Debbi Friedman’s Blog

I’m going back to the leaf drawings I enjoyed doing so much, but combining them with stones.  I’ve been working on this drawing, Prismacolors over Caran D’Ache Supracolor washes, done on Bristol Board Vellum.   I have a couple of new ideas to explore, including a triptych.  While this drawing is not complete yet, there is enough here to share.  The stone needs more development, as well as many areas of the leaves and shadows.

I am excited to be heading off to Strasbourg and Paris in a few hours.  We will be visiting friends in both cities, and I am very eager to see friend and colleague Elizabeth Patterson’s current exhibition of Colored Pencil drawings in Paris at the Galerie Louis Carre.  It will also be a great opportunity for my son, who has been studying french for four years, to hear and practice the language.  And, to eat!!!  Oh, and I suppose to take in some art…..Thanks for reading, and a bientot!

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!

My husband and I recently went on a nine day trip through parts of Ireland, and one of the absolute highlights was staying at the Dromoland Castle in Newmarket-on-Fergus  and participating in a private falconry walk.  David Atkinson  runs the Dromoland School of Falconry, and has an amazing array of birds of prey available for walks, educational talks and more.  More can be learned about it at:  Dromoland School of Falconry.  These photos show the castle, David walking through the grounds with Bruce, and Bruce the Harris Hawk standing on my gloved hand.  It was such a thrill to have Bruce alight on the glove.  David would make sure to put a chicken leg on the glove (or some other poultry body part) and Bruce would eat the tidbit the moment he landed.  He was so quick I never got to see him actually eat it.  We also got to see several Peregrine Falcons, a Great Gray Owl, a Barn Owl and a Long Eared Owl.

We spent the last three days of our trip in Dublin, which is a wonderful city and easy to walk around.  One afternoon we came across this store, Read’s, and since they have colored pencils prominently displayed in their street window, we decided to take a look inside.  Wasn’t it a thrill to find the Derwent Graphite Soft tin with my drawing on it sitting the shelves.  Please indulge me, it’s quite a hoot to see a little bit of one’s artwork in a foreign country!