Raining cats and dogs

It might be raining cats & dogs outside but there are beautiful cat and dog sculptures in Ken Newman's booth at the show - check it out http://bit.ly/bfIvRG

Artist's block?

 There's an article in the NYT about Georgelle Hirliman's death and her career as Writer in the Window, spawned from a bad case of "writer's block."  http://nyti.ms/diwYPi What do you do for "artist's block"?  I work with random color and texture till something bubbles through the fog in my brain.  Sometimes that means many layers - kind of "paint by the pound" - but my subconscious usually fights to the fore and rescues me.

Grey and rain can put me to sleep, creatively and physically, so today in AZ gives me a chance to wake up with vermillion cerise cobalt and leaf!

Damsel in the Garden

  

Here's the painting I mentioned yesterday.  See it at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale.  The texture and layers make it delectable up close.  The deep colors pull you in from a distance.  24 x 30 I think, acrylic on board.

Painting at the Celebration

Can't believe the show is nearly half over - 5 weeks left.  Finished a new painting today - experimenting with different levels of gloss coat, creating depth and edges.  Took pics but have to downsize them to pb - hopefully tonight.  Beautiful days in AZ! Celebration

"Summer Rain" acrylic painting on board

I decided to have a giclee made of this piece. I've never made prints of my work before, but this painting is so joyful in color and image that I want to make it accessible to more people. I did the color check with the printer last week and it should be in my studio at the Celebration of Fine Art today.

Section of new painting

So much color in my life!  I was looking at this closeup of a painting I recently finished and thought it would make a nice piece by itself.  One of the fascinating things about using a lot of texture in painting is the depth it can create.  I almost always paint using many layers of transparent paints and I like watching the interplay of the colors and shapes created by layering.  These paintings are often really interesting to look at from very close up - almost under a microscope kind of feeling. 

It is currently hanging in the Northwest Salon at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale.

New Collection of Japanese Inspired Work

Just finished a large work inspired by Japanese Ukiyoe woodblock prints.  Subtle and sophisticated colors in rich earth tones accented by spots of deep corals.  Forgot my camera at the show yesterday, but I'll get a pic posted tomorrow.  It looks fabulous beside another piece which sits in an old glass and wood display case which has the feel of country Japanese architecture.

2010 at the Celebration of Fine Art

Wow! How did it get to be February so soon?

Now that we're settled in to the 2010 Celebration of Fine Art, I thought I would start putting up pics of new work that is on exhibit at the show. So, here is "Hollyhocks". It's a zucca gourd, about 38" on the stand, 10" or so, wide. It is different views of hollyhocks, wheat grasses and butterflies on all sides. I always "see" the design in the raw gourd, and this was no different - on this side, behind each blossom on the curved stem, was a discolored dimple in the gourd. Instantly I thought of my grandmother's garden and of the hollyhocks standing tall and leaning against the house. I never see them anymore - perhaps NC is just too hot and humid or, hmmmm, maybe it's because I live in the city and hollyhocks really are a country kind of flower. At any rate, the colors are beautifully shaded and the whole piece very luminescent.

Come to the show and check it out!

www.NWSalon.com

www.CelebrateArt.com