As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been working on a little graphite drawing, and here it is. It’s a very simple and zen-like composition. A black stone used in hot stone therapy that was given to me by a masseuse, a small peacock feather, placed upside down atop the stone and some shadows are all that composes the drawing. It’s small – maybe about 7″ x 7″.
I’m eager to move onto the next drawing in my rock series, and plan to try and incorporate water in the drawing. Coincidentally, I’m just back from the 17th Annual Exhibition and Convention of the Colored Pencil Society of America, where I took a workshop with CPSA Artist Pat Averill on the power of water. . . entitled “Unleash the power of water in your drawings”. Below are two photographs from the workshop: one of friends Dee Overly (left) and Mari Kaye Moehl (right) working on one of the four projects we tackled that day, and the other of workshop instructor Pat Averill. I’m not sure that the workshop concepts will transfer to my drawing, but you never know! We worked on the distortion of images in reflected water, drawing moving water (ie – surf), drawing water moving over rocks, and looking at wet sand to dry sand within the context of a seascape.
I am posting a photograph of the finished fish tank drawing “Shhhh”. I may end up tweaking it a little, but basically it’s done. It’s an unusual drawing for me, and it took longer than I had anticipated it taking. I am eager to move on to something new!
I also have news to share, which is that my drawing, “Garden, Late Summer” was juried into the Colored Pencil Society of America’s 17th Annual International Exhibition, which will be taking place from July 9 – August 29, 2009 at the Hudgens Center for the Arts in Duluth, Georgia. The show was juried by Graham C. Boettcher, who is the William Cary Hulsey Curator of American Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama. Approximately 125 works were selected for inclusion in the show. In addition, I will be receiving my “Signature Status” by having had my work juried into three shows within ten years. Also receiving her signature status will be fellow artist, Lynda Schumacher from Michigan. More information about the show can be found by going to the CPSA web site, www.cpsa.org.
I currently have artwork up in three shows in the Northeast:
- H2O – Artistic Interpretation of Water, Spring Bull Gallery, Newport, Rhode Island, through December 3rd
- Wellesley Society of Artists, Annual Juried Exhibition, Wellesley Free Library, Wellesley, MA, up through November 31st, and
-
Allied Artists of America 95th Annual Juried Exhibition, the National Arts Club Galleries, Gramercy Park South, New York City, New York, November 14th through December 2nd.
My piece at the WSA’s exhibition, “Last Year’s Remnants” was awarded Third Place in the show. Below is a photograph taken of the opening reception at the Spring Bull Gallery showing some of the work on the wall. One of my pieces is in the middle of the photograph: “Still-life with Broken Wings”.
I returned from the annual CPSA convention in Seattle last Sunday, which is held in conjunction with their juried International Exhibition. There was so much to do: I took an all-day workshop with John Smolko, attended the member’s meeting, awards banquet and opening reception and got to spend time with artists friends and made many new friends from across the country. Above are photographs of artist Lynda Schumacher and myself at the awards banquet, and me beside my artwork on display at the Seattle Convention Center. It was also great fun to explore the Seattle a bit; walking the many hills between Pikes Place Market, the Space Needle and Chinatown for starters!
Below are photographs from the morning phase of the John Smolko workshop. We worked using expressive line and scribbles. Everyone had a different letter of the alphabet to block out and develop using line and contrasting warm and cool colors. The “K” and “I” are Lynda’s and my letters respectively, and the entire wall of letters is the morning group’s work on display. It was so much fun to see how differently everyone approached such a simple assignment. It really allowed everyone’s distinct ways of making marks to shine through. In the afternoon session we applied our “new” use of line to an actual drawing, choosing an object from life, a portrait, or working from a reference photograph.
This final photograph was taken on the platform of the Monorail at the Space Needle, waiting for the train to arrive. I think the color contrasts are so amazing. When do you get to see these colors juxtaposed outdoors in a cityscape?
