Friends

Yesterday was a day for friends. An old one : The Little White Girl (Whistler)

A new one: Vickie Branas (above right) and getting to know better

one whom I've come to know through the world of water color ( Debi Watson) . The three of us spent an enjoyable day at the National Gallery in DC. The crowds were gone, the weather was miserable and it was a perfect day to spend inside surrounded by art. These little trips always get the juices going, to keep painting and renews my interests. It is especially nice to have friends along to share the expeience.

Saturday Morning at Steven's Studio

I just returned from a delightful morning at Steven Dobbins studio in Mt. Airy, MD. He opened his studio for anyone that wanted to drop in and see what was going on. He is in the final preparations for an upcoming show in NYC at the Cuasey Contemporary Gallery , Brooklyn. Steven is a fellow member of TAG (The Artist's Gallery ) in Frederick, MD where he last year had a "trial run" of this show. Hey, if it plays well in Frederick take it to New York ! Upon entering the studio one comes face to face with more than a few paint cans that he has emptied,dried, treated, some repainted the insides, cut or bent, drilled, wired and anything else that the muse tells him to do. He is planning to stack the cans in a couple free standing pieces and another piece will cover a large section of wall space as it did at TAG. New to the mix is at least two pieces consisting of the can lids wired together as almost a fabric to be draped or hung. While I was there a couple other colleagues showed up and it was a great time discussing art and materials, shows, studios, etc. Times like this are inspirational. Whenever I'm with this group I feel like a "real" artist and I want to run home and make stuff. Thanks Steven !

Back to the 'Burgh

We were back to Pittsburgh,PA a couple weekends ago to my husbands 40th high school reunion. Actually Hopewell,PA but it's close enough to the 'Burgh. My friends know me to like to "knock" this part of the country and I figure it's OK because I come from around there myself. But it does have a lot going for it, too. Besides the obvious championship teams, there was a lot of history happened here during the settling of our nation. An important crossroads ( or rivers ) for commerce and departure for people heading west during the 17/1800s to the high tech industry which continues today, as well as notable schools of higher education and top notch medical centers. Not to mention the G 20 meeting held there last week. Pittsburgh knows how to make a great "first impression". First time visitors traveling from the airport to down town are greeted instantly to one of the most beautiful city skylines as they come through the Mt Washington "tube". The view jumps right atchya. The trip was topped off by bringing Milos mom back with us for a visit to the DC area. We took her to see the Space Shuttle near Dulles and in to the District to the American Indian Museum. She also got to spend some time with Henry ( Nicks Sun Conure ) but only through the bars. Henry has issues . Described as a two year old with a can opener on his face, he has trouble making new friends.

Corn, corn, corn

My "rural upbringing" is showing again. One of my favorite activities as a girl on my grandparents farm ( besides jumping off the roof of the grain room into the broken bales of hay ) was to run through the rows of corn, slapping the leaves. I don't know what it is about corn but it does seem to grab my attention in any form. Some day I plan to revisit the Indian corn series, but for now I have to do some paintings of the lush fields of corn that are every where here. It was a wonderful spring with the rainfall making up for the drought of the past summers and the farmers are reaping the rewards. I had to stop along the road and take photos of the sun and shadows patterns on the broad leaves and the abstraction of the way the leave overlap and lead in varying directions. This is the first one in what I hope will be series as successful as the Indian corn. I also made an effort to see what greens I could mix. There are a bizillion greens in the world and something special about the greens of a corn leaf. Is it me or as artists are we all dealing with a challenge to mix green ? Or are we confined to what the manufactures are able to make for us? I am determined to find my green without blue dominating the painting. It did creep in here but hey, it's a start.

My sincere apologies to all that posted comments on the past two posts ! It was only when I went to compose this post that I noticed I had comments to monitor. Pryor comments always came to me via email and I'm not sure what happened this time. I just thought everyone was away on vacation and not checking in on me. Thanks again to all !

Becca and Jared Are Married

This past Saturday our niece Rebecca and Jared were married on the beautiful grounds of Hartwood mansion near Pittsburgh, PA. Of course everything was out of this world gorgeous; the bride, the groom, the setting, the day. Well, it was beastly hot but that's just one more memory for the book.

I snapped more than a few photos and a good many will be put in the "to paint " pile which grows higher each day. Hope you see one or two of these sometime soon.

Shamless Self Promtion

Last week I dropped off Jersey Girl (bottom left on post card ) for the PWS annual show. This year the show is in Reading, PA at Goggleworks Center For The Arts Cohen Gallery with the reception being Sunday, August 9 from 3-5 PM.

I am so honored to be a part of this prestigious show and as this is the second year accepted, it permits me to include PWS after my signature.

Pinch me.

Visit Goggleworks.org for directions. Hours are

Mon-Sat 9-9,Sundays 11-7

Lunch Time for Becca

Well, this really took longer than I wanted. I think I escaped without overworking too many areas and there was certainly a few things learned on this one, too. A lot learned but I can truely say it was fun to do, so perhaps there will be other window paintings.

Iwould have liked more washes on the red but backed off. I'm happy with the reflections and how they trick the eyes when they see something and then it gets lost again in the painting.

There are sections better than others but that is for me to know and you to point them out to me. So ...let me have it folks. I welcome all comments and constructive criticism . Oh, I might mention too, that this is the first one I did without stretching and I haven't framed it yet. So, some of the "straight" edges might not look too straight. I will be able to flaten it but please offer any tips on framing without a mat.