Starting the year off PAINTING!

Wow, time goes by fast during the holidays doesn't it? In my head I had only skipped blogging for about a week. As you know, I am working towards a deadline. 32 (changed from 30) paintings finished by January 31st for the William Woods University Exhibit. Wow! I think I am going to do it. I really do.

Here is the count down so far... 8 Paintings finished, 19 in progress, and 4 weeks to go. Keep in mind that they are all different sizes ranging from 8 inches to 72 inches. Tonight I plan to work on the small ones at my kitchen table instead of down in my studio, so I can still hang out with my family.

Below is the image I sent for the post card. The exhibit is going to be called; Transitions in Color and Texture with Heather Haymart and Chris McCarthy. The reception will be Sunday, February 10th from 1:00-2:30 and then I will be doing an artist talk/demo afterwards. I think I have selectively forgotten about the artist talk. Better get to planning that too!

Beneath the Layers 16"x 24" 

I know all of this sounds crazy, and it kind of is considering that I am running the Wood Icing Gallery, finishing a commission, have another one waiting in the wings for after the exhibit (thankfully!), I am trying to help my 8th grader plan for high school stuff, and keep up with my 5th grader's activities, BUT, and it is a big BUT, I am so happy about this body of work I am creating. The other day, I finished a little section of one of my paintings where some orange showed through some blue and I squealed out loud right there in my studio all by myself. This is joy, and it is why I keep driving myself crazy with all of this. Those are the moments that remind me of why I HAVE to create.

2013 Art Calendar for sale on Etsy!
Click HERE to purchase.

Ooooh! I almost forgot! I sent my 2013 art calendars to my top collectors this year as thank you gifts and I have a few more I would like to sell. They are $14.95 in my Etsy shop and I have some available at Wood Icing in the Chesterfield Mall in Missouri too. If you are still looking for a pretty calendar to use this year, please think about buying mine!

My Big Show in 2013!

This spring, I received an e-mail from the gallery director of Mildred M Cox Gallery at William Woods University inviting me to exhibit in the gallery. I can thank my mother-in-law for this connection because they happen to be neighbors! After, reviewing my web site, Jennifer, the gallery director invited me to exhibit and I said yes, yes yes!

There are a couple of reasons why this feels like it is meant to be. For one reason, earlier this year, I took Stephanie Levy's e-course Creative Courage and she encouraged us to write our goals and one of my goals was to pursue having a solo exhibit of my work in a gallery by 2013 but I didn't know how it would ever happen, because I don't have time to submit to these types of exhibits. Another reason this is so interesting  to me is because when I was a high school senior and looking at colleges, I took a brochure from William Woods college and drew this really cool photo of these college students sitting in front of this beautiful, tall, arched window. I still have it somewhere in the recesses of my basement! I will post it if I ever find it. Lastly, I noticed that this summer, that one of my college professors from Mizzou had an exhibit at William Woods, so I decided that was the third a final sign I needed to know that this was the right decision for me. This professor gave me advice on drawing trees that still comes to me every time I work on a tree painting.

This summer, we visited Ben's mom and I went over to the college to meet Jennifer, view the gallery, measure and take pictures. I wanted to create an entire body of work for this exhibit. I still don't have a title for the exhibit and time is ticking. I need about 30 paintings by the time I am ready to hang in February of 2013. Daunting? Yes, but I love having this goal. When it is all finished, I will have plenty of paintings to sell during art fair season. I also decided instead of having the show be solo, that I would invite a glass artist to exhibit with me. My friend Sharon Spillar recommended Chris McCarthy, owner of Park Avenue Glass. His work is so beautifully unique and I felt that our work would look really great together.

I am beginning a countdown for getting my paintings finished to keep myself motivated and on track. So far, I have six finished, four in progress and 20 to go. I had two finished, but I took them to Memphis and sold them. I couldn't help it! I need the work to take with me!

 

Wish me luck!