RAG at the Nicholas Conservatory

Last Saturday was the Rockford Art Guild's

 show at the Nicholas Conservatory.

As luck would have it, they had a tree out of blushing bromeliads to sell as a fundraiser. 

My Blushing Bromeliads looked just right to the side of the display.

Nicholas has their Orchid show running at the same time.
I always love to go and load up on some inspiration for new art.

Off to the studio to do some work!

Great Party last Night Ladies!

I love going into a group of people who start out with... "I don't have an artistic bone in my body."
What is it about art that scares people so much? It's like math. I hear a lot of "I can't do math." (Or at least I did when I worked at the Alternative School.)

Well the truth is, of course everyone can do art. It's like this wonderful, joyous gift we were all born with. It's in us all, even you. The trick is to make people feel safe and maybe a bit confident too.

When you get a group of friends together, some nibbles, a bit of wine who knows what the possibilities can be?  Last night was no exception. These lovely ladies support each other at work each day - encouraging each other last night was just an extension of that.

And of course, they didn't come for the food, or the wine, or even the art. They came to be with each other and have a bit of fun. They were bound to have fun no matter what their plates looked like. I'm so thrilled that they allowed me to be a part of their group for a few hours.

I love that alcohol inks have their own "minds" in a sense. If you don't fight them and work with them, eventually they will produce some pattern or texture you will like. They are very "forgiving" in that mistakes can easily be wiped away.

The ladies dug right in and the results were stunning. Everyone produced such a unique piece.

Two friends couldn't come. One had a funeral and one a birth. Kind of unusual, but sure does bring home the point about how important it is to love those around us and spend time together. And at the end of the night, as we were about to pose for our final picture, new photos of the baby came streaming through the phone.

The ladies produced some beautiful plates but more important: another successful night of bonding. I'm so honored to have spent the evening with each and every one of them.


To find more information on how you can host your own paint party please click here.

Coco and Teddy, a Commission

Commissions can be stressful. 

They're an exercise in communication, patience and skill. I always want the client to be happy and input their vision into the painting. There's a fine line between  doing a good piece of work and spending too much time on one project. 

My commission of Coco and Teddy is going well. I've spent too much time on the background but I couldn't resist it. I was drawn to the colorful quilt as a backdrop against the white dogs.

So here they are Coco and Teddy a Work in Progress.

I used a lot of masking fluid on the dogs. I'm not sure that it's entirely necessary. When painting the quilt, the masking fluid caused more problems then it solved.

Now My Art Can be Found a tJust Goods and Womanspace

A busy week.

 Womanspace has been kind enough to name me as their featured artist this month. That means I get to bring a lot of works to display is their front case. This is one of the pieces I finished just for them. I also will be stocking their shop, Art 2 Go with several of my prints. Come see my works at 3333 Maria Linden Drive in Rockford.

 Alstroemerias

Alcohol Inks on a Plate

Yesterday, Judith Loudin and I 

hung art at Just Goods. 

A big thanks to my daughter Samantha for all her help. It's the first time Judith and I have hung together and I'm thrilled that we got to do this together. Just goods is located at  201 7th Street, Rockford, Illinois

A Review of the January 30 in 30 Painting Challenge.

January 31st

It's official, the 30 in 30 challenge is over.
And although I didn't paint 30 paintings this challenge, I am most proud of this one out of all the other challenges that I have done. I ran my art business during the month of January and I spent a good amount of time painting. What I struggle with the most is balance; time painting, marketing, getting ready for shows, personal goals etc. The 30 in 30 challenge forced me to look it how I spend my time. I don't have any of it resolved but I know I can run my art business and continue to paint. Sometimes I feel like the business is taking over and leaving little time to paint.

What I do know is how important it is to keep painting. It is the whole reason I'm doing this in the first place. I also know how important it is to keep exploring and trying new things. I didn't reach my goal of doing oil paintings, painting bigger, try a mixed media collage or doing batik paintings. I understand how important it is for me to continually have new pieces for the shows, galleries and shops let alone my web page. But on the other hand it was a pretty busy month for me and I fared okay. And in the end I tried some new things.

This month I:
 Spent the first seven days on a family vacation, worked one painting party, held 3 alcohol ink classes, did 1 show, took 5 art classes for enjoyment and exploration, registered for 3 shows while mapping out the list of shows to apply to this year, worked on 1 commission, gathered work for 4 different venues including the framing and matting of several new pieces, developed a new class for February, finished my finacial reporting, paid sales tax and had a marketing and financial meeting concerning goals for 2016 with a consultant, put out a newsletter, had a birthday full of fun with friends and family, took a mother daughter wine glass painting night, had a root canal, went out twice with friends for lunch and went to an art guild board meeting. 

I list these things for my benefit, to remind myself that even though there always seems like so much to do, I am accomplishing a lot. I should also mention that I have an assistant, my daughter, who is a tremendous amount of help in all of this. Without her the list would have been smaller and I have to remind myself that one day she will be off working elsewhere so best to get a hold of things now.

But the point is, the balance is not quite there. I'm not getting on my bike as much as I'd like to and on busy days there's no bike at all. My house is a bit unorganized... my desk is hard to find under the piles of papers and art stuff, my kitchen table seems to be the catch-all for all my framing work and my studio needs a good once over. One of my goals for 2016 is to loose 1000 pounds of junk from my house. January didn't see much of that going on. I want to declutter and organize, not just my business but my personal life too.

I would be remiss if I didn't say that the boundaries between my business and play are always a bit fuzzy. In truth, I love what I do. My art is my play and work at the same time. I know I need to write a blog post today - but I'm having a good time with the self reflection. My sister says I work all the time. What is it? Do I work all the time or do I play all the time?

So here I am looking a new month in the face.
I've written out a few personal goals - a few places that I feel I can improve for the month of February. I have a monthly calendar where I get to look at these goals and plan how to make them come about.

In short my goals are: 
Spend less time watching TV and playing games on the I pad. Relaxation is great - plan it better. 
Spend more time on my bike. Read more. Organize my bedroom. Clean and organize my studio and office. Finish my commission.  Try some abstracts, batiks and mixed media. Get new works for Spring Art Scene in April. Organize my business into one note book where I can keep tract of things a bit better.

So thanks, 30 in 30 challenge for reminding me that I can have it all with just a bit more time management and some good planning.

What are your biggest challenges and how do you achieve balance? Leave a comment please.

Poppies class at Womanspace

A great class yesterday at Womanspace.

Thanks everyone! You did a great job.

Day 27, January 30 in 30

Day 27th, January 27th

30 in 30 hosted by Leslie Saeta.

Just a quick pastel. Time to finish up my dog commission.