Show Results

As reported in previous blogs, I recently had pieces juried into both the Glendale Arts Council 2010 Show and the Arizona Pastel Artists Association Winter Juried Show. I received awards in each of the shows. The piece "Greens and Purples" won second place in the Glendale Arts Council Show and the piece "Boot Scootin' Wannabes" won honorable mention in the APAA Winter Juried Show. I was very pleased to receive recognition in both shows!

Cold in Arizona???

This week the Arizona Pastel Artists Association is hosting a plein air painting workshop with Maggie Price. Maggie is an highly accomplished artist with a strong reputation as a teacher. She teaches workshops across the US as well as in Europe. As a resident of NM just outside of Albuquerque, Maggie was looking forward to some warmth and sun in Arizona in the middle of winter as much as we were looking forward to learning from her. Well, our "el nino" winter is not cooperating. We are definitely not showing our best side to the folks that have come from out of state to participate! We are having below normal temperatures.....low to mid 60s, cloudy weather at least part of each day so far....and rain predicted tomorrow. But, we are taking it in stride.....the warm friendship and laughter among the participants as we brave the elements has overcome our disappointment in the weather. And most importantly....we are learning a lot!!!

IAPS Fifteenth Juried Exhibition Reception

As mentioned in a previous blog I was thrilled to be juried into the Fifteenth Juried Exhibition of the International Association of Pastel Societies. The show was being held in the City of Brea Art Gallery in Brea, CA. As this was my first national level show I decided to attend the reception on Saturday evening, January 23rd. It is a beautiful gallery and the reception was very well attended. The trip was further enhanced for me because Maggie Price, IAPS President, presented a great pastel landscape painting demonstration from 2 to 5 pm in the gallery prior to the reception. Needless to say, I was very impressed by the quality and breadth of the work juried into the exhibition....some truly beautiful art. Recognizing the level of work made being part of the exhibit a truly memorable step forward in my art career! Above is a photo of my framed piece hung on the gallery wall. Below is a link to a brief video of the reception. I hope you enjoy the video even a fraction as much as I enjoyed being there!

Please click here to enjoy the video clip posted on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBOKVpUdkKI

Juried in!

I mentioned in my last post that there are a number of shows to be considered for entry this time of year in AZ. One of the shows I entered is the Glendale Arts Council show. I entered the allowed two pieces to be juried and found out today that both pieces were juried into the show. The two pieces I entered were "Greens and Purples" and "Sunflowers". This is a nice show representing all media and often results in a number of sales. However, the deciding issue for me was that the judge is William Scott Jennings who is a nationally known artist. One loves to get feedback from such an accomplished artist!

Show Season Continues!

The winter is the high season for art shows in Arizona....and the it keeps one hopping! I entered three pieces into the Winter Juried Show of the Arizona Pastel Artist Association which is being judged this year by Maggie Price who is the President of the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS). All three were juried into the show! The three I entered were "Market Color", "Young Bulls", and "Boot Scootin' Wannabes" (see above). I won't know if I won any awards until Feb. 6th.

I also just mailed off an entry to the Arizona Plein Air Artists Small Gems Show.....it will be awhile before I hear if any were juried in to that show. This afternoon I am taking two entries down to the Glendale Arts Council show in Glendale. They jury the art pieces on location. I will know in a few days if either of my pieces got into that show.

I am still floating on cloud 9 from having "Late Night Snack" juried into the IAPS show in Brea, CA. I decided to fly over for the reception on January 23rd. A friend, Christine, and I are going to fly over and spend the night. It will be fun to see all the art as IAPS draw entries from the top pastelists nationally and internationally. Before we fly home later in the day on Sunday we plan to hit some galleries....maybe in Laguna Beach. I will take pictures and share with you in a blog entry upon my return.

Hawaiian Trip Sketchbook

As I mentioned in the previous blog post, I tried something different for me while in Hawaii. I often take a sketchbook on trips....but this time I took a sketchbook of watercolor paper planning to do watercolor sketches. I tried one or two with just watercolor and did not get excited. But then I remembered seeing sketches done with ink outlines and painted in with watercolor. I decided to try that approach.....and really had a great time. I thought I would share here some of the sketches from the trip. The first one on the left is a picture of some pomegranates we saw in a fruitstand. The second from the left is a view into the bedroom from the living room of the Honolulu condo. The third one is the view from the balcony of our Honolulu 28th floor condo. The next is one of the beautiful hibiscus flowers found all over Hawaii. The last one was a rose I could see from our balcony of our Big Island condo. Quick, simple and lots of fun!!! Enjoy a glimpse of Hawaii through my eyes.

Market Colors

We just returned from a two week trip to Hawaii which was wonderful! I did some watercolor sketching while there which was new for me......I will share that in another post after I take some photos of some of the sketches. Upon our return I have been very busy as I had to compile all the images from members of the Arizona Pastel Artists Association for our fall Winter Juried Show. I compile them on a CD to send to the judge for judging. I had a few final touches to make on one of my entries that I started during Hidden in the Hills as my ongoing demo for visitors. I really like how it came out....especially the bright colors. Tell me what you think!