easel-y done

Tonight was the Easel-y Done session I was leading/instructing at Studio 659 in Whiting. The idea of the evening is people can show up, have all the supplies provided for them, and create a painting during the course of the evening. The end result is you leave with a completed canvas.

I was asked to something fall-ish. I wanted it to be something similar to my work. I decided on pears, my favorite fall fruit. A pair of pears.

I sketched the pears out with watercolor pencil. I used the acrylic paint that we would be using in the class. I only used red, blue, yellow and white. There was green and black available for the class, as well, but no one used either of them. I had a painting completed and then painted a second version during the class, along with everyone else.

I made a couple of stencils of pears, and one of apples, in case anyone wanted to use them. Everyone did, so that was a good call. Here's a few class shots.

It was lots of fun and I was very happy that Studio 659 asked me to do it, and that I said yes. Below, the original on the right and the in-class painting on the left. I donated both of these pieces to the Studio, and they are available for sale.

a crazy week

Not really the good kind of crazy.

There has been a lot of Running Around and taking care of Very Important Things. (Did you get my A.A. Milne reference? I'm feeling a little bit like Piglet this week.)

Saturday The Struggle opened. I don't have lots of photos from this, actually I only took one.

I have been working as an assistant to another artist for the last week or so. It's actually been lots of fun. More details on that another time. On the way home one day, I stopped by the Whiting exhibit at the Indiana Visitors Center and took a few shots. These are in the Studio 659 "building".

And I finished up the letter I and delivered it. Here it is in my studio. A better shot will be coming next week at the opening.

And saving the best for last...

My grant application was reviewed this week. I wasn't there to hear it in person, but I listened to the panel discussion recording and it went really well. I think I'm going to get it. The "1st reader" was very complimentary and the "2nd reader" said it was "one of the best applications I have seen in front of me today." I was the 25th application to be reviewed that day. They were not that positive about all of them.

fingers crossed for some good crazy!

breakin' the rules

It has been a busy weekend of art delivery. I actually like delivery days. It gets work out of my house and people are going to see it and that's a good thing, in my book. Friday was delivery day for The Struggle for Art: Breakin' the Rules. What Rules? There Are No Rules! It's a mouthful, I fully admit. I didn't name it. And from now on I will just refer to it as 'The Struggle.' It's an invitational show, which is cool, because it means someone saw your work and said,

Hey your work is awesome! You should be in this show I'm putting together!

I was in last year's The Struggle, which was more manageably subtitled Art Non-Realiste. And so I was invited back again this year. Friday's delivery was between thunderstorms, which is good that it was in between, but not good that there were storms. Delivery day storms are bad. I could not care less if my hair gets wet, but don't mess with my artwork. The Struggle got 4 fantabulous walnut ink drawings.

Saturday was pick up from the Bad Date Show. This was a really fun show. I was involved with the preliminary plans for this show. I was there when we decided Bad Date was a good theme for a show, especially near Valentine's Day. Who hasn't had a bad date? When I was picking work, I realized that pretty much all of my work fit the theme. Lucky?

Today was the Home Sweet Home Earth Day Show delivery at the HAC in Hammond. The HAC is a new gallery in Hammond associated with Faith Church. I have a solo painting show there in July, which I'm really excited about. (If you check out the link, you'll also see the CAC, where my painting show will be for June, before travelling to the HAC.) I had a painting ready wisconsin road trip, but I decided the line work wasn't in scale with the canvas so I reworked it a bit to make it more fine.

The surprise for today was getting a facebook message first thing in the morning to see if I'd be interested in having some of my work at the Indiana Welcome Center this month. My response:

holy crap, YES!

The work is being displayed in the Studio 659 "storefront" of the Whiting display. All sorts of exhibits go into the Visitors' Center aka the Welcome Center aka the Convention and Visitors Center, and I think aka a few other things. This month's display is all about Whiting, which is hosting the Historic Preservation State Convention, and a recreation of sorts of the City of Whiting is happening inside. This is a pretty big deal for little Whiting. I was asked for a big painting so I brought embrace. But when I got there Jules, the window designer at Studio 659, who is designing the space for the show, wasn't sure she had the space for it and asked for a few smaller pieces. I broke my rule:

Do not show work together that doesn't go together.

I ran home and got a few still life pieces from the 30 day sketch project and a pastel drawing. When I got back, Jules decided she could fit the painting in, after all.