Another art event behind me!  

Not planning on participating in anymore this fall. 

Gearing up for the holidays!

We had a great time seeing old friends and fellow artists (some met both criteria!) last weekend while participating in the National Annual Shrimp Festival in Gulf Shores!  Sales were decent even though the crowds were off (per the artists' opinions) regardless of what the newspaper headlines said.  The volunteer staff did a bang-up job getting us in and out, as well as providing occasional assistance and refreshment!  Speaking of "refreshment" (weren't we?), I devoured a Cajun Pistol from Red Wagon Concessions first day out!  OMG!  I love those things!  It's seafood bisque pumped into a soft homemade roll.  Heavenly!  Be careful!  You'll be wearing it with the first bite!

The weather was beautiful ..... a little windy a couple of days ... a bit hot on others!  We were able to stay nearby ... within walking distance.  Below is what I saw first thing every morning out the living room window!  Kinda creepy, huh?!  It's the octopus over the retail store in adjacent parking lot!

It was pretty cool to see one of my larger prints hanging on the wall at the Shrimp Basket too!! 


Half Shells - 12x36


And, now, as is the usual case, I'm down with a head/chest cold.  I'm functioning ok ... just at a slower pace.  It seems after I do an event, I come down with something within a few days.  Must be stress and fatigue getting the best of me!  I'll bounce back!  Too many things on the to-do list to lay around for long!
ttfn!

Art(ology)

There's a new gallery in town! It's right in the heart of the art district in downtown Mobile on Cathedral Square. A fabulous group of artists. A great group of women. A funky, eclectic collection of fine art and fabulous gift ideas! All this birthed from a dream of local artist, Ardith Goodwin. We'll be open the 6th. Stop by, but pardon the process cause we still have some tweaking and polishing to do before the grand opening during Artwalk. We are located on Dauphin Street next to Spot of Tea at Cathedral Square. It's gonna be a beautiful weekend to explore downtown with all its great galleries, gift shops and restaurants!

C'mon down and take a look and meet the participating artists! Our visions are coming together in this colorful, upbeat and lively art gallery and gift shop. Ardith Goodwin Gail Wilson, Marsha Sutton, Claire Noojin, Michelle Leech and myself invite you to stop by Art(ology) for a visit! You never know what you might find all funked up in this delightful little space!!

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=100001794939456

Keller turns 1 !!!

This watercolor was created by a fellow artist friend, Satomi Miyahara. Satomi is also an artist at Cathedral Square Gallery in Mobile and creates beautiful art! Thank you Satomi for this beautiful painting of my grandbaby girl, Keller! I gave the painting to my daughter and son-in-law on the occasion of Keller's first birthday, which is July 13th. Gramma's birthday is today .... have a century...yeah! the big 5-0! Enough about that!


Such a sweet baby! Love my Kell-Bell!! Looking forward to baking cupcakes and painting and growing flowers and playing dolls and Candy Land and all those fun things I missed when my girls were this age!

Pondering . . .

It's "Boo" Season! It's also time for fall art shows!

Shrimp Festival is coming up October 8-11 in Gulf Shores. Grand Festival is the following weekend in Fairhope. Hope to see ya'll there.

I'm looking forward to the fall/winter months after these shows are over to not only prepare for the holidays but to ponder which direction to go with my art-venture. I need to focus on one medium: watercolor, acrylics or oil. I love watercolor. It's the most relaxing of all for me to work with. I love the bright colors of acrylics and the beauty of oils too. But I feel like I'm all over the place. I equally sell each medium but some are more time consuming and cumbersome than others. Watercolors require framing, matting, glass and caution while loading/unloading for shows. Oils take forever to dry and acrylics and oils are both messy mediums and end up on my clothes and everywhere else during the painting process. I'm also considering limiting the outsources I work with. It is exhausting going all over town changing out work and keeping up with the paperwork records of where everything is located. I know I need to become more involved with the art associations I'm affiliated with but for now, my time is not my own. I made the decision two years ago not to allow the art aspect to push aside "life" and not to over schedule myself as long as my daughter was still in high school. I also have a new grand baby to spoil. I hear all the time "if you aren't visible, people forget about you." I watch fellow artist friends stretching themselves thin and well, if it made me "thin" I'd be beating the pavement! Wouldn't we all! Seriously, I remind myself that I didn't begin doing the shows for recognition and fame, but as an outlet to sell and pass along paintings that were lining the walls. The hobby turned into a business and the shows became back to back and the race was suddenly on. Then my mom became ill and I lost my momentum. And the art world kept revolving all around me. Because of lack of time to paint, I've found myself throwing together pieces that don't bring me as much joy to reveal and, knowing I am my worse critic, feels substandard because I know what I am capable of doing. It's only with the acrylics that I feel that way. Maybe because I feel fine detail is expected of/from me because of my watercolors. Hmmmmmm... Have I solved my dilemma by having a conversation with the keyboard? Perhaps. I can focus on watercolors and do the occasional acrylic or oil when inspiration for a fun, fabulous piece tickles my fancy. We'll see what the future brings. I need to build a cohesive body of work for next year. My biggest job, and the most rewarding, is still being a mom and a wife and keeping a peaceful home. During the often frantic pace of being an artist, I miss keeping house, cooking, working in the garden and just being me. The peacefulness is what I miss the most because preparing for art shows causes chaos all over my home because my studio is too small to do it all simultaneously. First things first....clean my studio so I can focus. Time is on my side this season.....I hope.

The White Dogs!

This is a watercolor of my granpuppies, Bayley and Skillet. I KNOW they are black dogs! My daughter's married name is White, hence the paintings' name. Couldn't resist! One day I'll do a painting of Maddy. My first granpuppy-beagle. She is such a sweet girl. When I do my first oil, it'll be of her!

http://www.tkellerart.com/

Azalea Blooms!

Isn't this pretty?  My friend, Jennifer Fox Allen, and I got together for paint night.  She brought along a photo of an azalea.  She painted a beautiful rendition in oils. I borrowed the photo and did this one in watercolor. Turned out pretty good.  I like the dark contrasts from deep beneath the limbs on the bush while the background is somewhat out of focus.

5/09 Note: This piece was juried into the Mobile Art Association Spring Show and is hanging this month at the West Regional Library on Grelot Road along with some very impressive pieces and notable artists! Honored!

"le vin et le fromage"

I took a realism workshop with Chris Hartsfield this past week. I'm excited about how this piece turned out! Thousands of ideas bouncing around in my head! I am gonna try to complete a series in time for the outdoor spring shows. First I need to take some still life photos and get the drawings completed. This may take me into a different direction for 2009! Watch for new doodles!!

http://www.tkellerart.com/