Great Gift Idea

I have just received my clear boxes with silver ribbons and I'm happy to announce that I'll be offering a mixed set of five Le Coq du Village and five Coq of the Walk cards with envelopes, gift boxed for $15.

As you may know, Le Coq du Village is on the cover of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association for February, and Coq of the Walk is currently on display at the Maitland Art Center here in Orlando.

DVD Inspired Work

Rhonda Carpenter
Rhonda Carpenter sent me her first "Paper Painting" of a crow today. I had suggested she try adding some blue and purple in the feathers to add more variety than just black. Rhonda did a great job.

She asked me about tearing vs. cutting the paper for the tiny details like the eye. I told her that I never cut any of my papers, I always tear. However, you should do what works for you! I tear because I want each paper "brush stroke" to have natural edges.

Rhonda was also successful in staying within her value structure. Her sky is light, her ground is medium, and her bird is dark, this helps to separate each element of the composition.

Check out Rhonda's progression on this crow on her blog.

A Special Invitation

I have been asked by Renee Garrison of the Orlando Museum of Art to be the guest presenter at the Council of 101 Annual Spring Luncheon on April 22 in Winter Park. 


The women of the Council of 101 (the number of members determined the name) contribute thousands of hours each year to the Orlando Museum of Art and have given the OMA more than $300,000 each year since 2000! In April of 2006, the Council of 101 presented the OMA with a check for $355,000. They achieve this level of giving through their annual operations, which primarily include the Festival of Trees and the Antiques Show and Sale. In addition to cash donations, the Council purchases museum-quality prints created by contemporary American artists and gifts them to the OMA.


What an honor, I am happy to donate my time and talent to such a wonderful organization. For the luncheon I will be speaking and taking questions as I demonstrate my college technique while I work.


Please click the link above for more information about the Council of 101 at the Orlando Museum of Art.

Sunshine Award

Sunny
Rhonda Carpenter, a regular reader of my blog and watercolor artist, has chosen my blog for a sunshine award. I am very appreciative to be one of her six award winners. Thank you Rhonda!

Rhonda purchased my DVD and is doing a step by step on her blog of her progress on a crow.
Check it out!

DVD Inspired Work

Ginny Stiles
Ginny has done two paper paintings since being inspired by my Collage Overview DVD. The bears is called "Overbearing" and the pineapple is called "Welcome" The pineapple was actually growing in her yard here in FL and when the cold weather came, her and her husband decided to cut it rather than let it freeze. Ginny told me it was just a tiny thing, but it inspired her and she wanted to paint it. I love the texture!

On the bears, I helped Ginny with some suggestions on how to keep the chair from blending in to the background and how to handle the shadows under the bears. It all came down to value, and making sure to consider, light, medium and dark and to separate each element of the composition by assigning it a value.

I think Ginny did a great job! Click here to see Ginny's blog.

Dressing Room Project

Peacock Series #3
Well the Dance Competition weekend was a success in many ways. My daughter Emilie and her friends won several awards for their dances, and she even got to go up and receive the plaque for "Stars and Stripes" a very sweet ballet production.

In between dances in the dressing room, I was working away on my peacock series. There is always downtime in the dressing room throughout the day, and I was prepared for it. I brought my panels already under-painted (see older post) and ready for collage. I divided my papers by color in gallon ziplock bags and put them all into a tote bag with the under-paintings, a water vessel, a roll of paper towel, a small container of gloss gel medium, and a #8 filbert synthetic brush.

I worked on my peacocks between dances and I managed to complete three of them throughout the day. Now, this would have been much more productive at home in the studio, because this day was from 9:30am to 6:30 pm. I am very happy with being able to watch all the dances and awards as well as come home with my three pieces ready to be varnished.

Atlanta Workshop

The link is now ready for registration at the Atlanta Workshop.
Click Here

See older post about accommodations for the weekend.