Art Challenge Part 2

In a previous blog I shared the piece ("Greens and Purples") that I painted for the first AZ Pastel Association Art Challenge. I was so pleased with the results that I entered the piece into our fall juried show. (All three of the pieces I entered were juried into the show! The other two were "Sunflowers" and "Bulldog Cliffs"). I was somehow thinking I would have to take the painting to the show site prior to the November meeting where the art challenge paintings were to be critiqued/discussed. As such, I thought I had to do another piece for the challenge.....which I did. It wasn't until I had the painting started that I realized I did not have to do a second one as our meeting is the Sunday before the Wednesday we hang the show. However, I am very glad I did. I had fun with this one. I set it up at night in my dark studio with just one light placed low on the left of the setting. It provided great highlights on the glass goblet and the other items I grabbed from the kitchen. Hope you enjoy the results as much as I enjoyed the process!

Hidden in the Hills Open Studio Tour

This November I am participating in the Hidden in the Hills open studio tour for the first time. This studio tour is very well established and well respected. It draws thousands of people from across the valley and Arizona in general. The tour is composed of 46 studio spread across Cave Creek, Carefree, and North Scottsdale. Each of the studios hosts up to 5 additional artists. The event covers the last two weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) of November. I will be in Studio 27. Here are some links you may want to check out:
Web site: www.hiddeninthehills.org
Blog: http://hiddeninthehills.blogspot.com
Facebook Fan Page: http://artist.to/hiddeninthehills/
The directory: http://bit.ly/3IKXW7

Hope you are able to come and enjoy all the art!

Building the Inventory for Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour

I am continuing to work on finishing plein air pieces that just needed a little more work. Because I unexpectantly had the opportunity to be represented by the Menagerie Boutique, a large chunk of my inventory for the upcoming Hidden in the Hills open studio tour is now hanging at the gallery. This is actually a great opportunity to put a little fire under my feet to complete a number of paintings that have been awaiting my attention. Here are two pieces that I have completed the last few days. The painting on the left is another piece from Lake Pleasant entitled Lake Pleasant Cliffs. The slant of the cliffs and the shoreline reflections caught my eye. It was a day with scuddling clouds which is unusual for this area. The painting on the right is the location where the mustangs or open range stock wandered into the area while we were out painting (see blog on visitors on location for a picture of the foal). I was intrigued by the path leading to an expansive area composed of the McDowell Indian reservation and the mountains around Bulldog Canyon in the far distance. I called it Mustang Trail in honor of the visitors that day.

Menagerie Boutique is open!

We're open! The Menagerie Boutique (see previous blog) that is representing my work is now open. The grand opening was Saturday, October 17th. Bob and I went to visit today and see what things looked like once everything was set up. Very impressive.....and very exciting for me! I share the owner, Cindy Keogh's great expectations for the future of the alternative gallery. Here are a couple of photos that include some of my work. Please plan to visit. It is located at 14150 McDowell Rd. in Goodyear, AZ. Lot's of goodies to buy....and Christmas is just around the corner!!

Rio Verde

Yesterday I finished the final touches on this plein piece in my studio. This is a view of the shorline of the Rio Verde at the Needle Rock Recreation Area in the Tonto National Forest. I really liked the way the sun was hitting the topline of the overhang on the opposite shore highlighting the trees and shrubs against the deeply shadowed overhang. I was also attracted by the reflections in the swiftly moving water. It was one of those beautiful fall days in Arizona that just make you think of nothing but the joy of being alive and surrounded by nature's beauty. I could have painted all day......but the growing intensity of hunger pangs made lunch climb to the number one priority. Oh well.....lots more of these days to come....which is why I love living here!

Menagerie Boutique

I recently became a participating artist at the Menagerie Boutique. The Menagerie Boutique is what I would call an alternative gallery brand new to the Phoenix area. It is located in Goodyear, which is the SW part of the valley, at McDowell and Lichfield Rd. The grand opening is October 17th. The owner is Cindy Keogh and she is approaching the sale of art in a unique and imaginative way. Cindy has two rooms connected by a hallway which will include hung art. Each of the two rooms has walls painted different colors. She has brought in a collection of eclectic pieces of furniture, some antiques, most from her home. She plans to set up vignettes with the furniture to showcase the art as one would possibly see it in their homes. I think this unique approach will appeal to customers and decided this was a venue I wanted to try as an artist. The gallery website is currently under construction, but should be active soon. (http://www.menagerieboutique.com/). Please check out this new gallery and my work there. I would love to hear what you think!

Art Challenge

The Arizona pastel Artist Association has initiated a new event this year in the form of an "Art Challenge". There are three cycles of the Art Challenge during the year. For each cycle up to 10 artists can sign up to participate. The participants are given an object or set of objects. All participants receive the exact same object(s). Each artist then has two months to create a painting that incorporates the object(s). After two months the participants bring their finished pieces in to the meeting where a discussion is held that examines the resulting paintings in terms of composition, color choices, concepts, etc. It is a learning and fun activity for both participating and non-participating members. I decided to participate in the first cycle. Our object was a glass goblet that was tinted green. This worked fine for me because I have been really enjoying painting with the colors of green and purple of late (artichokes, eggplants, etc.). After a shopping trip to AJ's grocery store, I composed and painted the painting above. My problem is that I am so happy with the results that I decided to enter it into our fall juried show. If it gets juried into the show it will not be available for the discussion at the November meeting......which means I would have to do another composition using the glass. I will have to start thinking of other compositions.....just in case!!!