North Country Arts Council Fall Show Has Something For Everyone!

Yesterday I was gallery sitting at the North Country Arts Council Fall Show in Watertown, NY. This is the second time I have participated in this show, and the first time I have actually seen the show installed. I was unprepared for the variety of artwork. The show features an array of paintings, drawings, sculptures, mixed media, pottery, jewelry and graphics, from artists living throughout the North Country. My husband and I have a camp in the Indian River Lakes, so I consider myself a North Country artist too, and I felt like I was in good company.

The show consists primarily of juried art from North Country artists, but there were a few invitational artists and groups represented in the exhibit. Stone carvings by David Marangle, sculptures by Chris Belven and classical portraits and still life by Paul Pedersen were all part of the invitational group. In addition, the River Community Wellness Program in conjunction with Fort Drum presented the Soldiers Art Show and Better Arts, a division of Better Farm contributed a selection of work from their visiting artist program.

There is also a section of pottery for sale benefitting Dragonfly Pottery Studio which suffered a devastating fire back in the early part of the fall. I'm happy to report that Dragonfly is re-building and "in-progress" pictures on their Facebook page look great.

And one more pic….I love this one done by a soldier during his deployment in Afghanistan. 113 small paintings, 1 each day, done for his daughter (hearts) and son (suns)… a promise he made and kept each day.

The North Country Arts Council Fall Show is on display at the Dulles State Office Building in Watertown, NY, through November 22. Hours: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm.
Go see it!

Is this Any Way to Spend Halloween????

Wow, what a busy night here at Windy Hill Studio. In between greeting trick-or-treaters at the door I have been getting a few things ready to bring up to Bay House Artisans. We are still open and will be till at least Black Friday.  Hours: Friday - Sunday, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm.

The latest pieces are in the Art-to-Wear category. Two velvet embossed scarves (Grape leave and Celtic) and a Rootin' Tootin' Super Cute Bag with a raspberry colored velvet square embossed with a sun pattern on a hand-painted fabric bag.

And… a truly fun experimental piece: A hand-painted fabric Christmas table runner. I call this one "Dancing Trees".   My two cats Tony and Ziva "helped" with the project. My entire kitchen was filled bits and pieces of red and green fabric. I think I will be picking thread off of every horizontal surface till February!

Gotta go now…trick-or-treaters at the door! Happy Halloween!!!!

Click on the blog post to open up the other two pictures.

What Should I Do……FIRST?????

More News From Windy Hill Studio

This is the "in-between" time for me. The 2-3 weeks in between sessions at the Y Art Studio and my first thought is What Should I Do…... FIRST???? We usually have a couple of weeks in between sessions so we can prep for our next group of classes and also try to catch up on everything we were too busy to do when we were teaching. I always have a few pieces that I really want to finish, but I feel the pull toward the new pieces which need to be done in preparation for the next session. So my "in-between" time becomes a race to see how much I can accomplish in preparation for teaching and still please myself as an artist.

Whenever I am teaching a painting class my demo pieces usually coincide with themes for upcoming shows or sales in specific areas. So, I am currently putting finishing touches on a couple of watercolors for my Ireland show scheduled for March 2015 at Sparkytown. Both pieces started as demo pieces for the Watercolor class. (Yes I believe in multi tasking). And in the next session my Wednesday morning Watercolor class will continue and the students will progress to more advanced techniques…at least that is the plan! And most likely I will continue with the Ireland theme in my own work. Students obviously will be painting other things.

But my Monday night Drawing class will be changed to an Intro to Pastels class, so that means I have to get a few pastels ready to go before class begins in November. I used to work extensively in pastel so I'm not worried about teaching it, but I do want a few new pieces. I will be working on pastels in the Arts Studio for the next couple of weeks so you might catch my act as you are walking through the Y. Or hey, just sign up for the class! It starts on Monday November 3, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm and runs for 6 consecutive Mondays.

We are still going strong at Bay Hose Artisans (probably will be till Black Friday), so that means I'm keeping my cards, prints and art-to-wear stocked. The paintings are still there too and also a few at The Lyric Coffeehouse in Clayton. The North Country Arts Council will soon be announcing the accepted pieces for their Fall Show. I hope to hear from them soon.

And tomorrow is the launch party for The Healing Muse, a literary and visual journal from SUNY Upstate Medical which I am pleased to be associated with for 14 years.

Whew, my "in between" time fills up fast. It's time to get back to painting.

Updates From Windy Hill Studio…Thousand Islands, Snowy Splendor, Ireland

This has been one of the busiest seasons for me. By "season" I mean the Spring, Summer, Fall time of year when I show and sell my work in the seasonal galleries throughout the Thousand Islands and the North Country. I also was accepted into 3 juried shows here in Central New York and was featured artist at Arts on The Square in Watertown, so that kept me busy too. And I was teaching in a variety of places near home and near camp, so life got hectic and things like blogging went by the wayside. It's actually been more than a month since my last post! I am still painting though and that's what counts.

Although Fall is here my "season" is not completely over. I will be exhibiting a group of paintings at the Lyric Coffee House during the month of October. The Lyric is located at 246 James St. in Clayton and open from 8:00 am - 8:00 pm.

And we are still going strong at Bay House Artisans in Alexandria Bay, where I am one of the members of the co-op. People say we are the most unique shop in that town and I agree. You can find us right smack in the middle of A-Bay….white house, white picket fence…lots of signs that say "OPEN" (we had a contest where people voted on their favorite sign).

Here in Syracuse the "Snowy Splendor: Winter Scenes from Onondaga County" show will be opening soon at the Onondaga Historical Association. I don't have the date yet for the opening, but will post it when I know. I have two paintings in that show: a watercolor and an acrylic.

And, last but not least Ireland: I have booked a date for my Ireland show (haven't really come up with a title for that one yet). The show is scheduled for March 2015 at Sparkytown, opening reception March 8. More details on that as we get closer to the date.

That's all for now from Windy Hill Studio.

Reflections

Sunken Rock Lighthouse in Alexandria Bay is my favorite of all the Thousand Island Lighthouses. There is something about the green top of the squat little lighthouse and the stark simplicity of the small building which appeals to me. I guess it's a combination of an Edward Hopper style of loneliness and the clear simple lines of an Edward Weston photograph. The white lighthouse and its' accompanying building reflect light and color all day long as the sun shifts in the sky, and the water changes as the sky does.  I love capturing the color of the sky and water at this time of day as the sun sets and the land becomes nearly a silhouette. The last golden rays of the day are reflected in the two buildings and bounce across the ripples in the water. Purple shadows creep across the surface of the lighthouse and join the golden flecks riding on the watery ripples.

This painting was done in as a demo piece when I was teaching an Acrylic Painting class at The Thousand Islands Arts Center. I had started the painting at camp and would bring it into class each day to use for instruction. The week was rainy and cold and the headlines were dismal; a large fire in TI Park, two young Amish girls were abducted, Robin Williams died, so many parts of the world in a turmoil. It was good to lose myself in the painting, at least for a few days. And good to have the squat little lighthouse as a kind of beacon of hope.

Art Show in Watertown

Time Stands Still : Images Inspired by the North Country opens on Saturday at Arts on the Square in Watertown. The exhibit is sponsored by the North Country Arts Council. I will be sharing the spotlight with ceramic artist Tonya Murdie. The reception is from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. Refreshments and live music by classical guitarist Gary Walts are all on the agenda.
Stop by if you are in the area.
Arts on the Square is located at 52 Public Square in Watertown.

Artist Statement

The paintings in this exhibit all deal with nature. The places we return to year after year where time seems to have stood still: the lakes, the rivers, the mountains and the woods. The much needed refuges from modern life. Here we are provided with a sense of peace and tranquility. The daily pressures disappear and we stop moving long enough to feel the heartbeat of nature and the cycle of the seasons. We find that indeed time has not stood still, but finally we have.

In 2007, my husband and I bought a camp on Grass Lake in the Indian River Lakes Region. Time spent at camp and in the nearby Thousand Islands has provided an endless source of inspiration for my artwork. It has also provided a sense of ownership and responsibility for the resources in the region. And I realize what a privilege it is to be part of this beautiful countryside. We are so lucky to have this privilege. But with this privilege comes a responsibility to insure that it will be there for future generations. Does the land belong to us or do we belong to the land? Does the lake belong to us, or do we belong to the lake? When we first bought our camp, I felt that the lake belonged to us. Right now I feel that we belong to the lake. 

And each morning that I wake up at the lake the privilege is renewed.

It is my hope that in each of these paintings I have captured a moment when time has stood still, at least long enough for us to appreciate the natural beauty of our area and to work to insure that it remains as beautiful for future generations.

Early Riser, the latest in my Heron Series

I have always been fascinated by herons. Especially by their huge sweeping wings and the curve of their long necks as they fly straight above the water, coming to rest only to strike an equally majestic pose amid the fallen trees and branches along the shore. We are fortunate to have several herons on our lake and I although I always enjoy watching them in flight, I think my favorite heron sighting was at the end of the lake down by the beaver dams. A heron had stopped to rest and had chosen the largest beaver dam to perch on. From there he looked down the length of the lake a if he were King of Grass Lake...maybe he is.

I have painted a few heron pictures over the years; the first two in colored pencil, the third in silk fabric dye and the last two in watercolor. Early Riser began as a watercolor demonstration for Healthy Kids Day at the Y. I was part of the "entertainment" in the Arts Studio. I had started with a light sketch of the heron and the fallen tree. Then I got my paper (300 wt. cold press) sloppy wet and just let my colors run and flow. I was working with the idea of early morning colors, the reds, yellows and pinks that you find in the sky and bouncing off the water as the sun is rising.

I left much of the background vegetation as soft shapes without detail to lend a misty morning quality to the picture. And also of course to keep the emphasis on my focal point: the heron. The heron is just beginning to take flight, beginning another day on the lake. The details on the heron, fallen tree and background trees were all added later in my studio when the paper had dried. I rewet the paper occasionally to keep edges soft in some areas.

This picture has been described as having a magical quality, probably due to the luminous colors. To me, herons are a bit magical anyway. On the day we first saw the camp it was a cold, gray dreary early April day, around 5:00 pm, just beginning to lose what little light we had on that rainy day. As I stood on the dock looking at the lake with chunks of ice still bobbing in the water, I wondered "should we buy this place?" A heron flew past me, in slow motion. I was sold.