Bemused: finding my way back to the muse At Village Studios Stratford from September 6th to 20th

Bemused—an artist’s statement or state of an artist?

I’m seldom at a loss for inspiration in the studio. But this year the unrelenting news of the day was quelling my drive to paint. My familiar muses—my garden’s flowers, my trove of inherited domestic treasures, the small luxury of winter fruit—seemed like trite relics of a vanishing reality.  I turned to my dwindling stock of oranges and painted some subtly allegorical still lifes whose meaning would probably be missed by a casual viewer. I turned to the barnyard animals I see on my country drives as fodder for visual animal fables. Finally, I returned to my life drawing group at Gallery Stratford where, weekly, a diverse collection of artists gather to draw from a live model in an endeavour that seems so understated but is actually a testament to our free society. And with this realization, the muse had returned. My subjects this year may seem disparate but they reflect a journey from confused bemusement back to the muse.

A small group of paintings from this meandering year will be debuting at Village Studios in Stratford on September 6. I will be there in person at the show opening Saturday afternoon from 1-3 and would be happy to talk about my work. Meanwhile, please contact the gallery directly during this preview period for more information: Village Studios, 24 Downie Street, Stratford, Ontario (519) 271-7231

The Sky is Falling, oil on panel, 24” x 36” © Shannon Reynolds 2025