Monday, November 26, 2012

Another Workshop

I will teach a portrait workshop on December 15th  at the Studio Frame Shop in Warrenton Virginia.  The workshop will focus on attaining a realistic likeness using charcoals and pastels.  Contact sha45rps@starpower.net for further information and to register.  Class size is limited to 5 students in order to afford each student indepth one on one instruction.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Little Vineyard Study Sold

The little vineyard study, featured in a recent blog post, has sold at The Art League Gallery in Alexandria. 

I spent today doing a different type of painting.........my front porch.  Now my back and knees are sore and tired.  But, it sure looks nice. 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Honorable Mention Award at Strathmore Mansion

I received an Honorable Mention Award yesterday at the Miniature Painters, Sculptors, & Gravers Society of Washington DC.  The awards ceremony was held at the Strathmore Mansion in Bethesda MD.  Along with a sumptuous buffet luncheon in the ballroom, the show was officially opened to collectors only and the artists.  In this photo, people have just started to arrive and you can see the huge pipe organ above the dinning area and great fireplace.  This room reminds me of the Biltmore Mansion in Asheville NC, but is about one third the size of the hall at Biltmore.   All in all, it was elegant and the food fantastic.  OH, and guess who forgot to have her picture taken when she received her award?  I really need a personal assistant. 

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Invasives In My Yard

I am still under the weather a bit, so I am moving from one sunny window to the next, trying to enjoy the beautiful weather here.  One thing has become very obvious today......my yard is overrun with invasive species.   Bittersweet, honeysuckle, and wysteria are climbing to the tops of all the trees here.  I can blame the highway department for a few of these monsters, such as the autumn olive in every hedgerow, but I am the idiot who thought wysteria would look good on an arbor beside my Bartlet Pear tree.  Now that all the leaves have fallen, I can see wysteria in the very top of the pear tree, choking it to death. 

I can also dismiss the bittersweet a bit, since the songbirds love the seeds and scatter them freely, but there is nothing that will touch an autumn olive berry, except maybe Satan.  I can only hope that one day science will discover those berries will cure some horrible disease.....well, I am gonna tell myself that for a bit longer.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Thinking About Artmaking

I am on the sofa today, trying to recover from an illness that suddenly struck me two days ago.  I have had a constant high fever, aches and pains in every muscle and now a rash all over my body.  Even so, I have tried to read my new copy of International Artist.  But, the eyes are hurting, so now I am just thinking about artmaking.  Planning what I will do next with the Flora painting or planning my next workshop on the 24th, where I will be teaching how to get a likeness using charcoals or pastels.  It is bad enough to be sick, but what really hurts is not feeling good enough to get into my studio and work. on artmaking. 

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Little Vineyard Study at The Art League

The little vineyard study I just completed and posted on the blog a few days back has been juried into this month's small works show at The Art League Gallery in Alexandria.  It will be on display throughout the month of November.  491 pieces were entered and 126 pieces were selected for the show. 

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Studio Visitors in Leesburg

I just had a wonderful visit with my dear old friends Walt & JoAnn Johnson of Manassas VA.  JoAnn and I go way back to my old days in the Postal Service.  We had a lovely lunch together and caught up on family stories (Granny Stories) and reminisced about the old days.   Did I say old?  Funny thing is how they don't look any older and yet I look like Methusela or Lazarus. 

I gave them both a tour of Art Square and my new studio.   OH, I forgot the wonderful new camera, so no pictures today.  DUHHHHHHHH!!!