birds of a feather

A great day in the studio yesterday enjoying visitors and working on the painting. Two little budding artists came by and each got a little drawing notebook to take home and left their signatures in my guest book and a drawing for me to keep. The painting is now finished except for painting pebbles along the bottom edge of the canvas, and tweaking any little things I see on final inspection. It will get photographed for limited edition prints before I sign it, and then the last touch will be my signature.... a celebration is in order.

best laid plans

There are days in the studio that with the best of intentions I just cannot seem to find enough time to paint. Odd but true! Favors are asked and requests are made, business phone calls, tours, ideas need brainstorming, errands in the building need running, grunt-work needs doing and art center-related tasks need fulfilling. Whew! Yesterday was one of those days. All of it is a part of being a member of this living and breathing art center and it makes me happy to know that I am a small part of helping this place grow and develop.

It is a wonderful place to be along with a lot of other people who are tremendous professionals willing to work hard every single day. Nothing good comes easy, and this place is amazing. To think back now to the day that I found this place with another name in another location... and the feeling of portent that I got then. To now be a part of all the exciting things happening here is a very good thing in my life. The resident artists are friends and a support system, and everyone works together so well.

A painting sold yesterday, the Butterfly Flowers painting based on a tabletop that I had created for a keeper at the National Zoo - and that design had turned into a commissioned painting now offered as limited edition prints on Princess Cruise Line and the Queen Mary 2. The painting has found a wonderful home with someone who coveted it for a long time before deciding to make the purchase, and I am delighted to know that it will be cherished by someone very special.

By the end of the day yesterday one more shore bird had been painted... one down, two to go!

I still need an assistant, and maybe a grant writer........

thank goodness it's finally Friday (tgiff?)

So much has been happening this past week with lots of good things in the works and so much to do. I am looking forward to finishing the three final shorebirds now (the end is in sight!) and I got a look at the test prints being made at VisArts yesterday - we are on to something wonderful here in my search for high quality limited edition prints.

I got a request for a Wild Watercolor Workshop via my presence on LinkedIn and if the scheduling works out it will bring three generations together for a painting session... Have you scheduled your Wild Watercolor Workshop yet?

birds birds birds

I have only three birds left to paint in the shorebird painting as I was able to finish the one that was half-completed yesterday. This has turned into a labor of love - I never realized what I was getting myself into in wanting to paint these birds from the springtime Eastern Shore, and all the research and study that would go into the painting to be sure that I was showing the birds in the right plumage at the right time of year, correctly sized when compared to the other birds. Some kind of celebration will be needed when this painting is finished.... probably in the next week.

The resident artists spent time cleaning up and filling the studio next to mine with beautiful artwork to make the space look wonderful in a great team effort, and last night I got to work on a mural with children at NIH.

early bird

I was in the studio a little after 8 yesterday morning and took advantage of the peace and stillness to get some photos of the artist concourse empty and quiet before the start of the work day to make panoramas from.

We have new ceramic artists.... well, new and not new as they were a part of the original organization and helped make this art center what it is today. We are all so delighted that they have come back and now it seems like they never left. We are still looking to fill the studio next to mine and for the time being we will be displaying some of the resident artists' work there to make it attractive and welcoming.

I also took pictures of the newest shorebirds in the painting and will share those tomorrow. I am in the home stretch on this painting!

change

Every month the tablescape in my studio changes. This tablescape for February was meant to advertise our Art After Hours drumming event that was finally cancelled due to those horrific snow storms in the metro area. Hopefully we'll get that drumming re-scheduled at some point for a future Art After Hours event.

Yesterday was a great day in the studio.... 2 1/2 birds painted.... 3 1/2 to go. Why do you ask am I showing a picture of drums at the top of this post? Good question. I forgot the camera yesterday:) I am really delighted to be reaching the completion of this painting, and the timing could not be better because some friends who have been waiting to see it finished should be coming for a visit in April for a Scrabble tournament at the art center.

I have a commission for a rhododendron piece coming up, most of the sketches for the new goddess series are completed and ready for painting, and there are so many ideas percolating for new work.

ACC Baltimore

At the American Craft Council show in Baltimore this weekend the back of the program booklet featured a full page ad for our art center, VisArts at Rockville. During the public days of the show it was wonderful to see hundreds of people walking around with their program held like this, advertising our art center! Some of my favorite artists at the show coming soon!