Tuesday, May 29, 2012

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.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

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.

Monday, May 7, 2012

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!