Here, There, and Everywhere

A few weeks have passed since my last post; they have surely not been idle weeks. The 14th of May marked the second in a series of summer festivals I have been coordinating with Reflectives in Artisans Cove (our next event will take place on June 11th). Despite the steady drizzle, May's show was able to go on as planned, with art, live music, and chicken dinners.
Yesterday, I was in Nashville for the close of Women's Work 2011 [above], an arts showcase sponsored by the Tennessee Women's Theater Project. I am most grateful to Maryanna and Chris Clarke for their exuberance and dedication in organizing this event. Seeing my paintings showcased alongside the work of many other talented women was also quite an honor. Now the paintings have returned to my walls, but new exhibits and festivals await them. . .

For instance, in addition to the June 11 festival at Artisans Cove, I will also be doing a Sidewalk Arts Stroll on June 16th in downtown Huntsville, and a one-woman show at the Gallery at Sam and Greg's on the calendar for June 20th. This is proving to be quite a full summer, but I never allow myself to become so busy doing such things that I stop making art. The photo at the top of the page is a small detail from the first layers of the painting I am currently working on, based on a drawing I did in March. This painting has been coming along slowly, as the canvas upon which I am working is big enough that I was able to render the girl life-size. This is the largest canvas I have ever attempted so far; would that I had a dozen such canvases to work with!

My #Draw365 sketches, on the other hand, remain quite small, but I find that I am finally wielding clumsy ballpoint pens with a new sense of grace. I am paying more attention to hatching, finding myself having better control over my lines. . . and while the sketches remain of everyday scenes and objects, each is bringing up many good questions about the selection process involved in art. I began by doing very wild sketches; now I am experimenting with a slightly more contained, clear-cut style. . . the project is not only inspiring me continually-- doing a quick drawing on the go each day is marvelously fun!