Ah-h-h....Spring!

Spring has sprung at our house... in the form of 25 baby chicks.  Just when I thought I'd be moving them outside, the night-time temps dropped, so they are still inside with us.  They are growing so fast that we had to exit the brooder and bring the 4'x8' chickie tractor into my studio so that they would have room to exercise.  My husband says that it reminds him of the Star Trek episode when they beamed a barnyard into one of the cargo bays!  Oh well, it was a good excuse to move my easel into the dining room where I'm working on portrait commissions.
Spring also means plein air paint-outs are coming up.  More on those in the next post.  Right now I need to tuck my fluffy little pooping peepers in for the night!

Peter's Peppers

8" x 8" acrylic on 1.5" deep wrapped canvas w/painted edges

SOLD

I love my art group!  We continue to meet almost every week and it's the very best way to stretch and grow for me!  I painted this one on Thursday.  Here's how the day went....9:30 meet & greet at the depot gallery in Barnesville, set up painting station, lay-in sketch, cup of coffee, paint, critique each others' progress, walk to 'Slices' pizza  and meet up with three other friends for lunch, talk, laugh, plan our new year-long art adventure(more later), hurry back to the depot, paint some more, call for critique, finish painting, gel time & place for next get-together and start breaking down around 3:00. Peter was busy framing his paintings for our Fall Line Painters show coming up while Eleanor, Bambi & I were painting.  He was telling a funny tale about some jalapeno peppers at a tailgate party, so I named these peppers after him.  They aren't as hot as his story!

"Close Connections" Opening SOON!

Monroe County Arts Alliance has a very impressive art show coming up!  Thirty-five local and regional artists with over 100 artworks vie for $700 in cash prizes plus honorary ribbons in a display that showcases the area’s best.  “Close Connections” set out to encourage artists who had a connection with Monroe County to participate.  All counties that touch our borders are included, as well as artists who are connected by family, work or organizations.

As coordinator for the show, I am excited about the response from the art community. We put out the call for artists and they responded!  We hope the community will come out to support these artists and the devoted efforts of so many MCAA volunteers that desire to keep the fine arts alive. 

The opening reception is Thursday, Sept 1, 5-7 PM at the gallery at 54 N.Jackson St.

Judge, Karen Strelecki, will speak at the awards/reception evening at 6:00 PM, explaining what she looks for in a show piece and how she has come to her decisions regarding the winning entries. Not all judges are willing to give this critique and it is valuable information for artists entering the show arena as well as the general viewing public, who sometimes wonder why a particular piece has won an award.

“Close Connections” will hang from Sept 1 to Oct 21 and will be viewable during regular gallery hours of 11-4 Weds –Fri.  Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours will get to see the show, as MCAA hosts their September meeting.  The gallery will also be open during Monroe County’s annual ‘Taste of Monroe’ for the community’s viewing pleasure. 
Awards
$300 Best of Show
$100 First Place 2-D
$100 First Place 3-D
$100 First Place Mixed-media
$100 First Place Photography
Peoples Choice Ribbon - Please come vote before 6PM at the reception!
Honorable Mention ribbons at the judge's discretion.

Participating artists (over 100 artworks!):

Debbie Anderson - http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/debbie-anderson.html
Betty Arnold
Sharon Bailey
Nancy Barnes - www.metallikos.com
Dr. Steve Barnes
Sue Bond
Ashlin Breland - breland_ashlin@hotmail.com
Donna Brown - http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-donna-brown.html
Pat DeVane Burns - patburnsart.com
Hazel Caldwell - hazelcaldwell.com
Markey Duensing
Pat Freeman
Doug Fromm
Cheryl Hildebrand
John R.L.Isaacs XV
Cynthia Jenkins
Gloria Joy
Mary Leslie - http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/mary-leslie.html
Gypsy McKinna
Coni Merritt - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Merritt-Pottery
Peter Nishanian - joycines@gmail.com
Mary Parks - http://www.artfromtheheartbymary.blogspot.com/
Bambi Rogers- http://facebook.com/bambi.rogers
Bill Rogers -http://www.jacksonprogress/-argus.com/news/2011/jun/21/popular-panes-stained-glass-artist-83-earning/
Gloria Smith
Joy A. Smith - http://www.paintingsbyjoy.com/
Linda Sosebee
Alan Stecker
Eleanor Stecker
Martha Thompson - Martha Adams Thompson on Facebook
Martha Tisdale - http://www.marthahtisdale.com/
Sam Traina - myspace.com/samtraina
MJ Venrick - http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/m-j-venrick.html
Paula Williams
Julie Yamamoto - http://www.windwalkerdreams.com/ 

I invite you to visit our event page on Facebook.

MCAA is appreciative of local sponsors Jonah’s, Prime Palate and Grits, who all helped with printing promotional material for the show.  Enjoy their delicious eats and please tell them "thank you!"

Most of the artwork will be for sale, although ‘not for sale’ pieces are also entered for competition.

Gratefulness

I'm grateful my dog's foot missed these new sprouts literally by a hair!

Yesterday I got Robert Genn's twice-weekly letter about being grateful from his blog , The Painter's Keys.  I heartily thank you, Robert!  It promised to be a hectic day of artistic errands instead of painting, which usually puts a wrinkle in my brow for the day.  His letter completely changed my attitude and turned what could have been a harried day into one of pleasure.  As I finished reading his letter, I looked out the window from my computer and saw new sprouts breaking ground in a row of zipper peas in my garden due to a nice rain we'd had the previous night.  Gratefully, I took out my camera and took a picture of them. Would I have "seen" them in my previous state of mind? As I did, a photographer friend from down the street showed up to take pictures of the butterflies on the volunteer zinnias that bless my abundant garden.  We gratefully shared a brief time while I unloaded my car in preparations for the 3-hour trip I had to make to retrieve artwork from a gallery today.  I knew I would have a full load picking up a fellow artist's six pastels as well as my own ten or so paintings, several 'Spirits in Stone', some wire sculptures, prints and notecards.  The gallery is changing it's focus to double its' classroom size and promote the art of the two owners.  The economy is affecting everyone!  I am grateful that I can still do what I love to do. I wished them well, grateful that all our paperwork matched and everything fit into my car.  I made a quick phone call to Preston, whose pastels I had, and luckily he was having lunch with Peter, another of my paint buddies, not too far off my route home.  I met up with them and shared a glass of tea and some laughs while Preston retrieved his work from my car.  I'm so grateful for art friends... they 'get it'...they understand...they keep me reaching for the next level! Stopped at 'A Novel Experience', the bookstore that held a show for my plein air group, to retrieve a small painting and deliver some promotional material for the fall show I'm coordinating for my local art alliance. I'm grateful to have venues that welcome and promote my artwork!
Home again, after adding a few groceries to the car, to a full answering machine.  My husband showed up about the same time.  He is an independent cuss like me, so I'm grateful that he 'gets it', too!  We check all the mail and phone calls and head back out to meet the couple we have selected to rent our old farm house on five acres.  I'm grateful that we took applications until we found what we hope will be a responsible couple who will take good care of the property.  We have learned from past mistakes, folks!  I took pictures of the house while we were there, grateful that the previous tenant left the house in spotless condition.... and believe me, that is something to be grateful about!
Home again with a glass of wine on the porch while the charcoal fires up.  Late supper tonight, but grateful that it includes fresh veggies from our garden... grilled zucchini, zipper peas, okra, tomatoes and baby bell peppers.
No TV tonight.  We both have computer work to do to finish up the day around 10:30.  Reading a few pages in bed before gratefully dropping off to sleep.

Thank you again, Robert, for making me aware that being grateful is the key to making each day a successful entity unto itself.  I can only live one at the time anyway.  I look back on the day and can see how each thing I did could have been a hassle.  Attitude makes the difference!  Sound sappy?  So what!

Dog Days of Summer reception

There was so much to share about this fun show that I created an entire static page for it on the blog.  Just click here or on the right hand sidebar on "Dog Days of Summer".  Enjoy....I know I sure did!

Dog Days of Summer

Macon Arts invited me and five other local and regional artists to present some new artwork for their August show "Dog Days of Summer".  Never could summer weather be more appropriate than this year!  Wow, it's been HOT here.  I will be entering eight new works, which I will wait to blog until after the opening reception August 5th 5-8 PM. AC Pup, mascot for the Macon-Bibb County Animal Shelter, will be making a personal appearance.  I do hope you will join us that evening.  I'm really excited to see what the other artists have done for man's best friend! 

Snow Birds

"Snow Birds"   4" x 12" acrylic on canvas

Preston King, one of the Fall Line Painters, issued a challenge today.  Stay inside but paint a view out of one of your windows.  It is so icy and cold here!  The ground is blanketed in what looks like snow, but it is a hard layer of sleet and ice.  We have been steadily feeding the birds today.  These goldfinches in their rather drab winter plumage covered the table on the deck, so it was easy to see them up close through the french doors.  I was tempted to paint the cardinals, but this little constantly moving mass was so intriguing, even though they were less striking.

"Sun Spot" - Challenge 13

Sun Spot     8" x 10" acrylic

There are web sites out there that offer challenges which I do occasionally.  This one was of a small grove of aspens.  Since I have never seen aspens in person, I chose to make my trees a generic variety and concentrate my attention on the bright spot of sunshine filtering into the autumn grasses underneath.  After finishing this exercise in "realist abstraction",  I had the feeling that my best result was about 3/4's of the way into this painting.  In other words, I kept going when I should have stopped.  That is what these lessons to self are all about... learning.

'Circle of Life' honors

"Georgia Red" tied for third place honors in Arts Clayton's 'Circle of Life' show in Jonesboro.  Check out their Facebook page for all the pictures.

Ramble through 14 miles of art in Greene County

3rd Annual Holiday Art Ramble of Greene County, Friday and Saturday, 19-20 November from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Five local art businesses have banded together to create the ramble -  they’re close together in the convenient 15-mile stretch from Greensboro to Union Point. The galleries are Art of Oconee, Genuine Georgia, Hampton Fine Art Gallery, Magnolia Gallery and The Point of Art Gallery. Every stop offers exciting and different art forms and you can watch artists demonstrate their unique craft. There's door prizes and more, much more...For more info go to www.artramble.com or call (706) 486-6808

I'll be at Magnolia Gallery Friday & Saturday 1-4PM demonstrating my 'Spirits in Stone'... how I chose a stone, the preparation and painting of them.  Please come by see me and the other demonstrating artists.  

Blast from the past!

Last week I had the pleasure of seeing two of my past paintings in their home environment... and it really did my heart good!  Both 4' x 8' paintings were originally commissioned in 1998 as murals to be put on the outside of cabins that are used for hunters and boy scouts. They are painted in acrylics on signboard and sealed with several coats of polyacrylic to weather the outdoors. Vickie gave me free-rein to treat the subjects, foxes and deer in a Georgia setting, any way I wanted. I remember that she sent a son to pick up the finished paintings in his truck.  Within the hour I received a phone call from her husband, Walter... "I don't like them!", he said.  "Bring'em back!", I said. "I don't like them.... I love them!", he said. "No way are these going outside!  We will find places for them inside somewhere."  And they did just that, building the foxes into a stone fireplace wall and placing the deer prominently in a bedroom.  Thanks to Walter and Vickie for giving my artwork such a good home!

Good news from Meeker, Colorado!

"Movin' Mutton", a 12" x 24" oil, placed second in the art competition at the Meeker Classic Annual  International Art Contest this past week.  I just got word today that it sold yesterday during the silent auction and is on it's way to a new home in Alaska. A HUGE thank you to all the folks at the Meeker Classic Sheepdog Championship Trials for including art in this fabulous event!

Movin' Mutton

"Movin' Mutton"

12" x 24" oil on gessoed masonite

I'm back to the easel today after over 2 weeks of summer break.  I spent some time with my oldest grand-daughter and did some canning/freezing of produce out of the garden.  This painting was loose and juicy and fun!  A photographer friend, Kathy Simmons, allowed me to use some shots of this border collie competing in a herding dog event.  He looks like he is looking at his trainer awaiting  instructions on where to put these sheep.  We were the lucky owners of a chocolate border collie named Sadie, who was "sheepless"....so she tried to herd our cats!
This painting will be in the Meeker Classic Sheepdog art auction in September in Colorado.

Dinah & Charley

"Dinah & Charley"

8" x 8" x 1.5" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

This is a sweet little painting that I did as a gift for my artist friend, Linda Brightwell Tucker, who has been a great help to me.  She is a member of McIntosh Art Association in Darien, where my show is presently hanging. Linda has the member's Spotlight Show called 'Potpourri' in another room within the gallery that will hang through the end of this month.  We used to paint together weekly for almost two years before she moved to Darien, which is sadly four hours from my house now.  She has been extremely generous with her time and effort in helping move my artwork around in the Darien gallery and the Glynn Art Gallery on St. Simons Island.  Thank you, Linda!

Last Cast of the Day

"Last Cast of the Day"

20" x 28" acrylic on gessoed masonite

There was so much about this reference picture of Cheri Robbins' that appealed to me... the colors, the diagonal action, the unposed vigor of the man fishing and talking.  I cropped it down from a larger picture to zero in on these aspects and felt like I knew him by the time the painting was finished.  Thanks, Cheri, for sending in the reference and contributing to the show!

Golden Girls

"Golden Girls"

18.5" x 23.5" oil on birch veneer

I'm afraid the photo of this one just does not do it justice.  The underlying paint is gold and silver metallic acrylic with a bit of white, then the oil sketch was done on top of that. The painting is reflective according to the light source, hence the difficulty in photographing it.

The reference photo was a sepia tone.  I wanted to keep the flavor of the time period intact, but make it something special. My thought was that this was a golden era that our fast, high-tech world has left behind.  That's what gave me the idea of the gold background.  I was very pleased with the results.  

This painting is another of the ones created for the Darien show from member photos... this one coming from Judy Dodd, who is also an artist.

Chair Boss

"Chair Boss"

8" x 8" x 1.5" acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas

I painted one that I can show you, as it is for Art on the Avenue instead of my show in Darien.  Debbie requested some cats, so I wanted to do a few new ones in this format.

This is our HUGE cat, Morris, saying "I own this chair!".  He really is a sweetheart, but he could be intimidating to someone who didn't know that.

Moses

"Moses"

11" x 17"  'Spirit in Stone'

acrylic on unknown type of stone

This stone is so textured and reflective that I will show you a detail below.  It has "flows" of quarts-like reflective surfaces...not mica, as they are very hard.  I left as much of the natural stone as possible.  My son claimed this one.

After the Bath

"After the Bath"

2" x 4" acrylic on red/gray striated slate

... a 'Spirit in Stone'

This is a sweet little stone with such a shallow relief that you almost have to use your fingernails to follow it.  I left the body and the upper left corner the natural color of the stone.  Some small pieces like this I have turned into broaches, but given the subject matter of this one, I think I'll just offer it bare.  Maybe someone will put her in a shadow box or let her be a paper weight.

In Hot Company

"In Hot Company"

8" x 13" acrylic on gessoed masonite

Here's another one of those paintings that has tickled my mind for some time.  I've never put the original up for sale before, although I've sold at least a dozen prints of it in the 11" x 14" format that you see below.  It's been hanging in my kitchen for ten years.  Today I took the jigsaw to it and cut the original down to 8" x 13" ... no more tickle!