Always a Work in Progress...

Studio Time April 2013

I decided to make some new 8"x8" tree paintings for the Queeny Art Fair in Ballwin, MO. It is this weekend and it is in my very own back yard. I don't know if I will finish these paintings in time, but I am trying. I just worked on a few and decided to take a break to write a blog entry. If not, I have no worries, because I have tons of new work to share. I just miss painting because I was on vacation and I have been so busy with other things, that painting was taking the back seat.

This week has been good so far. I have gotten to paint, I moved a new jeweler name Julie James into Wood Icing, I fit in attending a girl scout meeting and I am working with some other mom's on the 5th grade celebration for my daughter and the other 5th graders who are soon to go to Middle School. So next year, I will have a middle schooler and a high schooler. I find that this makes me really think about when they were babies and I miss those times, but I have to say, I am really enjoying them now. They are so smart and funny. I love to be around them and soak up their energy. They think I am a hippie flower child, which they think is uncool, but I take it as a compliment.

Tomorrow I work at Wood Icing for the day and it will be crazy but good. We are having Artsy People Club from 1-3, I am interviewing a possible new photographer, and I am moving in someone who makes amazingly re-purposed chairs using vintage fabric. Have to be honest, I usually come home from Wood Icing and have a beer. It is always a good day, but takes all of my energy, but in a good way. I always feel like I really accomplished a lot.

This Friday is the Queeny set up and I am very excited to see how it will go. Many of my artist friends will be there, so it will be like a little reunion and the best part is I get to sleep in my own bed at night! Come see me if you are local and want to see my new paintings!

Lucky Art Party at Wood Icing

I wear many hats in this artistic life. It keeps me very busy and sometimes I feel frustrated about that fact and then I give myself a good smack and remind myself that everything I am doing is related to what I love. Art. This is a dream I get to live and my "busy" is self imposed by my passion.



Mary Nasser giving her arty gift to my good friend Tricia and that's me talking with my good friend Beth behind them.

The latest thing that kept me busy was our art reception at Wood Icing. I manage the gallery and the artists, so this was my baby. My mom (my partner) did a lot, even though she would be silly and say she didn't do anything, but I spearheaded it. We have been working hard to create a place that is different than other studio/galleries. We like that our studio is visible, mess and all, we want to bring decorative and fine arts together, and we try really hard to make our place feel beautiful and inviting.


Rose Wilde (my mom) giving her Wood Icing demo.

The best part of our little shop is that we have the help of really amazing artists. They help us cover the hours, use the time to work on their art and in turn we give them lots of exhibit space. Having these talented and creative people in our space all of the time makes Wood Icing a fun place to visit because you never know what you will get to see them creating.

Kristen Powers (kae pea) giving her eraser carving demo.

The Lucky Art Party was a great success. We used two Crayon boxes to match the arty gift with the lucky winner. We went through all 64 crayons and then some so I know at least 70 people came not including artists. We also had free art demos from seven of the artists who exhibit their work in our gallery. This was a really fun night for everyone involved. I wish I could have been a guest instead of a host!

Susie Tenzer giving her arty gift to a lucky winner.



Vesna Delevska painting during the reception as our guests watch her painting transform.

Janice Scherer giving her art demo.

If you would like to see more fun photos from this night, you can visit our

Wood Icing Facebook Fan Page by clicking HERE.

We also have links to all of our artists in the gallery HERE.

The Results Are In!

Thank you all so much for commenting on my blog for a chance to win some Wood Icing Paste and Mary Beth Shaw's Stencils. Everyone who commented was so nice. I have truly enjoyed looking at your blogs and your art! So without further delay...

The lucky winner is......Melissa Jo Gibbs from http://melissajogibbs.blogspot.com/ Congratulations Melissa! I will contact you through e-mail to get your pertinent information to pass along to Mary Beth.

And last but not least, I would like to thank Mary Beth once again for including my painting in her book, for writing such a wonderful post about me and my art on her blog, for embracing my mom's other baby Wood Icing and for being such a great friend.

Flavor for Mixed Media is a lovely book and if you haven't bought it yet, you really owe it to yourself to get it. You can purchase it directly from Mary Beth at Stencil Girl Products, or you can come in to my Wood Icing Studio and Gallery for a few more signed copies.

Flavor for Mixed Media Blog Tour and Give Away

I am so excited to announce that my blog is next on Mary Beth Shaw's blog tour for her new book; Flavor for Mixed Media. It's an honor to be in great company with the other artists that she chose to be a part of her book. She featured my painting titled The Dance Between. In keeping with her correaltion of cooking and creating, she also inlcuded my dash of this, bunch of that recipe for summer pasta! Mary Beth did a great job on this book. It is beautiful to look at, creative to absorb and so informative that you'll want to refer back to it repeatedly. 



The Dance Between 16"x12"
Click HERE for purchase.

 The even more exciting news is that she is giving away an 8oz container of Wood Icing Textura Paste and three of her stencils that she designed herself valued at $42. All you have to do is comment here on my blog or on facebook, we will draw names and you might be the lucky one who gets a special gift in the mail! You have until Saturday, March 26th at midnight and we will announce the winner on Sunday, March 27th.

If you aren't the lucky winner, click here to purchase Mary Beth's signed book, exclusive stencils and Wood Icing Textura Paste 8oz directly from the artist herself.

Great Ideas Sometimes come from the Smallest Places

Today I came into the studio/gallery early so I could paint in addition to other things I need to do. I am so excited I am giddy. I am looking at my blank panels leaning against my easel and it is production time again. The kids are back at school, and I am free to be in the studio all I want today!

Recently I have been working on some ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) for a project with 12 other women. (more details to come) As I was working on them, I realized that they are a great place for experimenting with color schemes. And they are fun and cute!

So I am using the colors on this ATC for my next big painting. My photo is a bit blurry and faded but I think you get the idea.

Here is this 24"x48 painting I plan to use this color scheme on. I have already applied some Wood Icing and Acrylic paint to the panel. There is a lot of texture and even a tree drawing that you can't see yet. When the colors get added, they will accentuate the textural details.

Can you see the little ATC sitting on top of the big painting? It is so tiny and adorable.

OK, I have a cup of coffee and a painting waiting to be tended to.

Gaining Perspective

Gaining Perspective

48"x32"

This January we flew to Phoenix to see my best friend get married. While I was on the plane, I drew the earth below us through the little airplane window in my sketchbook. I always get nostalgic about sketching when I travel. It seems like something that should be documented through drawing. This painting is from one of those sketches I made. I think I was looking at a river and the mountains against the sky, but it was super abstracted from being so far up.

Gaining Perspective is actually a title with double meaning for me. I was able to gain perspective from the land I was drawing through sheer altitude and I always feel that I gain perspective about life when I travel. There is something about when I take myself out of my routine and my geographical location that opens my eyes to new ways of thinking and observing everything with fresh eyes. Makes me wish I could travel more!

You'll have to come see this painting in person because my photo doesn't really show all the gold and bronze paint I used in the yellow and brown areas. Right now it is hanging in my store Wood Icing at the Chesterfield Mall.

Crazy Thoughts

Crazy Thoughts

12inx16in

SOLD

I named this painting Crazy Thoughts. Most of my paintings come from the thoughts I have. The way I used color and the way I doodled into the texture is just so indicative of my own crazy thoughts I have while my head is in the clouds. My own crazy thoughts go everywhere and they know no boundaries. It is good and bad for me. Maybe I pinned down a few crazy thoughts that don't need to be in my head any more into this painting!

Did you notice how great the photo is of this painting? That is because I had a professional photograph it for a change! Greg Barth, one of my partners at Wood Icing photographed my four newest paintings so I can make prints of them. He is very reasonably priced if you are looking for someone in the St. Louis area.

The Light Comes Through

Light Comes Through is all about light, physical and otherwise. I love to take an abstract painting and give it a light source.Then I give the light some obstacles to work around. This idea of how light makes it's way through if at all possible is so interesting to me. Inevitably, the light does what it is supposed to; nourish whatever needs to be nourished. What an amazing thing...and it happens naturally.

I'd like to think that is how good things come into our lives. Good things don't always happen when we need them to, but they do happen, even when we think it impossible. Just like it isn't always sunny, but when it is, the sunlight gets to where it needs to go.

Light Comes Through is my first official painting of 2010. I created part of it in Wood Icing during a live painting event we were holding in conjunction with a Chesterfield Arts opening. Painting live is not my favorite thing to do, because I get so nervous, but I think it turned out pretty nice. It is hanging in the window at the Gateway Gallery in Clayton with about 11 other paintings of mine right now until April 3. We will be holding a reception where we are unveiling the Meeting of the Minds piece tomorrow night Feb. 26, 2010 from 6-9.
Light Comes Through
48"x24"
SOLD

Time Flies When You Are Opening a New Business!

So I have been MIA again, but for a good reason. I have been working very hard at a new business venture with my mom, Rose Wilde and two of my very good artist friends Mary Beth Shaw and Greg Barth. That is my dad in the picture after he finished hanging the new sign.

Our new store is called Wood Icing named after my mom and dad's business. My mom had been selling Wood Icing (the modeling paste that I use in my paintings) online for years and has decided to take it t the next level. Greg, Mary Beth and I have also decided to take our artistic careers to another level as well by making our fine art available to the public every day. We are offering our original art, framing services, photo services, workshops, and of course, the Wood Icing product in our store/gallery/studio.

Now, I can't lie, this has been stressful, but so exciting. The first day I worked with Mary Beth we both admitted we were excited to be there even though we had been there constantly painting and fixing the place up. Once we get everything into place, it is going to be such a great place to be. We plan to offer Girls night out, and helpful demos. It is the perfect combination of a sophisticated gallery, artsy hang out, and arts/crafts supply destination. We are welcoming crafty do it yourselfers, interior designers, faux finishers, artists, and art lovers. Obviously we hope people will consider us as they do their Christmas shopping. We offer many gifts anywhere from $10 and up.

So I guess I should mention where this super fun place is located. The Chesterfield Mall in Chesterfield, MO. We are located on the upper level next to Sears and across from Houlihan's. We are already open for business, but our Grand Opening is December 11, 12, and 13. We will have demos, cookies, Christmas Ornament painting, Greg is even planning to shoot free facebook photos, and we will be hosting a few special guest artists!

Oh and by the way, have you been to the mall lately? I forgot how fun the mall is. They have an H&M (love it) and GAP and Old Navy, and should I dare mention Aunt Annie's Pretzels. If my butt is bigger now you know why!