Burridge Workshop, Day 5, October 5 ~Mendocino Art Center ~ Art Blog

Dancers
11x15 acrylic on gessoed paper
This was an end of the day exercise and I gave my girls some colorful clothes.

On the student slide show on the previous post, I’ve added two new students. Merry decided she would hold up her table cover as it was so attractive after her paint splatters. Marcia holds up her canvas painting and if you see it anywhere please let us know as when she got ready to pack up she couldn’t find it. Marcia, I do hope its safe at home with you now.

Oh, how we hate to pack up and leave on the last day of this wonderful experience: beautiful workshop in a beautiful setting. I planned to paint, but never got my brush wet on Day 5. We had a group meeting in the morning and Bob answered questions and gave advice on photographing work, getting into shows, copyright, signature, how to approach a gallery, framing, matting, marketing. He cautioned us to remember we’re not in the framing business, but in the painting business. His advice on matting got a big laugh when he said when he judges shows, one of the first things he does is look at the mat and if it looks like it’s been cut with a butter knife, out it goes. He complimented our group and said we’d been a good class and that boils down to not having to deal with a bunch of prima donnas. From the first day he wanted us to have a good attitude. This is not the time to paint your masterpiece but time to have fun experimenting with new techniques and soar outside our comfort zone. I beamed when he complimented my drawings as I don’t consider myself a good drawer. Now I’ll try even harder.
I’ve felt like I was in a protected art cocoon and didn’t hear a radio or turn on the TV all week. We left about 3:00 and took off towards Willits and Sacramento on California 20 and saw many of those twisty, curvy signs again telling drivers to stay within 10 to 25 MPH and “Slower traffic use turnouts”. I was still in a art haze until Williams and we stopped at a convenience store for a snack. Here was a fellow on a cell phone leaning over his truck engine trying to figure out what was wrong, Mothers with hungry children in line to pay for their fast food so now I’m forced back out into the real world dealing with everyday human problems, traffic, and flight schedules. Art hibernation has been complete with the exception of my must have email news from my Canvas by Canvas painting group.
Regrets? I would say there would be one. There are numerous galleries in each town and I didn’t have time to check out each one of them. Instead we drove south on Saturday after arriving, towards Mendocino and Point Arena and then Anderson Valley to the wineries. On Sunday called for a drive towards the redwoods, taller than any other living thing, so we could to see the country. We stayed at the Ebb Tide Lodge in Fort Bragg.


If some wanted a workshop break and they could walk into town for a quick lunch. Everyday was sunny with perfect temperate coastal weather and warm enough if you were sitting on the patio eating in the sun. Flower gardens and plants were blooming in this most picturesque of cities to entice us away from our day’s project.
If you ever travel this way, the Host airport hotel in Sacramento is right across the street from the airport. Friday evening after turning in our Budget rental, we grabbed a luggage cart and pushed it to our room to load it down Saturday. It was easy work from what could have been a daunting task for 2 seniors. Because I was afraid of having overweight baggage, one bag was 50 and one 51 pounds on the way out, we got a thrift store bag and loaded it up with art supplies. It is a challenge to fly and take an acrylic drawing/painting workshop, but Bob said “You don’t have to bring everything on the list”. Oh, you don’t understand, Bob. I want to bring everything on the list.
On the flight home in the early morning we saw the Grand Canyon and the first light dusting of snow on the mountains, then lots and lots of crop irrigation circles and I sketched some to use in a future painting. Good to be back in Texas and we got our bags loaded up and turned on a good country station looking for some Willie Nelson. Bob brings his “own” I pod music and plays it during painting and he tells us or maybe “warns” us to get prepared as “It’s my sandbox”. Oh, yes, a stop at a favorite barbecue café for some sliced brisket and sausage, beans, potato salad, and lots of iced tea for our nearly 90 degree day with hope of scattered showers.
All I want to do is go home and paint on some of the starts from the workshop but suitcases never made it in the house as I loaded them in the back of my Rav4 minus a few washables for a trip to Lubbock Texas the next day, Sunday, October 7, and a week at a Carla O’Connor workshop. I know. I know. But that's just how they were scheduled and I wanted to take both of them. I'll rest another day. More to follow.


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