Red & Mighty

Mr. Rooster, a proud red leghorn gentleman, was vibrant and colorful to paint. Painted on a 10x10x2 inch cradled panel, a frameless design & ready to hang.

Home Sweet Colorado

Mr. "Rowdy", this year's icon for us artists to decorate was an inspiration and fun to paint. For the benefit of the Ridgway Public Library fundraiser, "Home Sweet CO" headed to Ridgway this week where it will be displayed, along with numerous other Rowdy's, at local businesses until the auction held on May 19th.  It's amazing seeing the variety of the artist's interpretations and styles painting the very same silhouette.

Fights of Fancy

My latest flight of fancy is a facination with our little (and big) fine feathered friends. "Red Flirt" is part of a show titled simply "Red" at Around the Corner Gallery in Montrose, CO. Still on the red kick, I'm now working on a bright painting of a rooster with lots of red, orange and cerulean blue... what fun, vibrant colors in time for spring!

The coming days will be filled more and more with the joyful trill of returning birds as they busy themselves with finding mates, making nests and bringing a smile to us gardeners.

I hope you enjoy the following poem,
"Hope" by Emily Dickinson

_____________________________________



Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune--without the words,

And never stops at all,



And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.



I've heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

A renewed resolution with pencil in hand

"In spite of everything I shall rise again: I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing."

Vincent van Gogh

Letter 136

24 September 1880

As we leave the hustle and bustle of the holidays and enter the zone of the New Years resolution, I find myself reflecting on what to focus on for 2012. As an artist, all through the year, we are challenging ourselves with resolutions to improve and create new and different images. My husband has joked with me, "oh, I see, now you are in your Yellow period," as I get obsessed with intense yellows and oranges. The next few months may lead to the Blue period, and so it continues, new colors, new subject matter, new mediums. One goal for me in 2012 is to draw every day, to sketch with sharpie markers big and bold, sketch finely with micron archival pens, to integrate watercolor with my marks, to draw as an end in itself without planning the next painting. Drawing is the foundation of all great art and leads to fresh ideas, not unlike, for example, brainstorming for marketing concepts. I will study with new intensity, the great old and new masters like Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and my favorite Vincent Van Gogh and draw, draw, draw. Wish me persistence and focus!

A little of what I learned in Italy



View of Olive Groves in Tuscany from Montepulciano

 I returned recently from my maiden voyage out of the country to explore the arts and landscape of Italy. For a first time international traveler, the journey was especially novel to me, filling my senses with new landscape imagery, sumptuous ethnic foods and the lyrical sounds of Italian in the air. I realized how the benefits of traveling to different cultural regions are important for many reasons beyond the obvious desire to relax and see new sights. It is a break from one’s comfort zone, opening your eyes to different perspectives and ways of seeing the world. Here are a few of my “ah-ha” moments that I wanted to share.



People are people everywhere. We met individuals from around the world, each person open, friendly and ever so helpful; from the kind Asian woman who took time to help us decipher the automated train ticket machine in Florence: the New Zealand man who helped us find the correct bus, two couples who graciously shared their cab, to a young Seattle couple who journeyed with us in the dark, up ancient stone stairs and through the narrow streets of our hill town to make sure we found our hotel. Thank you!

 

Rosso Fiorentino - "Descent from the Cross" in Volterra, Italy

 

Inlaid stone floor design in the Vatican, Rome Italy

Art and design immersion: As a student of art, I had long ago studied the great Renaissance masterpieces. That didn’t come close to preparing me for seeing the art in person. After we explored the Pitti Palace and Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Borghese Gallery in Rome and a dazzling array of Renaissance historic sites, I was stunned by the magnitude of art and design that must have embraced those who lived amidst the wealth of Renaissance paintings, sculpture, tapestries and the architecture of their time. I wasn’t sure what to focus my sights on between the masterful paintings, the equally intense imagery on the frescoed walls and ceilings, the ornately carved doors, or the multi-colored mosaic stone floors of the quintessential Renaissance architectural masterpieces.



View of Vernazza in the Cinque Terre (sadly, this beautiful town
has been virtually destroyed by a severe flood this October)

 A tour group can be a very rewarding: We had tentatively booked our tour through Rick Steves, at first unsure if a tour group was for us. We loved our group and so enjoyed getting to know and traveling with our varied group of personalities from all different walks of life. We felt that we made lifelong friends! Having a larger group (but not too large and cumbersome!) also adds great diversity of interests so you can always find someone in your group who wants to explore that obscure site with you during your non-tour free time. The Rick Steve’s travel concept also melded perfectly with our desire for more active and independent travel.

One of our great Italian dinners with new found friends


The Italian passion for food and eating: The Italian way of enjoying a fine, multi-course meal with family and friends as the star event is a wonderfully fulfilling time indeed. We so enjoyed reveling in our good eats and company with no need to rush off to the next activity as us Americans are so used to doing.

Italian Ice Cream! Gelato is a very special treat and quickly became our perfect lunch in every exotic flavor!











The Caprese salad: Such a fresh and wholesome combination of flavors and my new favorite salad with sliced tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella and drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Yum!







Bicycling in Lucca, Italy

 The value of friendship: You never know if you can travel well together until you are immersed in the trip. We were so happy to discover that a couple of good friends can actually travel together for 2 weeks and still like each other afterwards!









Crossing a street in Rome is a hair-raising exercise in risk-taking and assertiveness training. Not for the faint hearted! Make eye contact with the drivers and bravely claim your right to walk across in spite of the throngs of “toy cars”, Vespas and tour buses storming your way.

Pizza delivery in the hill towns of Italy!



Beautiful David! Accademia Gallery, Florence Italy


Borrowing creative ideas from the past: I was reminded how so little of what we create in our art and design today is every truly new. Many of the designs and concepts are rehashed and renewed for a younger civilization. Etruscan earrings from 2000+ years ago were in designs similar to our modern hoop earrings. Renaissance painters explored the use of abstract shapes and bright vibrant colors in dynamic compositions filled with motion and emotion. An apparel exhibit in Florence displayed fashions through the decades with many designs in styles we might wear today.


Thank you for reading these little tidbits on my Italian experience. This, I hope, will be my lifelong journey, to always strive to learn and discover from both the ordinary at home and the more extraordinary abroad.

Art on Trout Road this weekend

It's been hectic after a return from an incredible trip to Italy and busy preparations for the annual Art on Trout Road this weekend. Bill Wilson has so graciously hosted this November art display and sale for over 20 years in his home and ceramic studio on Trout Road that has stunning views of the San Juan mountain range. I feel special to be a part of it all and so enjoy talking with our guests and sharing the company of my fellow artists.

The Monitor Article

Kind of unnerving being photographed and interviewed for a cover page and article, I must say. I'm usually on the opposite side of exhibitionists, usually content to enjoy my quietude. In any case, I shared a bit of myself to Mavis Bennett, Editor of the Monitor Magazine for the Fall publication, which with her deft pen, was turned into an article and published this week. It's really quite a good thing to take a moment and express why we do the art we do and how our background influenced our genre of painting. Paintings don't always speak enough for us.  Click below if you would like to see the article in the Fall, 2011 issue on pages 12 and 13, or copy and paste the following into your browser:

http://www.themonitormagazine.com/issues.html