Christmas Floral ~ Art Journal Pages ~ Merry Christmas

12" x 12" acrylic on Canvas Board
"Christmas Floral"
Painted in the Robert Burridge "Loose and Juicy Florals" workshop in Corpus Christi in October.

Journal Page 51
A little late talking about Thanksgiving but I use an old Lone Star Gas recipe for dressing that appeared in Nov. 1960 and we sorted some old family photos from my parent's estate. I did some babysitting and we watched a lot of T.V. and ate chicken strips.

Journal page 52
My kitchen got a new Christmas gift - a new disposer and it was a surprise for sure as it just blew up and then caused an under sink clean up that moved on to other kitchen cabinets and the stove top. More days of sorting clothes and stuff that was too boring to list individually. My decorating is done when the small ceramic Christmas tree is placed on the wash stand. The boxes of decorations in the attic can wait another year. CBC had a Christmas party at Maryann's and our group photo is at the end of the post. Early the next morning some family members and I took off driving two vehicles to Denver for a grand daughter's college graduation. I'd never made it without my new GPS which I think I'm naming "Sugar Foot", a term my long ago father-in-law used for my children and I've liked the name ever since. My GPS is sure a love and a life saver especially when traveling in the dark in the snow and ice in unfamiliar territory.

Journal Page 53 - Our Christmas Party
Maryann gave us all a lovely black apron that had our name and Canvas by Canvas on it. At our Chinese auction I received a led light for my notebook computer. The faces are made up people that are fun to paint.

Journal Page 54
We drove straight through to Colorado Springs and ate sandwiches that I'd prepared and spent Friday night in Colorado Springs and on to Denver on Saturday. We drove around Manitou Springs, saw a parade and toured some around the Springs. On Sunday in Denver, we woke up to snow and lots of it. My Rav 4 has a warning system if a tire pressure needs to be adjusted so by 8:00 a.m my son and I were in Wal-Mart's tire department getting a tire repaired after a warning light appeared. We just made it to pick up Cindy and Meaghen to go to the brunch at 11:00 before Madison's graduation at 2:00. She graduated from the Metropolitan State College of Denver with 2 degrees, biology and chemistry. We were so proud of her and we were so thankful to be able to make the trip. We left one truck for Mad and headed for Raton about 5:30 and cold, brrrr, and the tire inflation pressure light comes on again and the outside temp was registering minus 2 degrees. Oh, what to do?

Journal Page 55
The tires appeared o.k. and the weather was not agreeable for stopping so on Mon. morning we were on the road from Raton and there was ice and snow with a slight snow and sleet near Clayton and all the while we were thinking "When are we going to have our flat?" Once home my first stop was the Toyota dealership and it seems the spare has one of the low tire sensors on it and the spare was LOW and the tires on the road were fine. Now to read my car book more thoroughly. Medical checkup and draw blood samples and a shingles shot - now I'm ready for Santa to come and he was good to me.
Canvas by Canvas wishes all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

More Floral Warm Ups - Artists' Showplace ~ Art Journal Pages

Floral Warm Up Corpus #4

Floral Warm Up Corpus #5
Floral Warm Up Corpus #6

These are 9.5" x 6.5" acrylic on gesso watercolor paper and were completed in the Robert Burridge Workshop in Corpus Christi. See previous posts about the workshop.
I paint with a collaborative group of Texas artists, Canvas by Canvas, and we have become associates with Artists' Showplace Art Gallery. On Tuesday some of us hung our wall space, went to lunch (absolutely) and then trekked to Sam Moon's for some quick shopping. I had to buy a bag that has studs and sequins and hope my friends will still let me hang out with them. We will have a reception at Artists' Showplace November 14 and more info will follow.
NS, CY, BGH, MAS at Artists' Showplace after the hanging.
In Vino Veritas I painted the top and second center row squares, C and H and after looking at my Robert Burridge painting, I think more wine bottles will be in store for me. I love these colors. Stop by Artists' Showplace and see this one in person. You won't be sorry.

Art Journal Pages:

Here I was practicing on my rock painting. Watch for a future post about rocks and cigars. I first learned how to paint rocks in a Lynn McLain workshop several years ago in New Mexico so this was a practice.
Oh, what fun to go to college reunions. I attended Tarleton State, Stephenville, TX, when it was a 2 year college in 1954-1956 and now they are a University and no longer Plowboys but Texans. There are plans for a larger facility for the alumni meetings but for this weekend we had our Golden Reunion dinner under a large tent, rented from Aquila and Priscilla.
The weather corporated beautifully. The Gates Are Always Open is above the door at the nearby Alumni Relations House and trust me, the staff and director, Paul Koonsman, make us all feel at home. The house has recently been renovated and it was built in 1915 by then Tarleton president, James F. Cox at a cost of $2,800. Notes were found written on the walls during the restoration. This fall the enrollment at Tarleton hit 9,642 but when I was there that was not the case but the ratio of boys to girls was extreme and great percentages for having a date. Tarleton was such a perfect place for kids from the surrounding little towns to study and have the privilege of meeting great friends and sharing the Tarleton experience. Dr. Stuart Chilton was the faculty advisor for the newspaper, J-Tac and the purple annual, The Grassburr, and he was instrumental in getting the staff from those publications during 1953-1958 home for a reunion. I was the editor of the Grassburr in 1955-1956 and it was fun riding on the flat bed truck in the parade on Saturday and remembering old, carefree times and hugging a lot of grey haired seniors.

In the middle of all the Tarleton festivities, I had to leave for Corpus for the "Loose and Juicy Floral" Robert Burridge workshop. I usually work in the Canson all media book with watercolor but decided to do a floral in acrylic on page 44 and I like the effect of using different media in my journal. Corpus has some great seafood restaurants and I like to cut and paste when I don't have a lot of time to record where and what I ate.
At Tarleton over the weekend someone asked me how I remembered we had Cheese Whiz and Ginger Ale in the dorm for a party and the reason is I took a photo and then wrote below it in my scrapbook. I don't need a reminder to recall how we couldn't wear pants or jeans on campus and rolling up the pants legs under a long coat to get out of the dorm and the watchful eye of our dorm mother. But after these nostalgic weekends, my wish is that I'd recorded more as memory dulls and that is why we always welcome back old alumni, maybe they'll bring some fresh stories we haven't repeated several times.

FWCAC Biennial Show 2008 ~ Acrylic Floral Warm-ups ~ Burridge Workshop

Acrylic Floral #2

Acrylic Floral #3

Acrylic Floral #4

5 1/2" x 7 1/2" Acrylic on Paper

These are warm-up exercises I did at the Robert Burridge Workshop. See yesterday's post.
Bob has developed this way of working with warm-ups and cool-downs. He likens his warm-ups to the practice of an athlete with a stretching exercise or a musician playing some scales before the actual performance. As a painter, he's getting ready to paint and this is a loosening up exercise first thing in the morning on a toned canvas or paper. He completes multiple paint sketches of the same subject and each day will choose a different subject and then paints 3 to 6 small paintings. Not all of these will be little gems and some can end up in the turkey pile but this will teach about color, subject matter, and "how to paint". Bob works fast and loose, lets the small paintings dry, goes back and adds the wow! His method is explained in his "Loosen Up: Workbook and Studio Notes", a 130 page book on pages 71-74.
These are floral warm-ups 2-4 that I have posted today that I completed at the workshop at Dena's and will post 5-8 later.
Saturday is Gallery night in Fort Worth when the art galleries will be open and the party moves from gallery to gallery. I'd like to invite you to begin at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center and see my painting, "Delightfully Timeless" and the work of Canvas by Canvas, The Red Lantern. Gaile Robinson, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, art and design critic, has written a story with a photograph of the artists. This show is open to the North Texas community and no one gets a rejection slip and works are hung as they arrive. Prices are ranging from $15-$5,000 so there is something for all art collectors in the area. All Canvas by Canvas artists are in the panoramic photo except Cindy Y and I. We were both in the Hill Country on separate trips and we missed out. Look for Barbara Hackney, Karen Foster, Maryann Stephens, Cindy Campbell, Margie Whittington, Betty Taylor, and Connie Michael. Read the article and see the photo online. Be sure and click on the 360-degree view link so you can see the photograph. Oh, I see Colleen, Soon, Marie and Jo Ann, also. Do you see a familiar face? You can see "Delightfully Timeless" by the exit doorway, to the right and there is a piece of sculpture pointing to it . If you're a painter, try some of Bob's warm-up techniques and I'll see you Saturday night somewhere on the art gallery walk. More information can be found at the Fort Worth Art Dealers Association.

Daffodil Painting Series #4 of 4 ~ Art Groups DFW

$40.00 each

Daffodil Series #4 of 4

Weekend Sale 2 Daffodil series $60.00 or 4 Daffodil Series 1-4 for $100.00

5” x 7” watercolor with light beige mat

How do you get visitors to your web site or blog site? There are many opinions to that question. This week I invited everyone in my address book and that gives you pause. You’re afraid that Yahoo will think you’re a spammer or your friends will not appreciate you filling up their inbox. Fortunately I’ve had some positive response and thanks to you who have subscribed. One email came from Sharon Giles from the Art Groups DFW and she asked me to contribute an article on blogging and my art blog. You can read the article here.

The web site is a hub for the DFW area artists and those living in the North Texas area. It is The Place to discover what is happening in the art scene in the metroplex and surrounding area.
It is devoted to news of art events hosted by nonprofit visual art groups as well as news about their member artists. Artists can find out about exhibits, meetings, art instruction, and opportunities. You may find a exhibit you would like to visit over the weekend.

Or take a cruise over to Canvas by Canvas.com and see our mini paintings of high heels and cupcakes. We have reduced the prices to make them affordable for gifts - maybe an early Christmas present. It is always a difficult process to find the correct selling price for a painting. We have reached the conclusion that these were priced more than some competitive paintings. Our goal is to sell so we can keep painting. Your comments on this would be appreciated. Since lowering the price to $40.00 earlier today, one has been sold so that tells us something.

I hope you have an enjoyable weekend. I wish on these little holidays you take the right exit and you travel without any warning lights appearing on your dashboard.

Other blogs where I post:

http://artistfoodnetwork.blogspot.com

http://canvasbycanvas.blogspot.com

http://myspace.com/nancystandlee

TO PURCHASE PAINTINGS: Go to Paypal on http://nancystandlee.blogspot.com

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Ranch Blossoms ~Bestest Blog ~ Bestest Workshop ~ Bestest Art Blog ~ Art Blog

Ranch Blossoms $190.00
16” x 12”, Acrylic on watercolor paper adhered to gallery wrapped canvas ¾” profile
Last summer I had a delightful workshop on a ranch near Marble Falls. I first saw Robert Burridge’s work on the Cheap Joe’s Art Catalog. It was a a series of coffee cups similar to the ones offered on the Amazon link and I was smitten. That is the power of a painting. I had to know more about this artist and his technique. I purchased his book, his cd’s and tapes, and decided I’d go anywhere to take a workshop. Ranch Blossoms is one of the pieces begun in that workshop. We painted in a metal building with the doors open as there wasn’t air conditioning and this was Texas in September. We wore wet towels around our necks to stay cool. It was glorious.

Now I’ve scheduled a figurative workshop with him in October in Mendocino, California. Bob states in his book Loosen Up

“Remember, all this thinking and creating is just
a game. There is no ultimate significance to it all. However, it’s the best
game there is. I only know that I’m happy to play the game and I paint. But
what it is that I am about to paint, what happens, I never know in advance.”

When I was painting that week at Dena Wenmohs Ranch, I didn’t plan this painting. It just happened. I call the painting “Ranch Blossoms” a mystical name for a mystical painting. It was hot and dusty and one of the most creative weeks I’ve ever had. No TV, out in the country with the donkeys who followed you on the short walk to the main house for lunch at Dena’s home, just eating, talking, dreaming painting.

Bobby Griffin over at the Bestest Blog http://www.bestestblog.com/ is setting up a new directory this morning. I will post more about it later.
http://www.blankestblank.com/

Thanks to Peter Chen's Blogger Tips and Tricks article I was able to get the workshop photo in the middle of the page!! Yoo-Hoo!

I just knew "bestest" wouldn't be in the dictionary but surprise at Dictionary.com I found this entry. It's slang and had one entry. It will probably NOT be my new favorite word.