The address is 2473 Yonge St, Toronto ON, M4P 2H6
]]>It's been a year of ups and downs. I've suffered some bouts of difficulty in 2023 but I've also had a year of great opportunity. When I think back over the past 12 months what I cherish the most are the amazing new people I've met and become friends with. From the new and returning clients I've seen at the various art shows, to the amazing and inspiring fellow artists I taught with at the Haliburton School of Art and Design, to my incredibly talented fellow artisans at this year's One of a Kind Show. Thank you for being such amazing people.
A couple of days ago my dog Oreo had surgery to remove all of his teeth. Poor guy is not liking his Cone of Shame much but he's making a remarkable recovery. Thank you to the doctors and staff at Toronto's Veterinary Emergency Clinic for providing such outstanding care to my curmudgeonly little dog. The gift of a pain free mouth is a wonderful Christmas gift indeed.
I have a lot of plans for the coming year but I'll talk about that more in the coming weeks. For now I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Be well and enjoy the season in whatever way you love best.
xoxo Deidre, Mitzi and Oreo
]]>This workshop is meant to be a creative week where you can experiment with different methods of depicting animals on canvas and paper. Watercolour, acrylic, graphite and coloured pencils are all welcome. Now is your chance to try something new or further develop your skills with your favourite medium.
For more information please check out the website:
https://flemingcollege.ca/continuing-education/courses/animals-in-art
Or contact me here at my website if you have any questions you want to ask me directly. Hope to see you there!
]]>This year I also had grand plans to draw a whole series of Christmas illustrations featuring a sassy cat named Mitzi (wink, wink). I even sketched out some ideas with the intention to start that very day. But one day melted into the next and suddenly there were no more days left. Ah well, I did get 2 xmas drawings finished this year. Do I get a prize??
It's been an interesting year and I have no doubt that 2023 will prove to be an even stranger one. What never changes is my appreciation for you, my dear loyal customers. Your kindness, good wishes and lovely stories are what keep me going year after year. Well that and coffee, ha!
Deidre xoxo
]]>This Halloween stuff your tummy to the brim with candy and allow yourself to be scared witless at least once. It may be the season of death but it never fails to make me feel completely alive.
Halloween also means that I'm busy getting my Christmas stock finalized, counted and posted in my shop. Everything will be available to purchase by the end of the week in both this shop and my Etsy store. That way you can shop for Christmas gifts while recovering from your sugar high. It's a guaranteed post-Halloween cure.
]]>I don't participate in many art shows anymore but I still love doing the Cabbagetown. The customers are unbelievably friendly and the artists are always top quality. Plus there's a farm in the park and I can never say no to visiting goats, chickens and pigs.
Location:
Riverdale Park West, Toronto
375 SUMACH STREET
Friday, September 9, 2022, 1 - 6 p.m.
Saturday, September 10, 2022: 10 a.m. - 6.p.m.
Sunday, September 11, 2022: 10. a.m. - 6 p.m.
http://www.cabbagetownartandcrafts.org/
If you plan to come please stop by and say hello! There are no assigned booth numbers but the show if very easy to navigate and laid out in a figure 8.
]]>I've been a busy little beaver painting brand new watercolours and the stack of fresh art is getting taller by the day. I'll start scanning, cleaning and printing the paintings as soon as I can.
In the mean time if you have any thoughts about the new look please let me know. I can get very myopic while redesigning layouts and sometimes I forget to think about what my customer might think or prefer.
Happy Summer All!
Deidre xox
]]>Merry Christmas!
Deidre
]]>I'm being genuine when I say this is one of my favourite shows to attend as a vendor. The quality of the art is outstanding and the crowds are large and friendly. If you're in the Toronto area this weekend Sept 11-12 please stop by and say hello. There is no assigned spaces but I'll be there in the park with my art ready to say hi.
The event takes place on Sept 11-12 from 11-6 at Riverdale Park in the Toronto neighbourhood of Cabbagetown.
]]>I have noticed that I've been planning a lot of Halloween and winter-themed illustrations lately but I doubt there is a connection, right?
I'm listing new art almost daily right now so have a wonder around the store. Just hold on to your hat, my fans might blow it clear off your head!
]]>All of this to say that my shop is on the move again. This time it's more about resetting after a year of Covid and having a better idea of what works right now and what just doesn't sell anymore. I also got tired of looking at the same old layout so that might have had something to do with it as well.
I'm trying something new with the organization of my prints. Because I create art in several different mediums I've decided to section out my prints my medium. Each medium will then be grouped by animal. Please let me know if the new layout makes things easier to find. I'm always happy to hear suggestions from the shoppers who actually use the website because you interact with it in a very different way than I do. Of course tomorrow I might wake up and decide to put everything back exactly how it was before. Time will tell...
]]>I sincerely wish everyone a Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays. I also want to thank everyone who supported my shop this year. I'm still here because of your generosity, it's really as simple as that.
Love,
Deidre
]]>I also happen to have a love of candy and the store shelves are fully stocked with Halloween treats all calling my name. I've managed to turn my back and walk away from all those mini chocolate bars, caramels and squishy candies so far but now that it's the 1st all bets are off. Candy here I come.
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I think people in my neighbourhood are looking forward to the Fall just as much as I am. I've never seen such an early display of pumpkins, gourds and yes, even Halloween decorations. Maybe we all just want a bit of fun after months of Covid. I know I do.
Here in my studio I'm working on new paintings which I hope to have listed soon. I also introduced a new line of archival greeting cards that double as small 5x7 prints. I realized that many of my customers were framing my cards so I wanted to offer a better quality, longer lasting paper. Keep an eye out for new designs.
I'm also starting work on this year's batch of Christmas cards. Christmas is my other favourite time of year, did I mention that yet?
xDeidre
]]>What I did do this afternoon was listen to Bach's St. Matthew's Passion from start to finish. It's something I've always wanted to do but never had the time before. What a beauty! I think I've discovered a new Easter tradition. One that doesn't involve a sugar high either.
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May your day be filled the things you love, whether they be people, animals or coffee.
]]>I do have a lot of new design ideas and art techniques that I'm itching to try out. The great thing about illustration is that you just have to look at a blank sheet of paper to get that feeling of a fresh start. You don't have to wait a whole year.
May your 2020 be filled with fresh insights and greater vision. Get it, 2020??
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I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for another amazing year. Without your support I would never be able to continue painting each and every day. You rock! From myself, Bronie, Mitzi and Winks I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas 🎄
Deidre
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What's even more shocking is that my Etsy store has almost reached it 10th Anniversary. Yes 10th!!! I'll be doing something special for this big milestone in April of 2020 so stay tuned.
Another shocker: it's almost 2020. I hope that's all the shockers I get for today, my heart can't take anymore.
]]>The annual sale runs from Nov 29 to Dec 2. 30% off the entire store. It's the only sale I run so don't miss it.
]]>In the mean time here is a sneak peek reveal of one of my new card designs. It's a cat! I bet that's a shocker to all of you who know my work. Haha!
I'll have plenty of new designs this year as well as a couple of returning favourites. There are boxed multiples available and even the option to create your own box set. Hurrah!
Lastly I will be hosting my annual Black Friday Sale from Nov 29 to Dec 2. All items in the store will be 30% off.
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Spring also means I'm doing some mental Spring cleaning and making decisions about what to paint next. Did you catch that slip? Yes PAINT. I've decided I've had enough time away from watercolour and I finally have some new painting ideas I want to play around with. Maybe even a book? If I can sit my butt in my chair long enough to actually paint enough illustrations for a full book. Time will tell
And yes, I realize that the cover illustration for this post is a coloured pencil drawing, but hey it was the best Springy depiction I had. Flowers are flowers no matter the medium :)
]]>It's with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Tad. He was a small dog with a HUGE heart. A heart that was so big he was able to share little pieces of it with all of those around him be they family, friends or strangers on the street. It was also a sick heart and after 16 years of giving it had nothing left to give.
I adopted Tad when he was 13 and it was one of the best decisions of my life. Senior dogs have so much to offer us. Tad reminded me that it's OK to take things slowly sometimes, that there is no age limit to learning new things and about the importance of taking naps.
I never believed in love at first sight until that October day 3 years ago when I first met Tad. Three years was not enough time but had I adopted him when he was 3 months old it still wouldn't have been enough time. It never is, is it?
I hope your heart is now at rest. I miss you.
]]>So I decided to draw some bright happy flowers as a form of therapy. It is also a reminder that Spring will come again, no matter how far away it might seem at the moment. Have faith my friends, the flowers will bloom once more.
Original art is crayon on paper. Copyright Deidre Wicks
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I wish everyone a bright, happy and prosperous New Year. And just a friendly reminder that the new diet can wait until tomorrow ;)
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Not only is it Christmas but I also just passed the 1 year anniversary of my shop opening (Dec 13th). I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for your continued support and ongoing encouragement. When I decided to leave Etsy and start my own web store I wasn't sure I'd be able to make a go of it but the response so far has been very encouraging. I know that running this shop will continue to be a learning curve but I thank you all for taking the ride with me. Just remember it's probably best to wear your seat belt ;)
From Tad, Mitzi, Winks, Bronie and myself I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a joyous New Year!
]]>Personally I LOVE gift cards. Especially if they're for one of my favourite art stores (hint hint to my friends and family who might be reading this). I usually just buy art supplies that I need so when I get a gift card I allow myself to buy something I want. I hope by offering gift cards in my shop I'll be giving my customers that same great feeling of treating yourself to something you've always wanted but couldn't otherwise justify.
Do you like getting gift cards? Let me know what you think.
Follow this link to the listing:
https://waterinmypaint.ca/collections/christmas/products/gift-card
]]>Don't worry I'm not the one on strike. My boss wouldn't have much sympathy for my demands anyway so why bother - the glamorous life of the self-employed!!!! Canada Post has been on rotating strike for over a month now and that means mail has been sloooooooowed down considerably. I tried to ask at my local post office about projected delivery dates but they had no idea. Frustratingly they couldn't even say whether mail sent to the US this week would arrive in time for Christmas! (Not the fault of the ladies who work the Canada Post outlet btw. They rock!!)
So where does that leave my little shop? I'm suggesting that if you're located outside of Canada you get any Christmas orders in ASAP.
If you're located in Canada packages should still arrive in time. It seems that Canada Post is prioritizing Canadian packages but who really knows!?!
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!
]]>I love watercolour! It was the very first medium that truly grabbed my imagination back when I was in my first year of Fashion School. It was also the medium that taught me about patience, colour theory and technique. It's not too great a stretch to say that I owe my career to watercolour. However, like all artists, there comes a time when you have to push yourself artistically and branch out to other mediums. That's where I am right now.
When I decided to reorganize my shop I thought it best to group items by animal. I wanted this website to be above all things easy to navigate. That left the problem of different illustrations drawn in different mediums being listed under the same category. So how can you tell the difference? Not to worry, I clearly list the medium of the original illustration in the listing details. I also include a graphic that shows you exactly what you're buying.
Most importantly, my style is still my style. No matter the medium my art can be mixed and matched and happily grouped together.
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