Opening last Thursday at the Falkirk

The Falkirk Cultural Center is located within a gorgeous old historical house in San Rafael. It's on a bit of a hill, with many windows looking out across the valley, and it was a beautiful evening there on Thursday.

Anyways, I was very happy to have gotten two good-sized pieces accepted into the show, especially as Donna Seager (who owns a beautiful gallery a mile or so down the road) was the juror. The Juried Annual is displayed in three upstairs rooms, and it's a very elegant setting for a reception.

Here's Tony, with Donna, who we met that night, in front of my painting, "Blossom Rain".

Also, here are some photos of other pieces we enjoyed, but unfortunately I didn't take notes at the time, so I can't tell you who made what.
I DO know that that is Stephanie Jucker (who we know from 'HANG' days)-- in front of her piece.

musings on 'Bouquets to Art'--

This was my second experience of "Bouquets to Art" (I went several years ago, when it was held at the Legion of Honor). Nothing really prepared me for that first time-- for floral designers crafting displays in response to not only paintings, and sculptures, but furniture, and dishes, and so forth. Now it's held in the new DeYoung, and it was exciting to see it there, with that collection.


Some of my favorite things about the show:
1) It makes one think about the nature of creativity, and its manifestations in many forms (this being one that I don't regularly give that much thought to).
2) It kinda made me want to BE more creative in that medium-- at least to bring more of the outdoors in.
3) Looking at the arrangements, and thinking about how they related to the artworks they are in response to, helped me to see and appreciate the art more-- my vision was heightened.
4) I'm sure it has this affect on others, too, and brings a broader appreciation of the museum and all the things in it to a lot of people who might not be big museum-goers.
5) It's great to have the smell of plants and earthiness inside of that space, and I bet when I go there next, I'll kinda miss it.

So there you have it. Worth a visit next time it comes around!
(and these photos will not go very far towards re-creating the experience!)

"Abstract Rhythms" opens...

..opened, that is, with a reception Thursday evening. Here are some scenes, including my two paintings...




Many thanks to the show's coordinators, Martha & Satri and the Sebastopol Center for the Arts for mounting an inspiring show, and for awarding the 'coordinator's award' to my piece "Poet in the Garden" (at left). I'm truly honored!

evidence

...of painting activity. Trying to move some of these puppies along to completion.


And besides painting---?
Teaching, preparing new class, gardening, dinners with family & friends, and--
Moving Paintings Around.
This being the year I'm entering a lot of juried shows-- I got another 2 paintings accepted to a show at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts-- This one called "Abstract Rhythms" (paintings inspired by music or movement). So I dropped those off, and picked up the three from the last show. (The opening reception) for Abstract Rhythms, by the way: this Thursday, 6-7:30)
Also yesterday, I roped Tony into driving down with me to drop off my pieces for the Falkirk Annual, in San Rafael (and since it was a beauuutiful spring day we managed to stretch it out with a long country drive home).
And that show I've had up at the Willow Wood? (since October?) has become an ongoing, evolving thing; I'm quite flattered that owners Matthew & Lulu like having the work there so much. I've been able to switch paintings in & out when I've needed to, borrowing them for other shows, other places.
Oh, and I packed a couple of paintings up to ship off to their new home in Minnesota, as well.

You always knew artists were 'different'...

New study (tracking the eye movements of artists and non-artists looking at photos) show that artists 'look' differently. Now there's proof. (I'd like to see more of the result photos!) Click here
to go to the site at Cognitive Daily.
(Oh, and in other eye-tracking news, apparently men are more likely to stare at other mens crotches than women are. So now you know.)

abstract painting aplenty at "Geoform"

I'm working away on my materials for the class starting tomorrow ("Modes of Abstraction") and I was reminded of this website, earlier discovered: Geoform: Geometric Form and Structure in Contemporary Abstract Art. There's much to wander around and browse, and in some cases, I'd say the geometric is pretty loosely defined. Below, one by the site's editor, Julie Karabenick; see more of her work here.

At last, a picture

Ah, computers. It's amazing that they work as well as they do most of the time.
(click to see it very big)

Trouble uploading pics!

Hi folks, seems to be a problem with the visuals here at Blogger.
Or is it just me?

Anyhoo-- where have I been?
I confess, spring & the garden has gotten the better of me for a few days now.
That, and I start teaching my new, six-hours-on-Saturdays class on Abstract Painting on Saturday. I ordered some books from Amazon, which just recently arrived, and I have a big stack home from various libraries... Trying to figure out the best sequence, how to put it all together, et al. It's been fun. The class has been fully enrolled (30+ students) for some time, so there seems to be some general excitement about it. I will, or course, let you know how it goes.

And HOPEFULLY pictures again soon!
(Worth a thousand words, or so I'm told. Give or take)

Meanwhile, for pics, cruise over to the garden site.

Long time, no see

Remember this one? I'm back to work on it after a couple months away from it. I'm thinking another flower in the bottom, and it'll be almost done.
(acrylic & fabric collage, on canvas, 36" square, in progress)

Friends!

Visit Claire B. Cotts' blog for a fascinating look at how this painting went from point A (first photo) to point B (second photo)


Third photo: Here's the latest from Bob Stang, who we saw last night at Art Murmur (full details to come!)

Fourth photo: and one from Michael Coy, of his lovely daughter Maddy!

working away

Trying to decide what color I want the "sky" to be.
My experience so far has been that I really prefer the tree paintings I've done with non-naturalistic sky colors. Yet I feel like they can't all be ochre.
Today I substiuted for a colleague's class, and she asked me to show them slides of my work. It was interesting to see some of these trees from a couple years ago. Some of them had sold pretty quickly, and so weren't hanging around here all that long.