I Just Realized I Had a Pretty Good Winter

Gratitudes

I am taking an online class in Art Marketing which includes daily gratitudes as part of the curriculum. So for the last few weeks I have begun each day listing the things that I am grateful for.

Now in Central New York we have had a miserable winter. In fact in Syracuse we have the dubious honor of having one of the 5 worst winters in America. So my list of gratitudes doesn't usually start with "I'm so grateful for the sun and warm weather". This morning as I was lying in bed listening to the snowplow scraping along the road and bouncing off mailboxes, my first gratitude of the day was "Yes!!! leftovers!!!! I don't have to cook tonight".

But, then I thought a little more and realized that I had quite a few things to be grateful for.

But don't worry, I'm not going to get all soppy and sentimental because this is an ART BLOG, so I'll be talking about art things.

Winter Art Shows

I participated in 3 Winter Art Shows: 

• Snowy Splendor at the Onondaga Historical Association in Syracuse 
• Winter Recipe at the Tech Garden in Syracuse 
• The Art of Winter at the Thousand Islands Arts Center in Clayton 

In the Art of Winter Show I won a Staff Pick Award for my "Cardinals!" and in Snowy Splendor I received a good review for "Leave Only Footprints" by Stars Magazine Art Critic Katherine Rushworth, and a photo of my work in the newspaper. The Winter Recipe Show was reviewed by New Times Critic Carl Mellor which resulted in another good review and a photo of my painting "Green Beer Parade" in the on-line version of that newspaper.

Coming Up Soon: Thousand Island Memorial Day Studio Tour

Back in January, I was invited by the Lyric Coffeehouse in Clayton to be their guest artist during the Thousand Island Studio tour May 23 and 24, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. I will be there with paintings, prints cards etc and I plan also to do a watercolor demonstration. The Lyric is located at 246 James Street in Clayton NY.

So I just realized that I have had a pretty good winter.

New Directions

And here's a first for me: Yesterday I was asked to judge an art guild show. I have judged the National Scholastic Art Show for years, but this will be my first time judging "grown-ups".

So yeah, this winter hasn't been too bad here at Windy Hill Studio. Outside???A totally different story. Let's hope we can put away our winter boots till next November!

Links 

Here is the link to the New Times Review:

http://www.syracusenewtimes.com/area-artists-react-to-local-scenery-in-new-show/

Joan Applebaum Art Goes Green - Queen of the Slip Jig

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

It's day 17 of my blog "going green" and this is the last Irish themed painting I will be posting for quite a while. I can't believe I actually had enough Irish art to last for 17 days! 

For the Dancers

Today's painting is dedicated to the Irish dancers - again. Yes I know I have dedicated two paintings already to the dancers but this one is special for two reasons.

The first reason is because the dancers add so much good positive energy to the St. Patrick's Day Celebrations. The little kids are so darned cute and the more experienced dancers are just amazing. They put their heart and soul into their dancing. And the next day when all the celebrating is done, and the shamrocks and other decorations are put away, the dancers are back in class getting ready for the next event: usually a competition.

Irish dancers train all year; there is no real season like football. St. Patrick's Day celebrations are probably the most fun for the dancers, but only a small part of what they do.

Queen of the Slip Jig

And if you're wondering "what is the second reason why the painting is special", it's because it's dedicated to my daughter Katie. This painting was done when she was in the middle of her last year of high school and last year of dancing with the Johnston Irish Dancers.

The painting is titled "Queen of the Slip Jig" a play on Van Morrison's "Queen of the Slip Stream". In this piece, a well worn pair of Irish dance shoes, a crown and a few medals propped up next to an old concertina tell of a long, but satisfying day at the Feis.

Look closely at the shoes and note that the laces are worn and frayed and the toe of one shoe is held together with duct tape. Dancers shoes take as much beating as a pair of combat boots!

Let's hear it again for the dancers!!! And good luck at the Worlds competition next month!!!

"Going Green"

If this is your first visit to my blog and you like the Irish theme I'm working with you might want to look at posts from the previous days.

Joan Applebaum Art Goes Green - In County Clare

Joan Applebaum Art Goes Green - Love Irish Dance

Bonus Painting

And I promised a bonus painting for today. It's a re-run folks - the same painting that started us off on this 17 day virtual journey of Irish themed art.

Slainte!

Green Beer Parade