Hope y'all can come!
Please join us for this Special One Night Art Show of Colorado
representational and abstract artists at the B-Spot in RiNo Art District,
2750 Blake Street, Denver Colorado, 80205
Friday, October 8th
5:00 – 9:00
PARKING
Free parking at the B-Spot and on the street.
$5 parking lot available 1/2 block north of B-Spot on Blake.
MAKE A NIGHT OF IT!
Visit “Events” on our website to find
a list of nearby restaurants: www.cherrycreekartgallery.com /events
PLEASE RSVP
or
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| The Basset in the Sun, 18x24, oil, available |
The photo reference for this painting was taken a number of years ago. I loved the sienna tone to the whole image. As often happens with my reference photos, is I see something in them when I take them, but then once I get home, it just doesn't speak to me right away. Then when revisiting my photos at a later date, the reawakening of what drew me to take it in the first place comes back. This is an old rescued dame, who once her owner died, no one in the family wanted it. The cousin, who loves all animals, drove a few states away to go pick her up and give her a few good years with the rest of their menagerie. She seemed to have settled in just fine and found this perfect place to sit in the sun. Her name is Clio.
I enjoy doing pet portraits and though this is not a commissioned portrait, I felt compelled to honor this solid basset hound. She seems so regal in her bearing. I started with an old painting as I often do. My intent on this was to record the progress from start to finish and make it into a video. I did all the work to do this but the resulting video is not as good as I would have liked. The program seems to have made all the images darker than they were already. It hasn't been easy to photograph due to the fact I painted over a varnished painting. The glare from the varnish comes through, and painting on varnish also absorbs so much of the paint to make the new layer darker than what is applied. You would think I would learn and remove the varnish before starting a new painting, but I am lazy. So instead, I constantly fight this fact and then it is really hard to photograph on top of it. When will I ever learn??
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| Sunset Over the Mesa, 18x24, oil available |
On the last evening of my visit to Arizona in April, my friend Debbie and I took our gear to the high school parking lot in Cottonwood to paint the sunset. Instead of painting, as it took its own sweet time to show up, we sat and talked and watched the sky. Never did set up to paint. But the sunset did not disappoint once it came on. I was content with taking photos. If we had tried to get our paint mixed to be ready, I would not have come up with this color scheme based on what came before it. Nature works on its own time and in its own way. Stunning in its variety!
I took a road trip to Arizona staying mostly in Cottonwood. We did go out and paint most days, and it was good to get out in a totally new environment. I did do one painting of the red rocks that surround this area (just south of Sedona) as much as I didn't want to paint red rocks. It is the best of the paintings I did, in my opinion. Of course it fell face down as I was trying to balance everything not having a carrying case with me. None of the paintings are anything to write home about which is why I haven't posted them. Nevertheless, I enjoyed being outside painting, something I don't do enough of anymore.
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| Reflecting, 24x24, oil available |
Here is another fresh off the easel. As often happens when I am working on so many simultaneously, a few come to completion about the same time. This one I relate to in that I can sit and watch water for ages, be it the gulf, a brook, a lake or the ocean. Yet it seems like a short time only has passed. Even though I am more likely to walk a beach, I am often pulled to just sit still in silence, watching and listening. I saw this man doing just that one evening and the skimmers flying by just added to the story.
In case you are not on my mailing or newsletter list, I wanted to post the information on our partnership with Project Angel Heart for the month of June Fresh Art for the Heart online show. We have been off to a good start with sales so I do hope you will check out the link to view the show. There are 12 artists participating and we will donate 20% of all sales to Project Angel Heart.
CCAG did a similar partnership for our Small Gems show back in December. Metrocaring was grateful for the $5500 we donated from our sales. I was blessed to make a sale from the day the "Fresh Art for the Heart" show opened on June 1. The happy owner sent me a photo today of where they have hung it. She said not only does it change the feel of the room for the better but the room feels lighter and brighter too! What a gracious thing to say to an artist!
Here it is:
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| Sunset Over the Gulf, oil, 18x36 available |
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| Day Lilies in the Garden, 12x9, oil, Available | |
I started this smaller work as a way to paint with my friend who comes over once a month for us to catch up and paint together for the day. It seemed one I could do while talking without too much investment in the outcome. I am pleased with the outcome which is a bonus. I finished it up on my own but it was mostly done in this friendly and congenial atmosphere.
To start work in garden in early spring after all the snow we have had and waiting for the so soil to not be so saturated, I began to dig up those plants that are taking over my main flower bed in the backyard. The tubers of day lilies and the bulbs of grape hyacinths both tend to be in clumps with not as much dirt around them once they get thick from lack of thinning. I have not thinned the thicket of where these particular day lily plants are, but I did ravish the other side of the butterfly bush - the purple flowers and the green tube shaped remnants of the flowers which divide the bed, east vs west. Most of the foliage in this painting is from the other plant that has taken over, spearmint. A veritable thicket. I purposely let it get out hand the past several years because it is the last flowering plant in the fall for the bees. A neighbor has a bee hive in my back yard and I want to do my best by them. However, I got after the mint as well. I have no doubt it will be back, but it gets to start all over now. I threw in some Zinnia seeds last year that I really enjoyed so I want more room for those this year.
I have left this painting in my dining room for now, so that every time I walk by it brings joy to my heart. I am posting it on this Easter 2021 as a sign of hope for things to come. May the blessings of this day be with you now and always.
