The Figure at RICA

I am so elated to share that Raleigh Institute of Contemporary Art will now be offering Open Figure Drawing sessions starting Feb 17th.  These uninstructed live model sessions will run every Thursday 7-10pm.  This is a great opportunity to brush up on those drawing skills for only $10 ($8 for currently enrolled students).  No pre-registration necessary.  Join me on Thursday nights! 

ALSO-

I will be offering two Contemporary Portrait Painting Workshops this February at RICA.  These one day workshops will help you learn to create an accurate, dynamic portrait in oil as you capture the features and proportions of our model.  Working from life, we will study structure, value, color-mixing strategies and application techniques for creating lively skin tones in an alla prima portrait.  This class is for all levels.  

Sign up for one or both: Thursday, February 17th 10-2pm or Sunday February 20th 1-5pm.  $65 plus a $10 model fee.  More information on RICA's Workshop page.


Raleigh Institute of Contemporary Art
464 S. Dawson St. 
Raleigh, NC 27601
919-800-0208
www.ricanc.com

 

Four Paintings at GMA

Here are the four paintings of mine that are included in the Greenville Museum of Art's exhibition mentioned in the post below.  I really enjoyed speaking with the curator as to why she chose these particular paintings.  She explained that "these pieces really give a good view of women in self-reflection through out different ages.

Becoming, oil on panel, 24" x 24"

Mother Reading, oil on panel, 20" x 16"

 

Kitchen Window, oil on panel, 48"x 36"

Paige at Mirror, oil on panel, 36" x 24"

Thank you to all who came out for the opening reception!

Greenville Museum of Art

Last night was the Opening Reception for the Greenville Museum of Art's exhibition titled A Woman's Place: Exploring the Female Identity.  Sculptures, paintings, drawings, mezzotints and fabric works of seven artists are included in this show.  A beautiful, full color catalog is available by contacting the museum.  I am honored to be showing in this historic North Carolina art museum.  Thank you to Director Charlotte Fitz and the wonderful staff of the Greenville Museum of Art for all your hard work.  Also, a huge thank you to the sponsors who made the catalog possible.  The seven artists included in the exhibition are: (links included for those I could find)

Valerie Jean Bailey

Alia El-Bermani

Jill Eberle

Kiki Farish

Holly Fischer

Amy Freeman

Dazzala Knight

on the far wall left to right works by: Jill Eberel, Valerie Jean Bailey, Alia El-Bermani, and Kiki Farish
sculptures by: Holly Fischer

 sculpture by Holly Fischer; paintings by Amy Freeman

A Woman's Place : Exploring the Female Identity

January 28 - March 20, 2011

Greenville Musuem of Art 

802  S. Evans St

Greenville, NC 27834

252-758-1946

January Long Pose II

Dave, oil on panel, 10" x 8"

Here is the long pose painting after one more 3 hour session yesterday.  I am so happy to have had the opportunity to have painted Dave.  He is a fantastic model!  The light changed a bit so the shape of the shadow on his cheek and cast shadow onto his torso were a bit different, but I don't mind those kind of shifts.  It's good to note them, but to be flexible and in the moment take what is before you and do what you can with it.  I'm torn whether or not I'll do another 3 hours on it.  I think this works as a study, and need not be noodled (which might be where it would go with another session).  What do you think?

January Long Pose

Dave, oil on panel, 10" x 8"

Every now and again, Artspace in Raleigh, holds a long pose figure session where one three hour pose is revisited 3 times over the course of a month.  They are starting the New Year off right, with such sessions this January.  I will be enjoying this cost affective way of getting some life painting in.  Here is what I came up with so far on Saturday.  There was some talk by some of the other participants to move the model against the wall next time, or even switch the pose.  I was hoping to get at least one more session on this one (there are some cool pipes up behind his head that I would like to get in) , but if not, that's ok.  It's just good to get the eyes moving.  Thank you to our fantastic model Dave - who held the pose for 45 minutes at a time.  Ouch!

Jay

Blue Jay, oil on panel, 12" x 12"

Here is a recent painting of a Blue Jay that flew into an on coming car this past summer.  My daughter and I witnessed the poor bird's accident while on a walk together.  As you may know, I have been painting dead birds for at least a decade.  The first dead bird was a Mourning Dove left as a prize by our cat.  After that first painting, people started to bring me their cat kills and dead bird finds.  I see these birds as fleeting gifts of infinite beauty.  It is a challenge and honor to try to capture that beauty.  You can find a few examples of my previous bird paintings on the still life page of  my website.  Unfortunately, most of the birds were photographed using old school 35 mm slide film.  Remember that stuff?  Well, those slides don't scan so well and those paintings have found good homes long ago.  So I don't have very good images to share with you.  I guess I'll just have to keep painting new ones.  :) 

Blue Jay, oil on panel, 12" x 12" (detail)

Blue Jay, oil on panel, 12" x 12" (detail)      

Architects + Artisans

Thank you to Cheryl Wilder who wrote a very nice article on my work and the Women Painting Women exhibition and On Expedition in Charleston.  You can read the article by visiting Architects + Artisans.

Teaching at RICA

I am so very excited to share that I will finally be returning to teaching! For several years I taught the foundation level classes (such as Fundamentals of Figure Drawing, Fundamentals of Painting etc) at Laguna College of Art and Design. As life happened, I had to turn my attentions away from teaching and I have very much missed the classroom and energy of my students ever since.

It is with great honor and anticipation that I announce I will be teaching a Contemporary Realism in Oil Painting class at the Raleigh Institute of Contemporary Art, starting January 9, 2011!  This four week class is for all levels of artists interested in exploring the concepts and techniques of contemporary realist painting. Using a variety of subjects (still life objects, figure or objects of the student's choice) we will learn the basics of composition, value relationships, color, form and space as well as more advance techniques of oil painting.  We will be meeting every Sunday, 12:30 - 3:30, January 9 -30, 2011.

Due to RICA's great success and popularity it has now out grown its original facility.  In January, please come visit the new, beautiful space right in the heart of downtown Raleigh at 424 S. Dawson St (between Davie St & Cabbarus St.)

Raleigh Institute of Contemporary Art

424 S. Dawson St

Raleigh, NC  27601

(919) 800-0208

For more information on RICA please visit the website www.ricanc.com or to find a complete list of class schedules and to sign up click here (my class is listed all the way at the bottom).

Birth of Impressionism at the Frist

William Bougureau's Birth of Venus, oil on canvas, 120" x 86", 1879.

This past long holiday weekend, the family and I made our way to Nashville, TN to see the beautiful exhibition at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts called Birth of Impressionism.  This exhibition displays 100 paintings from the mid to late 19th century which are from the collection of the Musee d'Orsay.  In comparing the contemporaneous academic and realist paintings of that time period to the paintings of the avant garde, this show seeks to show the evolution of Impressionism as a reaction against the Salon.  

In walking thru this exhibit I kept finding myself drawn more to the examples of academic realism, the accepted Salon paintings or the earliest examples of Impressionism.  I found myself rushing through the last two rooms of typical Impressionistic landscapes, trying to avoid looking too long at what my daughter brilliantly described as "scribble, scrabble".  I've included some images of some of my favorite works from the show (many of which I first saw at the Musee d'Orsay in the summer of 1997).

Alfred Stevens, Le Bain, oil on canvas, 29 7/8" x 36 5/8", 1867

Henri Fantin-Latour, Victoria Dubourg, oil on canvas, 36 3/8" x 29 7/8", 1873

Henri Fantin-Latour, Antoine Vollon, oil on canvas, 11 7/8" x 7 1/8", 1865

Emile-Auguste Carolus-Duran, Lady with a Glove, oil on canvas, 89 3/4" x 64 1/2", 1869

Gustave Caillebotte, The Floor Scrapers, oil on canvas, 40 1/4" x 57 5/8", 1875

This show is definitely worth a trip to Nashville to see these amazing paintings before they return to their home in Paris.  The Birth of Impressionism continues through January 23, 2011.  The Frist has also posted a short video of visitor reactions to the exhibit that you can view by clicking HERE.  A favorite quote from the video a gentleman speaks about The Floor Scrapers painting "It said to me, that we are worked on by what we work on".

A Few Shows in December

I am happy to share that my work will be included in a few shows this coming month.  First, at Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery, in Santa Barbara, California the following North Carolina landscape is included in their Winter Salon, 2010 continuing on through January 30th

 Old Laurel Creek, oil on panel, 10" x 8"

Also, included in another annual group show, which they cleverly call 100 Grand (100 works of art for $1,000 or under) Sullivan Goss will be showing my Southern Draw'l painting of model Kat.  This exhibition runs December 2, 2010 - February 27, 2011.  Here is a picture of the painting in its brand new, hand made, cherry frame that my husband and I collaborated on (he designed the molding, measured and cut; I glued, assembled, stained and varnished).  

 

Figure Study, Kat, oil on panel, 12" x 9"

Lastly, I will have four of my recent still life paintings included in the Green Hill Center for NC Art's Winter Show, which opens with a Collector's Choice Gala event the evening of December 4th and continues through January 15, 2011.  If you are interested in joining me for the Gala, tickets may be purchased by clicking here.  You can also view some of the 500 works included in this 'best of NC' show by clicking here.  My paintings included are as follows:

 

Nest, oil on panel, 8" x 8"

Heirloom, oil on panel, 10" x 10"

Kidney Beans, oil on panel, 8" x 8" 

 

Sugar Bowl, oil on panel, 8" x 8" 

 

Since this is Thanksgiving weekend, I feel its appropriate to say how grateful I am for what has proven to be an amazing year for me.  I have had my work shown all around this glorious country, included in various important collections, I have had several opportunities to travel, and to paint with some of America's best artists.  As always, I am humbled by all the love and support that my friends and family continually offer.  Thank you!       

On Expedition - Sullivan's Island

Distant view of Charleston, oil on panel, 9" x 12"

I have purposefully been avoiding this computer.  It's not that I don't want to be blogging, but instead that I have been saving my wrists due to a very painful bout of carpal tunnel.  I hope you've missed me (whom ever you may be). :)

So much has been going on this Fall, that it will be impossible for me to recap it all for you.  I will quickly say, that my artist lecture at Green Hill Center for NC Art turned out well and the Opening Reception for the People You May Know exhibit at DAC was very well attended.  I am honored to have been a part of both exhibitions that focus on North Carolinian artists.  You may find more information about each in the respective posts below.

What I would most like to share with you because it is at the forefront of my thoughts these days, is the recent week long painting trip that I, along with the help of fellow WPW contributor Diane Feissel, organized for a dozen of the artists included in the Women Painting Women exhibition at Robert Lange Studios (more on that amazing show in a future post).

The following were the On Expedition 2010 participating artists (click the names for links)

Alexandra Tyng – Narberth, PA

Alia El-Bermani – Cary, NC

Catherine Prescott – Harrisburg, PA

Cindy Procious – Chattanooga, TN

Diane Feissel – Philadelphia, PA

Katherine Stone – Toronto, ON, Canada

Linda Tracey Brandon – Phoenix, AZ

Mia Bergeron – Chattanooga, TN

Rachel Constantine – Philadelphia, PA

Sadie Valeri – San Francisco, CA

Terry Strickland – Pelham, Alabama

Stefani Tewes –Laguna Beach, CA

I am tempted to give you a blow by blow detailed account of the week, but to save my wrists and to also avoid the pitfall of a diary style post, I will point you to the very informative posts already created by some of my fellow painters.  You can read poetic tellings and see pictures of us at work on Sadie Valeri's blog; Diane Feissel's blog; Alexandra Tyng's blog; Mia Bergeron's blog; and Terry Strickland's blog.

Instead, I will share with you all the (good, the bad and the ugly) paintings that I created during this week.  These paintings primarily ended up being "quick studies".  We had intended a few repeat sessions with models, but due to illness and the abundance of so many wonderful things to paint in the Charleston area, this didn't ever happen.  The painting at the top, is one such quick study of the view from Alhambra Park in Mount Pleasant, SC.  This waterway seemed to be a busy inlet for most of Charleston's shipping industry as I witnessed several HUGE cargo ships pass this very spot several times in the span of about an hour and a half. The channel must be quite deep here because these ships seemed to pass so close to the marsh that I could see a lot of detail and I instantly felt dwarfed.

Lucy Seated, oil on panel, 12" x 9"

This painting of a local model named Lucy, was the very first I did of the week.  Most of us arrived late Thursday afternoon, went to a very late night kick off party, and then woke up bright and early on Friday morning to transform our designer dream beach home into a live/ work studio for 12.  Lucy arrived at 9 am to a very comfortable large studio space that had once been a living room.  

Porch View, oil on panel, 8" x 10"

I believe Porch View was painted in the afternoon after Lucy had departed and before the Opening Reception (which was jam packed) of the Women Painting Women show at Robert Lange Studios.  It is a very quick study of our amazing location, right on the beach of Sullivan's Island.

The Gibbes Mausoleum, oil on panel, 10" x 8"

On Sunday, upon the recommendation of local artist extraordinaire, Mary Whyte, we ventured with model in tote to the phenomenal Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston.  We quickly decided to disband the model, as there were so many wonderful subjects to paint in this historic cemetery which was originally chartered in 1850 and designed by noted South Carolinian architect Edward C. Jones.  I was so overwhelmed with the amount of interesting subjects to paint -a man made lake with a resident gator, the many excellent examples of fine 19th century iron work that surround several historic family plots, the statues of fallen confederate soldiers and the many beautifully designed headstones - it took me over an hour to just decide where I was going to set up.  At the time, I was frustrated with my self for wasting precious painting time, but in the end, I'm glad I took my time to choose the perfect spot.  I ended up in front of the Gibbes family Mausoleum.  The Gibbes were a prominent Charleston family and in fact the local art museum is named after them - The Gibbes Museum of Art.

Lauren at Magnolia Plantation Pond, oil on panel, 20" x 16"

The next day, I took our crew over to Magnolia Plantation and Botanical Gardens which is an incredible plantation which was founded by the Drayton Family in 1676.  It is currently the oldest public garden in America which first opened its garden gates in 1870.  Catherine Prescott, Stefani Tewes and I quickly set up with our wonderful model Lauren only a few feet into the grounds near the schoolyard pond, while the rest of the artists traveled further into the gardens and found some beautiful settings to capture.

  Study for Threshold, oil on panel, 12" x 9"

Here is another painting of our model Lucy.  I had expected this to be a two day painting, but as I mentioned above, Lucy unfortunately got ill, and was not able to come the second time - therefore the unfinished face and hands.  The setting is the upstairs porch doorway of local artist Shannon Runquist's beautiful home.  Shannon was my local liason to all things Charleston!  She helped me find models and locations and even showed the group the perfect example of Southern Hospitality by hosting the most delicious oyster roast (with shrimp and grits as well, of course).  Yum!  Thank you for all your help, charm, hospitality and fun Shannon!  

Lauren Seated, oil on panel, 12" x 9"

The last night we were in the house we invited Lauren over for our last painting session.  We ended up painting quite late into the night as well as hosting an impromptu party and champagne toast for the wonderful folks Robert, Megan Lange and Carri Schwab who run the beautiful Robert Lange Studios. 

I'm sure I have forgotten to mention somethings from the week - But this is all my wrists can bare at the moment.  I'm sure there will be more realizations to come.  I'd like to thank all the wonderful people who helped make this week such a great experience for so many artists - To those family members that helped me make this a reality, there are no words great enough to express the deep gratitude and love I feel for you.  

Thank you.

RADIO Interview!

I am so very excited to share with you an interview that aired today on a local NPR station - 88.5 WFDD's Triad Arts Up Close.  David Ford did an amazing job condensing our 30 minute conversation into an eloquent interview about my work as well as my philosophies on Art.  This interview coincides with an Artist Lecture that I will be giving at the Green Hill Center for NC Art in Greensboro this Wednesday October 20th at 5:30-6:30.  I will be talking about my work in general as well as my layered vellum drawings that are included in the Drawing Revisited exhibition. 

Thank you to David Ford for a wonderful first experience!  I am so honored to be on your fantastic radio program.


You can hear the interview by clicking "listen" on the following link: Triad Arts Up Close