Gee Wiz!!! Lots of Prizes!!

Well, it's been a pretty good month or so.... I won the Savoire Faire award at the Pastel Society of America for my Variation #6, I received an honorable mention for "In the Studio" in the Pastel Journal, Pastel 100 still life catagory and I received third place in the IAPS web show for my piece "Green & Blue". WOW!!! Don't mean to gloat or anything like that.... Thanks for all this support and validation. It truly is tremendous!!!

Time for Teaching and Time for Painting

I've always maintained that I want to be a painter, not a painting teacher. I think this comes from my distaste for that saying that those who can "do" and those who can't "teach". I don't think this is always true and probably not a fair statement because I've been very fortunate to have had more than a few instructors who "could". Lately, however, I've found myself in the position of having to make some hard choices about my time. I love, love teaching. It's social and makes me walk my talk and informs my work in unexpected ways.

I've traveled away from my studio and home this year and seen some beautiful amazing places, met some very wonderful people and had my breath taken away by student work. Not a bad way to spend ones times. I feel so fortunate to be able to help students either rekindle a creative inclination or expand on their already burning desire to be creatively productive. It's been wonderful in ways I can't begin to count.

After this week teaching in Bend, Oregon, I'll settle back in the studio for a bit and hopefully get my own creative juices flowing. I have many ideas for new work. I'm especially inspired by the scenery in Wisconsin. The verdant woods and open fields, seem like a perfect playground for my work. I'm anxious to try out some oil pastel as well as oils and soft pastel.

So, I'll put my 2011 schedule together thoughtfully and mindful of what my intentions are. Teaching will be an important part of the mix.

Painting vs. Producing

This is the time of year I can't wait for. I've almost completed my schedule of shows and festivals. I have a few teaching commitments, but that's more fun than work. So, shortly I will be able to settle into the studio for an extended period and paint. I won't feel like I have to "produce" anything in particular, so I will have space in both my mind and in the studio to experiment a little and play. I'll take some of the year's work and carry it forward into next. Some, I'll leave behind. It will be a time for letting the good stuff percolate to the top and inform past working methods.

Moving into this period of the year, I want to have a bit of a plan in mind for what I want to accomplish over the fall and winter months in the studio, so it's a good time to start accumulating ideas. I don't really lack for the ideas, just the time to put them into play. It's more a problem of organizing my butterflies. 

I know for sure that I will be playing a lot more with mixed media. I also want to try some oil pastels which is something I haven't really delved into at all. I also want to make sure that I find another daily painting composition, so I can experience anew what I did with my 100 variation series. This time it might be in oil at least as a base.

I'm also wanting to include more man-made structures in new works. I think they add another layer and an intrigue to pieces. I'd also love to do some more still life. Fall and winter is a good time to think about that.

I've posted a piece which I sold at Art in the High Desert this weekend to lovely repeat client. Thanks, Barbara. Enjoy!!

Understanding Blue

Giving Paintings a Title

I used to think giving pieces a title was a waste of time and pretty excruciating at that. I've since come around. Now it's an important part of finishing a piece. It gives a piece more presence and sometimes more meaning both to me, viewers and hopefully, ultimately the buyer.

I came around after I'd had a couple experiences with the titles. The first was at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver, CO. A man and his daughter came into my booth and clearly were taken by a particular piece. At that time, I didn't have the titles on the tags, just pricing and media. The titles were on the backs of the paintings only, because as I said, I didn't give much weight to the whole idea. Well, this gentleman asked me if I would hold the piece until the end of the day. He said he definitely wanted it, but didn't have the time at the moment to complete the purchase. I was a bit reluctant, but believed him to be sincere, so I held it. Sure enough, at the end of the day he returned with his daughter. He thanked me for holding it and went on to explain that it had been a trying day. His mother was in the hospital and was dying. I asked him why he had made the effort to return for the painting on such a day and he responded by telling me how much comfort and peace my painting would give him and his family. I was very moved and touched by this reaction to my work. I began to wrap the piece up and start the paper work for the sale and then noticed the title of the painting; "A Tender Day". Need I say more?

The next experience was at Art in the Pearl in Portland. By then I was putting the titles on the tags. I had a piece entitled "A Second Chance". Well, an attractive women about my age loved it and explained that part of the draw of the piece was the title. She had just gone through a nasty divorce and was putting her life back together. This would be her first art purchase as a newly single women and it would give her strength. Wow!

So, now I view naming pieces with a lot more respect and understand that the titles can be a very meaningful part of each piece. The titles make them complete, and finished. One of the things I do to help me come up with appropriate and evocative titles is to keep word lists. When I'm reading and come across words that I think will connect with my work, I jot them down in the back of my inventory book, which is where I first give each piece it's name. I try to connect the words with the place or the feelings I had while creating the works. Sometimes I'll mine song titles to help with ideas because they are usually not your every day kind of words and lots of times they contain words that connect with the visual world really well.

The Distance of Purple

I've come to enjoy this part of making paintings and work on it quite a bit, so that the title is a part of the piece, not just an afterthought.

Recovering From Menucha!

I spent a whole glorious week teaching plein air pastels in the Columbia Gorge of Oregon. It was pretty hot and the property was over a hundred acres. I had thirteen wonderful students to keep up with. It was so much fun. My friend Molly was also teaching there, so it was especially good to be there. During the week, I had my group really focus on the preparation and planning of their pieces. We did lots of  value  and color thumbnails. This was difficult for some at first, but before long, I had them hooked.

I very much enjoyed all my students and secretly wished for one more day since by the end, they were really turning out some wonderful stuff. When I returned home, I realized that probably wouldn't have been a great idea. I was wiped!!

Now I turn my energies to Art in the High Desert,( Bend, OR, Aug. 27-29)and Art in the Pearl,(Portland, OR, Sept.4-6). Bend is a wonderful venue for an outdoor festival and Art in the Pearl is such an appreciative crowd, so both will be fun.

Santa Fe Opening

At the beginning of the month, Mike and I had an opening in Santa Fe, NM. Our work was the first show at the newly remodeled Mill Fine Art. The gallery looked beautiful! We had a lovely, but quick visit to Santa Fe. We spent the morning and afternoon before the opening exploring all the galleries on Canyon Road and there are tons! The next day we played tourist and went into the Plaza area, had lunch at one of the resorts and then visited another gallery district on our way out of town.

Santa Fe is definitely a place high on our list to visit again. We met some wonderful people, ate great food and had the chance to listen to some terrific music.

Here are a few pictures from the opening.

Back to Work!!

Back in the studio and healthy!! Great to be painting again!!!