Taking Third

While we would naturally all like to come in "first" in everything....sometimes even "third" is a wonderful thing when in the company of sooo many other talented people.
This weekend was the Westport Art Group's spring juried show,"Nature's Bounty". This happens to be an area where there is an abundance of very fine artists, many of whom I am happy to also call "friends" as well. Needless to say it becomes a challenge to have your work noticed above the rest in a place where there is such fine art at any given show.
Soo...imagine my surprise when I discovered I had placed in the show!!

Another truely  lovely detail of this was the "Judge's Statement" written in the show program. In his words...." Strong, simple composition, impressive from a distance yet full of complexity within the selection of collage materials. The wry expression of the turtle suggests that he is viewing his audience."
My delight was that he "got" it. The fact that my paintings are, at first glance, easily recognized subjects on their own.....but upon a closer look...much more complex than what is first implied. That is the part that draws the viewer in to a deeper level of the piece...to where a story starts to unfold.
Yes...it made my day.

Save the Dates

Summer is on it's way and that means lots of extra activities.
The first one on my list of Torn Paper Paintings extras is an instructional talk & demo at the
Taunton Art Associaton. I was honored by having them contact me with the request and look forward to the evening.
This will be held on May 15th at 7pm.
The next event will be a two day workshop at the Greater Fall River Art Association. 
The workshop will be held on June 15 & 16th. from 10 to 2pm each day.
Space is limited at this venue....so if you're interested...register early!! You can contact me via email....or leave a message here and I'll get back to you.
I hope to be able to do more of the workshops both locally and beyond. If you have an art association or art venue in your area that might be interested in sponsoring a visiting artist for a worksshop of 2 to 3 days....please pass my info along.

Two Tails

8"x16"

Whale tails....big & little!!
Previously I had created a Torn Paper Painting of a whale tail. Not a big one....just a nice sized 8"x16". I took it to The Little Beach Gallery and it looked lovely hanging there among the other coastal pieces! Well....since then it seems there have been requests and interest in having a whale tail created in a larger size.
I get it....whales are "Big"...so it makes sense that some folks would want to see them bigger....even though there is a bit of whimsy in seeing something huge done in a more delicate scale!


12"x24"

Soo....I just delivered another....this one is 12"x24". Not huge...but a bit bigger so that we can....ummm...test the water...lol
Although they are the same subject matter....I did try my best to give them each their own personality....and made each of the tails a bit different. Now....let's see what happens!! The season has just begun.

On my way home from the gallery, while stopped in traffic, I noticed the bumper sticker on the car in front of me. Luckily I had my camera beside me...so grabbed a quick shot!!
Need to get me one of those!!

Serenity

Yes....that's how I see this piece....so I named her Serena.

She has an understated background to keep this calm scene. The only thing I added was a simple tone-on-tone design a little to the left....almost an image of sun reflected in the water. A peaceful thing for her to be looking at.

I've included a few detail shots for you to be able to see a bit more of what is hidden inside. (you'll have to click to see it better)

Love working on mermaids. I'm sure another one is right around the corner!

Memories

That's what I'm calling this piece.
This one was done from a photo I took of two of my chairs in the backyard beside the pond. I take a lot of photos of those chairs and change up the colors I use when making them.

I've done many of them as smaller single chair pieces. This is the largest so far, 18"x24", of two together. While it was certainly more work....I really like it.
Those of you who have followed my Torn Paper Paintings work know that there are many many hidden words and images throughout each piece for the viewer to find. Some easy...some not (don't want you finding everything right away).

This one is getting it's name from one of the words found within the piece. My husband saw the word, and of course the tune started to play in his head right away...lol Figured that was a sign that it would work as the name. After all....who doesn't have fond "memories" of sitting in chairs by the edge of the water on a summer day. Memories of those warm relaxed peaceful days are with everyone...especially as we do our best to make it through these winter months in hope of seeing those warm days again.

For those of you who may not ever see this piece in person and have the opportunity to find some of the hidden images within....I've taken just a few and put them here for you to enjoy. Click on it to enlarge.
Now I think I'm going to hang this one up for a while and picture a nice warm beach day!