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- Art City Austin 2011
I got to spend this past weekend exhibiting at Art City Austin, enjoying a great location right at the intersection of the 1st Street Bridge and Caesar Chavez streets.
It was great hearing what attracted people to my work, and it’s always interesting how different artworks affect different people. Of course, most people knew right away if they even wanted to wander into my booth– if they were afraid of color, then my art wasn’t for them. But those who have a passion for color like I do, came on in and took some time to study the layers in my work. They were often impressed by the depth of color in my work. A lot of my works have many layers of paint — (sometimes one or two entire paintings) underneath the surface. I also use glazes in my work to create transparent layers, which really help to make the colors deep. It’s really hard to get good photographs of my work, and seeing them in person is the only way to truly appreciate the depth of color.
I met a lot of great people — gave away hundreds of business cards, and sold several works of art. Thanks to Patrick, Ellie, Colleen, Remi, and Katherine for their patronage and encouragement! Austin has been one of my favorite places to visit for the past couple of years, and Art City Austin was a great place to show my work.
When I moved to Frisco, TX almost five years ago, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect on a personal level. I knew it had great schools, so that appealed to my maternal need to give my kids “the best.” It has a pretty good city plan, as far as suburbs go. And we found a good little house in a nice neighborhood at a great price. Plus, it had a studio for me! But I wondered what would be in store for me career wise– you know, artistically. At the time, I was doing a lot of decorative painting, which included murals and faux finishes, and Frisco was (and still is) one of the fastest-growing cities in the US. There were lots of possibilities for those kinds of jobs here. I kept pretty busy.
On the side, I was making my art when I could, and I was eager to meet other artists. I was hoping that the art scene reflected the progressive attitude I saw in the rest of the city. I joined the local art guild, and soon started meeting some great artists — many artists around my age who were making some really great work. It really inspired me to keep making more art and to keep showing it. Over the past couple of years, the art guild has grown into a really cool group (www.vagf.org), and it looks like the rest of the city is catching up.
Visual Arts Guild of Frisco art show
This past weekend, we hosted the reception for our first show of 2011, ”Resolutions,” to a crowd of well over 100 people. We had a great time hanging out at the new Discovery Center– Frisco’s new visual and performing arts venue. Awards were given, artwork was sold, new connections were made. I had several conversations with other Friscoans (non-artists) that had been longing for art events to attend within the city limits. They could actually have a classy date-night right here in town.
The previous weekend, thegallery8680 held their first opening of the year, and I am privileged to be a part of that show. Director Robyn Parker Feehan is the visionary behind thegallery8680; she started the space last year to promote contemporary artists in the region. This show, “Celebrating Women Artists” includes photography, drawing, painting and mixed media works from nine female artists from Texas. The reception was a great success, again with over 100 people in attendance. More proof that Frisco is becoming a hot spot for the visual arts in North Texas!
thegallery8680 reception
I really believe that moving to Frisco was the right move for me as an artist. We’ve got a core group of artists who are working to create an active arts community. It’s still in the formative stage, but we’re definitely headed in the right direction. It will be interesting to see what the next few years bring.
If you’re in town, check out these exhibits:
The “Resolutions” VAGF Member Show will be on display at Frisco Discovery Center through Saturday, February 26. Frisco Discovery Center is located at 8004 N. Dallas Parkway, Frisco 75034. Hours are M-F 10-5, Sat. 10-6 and Sun. noon-6pm. Admission is free. Information on the Visual Arts Guild of Frisco can be found at www.vagf.org.
thegallery8680
“Celebrating Women Artists” runs through March 12 at thegallery8680, located at 8680 Main Street, Frisco 75034. There will be a daytime reception/luncheon on Wednesday, March 9, from 11:30am - 3:00pm. Visit thegallery8680 blog at www.thegallery8680.blogspot.com. Call Robyn for an appointment to see the artwork at 214.585.8175.
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Posted February 22nd, 2011. Add a comment
I recently received the “Best of Show” award at the Texas and Neighbors 25th Annual Art Show in Irving for “The Gift,” so I wanted to share a little bit about this painting/mixed media piece.
Stylistically, I prefer looser lines and more abstracted forms than used in traditional paintings. I am influenced by the modernists: Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh, Valadon, and Toulouse-Lautrec, to name a few. I feel a connection to their liberated use of color and simplification of forms. In this particular work, I first layered paper onto the canvas. The underlying image (a photograph of a sculpture that I took while in Boston) shows through only near the bottom of the composition — the dark areas in the female’s dress, and under the red garment of the child.
Another influece on my art is stained glass windows. I believe this comes from my background in Art History, and eventual travels in Europe. Each panel of stained glass tells a story through simple lines and bold colors. Likewise, each canvas or panel of my work captures a simple moment in time (a conversation, an exchange between mother and child), and elevates it to a moment of the sublime. Although I use the “aura” or halo in some of my work, it not meant to be religious, but rather to bring to light the sacred acts of everyday life. Using these female subjects, much of my art work deals with my interpretation of my own life: my role as mother, daughter, and wife.
Pablo Picasso said, ” Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” For me, at least, this is true.
A lot has happened since my last post. I can’t believe it’s been so long, but I’ve been so busy creating, that I haven’t had time to write about it!
Between September and now, I’ve participated in one art festival, two solo exhibits, and three group exhibits. I began serving as the President of our local arts Guild in January. And over the past four months I’ve also designed and produced four very large public murals. So, now, it’s time to catch my breath and show you what I’ve been up to.
Starting in October, I began to come up with designs for four murals that would be in the library at Frisco High School. I met with the librarian and principal at FHS, and we discussed how they would like the murals to be very colorful, livening up the library walls and appealing to the students there. They wanted something that reflected how the library was used, and were looking for a more modern, less traditional feel for the murals. Other than that, I was on my own!
This is the first of the four murals, which measures 24′ x 8′, and is located behind the long circulation desk. I call this mural “Connected,” because it shows the students connecting with books, technology and each other in the library. I thought it would be fun to play with scale in the composition, so I made the books and notebook very large. I tried to incorporate a variety of types of students, and I even used four FHS students as models for this mural. By the time I finished, I had several requests from other students who wanted to be painted, too!
After completing my first mural, I moved on to the mural in the entry way of the library. I knew it would be one of the first things you would see when entering, so I wanted to create another image that really grabbed your attention.
On this mural, the background images were inspired by posters featuring travel, science, fine arts, mathematics, health & fitness, etc. Because of the popularity of using the students in the other mural, I photographed FHS students for each of these figures, putting them into the pose I had already sketched out on my plan. I wanted these figures to really “pop,” so I made them resting on blocks that seem to project out into space. It was fun to interact with the students who came into the library. I call this mural “Inquiring Minds.”
The third mural was at the very end of the long, narrow library. It is over the “College & Career” section, and it is called, “Outlook on the Future.” I decided to go with a simpler, more graphic design, but still wanted to play with scale and three-dimensionality. The background of this design includes a college building, a (long and) winding road, fields of blue, and a city in the back ground. The sky is full of gears, one with a compass, pointing the way to go. A lone figure stands atop a stack of books, looking at the future. In the foreground is a large book, that seems to be balanced atop the bookcase, with a graduation cap on top of it. The tassle really fools the eye, looking like it pops right off the wall. It has been fun to see the students and staff come into the library and try to decide if that book is real or not. They often have to go up close to find out.
This is the final mural I painted for the library, in the fiction section. I wanted this one to be loose and fun, with a graphic, pop art look. I included references to 16 fiction books, two non-fiction books, and one really great bard. This is very close to the entry mural, and is visible from the second floor of the school, through glass windows.
The library hosted a reception for me today, and it was great to hear the responses of all those who were seeing the murals for the first time. It’s always interesting to see how each mural appeals to people in a different way. Some prefer the realism of “Connection” and “Inquiring Minds,” while others are drawn to the more stylized designs of “Outlook on the Future” and “Imagine.” I love the fact that hundreds (thousands?) of people will get to enjoy them for many years. That’s very gratifying. This project has been a great experience for me, and I hope that it makes the library an even more appealing place for the students of FHS to hang out.
Posted February 6th, 2010. Add a comment
The “Color: Between the Lines” show has been success. Thanks to all who were able to make it out so far, and thanks to all of you who live to far away to attend but sent me your good karma anyway.
Putting together an art exhibit is quite the task, and I can really appreciate the benefit of having a gallery handle it for you (although we were not privileged to that benefit in this case). In addition to making half of the art in the show, we’ve spent weeks preparing biographies, planning the menu and trying to invite anyone and everyone we could possibly think of. Then there was updating my web site, sending e-mails, updating Facebook, etc., etc. I may sound like I’m complaining, but really I’m not. As hectic as it is, I rather enjoy all of the prep work. And I feel very privileged to have the opportunity. It really is a lot of work, though. All in the hopes of baring your soul to the world (or rather a small circle of friends and aquaintances) and hoping to break even. What a romantic life, being an artist.
In addition to the reception, I’ve been up to the gallery space a few other times to show friends and family my work. Each time I had to take my daughters, they kind of groaned under their breath, saying “But we’ve already seen it fifty times.” Experts in hyperbole. Not yet experts in flattering their mother. Makes me wonder how they’ll remember their childhood……”My mother used to make me go sit still in the galleries where her art work was on display. We’d have to look at the same boring things over and over and over. It was absolute torture…”
The show closes this Friday. The gallery will be open Friday night from 5-8pm, so if you still haven’t seen it and want to, please come by. Thanks to T. Scott Stromberg and his wife Sammie for all of their work in pulling this show off, too!
