The irony of free time now vs. then

The irony is that I barely had time for being on the internet these past few weeks, and so missed the opportunity of announcing what I was preparing for.

The 17th Annual Vermont Crafts Council's Open Studio tour just wrapped up this afternoon. 2009 marks my third year doing this, and my first year of participating in my actual neighborhood. Chamberlin's farm & garden market in Underhill hosted the five of us artists for the first time, and what a great space.

Taking part in events such as this make me realize just how many people I know (or at least recognize) through my workplace. Many, many, lots!

Thank you to everyone who responded to my last minute mailings and e-mail notifications, even to those of you who couldn't make it but passed the word along.
Special thanks to my fellow artists at the Chamberlin's site: Linda Amundsen (my neighbor), Devon Banse Dougall (mom!), Miriam Wells (paint those trusses!), Ann Linde (has a new kitten!) and Tinka Martell (hope the wedding went well!) and to everyone who helped make this weekend enjoyable.

Great company of other artists, great visitor turnout, and great location. What a weekend!

Thanks everyone!

Next up is getting my Etsy shop up and running. Open Studio preparation laid the groundwork for that, so it shouldn't be long.

Williston Community Foodshelf Update

So, it seems there's been a bit of mix-up in some email linking, so if you've found yourself here while trying to get to the web page for the Williston Community Foodshelf Fundraiser, you will find the correct link below:

http://www.wcfs.cmarket.com

Or try:
http://www.cmarket.com/auction/AuctionHome.action?vhost=wcfs

(The Williston Community Foodshelf does not yet have it's own website.)

More donations are coming, not just artwork but gift certificates and more. Bookmark it once you've found yourself there, so you can keep tabs on what you're interested in. The auction itself runs this May 1st- 7th.

p.s.: SK, I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (i.e. almost finished our taxes) so I'll contact you soon with more info on my participation with the fundraiser.

The Portfolio

Has been updated!
It won't look too different at first, but if you go to Paintings, each sub-category has new content. Yes, many of these were previewed here, but please note, print availability is now indicated!
The above image is of "In the Reading Room." Available soon in print form, and my fabulous printer (North 7 Studios) did some beautiful re-touching for me. Though I can no longer recall WHY, I had at one point edited out the left-hand piece. Edited with an x-acto,* that is. And then altered all the colors on the right-hand section. Well, through the miracle of Photoshop, the prints are going to look great. And whole.

*keep those knives away from me! I am not to be trusted!

Time for some Minatures

Miniature cats! The first group are mainly one-inch squares. And I went through an astounding amount of tape when doing these. Still, a good use of scrap watercolor canvas. I have a few scraps left, but I certainly have to be in the right mood to work this small. All pieces in this post were executed in watercolor & gouache on watercolor canvas.
This guy (?) is just SO happy. And wants to hug you.


Still working on a title for this group. For now, here are "The Comrades."


Once my Etsy store is up, I may post these guys there.

portfolio update coming soon

Arkonbey has his work cut out for him this week! I spent a few hours compiling images and information in order to bring in some new work and to indicate which images are available as prints. Once the new content is uploaded I'll post a link.

On Sunday I painted a series of approximately 1"x1" watercolors (on watercolor canvas scraps--waste not, want not.) Those will be posted here soon.

Sunday afternoon, I went downtown to help Miriam set up for her show at Tribeca. Great portraits of construction workers executed in oil on panel, as well as beautiful photography of trusses set against blue sky. My favorite portrait of hers is right behind the register area.
See her work at First Friday Artwalk, this Friday starting at 5 p.m.!

Another venue I can personally recommend is the 215 College Co-op gallery right above H&R Block. Diane Gabriel and Jordan Douglas are showing black and white (silver lith?) prints, and what I've seen so far looks fabulous.
The gallery should be listed in the ArtMap (see First Friday Artwalk link above) which you can grab at just about any participating venue downtown.

linking to some loveliness

Okay, let me see if I can hyperlink tonight's web exploring:

1.) I checked out Scott C.'s blog to look at more of the images from his "Home Slice" show at Gallery Nucleus in L.A. Here's "Cat House":


2.) I first discovered Scott C. via his marvelous story submissions in FLIGHT.
WHAT!?! You haven't read Flight yet? Issue 6 is in the works, and Arkonbey and I will definitely have a rumble over who gets to read it first in this house.

3.) Gallery Nucleus has many fine looking prints for sale, including "The Totoro Forest Project Prints," a deadly combination aimed at my spending willpower. The Nucleus collection has some of my favorite artists from Flight, and all the reasonably priced prints help raise funds for the Totoro Forest Project. This is "New Leaves" by Kazu Kibuishi (Editor & Art Director of aforementioned Flight.)
4.) Phew. This blogging thing takes way too long to organize properly. As it's officially past midnight now, staring at the computer monitor must come to an end. Hope you enjoy these fabulous links as much as I do.

People need to eat!

Update! Here's a piece from a few years ago, one of my earliest underwater themes.
I had just purchased some new paints and brushes, and wanted to break away from what I'd been making (mostly with an earth-toned palette and blocky forms.) This piece of smooth, thin birch panel had been kicking around the studio for some time, so I primed it in blue and I was off. The tight vertical format was a good challenge.

This week I donated an Artists' Proof of "Hatching Ground I" to the Williston Community Food Shelf for their fundraising auction. The print was made for me by North 7 Studio and is 100% pigment based ink on 100% cotton rag paper, matted in archival materials. (100%!) "Artists' Proof" means that it was a test-proof done as we checked for color accuracy & desired size.

The auction will be held on-line, hosted by cMarket, or "Bidding for Good," an auction site for non-profits. See links below.
A number of local artists have also joined in and their work should appear on the site in the next week or so. Kim Rainbolt is the organizer, and is asking for help in spreading the word.

WCFS Online Art Auction May 1st-May 7th!

This is a fundraiser for the Williston Community Food Shelf.
We provide food and essentials to those in need.

How You Can Participate: Donate art to our auction; become a sponsor of our fund raising auction; Bid online or make a cash donation online May 1st-May 7th, 2009.


If you have any questions or would like to support our event,
please contact Kim Rainbolt at 878-8701 or nolanrainbolt (AT) gmail (Dot) com

Thank You!