Blogs

Well, old age has finally caught up to me! The wear and tear of setting up and breaking down displays for outdoor art festivals has proved too exhausting! So I have opted for displaying my work in local shows and galleries. This month I have had two pieces entered in "May Blossoms" at the Cape Coral Arts Studio in Cape Coral, Florida: "Calla Lily Rainbow" and "Morning Glories in Blue". "Morning Glories..." garnered a 3rd place award! Additionally, "Night-Blooming Cereus" was juried into The Alliance for the Arts members exhibit which opens May 30th and continues until June 28, 2014. If you live in or near Ft. Myers stop by to see the show.

November, 2012

Exciting news this month...my campaign is up on Indiegogo and I hope it reaches around the world. You can help at many levels including letting all of your friends and families know about it. With everyone's help I will be exhibiting at the airport by this time next year. Thanks for your interest and support!

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/243060?a=1526150

Fall has come 'round again. It has been a very busy year. Due to double knee replacement surgery I have cut back considerably on the art show circuit. I'm on the road back now and am thankful that's all behind me. I've been focusing on re-organizing my studio and photographing many new flowers native to this beautiful area. I have begun a series of these plants and will continue as we move into winter. Of course. winter here is the perfect time for painting 'en plein air'...bright sun, no humidity, moderate temperatures and very few bugs.

I recently became a member of The Alliance for the Arts here in southwest Florida. It is a very comprehensive organization focused on all of the arts. They offer many workshops and events for all ages. I have been asked to think about teaching a watercolor class for either children or adults. I'll think about it...not sure if that is what I want to do right now. But it is exciting to be asked.

This month I've added two new series of paintings to my website. One focuses on images of flowers simulated to resemble a stained glass window. The second is a series of Christmas flowers to which I will be adding one new image each Christmas season. Enjoy the new paintings!

I have been very busy getting ready for this mega festival. The really cool thing is that profits from the sale of promotional materials (T-shirts, programs, etc.) go to further art education in Lee County. As a former art teacher, I am all for that.
This year's festival includes 170 juried artists from all over the country and Canada. So save the dates! Here's the link:
www.ArtFestFortMyers.com

It is hard to imagine that it has been a year since my last entry. Quite a bit going on here in sunny Florida. I've had two knee replacement surgeries this year which have slowed me down somewhat. I am on the mend now and looking forward to 2012 as I have been juried into ArtFest Ft. Myers. This is a huge show and I am hoping to have several new pieces to present there. Recently I have been focusing on smaller works with a stained glass effect. This has been fun as I can step away from my realistic approach and focus on the design in a small space. Each original is just 5"x7"!! The two dragonfly ones are particularly meaningful to me as the dragonfly reminds us of the new body we are given after death which prevents us returning to earth (The Water Bug & the Dragonfly Parable) So enjoy the new pieces and I hope to see you at the Ft. Myers show.

seems like spring in Maryland!! We've finally made the big retirement move to SW Florida and it is heavenly. Didn't even mind the heat of the Florida summer as it was much hotter back in Berlin, Maryland. Have been so busy unpacking and trying to sort out space for a studio that I haven't done much painting in the last two months. But that's about to change! I was juried into the Naples Fine Art and Crafts Festival on Thanksgiving week-end so want to add at least one new piece to my show. There is a night-blooming flower here called Cereus and I am fascinated with the growth patterns and dramatic petal arrangements. So that will be my next effort...come back soon to see how it turns out. See ya!

Wow! Hard to believe spring is here again...and very welcome after the snowiest winter ever on the Delmarva Peninsula. Everyone is happy to see and feel the sun!

The long winter has been productive for me as I have completed six new paintings from photos taken last summer here in Berlin as well as in Florida. I took a new approach with the pink and burgundy Marsh Mallow Shrub that grows everywhere here in Berlin. I was striving for a more abstract quality in the composition while still retaining the fluidity and paper-like quality of the large petals this flower exhibits. I think I've managed to achieve that and still keep the touch of realism that says 'this is a summer flower'.

The Calla Lily Rainbow painting was a joy to paint. A friend actually asked me to do a painting of calla lilies for her as she loves the purity of the traditionally white blossoms. But when I started researching this flower (as I had nothing nearby to actually photograph)I was surprised to discover that this flower grows in a wide variety of hues. That's when the light bulb went on...an aha! moment (as Oprah always says). Why not create a 'rainbow' of calla lilies? And so I did...building this painting completely in my imagination! I've never worked like that before but rather have always used actual or photo references. It was a freeing change requiring me to really draw on prior knowledge of composition, light and shadow.

A very productive winter...maybe it should snow consecutive blizzards every year!! But then again, I think not!

So now spring has come 'round again and it is perfect weather to begin capturing all of the new blooms emerging from the thawing ground. Stop back soon to see what's new!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood ...and off I go, camera in hand, to capture new images to use for my next series of floral watercolors. A few weeks ago I discovered deep maroon and pale peach irises in a neighbor’s yard. After snapping several frames in the bright sunlight, my neighbor came onto his deck, coffee in hand, to investigate. A great way to meet the neighbors and begin a dialogue ...just walk in their yards and start clicking away!!

Today is perfect for capturing just emerging gladioli...soft pinks, bright oranges, even a few purples fill the camera’s view finder. I love the tall “standing-at-attention” aura they create in a garden otherwise full of shorter less ‘commanding my attention’ blossoms. Daisies and black-eyed susans are replete and offer up their faces for inclusion in my reference album.

Now it’s back to the studio to choose, crop and edit the references for this week’s flower of the season. Stop back to view the progress I’m making.

“When I go out into the countryside and see the sun and the green and everything flowering, I say to myself, “Yes, indeed, all that belongs to me.” ...Henri Rousseau