More Horizon Series

This painting, Bay Sunset, is number 5 in my Horizon series.  It is the only vertical and sold in August.  Number 1 sold in December.  People seem drawn to these paintings and see different things.  I love how the medium creates its own affects and forces me to "go with the flow".   Four other Horizon paintings of various sizes are in the Janan Gallery now.

JANAN Creative Arts and Gallery

This is part of my work on display at the JANAN Creative Arts and Gallery.  Conspicuously missing is Aspen Path #1 which sold last Friday!   The new owner of Aspen Path #1 said what every artist wants to hear, "it just spoke to me".

Snow in the Vineyard

Can't stop painting now, I joined a Co op Gallery for 2 months over the holidays.  This is a huge step! And a scary one.  First of all it requires a rent payment and second it is another venture "out there" this time in the posh Cherry Creek North shopping district of Denver.  Wish us luck and come visit JANAN Creative Arts and Gallery if you are in the vicinity of 2nd Avenue and St Paul Street.

Disappointment

Rejection from a juried show is a disappointment but not a personal affront.  The juror usually has a vision for the show that is not always apparent to the entrants.  I was rejected from the Littleton show this year; rejected twice in the past 5 years, but I take it as a learning experience.  On the night of the opening the juror will talk about his selection process and his vision for the show and we, the chosen and rejected, can see all work he selected and how it is hung.  Then we will drink their wine and will try again another time.

Vine Invitation

Friday night's opening was a great success as judged by the amount of wine consumed, positive comments received and the overall buzz of excitement of First Friday on Santa Fe. The Santa Fe Arts District is the second largest permanent arts district in the US. On First Friday the sidewalks and galleries are full of people and music is blaring in the street. It is THE place to be!

This is another scene from Garfield Estates Winery. I wanted to go "big" so I painted two 20x30 canvases side by side. This is still from before the harvest and the grapes are not readily visible. This piece is on display now at Ageless Art Gallery.

Just Picked

I painted this in Palisade after Rainer brought over a box of just picked peaches and nectarines. I asked for the ones with the leaves. This was my first try with oil on paper and I found it very freeing. One big plus is that it dries faster than canvas. This will be one of my entries into the Littleton show. This annual juried show is important to me because it is the first show I ever entered and got into. That was 5 years ago.

More paths and passageways

I have an opening coming up and the show is hung! Thanks to Bob Tank owner and practitioner at Ageless Art Oriental Medicine for art space in the Ageless Art Gallery. I cannot tear myself away from the subject matter of paths so I have expanded from the red rocks of Utah to many different natural settings like the vineyard.

Scenes From Garfield Estates Winery

Alma Sanbern and I have had the privilege of painting at the Garfield Estates Winery in Palisade Colorado. The setting, in view of Mt Garfield, is sublime as is the morning and evening light. The grapes will not be ready for harvest for another month but nets will cover the grapes within the week. Our timing is perfect.



I have only left New Jersey one week ago but to be here in this beautiful place is balm for my spirit. It makes it easy to be in the moment.

Back in Colorado - The Garden Show

I am back in Colorado. Yesterday was the Colorado Chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art's Garden Show. Artist Lee Lee Leonard hosted the show at the Leonard & Leonard Real Estate Office on Downing Street in Denver. The work of 14 member artists was hung throughout the office, upstairs and down. The office has abundant access to the outdoors including a back porch with rocking chairs and a lovely garden with 2 water features. The weather was beautiful, the food and drink appealing and the art varied, inspiring and motivating. Mixing with fellow artists impels me to work.

Sunday

Sunday is the busiest day on the beach at the Jersey shore but LBI never gets this crowded.

Beach Guru

I can't help but be influenced by the sun and sand here on LBI but I took a different tact for a beach scene - a seagull's perspective. This painting sold at the JCC Arts Festival!

August Show

I am excitedly painting for the August 2nd Art Festival at the JCC on Long Beach Island, New Jersey.  Painting here in New Jersey, I do most of my work outside and the humidity takes its toll. Sometimes there is wind, bugs, annoying neighbors... It is an adjustment from painting in my studio in Denver but one that keeps me fresh.  There is just no room in the house for my work, especially wet.  Nothing quite done to post but soon.  

Dry High Line

My son took a photo looking into the dry canal bed from a walking bridge. The photo inspired me and I got his permission to paint it, though I did go and see the exact location with my own eyes. I recently photographed the same spot all green and flowing with water for future painting but the trees all leafed out hide the trail that you see on the right. I am excited by the idea of painting the same thing differently.

First Acrylic

This is my first acrylic, done on my own with mixed media.

Workshop Day

I spent the afternoon in an acrylic workshop with Alma Sanbern. I have never touched acrylics before. Wow, what an emotionally fraught experience. First there is all the insecurity that comes from being a beginner again, then slowly a releasing to the moment, playing and dabbling, and finally the exhiliration upon seeing the paint on paper and getting some satisfying results.

Take a class or workshop, step out of your comfort zone and stretch your brain. Of course it is scary but it is good for your heart and soul.

Artists thrive in community.  An artist works alone but gets inspiration out in the world.  There is nothing like being in the company of artists, visiting openings, shows and galleries, going to workshops and talks, to keep the creative juices flowing

The Zen of Painting

The February/March issue of Skiing magazine has an article about Kristen Ulmer and her Zen skiing clinic in Snowbird, Utah (No Zen on a Powder Day by Leslie Anthony p. 70). Ulmer claims that when you are skiing at your limit, your brain has no time to think of anything else but getting you downhill. It is the ultimate meditative moment. I feel that way about painting. Once I get started, time stops. Nothing from the outside world invades my thoughts while I am focused on the canvas and palette. It is a mental vacation. Now you know why I look forward to it. Sometimes I set an alarm so I can stop painting in time to do something else. I agree with Kristen Ulmer about skiing but it is only one of many ways to reach that Zen state. Painting works as well for me and all I have to do is shuffle into my studio.

Horizons

I started experimenting with linseed oil in 2009 on a series of horizon paintings. The oil makes the paint just glide across the canvas and blend without becoming muddy. This is called

Possibility. Oil on canvas 20x16 inches.

Paths

Both of these paintings are meant to draw you into the unknown. Invitation is just that, an invitation to continue down the path. Stepping Off is a little scarier; there is no indication of how far we may have to fall if we step off.