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Saturday, September 6, 2014
Pikes Peak Studio Tour
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Soul Food
Garden of the Gods, Sept.4 6x8" Available Sept. 20-21 during the Pikes Peak Studio Tour
Plein Air painting feeds my soul. I've been working so diligently this summer on all kinds of things and have been whining in my head about how summer had passed me by. Yesterday, I put on my big girl panties and called my friend, Karen Storm (www.karenstorm.com). She's set herself the goal of painting in the Garden of the Gods for 30 days in a row. The sale proceeds of her paintings will go to a friend who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Great idea, right? Anyway, she had invited me to join her, and I arranged to meet her this morning. Just a couple hours of painting outdoors and my summer was redeemed. Despite the work left to prepare for the Pikes Peak Studio Tour, I'm going to save my heart and soul by painting outdoors with Karen as often as I can. Today, I actually created a piece that I can frame for the tour.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
The Pikes Peak Studio Tour: Behind the Scene
I'm excited to once again participate in the Pikes Peak Studio Tour coming up on Set 20th and 21st. Twenty artists have been juried into this year's tour and I think that you'll enjoy meeting each one of them. While many of you visit me frequently in Studio L in Old Colorado City, only a very few have seen my home studio. The last two times that I hosted the tour in my home, I've set up a quasi-easel work station, but the door to the actual studio has been closed. Maybe 7 people have even seen the room since we moved into this house.
I use the word "studio" loosely here, because, while I had a corner to work in, it was really an art supply storage room that I could barely walk into.....(many of my fellow artists are now nodding their heads in sympathy.). But, I spent the month of January excavating the room and creating a comfortable studio in which people can now walk without injury!
However, even the cleanest studio comes unglued when preparing for a big event, as this picture illustrates. Creating lots of new work creates a lot of creative clutter. Paint, canvases, paintings, creating, photographing paintings, matting, framing, eating, frame making, sleeping..... But I promise that the floor will be clear again for the tour, so please stop in and see things like my frame storage and flying pig collection (my business name is The. Flying Pig Studio). Oh yes, I'll also have my artwork.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Paint Your Dreams
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.
"Paint Your Dreams" (12 x 12 inch oil on gallery wrapped canvas) is my submission to The Second Floor Studios Art Invitational. Artists were given three different photos of the same subject to choose from:
I chose the first photo, and liked the idea that the boy was literally painting his shadow; flipping the orientation of the photo seemed to heighten the sense of that. I also chose to change the color of his shorts in order to make him pop out a bit more. You can see here that I have the shadow shape blocked in.
I tried the concept out using Photoshop to work out the general idea. I put in a take off of Van Gogh's Starry, Starry Night".
And then I just went for it and created the painting (top of page). Do you think that the finished piece communicates what I had in mind? Visit The Second Floor Studios on First Friday to see it and other artists' interpretations of the same subject.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Until the Cows Come Home
Until the Cows Come Home 6x6 inches $95 unframed
After a very exciting trip to Burundi, Africa, I'm finally back in the studio with some concentrated time to work. I'm currently painting images of my trip, and look forward to sharing them with you. This little study was completed before I left. It's a familiar scene from my home town. I love the looseness of it, and how I managed to capture the late afternoon light.
Friends, if you are in the Pikes Peak region, First Friday is next week, May 2nd from 5 to 8pm. I'll be in my studio and would love for you to take a peek at my latest paintings! Let me know if you need directions to get there.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Bombshell
Bombshell 6x6 inch oil
The woman in red just tickles me! She's "living out loud" and doesn't care a wit for what the other women think! This piece sold to an east coast gentlemen who collects paintings of 1940-ish street scenes with people in them. I'd love to see his collection!
I'm currently painting this scene as an 11x14 inch painting.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Pensacola Beach Sunset
Pensacola Beach Sunset 8x10 oil
I painted this piece in memory of my mother-in-law who was buried in December. She lived most of her life in Gulf Breeze, Florida, just a stone's throw from Pensacola Beach. The evening before her funeral, my family and I witnessed this beautiful sunset on the beach and it seemed a perfect memorial to her. It now hangs in our home to remind us of her.
If I seemed absent online in 2013, it's because my husband and I have entered a season of helping with family illnesses. Besides my mother-in-law's Alzheimers, my father experienced a devastating stroke last April and my sister is battling breast cancer, so I've spent a lot of time in California with them and will continue to do so for a period of time.
2013 also brought the early retirement of my husband and the pursuit of his "encore career." David will be working with a non-profit that empowers poor women in mostly developing countries. He loves international travel and will be doing a lot of it. I'll be tagging along on a trip now and then, and am looking forward to the paintings it will inspire. I loved painting portraits of the people of South Africa when I returned from that trip, and am looking forward to painting more beautiful faces.
Meanwhile, painting has seemed to happen in short bursts, and posting seems not to have happened at all. In March, I hope to show you the pieces that I have accomplished since last fall. The 2014 ArtWalk season begins next month, and you'll be able to find me in my studio on First Fridays. I'm also once again participating in the Pikes Peak Studio Tour next September, so you'll have a chance to visit me in my home studio then.
Sorry for the length of this post--I've blatantly broken my "one paragraph post" rule, but I wanted to touch base with you all and assure you that I'm still painting and hope to be back on a regular basis when circumstances allow.
Thank you all for your encouragement and support!
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