Six of my paintings are hanging at the Salon Soleil on Camano Island at the triangle. This is only the second time Radiance has been on display; the others are very experienced. If you are going by, stop in and say hey to Sherrie who does my hair and promotes my work..way to go!
The art work looks great on their colored walls. Thanks so much for promoting me ladies!! Hope you get lots of good feedback.
Starting point? Wanting to make a change..create a new look that is still me..which attributes do I keep, which ones do I change? It's a process made a little easier and faster as I've been thinking about this type of art for three years. The previous paintings evolved while I was working on some landscapes in pastel and took a dramatic turn towards texture...lost the landscapes but discovered I really, really love texture!
I have taken off on a fanciful flight to capture the tulip fileds of the Skagit Valley using my abstract style. Aerial photos were the starting point. Farmlands from above-incredible designs! Experimenting with molding paste, combs, forks, and palette knives followed. Then....I waited..color stumped me. I started out playing it safe-even added a couple of sections of bronze. What I learned..don't play it safe! The new look is going the bold, the bright, the gaudy!
The first painting of the new series is named Dream Fields. To view these tulip fields from an airplane or a hot air balloon is possible every Spring in the Skagit Valley thirty minutes from my house. But to experience them in a flying dream only happens once.... if you're lucky!! I'm going to have to work much bigger to get that dream feeling back!
On to the second venue this year...the Auburn City Hall in downtown Auburn, Washington. The space is wonderful and full of indirect light from the bank of windows. They also have a very nice hanging system and spot lights. The gold really shimmers on Prosperity in this prime location. Eight of my paintings will be showing here this month. It is the first time for Prosperity to be out showing off in public; Tranquility is very experienced as this is her fifth or sixth venue.
I have been experimenting with this type of painting for over a year and have decided that I've done all I want to do with this technique and look for now. I've had great fun trying the acrylic mediums in combinations just to see what would happen. I love some of the looks...the glass beads mixed with the small mica is a fav along with the glass beads with the black mica that is in this one..for the first time. I've pretty much got the ferns under soft gel doing what I want and so it is time to move on.
Tulip time is just around the corner and I've started working from some reference photos of the famous tulip fields to the north. Aerial photos...a real neat look!! Next month the new paintings will look very different!!
My gyotaku fish prints are bringing in money at auctions for local community projects. Last Fall one went at the Arlington Art Council's auction to bring in money for public art. Then the Camano Island Chamber had their Chili Chowder Cook Off and auction and that one brought in $300 for them. I don't usually sell them for that but those auctions bring out the money. It is great fun to see that people really like them!
On March 20th the Camano Island Library Friends are having a dinner and auction and one of my prints will be on the auction block again. This time it is Misty...done on black printing paper with luminesent paints.... she really glows under the lights.
Mark your calendars and plan to attend the event at the Camano Island Community & Senior Center on Arrowhead Road and help to save the Camano Island Library!
Tonight was the big celebration for the opening of the new wing of Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington, Washington. It is lovely!! I am very pleased with the placement of my three Hope paintings at the top of the staircase on a curved teal wall. They look great! It was exciting to see my name on a plaque...so professional!! It was also fun to see so many arts council buddies there along with many of our Rotary friends.
The roof top garden is amazing, the stained glass by Jack Archibald deserves a second look with some sunlight coming through, and the entrance makes you feel you've really stepped into some place special. Although I hope I won't be spending much time there, if I have to do so it will be a more pleasant experience with all these wonderful additons.
Arlington can be very proud..it may be a little town but they have a big heart and surround all they do with art from the community.
This is my first finished painting of 2010. I am happy to be back in the studio and producing paintings I really love. I was feeling abundant..warm and cozy after a wonderful holiday and it came through in the art. The colors are perfect in my dining room where Prosperity will reign until the show in Auburn at the end of this month. I've got another in the works (blues) and some new ideas for the texture.....I'm starting to feel I want to experiment again. You can see this one bigger and from different angles under Abstracts!!
Another red letter day for my art business. Forbidden Pools sold from the site using Paypal!! This is my first online sale. I believe this site to be very beneficial and really necessary for my art business but this is the first sale I have made directly from the site. I view it as a promotional tool more than a sales tool. I'm thinking most people want to see the actual art before buying and this really is a good thing as they do look different in real life. I have had people tell me they think they look better in real life as many are three dimensional and all most all have metallic paints that are hard to capture in a photo. So this is a first and makes me realize that it is possible to make sales from a web site. The fact that the customer is family and knows they can always trade it out for another if they don't like it hardly matters as I would allow a trade back in other cases as well.
WE had a joyous time hanging the new arrangement on Christmas Eve morning. Kim and John helped me get it all straight and Laurie was there to help us celebrate with coffees and treats. I wanted to wait until after the 23rd as I had a dinner party that night and wanted all my favorites up in my dining room! It is the first time Radiance has been displayed but the others are experienced and will surely show her the ropes!! I have had comments from Starbucks customers on my site so feel they are being enjoyed and appreciated.
This grouping will be up until some time in January. I am planning get togethers with some buddies..coffee and chats!! Lots of you will be getting my newsletter on the 27th so give me a call and we will meet under my paintings!!
Just completed a new 15" by 30" by 3" painting that started out as Harmony, but now I've decided Anticipation is the better name. I have attempted to get the colors right but she is still a little more purple than she really is. All the metallic paints makes photographing these babies a pain. I made her for my friend in Texas, but she will be hanging out with me for several months.
Currently she is hanging in the bedroom ....it's great to have my walls full again!! I have several places I'm displaying so this one could be out there soon.
