A New Venue!

"Early Morning Visitor"

New Venue

I'm very pleased to announce that I will be participating in a new venue in Clayton this summer. River Muse, Art Gallery & Studio will open its doors on May 5 for a soft opening. The gallery located at 229 John St. will feature artists and craftspeople from the Thousand Islands and surrounding areas. 

On Memorial Day Weekend River Muse will hold its Grand Opening. Artists from Northern NY and Southern Ontario will be featuring their work, and musical performances, raffles and family fun activities are all planned. You can find more details by clicking on the link below.

www.RiverMuse.Gallery

I'll be showing some of my newer pieces, mostly watercolor at the beginning and as the season goes on I'l have some acrylic paintings and a few of my paintings on silk. Subject matter will be nature inspired,--lots of Thousand Islands scenes like the ones shown here.

I hope you'll stop in when you are up on The River.

And where else am I showing?

For those of you who are used to seeing my paintings, prints, silk scarves and cards at Bay House Artisans in Alexandria Bay--I'll be there too. Each venue will have different pieces so if you don't see what you like at one place then visit the other! And you'll also find my work at the Sackets Harbor Arts Center.

"Through the Trees' view from Singer Castle

"Rainy Day, Blind Bay"

Back in the Studio

"Through the Trees"

Back in the Studio

I'm back in the studio after devoting most of the month of February to packing, painting rooms and clearing away excess stuff in preparation for selling my house. No new work was created in Windy Hill Studio except for a couple of Shamrockin' hand-painted silk scarves. So after a month without painting I was more than ready to get back into the studio.

"Through the Trees" (watercolor) is inspired by the view from the grounds of Singer Castle on Dark Island, in the Thousand Islands Region of the St. Lawrence River. The painting though is more about light and mood rather than a specific place. 

As one of many painters who are inspired by the River I am always looking for new ways to approach my work. So many artists are painting the same iconic scenes and each has their own style. I am happy to be included among the many River painters. But as an artist I feel the need to go beyond the imagery to paint a mood or feeling. 

Simple shapes, organic forms and limited color

In the painting "Through the Trees" I used an analogous color scheme -- colors that are next to each other on the color wheel--to keep the composition simple and unified. The wet-on-wet technique was used throughout the painting to create a soft, muted effect with the colors as they blended seamlessly one into another.

The lower third of the painting is an ambiguous shadowy area creating a kind of boundary between the viewer and The River.

The simple shapes, organic forms, and limited color  reminded me of some of the Arts and Crafts Movement prints--which I have always loved. The day before I painted this scene I had seen an art show featuring a few Arts and Crafts style pieces which must have influenced me.

I plan on painting an acrylic version of this piece, which I know will have an entirely different feel. I'll post that when it is finished.

Singer Castle

"Singer Castle"

Stormy Weather

Well I had a bit of a disappointment this week to learn that the June 29 Arts Showcase at Singer Castle on Dark Island in the Thousand Islands had to be canceled due to low ticket sales and the threat of an impending thunder storm. It seems that this summer we have a daily thunder storm---sometimes two or three each day and that can't be helped. So far our Summer 2017 has been cold and wet, with stormy weather and high waters wreaking havoc with everyone's vacation plans.

I was really excited to be part of this new venture for Singer Castle. The Arts Showcase consisted of a Dinner Cruise, a tour of the castle and an evening of art and music at the castle, and it is a shame that had to be canceled.

Logistics

I think I was really intrigued by figuring out the logistics of what to bring to the showcase and how to get it there. I knew the artists would be traveling by boat from Chippewa Bay and since I've made that trip before, I knew the boat was not very large. My husband had worked on a structural repair at the castle and I accompanied him several times to the castle during the course of the work. So I did have some knowledge of the size of the boat. And I knew that the Bay could be choppy, so the artwork would need to be covered. It was also important to consider the weight of the artwork--it's a long walk from the boathouse to the castle when you are carrying paintings.

"Singer Castle-Tower View"

Narrowing down the choices

So I narrowed down the choices to three original paintings, each shown here. Two views of the castle, and one painting from the grounds of the castle. I also had several unframed prints and Singer Castle greeting cards, all set to go in a lightweight waterproof container ( you can tell that I used to go camping!!!)

But alas the event was canceled and I started to think about how much fun I had just planning how to move things about in an efficient way. It reminded me of the many years I spent working in After School programs in some of the most at-risk schools in Syracuse. I had to transport a lot of art supplies and only wanted to make one trip in and one trip out of the school especially on those days when police tape surrounded the adjacent buildings--- Yikes!!!! Or the years I spent teaching outdoor art camps for the YMCA. Art supplies, bug spray, first aid kits, sneakers, emergency contact information for every camper---the list went on and on--and all fit in a lightweight waterproof container!

So now I have a few paintings framed, prints and cards packaged and ready to go. There is always a possibility that there will be a time later this Summer when they can fit in another showcase-there are  quite a few with different artists already scheduled, so it might be hard to fit us all in. If they do, I've worked out all the logistics and I'm ready to go. 

"Best Seat in the House" from the grounds of Singer Castle, sunset over Canada.