The Best Robe ~Acrylic Figure ~ Art Couture Gallery ~ Art Journal Pages

"The Best Robe"
16"x 20" Acrylic with collage on gallery wrapped Canvas
I had posted this painting March 1 and it is now at the Art Couture Gallery.


A reminder: If you click on a photo it will take you to a larger image.
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In Colorado and some notes on altitude sickness and treatment and a map, this time glued in.


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Going to Georgetown and a delay on I 70 for rock scaling and removal. I discovered Tommy Singer jewelry at the Santa Fe Trail, and Georgetown Gallery and Ruth Stewart's hot peppers and Maxine Gnazzo's watercolors. (also in Breckenridge at Art on a Whim I found a fellow Texan, Jeff Leedy's humorous work.)


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I took Pat Weaver's new DVD Animal Portraits in Watermedia from Creative Catalyst. It was very appropriate as a lot of Colorado friends have dog friends and a great photo op. Visit Pat's web site for a colorful treat. Cindy Y and I took a workshop with her in Ingram at HCAF several years ago.


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Back in Texas on a Saturday and a quick rush to the PCPC art opening to meet fellow CBC sisters, Cindy Y, Maryann, Karen and Connie, and on Sunday in spite of predicted showers, Maryann and Karen and I had to make it to the Southlake Art Fair.

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Disturbing reports of the first cases of Swine Flu and the more severe cases are in Mexico and no one knows why. Today Wednesday, April 29, I read about the first death in Texas of a Mexican child.
Later on in the week I'll post a slide show of some images and some links of some of our favorite artists from the Southlake Show. Stay well.

Glory ~ Art Couture Gallery ~ Art Journal Pages ~ CO.

"Glory"
12"x12" abstract on gallery wrapped canvas on a gold gesso base
After the Robert Burridge workshop I wanted to try to paint an abstract with his method and I had about 2 days before I left for a Colorado trip. During the workshop I did two pieces on gessoed paper but to reinforce the techniques I wanted to try it at home. The small work above is my effort and it is in the Art Couture Gallery in Dallas.


This is Bob in the workshop holding his abstract demo that I purchased and it is now in my studio. Thanks Bob and Kate for a great week and I love my painting. They will post some photos from the workshop on their web page soon.

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This covers the week from April 6-10 and has an acrylic abstract on the page. Watercolor just didn't have the qualities to do the negative painting used by this technique. Included is two of my favorite "Bobisms" "Love what you do and pass it on" and "It's all been done before, but not by you."

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Trying to unpack and pack and taking care of business but wanting to paint gives you a left-right brain duel, going to the Tony Saladino critique and on to the Art Couture Gallery, and then the LLS Gala (see a previous post), then lots of weather and driving through rain, sunshine and snow and making it to Raton NM on the way to Breckenridge, CO. Some quick sketches of roadside signs and one in particular, FREE 72 oz. steak if eaten in one hour near Amarillo at the Big Texan.
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Trying another map as Danny Gregory suggests and I'm reading The Creative License, and going to about 9700 elevation from about 650 in Arlington, whew! It's usually not a pretty site for a few days while I'm trying to breathe and walk at the same time. Drew the coffee cup I purchased at the Brown Burro Cafe in Fairplay where there were foot long icicles hanging from the roof. Going from a low at night of about 50's to the 20's, brrrrr.


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Ski season officially closed this day and enters into mud season, tried the art walk in Breckenridge and most galleries were closed. I painted my face green because it was hard to walk all bundled up and I hadn't adjusted to the altitude yet. Leadville's Western Hardware Antique Mall is always a must see. Seems like a lot of people like to decorate with roosters and chickens as in Zichittella's Italian in Leadville. Later I'll make a slide show of some of the photos along the trip. At first I thought I had the wrong camera setting as several were in black and white and then realized it was cloudy, snowy and there wasn't any color.

Tribal Line ~ Art Couture Gallery ~ Art Journal Pages

"Tribal Line"
Acrylic Figurative on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

After the Robert Burridge workshop I wanted to paint abstracts and have painted two that I will post later but I keep going back to figures. These figures were painted on a toned canvas. Bob had done a painting with a girl with bright red boots so this is my interpretation. It was accepted in the Art Couture Gallery in Dallas.


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Unpacking from the Anne Bagby workshop and wanting to make a chop but just drew it instead. Shirley Trevena's new DVD, "Breaking the Rules of Watercolour", arrived from England and I just had to collage some of the mailing envelope. Check out Shirley's blog here.

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One of my babies turned 51, oh, my. On that day he texted "51 years ago we had us a day."
Here is Theresa's baked oatmeal recipe and you can find more about it at the Artist Food Network. Drawing looks pretty bad at the top of the oatmeal box but I have an excuse because I was in a big, big hurry.

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Not fun days as I was gathering info for income tax, and I've watched the Trevena DVD and she says forget perspective and gather up some of your favorite things and paint them. I chose my mother's biscuit cutter, my favorite coffee drinking cup, a gift from my daughter, a cut glass toothpick holder that my father used every day, and the bottom of the pointy bill holder because it was old and interesting and I didn't pay any attention to perspective. I started Burridge packing.

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Still unpacking and packing and I've been wanting to draw better so I've gone back to some favorite drawing books:
1. Danny Gregory
2. Dan Price
3. Bert Dodson
4. Betty Edwards
I watched 2 granddaughters and if I hadn't drawn around their hands I'd never noticed that Mattie's little fingers had fingernails so short the ends of her fingers were visible (biting nails) and Grace had 2 fake nails on her 5 3/4 year old fingers.
(I hope this type face isn't an inch high. I'm working on a 13 inch laptop and it's hard for me to decide exactly the font size I need) I will post some Burridge adbstracts next.

Acrylic Figure ~ Waiting to Dance ~ Burridge Workshop ~ LLS

"Waiting to Dance"
Acrylic Figure 12" x 9"
Gallery wrapped canvas

This painting was done in the Robert Burridge workshop last week. See the previous blog post for a slide show of pieces from that 5 day event.
I delivered the small acrylic painting on Saturday to the Fort Worth Community Art Center for a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Art Auction and Cocktail Party. This is the LLS's third art auction and charity event that benefits "Light the Night Walk". It involves artists, cancer survivors, and community members and last year the event raised more than $30,000. More information about A Cure Through Art click HERE.
The sponsors hope to double the amount raised last year.
The Title:
It is a struggle for me to give a painting a meaningful title. On the drive over to Fort Worth I heard one of my favorite songs, "I Hope You Dance", by Lee Ann Womack and memories returned surrounding the time when I first heard the song. I named this painting "Waiting to Dance".

Robert Burridge Workshop #6 ~ Texas

Figurative Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas 9" x 12"
I painted the two above and sold them during the workshop.

There is no where I'd rather be on a Monday morning than at a Robert Burridge workshop and those wishes were granted last week in Irving, Texas. The 5 day workshop was presented by the SWS watercolor organization with about 22 in the class and oh, what a time we had. We painted and laughed and laughed and painted. It was especially meaningful to me as 3 of my Canvas by Canvas sisters were there painting along with Bob.
Bob mentioned that Wayne Thiebaud was a great and gentle teacher. I will add that I think Bob is a great and inspiring teacher with a spirit overflowing with enthusiasm. His mantra is "Love what you do and pass it on."
This was my sixth Burridge workshop and I don't plan for it to be my last. I may have heard some of the jokes before (but I still laugh) but he is always painting something he's never seen before and inspiring the class to do the same.
It was a busy week as he gave a demo on Wednesday night at the SWS meeting and on Thursday, he and his wife, Kate, gave a marketing class. If you haven't gone to their web site and signed up for the ArtsyFartsy newsletter, you're missing out on a lot of free information, hints, and ideas. He and Kate left for California with some advice "Work larger, Show up and Do your best." They are a busy couple giving about 33 week long workshops a year and I encourage you to sign up today as it will change your painting life and outlook. It will be a week of playing in a totally safe place and painting with lovely new friends.

Enjoy the slide show below and mouse over for some captions.

Anne Bagby Workshop ~ Artists' Showplace ~ Texas Art Blog

Approximately 5" square image made from a collage of handmade papers from the Anne Bagby workshop held at Artists' Showplace. This example was placed in my journal. I made the face area from a page of the 1924 The Outline of History by H.G. Wells. I like some of the text to show.
Anne

Project on a 12" square of deli wrap of handmade papers done Saturday, colored and stamped and collaged. Anne said keep it simple and watch your values. This was anything but simple and it was too much the same value so I added lots of line work. Today I covered a 7" x 10" journal with the page. On the inside I'd pasted a Dan Burt drawing from his workshop. This journal will be used for drawing more than journaling. Anne says she takes the paper out to cover the journals but I worked around the rings and ran a line of paint connecting the edges. Not as neat but it's still together from someone who can't reassemble a ballpoint pen.


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A trip to Aggie land for a wedding and seeing my first bluebonnets.

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Still on the move but time to check out Grace Haverty's sketches. Packing, packing again for the Bagby workshop and it is a 3 day from Thursday to Saturday.
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Anne's card, her chop, some instructions and my small work for my journal. See the stamp at the left of the image...it's an Anne Bagby original I won by using the most line - hope she doesn't ask for it back after she reads this post. Some of us Southern girls in watercolor workshops find great comfort sipping a cup of Earl Gray and applying a watercolor or two but mixed media artists are a different breed. They work really fast and do what's called "speed collage". I'm a Southern Texan. I work slow, talk and hear even slower and like to have time to inquire about my neighbor's Mama occasionally. Don't let Anne Bagby's diminutive size mislead you. She's a one woman dynamo, spewing forth tips, orders, suggestions, and ideas in a rapid lively way and hence the notation in my journal of "General" Bagby. I may have exaggerated a little when I wrote in my journal she said "Move it, Nancy" but I sat at the front table and was under her all seeing eye. At times she did remind me I needed to forge ahead.
I was glad I'd ordered her DVD from Creative Catalyst as I was a little more prepared to know what to expect. We cut out stamps and made our papers on Thursday and Friday and worked on our projects on Saturday - when I got to have a cup of tea while working. I've learned new paper and stamp making techniques, met a fascinating new instructor, made some new friends and visited with some old ones at Artists Showplace. They have a great facility for workshops and provide individuals with nice long tables and the owners are helpful and encouraging. Restaurants are close by and there is plenty of parking for unloading art supplies.
Another treat was Anne's show, Prototypes in Paper in the gallery and we could view many of her 12" canvases. The show will hang during March.
Thanks, Anne, for your patience and explanations. On Saturday, we packed away our supplies and cleared off the tables leaving only our handmade paper and our projects then each student had a show and tell time. The hand stamped and painted papers were amazing and beautiful and now for more projects with our wonderful papers.

On Friday night a student of Anne's, Dianne Hicks, stopped by. She has been to France with her and taken other workshops in the states. Her web site is a treat.

I've included a slide show of some of the activities during the workshop:

More Watercolor Roosters ~ Iron Horse Inn ~ Art Journal Pages

Watercolor Rooster #2 with an Acrylic Background
9" x 11"
I have not tried this before - mixing acrylics and watercolors but my watercolor background became muddy so I just painted it with acrylics. I would have tried gouache but they were at home and I was at the Iron Horse Inn with my CBC sisters.

Watercolor Rooster #3
9"x11"

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It rained a lot so it was a great time to splatter, the Courthouse Square in Granbury has been described as one of the most complete examples of a late 19th century courthouse squares in Texas, the Iron Horse Inn was a great place for a long weekend spent painting and eating. You can find more recipes at Bed and Breakfast. Theresa at the Iron Horse has shared a wonderful recipe for her baked oatmeal that I will post soon on the Artists Food Network. We had a great lunch at the Merry Heart Tea Room on the square and a visit with a Tarleton alum at the Rio Grande Mercantile. For more Granbury information click here.

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Don't we hate, hate computer problems and here I am pulling out my non-existent red hair. I thought my desk top computer had fried but after hauling the cpu to Fry's and troubleshooting with APC, I found out the battery back up had malfunctioned. Thanks APC.Com for sending me a replacement and I'm now up and running and thanks to a guru grandson who spent several hours out of a busy life attaching wires to batteries and finding where all the right plugs went. Here's my new travel laptop and then to try it out heading out to San Marcus on the Pickle Parkway after a stop at Heitmiller's Steak House in Elm Mott. A fun trip to Smitty's Market in Lockhart to eat Barbecue off a piece of paper. In the next post I'll include a slide show of some of the fun images from this favorite place for really good barbecue.


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I went with a friend to the Austin Medical Center, a visit with Stan and Joyce and enjoyed seeing beautiful orchids filling their house and greenhouse. We visited Texas State University to see the Lonesome Dove exhibit on the first floor of the Alkek Library while the 7th floor was under construction. It just makes me see red when I think about what a big, big mistake Larry McMurtry made when he killed off Gus in Lonesome Dove. I was so bummed when he died. Lonesome Dove's duo, Augustus "Gus" McCrae and Woodrow F. Call, our loved Texas Rangers turned cattle drivers, can be seen again at the Wittliff Collection and it will help preserve our cultural heritage of the Southwest and this unforgetable series. I thought it so interesting to see Deet's pants in the exhibit. They were made from an old quilt with leather patches on the inside legs and knees. Thanks to Mr. Wittliff to making this collection available. If you love Lonesome Dove please check out this collection. There was also a wrapped fake body, minus a leg that was Gus..not my favorite part because there should have been a Lonesome Dove 1, and 2 and 3. On to Lincoln and lunch at the Elm Creek Cafe, to College Station and a Rehearsal dinner at the Ozona Grill and Bar. Texas Monthly had a December issue about the 40 best small town Texas cafes and the Elm Creek Cafe was included. Later I'll include a slide show of some of the sites and from the museum collection.