Back from Arts Goggle Fort Worth

I've been back from Arts Goggle for a week, but had to get some commissions finished and I'm just now having time to update my blog.

There was a great turnout at Arts Goggle. I didn't take too many photos, but I did take one when one of my collectors showed up. This was the first time meeting in person. What a surprise to meet Malatha! She took home this bird painting.

 

 My venue was Wells, Purcell and Kraatz, a law firm on Pennsylvania Avenue. The house is on the historic registry and was quite beautiful. And I couldn't go to the big city without doing a painting about the big city. 

 

About an hour before it was over, we all took a stroll through the other venues on our block. It was a beautiful night. Thanks for everyone that came out, and thank you Texas for the invitation!

One our way home from Texas, we ended up traveling 45 minutes with the Run To The Wall bikers. I will upload a few pics on my next post. It was quite an experience! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Painting with Don Cincone

The Ouachita River Art Gallery recently hosted an art workshop. A group of local artists spend 4 days painting with internationally known artist, Don Cincone earlier this month. Don's paintings are in the collection of many high profile people (such as the late Walt Disney). His background includes fashion design as well as painting and teaching. It was a privilege to be able to glean from his wisdom. His biography is fascinating. It's well worth the time reading it.

Mr. Cincone worked with each of the artists on "their own style". He focused on creativity and stressed that copying art is not creating - but creating something out of nothing is.

On the second day, we brought some of our artwork that we had previously completed for a critique. We all talked about what we liked about each other's art work. This also helped Mr. Cincone see our unique style which further helped him in directing us. Having him look at my previous art and hearing feedback from him on what he "saw" was extremely beneficial to me. It was probably the single most important information for me personally from this workshop. In a sense, it gave me a license to "continue to be me".

In addition, hearing him speak to each artist about their work was also beneficial. I learned hearing him talk about each piece, each person's style, and how they can use this to further develop their art.

 

He recommended various artists to study as well as books to read that may or may not have anything to do with art directly. He is a wealth of information.

We plan to have him back again - very soon! Everyone enjoyed their week together.


And on a sidenote, I'm the featured artist today on the Mixed Media May website! Check it out. There is a new featured artist every day this month.

Happy painting and thanks for stopping by.

Blend of the Bayou and Artists

I had the opportunity to be a part of a wonderful event this past weekend. Every year the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council hosts a fundraiser called "Blend of the Bayou". Over 50 of the area's top chefs cook a sampling of various foods that include shrimp, gumbo, catfish, barbeque and anything in between. They also have a "Bayou Gallery" which includes some of the area's most prominent artists and crafts people offering their work for silent bidding. I was thrilled when I received my invitation to participate in this event.

 
Three of my fellow gallery colleagues also participated in this event. It was fun hanging out together visiting: Linda Ward Snider, Don Hudnell aka Dirt Dauber, Emily Brodnax and myself.

 It was held near the water in a beautiful home in the area, nestled under the shade of enormous oak trees.
 

It was nice to talk to people that stopped by my table. Some were collectors. I met some new people and heard such wonderful positive feedback. I love hearing feedback from people.

The countdown is on for my trip to the Fort Worth Art Crawl, and I have so much to do. It will be here before you know it. If any of you are in the Fort Worth Area, please look for me at Arts Goggle. See my previous post for details.

Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to leave your footprints in the comments section. Have a great week!
 

Arts Goggle in Fort Worth, Texas May 19

I'm so excited at a new adventure that I'll be embarking on in less than three weeks. I'm going to be one of the participating artists in a huge art crawl in Fort Worth, Texas. I was invited two months ago to participate in the Spring Arts Goggle 2012. The date for Arts Goggle is Saturday, May 19.,

This year 70 businesses in the Near Southside will become art venues and open their doors to show off the work of a variety of local artists. The public is invited to park their cars and rediscover this revitalized urban neighborhood by foot, Molly the Trolley, bicycle or pedi-cab. For the third time, the event will take place on Saturday afternoon instead of Friday evening, with extended hours to allow visitors time to enjoy all the art and music. ArtsGoggle visitors strolling along Magnolia Avenue after dark will see how the recently installed tree lights have transformed that street into one of Fort Worth’s most distinctive destinations, as well as Main Street and Park Place.

ArtsGoggle is presented by Fort Worth South, Inc., the non-profit redevelopment organization working to revitalize this important urban neighborhood. Each year record ArtsGoggle attendance attests to the success of Fort Worth South, Inc. and the Near Southside community.

If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I hope you can attend. I'll be showing my art at:

Wells, Purcell & Kraatz
1619 Pennsylvania Ave.

The date of Arts Goggle is Saturday, May, May 19 and the times are 4pm - 10pm.

I hope to see you there!

Homegrown Celebrities - Duck Dynasy

I'm taking a swerve from the topic of art to share about one of our family's favorite new TV shows, Duck Dynasty. Duck Dynasty is filmed in our small-ish community, and so many of the places used for filming are places we are very familiar with. We sometimes see friends of ours in the scenes. The show is about a 30+ year old family-run business making duck calls. Yes, duck calls. For those of you that may not be from a hunting community, hunting is big - VERY big in Louisiana. I have heard women talk about being "hunting widows" when hunting season starts. I have been fortunate that my hubby hasn't been bit by the hunting bug, but I'm secretly envious of those that have a freezer full of venison in the fall. :)

So, if you get a chance, tune into A&E on Wednesday evenings at 9Central time. It's all FUN. Most of what you see is not really "reality" (they didn't really buy that vineyard), but it's so funny to watch because you never know what they will say.

The Robertson's family (the Duck Dynasty people) spoke at their local church recently and invited visitors to "Camo" day. I took my daughter who was so happy to be there. She met them and had a photo autographed.

 

My daughter with Willie and Korie Robertson from Duck Dynasty.

May is going to be a busy month. Tomorrow night I'm attending an art auction for a local medical service clinic. I've donated a large 30" x 30" painting that will be used as a door prize. This was inspired by my recent trip to New Orleans.

 

I have one more event to attend in the next 10 days that will be quite fun, then I'm off to Dallas on May 19 for a huge art crawl. If you are in the Dallas area, check back for more details!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Mixed Media Art - Vintage Girls and Cute Houses

I love painting, but sometimes a girl just wants to have fun "playing" - and that is where my paper crafting comes back in the picture, literally speaking. Have you seen the cute "She Art" product designed by Christy Tomlinson and manufactured via Pink Paislee? I've had sooo much fun playing with this product.

I added a few items from my stash. this was so much fun! Here's little house I made:

Both of these were done using reclaimed wood. They were really fun and simple to create. I'm going to be making a couple of these for teacher appreciation day gifts.

I wanted to give you a heads  up on a new exciting new website that is coming in May. It's called "Mixed Media May" and each day throughout the month a different Mixed Media artists will be highlighted. Bookmark the site and check it out.


I've been busy painting, painting and more painting. I'll share some more art soon.


Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day and pass it on.

Chalkfest 2012

Chalkfest is a yearly event at Bolton High in Alexandria, Louisiana. Every spring the art department invites 50-60 students to spend the day recreating beautiful and colorful works of art in chalk pastels on the concrete hallway in front of the school. This spring, the weather didn't cooperate and the students were moved indoors and given paper to work on. When the parents saw the works, many inquired about purchasing the art, so these beautiful creations are now going to be auctioned as a fundraiser for the art department.

I was contacted because the students chose one of my paintings to be recreated, and what a wonderful job they did! I was given permission to use the photos of the students with their creation to share on my blog. I'm in awe at their beautiful work and secretly wish I were a student in their art department. :)

 Here are some pics of the students recreating "Happy Hour For Two".

You can see more of the students in action at Bolton High Student Art Photos. Thank you, Tracie Campbell, for contacting me about this project. I'm honored that they chose my art. Keep up wonderful work with these talented young people.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.