Newspaper Coverage: For the Locals

If you're out and happen upon a May edition of the Lorton Valley Star (link, but article not available online), flip to page 6 to see coverage of my recent award in the international art contest sponsored by Infinity Art Gallery.

Thanks very much to both Lorton Valley Star and Infinity Art Gallery.

Show and Sale at DLA HQ, Ft. Belvoir

Join me next week and prepare for Mother's Day!

Paintings will include all shapes and sizes of pastels, oils, and collages, plus there will be demos ongoing as my studio shifts inside for a week.

I've been gloriously busy!

As I seek beauty in the mundane, please join me for the fruits of my labors...

I'll be posting paintings here in a flurry when it gets closer. This piece is from up near Fairfax. Another is from down at Leesylvania. And there are lots of points between.

There will be pastels and a few oils. 

See you there!

Kelly's Art & Frame for April

Visit Kelly's Art & Frame for this month's show at her Alexandria location on N. Washington Street. I included four mixed media pieces thinking they'd be great Mother's Day gifts. Many hanging works are displayed online here.

Career Day

I was prepared for Career Day recently with the tools from last year. Hurray for that!

As usual, the children were eager to learn about Art. In addition to presenting a little color theory, I always stress a few things. One can earn a MFA, but one can also pursue classes and workshops for appropriate art education. I showed educational opportunities with local class catalogs, art books, art magazines, and art supply catalogs.

I also display on the backdrop many art careers that are quite varied in application and the default view of an artist, that of a studio artist, is only a small part of the story when it comes to arts-related careers. I encourage them to consider opportunities like conservation, criminal investigation, computers, exhibition, sales, and manufacturing.

Further, I stress that one can simultaneously practice a chosen career and still be an artist as well. In the individuals I've encountered lately, there has been a theme about second careers, people moving from unsatisfying jobs into teaching. I transitioned from being a published biochemist to more fully embrace and develop my art. I think we appreciate the second one more, because it simmered on the back burner for so long.

It would be a wonderful gift to be young again and choose the right path the first time around! I guess that's the purpose of Career Day.