new to me: Deborah Salomon collage

Yesterday found us at the Art for Life Auction, where we were happy to donate art to a good cause-- and come home with art! I've always loved Deborah's work.

In-progress today

After a month spent just finishing up that batch of paintings for Far West, now I'm working on this. As Tony said, 'for every action there is an equal & opposite reaction'-- so perhaps this is the opposite of stripes. 3 x 6 feet.

(As always, click to see bigger.)

Of Gifts & Genius

I'm bumping this up to the top for my Monday Morning peeps to find-- it's Elizabeth Gilbert (of Eat, Pray, Love fame) speaking on the nature of 'genius'. I was reminded of this by a book I've begun reading called "The Gift" by Lewis Hyde (subtitled: Creativity & the Artist in the Modern World) which came highly praised by another group of artists.
And if you've never heard of the TEDtalks, another fascinating one is Jill Bolte Taylor's talk on lessons learned by surviving a stroke.

Today's the Day... Opening Reception

Hey guys, today (Saturday) is in fact the day--
I have an opening reception downtown here in Graton.
Drop by if you're in the neighborhood:
Far West Trading Company, 3-6pm.
Scroll down 2 posts for links & more!

P.S. Thanks to all who came out, & Lou, Gary, Naisie et al.
Look how cute they are...

Show continues til October 4th, & while you're in town, check out paintings by Janet Moore, Lorraine Cook & gallery artists at the Graton Gallery, too!

Stripes!

In honor of my upcoming show at Far West Trading Company in Graton-- now my Stripe Series has it's own page! See here.

The (formerly, temporarily) Lost Work

About a year & a half ago, I started doing a bunch of work on paper... experimenting with some things, trying to make a break of sorts with what had come before. I don't believe I posted much during this period, either. Then, with an open studio coming, they were cleared away to a portfolio in Deep Storage, where they remained, un-found, 'til recently.

It's always interesting to re-discover work from a prior period-- and see how it differs from what you held in your memory.

science*nature*art*science*nature*art

nature and numbers from Bethany Lesko on Vimeo.

I've got some sunflower-inspired motifs going on in the studio--and it's that time in the garden too-- but it turns out I haven't been following the rules... : )

whole lotta 'stripes'

My next showing (at Far West, lovely downtown Graton, date to be revealed) will be of these, so I'm revising & completing a few, and adding a few new ones to the mix.
The 'stripe' paintings have been an on-going series, with its genesis back in abstracted forest pieces from my grad school days.


Oh, and here's the June view from the studio's doors; plenty of distraction, work to do, and inspiration-- out there.

'Express' Article, & 'Uptown Unveiled'

Thanks to Dewitt Cheng of the East Bay Express for writing up our show! The article is here: East Bay Express.

And if you can make it, TONIGHT is Oakland's "Uptown Unveiled." Sounds like it'll be quite a block party.

summertime feeling

Yesterday was our last official day of Open Studios down at Kuhl Frames + Art (though the show remains up through June 27th, on which day we'll again gallery sit from 11-4).
Thank you to all our visitors, and friends old & new. The show was the maiden voyage of some new-ish work, and it was great to get feeback on it, and especially have some folks really connect with what I'm trying to do. A favorite quote from yesterday:..."it's like a ballet-- or symphony-- of molecules..."

After last weekend, Tony and I were talking about Artist Residencies-- ones we've gone on, or self-created; we've both experienced summers that have been expansively creative periods. After a quick get-away, we look forward to re-creating some of those conditions right here at home this summer. I darted into San Francisco last week to catch a couple of shows before they ended last week, and well, I'm feeling just generally inspired.
Come on, Summer!
(In the top photo: that's me, 13 years ago, taken by Tony in the summer just before we became a couple. Yes, I'm drawing in a garden in Sebastopol while housesitting, seven years before we moved up this way. Bottom photo shows the full frame, with Tony's painting-in-progress on an easel to the right. click to see bigger)

Back to the Garden

When we're away for even a few days, as we have been-- we're always pretty glad to get back to the garden & its inspirations, & to see what's changed during our absence...

'Kuhl Art' Show Is Up: reception Friday!

This past Sunday found Tony & me down in Oakland hanging our (Pro-Arts Open Studios) show at Kuhl Frames + Art.
It was fun to hang out a bit with Travis & Elisa, and see the cool business & studio operations they've created there. They moved to the East Bay from Santa Rosa a couple of years ago, and it looks like it's agreeing with them.

this Friday in Santa Rosa: VineArt!

If we weren't tied up in Oakland with the Art Murmur on Friday-- you can bet we would be over on South 'A' Street in Santa Rosa, at their annual 'Vine Art'. I've written here before about South A's WinterBlast; this is the summer (but wear your hats & scarves anyway) event, complete with wines & elegant eats. You are guaranteed a good time!
...and artist friend Laura Hoffman is graciously hosting some of my work in her space, too.

meanwhile, back at Studio B...

Looking at some of the new work with some of the previous crop...

And over on Tony's side, he's thriving on a kind of visual chaos (the photos show multiple small paintings stacked up together). Our Tony is definitely a more-is-more kind of guy.

Card for our Upcoming Show!

Wine & Photos

This painting of mine is gracing the label of a fabulous Chardonnay by Eric Kent Winery. They feature an artist on each label; Tony & friend Bob Stang appeared on last year's wines, Claire Cotts & I on two of this year's offerings. The wines are so much in demand, that alas my Chardonnay is already sold out...
...and here, lending a sense of scale to this 4 x 6'' painting, a photo taken by Paul Gower on a recent visit here....

further along...

New! in progress; and a Studio Visit

If you're a regular visitor to this space, I thank you for your persistence. It seems that once I fall out of the blogging habit-- well, I'm slow to resume. I have however been painting! (you know, when I can find time in my busy knitting & gardening schedule. SPRING! It is SO happening in Sonoma County right now.)

Here are a bunch of shots taken this morning at my studio down the block. I was invited to participate in a critique with a group of local artists who came to visit the other day-- and as you can see, I set up the space like a very crowded gallery. As much as the feedback from the group, it was helpful to me just to get the work all together like this, and as a result I feel I'm making fast progress on my most recent painting. (click on any image to enlarge it)

video weekend at Dear Ada

For a dose of inspiration & cheer, click over here.

And, if you're not familiar with TEDTalks (chances are you've been e-mailed one somewhere along the line), click over to here,
and browse.

Now Showing @...

The two paintings on the left are currently on display over at the Graton Gallery 's Third Invitational Show, (through March 1st), along with one by Tony and a quite varied assortment of other artists.
The picture at right, Tony's "When it Rains..." is up at the (new!) Petaluma Art Center; in a show themed 'Weather'. It's quite a beautiful space, and we met several new artists at the opening. Alas, we didn't have the camera along... Check it out if you can...(through March 23rd).