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My family at the Gallery 110 Reception earlier this month....thank you Megan, Jaime, Jen, Erin, and Tom!  What a fun Fan Club I have!  Pat was there, too, but just didn't make it into the photo. 

The New Members' Exhibtion

January 4-28, Gallery 110, 110 3rd Ave. S, Seattle (Pioneer Square)

First Thursday, January 5, 6:00-8:00pm

Reception, Saturday, January 7, 6:00-8:00pm

Please come to either event!

 

 

 

A couple of times each year, Gallery 110 juries in new artist members...and then hosts an exhibition of their work.  I am included in this group of five, and on Sunday, January 1, we installed the show.   Monika Dalkin and Jim Pirie, of the Gallery's Installation Committee, placed my work carefully on the gallery walls.

 

 

Jim is making sure my painting is level!

Good friends, good food, good wine, and good times were had by the crowds who purchased tickets to artEAST Art Center's birthday party...celebrating one year in our new location at 95 Front Street N in Issaquah!

Photo is of me with one of my favorite fellow aritsts, Molly Hueffed.

Who says that an art critique has to be painful?! 

Guest artist Stephanie Hargrave held court as we listened, laughed, and learned at our October session.  Stephanie provided wonderful insights for each as we took turns placing our work in front of the group for comments and ideas.  We meet in the classroom at the Up Front Gallery, artEAST Art Center, in Issaquah one evening a month. 

The Art Critique welcomes new participants each term; you do not need to be a member of artEAST to join us.  Winter Term starts in January 2012... 

In photo, L to R:  Paula Maratea Fuld, Molly Hueffed, and Mami Shimomura.  Standing is Pandy Savage McVay.

And, so it begins...my new series!  This series incorporates the iconography from two of my earlier series...the still lifes with pitchers and flowers, as well as the seascapes.  Basically, the surface is collage; a miniature oil painting is the final step.  My "brand" is Beauty & Curiosity, grounded in good technique. 

 

 

The collage is the first part of the process.  I start with an Ampersand hardwood board; stretch and staple canvas over it; and then add a coat or two of gesso.  Building the collage is exceptionally fun!  Once it dries for a couple of days, I unify the surface with an acrylic wash, in a rich, warm brown tone.

 

 

 

Then, comes the oil painting.  I have had to buy 8-10 tiny brushes of assorted sizes to accomplish this.  The images in the paintings are so familiar to me because I have painted them repeatedly already.  So, the "flow" is there.   

Thanks to the SAM Gallery, there was a wonderful opening reception for Patrick LoCicero in the TASTE Restaurant last Wednesday night.  What made the event special, besides the good company, was that "TASTE bartender Tiffany Friday took inspiration from Patrick's  work to create a cocktail with a 'collage' of tastes".  The Ephemera had tequila blended with lime, orange, strawberries, and something called Clement Creole Shrubb; it was so absolutely delicious!  Patrick's work is up through December 11 in the restaurant.

In the photo, L to R:  Nancy Massar, Susan Walker, Jody Bento (SAM Gallery Director), and Patrick.  Gallery 110 artist and friend, Roger Shurtleff, was also at the reception.

One of my favorite buddies to paint with is Jacqueline...and yesterday, we both showed up at Mark's Studio in shorts and hiking boots.  It was one of those rare 80 degree Seattle days.

We had a good laugh over our accidental twin-ness!  

 

Excitedly, my friend Susan Scanlan won my painting at the PULP Raffle at Gallery 110 in Pioneer Square (for $20's worth of raffle tickets)!  Gallery priced at $500, she scored!  And, best of all, she has lived and hiked near Winthrop, WA, and loves this piece.  I am so happy that my painting has found its owner!

 

 

Here's Susan, with her husband Tony Lo, and my biggest fan, Tommy Walker, catching the evening breeze outside of Gallery 110 last night (before she won the raffle).

 

  

My wonderful son, Jaime, and his divine wife, Erin, also came to the exhibition, as did Mike Anderson with his wife, Ingrid Sarapuu.

 

 

 

...and here is Ingrid, one of my most loyal supporters (and a super tennis buddy of mine)!

 

 

 

A most special guest, Findley, came to her first art gallery reception with proud parents Tyson and Cassi!  So sweet of them to come with a toddler.  Thank you, Cassi and Tyson!

 

Swedish has a 100 year plus history of supporting Northwest artists; they continue that tradition at Swedish/Issaquah.  The art work we got to see at the Open House was superb!

 

It is always exciting to see one's name in print, especially with the honor of being in a hospital setting. 

 

 

Ten of us gather once a month to share ideas and get inspired with a guest artist from Seattle.  We do whine as well as philosophize; we drink wine and eat good food.  Sometimes, as artists we are lost in a piece, and sometimes we are the one who can provide an idea and a way out to one of our tribe.  Our guest artist this month was Roger Shurtleff (the only guy in the photo!).

 

Left to right:  Mami Shimomura, Jan Tervonen, Suzanne Tidwell, Roger, Sheri Jacobson, Megan Somerville.

 

 

 

Left to right:  Suzanne Tidwell, fiber artist, and beside her, Gretchen Van Dyke, painter.  Liz Ruest, with a rueful smile, completes the trio.  All are premier creative, reflective, soulful artists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wait....what could Roger and Jan be laughing at??

 

 

 

Oh, they just spotted me trying on one of Suzanne Tidwell's original pieces!