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A few posts back, I wrote about exhibiting work in a health care facility, and I thought I'd follow up with several nice things that came out of the show.Yesterday, I picked several of the pieces up, as the show had come to a close. Now take-down  can be a let down, but not so in this case.

. " Light shift", pastel, 18x20

This particular image had been chosen as the cover image for a handsome calendar that is given out to visitors, patients and staff.

And, three paintings went home with a new collector. I also received so many wonderful comments in the visitor's log book. All of this was  an unexpected bonus, since my main motive was simply to share the inspiration.

In any case, I thought I would write about some of the initial vision, and techniques used. "Light Shift "  is a piece I had done when I was living in NY State's Hudson Valley.  The weak, low angle of the sun casts a rosy glow on the edge of this wooded field. The time of year, towards solstice, was always a favorite, so being out was quite magical. As the sun was setting, the moon was rising, hence the title. I selected a limited paletteof orange, corals, pinks, and warm violets for the warm illuminated areas. For the cool area cast in shadows, I used blues,  greyed greens, dark umber, and cool violets. The sky is a large, restful shape which contrasts with the textured masses of bare branches.The color, a periwinkle violet, is also used in the moon shape, as I did not want it to interfere with the main focal point; the large poplar on the left.

Here is a much newer  piece , from my present locale. "Mesquite in Half Light", oil, 16x20.

In fact,  it is right from our property, looking towards Mingus Mountain.

Any time that the last light of the day just " kisses" the top of something, it really grabs my attention. In this case, it was a little earlier in the year, as the shrubs were still holding their leaves. Of course, we have a much longer growing season, here in Arizona. The piece is done mostly in cool colors, so that the warm yellow greens would really stand out. When I paint in pastel, I like to leave some of the paper toning showing through in places. In the case of this oil, the lower 1/6 of the painting has been left with the original umber wash showing through. I also used a very limited palette, again using warm colors for the sun kissed areas, and cool for the encroaching shadows.

It is interesting to paint subjects in a similar way,  with comparible lighting , in different media. Two very different terrains, and palettes, but similar results.

Phew!

Well, since I've been writing checks out for the past week with the date of 2013, it looks like we made it through another holiday season, and New Year. I was blessed with wonderful visits and a lot of fun and good food and cheer with family and friends, and I hope that yours were enjoyable, too.

This year, I tried something , which for me was quite a change of pace. Since two of the galleries that I had worked with closed their doors this past year, I knew that I had to at least try a smaller venue . Mind you, in a different economy, when I was working with a network of five galleries, ( and sometimes more ) I may not have considered doing a local craft show. But, since I still consider my self to be a relative newcomer to the area, I thought it would be a good way to meet possible collectors, and introduce myself and some of my work to my new area.

I decided that I would print some high quality giclees of just a few of my gallery pieces, and for other works I would " resurrect" what I had done for my studio sales when I had them back East. Knowing that so many people are on a budget, I printed less expensive , 5x7 versions of a variety of works, which I had always done well with when I made them available.
 " Adobe Blue" is one of the smaller prints that I made. Another thing that I did just for this show, was that I made sure that the pieces I had were very specific to the locale. I often go out and plein air paint in and around the town where the event was held. I even went so far as to paint a piece of the local gazebo decked out in Christmas lights, and made sure the original , and prints were available.

I really did not know what to expect, and thought that I may sell some of the smaller prints; hopefully enough to cover my expenses. If I didn't, this would be okay too, as it would be great advertising. Many press releases were sent out about the event, and opening night brings about 800 people through to view the work.

Much to my utter astonishment, in addition to several prints, I sold two original pieces. They were not gallery sized, or priced, but they were certainly not on the lower end of my originals, either. In fact, one of the pieces garnered considerable attention, with 3 different people who would have loved to have it go home with them !

I also volunteered to teach a kid's class, which is part of the event. what fun that was...and I  thoroughly enjoyed working with a group of bright, enthusiastic kids. If you haven't shared art with kids for a while ( or ever) ...I highly recommend it as a refreshing, rewarding experience.

You can be sure that I will participate again next year. It was a fun event,  I met many wonderful new people , and the whole experience fosters good will throughout the community.  and, having some of my work go to good, new homes was  icing on the cake.