MWCS Members Award!

Although I've been a member of this organization for a number of years, I'm not exactly sure what "Members Award" exactly means . . . Except that I'm a member and . . . I got it!

Saturday was the big day - the Michigan Water Color Society's 67th Annual Exhibition - which included a critique by juror Paul Jackson in the morning, a convivial and well attended board luncheon at midday, a lecture by the juror in the afternoon, and finally the awards ceremony we had all (well, I had) been waiting for!

I'm very honored by being chosen for one of the awards: the company of the thirteen award winning artists is of the highest caliber.  If you don't believe me, write to me to buy one of  our beautiful catalogs!! (Sorry: fund raising never ends. But the catalogs really are lovely
- and only $15).

Anyway, my husband reminded me to get a picture taken with the award winning painting  ("Treepodia"), so here it is for your perusal!

MWCS 67th Annual at Greater Flint Arts Council

 That's my painting (MINE!) in the upper left of the postcard and the poster for this event.  I actually had two paintings accepted into the show, a first for me, and have been feeling guilty and apologizing ever since (the large number of double-selections means that a lot of friends who submitted  amazingly wonderful paintings WEREN'T included - not ideal).

I was part of the little "committee" doing intake in Flint on Saturday, making sure all 70 paintings got there, had boxes, had wires, had white mats, had return shipping labels if need be. A wild and crazy 4 hours indeed, and not enough time to look closely at the incredible artwork.  THAT will be this coming Saturday. Hope to see you there!

For directions to GFAC, follow this link.

A nice Opening Reception

I love this picture friend Janice took on Friday at the Lawrence St Gallery reception for the Sisters of the Brush exhibit.   That's husband Michael hiding behind me.  Next to my left ear is a painting by fellow SOB Barbara Markham. Behind the word "of" is one of my paintings.  Laura Host did a wonderful job hanging the show and we were very happy with it.

We had five of the seven 'Sisters' at the opening reception.  Although we won't all manage to be at the mid-month reception either, we hope to have a different mix.  And we hope you'll be able to attend. That reception is on Friday, May 16th, from 6 - 9 pm.

I also took a couple of short videos showing the complete show. IF I can figure out how to suppress the inane comments I was making from behind the camera, then I'll try to figure out how to post it.

Sisters of the Brush at Lawrence St Gallery

The final week before our exhibit at Lawrence St Gallery. The image at left is just a detail of one of the paintings I've chosen to show there. I still have to give it a title, though. I've rejected "Tiger in the Sun", it's initial name.  I want the title to somehow refer to or invoke the intensity of midsummer sunshine (yes, we DO have that now and then, even here in Michigan).  I'll need to have something thought up by tomorrow, I think.

The seven Sisters of the Brush descended on the gallery in waves on Saturday and Sunday, bringing our favorites, looking forward to seeing how Laura Host would hang them on the pristine white walls.  As a group we've been known to bring way too many pieces, and too large, so this year we made a special effort to cut back so the display wouldn't look cluttered and art-fair-like.  Well, we did TOO good a job: Laura called me later in the day on Sunday, saying, everything was hung, but that we were "short 6 or 7 paintings".  I first thought she meant they were MISSING!  No, she actually had some awkwardly empty wall sections. 

So the Sisters put their  heads together (digitally) and figured each of us could find one more painting to be included.  A flurry of drop-offs and pick-ups and transfers, and the additional paintings were delivered and hung on Monday.  It looks wonderful.

Anyway,  Lawrence St Gallery will be holding two receptions.  We expect that a majority of the 7 of us will be at each one. I'll be at both. If you are in the area for either of the following dates it would be so nice to see you there!

The opening reception is this Friday, May 2nd, and runs from 6 - 9 pm

The mid-month reception is, startlingly, mid-month, on Friday, May 16th, again from 6 - 9 pm.

More color, more color!

Recently, one of the artist groups I belong to (Birmingham Society of Women Painters) held a group critique, asking a well known local artist to come critique our work.  Most members brought in one or more of their paintings, the original, framed or unframed. This group works in all manners of media, oil, pastel, collage, watercolor, you name it.  But what was consistent  and remarkable (we all remarked on it!)  on this particular day was that everyone had just been through the same long Michigan winter.  I never saw so many colorful paintings. 
And here is my contribution to that trend. They were all stacked ready to go to the photographer, when I started looking at them (they needed some kind of title penciled on, so he knows how to name the files).  I guess I needed color, too  -   these are January, February, March, and a bit of April. FYI, the two in the center are from Kanuga.

Michigan Water Color Society Annual - Accepted!

Treepodia

I learned this week that both of my submissions were juried into the Michigan Water Color Society's upcoming annual exhibition.  How exciting is that?  I'm feeling a wee bit personally perplexed, though, because they are from the series of  mostly abstracts that I was working on all last summer and fall after my Kanuga workshop with Mike Bailey. I submitted them because I thought they were good enough, and I like them both, but since then have happily turned back from the abstracts to my floral/pattern paintings.  Now, the nod I have gotten for my abstract work seems to tell me, paint more of THOSE.  But . . . I'm not sure I really want to anymore.  So: what do I do with THAT?

Pushing the Pattern

My last post showed this painting, still unfinished as we left Kanuga.  I'm pretty sure if I had been there even one more day, Robbie Laird would have found time to reinforce a hint that I think I inferred earlier in the week - about remembering subtlety when indulging in my patterns.   Certainly a worthy goal, and one I often, but not always, should keep in mind.

In this case,  having brought the painting home and lived with it a while, it became clear to  me that  this one (like so many of mine) was about the pattern more than the flowers.  So I went with that. I've modified and pumped up and added pattern to the point where I hope it's obvious that the imbalance is intentional.

I am extremely pleased to have, from this year's workshop,  a COMPLETED PAINTING that's not a throwaway.  How rare is that?  And there are still those other starts, two of which show good possibility, plus a problem-child painting which will keep me challenged for quite a while as I try to solve the problems I created for myself as I started it.