I came to London in 1996 on a United Kingdom Ancestry visa and my intention was to find work and live in London with my partner David. Two children later, I had very little time (or energy) to paint. It is only recently that I have been able to have some kind of regular time in the studio (a small corner of our loft in fact). However with all that inaction comes a greater appreciation of what I did have when I was a student and when I was teaching part-time - all that time and space and community. And I might have appreciated it more if I knew that I would be painting very, very sporadically for the next fifteen years in London. Raising children has been the hardest and yet most rewarding work I have ever done, but I am ready now to spend more time painting.

I used to do a lot of self-portraits but I haven't done one in years, nor do I wish to now. (It is as if I cannot see myself anymore, perhaps it mere vanity as I have aged a lot in those fifteen years!). But I have found an even better subject in my daughter Katherine, who is now eleven. I see in her my own mother, I see myself, I see my husband's mother, and it is really quite a wonderful thing to see that in one subject. I was very thrilled that my portrait 'Katherine (and Millie)' was selected for the BP Portrait Award 2011 this year, particularly as I am still very much a part-time painter.

After attending the preview for the press and exhibitors and friends for the BP Portrait Award in June, I took some time to wander around the upper floors of the National Portrait Gallery and then I visited the National Gallery which is close by in Trafalgar Square. That is where the real thrill of all of this is for me. To have a painting hanging in the National Portrait Gallery where paintings from all the history of Western Painting are also hanging in close proximity is quite amazing. Wandering the galleries you see paintings by Titian, Rembrandt, Chardin, Goya, and then more modern paintings by Degas, Cassatt, Matisse, and Monet and on and on. Well it is like a treasure trove and for me one of the best things about living in London. All this history just there to find and most of the National Galleries are free. I am very lucky to be living in a city like this.

Barbara was an Exhibitor at the National Portrait Gallery as part of the BP Portrait Awards for 2011 with the portrait of her daughter Katherine, and the family's pet canary Millie, as seen in the background of the image.

For the whole month of September, Jennifer Akkermans had been participating in the Gushul Studio Residency in Blairmore, Alberta, sponsored by the Trap/Door Artist Run Centre of Lethbridge, Alberta!

Zahra Al-Harazi was nominated for Chatelaine's Woman of the Year for 2011. She is Creative Director and majority owner of the award-winning design studio Foundry Creative, which has quintupled its staff over the past five years.

Both Jackie Anderson (Making a Spectacle of Myself: 10 years of Eyewear) and Jennea Frischke (Victorian Inclinations) are exhibiting in the Discovery Gallery at the Alberta Craft Council.  Jackie is known for her use of unusual materials and evocation of place, the multi-material works largely relating to architecture and elements of our urban landscape. Jennea is attracted to color and design; she is driven to explore different mediums and techniques, and works to combine precious and non-precious materials such as metal, plastic, textiles, and vintage components, into one-of-a-kind, quirky, pieces of jewellery and wearable art.

David Baumgart, who works at Gaslamp Games in Vancouver, is getting rave reviews for publishing 'Dungeons of Dredmor' - a great game and it works on both pcs and macs!

MFA candidate Mike Binzer presents "let me remember you as you were before you existed" until October 23rd at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, SK. This exhibition is comprised of a collection of new works exploring the subtleties of embodied experience in oil and mixed media on canvas. Mike attempts to paint bodies as they are felt rather than how they are visibly perceived. Each painted body has been distorted, fragmented, and reconfigured in an effort to paint the sensations of a body, rather than the body itself.

The Calgary Stampede Western Art Auction Committee announced that Harley Brown is the inaugural recipient of the Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award. The award was created by the Committee to recognize an individual whose exceptional artistic accomplishments and their contributions to western art are highly regarded in the international art community. The Calgary Stampede also chose Harley to create the historic 2012 Centennial Artwork and Poster.

Mark Dicey and team are supporting the work and livelihood of our local Visual Artists through a fundraiser on October 15, 2011 with proceeds going towards the Elephant Artist Relief Support Fund!

 Marie Eldridge is one of four Canadian architectural illustrators to have had artwork chosen to be part of Architecture in Perspective 26, the International Competition of Digital and Traditional Architectural Illustration. Marie will have her work featured in the exhibition, which opened September 26 at the Pola Gallery in Tokyo. 

Laura Hughes is Adjunct Professor of Advanced Studio at Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR. Recent projects include: On & On & On collaborative exhibition at Ditch Projects, Eugene, OR curated by MK Guth; Body of Knowledge: Vision at Gallery Homeland, Portland, OR curated by Research Club; and Large-scale window project (12 window space) at Place PDX, Pioneer Place, downtown Portland, OR until October 15, 2011.

Luann Johnson had an image of one her glass pieces printed in the September issue of Albertaviews magazine.

Nadine Kallen's family-owned company won a Benny, the highest honour of the Premiere Print Awards for printing an art catalogue. Read about it in David Parker's column: http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Around+Town+Daughters+take+roles+family+firms/5276848/story.html#ixzz1ZTQaaD4d

Lesley Miciak is doing a Master's at the University of Saskatchewan in Aboriginal, social, and ecological justice under thesis supervisor Dr. Marie Battiste, a well known Mih'maq scholar on the subject of Aboriginal Empowerment and Antiracism in Education.

Sue (McPherson) Myer had a career in marketing and communications at the Calgary International Airport, then moved to Vancouver to run a small interior design business. She is now on a team to create an outdoor sculpture gallery in Sidney, Vancouver Island. Watch for the website launch and call to artists (planned for October 14, 2011).

Kim Neudorf is a semi-finalist in the 2011 RBC Canadian Painting Competition.The competition awards one national winner with a purchase prize of $25,000 and two honorable mentions, who each receive $15,000. Winners will be announced in Edmonton in October.

Kyle Nylund won first prize in the Fashion Had No Borders Wearable Art Competition for making a beautiful dress out of 50 newspapers. More of his work can be found at kylenylund.com.

Heather Shillinglaw is part of the Shifting Patterns exhibit at the McMullen Gallery in Edmonton (University of Alberta Hospital), October 8-December 4, 2011, along with Alex Janvier and others, curated by Aaron Paquette.

Call for Alumni Volunteers for ACAD Open House October 21-22 -Student Experience would like interested Alumni to assist with greeting parents (and a few other things!). If you are available to assist, please contact Alumni Relations and we will get you connected!

Remember to support recent graduates exhibiting their work through the Marion Nicoll Gallery. Watch for Openings at the +15, LRT, and Main Gallery on October 13 (Hannah Doerkson), October 27 (Eva Bowd), November 10 (Kelsey Fraser), November 17 (Nathan Arseneault), and December 8 (Tracy Sutherland)!

ACAD is participating in the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) - a one-of-a-kind survey that explores the lives of arts alumni nationwide. Alumni completing the survey will have access to a site to see how the school and career experiences just shared compare with alumni from across north America. See where other arts graduates live, where they work, what they earn and how their arts educations have influenced their lives. The time spent sharing those experiences will help participating arts institutions better prepare students for success, whether they stay in the arts or use what they've learned in other professional fields.  

We are pleased to announce the TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Professional Development Grant for ACAD Alumni. Open to any ACAD graduate, the purpose of the grant is to assist with costs associated with professional activities related to establishing oneself in an arts, design, and culture career in Canada. Up to one grant per applicant of a value of up to $1000 per applicant will be given based on the presentation of the documentation regarding a professional development opportunity (such as a studio contract, business plan, acceptance into major exhibition or other significant arts and culture opportunity). Include a description of the opportunity, curriculum vitae, bio/artist statement, supporting images, and budget detailing total project costs and other sources of confirmed or pending monies, to a maximum of 8 pages. Provide substantial notice in advance of the event (no retroactive funds are available) and successful applicants are required to submit a brief report about how the funds were used within 1 year of receipt of the grant. The grant may only be received once. The grant is available for a limited time only, depending on number of applicants and resources allocated for the 2011-12 fiscal year. Send application to alumni@acad.ca.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted nominations for the 2012 Board of Governors Alumni Award of Excellence - with over 35 nominations it is going to be challenging to pick! Stay tuned for more details as we prepare for Convocation 2012 where these distinguished alumni are recognized!