July 2023

July 31, 2023

July 2023

The Dust Up!

I’m so tired, so very, very tired. But things are smokin’ hot right now and I’m doing everything possible to stay afloat. FOUR exhibitions at one time for the Virginia Highland Plein Air Painters …whaaa? How is that even possible? It’s crazy, and I’m grateful. Our Summer Blooms exhibition at the Atlanta Botanical Garden ended Sunday. Our show at Binders Limelight gallery closed Saturday. We continue to exhibit at Virginia Highland Books and just last week I hung a brand new show at the Douglas County Courthouse. Oh - and did I mention - I was part of a 4 artist group exhibition at the Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville that wrapped last week.

The South Cobb Arts Alliance invited me to lead an abstract painting demo this past weekend, and tomorrow I’m going to the Georgia State Capitol to deliver two paintings to the Governor’s Office. When I tell you that I can barely keep my head above water, I’m not joking. I’m also not complaining, but if you know me and you haven’t seen me in a while, you know why.

Our Virginia Highland Plein Air Painters group is on fiiiiiire. Recently, I was interviewed by our local NPR station, WABE. What an incredible opportunity to let Atlanta know about this amazing group of artists. There’s something really special happening with this group of artists. The group is curious, enthusiastic, generous and happy. When was the last time you were part of something like that? Last week we had 20 artists attend a pastel painting demo at a friend’s home. Two of our artists, Terry and Anne, led the group through two paintings and answered a gazillion questions. And when it was time to pack up at 1:00, guess what … nobody wanted to leave. People helped clean up then stuck around to have lunch. I got home at 4 (!), showered, put on PJs and curled up on the sofa, exhausted and invigorated at the same time.

One artist had a ROOT CANAL, then drove straight over to the pastel demo. Are you kidding me? She apologized for being late. Another artist had never been to any of our functions before. She walked into a stranger’s home filled with people she didn’t know, set up her easel next to mine and painted in a medium she knew nothing about. That’s brave. Then she stopped at an art supply store on the way home and bought a box of pastels. I’m in awe. Everyone was so positive, embraced the uncertainty and supported each other. I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of something like this before.

One of my artist friends stopped by to deliver some paintings for our show at Douglas County Courthouse. She asked if we could sit and talk about some ideas. After batting around a few things, we ended up talking about having a retreat, off site, where we could set up our easels and paint for a few days with each other. Kinda like my Okefenokee trip. We looked up the availability at Indian Springs State Park and discovered they had 10 cottages available in November, so we booked one, then told the group about it. We now have almost all 10 cottages booked with artists! I can hardly wait.

Seeing people have fun, challenge themselves, laugh and play is so rewarding. One artist told me that she’s been lonely in her studio and that this group helps her feel a connection to something bigger. That’s huge.

Typically my blog posts are about me and my art, but I just had to write about my group and how proud I am of what they are doing. Calling it special seems so corny and that word is not really strong enough. It’s bigger and better than that. I’ll work on finding the right word.

Here are my paintings from the “dust up.”

PASTEL UPDATE

No surprise, I’ve been playing a lot in pastels. When I am stumped in an oil painting I stop, get out my pastel supplies and paint the scene in pastels. Then I go back to my oil painting using the pastel painting as a reference. There’s something different about the way the pigments lie on top of each other that creates a luminosity that I cannot get with oils.

Here’s an example. The first painting is in pastels, the second painting is oil. I prefer the pastel, but maybe I just need to work on the oil a little more?

Here’s another pastel I did this month, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. By being playful and starting abstractly with an alcohol wash, I am able to get closer to my vision. With travel on the calendar for the next few months, I ordered a pastel box so that I can begin working with pastels en plein air. Had a feeling this day would come and can hardly wait for the box to arrive.

PLEIN AIR

If you are a regular reader you know that I hate July and August almost as much as port-a-potties and cockroaches. It’s been brutally hot and humid, but I managed to get in a few sessions, including an indoor sketching day at The High Museum.

PAINTINGS

Started this painting back in the spring, a plein air day with Terry. Finished in the studio.

Painted this monochromatically en plein air a while back, just recently went on top with color

Work in progress

READING

I finished reading Demon Copperhead, which was a little tough to read because of the lead character’s painful childhood. Nevertheless, it was well written. Now I’m reading How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci and The Book of Hygge. Maintaining a sense of hygge in this city ain’t easy, but I’m trying.

OTIS and JULIUS

The boys have been scrapping again, so we had to help JuJu with a little scratch. That means he gets sprayed with antiseptic and you can imagine how that goes over with him. He’s much better. And as hot as it is, that monkey insists on going up to the 3rd floor and roasting on an old moving box in the sun. That moving box has been upstairs since they day we moved in. He loves it so much, we don’t have the heart to throw it away.