Currently on Display at Ice House

Can you believe summer is almost over? Fall is just around the corner and so is the 1st Annual Little Washington Miniatures Painting Exhibition. This show is a national competition with cash prizes and is being judged by Narissa Steel, President of the Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society of Washington DC. Plan to come out and be totally amazed by the beauty and technical skill of these tiny paintings all smaller than 25 square inches in size.

Currently on display at the Ice House is "Raining Cats and Dogs". All the artwork is of cats or dogs by a few Northern Virginia artists who are tops in the field of animal art.

As the gallery and Linda Lawler gear up for a very busy Fall season, local B & B Guests can still
take advantage of the 20% discount on artwork until Labor Day. If you aren't staying at a B & B, just mention this blog and receive the discount also.

The Rappahannock Artists Studio Tour will be on the first full weekend of November. This tour just gets better and better each year. Plan on taking the tour and see the working studios of all your favorite Rappahannock Artists.

Jack Nicholson Visits

Jack Nicholson recently visited Little Washington to have dinner at the world famous Inn. Unfortunately for me, he came out on a Wednesday night and I am closed on Wednesdays.

Hey Jack, you missed out on some fabulous artwork at the Ice House Gallery.

Pink Clouds

This is a photo taken in my front yard one evening. This is just the sort of thing that inspires a painting for me. I will hopefully get one started this week. Maybe a little study first, then incorporate this into a larger painting.

Wildlife Update

Remember the Robin building a nest outside the studio door? Well, she has disappeared during my three day closures after her initial three day sitting on the next. Why? I have no idea. She simply left after three days and never returned. I can't imagine what possed her to build in that spot to begin with.

Cresthill View

This is the beginning of a painting called "Cresthill View". I pass this spot each day on my short commute to the studio/gallery. I am thinking its time to add some animal life to my paintings and the foreground bothers me a bit. Not too sure why, but I will contemplate some changes to it.

Plein Air Workshops

Here are two photos of my most recent Plein Air Workshop at Barrel Oak Vineyard and Winery.

We had a fantastic view to paint, which included a bit of John Marshall's home among the distant trees. John Marshall was our first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. His birthplace is just up the road also.

You can almost smell the paint and see the smiles on the faces of the students. The day started off warm and breezy, but by 11:30 we were all ready for a free wine tasting and some lunch, provided by myself as part of the package. I did a demonstration in oils at 9:30 and then did a pastel demo after lunch. By 2:00 everyone was suffering from too much information for the brain to store and we called it a day.

My next workshop at Barrel Oak is on September 23rd and then another on October 8th. Preregistration is required since a gourmet lunch and winetasting is included. Please call 540-364-4043 to register or send me an e-mail, sha45rps@starpower.net.

More Wildlife

Take two steps outside of my studio door and you are under a small redbud tree. I am 5'7" and have to bend a bit to walk under the low branches. While I was closed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this Robin built her nest in the tree directly above my walk. I can actually put my hand into her nest and my OPEN flag flutters right in front of her face. What was she thinking?

I am hoping the eggs won't hatch during the next three day period I am normally closed.

Is Mother Nature or God trying to tell me I am supposed to paint animals instead of humans? Why else would they be throwing all this wildlife at me these days. Oh and we have a Doe with three spotted fawns living in our front wooded area.

You can look forward to more pictures of the babies and a possible new series of paintings.