My Studio - Getting Organized!

For a long time I have managed to stay half-way organized with my fine art, Barbie furniture and craft projects. But things went awry as they often do when space and organizational challenges arise and I was desperate to get my act together as much as I could. Painting is a wonderful, exciting and creative adventure. It was time I created a wonderful, exciting place that I could be creative in.

A corner in my sunroom had served as my art space for a long while but that day the bookshelf, makeshift table and easel looked just sad and out of place. It was time for a change - a change that meant a more creative atmosphere to work in with more organization and definitely more light!

So I went to work. The dark curtains came down and were replaced with light and cheery sheers and pinwheel design curtains. The old table and chairs went out and two new light colored wood tables along with four modern chairs took their place. For organization, I attached my display racks against the wall, changed my tired bookshelf for a newly painted one, invested in some drawer cabinets and purchased the sweetest little turquoise rolling shelf to hold my mason jars of brushes, pens and pencils, etc.


The final touch was attaching a line of wire across each cornice board with clips to hang my recent works.

Painting Class

Every month for the past year, I have enjoyed teaching a watercolor class to some lovely seniors at The Provision Living Center in Hermitage. The classes came to an end last month but my memories will stay with me. Thank you, Marianne Harter, for allowing me that opportunity.

Open Studio

I treated myself to a few sessions of "Open Studio" with my artist friend, Christine Pilkinton. She is an art instructor in the area and invited me to join her students in an open studio. We drew and painted using a live model rather than a photograph. It was great fun. There were a total of nine artists that participated. I rarely have the opportunity to paint from a live model so when Christine offered this series of studio time, I jumped at the chance. We had three different models and each session was unique, as were the drawings and paintings that we all produced. Here are a few pictures.

A Surprise for Christmas...

I love surprises. That's what made this commission piece very special. My friend, Ron Perry wanted to surprise his lovely wife, Lillian, with a portrait gift of their 16 year old great- granddaughter. Working incognito, he was able to provide me with a photograph of the lovely teenager. It was a joy working on this piece, especially knowing that it was to be a gift of love. Thanks Ron, for this opportunity and thank you Lillian, for your lovely words of appreciation.

An Art Gallery Excursion

My Art Group headed downtown Nashville last Wednesday to visit the wonderful Haynes Galleries Exhibit. We enjoyed visits to a few other art galleries, in particular, the Tennessee Art League Gallery where we were presented with some great information on the Tennessee Watercolor Society and Plein Air painting. And of course, we stopped for a quick lunch. What's an outing without food!

Sisters

"Sisters" is a commission piece that I just recently finished.

Summer Watercolor Display

Thanks Wilson Bank and Trust for displaying the last two months some of my framed watercolor prints that are For Sale.

Historical Faces of Mount Juliet, Tennessee

3rd Annual Art Gallery Reception

For those of you in the Mt. Juliet region, we're holding our...

Third Annual Art Gallery Reception
"Sights and Scenes of Mt. Juliet"

Mount Juliet Senior Center
2034 N. Mt. Juliet Road, Mt. Juliet, TN

Thursday, June 6, 2013
5 - 7pm

From historic views of the early Mt. Juliet Train Station, downtown scenes, to special sights of today; you won't want to miss this unique art exhibit. Many talented local artists will be displaying their fine art pieces, some of which will be for sale. My own exhibit is called, "Faces from the Past."

Music will be provided by Harpist, Becky Walker.
Refreshments will be served.

Come and enjoy an evening with us.

Also...

A collection of my watercolor paintings will be on display for the month of June at the Mt. Juliet branch of Wilson Bank & Trust, 11835 Lebanon Rd., starting tomorrow, Tuesday, June 4. If you get a chance stop in and check it out. I'd love to hear what you think about it.

Local Artists Reception


Saturday Feb 23rd from 1-5 pm
I am pleased to be participating in a Mount Juliet Artist Reception for several of Nashville’s highly talented up-and-coming artists and photographers.

I will have several originals and many prints for sale (some matted and some not). For those in the area, I hope you can stop by.



Hosted by Anderson’s Furniture Store located at:
1233 N. Mount Juliet Road
Mt. Juliet, TN  37122
(next to Essex)

You will have the chance to browse and purchase one-of-a-kind art or even select a beautiful piece of Amish furniture.
Enjoy wine and cheese while you listen to our featured music artist.

Featured Music Artist:  Anthony K
www.theanthonykband.com

Sponsored by picturemorphun.com
Interested artists can contact
suzan@picturemorphun.com

Teach To Learn

What's the old saying?, "If you want to learn about a subject, teach it."

I certainly found that to be true this last Wednesday afternoon. Sally Murphy, a wonderful watercolor and multi-medium artist, leads our art group in a teaching session once a month. (Click on her name to see some of her watercolors.) Our very talented art group meets at the Mount Juliet Senior Center every week and has a wonderful time together drawing and painting in oils, acrylics and watercolor.

For the month of October, knowing that I have a passion for painting faces, Sally asked me to teach a session on painting portraits. So I accepted the challenge and hoped for the best. I decided to focus on a very important facet of portrait painting - the facial features. So I taught a few basics on how to paint the eyes, nose and mouth in watercolor. Preparing for it and teaching it was great fun and true to the saying, lo and behold, I learned stuff!  Hopefully, others did too!

If you're interested in learning how to draw the facial features (skillful drawing is the first step in painting) here is a website tutorial that I shared with the class by Stanislav Prokopenko that I know you will find very helpful: www.proko.com

Thanks, Sally, for the opportunity. Here are a few pictures she took during the session.