Happy Holidays

Sending some Christmas cheer.  This is one of my Christmas cards I painted a few years ago of a Gingerbread boy.  They are currently for sale at the Paint Creek Center for the Arts Holiday Market. 

Banyan series

These are the Banyan tree paintings I did in watercolor.  They are currently hanging at the Paint Creek Center for the Arts.  The images originated from photos I took when visiting Sarasota last year.  My sisters and I met up in Florida to honor the one year anniversary of our mothers death.  We went to the Ringling Museum and on the grounds were these magnificent banyan trees.  I took several photos of the details of the trees as they intertwined around each other.  They made me think of my Mom and how we are still intertwined with each other (my sisters) but also still with her.

Enjoying Fall

Living in Michigan can be challenging in the winter months.  It is  October now and winter will be upon us soon.  When the weather is nice you have to seize the day--Carpe diem!  I should have been doing lots of other things but I went for a walk in the local park and took some pictures of the beautiful trees and the always entertaining ducks.

10 Minutes of Fame

I had two painting accepted into the Our Town show which is at The Community House in Birmingham, Michigan.  I was asked if i would permit them to show my work on a Fox 2 News segment to promote Our Town.  I said sure!  I told all my friends.  I was so excited!  When they did the segment- my painting was nowhere to be found.  Short life in the spotlight!  I was disappointed but I am happy to have been accepted into the show and the opening party will be a lot of fun!

Art show at Paint Creek Center for the Arts

This is the postcard for our show at Paint Creek Center for the Arts in Rochester, Michigan.  Our opening was October 3rd and we had an amazing turnout.  The show will remain available for viewing until October 31st. 

Paint Creek Center for the Arts

I have an upcoming show at the Paint Creek Center for the Arts in Rochester, Michigan.  I will be joining my fellow members of the Sisters of the Brush at the Art center for the month of October.  We will each be exhibiting at least 10 paintings.  This is the painting that is on the postcard that Paint Creek designed.  It looks much better full sized!  The opening reception is October 3rd from 5-7 and there will also be an artist talk the same day from 4-5. 

Creations by Carson

My pooch, Carson has an affinity for paper.  He loves to chew, shred and basically destroy anything made of paper.  Unfortunately that includes my artwork.  He ran down to the basement and pulled out a painting that was drying on the floor.  He grabbed it and ripped it, chewed it up a bit and carried it upstairs like a grand prize!  It was not a good ending for the painting. I now have a lock on the door.

Work in Progress

I have several paintings going right now.  Lots of deadlines coming up!  This is a watercolor painting I am doing of a Banyan tree.  It is from a photograph I took while visiting the Ringling Museum grounds.  Such a beautiful place!  I am painting a series of painting from the photos of these trees. 

Adventures of Carson

I decided that my family really needed a dog.  I have three boys and they had begged for a dog for years!  I knew I needed to want a dog too because most of the doggie care would land on me.  My son Tim and I drove to Ohio to pick our pooch.  We named him Carson after our favorite butler on Downton Abbey.  He breed is Havanese , which originates in Cuba.  My husband finds this fascinating and I think he expected Carson to come home with a cigar. 

We have had Carson since November.  It was not easy trying to house train a dog in the winter.  We were mostly successful.  One of Carson's tricks is that he likes to chew things.  My shoes are a favorite, but that's another story.  One day Carson snuck into my art studio and made his own creation.  He calls it Paper Explosion.   His medium was paper towel.  Carson will do commissions.

2015 Michigan Watercolor Society Annual show

I joined the board of the Michigan Watercolor Society this year.  They are a great group of people.  I look forward to getting to know each one of them.  The annual show this year is at the Janice Charach Gallery which is at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield.  The juror was Robert Burridge.  He gave an artist talk before the opening of the show.  He was quite entertaining!  He talked about being disciplined and painting, painting, painting!  Things we all know but don't do!  He also talked about the importance of marketing your art.  That is something I need to step up.  I am going to work on that this summer.  Look for the Michigan Watercolor Society facebook page to see all the pictures.

Sisters of the Brush at Fieldstone Winery

The Sisters of the Brush will be at Fieldstone Winery in downtown Rochester Michigan for the month of December!  The art group I belong to will be having a show at Fieldstone Winery.  It will also be a fundraiser for the Mary McCarthy Anderson Scholarship that we sponsor at Paint Creek Center for the Arts.  Fifty percent of sales will go to the scholarship.  On December 11th from 6-9pm we will have an open house with wine tastings, appetizers and lots more to make it a fun evening. Also check out the downtown Big Bright Light show while you are there. 

Art Prize 2014

I made it to Art Prize on the last week-end of the show.  In comparison to other years I thought the outdoor art was disappointing.  There were a few good pieces but the rest.. not so good.   I didn't make it to all of the big venues.  I tend to like the pieces made from something else.  Maybe because it is different from what I normally produce as a painter.  

One of the big winners was a piece called "Intersections".  It was a large box that had a lace Moroccan type pattern carved into it.  A light was placed in the center so the pattern was reflected on all four walls and the ceiling and floor. 

Another piece I liked was a large horse made out of recycled material.  It had a presence!  I didn't get the name of the piece or the artist. 

I love that art brings thousands of people to Grand Rapids to experience what American artists have to offer. 

Who is your favorite artist?

I have gotten in a rut with my blog so I thought I would kick start it with something new.  I have many artists that I love. The one I am going to talk about today is Georgia O'Keefe.  I saw a painting of hers while at the Art Institute of Chicago recently.  I understand Georgia studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 1900s.  The painting was an abstraction of flowers.  She could take an ordinary flower and make it looks sensual.  Each petal was interesting.   She could bring the viewer right into the picture.  Enlarging the tiniest petal to fill an entire canvas emphasized their shapes and line and made them appear abstract. 

Who is your favorite artist and why?  Lets talk about it.

Upcoming LSG Show

The Sisters of the Brush, which I am a member, is having an upcoming show at the Lawrence Street Gallery in Ferndale , Michigan.  Here are the details. You can also go to www.sistersofthebrush.com.

Michigan Glacier

After a long, cold winter and the death of my mother I had a difficult time getting myself to paint.  I am getting past that hump and have started creating.

My first painting to post about on my blog is one where  I first sprayed and dropped paint on cheesecloth on watercolor paper. (Arches of course) When I found an interesting pattern I brought it out using ink.  I am not finished with this but wanted to share the journey. 

Where you can find my art

My art is available to admire and purchase currently at three locations.  I have encaustic paintings and cards at Paint Creek Center for the Arts.  I have paintings at Fieldstone Winery in downtown Rochester.  Also I have a painting in the "Think Small" exhibit at the Lawrence Street Gallery in Ferndale.   Lots of choices! 

Happy Halloween

My family and I love Halloween.  Every year we all carve our own pumpkin.  This year I carved one a little differently.  I bought some small pumpkins and I put one in my larger pumpkins mouth.  I thought it turned out great.  Take a look! 

Encaustics

I have been painting with my encaustics this week and loving it!  I have to set everything up in the hallway by the back door because I need good ventilation and I have none in my studio.  This particular painting is of a sunset from Washington state.  The colors are so vibrant.  I painted the encaustic on the clayboard and then heated it up.  I work the melted wax around until I get sworls  of color  like you would see in the sky. You can't get an exact replica like you could with oil paint  but I think it makes an interesting painting. 

Art Prize

I made it Art Prize this year!  It is a city wide art competition in Grand Rapids that runs for 3 weeks. So far the winners have been realistic pieces and I am curious to see what type of art wins this year.    I can't say I saw any paintings that really blew me away but then again I didn't get to all of the venues. You can download the Art Prize ap and you can see all of the art.  I did see some outdoor sculptures that I thought were great.  I also saw a 4 panel quilted fabric piece that was amazing.   I am considering entering next year.  It would be terrific to put on my resume. 

Let the Shows Begin!

After a hiatus from having art shows I will be several art shows!  This week I arranged two shows for the Sisters of the Brush.  The first will be at Dessert Oasis, a coffee and dessert house in downtown Rochester.  The show will be there for the month of December 2013.  The second show is going to be at Fieldstone Gallery , also in downtown Rochester for the month of December 2014.  The Sisters of the Brush will also be at Lawrence Street Gallery in Ferndale for the month of May 2014.  I  also had a  painting accepted into a show at the Birmingham Community House in October called the Our Town show.   You can also go to the Sisters of the Brush website www.sistersofthebrush.com to get more information.  Time to get painting!