Here's another fine mess...

So, I don't have much time for a post today but...I just want to say that if a neat studio is a sign that you're not working then I'm a busy little beaver!  From the bikes in the kitchen area to the living room set up in the classroom area there are art materials spread from one end to the other.  I'm going back tonight to get the materials together for tomorrow's classes and also need to frame a piece for the raffle we're having at my reception at Fox Fine Jewelry on Saturday. In between all of that I have a social life:)  Nice and crazy.  I like it this way for a little while but I'll be anxious for a break by next weekend! TTFN

Opening Reception/ ArtWalk to come

My friends from the Ojai Group and I had a great reception last night at Fox Fine Jewelry.  Debbie Fox has been amazing to work with from the get go.  She's made this a seamless, easy show and it's beautiful.  Be sure to come by to see me at ArtWalk this coming weekend (Sat. and Sun. the 23rd and 24th.)    I'll be doing a demonstration on Sunday from 1-3.  

We have so much fun together as you can see.  Painting and exhibiting together are almost secondary to the support we give each other in all aspects of our lives.  When one of us is down the others carry and support her.  We take turns as life changes...I'm not sure there's any better synergy than that. 

A Forgotten Vacation

I meant to post this for you all too.  It's from a trip I took to Seattle last week to visit Laura where I also got to see several cousins and an art friend who lives in Gig Harbor, WA (Donna Carver.)

This is a simple sketch I did looking back at Pike Place Market with the Puget Sound at my back. I also sketched the Sound but especially like this one.  It's typical of what I like to do when I travel.  I pack a stack of Arches Watercolor Paper postcards, a fine pointed Sharpie and a travel sized palette filled with my own WC paint.  It all fits in my purse and I like to pull it out when I have a break.  It's a nice breather and helps me really experience a place.

Seattle, Pike Place Market

Shark's Teeth

Here's what the shark's head will look like after the soft tissue is gone.

This is from day two of my shark painting adventure.  It's what the shark's head will look like once his soft tissue is gone.  I can't claim this as a solo painting.  It was done under significant supervision.  I'll have to save this one.  It's almost a David Gallup "collaboration."  That's something...(Check out his web site and you'll see why I'm so lucky to paint with him.)
http://www.dgallup.com/

BTW,  I have an article in the Ventura County Star today.

The Ojai Group

I co-founded a group called The Ojai Group and we have the opening reception for our show Pink Moments tomorrow, July 16 from 6-9 at Fox Fine Jewelry on Main Street across from the Mission.  Details and the exact address are in the article.  I have four oil paintings, cards and some matted original watercolors in the show.  I hope you all can come! I always appreciate your support~!

Painting a Shark's Head

Shark's Head

I managed to slip in some painting time the last couple of days which has been great fun...  Yesterday I taught my morning class and afterwards went across the lawn to Dave Gallup's studio to say hello.  I walked into quite the party!  It was Dave's birthday and one of his students brought him a shark's head.  His birthday wish was to paint it so of course we all had to join in. 

I couldn't stand to leave after we ate the cupcakes. I had to stay and paint.  As the frozen head thawed it got shinier and smellier. By the end of the afternoon its little nose started to shrivel up.  It must have been having trouble with the aroma too! We all ended up with some facsimile of a shark and the good feeling that comes from doing something you really love.  

It felt like summer with the fishy smell and a nice coastal breeze coming through the studio.  I'm glad it was Dave's place and not mine though.  I'm not sure how long it will take that place to air out.  I think they spilled a little bit of the melted "shark water."  What we do for art...

Focus

I'm excited about the growth of my business to date.  It's small but mighty.  I keep reminding myself of a statistic I read in a news article somewhere (what a lame reference but that's not the point...) Apparently 20% of businesses grow in poor economic times.  It may be counter-intuitive to look at art as a business with a lot of opportunity right now but I think it is.  I've put some thought into how to make that happen and hope to see it work.

My focus right now is business follow up and drawing.  Discipline in those areas will support the growth I'm building.  I'll talk in another post about why I chose those two things and how they fit into my business plan.

I'm taking a drawing class from my colleague, Rich Brimer.  He's using the classic book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and does a good job with it. I'm happy with what I'm doing.  See Camarillo Artists' Drawing Class for information on the class.

Just to throw in the dash of reality here. I had a great evening but I dropped and broke the teacher's pencil, had to borrow an eraser from the woman next to me, got totally confused about how to color inside (inside not out, inside not out) the lines, traced a grid (in Sharpie) on plexiglass crooked, had the "wrong" sized drawing notebook and managed to coat both of my hands and most of my right forearm in graphite!

 It reminded me of kindergarten and sitting next to a girl with a perfectly sharpened box of 64 Crayolas.  She carefully outlined her coloring book pages with black crayon and gently shaded the insides of the pictures.  I had a box of 8 and always preferred them after they were broken. Then I could use the sides of them as well as the points.  I liked to color the backgrounds on the pages too, outside the lines.  It was hard because I kept comparing my coloring to hers and worrying that mine wasn't as perfect.   I'm not sure, but she may be an accountant now and here I am...

Anyway, there's my hand.  I'm happy with the sketch and grateful to have the actual hand to help me do the things I love!

The Ojai Group

I have a show coming up with a group of talented painters at Fox Fine Jewelry in Ventura, CA.   It will be quite beautiful and celebrates the "aha moments" or special times that happen in all of our lives.  Come join us on Saturday, July 16 from 6-9 PM.

www.theojaigroup.com  

Did you ever?

I've been in Seattle since early last week.  Have you ever had so many experiences that seemed worthy of sharing that they just piled up and became a mountain?  Well, that or just the lush experience of experiencing life.  Well that's what I did this week.

I came up "on the house" as a celebration of selling my former home.  I also wanted to see my daughter and get an idea of some of the opportunities in the arts in Seattle.  In the process I got to visit with some cousins from Florida and a Ventura County art friend who now live here.  They showed me some of the sometimes overlooked sights I'd have missed without their guidance.  I never did find the Daniel Smith art supplies headquarters but I learned a lot about the public transportation system in Seattle.  I also wandered around the port area (looking for Daniel) and learned something about the big imports here (lots of raw materials from Alaska.) That one is hard to explain and let me say I was glad to have my tennis shoes!  This is one of the few sketches I was able to finish while visiting Seattle.  I was pretty busy.

just getting around on my own.

It's easier to get lost in painting when you have seeing eye people around!  I never did get to sketch the classic entry to Pike Place Market but I can do that later.  This was done from an observation deck near the end of the Market looking up towards downtown.

Tacoma Museum of Glass

Chihuly Glass detail from the Glass Bridge in Tacoma

Me and Gig Harbor artist Donna Carver

Jack

Erin

White Cousins  (That's the literal family name not a reference to the skin tone!)

                             

New trend in the making...A lanyard with a lifeguard whistle to loop into your hair.  Very cool.  I always feel safe with Laura.  She keeps a Red Cross mask on her keychain to admin mouth  to mouth as well.

To simplify I'll just share some pictures...Enjoy.