What's next

Thanks again to all of you who stopped in and said hello this weekend. I really appreciated your visits and conversations! To those who couldn't make it, there will be more events later this year, and you can always check out the portfolio link to your right if you want to see finished work.

The combination of talking and painting (and eating SO many cookies) all weekend has finally taken it's toll, though I did have enough energy left to plant some neglected flower bulbs and squash seeds when I got home.

Next on the calendar: I've been invited to bring a few pieces down to Bennington's Vermont Arts Exchange to be part of a small group show. That invite was courtesy of a fellow MECA alum, Renee Bouchard, who is currently in residency there.

Also I'll be participating for the first time at the Art Hop in Burlington. The artists who shared their studios with me in December for the Holiday Sale have invited me to use one of the hallway spaces, "the fair weather gallery," as one of them called it.
That event runs September 5th & 6th, I'll know more once registration begins.

Until then, I'm going to look into having prints made of certain paintings, writing my artists' statement, gardening, and trying out the screen printing kit I bought for Rick (he doesn't mind, isn't he great?)
Though I have a feeling the screen printing kit will get the most attention at first.

VT Open Studio Weekend

Not too much painting has been going on the last few days, as I've been busy getting ready for the VT Open Studio tour happening this weekend.
Saturday the 24th and Sunday the 25th, from 10-5 both days, you'll find me at Artists' Mediums in Williston along with my four other co-workers. Each of us will have some works in progress (and it's such a nice change to be able to sit and paint at work!) as well as finished works on display.

If you made it to my one day 'show' at the Pine Street Studios holiday art sale back in December, then you'll recognize a good number of the pieces. But if you're in the area anyways and want to see what I'm currently working on, please stop by! You'll also get to see Michelle's 'magna-monsters,' Mary's gigantic paintings, Chelsea's tree & field pieces and Laura's wearable art.

We'll probably have some light snacks if that's any incentive!

A rainy yet bright weekend.

Today's demonstration for the store went well, and lots of my favorite customers stopped in for a bit of shopping & good chat. Now I'm home and must publicly thank the mister for all the stuff he did today (far more than I usually do on my days off...) he vacuumed and straightened the living room, he did dishes, AND homemade mac & cheese was ready EXACTLY as I walked in, I kid you not, the buzzer went off as I opened the door. I am a grateful girl.

So I'm well fed, feeling good, free of headache (at last!) and ready to do some painting. There are two pieces I haven't even set to canvas yet, and I have a month and a half before the Open Studio Tour.
Nothing like a good deadline...

And perhaps tomorrow, if his weekly challenge project is going well, the mister will be helping me complete more of the on-line portfolio. Well, aren't I just linking like mad?

lag time

Ugg.... it's been a not-so-productive week, but I've been sketching here and there. Mostly sitting huddled in front of the tv not feeling so grand. At least I've got Farscape to keep me company, thank you Andre & Carol! The Jim Henson workshop creatures are of course very inspiring. Also I found Claire Nouvian's "The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss" at the library. Have I yet mentioned how lucky we are to have at two fabulous libraries to choose from? So, I haven't been putting out (har har) but I've been taking in.

Perhaps there will be a good sketch to post by Sunday.

Darius & Filbert

Having gotten up with Arkonbey this morning, I was able to do a fair amount of painting today, and it's only 3pm. This is one of those rare pieces, perhaps the first since MECA, where I've had to use perspective lines & vanishing points. Despite this, the wall-hanging is still misbehaving. Once the pattern is blocked in a bit more it will show the forced perspective, but that bottom edge is driving me nuts.

For Cleo

Just a short while before Easter I mentioned to my friend that I had "fallen victim to a fresh sticky bun the size of a baby's head." (It was absolutely delicious, for the record.)
She said how that put her in mind of a bun coming after me with "at least fangs, possibly brass knuckles, maybe even a knife. Those cinnamon buns are a hot tempered bunch."

So here are a few sketches for her. I can't decide which to go with, so if she has a preference, that'll be the one.

(click on image to view larger, of course)


I am particularly enjoying the gold bling walnuts on the fully-decked out bun here on the bottom.

Still a frog. In the forest.

This latest sketch was fun, but working in color shows just how much I really have to consider about the value range. (As to the dead-centered red mushroom cap, well, it's just a test. There is more to the picture than shown.) Also, I think I'm going to show more underside of the mushroom umbrella. The piece which started this whole ball rolling was all about the underside, not the top. I'm happy with those sunbeams though.