Up From the Cliffs

Begun under the Occoquan/Rt 123 Bridge, this was started early on an overcast day. The scene looks east from the Occoquan River toward the Potomac River.

Across the way, pinkish, orangish sandstone cliffs called as they peeked out from the lush, dense foliage of Occoquan Regional Park. For a time, the sun opened up on the park's entrance road in the distance, making the area glow. For added interest, the waterline's rich purple striations played on the water. This was such a beautiful scene to paint.

Finding cliffs in Fairfax County, away from Great Falls, was quite unexpected, but a real treat.

Up From the Cliffs
pastel on Pastelbord, watercolor underpainting
9x12

Good Morning

Visited the scenic valley of Hillsborough Vineyards again last week to paint plein air. It is west of Leesburg on the way to Harper's Ferry and amongst other wineries I have yet to investigate.

The property is a wonderful place for the variety and depth of views or for partaking in some repetition. I've painted this dairy farm twice before, but the pieces always look different. Two are hanging at the Workhouse through October 3.

Good Morning
pastel on UArt 500, watercolor underpainting
4x6

Behind the Scenes

In a surprise move, I won an Honorable Mention at the Springfield Art Guild's show at Green Spring Garden Park. See more about the show here; the Opening is tomorrow 1-3pm.

This pastel, I now realize, wasn't shown here yet, so I will rectify that post haste. Truly hovering behind the scenes, the piece was created for the 10 MILE RADIUS show this summer using the Stan Sperlak pastel floating method, so it has a pastel underpainting that resembles a watercolor. Based on a photograph I took, it is called Behind the Scenes, because it shows the back of the Workhouse from Lorton Road at Furnace Road.

Behind the Scenes
soft pastel
9x12    

Virginia Wine Festival at Bull Run

Talk about a good time! Virginia Wine Festival really draws the crowds. And this year, it'll draw some of my 3x3 Muses in the Workhouse Arts Center booth. Check out the Muses on Parade September 11-12 at Bull Run Regional Park in Centreville, VA.

The Muse collection comes down at the Workhouse on September 12, although mine will be coming down a few days ahead of that. We're hoping you will be able to view them at holiday time, too.

The Muse Collection

 Not only is it fun to be a part of a collection, it is great fun to be within a collection.

Left is Tex Forrest, a Workhouse metal fabrication artist, showing my son, Jasper, his 3x3 box. Jasper was thrilled to be able to show off his own as well.

Below is the poster explaining the Muse Collection, as it appears amongst the overall Centennial Exhibit.

Look closely and you see my son and me, along with my piece of art, and we appear IN the exhibit. It's trippy!

The exhibit runs until September 12.

The Fall 2010 Art Show and Sale, SAG

Presented by the Springfield Art Guild and Friends of Green Spring Garden Park, this annual show runs from August 31 to October 25 at various venues within Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria. The exhibit focuses on horticultural, natural, and local history themes.

The juror was Susan La Mont, an incredible landscape artist. She chose three of my pastels for the show.

The Opening is on September 12 from 1-3p in the Horticulture Center. Although I would love to be there to congratulate the winners, it is the very day my son will be ushered into teenagerhood, so we will have to miss this one.

Kelly's Art & Frame

The next turn over of art begins at Kelly's on September 9. In the mean time, go see what she has to offer Alexandria and beyond. The following show runs through October 21.

Enjoy your holiday. I'm hoping for curving fingers of near miss hurricane clouds on otherwise sunny days.

PONSHOP's Square City

"In September 2010, PONSHOP will transform their gallery walls to reflect the richness, diversity, and life emerging from cities of the past, present, and future."

In an exhibit with exacting measurements, "Square City" required all pieces to be 12x12, 16x16, 20x20, or 24x24. I submitted a 12x12 that was accepted into this Fredericksburg, VA show. The juror was artist and VCU Professor Bob Worthy, who carved 63 pieces by 37 artists down to 32 works for the show. I am happy to be included in those stats.

Here are some looks at the juried pieces before hanging...

The Opening will be Fredericksburg's First Friday on September 3 from 6-10p at 710 Caroline St and the show runs through September 26.

City Squares

In preparation for the PONSHOP show in Fredericksburg, I did something I don't usually do: created specific work for a specific show. I painted/compiled/mixed media'd three 12x12 pieces using wrapped canvases, airbrush watermedia, black gesso, antique books, and semi-precious stones, like peridot, star sapphire and ruby, garnet, moonstone, rhodolite garnet, amethyst, and quartz that I hounded myself in North Carolina.

 

City Perspective (Washington DC)

 

City Equation (Alexandria VA)

 

City Geometry (Fredericksburg VA)

Creating these pieces has been a fun tangent, no PON intended.

BSA Art Merit Badge in Two Parts: October 9-10 Lorton & Springfield, NCAC

Here's the blurb for my next Art Merit Badge session for Boy Scouts. Please circulate it among the local Scouting community. Further, if you need this taught to a group, please contact me, as Springfield Art Guild is very excited to have groups use their new and incredibly decorated Community Room at Springfield Mall. I like coordinating it with a Workhouse Second Saturday the evening before.

The abbreviated link is: http://bit.ly/bsa859art .

~~~

The Boy Scouts Art Merit Badge is a fun way to spend a little time to earn an interesting and quick badge. There will be two required parts.

We will start off with Second Saturday Gallery Walk at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton (Rt 123 at Lorton Road) on October 9 from 6-7pm. Meet in the foyer Building W-16 and we will walk the quad to see glass, pottery, woodworking, fiber, photography, and 2-D art, plus meet many artists and eat free food! Past participants did not leave after just an hour, because it is so much fun for the whole family!

The next day, Sunday, October 10, we will meet from1:30-4pm in Springfield Art Guild's new Community Room in Springfield Mall located between JC Penney and the Information Booth/elevator. Use door #6 near Penney's and go left at the first set of escalators, then right at the second set of escalators with the Community Room on the left. This is the hands-on session where we apply principles discussed the night before and learn more.

There are no prerequisites, but Scouts should think about requirement 2a. in which they must design something useful. Come ready with an idea.

If you cannot attend the Workhouse gallery tour on October 9, you may visit the Workhouse ahead of time or choose another gallery. Local suggestions include the Museum of the Marine Corp Gallery (Quantico), Torpedo Factory (Alexandria), Gallery West (Alexandria), Kelly's Art & Frame (Alexandria), The Loft (Occoquan), and Artist's Undertaking (Occoquan.) Further, both inside and outside the SAG Community Room in Springfield Mall has members' art on display.

Please contact your merit badge counselor, Bonnie Ferguson Butler, Workhouse Associate Artist, with questions and your RSVP. Indicate what you will be attending: both sessions or, if you're going to a gallery on your own, just the second. Feel free to visit her website for images of her art: bfbutler.blogspot.com.

Very important: blue cards available from your Scoutmaster are required and they must come from you, because the merit badge counselor will not have any. Please coordinate this ahead of time. Also, publicize this within the local Scouting community as you are able; maximum is 10 Scouts. For security reasons, parents are requested to come into the mall to pick up their Scouts.

Cost is a $10 supply fee due on October 10.