Honorable Mention!

John and I were walking into the Atlanta Artists Center Holiday party and show when my friend, Pat, stopped me and said, "Sharon!  You've won an Honorable Mention!"  What a great start to a party.

The painting is called "Out in the Sun" and is done entirely with a palette knife, which is pretty messy but a lot of fun.

Something Made of Nothing

I am really intrigued when I find something that is made from things that would ordinarily be ignored or thrown away.  I thought I was so clever when I made a fence for my garden out of sticks from the beach.  And then I found this...

This is an elephant made entirely of beach wood.  It was made by a young woman who graduated from Block Island School and it was her senior project.

Obviously, I am going to have to spend more time on the beach!

Show at Spring Street Gallery

I am going to have a show of my new work at Spring Street Gallery on Block Island, RI starting on Sunday, July 29th, 2012.  I have worked hard at creating a body of new paintings and look forward to the reception on Sunday the 29th from 5- 7 pm

Farmers Market

I joined the Block Island  Farmers'
Market. I had no idea what to expect because I thought I was too lazy to get up early and actually accomplish something.  However, it turns out that I really like it!  I am getting to meet the nicest people and I am selling art!  It really is a Farmers' Market - people are selling fruit and vegetables, greens, bread and pastries - home grown or made things.  And then there is the art.  Lots of artists.  It is really great!

Beans!

We were away from our Block Island house for a couple of weeks.  When we got back my garden looked as if it were on steroids - except for the part where the deer ate about a third of the tomato plants!!  As I wandered around checking on the plants I discovered a bean on the plants I started from seed.  Then I found another and another and then all these.  I think it is more fun to plant a little seed and then come up with something like this.  Miraculous.

I have been the GWS Entry Chair for their National Show for four years. I have learned more than I imagined by doing this job. It is a demanding but interesting responsibility.

Artists want to enter shows for lots of reasons - to get some feedback on their artwork, to build their resumes, and maybe win a prize (often accompanied by money) Some use it to get their work into the public eye. When GWS sends out a call to enter their National Show they are soliciting entries from all over the country. Right up until the deadline, scores of images arrive in my mailbox or inbox and I get to look at all the entries before I catalog them and send them to the competition judge. That judge is always a well regarded artist on the national level.

Just looking at all those images as a group has really educated me. I think I can now spot quickly what makes a good painting and what does not. It isn't about nice colors, although they are great. It isn't about subject matter, either. It's about confidence and style and knowledge of composition. When I see a painting that is - for instance - a picture of flowers in a vase that looks like any other painting of flowers with weak colors that look fussed over I know the judge will not accept it into the show. If I see flowers that look vibrant with good values and maybe a little twist to the way the flowers or vase are rendered and the composition is interesting I know it's a good one.

Can I translate this knowledge into great paintings for myself? Not always. But since I have seen so many paintings that just need some tweaking to be terrific I have tried to make sure I take that one extra step forward to make my paintings better.

I challenged myself to paint a painting in under two hours yesterday, and I came up with this. It's far from finished, but doing it as fast as I could prevented me from getting all picky with every detail. Which is pretty liberating - I just started piling the paint on.

Still having trouble with those greens, but I got a significant amount of work done and can fix things later.

Painting Workshop

Last weekend I took a three day painting workshop with Bill Davidson. I had heard great things about him and was looking forward to learning from him. I like to take a workshop - or two - every year to keep sharp and see what other people are doing with their art.

Bill is a great teacher, very cheerful and positive and I will be using some of his ideas in my paintings. I enjoyed being with other people who are serious about their art and it inspired me to paint more and more.

I painted a bunch of little paintings during the workshop and here is one - copied from one of Bill's (lovely) paintings. Mine isn't that lovely, but I enjoyed big brush strokes and putting down lots of paint without messing around.

This is crazy!

Today I went out to our backyard - it was 65 degrees - and discovered that we have flowering daffodils! Usually, here in Georgia, the daffodils are about an inch high at the end of January, and flowering at the end of February. January 25, 2012? Flowers!

Although I love the daffodils I find this a little creepy...

Last weekend we went to Boulder, CO for a baby shower for daughter, Heather, who is due in March. The shower was a very nice and civilized party for Heather and Dave's friends, many of whom brought their wonderful babies. And, they have very nice friends.

On the way through the Denver airport I spotted a lot of great art but two giant maps really intrigued me. Done by Gary Sweeney, the maps show icons of funky landmarks on each state. The maps are accompanied by pictures of parents on a trip before the kids came along and a picture of what Gary says is his sister (full size) next to a meteroite display - apparently on a trip with the parents.

It was really fun to look at and I wondered how many people actually stood there and looked at this installation. They should!

At a glamorous New Year's Eve dinner in New York City, I sat next to a very nice man who turned out to be a writer. His kids' series include Scream Team and Behind Enemy Lines (Under Fire in the Middle East). Another good one - Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombies!

These books seem perfect for my 10 year old grandson. It's hard to find books for boys that blend scary stuff and humor and I am a new fan of Bill Doyle's writing.

Check him out: billdoyle.net


The second book in my Behind Enemy
Lines series will be out with Scholastic this fall. True stories of incredibly
brave men and women. The second book in my Behind Enemy Lines series will be out with Scholastic this fall. True stories of incredibly brave men and women.

The Artist's Helper

During the summer I took a picture of Doug, who was helping his friend take his artwork out of the Island Gallery. He was standing in the back of the truck with a stack of canvasses and the sun hit him beautifully. I just had to paint him.

Walter's

Several years ago, John decided that the Connecticut grandchildren needed to experience Walter's Hot Dogs in Mamaroneck, NY. Walter's is a pagoda shaped building built in the 1920's that sells hot dogs, fries and various drinks. That's all. And, it's takeout.
So, we go to Walter's and stand in a line in the rain, snow and wind to get ...a hot dog. We are not alone in this - every year we meet people in the line from out of town who grew up going to Walter's and are home for a visit. As a matter of fact, the man who looked at our crowd and begged to be allowed to go ahead of us had to pay for the priviledge by taking our picture. Our group has grown from the original four to a crowd of (this year) twelve, who are now considering a trip to Walter's the day after Christmas to be part of the family tradition.

To eat hot dogs.

Christmas and New Year

We had such a nice time visiting kids and grandkids during Christmas week. At Kristin and Rob's house we helped Oliver write a last-minute note to Santa and had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day breakfast.
Isn't this a great cookie?

Ouch!

Stepping off the last step in our garage, I twisted my ankle and landed hard on the concrete floor. A visit to the Medical Center on Block Island netted me an air cast, crutches and a lot of sympathy.

Turns out that my foot is broken, ankle sprained, so I got upgraded to this attractive boot. Several weeks later I have cleaned out lots of files, started a couple of new books, caught up on correspondence and painted a LOT.

Could be a lot worse!

Leonard

My friend, Ruth, asked me to do a painting of her husband. She didn't want a portrait (phew) but she wanted his "essence". She loves to watch him

putter around their garden - snipping, pruning and generally really enjoying himself.

So, I did this...

Feeling Better

I have told my students to paint every day and I obviously don't listen to my own advice. After having a disappointing try at a small painting I went back the next day and tried again. I painted this little painting and I was much more comfortable. It proves my point - you have to paint every day, if possible.

Stumped

I finally got into my studio after an absence of several weeks and discovered I forgot how to paint! I was all thumbs - couldn't draw, couldn't work the paint, couldn't feel comfortable. I finally did this little painting and felt relieved but I don't like it. The kid's arm looks odd.

So, I will prop it up in the kitchen and ignore it for a couple of days and the problem will reveal itself to me.

First Prize!

I entered these three 6" X 6" oil paintings in

Atlanta Artists Center December juried show.

I was so excited to find out that all three

were given First Prize!

The judge is someone whose work I have admired for years and I consider this a great honor.

Managing Myself

There is a lot to do when you are trying to sell artwork and sometimes it's overwhelming. This a time when I have a lot to do: framing my work, signing artwork into galleries, arranging prints and cards, asking people to carry them in their stores, and keeping track of where everything is. AND finding time to turn out the masterpieces, of course.

I need a manager! My husband, John, does a lot for me but he has a life, too. I was so jealous when I took a (wonderful) workshop with Judy Morris and she told us that her husband does all her framing and she hasn't cooked a meal in years. Wow.

I just got a proof for an ad I placed in the Block Island Times. I was amused to see that the image is pretty crooked. Either my picture taking was terrible or the watercolor paper is warped, but the effect is ....crooked. I will let it go and hope that people looking at it think that my painting is charmingly whimsical.