Judy Leila Schafers Fine Art

It has certainly been an enjoyable summer, in my mind. There are always difficult things going on in the world, that is for sure, but I choose to focus a bit more on the wonderful abundance around me. How can I make a positive difference in the world, if I let negative influences make me miserable? And so, it has truly been an very enjoyable summer! The balance of moisture and sunshine has been almost perfect in this area which is of concern every growing season. The gardens look great! Even with the weeds.

The large leafed plants above are tobacco plants that were given to us by a dear family family friend. We’re not sure what to do with them, but they certainly look happy! Other often used herbs such as variegated basil, rosemary and purple sage are alongside.

I go produce shopping in my jungle garden almost every day. Such a joyful blessing.

It looks like we are sadly going to loose a couple more of our long time garden inhabitants. Some of the summer storms wreaked havoc on our spruce trees near the house and they will leave quite a very noticeable empty spot. They  will be greatly missed.

Here, our long time valued farm hand Jerry, is washing the combine and getting it ready for harvest. Every year it seems to come so quickly! Some of our neighboring farmers have begun harvesting this week.

Mushroom were everywhere this year! Jilene has a large mushroom book that she uses to identify them. We made delicious cream of mushroom soup with these! Another first 🙂 Oh, and the cherries and raspberries were almost never ending! The freezer is full of fruit. I am just finishing with the apples and the plums are next.

This is a breathtaking view, in my opinion. Who doesn’t love the flower garden blues?

The crops are looking pretty good in our area this year. These are faba beans which are a fairly new crop for us. It is great for expanding the crop rotation and adding to field nutrients at the same time. This photo could inspire a miniature painting on wood…

Did I mention how much I love flowers? This is a burgundy daylily with green accents. I might just paint this some day.

Ok. Just ONE more garden photo! I love the early morning shadows.

Mysteries under a blanket could refer to a few things….
You can guess what I am actually thinking about here. Nothing naughty….

“Silence in Grey”, original acrylic by Judy Leila Schafers

I absolutely love the mystery that a fresh blanket of snow creates as it is laid over the varied contours of the garden, field and forest. Each snowflake joins together to form beautiful marshmallow-like shapes and hollows. These little vignettes evoke questions in my mind about what the snow might be covering. Is there a creature or two hiding under there? 

Fleeting Beauty

Why else would I spend time in the dead of winter, searching for inspiration, while having to endure frosty fingers and a runny nose? It would be a shame to miss such wonderful things to contemplate: soft, yet frigid shapes, cold shiny crystals and diamonds, sculptural, temporary, ever changing, ethereal. And then one day, usually without fanfare, they are gone.

Such fleeting beauty is worth exploring and capturing on canvas. At least I am not required to paint it stationed outdoors in the sub-zero temps! I am not sure I am THAT dedicated….  The digital camera does a great job of capturing enough of the detail for me to work with in the comforts of my studio. My fingers are saved!

A Forgiving Process creating mysteries under a blanket

It is a fun challenge to create pillow-y soft looking shapes on a flat surface. Layer by layer, the canvas takes on a 3-D look. We generally think of it as white, but it always amazes me how much color can be found in snow. The colors will vary each day, location and time of day. All of the subtle arrays of hue take time to see, understand and add to the painting in just the right amount in the right place.

My aim is not to copy the photo, but to make my painting look ‘believable’.  Put a layer of paint on the canvas and add another color or shape. Oops! I’ve made a mistake. I will then try to block it out with more layers and then enhance what’s working. Eventually something lovely is created through this push and pull process. Mysteries under a blanket are always interesting to think about and will inspire me for years to come.

This summer, we had the pleasure of participating in a momentous occasion with our family.

Pictured here is Sabrina’s new husband Damien along with Sabrina’s mom, Val, Val’s parents (Gladys and Erwin Knuth), Sabrina’s brother, Justin and Sabrina’s Dad’s parents ( Marian and Herman Schafers).

On August 27, our niece, Sabrina (Shane’s side of the family) married Damien on the farm where Sabrina was raised. It was a truly wonderful wedding, beautiful in all aspects, despite the cooler, rainy weather. The cloudy conditions made for great photos!

We were all amazed by how the rain stayed away during the ceremony. Here are the brand new Mr. & Mrs. shortly after.

Just after signing the important papers.

The site where Sabrina and Damien were wed is on the same piece of ground where Sabrina’s great grandparents had farmed. There is a lot of family history on this piece of land to which the Pastor referenced during the ceremony.

A beautiful borrowed car used during the wedding.

The wedding party gathering for official photos.

The reception took place at the Rich Valley Agriplex. What a magnificent way to transform a hockey arena!

Sabrina with her cousin (our son, Devin).

It is a family tradition that if the younger sibling gets married before the eldest, then the eldest must dance in a tub. We have no idea where this came from, but Justin was indeed a good sport!

Couldn’t stop myself from exercising some artistic license with the camera!

Please click on the link below to read the story. It may take a little while to load.

Reprinted with permission from The Free Press.

Pages from FreePress_July_12

Many people who attended my Art And a Country Garden event commented that the food was amazing again this year. The only item I baked were the chunky-monkey banana cookies, which have become a recent family favorite.  As promised, below are some of the recipes you asked for.  Enjoy!

(photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)
Curried Carrot Soup (prepared by Yolande Stark of Tipi Creek Farms) This was the orange colored cold soup served in little canning jars.
2 Tablespoons butter
1 pound chopped carrot,
1 chopped onion,
1 large shallot (optional),
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 heaping teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced jalapeno pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
3 cups broth
Saute above ingredients until soft.  Puree in blender until creamy.
Add 1/2 cup coconut milk and 1 1/2  – 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice to pureed soup.
Serve warm or cold, garnished with seasoned, roasted pumpkin seeds, fresh cilantro or fresh parsley (all optional)

Flourless Brownies
3 large eggs
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar or to taste
1/4 cup quality cocoa powder
12 ounces chocolate chips
1/3 cup tapioca or arrowroot flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla
extra chocolate chips for topping
chopped nuts or dried fruit (optional)
Melt together chocolate chips and butter. Let cool and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well but don’t over beat or brownies will be rather dry. Spoon into greased or parchment lined 8″ x 8″ pan. Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top of batter, instead of icing later. Bake at 350 F until done in the center. Try not to over bake. (if over baked, let cool until just warm and cover pan with plastic wrap overnight, sometimes this helps to restore moisture) This recipe can easily be doubled and frozen.

Home made rhubarb punch!

Rhubarb Punch
After cleaning and chopping rhubarb, put into large pot and cover with 6 or 8 inches of (filtered) water. Bring to a gentle boil for about 5 minutes and then simmer for about 1/2 hour, stirring once in a while.  
Let cool for about 1/2 hour. Use a fine siv/colander/cheese cloth (whatever you have) and strain out as much liquid as possible. If you don’t want rhubarb solids to appear in the final juice, strain a second time through a cloth.

Here is a chance for you to to re-visit my Art And a Country Garden event. Or, if you didn’t make it, then you might enjoy a look at the highlights.
It was a big relief that the weather co-operated for most of the weekend which, of course, helped the attendance to be about as good as last year.

Some of the first guests in the studio Saturday morning.

39  new artworks were created for this show along with several new magnets. The Walter Foster art instruction book was also finally available. My good friend Julie, who had worked with me on this event since April, helped to organize and hang the paintings, which took us over 4 hours. It was quite a challenge for us to decide which pieces to group together and which ones would not be included in the exhibit. As always, I was surprised that there were plenty of artworks to fill the space!

For the second year, Jack and Steph returned as our talented roving musicians whose performances were enjoyed by everyone. (photo thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

A guest enjoying the fairy garden in an old desk put together by The Wheelbarrow Gardener. My rock painting, “Down to Earth” made the scene complete! It was a lot of fun to create all of the garden vignettes. (photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

The above 2 photos show my friends painting on the trunk of a retired spruce tree. This was a new activity for this year which turned out to be pretty neat. It will have a sealant applied before winter and I will have it as a remembrance for years! (photos Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

It was crazy busy in the studio at times. People were encouraged to help themselves to the goodies, enjoy the art and wander the gardens. (photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

Two of my many creative and talented friends who came to help and support me! They have all been such a blessing. (photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

I believe these two are counting the blackbirds in the painting “Song of the Red Wing Blackbirds” for the scavenger hunt. (photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

Woohoo! Lots of visitors! This is always so exciting to see. (photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

Here, Dolly Bolen is about to interview me for the Morinville Free Press. My sister-in-law, Fran is happily photobombing!  And… that’s not my beer…. (photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

When the weather was nice on Saturday, this made an interesting addition to the garden. However, a storm blew in during the late afternoon and my quick thinking helpers rescued it from the wind and rain. I had forgotten all about it sitting out there! (photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

A new, enthusiastic  friend shows off her copy of the Walter foster art instruction book that I had contributed to. I hope everyone who purchased the book gains lots of helpful painting tips from it! (photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

On Saturday afternoon, I demonstrated a few painting techniques in front of a small audience.  I had prepared 2 canvases with the same painting earlier in the week so as to show the progression of the techniques I often use for close-up nature scenes. (photo thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

Since the weather was not conducive to outdoor performance, Alison sang and played guitar for us in the studio Sunday afternoon, which was very enjoyable for all. (photo thanks to Memory Roth Photography)
It was so wonderful and amazing that people came from as far away as Barrhead, Sherwood Park and even further to see the show. How very cool is that?! (photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

Karen and Barb, generously lending their time and efforts to help me out! In all, at least 20 different people had pitched in in preparation before and worked during the event.  Here’s hoping I can repay them all, or at least play it forward. (photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

These ladies are going on a scavenger hunt! (photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

Many people like Bud, almost always attend my shows. How lucky am I to have their ongoing support? (photo Thanks to Memory Roth Photography)

Hopefully, you enjoyed this little report and are inspired to attend in July of 2018!

It was an honor to be featured as the St. Albert Gazette’s ‘Artist of the Month’ for October 2015! Since early September I had been communicating with Jessica at the Art Gallery of St. Albert to arrange my bringing in new paintings for their Art Rental and Sales program.  She asked if I would be at all interested in being featured during the month of October. I was really excited by the prospect of sharing my work with a wider audience. The Gazette sent a photographer to the Gallery and two showed up! Scott Hayes, the Gazette’s arts and culture reporter, also came to the gallery and made the interview process fun and stress free.

Below is a copy of the article written by Scott Hayes which was printed in the October 14, 2015 edition. I was thrilled with the article he wrote and I hope you enjoy it too!

Perhaps it was meant to be that Judy Schafers has been into art her entire life. she has always loved to paint and always loved the beauteous bounty of nature too.

After all, she joked, she couldn’t exactly have a career in hockey.

“I was really bad at sports!” she laughed. “I was good at this. It was the path of least resistance.”

Yes, art has been a part of her life sine she was a teenager, even winning her awards while she was still in high school. Painting only became a serious pastime after she got married more than 30 years ago. They moved to a farm near Villeneuve, an idyllic settlement that was ideal in its setting too. After all, what’s better for a nature-loving artist than surrounding her with nature and giving her plenty of room to work? There’s lots of inspiration where she lives. Her main artistic influence has always been Mother Nature, she said, adding that she only has to look outside the door of her Prairie Sky Studio to see her next landscape, floral or abstract composition. There are endless possibilities.

“Art has really helped me to grow the other side of me,” the former wallflower said. In fact, she grows many of her subjects. There’s wheat and fava beans in the fields plus a big ol’ flower patch on the side and a vegetable garden for her dinner table. Between the farming and the painting, it’s any wonder if she’ll ever have clean fingernails.

“Until I cut them off,” she said with a hearty laugh. “I go to the bank with paint on my hands.”

The rustic life of an artist is indeed one of dirt and paint, and endless growing opportunities. She was a shy kid, she confessed, and would have continued to be content in her shyness as an adult if it weren’t for people encouraging her to show her work in public.

“I decided that, you know what, if the house is filling up then I need to figure out what to do with this stuff.”

That was a good call. It led to her first exhibit at an art store in Grandin Mall in 1992. She hasn’t looked back since. Schafers has taken a bumper crop of art awards including first and third places in the masters category at this year’s Open Art Competition, put on by the Allied Arts Council of Spruce Grove. She took first and second places for the masters there last year too. The well-known figure on St. Albert’s arts scene has many other accolades and has been featured on many gallery walls across this city and throughout the surrounding area.

In addition to residing within numerous corporate collections from the United States to Australia, to Europe, Asia and the Middle East. She even does a ‘blooming’ business taking commissions mostly for nature scenes.

Schafers is represented by the Daffodil Gallery in Edmonton. Her work is also available for sale or rent at the Art Gallery of St. Albert

People can learn more by visiting her website at www.judyleilaschafersfineart.com.

There you have it!
It was really interesting and surprising to hear that the Art Gallery of St. Albert reported a noticeable increase in people visiting the gallery and asking to see my work during the few days after this article ran. It was kind of hard for me to believe, but very cool at the same time! Another win-win for the Gallery and I; the painting of the green aspen leaves was rented out a few days after the feature was published!