October 2022

October 30, 2022

October 2022

My rack of paintings at Georgia Color, hosted by Chateau Elan

October was another insanely busy month, but without a doubt the highlight was participating in the Olmsted Plein Air Invitational’s regional competition …Georgia Color! Why is that such a big deal? First, you have to apply and submit samples of your work to be considered as a participant. Second, the Olmsted Plein Air Invitational in April is one of the top 3 plein air events in the United States. Not only that, but this year Olmsted had the biggest prize purse of any plein air invitational in the US. So just to be a small part of this organization is a huge milestone for my art career. And finally, it was a chance for me to see if I could compete and hang with my peers. Would my paintings hold up against all of the others? I believe they most definitely did. I still have plenty of work to do and need to continue to hone my skills, but I’m 100% on the right track.

We spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday painting around the Braselton area. From the vineyards of Chateau Elan to a rustic mill and an abandoned gas station, we painted all over the area. We had a Quick Paint competition and we painted nocturnes. Of all my paintings I was most satisfied with my nocturne.

14x11 oil on panel - available through Georgia Color

I’m so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of Georgia Color and I hope to get invited back!

THIS MONTH’S PAINTINGS

I painted with my Virginia Highland Plein Air painting group at the 98th birthday celebration for President Jimmy Carter. This is my friend Butchie painting on the grounds of The Carter Center.

My friend Kathy and I worked on nocturnes at Piedmont Park …

The VHPAP painted at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. It was such a beautiful fall day with loads of kids out on fall break. I painted the Fuqua Orchid Center using a hot pink underpainting. I’m really into these hot, bright underpaintings lately.

My friend Maria V and I had two amazing days of painting - first at Providence Canyon, then at the Toccoa River in Blue Ridge.

Maria V in the middle of the Toccoa River

Uptown Atlanta invited the VHPAP to participate in their lawn grand opening on a Saturday afternoon. The weather was so perfect and we had a great turnout. My favorite piece of art was this one by my friend Maria S who is also an urban sketcher. I love her drawings!

Maria S and her urban sketching friends

And just this past Thursday the VHPAP spent the morning at Hyde Farm in Marietta.

I love this photo of Maria S sketching

11x14 oil on panel - Hyde Farm

READING

I’m currently reading Picasso’s War and it is excellent! In art history class I learned that the 1913 Armory Show was the show that led the way for modern art from European painters, but that isn’t exactly the whole story. It took many, many more years for Picasso, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Matisse and others to be shown, collected and fully embraced by Americans. If you’re curious about how all of that transpired, you’d definitely enjoy Picasso’s War.

NOVEMBER

Coming up this month - my last plein air competition of the year. If you’re counting, this will be my 6th plein air competition. I’ll continue to paint on Thursday mornings with my VHPAP group and hopefully find some time to work on studio pieces and abstracts.

OTIS and JULIUS

Lucky me! I got lots of great photos of the boys this month. Look at these sweet little monkeys!