Sadie's Sauna

This prissy, petite cat and I were inseparable. I got her from the pound when she was five weeks old and she lived to be almost 19. She was my pair bound, constantly on my lap or sharing my bed. In her later years, she grew to have a scruffy coat and darkened eyes. She found the computer monitor and cable box to be great sources of warmth to her skinny bones. I called them Sadie's Saunas, which lends itself to her red background.

Sadie's Sauna
soft pastel on Canson
12x12

Tap Tap Tap

This blog beckons. I'm waiting on the good weather again to paint. Although I've been painting and demoing a bit indoors, it gives me less satisfaction than plein air.Green Acres!

Keeping up my photography blog has been a blast. I have it programmed for daily photos to come out for months. Although I am lucky to have a cute kid and cats, the blog offers much, much more. Go add yourself as a reader.

In the meantime, I am trying to organize local pastelists who might want to form a society at some point, probably either Pastel Society of Virginia (PSV) or Pastel Society of Northern Virginia (PSNova). We can meet and paint and share, then we'll make it more official down the road. This has been a passion of mine for many years and I am ready to drive it, but I don't especially care about leading it and dealing with all the details. Hopefully, we'll come together to nail it all down, plus have communicating chapters all over the Commonwealth to boot!

We meet for the first time on Tuesday March 22 at 10am in Chantilly near I-66 and Routes 28 and 50.. Please contact me for more info. I'll keep a running email list of ideas and preferences. If the meeting time/location does suit you, then we'll see you there each month. More will be posted here.

As always, look for my paintings hanging in Workhouse W-16  in Lorton and The Loft Gallery in Occoquan.

Photography Success

It would be so easy to get spoiled. My first time out of the gates, I won a People's Choice Award through SAG and the visitors of the Photography and 3-D Art Show. This image is called Wings of Fancy #2 and it is printed in metallic inks, perfect for shimmery butterflies.

If you live near DC, don't miss the butterfly exhibit at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton each year. The whole experience feels like an instant spa day.

Here's to finding more photography exhibits to share my finds.

BF Butler Photo

I began taking photos when I turned nine and used my birthday money to get a Kodak Instamatic, probably a 124.  I haven't stopped taking pictures. 

Especially during non-plein air times, I want to pursue photography more aggressively, so it made sense to start a photography blog; it is set up to publish a picture a day. Butterflies are a specialty, but there are still lifes, figures, landscapes, and portraits galore. Come along for the ride; dozens are uploaded and waiting in the wings. Please add yourself as a follower.

My first photography showing is in the Community Room at Springfield Mall as a part of the Springfield Art Guild's Photography and 3-D Exhibit during the month of February. I have a number of pieces in each category; it is an eclectic show and a lot of fun.

Instructor, Student, Staff Show at the Workhouse Closing

If you haven't made it by the Workhouse for this exhibit upstairs in W-16, be sure to drop by soon as it ends on Saturday, January 29.

Collector's Showcase Gala 2011

Tickets went on sale a few days ago for the Workhouse 2011 Collector's Showcase Gala on February 19. Artists have contributed paintings and attendees to the gala get to select their valuable works of art to take home. Purchase your tickets now for the best positions to choose your paintings!

The Loft Gallery Display, January-February 2011

As you might be able to tell, I am very excited with my new position as an artist at The Loft Gallery in Occoquan. In addition to joining some fabulous artists, I am especially excited about designing my own wall space. At the Workhouse and the many other shows I do, I generally drop off art and have no input in how it is hung. Sometimes I stay to help hang, but the decisions about placement rightly go to others who do it routinely.

The Loft Gallery is my chance to be in charge of my own display. Following is the current exhibit; it will be beefed up considerably tomorrow as about a dozen sale items go around it. The whole gallery will be full of red slashes.

Of course the privilege of having a name plate, statement, and bio are pure gravy!

Top Row:
Want
mixed media
4x6

2
mixed media
4x6

Try
mixed media
4x6


Second Row:
Subterrane
mixed media on canvas with gemstones I hounded
6x6

Stalagmite
mixed media on canvas with gemstones I hounded
6x6

Fracture
mixed media on canvas with gemstones I hounded
6x6

Annual Sale at The Loft in Occoquan

Come early, as this is a well-attended and highly anticipated annual event! Sales are unusual for me, but I will have a good number of oils and pastels on hand and at great prices.

Workhouse Instructor, Student, Staff Show

This is my third time to participate in this annual show which highlights the heart of the Workhouse community.

You are cordially invited to the Opening Reception on Sunday, January 16 from 2 to 4pm. It is located upstairs in W-16. Check out my four pieces downstairs in the main gallery as well.

The show runs through January 29.

Beehive Oven
pastel
8x12

The Loft Gallery

Occoquan VA is a quaint little town on the Occoquan River, which leads to the Potomac River. It is a thriving, scenic, tourist town only about two miles from the Workhouse Arts Center and a few more miles from me. It is definitely in my plein air vision for my 10 MILE RADIUS continuing series.

For 25 years, Occoquan has been home to The Loft Gallery, which presently houses 21 artists, one of whom is now me! I am thrilled with the affiliation and the opportunity to hang my own walls with such an incredible group of talented artists around me.

Stay tuned. This will be a lot of fun.