Progress!

Sommerville Open Studios is this weekend.  After months of preparations, the final set up was completed today.  I am very pleased with the appearance of the studio, and now all I can do is wait to see what kind of reaction I get this weekend.  I plan to post photos to my Facebook page during and after the event, so stay tuned this weekend.

Last week I received a very special gift in the mail.  Some time ago, Crissant and I decided to trade work.  I sent her one of my canvases, and she sent me one of her prints.  It's a beautiful black and white study from a series that reminded me of my work that I have been doing lately with the Boston Figurative Art Center.  The composition and the use of light in this photo are brilliant.

For those of you who don't know Crissant, please take a look at her portfolio and her two blogs here and here.  She also has a very affordable book on Blurb.  Please support her with your purchase.

She is a dear and kind soul, and I am very happy to call her my friend.  Thank you, Crissant!

Also today, another one of my guest posts went up on the Zatista Wall Spin Blog.  As winter turns to spring here, I have been thinking  a lot about gardening, and the post talks about this.  Please take a moment to hop over there and take a look.  Thank you!

Next Thursday, I will have the full report on Open Studios with plenty of photos.  As I have said before, I am a little behind on responding on all of your blogs, but once things settle down here, I will get back into it.  I promise.

Until then, I wish each and every one of you a fabulous weekend.  Thank you for coming here and giving me your support, I appreciate it!

Somerville Museum Opening, Wall Spin and New Works

The opening reception this past Friday at the Somerville Museum was great!  The show entitled Artist's Choice is a chance for the public to preview some of the artists participating in the upcoming Open Studios weekend.

With close to 400 artists participating, the event is the largest open studio activity in the United States, and it gets bigger every year.  The museum show allows people to plan their weekends out, as it's impossible to visit every studio.  Enjoy the photos!

My newest post on the Wall Spin blog went up this week, and it's called The Art of Illusion.  If you haven't already read it, please take a moment to jump over there.  It's my 6th post as a guest blogger for the Zatista site, and I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to be working with them.  If you've missed some of the posts, you can click on my name, and it will pull up all of the ones I've authored.

In the studio this week, I have been trying to get as much done as possible before next Saturday.  By this time next week, the studio should be set up and ready for the public.  I wish each and every one of you could attend!

Until next Thursday, have a great weekend.  Thank you all for visiting and for your support, I appreciate it!

Gearing Up and Getting Ready

In just 16 days, Vernon Street Studios will be swimming with hundreds and hundreds of eager art lovers.  Somerville Open Studios is one of the first major events of spring and one of the biggest art events of the year.

The studio building in which Gabriella and I do our work is one of the largest in Somerville and has the reputation for housing top-notch artists.  It has a long history as a studio building, and for that reason, it's one of the main destinations of the event.  It's going to be great!

If you live locally, please stop by and say hello.  There will also be after-hour gatherings on each day, so stick around and have some fun!

I have been painting like a madman trying to get at much accomplished before the big weekend.  At this point, I don't think I will be able to fill all of my blank canvases, but I am confident that I will be able to produce enough to have a good presentation.  The last couple of days prior will be spent working on the placement, lighting and the overall set up.  It's a lot of work but well worth the time and effort spent.

The top canvas is 24" x 24" and the bottom one is 16" x 16".  Both are acrylic and oil.

Between all of this work, I have still managed to make it to my drawing session twice a week.  The Boston Figurative Art Center is growing by leaps and bounds.  Since I started attending in December, the membership has more than doubled.  I'm also very pleased with my progress so far.  If you remember from my past posts, I came into the Center with zero formal drawing experience.  With each session, I see and feel something different, and I can slowly see things starting to fall into place.

The above drawing is 18" x 24" in charcoal.

Tomorrow is the opening reception at the Somerville Museum, and I will take plenty of photos to share with you all in next weeks post, but check my Facebook page this weekend, as I will probably sneak some photos  up.

Until next Thursday, I wish each and every one of you a great weekend.  Thank you for taking the time to stop by here and leaving your great comments, I appreciate each and all of you!

Mandalas, mandalas, mandalas!

The week ended on a good note.  I finished up the wood panel that I have been working on and dropped it off at the Somerville Museum this evening.  The Artist's Choice Exhibit will be running from April 15 to May 13, and is a showcase for some of the local artists that will be taking part in Open Studios.  With close to 400 participants opening their studio doors on that weekend, the museum show gives the public a chance to preview some of the artwork prior to the big event.

The museum is just steps away from where Miss G and I live, and it's a pleasure and an honor to be in the show.  I did the wood panel specially for the museum, and it represents the direction my work is going at the present time.

The opening reception is April 15, and I will have a full report with plenty of photos on April 21.  I am looking forward to it!

Now that the museum piece is finished, I can focus on producing as much as I can in the next 3 weeks.  I started on the above 24" x 24" canvas and am very pleased with the results so far.  This particular canvas was sketched out some time ago, I changed it a few times, and finally, it felt like the right time to get it completed.  I don't usually have so many false starts with any of my canvases, so this one is unique in that respect.

I talked briefly about brushes last week and have been waiting for some samples to come from The Princeton Brush Company. These three arrived this week, and I immediately put them through the paces.  They are in the Umbria line , and while they are synthetic, they act very much like a natural haired brush.  The handles are unvarnished and are treated with a silicone sealer.  They feel great!  I will let you all know if they hold up or not.  

The next couple of weeks are going to be busy, but it will all come together just like it always does.  I will have to apologize that I haven't been keeping up with commenting on other's blogs, but please know that I do stop and take a look to see what is going on with each of you that have a site.

Until next Thursday, I wish all of you a great weekend.  As always, thank you for your support and encouragement!