Artists' Reception at Gallery 121

"Trafalgar", oil/cold wax on canvas, 20" X 16"

Join us tomorrow, Sat., Aug 28, from 3 to 5 pm, for the opening reception of the new show at Gallery 121 in Belleville. We are presenting a Retrospective of the work of Leslie King (1941-2009), and Gertrud Sorensen is our guest artist. Gallery members will be exhibiting new work. The show continues until Sept. 25.

Have a wonderful, art-filled weekend.

Testimonial for Rebecca Crowell's Workshop

Today I received an email enquiry from my website about Rebecca Crowell's workshops. Unfortunately, the email address bounced back as undeliverable, so I'm hoping that Pat C. will find my blog. Here is the email I sent Pat:

Hello Pat,
I can't say enough good things about Rebecca's workshop. For me it was like a brand new beginning in my artwork, but not at all scary. After decades of experimenting in various media, with a variety of techniques, I felt I was making progress, but always had that nagging feeling that something was missing. I had just returned to oil paint after 30 years when I attended Rebecca's workshop. The experience was as if a door opened and a whole new world of art-making was before me. I know, it sounds weird, but it is so true. Finally I was painting with the results I had envisioned for many years, but had been unable to achieve.
Rebecca is a remarkable teacher, friend, mentor. Any time spent with her will be amazing. You will come away with your own vision; somehow, there is so much going on that you never worry about being a 'Rebecca Clone'.
I joined Rebecca for the first of her recent workshops in April of 2009 in Rochester NY. I was able to drive there the day before, so that was convenient for transporting materials. Looking forward to participating again in the future sometime. So much to learn and try.
So enjoy your time with her and the other participants, and keep in touch. I'd love to hear about your experiences.
Best regards,
Barbara
PS Check out some earlier Rochester posts on my blog.

Above is a recent work, 'Fugue With Confused Square' , 30" X 40", oil/cold wax.

Scent of a Crayon

Found a box of dozens of crayons when I was rummaging around my workspace today. Instantly, I was a 10 year old, and played with the juicy colours for an hour or so in my sketchbook. What is it about the intoxicating smell of crayolas? And the colours - a kid's delight! That hour spent with the waxy hues was almost as invigorating as a 5 km run, and I hope to make a habit of it, too. A stimulating way to work out some ideas for larger works, I spent the rest of the day happily painting.

The painting above is a parody of Schroedinger's cat experiment. My version is 'Schroedinger's Chair'(16" X 20", oil/cold wax on canvas). Not that I understand the physics behind it (I'll leave that to the Einsteins of this world!), but the history of the experiment is fascinating. I'm a cat lover, so rest assured I'm happy that Schroedinger's and Einstein's little game was only a 'mind' experiment, so the kitty was never harmed.

Hazy, Crazy August

Three art/craft shows (the economy is recovering :-)), family/friend visits (so much fun!), and gallery duties have kept me hopping for almost a month. Time to get down to some serious work in my painting studio, create all the ideas I have for some clay sculptural pieces, and help restock our clay inventory in the pottery studio. Very happy to be so busy - I'd be worried if we weren't.

I'm building a new website for my cooperative gallery, Gallery 121, in Belleville. It's been another learning curve, and things are coming together slowly, but surely. It will be "Under Construction" for awhile, but there are some artists' works displayed and other information, so take a look, and come back for a visit often:

www.gallery121artists.com

In the back of my mind, I would love to be cycling along the Loire River in France, watching the bâteau, as in the painting above, "Bâteau sur Loire", oil/cold wax on cradled wood panel.