The Elgin Art Tour which took place in April was held at various studios across town.  I was painting and showing with fellow artists, Vicki Goodrich and Elizabeth Sullivan.  As you can see we had a garden party!  "Peach Blossom" is an example of one of my newer paintings, in which I was experimenting with the direct approach of painting the center, and negative painting, which formed the edges of the flower. 

Fire Blossoms

I left white paper in the wet-on-wet background and negatively painted some of the blossoms, then created others by scrubbing out color using cut edges of stencil paper and a rag.  My rag happened to be an old Christmas handtowel with some gold glitter on it, so if you get up close the painting looks like it has little bits of shiny gold dust! 

Come if you can to an artist's reception for the upcoming show "Juxtapose" by Waterloo Watercolor Group on Sunday July 8 from 12:30 to 1:30.  This painting is one of 2 that I have in this show.  It is being held at the North Hills Gallery, 7050 Village Center Drive, in northwest Austin, easy to find and plenty of parking! 

The exhibit will be up from Thursday July 5 through Sunday July 29.  The Gallery is open during regular business hours Monday through Thursday 9 am to 5 pm, Fridays 9 am to noon, and Sundays 8:30 am to 1 pm.

Anniversary Flowers I & II

These started as light value wet-on-wet underpaintings.  After they dried, I then came in with darker colors to define some of the edges and create detail.  I used a reference photo of a flower arrangement given to me by my husband for our anniversary some years back. I was unsatisfied with the first painting until I recently did a little creative cropping.  The second painting was juried into the recent Waterloo Watercolor Group Spring Show and received a Merit Award from artist Nicholas Simmons. It was fun and interesting to create different renderings of the same subject! 

Promise Tree

This one evolved organically, feeling like the tree was growing as I painted it.  Promise Tree seemed like a fitting title.  It is in the Waterloo Watercolor Spring Show at the Corridor of Art. I hope you enjoy it!

I will try to do a better job of posting, both to keep you updated on my creative endeavors, and to keep me painting!  Thanks for looking!

Crimson Bloom

The First National Bank in Elgin asked to display paintings from local artists.  Thought I'd give you a peek at some of mine hanging in their lobby.  I'll also show you one of them up close. It's called Crimson Bloom. Thanks for the comments and encouragement.  I'm not writing much because I'm busy painting!

Nick Simmons workshop

Just finished a 4 day workshop with artist Nicholas Simmons here in Austin. I loved it. He is an internationally recognized water media artist, a musician, and an entertaining stand-up comic. Made for a fun and interesting time. I learned about the use of fluid acrylics as a form of permanent watercolor and the use of Photoshop software for design purposes. Most importantly, our class of 22 was challenged and inspired to experiment and create art in new and personal ways. This painting is one I created in the workshop, with use of acrylic watercolor and techniques to create the atmosphere of water surrounding the subject.

I am going to try to do a better job with posting paintings on a more regular basis. Hope you enjoy my explorations!

2011 Pearls art show

This is me last night at the 2011 Pearls Before Swine Art Show here in Elgin with my painting "Just Happened." I created this one with an intuitive underpainting first, adding an image of columbines after it had dried, by painting in and around the shapes. "Summer Breeze," above, is one of my intuitive paintings which I let evolve spontaneously without preplanning a subject. Both paintings were fun to create. Summer Breeze received a People's Choice award during the reception!

There was a big festive crowd and lots of beautiful art, including youth art, in an old historic building on Main Street. And a silent auction with great participation from area businesses, with proceeds sponsoring a youth art scholarship. I am impressed with the vibrancy and support of the community and the leadership of the Elgin Art Association in making this event a success. Come if you can to the art show, which is up through Saturday, October 22 for the Elgin Hogeye Festival http://www.elgintx.com/hogeye.asp. For those of you who don't live in Texas, thanks for enjoying our fun through my blog!