Thanks for a great 2012!

I've been so busy in the past two months that I haven't updated my blog. Plus, my husband *won* and ipad and I've been spending all my time on it and haven't taken time to get to the computer to upload pics.

I participated in the Art With A View event which is a huge fundraiser for the Monroe Symphony Orchestra in November.

Here is one of the pieces I created for the event. (It's been sold).

(Indian Summer, 30x24 - sold)

I've been filling commissions and baking cookies and spending time at our Christmas production practices. It's been a whirlwind season. I'm typing in my PJ's getting ready for family movie night just after taking down the Christmas tree. I have white candles in the fireplace and on the mantle and am about to enjoy a dinner of ... pizza! Love cozy winter nights.

Here are a few Christmas photos - let's call them "Christmas Past" (yes, I'm being sentimental)

and of course,  "Christmas Present"

And a Happy New Year to you! Thanks for stopping by.

Lastest Painting - Psalm 17

Just popped in to share a quick photo of my latest painting inspired by Psalm 17:8. It will be at tomorrow night's Gallery Crawl in West Monroe at the Ouachita River Art Gallery from 5-9pm.

I'm not happy with the quality of this photo so I'll be waiting for the morning light tomorrow to get a better image. Thanks for stopping by. Come to the art crawl Thursday!!

True Colors Art Reception

Thanks to everyone that came out to the "True Colors" art reception at Crescent City Coffee Shop. I was so surprised to have internationally known artist Don Cincone stop by. I took a workshop from him earlier this year. What a talented artist as well as instructor. I felt so special that he made the trip - "just for me" as he said.

Dr. Cain Budds from Louisiana Tech University provided classical guitar music for the event. It was the perfect addition to the show. I was very impressed with his music and may secure him for one of our art events. If you are looking for someone to provide sophisticated live music for one of your events, weddings or dinner parties, contact the university and get in touch with him!

I was interviewed a few weeks ago by the Tech Talk, the La. Tech University's newspaper, and the article is due out this week. Can we say nervous? Why? Maybe because I was sipping on a venti frappe from Starbucks and was quite chatty? LOL. We'll see how that goes later this week.

Here are a couple of pieces at the "True Colors" show.

"True Colors" 24" x 24"

To purchase contact North Central Louisiana Arts Council, 318-255-1450.

"Mr. Know-It-All"

To purchase contact North Central Louisiana Arts Council, 318-255-1450.

 The Downtown Gallery Crawl is THIS Thursday! Make Ouachita River Art Gallery AKA The River Gallery, your first stop during this night of fun, food and art.  The River Gallery will have musician/singer/songwriter Amanda McDowell. The Gallery Crawl times are 5pm-9pm. We are at 308 Trenton Street / Antique Alley in West Monroe. The gallery just redesigned the way the members hang their art, so be sure to stop by any time to see. It's open Tues-Sat from 10am-5pm. phone 318-322-2380.

Don't forget to "like" my facebook page to keep up with the latest news!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!

Paradise

Just another day in paradise.....
Loving the gulf coast just days after Isaac's visit. We have one of most beautiful condo's on Perdido Key. Two Bedroom, beautifully decorated ground floor unit with the most beautiful view of the gulf.  Message me via my facebook page for info. The owner if from New Orleans. I highly recommend this unit.

I'm hanging everything for my art show in a few days. Come to Crescent City Coffee Shop in Ruston Sunday Sept 9 from 2-4pm and say hello. The show hangs for 2 months.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Dachshund Central is hopping!

On the eve of Hurricane Isaac's visit to Louisiana, I've been busy getting yet more Mardi Gras Dachshund paintings finished and packed and mailed. I've been glued to the studio table with the the weather station on, tracking the path of the tropical storm/hurricane. What a day.

This is the progress I made around noon today.

'

I'm happy to report that THIS jazz dog is finally finished and tomorrow will be leaving the path of Isaac and heading to THE big city - New York, New York! She will have her new home at her new address on Broadway. Her new owner also owns property in Louisiana. I just LOVE the connections made around the country via this little dog.

This weekend I completed a tan one (Ssshhh... it's a surprise for a wedding gift!!)

A new collector contacted me this week to order one. She found the Mardi Gras Dachshund in a Mimi's Cafe Restaurant in Colorado. If you spot the Mardi Gras Dachshund, snap a photo of it with you (or your friend) standing next to it. I'd love to share the photo with my readers!

If you are local to Northeast Louisiana, please feel free to attend the opening reception of "True Colors", my art show at the Crescent City Coffee House in Ruston, Louisiana on Sunday, September 9 from 2-4:00pm. You can see a sneak peek of images at the NCLAC's Blog.

You can also see more info at the Ruston Chamber of Commerce.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!.

Art Show Reception Invitations!

I'm so excited about my upcoming art show. I can't wait to share my new artwork!

The invitations for the reception will be going postal soon!

I just shipped of a very heavy box of mixed media art to a major craft magazine this week for an early 2013 press date. So excited about this and some other upcoming publications. I love my job!

It's back to the studio for me...time to finish some orders. Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks for the nomination and votes!!

I've been super, super, super busy in the studio the past couple of months. I hate that I've neglected my blog. If you haven't "liked" my art studio page on Facebook, please do so. I try to post there at least once a week at Melanie Douthit Art Studio Facebook Page.

This past Friday I was happy to attend the awards banquet for the area's Best of the Delta by DeltaStyle Magazine. For the second year in a row, I was nominated in the top five for Best Artist. I want to thank everyone that nominated me, supported me and voted for me. There are dozens or more of wonderful talented artists in our area, and to be in the top five is mind-blowing. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I snapped this photo of my award certificate with the backdrop of some brand-new paintings I just completed for my upcoming solo show (more on that later).

I'm working on my fourth Mardi Gras Dachshund painting in the past five weeks. I've added long-haired dachshunds to the choices in my Etsy Store. If you would like to commission one and you don't see it listed, please send me a message. Once someone purchases one, the listing goes away and I have to relist it. I don't relist while I have a current order going so that I don't get delayed on getting orders out, plus I might be working on other new art. Always, always don't hesitate on inquire. :) Here's the link to my Etsy Store.

Here's a photo of the long hair Mardi Gras dachshund.

Speaking of the Mardi Gras dachshund - did you realize the Mardi Gras Dachshund is about to turn 10! I think a party is in order. Check back soon for details.

I just completed some fun new art for a solo show at the end of this summer. I'm so excited about this show and can't wait to share my new work, but I have to wait!

Again, thank you! thank you! thank you! for putting in me in the finals for Best Artist. Don't forget to follow me on twitter and facebook! Happy creating!

Gone Duck Wild!

If you are a Duck Dynasty fan, you know that it is filmed in Louisiana. Even more, it's filmed in my own town. Not that this has ANYTHING to do with this painting - it just LOOKS like it was influenced by the show. In fact, right after Christmas I was contacted by a friend overseas (yes, she lives in Europe) about a special painting for a gift. She didn't need it for a few months, and so it helped me get even more inspired when Duck Dynasty started coming on A&E.

Here's my "Duck Decoy" painting. It's 48" x 24. The ducks in the water are decoys, with the ducks flying in. I love the way the sunset sparkles on the water.

I'm working on brand spanking new art for an upcoming solo show! I'm so excited. If you haven't found my page on facebook, please "like" it and keep up with my sneak peeks!

I will try to update here more frequent than I have. I can't believe this month is almost over! Thanks for dropping by.

June Art Crawl at The River Gallery

I have been out of the studio for over a week. Hubby and I have been redecorating our master suite (yes, I said suite because there is also a sitting area) and I haven't had time for much else except maybe a few summer movies. (by the way, Madagascar 3 is adorable). I'm trying to get two new paintings finished as well as plan and decorate for a girls night at my house this week. I thought June was going to be a slow month. Not so!! Anyhoo.....
 
The Downtown Art Alliance Gallery Crawl was last week as well as Downtown River Jam across the river in downtown Monroe. Our gallery (Ouachita River Art Gallery AKA The River Gallery) had live music by Steve Cagle, keyboardist for Eddie and the Party Rockers.  (those are my paintings in the background)

 

 Our featured artist this month is wood turner Rusty Patterson.

 It was good to see so many friends stop by and make new friends.

 And hanging out with artists  musicians is fun, too.

 

I'll be back soon with more new art! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

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.

Venus Envy 2012, Baton Rouge Gallery

Last week while my daughter was out of school for spring break, we got away for a few days to one of my favorite getaway spots - New Orleans. We went to the Audubon Zoo (love that zoo!), the Aquarium of the America's, and the Insectarium. And of course, as always, we visited art galleries, the French Market, rode the streetcars and visited some wonderful New Orleans restaurants.

 A couple of notable adventures are when we wandered into a French art gallery on Royal and stumbled upon the art of Francois Gilot, Pablo picasso's lover and muse. She is now 90 and still painting. She is on the cover of Vogue (I think) with a spread about her upcoming show in NYC. And at our last night out, we had dinner reservations at Giovanni's restaurant (yum!) and ended up at a table next to ESPN's Dick Vitale. (No, I didn't take photos.) 

As usual, I'm craving beignets just thinking about our trip, but I know we'll be back. While we were there, I got notified that I had a painted accepted into a juried show. I haven't submitted art to juried shows in over 15 years, so this was so exciting. The show is the 14th Annual Venus Envy Juried Exhibition 2012. The theme for this show is "Too Much Pink" depicting the color pink (or lack of) in today's society. The juror for the show is Michaelene Walsh.

A blurb from the gallery website about the show: Every year, Baton Rouge Gallery and Venus Envy (a Missouri-based non-profit organization driven by women which positively affects everyone by empowering women through the arts) team up to present an exciting multimedia contemporary art exhibition showcasing the work of female artists in the southeastern United States. The 14th annual Venus Envy Baton Rouge exhibition will run April 17-26, 2012.

The reception for this exhibition is Saturday, April 21 from 7-9pm at the Baton Rouge Gallery Center for Contemporary Art, 1442 City Park Ave, Baton Rouge, LA. If you are in Baton Rouge, I hope you can drop by to see the exhibit.

That's all for now, but I will have more art to share next week. Thanks for dropping by and have a wonderful weekend.

Downtown Gallery Crawl, West Monroe TONIGHT

Been SUPER busy getting ready for several events - one of which is tonight! The Downtown Gallery Crawl, a bi-monthly event in Monroe - West Monroe, Louisiana is Thursday, April 5 from 5-9pm. My work will be the Ouachita River Art Gallery, 308 Trenton Street, West Monroe, LA.

In addition to my florals, birds and New Orleans scenes, I will be debuting my Vintage/Shabby Mixed Media Girls AKA "She Art". Most of the materials used are from the Feb/March Scarlet Lime mixed media kits. I love to "play" with this n that just for fun. They are both on reclaimed lumber.

If you are local, come out and visit. There are 10 galleries involved in the art crawl, and you can get a map at our gallery directing you to the others.

Check back Friday, as I'll be sharing some more news!

It's All About the Shoes! Fly Tribe Blog Hop

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I’m a part of a group of creative people known as “The Fly Tribe” brought together through Kelly Rae Roberts “Flying Lessons” ecourse in 2011.

Today our blog is about:

Shoes!

For the past year I have been on a fast paced and fun creative journey. What do you need when you take a journey? Something on your feet. I’m following the footsteps (pun intended) of Dorothy of Oz and my shoe of choice is “the ruby slippers”.

 Shoes represent your “walk” - where you are and where you are going. The color - red/ruby - is the color of passion, fire, life and love. My passion for art runs through my blood like fire, and I love running my creative business. When you love something and are passionate about it, it shows in your work. The glitter on the ruby slippers are reflective. They reflect light - they SPARKLE. Four years ago when visiting Disney’s Epcot with my family, I picked up a small coin purse. It has Tinkerbell on one side and on the other side it says “I’m all about Sparkle”. What a way to live; to sparkle with the passion inside of you, have it manifest in your art and attract people to it.  A few months ago, an artist friend (who didn’t know about the coin purse) actually told me that I “sparkle”. That makes me happy.

For creative people that are out there - sparkle on. Don’t let anything or anyone try to take those ruby slippers from you. Do you remember what Glenda told Dorothy when she placed the slippers on her feet? She told her to never take them off!

Thanks for stopping by today. Please leave your “footprints” below in the comments section so I’ll know you were here. Then hop on over to the next blog and check out more shoes!

An Off The Wall Night

Last night my husband and I attended the Masur Museum "Off The Wall" Art Auction, a yearly fundraiser to help support the museum. Local, national and international artists donated art for a silent auction, and the winning bidders take the art "off the wall" and home with them at the end of the night. There was a great turnout for the event.

My husband had a mini-reunion at the event. The musician for the night was Kevin Gordon, formerly from our area, but now a successful Nashville recording artist. When my husband was a teenager, he and his friends used to skateboard - alot. They had ramps and half-pipes. Kevin was one of his skateboard friends. One of his other friends was also at the event last night, so they had a small mini-reunion. 

 

If you love music, check out the Rolling Stone magazine write  up of Kevin's latest album Gloryland. I think you will find a bit of Louisiana in it.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful St. Patty's Day. We are off to the Vineyard for more live music.

I'm a Flygirl Friday's Featured Artist

We just dropped off my art at Masur Museum. The Off The Wall Fundraiser is next week and I'm so excited. Kevin Gordon will be performing at this event. How exciting. Here's another one of the paintings I donated to this event.

"Cool Waters Run Deep" by Melanie Douthit

And I'm happy to share with you that I was recently interviewed by Violet for the Flygirl Friday's blog and today it went live! Hop on over there and check it out. Leave a comment so I know you stopped by.

Happy Friday!

The Art of a Daydream Believer

I was saddened to hear the news about the passing of my childhood star crush, Davy Jones. I have had "Daydream Believer" playing in my head since last week. As I've stated before, I'm very artistically inspired by music, and I already have several versions of this particular song swirling in my head. I completed one this week.

"Daydream Believer No 1" 20" x 20"

This painting was created for a silent auction raising funds for the Masur Museum of Art in Monroe, Louisiana next week. I'm so looking forward to this event.

The studio has been a creative hub for the past few weeks. I'm still frantically trying to get orders done as well as some personal projects I'm working on. Here's a peek at some in-progress work.

Here's a fun photo I took of one of the collectors of my "Bon Appetit Y'all" signs. I purposely had her stand in front of her camaro so I could show hubby that people that drive cool cars collect my art.

Lots to do today and some deliveries to make tomorrow as well as a supply run. We are expected to get 5-6 inches of rain in the next few days. (I thought it was April that had all the showers). Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!