Advanced/Intermediate Painting Class

Our Winter Session at the Y Arts Studio will include an Advanced/Intermediate Acrylic Painting Class. This class is for students who have some experience with acrylic paint. We will be using techniques including glazing and palette knife painting as well as working with textures and dramatic lighting.
The class is scheduled for Tuesday nights, 7:00p.m. - 9:00 p.m. We are registering now for the Winter classes which begin the week of January 3.

For my students who are finishing the Still Life....

Most of you are nearly done with your paintings and I am very pleased with the artwork. As you are finishing the still life, you can refer to the photos. If you need to take another photo, let me know. The still life is still in the studio and can be set up very quickly.
Remember to concentrate on your focal point; other areas should have less detail; and try to create a sense of foreground, middleground and background. Highlights on the glass objects and on the pitcher should not be stark white, but white, mixed with a bit of the color of the object.
Each of the glass objects cast a lovely colored shadow on the white pitcher (that's why I chose it for the still life!)and everyone did a beautiful job of capturing that.
All in all I think everyone made great progress and I hope you will consider joining the Advanced/Intermediate Painting Class.

Frozen River accepted in SCA Regional Exhibit

My mixed media piece, Frozen River was accepted into the Stanley Center for the Arts Regional Exhibit in Utica. The reception is tomorrow, Tuesday Nov. 30, 5:00pm - 6:30pm, but I will be teaching my painting class. So if you are at the reception, have a glass of wine and a couple of cookies for me.

New artwork on website

I have added a few recent paintings to my website.

Queen of the Slip Jig

Just finished this painting in time for the Still Life class which I am teaching on Tuesday nights at the Y Arts Studio. The title is 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.

Winter's Arrival

It snowed yesterday (Halloween) and again today for a bit. I am not usually a fan of the cold weather but I did think briefly of skiing. Here's painting I did a few years ago to herald the arrival of winter.

Acrylics: Painting the Still Life

Still life painting usually puts one in mind of flowers and vases, or fruit and wine bottles...not that those are bad things. But still life painting can be so much more. The correct pairing of objects, with a treatment that enhances those objects can create a composition that is as contemporary in feel as the subject matter it represents. The application of paint in IPOD was done entirely with a palette knife. The resulting textures and the highlights they catch and the shadows they cast become important visual parts of the painting. They also invite us to touch the artwork, something we seldom do with a finished painting. Running our fingers across the ridges of paint becomes part of the appreciation.


"Painting the Still Life" begins next week at the Y Arts Studio at the East Area Family YMCA, in Fayetteville. There are still a few openings in the Tuesday night 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm class and the Wednesday morning class 9:30 am - 11:30 am. Cost is $68. for YMCA Members; $78. for Non-members. All art supplies are included; no need to bring anything but yourselves to class! Registration for these classes will close on Thursday Nov. 4, so if you are interested it is best to register before then.
Hours: Monday - Friday 5:30 am - 10:00 pm; Saturday 5:30 am - 9:00 pm; Sunday 8:00 am - 7:00 pm.