Blog
5/3/2016 2:55:26 PM
About this same time of year almost 4 years ago, I attended a lovely reception for paintings, writers, photographers, and other creatives involved with the Birmingham Arts Journal to listen to readings of poems and essays, the focus of which was the most recent tornado of biblical proportions slamming Alabama. My son was attending the University in Tuscaloosa and I had called him early in the morning to ask that he have a game plan (not for offense or defense but for safety) and to be in a safe place prepared to stay in that place by 1 o'clock. He assured me he would and in fact let me know when he arrived at his safe haven. Thankfully we had lost power in our own home and I did not see the ensuing storm as it approached Tuscaloosa. I probably would have died from terror. Listening to the readings so many years later evoked emotions I had not anticipated and a brilliant, caring artist/writer Liz Elliot commented to me as she put her arms around me that I was not quite over the trauma of the event. She was right and here it is so many years later and still that last week in April haunts me.
The editors of the BAJ have honored me by placing one of bicycle paintings on the back cover of the current issue. I am so very appreciative of this but truly cannot thank them enough for their caring issue and platform for readings on the storm, a kindness I will never forget.
The Birmingham Arts Journal is "produced without profit by dedicated volunteers who believe that exceptional
works by the famous, not-yet-famous, and never-to-be famous deserve to be
published side by side in a beautiful and creative setting."
http://birminghamartsjournal.com/pdf/baj13-1.pdf
3/4/2016 1:54:01 PM
While I prefer to paint en plein air, I take loads of photographs when I travel in hopes of using the photos as a resource for future paintings. While in France, I was packing up my paints to call it a day when a gentleman dressed in a suit, papers clutched in his hands, crossed a courtyard near a fountain. I was struck by his posture as he leaned forward in deep thought. It was not unique to see a well dressed man on the streets of Beaune but this fellow was clearly a notaire! You could hear the gears in his head turning about the argument he was prepared to make.
Fast forward, I was home and reviewing my photographs and quite frankly disappointed at the quality of the photograph of this man. He had been quite a ways away from me and the shot was fuzzy. I put the photograph away.
Several months later, I was once again looking for a resource to paint and came across the photograph of the notaire and this time, it spoke to me. The lack of focus actually helped me paint the painting looser. It so reminds me of my husband as he contemplates an argument before a jury and so I entitled it: To which I will respond. It hangs in his office.
10/28/2015 2:45:56 PM
Please join me at Arceneaux Gallery, 1830 29th Avenue South, #130 (inside courtyard of SOHO), on Thursday, October 29 from 5-8 p.m. to see my new works!
3/12/2015 10:17:25 AM
It pleases me to tell you that two of my paintings were accepted into the 2015 Energen Art Competition. Dory, a boat, and The Café, of Bottega Café, are hung in the Exhibit which runs through March 20 at the Energen Corporation, 605 Richard Arrington, Jr. Boulevard North. A Closing Reception is set for Sunday, March 22 from 2-4.
The Energen Art Committee always picks wonderful charities to pair with their event. This year a portion of the proceeds from entry fees and sales proceeds of paintings goes to Oasis Counseling for Women and Children and The Exceptional Foundation.
Admission to view the Exhibit is free and open to the public. Hope you take a moment to visit and enjoy some amazing art.
2/3/2015 12:20:27 PM
Some of my friends are such creatives and simply do not realize it. One such friend is Lisa Catalina Maclellan. A brilliant mother of two precious adult sons, accomplished nurse, and add to that list albeit incomplete, a marvelous photographer! Well traveled, Lisa constantly posts photos of her journeys and recently granted me the privilege of using one of her photos of a snow laden entry to her home in Tennessee for use as a resource in a painting. Snow in Tennessee represents what Lisa's photo conjured for me.
7/23/2014 10:30:19 AM
Artists do not have to name paintings; some simply use a number system; others place no indication of title at all on a painting.
I prefer to name my paintings. Sometimes, I use the obvious: Yellow Bicycle. For others, I take time to determine what the painting
spoke to me as I painted. The yellow ocre sand holding the boats inland as the waves of blue and green water dashed about drew me to the name of Crossing the Bar.
Crossing the Bar
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
6/30/2014 12:04:28 PM
Waiting for the oil to dry but wanted to post this blog about a series of new, small paintings I'll be taking to the Gallery in a day or so. It is so hot and all I could think about in class the other day was a cool, refreshing popsicle! Hence the four paintings you can view on my website. I chose the following flavors: raspberry, cherry, banana and of course, fudge!
Stay cool.
5/29/2014 3:21:11 PM
In search of black-eyed peas the past January, we happened upon Cafe' Amelie in New Orleans. "Nestled in the historic 150-year-old Princess of Monaco Courtyard and Carriage House on Royal Street in the French Quarter, Cafe' Amelie is a rare combination of superb Louisiana fare served in a lush, enchanting New Orleans courtyard setting."*
It was truly too cold to sit outside, but that did not stop us or four other families from requesting a courtyard table. The art gallery next door to the kitchen proper had placed a painting on an easel outside the door hoping to attract art patrons. The huge olive jars filled with various plants completed the feel of Europe.
Like so many meals we have enjoyed over the years in New Orleans, the one at Cafe' Amelie was exquisite, and yes, they had, to my delight, black-eyed pea soup as the soup du jour!
*Cafe' Amelie website
5/21/2014 8:27:50 PM
Today the art class in which I paint every Wednesday met at a venue outside our classroom. We traveled to the home of Sharon Gates and amid the flowers, birds, fish, statuary and artists we painted. More conversation than strokes took place at certain intervals but Barbara Evans kept us focused and entertained!
This group I paint with on Wednesdays is the most interesting collection of women I have encountered. Possessed of varying backgrounds, talents and interests, they are truly amazing and I treasure each meeting with them.
Sharon Gates' Flowers is a small oil on paper I painted while in Sharon's garden. It is a magical place and I am grateful for the opportunity to paint with her.
5/19/2014 12:18:26 PM
Social Media advances connections between artists and folks with common loves. An example of that thought is my friendship with Stephanie Peppard. Stephanie is a member of the Slow Bicycle Movement, as am I. Stephanie owns and rides an incredibly bright yellow bicycle which is what originally caught my eye. I follow Stephanie on Facebook as she traverses across the country on her yellow bike; she always takes the most creative photographs of her bike. One such photograph, with her permission, became the subject of my painting Stephanie Peppard's Yellow Bike. The voyeuristic angle of her photograph beckons a viewer; it is intriguing. It is why I paint bicycles.
