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!