The results are in...

"I get knocked down
But I get up again
You're never going to keep me down" - Chumbawumba 'Tubthumping'

 As you might guess by the lyrics above, my painting was not accepted into the MNSF Fine Arts Show. I will admit I am a little disappointed but where one door closes a window opens. My painting will be on display at Salon 300: Minnesota State Fair Overflow Show at the Hopkins Center for the Arts! I won't be able to make it to the opening reception but you can bet that I will make it out there to see it, I hope you will too.

I'm going to spend a good amount of time in the studio today, experimenting, working on lessons from several workshops I'm taking and rocking out. The cool cloudy weather makes my creative juices flow. 

What are some of your favorite workshops you've taken, online or in person?

I did it!

Untitled - MN State Fair 2010
18" x 24" on Gesso Board

I've been talking about doing it for years. I've actually entered a painting into the MN State Fair Fine Arts competition. My husband enters it every year (in the Photography catagory) and it's beyond competitive. If I remember correctly, he's only made it in once in as long as I can remember and he is an AMAZING photographer.

My nerves are riding high and will be until August 11th when I find out if I've been accepted. Keep your fingers crossed for me! It would be a huge boost to the ego to make the cut on my first try.

Long Lost Blogger

Hello? Anyone out there?

I'm sorry for being gone so long! I've been working on larger paintings and I am amazed at how different it is working on a different scale and medium!! I have my practice painting done and have started working the piece I hope to enter into the State Fair Fine Arts competition. I'm stressing myself out working under a deadline. I have to finish it and have it framed in the new 2-3 weeks so I can submit it the first weekend of August! The pressure is killing me!

Once the state fair project is complete, I'm going to dive into The Sketchbook Project and I'm pretty psyched about it. I have a friend that I've just reconnected with after 13 years who is doing it along with me and I can't wait to have some art dates with her.

Thanks for your patience and please bear with me! I'll keep you posted when I can!

Looking through the eyes of a child

This past Wednesday I spend the day with my oldest daughter, Celia. I introduced her to the gastronomical wonder that is a Juicy Lucy on a lunch date to the Blue Door Pub. She loved it but it didn't love her back, poor kid.

After lunch we went to the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis. It was inspiring to see and hear Celia's reactions to the pieces on display. There was one piece in particular, a hanging sculpture constructed of beads and wire, that caught her eye (I am sorry I didn't get the name of the artist/piece). It was hanging at eye level and was delicate and sparsely sprinkled with color, nice to look at. Celia got down on her hands and knees and looked up at the bottom of it and insisted I do the same. I shook my head and told her to get off the floor but she wouldn't move until I got down there with her. Looking up through the bottom of the piece we discovered an explosion of color as it was a solid mass of glass seed beads! It would have never occurred to me to do that without her prompting and I am so happy I listened and gave in to her quirky request.

When was the last time you looked at the world around you through the eyes of a child?

Rust

We spent a sunny Fathers Day at the MSRA Back to the 50's car show and it was just rich with inspiration! I took a lot of photos to gather the textures to file away for inspiration. It's the first time I've gone out with my camera since it was passed down to me by my husband (he's an amazing photographer and upgraded his equipment recently). I really need to get to know my camera better though. I botched a good number of photos because it was set to bracket the exposures, oops.

Back to the photos, I did a painting last night based on my favorite shot of the day! Consider this a preview since it's a cell phone shot, better photos will follow!

Acrylic on Watercolor Paper - 9"x12"

Rain, rain, go away

A cloudy rainy weekend and now a rainy Monday. It was perfect sleeping weather though and led to lots of much needed napping which left little time for paining. When I did find time, my creativity escaped me and I sat there staring blankly at the paper.

I am working my way through more of the Layer Love Lessons and it's taking time. The lessons are becoming more challenging and I am having a really hard time liking the finished product. I am pushing through and hope to have another painting or two for you by the end of this week, but I won't make any promises just yet.

On a cheery note, I thought I'd share a bright sunny photo from my garden. I have a new application on my cell phone called Toy Camera and I've been taking lots of photos like this with it.

Untitled - 18"x24"

Here we go! This is my first painting of this size. What do you think? You can click on the image for a larger view.

 Multimedia on Gesso board, 18"x24"