May Flowers - Mixed Media

May is such a busy, busy month!! For our family we have end of school (both kids), start of a new job (son), four theater productions (same show, different times), one dance production - in addition to regular life. In a way - all these things are "flowers" that we stop to enjoy along the way.

In honor of flowers, I'm taking Mou's Challenge on the Faber Castell blog and sharing this little mixed media piece I made.

I used Faber Castell Gelatos (blue and green) to add color to the black and white graphic paper on the left of my piece, and pit pens for my black outlinings (word blocks and flower stems).

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!

Blend of the Bayou in Monroe

Every year, the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council has a fundraiser called "Blend of the Bayou". At this event, "men who mix and brew" come out and cook everything from bbq sandwiches to gumbo and fried catfish. Part of this event is a "Bayou Gallery" with 15-20 of the area's prominent artists with art items for sale. The event was this weekend and the weather was absolutely beautiful! I attended with four other artists from the coop gallery I'm with attended as well as other art friends from the area.

We sampled the food, mingled and talked to art collectors. I debuted one of my latest pieces, "Summertime Blues", which I'm happy to say found a new home that day.

 And for the first time every, the youth at the local theater were invited to perform a few of their songs from Guys and Dolls. As you know - our family has worked hard on this production the past few weeks.

Again - it was record low temperatures on this gorgeous Sunday in May (which in Louisiana terms - was perfect!). I look forward to more beautiful days like this day this month. Thanks for stopping by and if you want to stay updated, you can subscribe to this blog and/or follow me on Melanie Douthit Art Studio's Facebook Page. by selecting the "Like" button. Have a great day!

Delta Artists at Tunica Riverpark in Mississippi

I was so excited to have been contacted by a gallery in Memphis, Tennessee (on Good Friday) to be a part of an exciting art exhibit in Tunica, Mississippi. They have redesigned the museum to include a "Delta Artists" exhibit featuring artists from the "delta" (Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas). I was one of four artists from Louisiana. The other 3 are colleagues of mine from Monroe/West Monroe: Don Hudnall, Donna McGee and Joli Livaudias. The receiption was last week, so Donna and I went on an adventure to North Mississippi. I was in great hands, as Donna is a native of Mississippi.

It was a wonderful artist's reception with Good Company Trio jazz band playing. Here's a press release with the details of the opening and exhibit: Tunica Riverpark Delta Artists

We had a beautiful view of the sunset on the Mississippi River. If you get a chance, go to Tunica Riverpark. The exhibit will be there through the end of August.

Theater Set Design

Last month it was painting a French Quarter mural. As promised, here is a portion of the final mural. I enjoyed working with Linda Ward on this!

This month it's New York, New York! I've been working as set director for the local youth theater's production of Guys and Dolls. So many parents chipped in- many who claim have no "art" skills- and we had a great time. One mom dubbed our time as "art therapy". Who knew! Lol. Here are a couple of pics of the progress.

(I couldn't resist the shout out to Buddy the Elf)

And as you can see, it made for quite a colorful and fun set! Thanks for stopping by.