Dancing Queen ~ Stetson ~ Journal Pages

"Dancing Queen"
Acrylic 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 on paper
This was painted in the Robert Burridge workshop in Cloudcroft and was titled after our Canvas by Canvas group saw Mamma Mia. See previous post.
Here is the link to Bob's ArtsyFartsy Newsletter. It is informative and great reading if you've interested in painting. Thanks Bob and Kate for mentioning my blog in the August issue.
"Stetson"
8" square Acrylic
For a CBC project
I painted this Monday at the gallery for a project for Karen, one of our CBC members. Watch our sneak peak at the CBC website as soon as our webmistress, Betty, returns from a fabulous vacation. We have several projects going for our Petroleum show in October and the Fort Worth Community Arts Center Show in September.

Two CBC commissioned paintings were delivered to Doug Chestnut of Gables Villa Rosa on July 29. One of the largest art stores, Asels, in Dallas is across the street and then we had to check out Sam Moon's and it was cause for a whole page of a journal entry. Doug

I have been enjoying getting back to writing and drawing in my journal each day. I don't know how long it will last this time but it's been about a month now and I will post some of the entries. These are 4 pages during the Cloudcroft workshop. I am using the Canson Montval All Media 9 x 12 journal and using pen and watercolor and some collage.

Robert Burridge Workshop ~ Cloudcroft, NM ~ Monday

Bob's Tree Example


Bob ready to paint large and loose.


Cloudcroft Art Workshops

Robert Burridge 5 Day Workshop “The Burridge Plein Aire Experience”, June 7 - 11, 2008, Cloudcroft, New Mexico

Here we are acrylic painting in a charming mountain village and it is 9000 feet above stress level. There are about 20 students in the Cloudcroft Art Workshops, the number one workshop in New Mexico. We meet in a large room (the old study hall) of the Old Red Brick Schoolhouse that also houses the library. It rained Sunday and Monday so our outdoor plein air experience may be limited but the class is prepared to paint looser, bolder, and freer in the studio. We began that process today with Bob telling us “We all want to be better and the only way to be better is to paint a lot of bad paintings”. We discussed plans for the week, materials, warm-ups in black and white, with demos and then we were pumped and infused with confidence after being assured this was a “safe place” to be where we could paint for ourselves and our own approval. During the week we will be painting in a series, a series of “what ifs”. Bob is known for sharing information with his students and being accessible for questions. He cautioned that in a workshop setting a painter wouldn’t be doing his best work but can expect to have a couple of great paintings and lots of good starts. He assured us that this was our time as we’ve made the sacrifice to attend and he was present to help with any questions. At the end of the afternoon Bob discussed color and we began some color warm-ups. Students are escaping summer heat and enjoying Cloudcroft hospitality and the cool weather and rain. My Texas friends will find it hard to believe but we enjoyed a fire in the fireplace in our log cabin tonight. The Cloudcroft Art Workshops run classes from June to August, and each Sunday before workshops begin there is an opening reception and setup time from 6-7 p.m which removes lots of Monday morning stress of set up. Tuesday night they host a potluck social. Nice friendly folks here in Cloudcroft and several of the students are previous Burridge students, a high compliment to any instructor. This is my fourth Burridge workshop and I have 2 more planned. Kate Burridge, we miss you.

Acrylic Landscape Warm-up ~ Annual Spring Gallery Night

Acrylic Landscape #1


Acrylic Landscape #2


Acrylic Landscape #3


Acrylic Landscape #4


51/2" x 7 1/2" Acrylic on paper, no mat, no frame, no shipping charges

The two previous posts have discussed the Robert Burridge workshop at Dena's Ranch and how we "warmed up" with some painting exercises. Bob had completed a larger painting similar for Dena and he said we could use some of his Gold Holbein paint to experiment with. I loved his colors and tried some similar with some alcohol and paint splatters. I've never been a big fan of landscape painting or plein aire painting because painting trees and just perspective in general has been a bugaboo to me so I've signed up for the July 7-11 Burridge Plein Aire Experience in Cloudcroft.
The workshop will be done in watercolor out in the field and then with acrylics back in the studio so I will have much to learn. Bob is an encourager to artists and his teaching style is entertaining and informative. One morning at Dena's when we'd had to many coffees, Dr. Pepper's and Cokes and we laughing out of control and generally horsing around, instead of getting a little discouraged with us, Bob calmly said "I love your enthusiasm" and I'll never forget this kind of attitude as he makes taking risks easier.
Saturday night found 6 Canvas by Canvas artists Betty Taylor, Barbara Hackney, Maryann Stephens, Karen Foster, Cindy Yandell, and Nancy Standlee out on the Annual Spring Gallery Night. Next year we want our members, Connie Michael, Margie Whittington and Cindy Campbell to join us. We met in Arlington at the Upstairs Gallery where our friends, Maureen Brouillette and Joel Sampson, were having an opening of their mixed-media work, Double Entendre. In the slide show, you will see some of their work. I brought along my T.A. (travel assistant - Garmin Navigational device) and Cindy Y drove us to the Rebecca Low Sculptural Metal Gallery and Studio. I quickly decided maybe my art supplies didn't take up so much room after all after checking out her supplies out in back. Carotta, the door greeter, issued an alarm if you touched her "headlights" or rear bumper. Other artists are represented at this gallery.
Next was Galerie Kornye West where we viewed contemporary work and works from the 19th through the mid 20th century.
Artspace 111 highlighted more than 50 works of some of the most progressive artists in Fort Worth. There are several photos in the slide show taken here and they provided valet parking.
I always wish we'd started earlier so we could go to more galleries but we had the reception at The Fort Worth Community Arts Center and just had to take our photos by our work. FWCAC is in it's fifth year of serving the Fort Worth community as an exceptional venue of all of the arts. The CafeART will open soon to offer a delightful light fare menu, coffee and WiFi in a friendly environment.
Food always figures in anytime we get together and after a variety of great snacks at the galleries, we decided on the Blue Mesa on University Drive for some light fare of our own, their Painted Desert soup.
Thanks to the Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County for providing and operating the FWCAC. Canvas by Canvas will be having a special exhibit there in the summer and you will be sure to be notified.

Mouse over for captions of the slide show.