Enjoyed a day of outdoor painting this past Saturday with instructor Kim Hall. Hot as could be, but the locations were great. Very southernmost part of the Northern Neck, just where two "arms" of the Rappahannock River embrace the towns of Irvington, Kilmarnock, and White Stone, Virginia. We started in White Stone, at Robbins' Boat Yard. The painting I began there still needs some studio work, since the scene I chose was a bit complicated for the amount of time available. After lunch, we headed over to the Tides Inn in Irvington. Water, water everywhere, and some interesting clouds that began to build up in the afternoon. This is the view from a nice, shady vantage point at the Inn. Here is: "Might Rain Later" Oil on gallery wrapped canvas, 9" x 12"
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A show is coming up at the Ice House Art Co-op in Berkeley Springs WV. It is being hosted by the Morgan Arts Council and I hope to get some work accepted. The show is titled, "Close to Nature's Heart," and will feature mountains. Like many people, having a deadline helps me focus on finishing a work. For that reason, I enjoy using a Call for Entries due date, along with the theme of any new show, as both incentive and encouragement to create some new work. This week, I completed this "Mountain Sunset." The title is tentative, and I welcome suggestions. Oils. Gallery wrapped 9 x 12 canvas. There is a regional "freebie" magazine, "The Rivah," devoted to events and places of interest for both visitors and locals. It's quite interesting, and useful for finding things to see and do here on the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck of Virginia.
The magazine includes a children's page, and a feature of the children's page is a scene to color. The publishers were in need of some new coloring scenes. They asked that the scene to reflect some aspect of living near the river. In taking a try at creating something that would suit, it was necessary to completely adjust the way I usually approach a painting or even a drawing. Rather than think forward to the a "finished" product, this drawing needed to specifically provide freedom for someone else to complete the scene. So, I gave it a try, and now feel ridiculously pleased that my two little sketches below will hopefully give enjoyment to others in the upcoming issues! So, Covid-19 just drags on and on. It's now the beginning of July, and the Colonial Beach Artists Guild is still trying to create virtual shows as much for morale among our members as to have a means to have our recent creations seen. Our newest online show is titled "Found Object Art." The Getty Museum's challenge, proposed early in the “stay-at-home” period, was one of our inspirations. Its premise was to recreate artistic masterpieces with objects found around the house. It proved to be popular and quite impressive. Who knew what you could do with dry pasta and a pair of socks. Then, we began to inch outside our homes. Fortunately for us, we live in a small, very walkable riverfront town, which expanded our available materials to include objects found in our natural environment, such as driftwood, beach glass, and shells. We made our guidelines broad. It didn’t matter if the “found-object(s)” came from your junk drawer, closet, backyard, thrift shop, or yard sale. If you picked it up off the beach and lugged it home 3 years ago, that was fine. As long as some “found object” was an important component of your piece, and your piece was created in the last few months – great! The photo above is of my entry into the "virtual show." It is titled "Perfect Imperfections" and each shell was happily carted home from vacation visits to the Outer Banks. Every shell on this wreath could be called "flawed" yet the "wear and tear" inflicted on these shells through the rough and tumble of their environment (prior to their becoming "found-objects" only adds to their beauty and interest. The piece is a wall hanging (wreath) measuring 8.5" x 8.5". To see the Album of the "Found-Object Art" show on the Colonial Beach Artists Guild Facebook page, click here. Enjoy!
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