Myself and Lynda Schumacher with our artwork

 Another CPSA Convention has come and gone and what a great one this was in Dallas.   So many artists who are good friends congregated for this annual event that, despite the 100+ heat, I think it’s safe to say all had an incredible time.  There was a fun member’s meeting with door prizes, a slide show of every piece that was entered into the competition, and a silent auction.  There are workshops, and an awards banquet.  This year I was so honored to receive an Award for Outstanding Achievement for my piece “Counterpoint in Green”, shown above on the left.  This photograph also features good friend Lynda Schumacher, CPSA (MI) and her piece “Canadian Cowgirl”.  In addition to receiving an award, I earned my signature status in the CPSA (given for being juried into three shows within ten years) and Lynda earned her five-year status.

Dianna Soisson with "Beyond All Boundries"

 I’m taking a moment to highlight several, but by no means all!, artist friends who had their work on display in Dallas.  Dianna had an incredibly powerful piece of a leaf floating down a waterfall (above).  Below is Kendra Bidwell-Ferreira’s delicate “Sea Foam”.  For those of you who live in the Boston area, you may have had a chance to see the two person show that Kendra and I had last March at the Wellesley Free Library.

Kendra with "Sea Foam" (top)

California artist and inventor Ester Roi (photo below) received an Award for Exceptional Merit for her piece “Social Network” (top).  Ester is such an inspiration and source of information to so many artists, always looking to break new ground with technique.

Ester Roi with "Social Network"

Perhaps one of the most memorable events was the Cowboy Boot shopping trip that several of us had been talking about since the San Jose convention of 2010.  Suffice it to say that we had a successful outing to Pink’s Cowboy Boot Store in Dallas.  We all left with a new pair of boots that seemed well suited to our personalities – for now! (Left to right, Kendra Bidwell Ferreira/Old Gringos, Dianna Soisson/Old Gringos, Lynda Schumacher/Old Gringos, Moi/Stetsons, Elizabeth Patterson, CPSA (CA) Ferrini’s).

Cowboy boot final choices!

On a final and silly note, here’s a photo of Lynda and me cooling off in the freezer section of Walmarts. . . .with their hilarious ice cream novelty packaging.  Just can’t let us gals go out anywhere without a commotion. . .   Thanks for reading!

“Rock/Candy” – is currently up at the Wellesley Free Library from March 1st through the 31st, 2011.  Please click on this link for hours and directions:  www.wellesleyfreelibrary.org.  This is a two-person show that colleague and friend, Kendra Bidwell-Ferreira and I are hosting together.  We are each exhibiting over 20 drawings done in colored pencil.  The opening is on Saturday, March 5th from 2 – 4 p.m., and I hope that if you live in the area you’ll stop by and say hi!

I also had a small exhibition of colored pencil drawings last night in conjunction with a wonderful concert by the Choir of King’s College London.  This was part of the St. Andrew’s Performing Arts Series (SAPAS).  More information about upcoming SAPAS events can be found at www.sapas.org.

These college students gave a superb performance of Renaissance and contemporary choral works.   The Choir of King’s College London is one of the most acclaimed mixed voice university choirs in England, comprising about 27 undergraduates who are awarded choral scholarships, and in addition to performing Renaissance polyphony, they have an extensive and well-reviewed collection of discography available.

I wanted to include a copy of the program cover, which includes my name in such a prominent way that, had they not put “(colored pencil)” after my name, it looks like I was a star soloist!  I found this quite amusing, as it’s the closest I’ll ever get to performing with my voice in public!

- Great  value range with wonderful mood.  Great sense of late afternoon light.  Good division of space.  Striking piece!

• 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”.

• Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 97th Annual Juried Exhibition in Mystic, CT, “Bird’s Nest”
• “Out of The Blue” at the Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA, “Last Year’s Remnants”
• Colored Pencil Society of America’s 16th Annual International Exhibition, Seattle, WA, “Still-life with Broken Wings”

Last night was the opening reception for the Attleboro Arts Museum’s 85th Anniversary celebration show “Out of the Blue”. The museum requested artwork that incorporated the color blue for consideration in this national juried show, as the museum’s logo is a vivid teal blue. Over 800 entries from across the country were submitted, from which juror selected about 120 pieces. It was a fun and vibrant show with a wide range of artistic styles, mediums, sizes, and shades of blue. At right is a photograph of me taken by my piece “Last Year’s Remnants” (at top, over feather piece) at the opening last night.

Here is a photograph of me at the Audubon Society of Rhode Island’s Environmental Educational Center in Bristol, RI, after hanging the show. Most, but not all, of the work on display is visible on these two walls. The show is up from now until the 29th of December, so I hope that if you live close by you will be able to visit and see it for yourself!