Workhouse Opening

Join us for a Wine and Cheese Reception at the Workhouse Arts Center featuring pieces from the Workhouse Artists Associates and the Workhouse Artists Guild.

Visit the Workhouse Gallery in W-16 from 2-4pm on Sunday, July 19. Also take some time to visit the Workhouse Artists Studios from noon until 5pm. I will be serving upstairs in W-16 as the docent from 2:30-5pm; come entertain me!

Workhouse News

How fun! My painting of Tanner's Ridge made the cover of the July 2009 Workhouse Arts Center Insider. Many thanks to the Workhouse marketing staff.

Misty Morning

Begun as a 25 stroke painting, Misty Morning was a product of a Sara Linda Poly workshop in May.

The first day, I painted near the house and studio of Glenfiddish Farm Pottery in my attempt to stay shaded. On the way out heading home, I noted the tree-lined drive would be great for painting, so I went there directly on Sunday and was joined by many others.

Of late, I keep being reminded how important it is to paint with the board and the colors in the shade, both pastels and oils. If the work isn't created in the shade, it is often garish once out of the sun. For me, working in the direct sun has become a waste of time. I will find a composition I like, but if I can't engineer shade somehow, I will take a picture for later and find something else to paint that day. I truly wish umbrellas worked for me, but I have not had luck with positioning them. Further, one kited my French easel, breaking it, so I still hold a grudge.

Below is my set up for this workshop's series of paintings. The clipped on car shade worked well. I also appreciate the versatility of the EasyL Pro, which can tilt both the painting surface as well as the painting in order to seek shade.

When I was painting, I was facing 180 degrees from what is pictured, so it was out of the sun.

You might recognize the cedar bush. Completed on site...
Misty Morning
Oil on Board
9x7

Pond on Thompson Road

On vacation for the holiday, we stayed in a hotel with a very pretty view of a pond with cattails. In fact, my son exclaimed from our room's window, "Hey Mom! You can paint from here!" I tell ya, I am raising him right. I painted from the hotel property and even the owner came out to inspect.

Next to the pond were field upon field of Virginia's cash crop, according to my son's history lessons: tobacco. Perhaps I'll come back to a picture of it next winter. I'm sure I'll come back to one of the many pictures I took of hay bales, a subject matter I am obsessed with.

Painting under an ornamental plum tree, I was able to clip the car shades to the branches without damaging the tree. It worked very well in keeping my painting and palette shaded.


This pond actually backed to I-95, but it is amazing what a little artistic license can accomplish. It is my first gallery wrap attempt and it went better than expected. Careful travels kept the sides pristine.


Pond on Thompson Road
Oil on Canvas Gallery Wrap
4x12

Kingstowne Library and Workhouse Exhibits

Lights! Ambiance! Library?

It's very exciting to have a wall, a lush, pretty, soft wall of my own! I populate this stretch real estate at the Kingstowne Library from July 1-31. Included are pastels and oils ranging in size from 5x7 to 11x14. My bio is informative, educating the world about the beauty of en plein air painting.

Come by and see. It's in Alexandria at the corner of Beulah and Telegraph, made possible through my affiliation with Kingstowne Area Artists Association. Sincere thanks to my son for his assistance in hanging.


Also, check out the new exhibit in W-16 at the Workhouse which begins today as well. The opening reception will be July 19 from 2-4 and I am the upstairs docent that day from 2:30-5. Come visit me! This exhibit runs through August 15; I have an oil and a pastel on display.

Funny that

When I paint a lot, I must be using up my writing energies, too, so I don't seem to blog as much. I kind of feel like BB King, who can't sing and play Lucille at the same time. Let's not go to walking and chewing gum, okay?

So I will catch up after I get the pieces signed and photographed. Then there will be a flurry.

In the mean time, chew on this. I think it's very cool, but I am not so sure about the practicality time-wise or, frankly, competition-wise. The ARTS in Embassies Program sends borrowed art to the residence of ambassadors around the world for the length of their tour, two and a half to three years. They pack it professionally and take care of the details.

In looking at the list of borrowed art, it includes heavy hitters from significant collections, but it also seemed to include pieces from more regular folks than Roy Lichtenstein, Willem de Kooning , Mark Rothko , or Robert Rauschenberg, which are displayed around the world.

To quote:

Mission
Established by the United States Department of State in 1964, the ART In Embassies Program is a global museum that exhibits original works of art by U.S. citizens in the public rooms of approximately 180 American diplomatic residences worldwide. These exhibitions, with art loaned from galleries, museums, individual artists, and corporate and private collections, play an important role in our nation's public diplomacy. They provide international audiences with a sense of the quality, scope, and diversity of American art and culture through the accomplishments of some of our most important citizens, our artists.

Would you consider contributing work for this cause, an ambassador’s home away from home for a few years? I think my landscapes could provide a welcome slice of Americana. cough

I found ART in Embassies looking for calls for artists. Look toward the bottom of my sidebar for the list I maintain for myself and to share. A couple links are lists of many opportunities.

Photo by Phyllis at our DAR chapter picnic along the Potomac near Mt. Vernon earlier this month. It shows my EasyL Pro from eBay last winter and, a la Kenn Backhaus, a clipped-on car sun shade, which works well for shielding both the mixing and painting surfaces.

Glowing Afternoon

Like Devil's Rain, Glowing Afternoon was created in the May Leesburg Workshop with Sara Linda Poly. Also like Devil's Rain, it began as a 25 stroke painting which then received a lot of expression, texture, and knife-work.

All paintings should be so much fun to create.

Glowing Afternoon
Oil on board
8x10
SOLD

Workhouse Opening

Join us for a Wine and Cheese Reception at the Workhouse Arts Center featuring pieces from the Workhouse Artists Associates and the Workhouse Artists Guild.

Visit the Workhouse Gallery in W-16 from 2-4pm on Sunday, June 21. Also take some time to visit the Workhouse Artists Studios from noon until 5pm.

Devil's Rain

In the South, storms which happen while the sun is shining are called devil's rain. It makes for some interesting cloud formations.

Begun as a 25 stroke painting during Poly's workshop, Devil's Rain quickly evolved into a knife painting with loads of texture and expression.

Devil's Rain
Oil on Board
8x10

Potomac Shore

Today was my DAR chapter's end of year picnic at Riverside Park near Mt. Vernon on the GW Parkway in Alexandria. This has been my favorite roadside park for over a decade. It's a simple place with little more than a parking lot, but the view is superb of the Potomac River. And ever so calming. One can watch the tourists ferried in and out of George Washington's estate while steering clear of the cyclists whizzing by.

It is also near the daycare my son used when he was tiny, so I would go a little out of my way pass it often. If I was running even five minutes early, I would pull into Riverside Park and recharge. It is my meditative place and this pleasantly hazy day was the first time I seized the opportunity to paint it. I think I captured the soft, gentle nature the park lends me.

oil
8x10 on canvas