed for a friend. Cats' eyes really are windows to their souls...our furry friends make life beautiful, don't you think?

I hope that 2012 is off to a great start for you. Wishing you happiness in your art and life and thanks for reading!

If you are inclined, please follow my art on Facebook and Twitter!

"What Frida Taught Me"

I want quiet feet on quiet floors and quiet fears behind quiet doors.

"What Frida Taught Me", oil on panel, 36"x24", was inspired by Frida Kahlo's famous 1938 painting "What The Water Gave Me". "What Frida Taught Me" began in Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory last autumn. I have painted my legs in a bathtub before, but this time, like every time, is different.

There are many reasons as to why artists have painted themselves in bathtubs. These are places where we are cleansed and they are also places of refuge. They are receptacles for our fears and concerns. There is peace to be found here. I began this painting with an idea of revisiting the theme of the previous piece, Quietus, seen here, from years ago:

I enjoy painting the natural world as well as things which cover us. Whether it be fabric or water, anything that surrounds us can serve as a metaphor. It can provide protection and can also wash away layers to reveal important truths. The water in my painting is symbolic of how our minds and bodies are able to have time to heal and reflect (no pun intended) in that place. The quiet drip of the faucet, the occasional creak of the house, these simple sounds become the backdrop for our thoughts as we sculpt our theories, weigh opinions, develop plans and dwell on sentiments. Quite simply, places where we are cleansed are crucibles for all that goes on in our minds.

Perhaps the composition of "What Frida Taught Me" is a bit strange to the casual observer. It makes sense to me though. Haven't we all sat in a similar places and looked down at our legs, faithful friends who have helped us through the world and not questioned why, but simply took us where our minds told them to go? They trust us, and we them.

I had gone on a long hike up Mount White with the Yukon Outdoors Club on the day "What Frida Taught Me" was conceived. I had fallen at the end of the hike but did not paint my injury into the painting. It felt strange to do so. I went with my gut and omitted the gore. I did paint the tan lines from my sandals which seem permanently etched on my feet from hours of hiking and exploring in the sun. This painting was the end of a beautiful, strenuous day. It was the opposite of the previous six hours of ascending and descending the mountain...

 Halfway up the mountain..

Walking along the top of Mount White..glorious:)

Two of my greatest loves are painting and traveling. "What Frida Taught Me" is a representation of many things, and those things change from day to day. Like Frida, I place my life into my painting. It is there to see, but less obviously as the direct symbolism in Frida's work. No my story is more subtle. Like Frida I believe our paintings are places to tell our stories, the painful ones and the pleasurable ones. She lived her life intensely and followed her passion. She "painted her own reality" as she once said. I agree with her. Paint what you know. Listen to that quiet voice, that inner child and and let that voice have the final word on your canvas.

"Feet, why do I need them if I have wings to fly?"~Frida Kahlo