The Garden

This time of year it's hard to know if I'm a painting gardener or a gardening painter.  I love both!  I try to get out into the garden in the morning when the temperature is bearable and paint in the afternoon when it's too hot and humid here in Georgia.  The lettuces, radishes and snow peas are already eaten and bush beans, fordhooks and okra are sprouting in their place.  The tomatoes will soon be out of the tops of their cages...this year I put wire canopy-type bridges between several to give them more support.  We got our first handfull of cherry tomatoes today although our granddaughter has picked a few earlier ones from the bush.  We are still harvesting cabbages, kale and spring onions.  A few cowhorn peppers are almost ready... too hot for me but my son likes them.  I have the first wave of yellow squash, zucchini and cucumbers blooming with more sprouting.  We also have several hills of canteloupe and seedless watermelons already in bloom.  New additions to the garden this year are stevia, an herb whose leaves can be used to sweeten iced tea, and sunchokes, the tuberous part of a member of the sunflower family that can be cooked like potatoes or sliced raw like water chestnuts.  Sweet potatoes are filling in their patch and the bell peppers have finally started bushing up.  It seems they always start out slow but produce up until Christmas some years.
It's been a terrific spring for our fruit trees, too. Pears, apples, plums, figs, and peaches all have ample young fruit.  We even found a wild paw-paw growing and are anxious to see how it does.
So much for the garden report.  It will have to do since I can't show you what I'm painting right now .. it's a secret for my upcoming show.

"Elephant Walk" wins Second Place

I attended Arts Clayton's "Into the Wild" show reception in Jonesboro, Georgia last night.  What a variety of media!  I will post pictures of the event and the other winners as soon as Arts Clayton has them available.

Meanwhile, I have completed three new paintings for my show in Darien for the McIntosh Art Association, but I can't show them to you until after the reception on June 25th.

Back to the easel!

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.

My very first newsletter

I sent out my very first newsletter today and felt so good about it!  Why?...you ask.  Because everyone who received it has personally signed up for it.  You see, emailing blurbs about myself is the hardest part of marketing for me.  Lots of artists feel the same way.  We truly have a hard time with this issue. Many weeks ago I sent out my last 'blanket email' with the suggestion that those who wanted one monthly update could sign up for a newsletter on my website. Fine Art Studio Online, who hosts my website, has a newsletter service where folks can subscribe or unsubscribe without having to come through me personally.  I also gave the option to those who wanted more frequent news and the latest artwork to sign up on this blog.  

If you want a copy of this first newsletter but are not presently on the subscriber list, just email me through the blog or the website and I'll be happy to forward you a copy.  

Many, many thanks!

Great Paint Out!

"Mossy Oak"

11" x 14" acrylic on canvas

 Yesterday was everything I was hoping for in a paint out and more!  It was delightful.  The Village at Indian Springs is a picturesque cluster of cottages, gardens, shops, deli, museum and studio/gallery that is adjacent to Indian Springs State Park, the oldest park in Georgia, steeped in history.  The weather was perfect.  The group of twelve painters was a rich mix of talents and mediums, thanks to Plein Air Georgia. We painted in loose clusters where we could visit, encourage and critique each other. We were hosted wonderfully by Generations Gallery from check-in to the reception at Pinky's, where artists and guests enjoyed refreshments while viewing the artwork, visiting and casting ballots for the favorite art produced that day.  Artists each had two ballots and guests had one each.  I was honored that "Mossy Oak" received Best in Show ribbon and a check.  Valerie Chitvanni's "Indian Springs Rocks" received First Place and Bambi Rogers' "Break of Dawn" received Second Place. Several of us have vowed to get together on a more frequent basis for group painting and critiques at this location and Generations Gallery has agreed to be our "base".  I'm looking forward to it because it is the way I learn the best.  Thanks to all who really made my day!

Valerie & Bambi

(more pictures)

 The Motley Crew....great fellowship!

"Into the Wild"

I am very happy to announce that I have been juried in as an exhibiting artist at Arts Clayton Gallery in Jonesboro, Georgia! 

The first group show I'll be participating in is "Into the Wild", in which exhibiting artists offer their different viewpoints on wildlife, wilderness and wildness in all mediums.  A grouping of my 'Spirits in Stone' will be shown as well as a painting or two.  The response for this theme was so great that the gallery could not hang all that was submitted.  I can't wait to see it!  Arts Clayton has a beautiful gallery space and I invite you to attend the reception Thursday, June 3rd, 5:30-7:30, when you can vote for the Patrons' Award.  The show will hang from June 1 through July 30 and all artwork is for sale.

Plein Air Georgia Paint Out

(click on image to enlarge)

I'm really looking forward to this event Saturday!  I've painted with Phyllis Franklin and this group before at Callaway Gardens and came away from the day with the painting below of a bronze sculpture of herons placed in the edge of the lake at the Discovery Center there.  I'm thrilled that they are doing something this close to my home at Indian Springs.  It's sponsored by friends of mine, Andi Kulp and Kathy Socha, at Generations Gallery with help from Preston King, who taught a great pastel workshop that I took and participated with me in the Madison paint out.  It will be a great day of painting and fellowship!

"Herons at Callaway"  16"x20" acrylic

(please excuse the lousy photo)

Let the painting begin!

 Darien, GA is known for it's fishing fleet and Old South charm

Would love to show you my kick-start into the next production "clump", but it is a surprise for my upcoming show at The Old Jail Art Center starting with the reception on June 25th in Darien, Georgia.  Some of the members of the McIntosh Art Association responded to my call for reference pictures that I will use to paint from.  They have no idea which ones I've chosen or how I have used them for reference.  They won't know until opening night.  Therefore, it looks like my blogging may be a little sparse for the next few weeks.  If you'll recall, I did this last year in September at my local art association and it was a big hit.  Here's a link that explains the process in a little more detail and shows samples to those who may not have been around for the last 'interactive show'.  

Behind the scenes

Like a lot of artists that I know, I tend to work in "clumps".  I have been in heavy production over the last six months up until two weeks ago.  The upcoming July/August/September guest artist solo show is already set up and that schedule is made.  I've taken the last two weeks to do some research on galleries and art activities that are within a 2 hour radius of home, done some reading of the known art marketing gurus and thinking about where I'm going.  Doing all the business end stuff, too... updating bio, printing some portfolios, doing website updates, etc...lots and lots of etc.  I've made appointments with two more galleries nearby and entered a couple of national contests that are really stretching me. I still see another few days of getting my "map" ready before another production run is in order. 
There are lots of exciting avenues to follow.  I like to have enough flexibility to remain spontaneous, yet I need enough structure and pressure to keep me moving sanely forward.
A calendar just doesn't cut it for me. I have adopted a CPM (Critical Path Method) from years of working with my husband's construction company.  It really works well for us visual folks. I draw out a time line with spaced out commitments and then place "clumps" of activity along the line.  It enables me to see where and how things have to overlap.   Too much overlapping and I get stressed out and my inner artist starts to revolt. This visual aid helps me see at a glance if I can say 'yes' to an opportunity without jeopardizing commitments I've already made.  It also enables me to say 'no' with less guilt to time bandits that crop up.  This next six month period looks very interesting and the groundwork is being laid for a terrific beginning to 2011. 
In order to "refill the well", I also have been working in the garden, raising some chicks and mulling.  I do mulling really well... I have to watch that one!

EBSQ Spotlight today

Of all the portraits and figurative works to choose from, I find it interesting (and gratifying) that fellow artists from EBSQ chose to feature "One Down, Two to Go" in today's spotlight.  As with most of my paintings, there's a story behind why the foreground figure's head goes beyond the canvas.  His face is not visible, yet it is still very much a portrait in that those who know him immediately recognize him by his body language, environment and activity.  The 'slice of life' activity is the subject of the painting and his body language indeed tells the tale.  His four-year-old daughter took the photo that I used as a reference and the painting is very true to what she captured as a moment in their daily lives.  After all, our activities as people extend us all beyond the page, don't you think?

I had the opportunity to get my first public reaction to this painting in my recent solo show.  Some "got it" and some didn't... but it was not neutral.  That bit of mystery and handling of the face, or lack thereof, caused conversation and inquiry and perhaps a questioning within of how we see the world around us. I can live with that!   Here's the spotlight:

EBSQ Spotlight on Portraits & Figurative Art: Pat DeVane Burns

by blumoo on May 13, 2010

 

This month’s featured gallery is Portraits & Figurative Art. Portraits are the artistic representation of an individual or individuals with the face as the focus. The term “figurative art” most frequently refers to the representational depiction of a human or animal figure. Often they are deeply personal – either to the artist, because of the emotions being expressed by the subject or because of the emotions these works illicit from us. They delight, disturb and connect us. During the month of May, we are going to take a few moments to catch up with some of the EBSQ artists that create some of these evocative pieces of art.

Pat DeVane Burns

    "One Down, Two To Go"             - Pat DeVane Burns

"What is so intriguing to me about forms and faces, be it person or animal, is that each one is an individual… alike in so many ways, but different.  It is my challenge as the artist to see what is unique about the body language, the nuance of expression, the coloration, the personality and to translate what might be considered intangible into a tangible painting of that individual". – Pat DeVane Burns

Like what you see here?  We hope you’ll consider leaving a comment or subscribing to one of our feeds. Never miss another cool post from EBSQ. Subscribe to EBSQ: Art Meets Blog v2.0 by Email today!

And the winner is...

..... Italia Johnson!  Congratulations to Italia for winning a print of my painting "When are we going?" today.

Yesterday was the last day of my solo show at Art on the Avenue in Macon and I had packed up the artwork in my daughter's van.  Once home, I was busy unloading when my photography neighbor, Donna Brown, called.  "Join me at an open air arts and crafts market at Wesleyan College tomorrow... it's free, they provide the tables and it's only from 9AM 'til 1PM."  Why not?  That way I can postpone unpacking all the little stuff until tomorrow. It was a beautiful day and I met lots of wonderful people just enjoying being outdoors.  I even reconnected with a client that I did a commission for close to eight years ago!  I set up a fishbowl to give away a print and let my granddaughter, Evie, pull out the winning entry.  I'm not sure I would have gone had I not already had everything prepared, tagged and ready... and what a nice experience to share my art that I would have missed.  I learned something by seizing the opportunity.

Paint America Top 100 feature

I invite you to go to Paint America's blog where I am one of the featured artists this week.  Such an honor!

Breakfast Club - WIP

I had a blast at the Paint Out in Madison, Georgia this past Saturday...talking to the many locals and tourists that frequent the downtown square and chumming with other artists.  My sister met me there and we turned it into a mini-vacation   I've been back since Sunday noon, but this is the first chance I've had to post.  Life is busy with family and art...I'm lovin' it!

This 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas was what I painted plein air on Saturday.  Because of time and reference constraints, I left out one of the three figures I wanted to put in this group of men.  As I was setting up on this very overcast day, a group of ten or so men exited the corner restaurant.  They are a group of locals who meet on Saturday mornings for breakfast.  Most had dispersed by the time I could get to them to ask if they would linger a few moments for me to sketch them, but I got four to remain.  I also snapped a picture and the seated gentleman offered his name, as his wife is involved with the Cultural Center that co-sponsors the Paint Out... my good fortune.  Anyway, I had to turn the painting in for the afternoon auction as you see it here, so I'm not surprised it did not sell, as I can see fundamental compositional errors that I can now tackle back in the studio.  I want to add the third man to complete the composition and create a "conversation".  I'd also like to refine the figures and correct some proportion errors.  I'm pretty happy with the overall brushwork and the feeling ... it rings true to the place and time, so I'll probably leave that pretty much as is.

Plein Air Paint Out

Last year was such fun that I made sure to schedule this one in again!  This small town is buzzing with activities this weekend and the weather promises to be beautiful.  Join us if you can!

Solo Selections

Now that the reception for "Conversations in Paint" has so successfully passed, Art on the Avenue would like to release this link to Solo Selections , where you can scroll through all of the artwork offered at the show.

I hope you enjoy!

Reception Rainbow

Wow... I am still processing last night's reception to "Conversations in Paint" that Art on the Avenue held for me!  The outpouring support from everyone was truly a humbling experience.  I tried to speak to each person, but I know there were some that I simply could not get to during the busiest part of the evening.  Please know that I appreciate your being there so much to share my love of art.

There are too many people to thank here, and I want to thank you individually anyway, so I'll just post a few photos taken last night for all to enjoy.  Please also check out Art on the Avenue's Facebook page in the next day or so, as I'm sure they will post some, too.

I had to share this one, taken during the reception by photography friend, Donna Brown, just outside the gallery door.  Note that the sign where the rainbow starts says "PURE".  That just about sums it up!

Ken and Pat Ewing, fellow artists and now collectors, drove all the way to middle Georgia from Virginia just to surprise me ... and they did!  My heart-felt thanks for your support.

My most distant fan, Miguel Tello, shown here with his parents Penny and Mike, is from Argentina.  I was glad to catch him while he was here visiting and so pleased that they took the time out of a busy schedule to share the evening with me.  Thanks, guys!

Gratitude to Pam, for bringing her mother, Patsy Fried, a dear client who has commissioned me in the past to portray their pet lion, Fritz, in a "Spirit in Stone".  What a pleasure to see you both.

Martha Thompson, long time friend and painting buddy, with Virgil Cooper, who greatly honored me by giving my painting series of four seasons in birds a new home.  Hope you enjoy them for many years to come, Virgil!

Walter and Vicki Ellison(on the left), who own two 4' x 8' paintings of mine, were welcomed guests.  He has promised to bring me a huge slab of stone he found on his property several years ago to try to find a "spirit" in.... bring it on, Walter!

Well, about now it started getting so busy that the camera became an after-thought.  Here's hoping that  Ginger, Mary Jane and Debbie can help fill in the gaps with their pictures.

What a rewarding night for my art spirit... thanks to all!

Bluegrass Soy Sauce

"Bluegrass Soy Sauce"

24" x 30" oil on canvas

This is the last painting I've finished for the show tomorrow night.  I hope no one tests it to see if it's dry!  I posted several "work in progress" shots of this painting way back in Jan/Feb.  Once I set it aside to dry for the next layer, it seems other paintings kept jumping in front of it to be completed.  I'm pleased with the final results, though.  It is subtle and vibrant all at the same time.  Once it's had a chance to cure and the glaze goes on, the finishes of the paint will match and it will look even better.

There's an interesting story behind this painting.  Matt Jamie, the man in the painting, is the owner of Bourbon Barrel Foods.  Garden & Gun Magazine sent me an email that had this incredible picture of Matt testing his Bluegrass Soy Sauce that he ages in bourbon barrels.  I got in touch with Matt and asked his permission to paint from that photograph, taken by Chris Witzke, which he so generously allowed me to do.

Do visit his web site and check out this small, personal company that puts a unique twist on creating flavorful seasonings and sauces. 

"All American" is a winner!

I just got the good news that "All American" won Second Place in the Georgia in Bloom Art Fest in Madison, Georgia last night.  I had made plans to attend the reception with my son, but after watching the weather forecast and seeing those red and yellow blotches coming across the radar, my husband said that he'd rather we were not on the road...it's a one-hour trip one way from my house.  I have never heard thunder quite like last night's.  It sounded like multiple cannons going off with deep rumblings over long stretches of time.  I'm glad our house was not in the direct path.

I am praying that the weather is good for my reception Tuesday night at Art on the Avenue!  I only have one painting left on the easel drying.  There's a floor easel waiting to receive it at the gallery.  Are you like me and always have one important piece just making under the wire for a show? 

Poached Salmon

"Poached Salmon"

10" x 22" acrylic on blue shalimar

...a 'Spirit in Stone'

This is the latest in a series of new 'Spirits in Stone' that will be presented in "Conversations in Paint" at Art on the Avenue from April 27th - May 7th.  Mary Jane is busy as I write this, doing her magic...hanging the show.

Tomorrow we do a little TV spot on local station WMAZ to help get the news out.

The van was well-packed and it was amazing that I managed to get it all in without packing one of our cats in with the artwork.. They are so curious that it's quite aggravating... having to close the door to the van between each trip in and out of the studio.  Piggy, in particular, is a rather large cat and loves to dig into any box or squeeze behind any painting.  I'm glad that all I have left to do is label and sleeve some prints.  Whew!

You are invited!

The past few months have been very focused!  I have come to believe that solo shows are like paintings... you never really finish; you just stop in interesting places.  I hope that the folks that make the effort to come see close to eighty (yes, 80!) creations will feel my passion for this thing called art.

Close to 40 pieces have never been seen by the public.  Most have been created within the last 18 months.  A few are favorite works that have graced my walls and are being offered for sale for the first time to make room for the next chapter of my artistic life.  A few others are works that are special pieces in collections that I've borrowed simply for your viewing enjoyment.  I have so many more images rattling around inside my heart and head that need to take form on canvas, panel, sculpture or stone.  My thanks to all who encourage me and who put up with me when I have my blinders on...you are special people!