Art-blogging - check it out!

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And while I was at it . . .

thought I'd post this painting done a couple years back, on a swelteringly hot July day. It was the Gahanna Jazz and Blues Festival. The festival was just gearing up but there were a lot of folks milling around on the sidewalk where I was painting. I simplified the crowd as you can see, and my granddaughter renamed this painting from "Lemonade Stand" to "Slow Business". What a genius she is. 8 x 10" oil on gessoed board.

Jewelry #1

One thing that Cindy, Heidi and I had in common was a love of jewelry. It was fun to meet them in the evening and see what purchases they made at the Native American Market situated in the shade of the Palace of the Governors.

Interesting that they purchased from the same vendor whose wares I was attracted to. The vendors take only cash, and I didn't have enough with me to buy, but looking is always a pleasure. Blanket after blanket offered displays of colorful stones, silver, and what I wanted . . . a silver ring with an orange colored rectangular cut of spiny oyster shell. The band had 6 silver beads, three each on two sides of the "stone". These silver beads represented the six directions. Next time. Or when I get the name of the vender from the ladies.

I was able to purchase a very nice coral necklace, multistrand in a silver setting from Peggy Garcia from Santa Domingo Pueblo. She was setting up her wares in the hotel lobby one morning. I almost lost that necklace to another woman while cashing a check to pay for it, but I used all of my persuasive powers to get it back. Peggy wrapped the necklace and handed it to me saying, "Cherish it, cherish it."

New Friends and Margaritas

One of the joys of travel is meeting people.
I was lucky to meet these delightful California blondes on the shuttle from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. They were going to the OPA exhibition to support their artist friend, Eli, who now lives on the other side of the country. I didn't meet Eli at the exhibition, it was CROWDED, but I did meet her on the plaza on Sunday afternoon, painting.

Cindy and Heidi (me in the middle) were also staying at the Inn of the Governors. Here we are in the Del Charro Bar and Restaurant. It's advertised that Del Charro has the best margarita in Santa Fe ($6.00). They certainly had the best corn chowder, with very reasonable prices and good service.

The Inn of the Governors also has a fabulous hot & cold breakfast buffet included in the price of your room, and it certainly helps make your stay in Santa Fe more economical. I would recommend the hotel to anyone. It's just two short blocks south of the plaza, and the Sandia Shuttle will drop you off and pick you up right at your hotel, or B&B, no matter which hotel you are staying at.

OPA in Santa Fe - my hotel

I had a great time at the 18th Annual OPA National Exhibition. Once I knew my painting was in the exhibit, I started to plan my trip. My flight to Albuquerque - roundtrip American Airlines for $185 and change. There was a $15.00 fee for a checked bag each way. I was glad I booked a window seat. The irrigation patterns on the desert floor were well worth seeing.

I took the Sandia Shuttle from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. Roundtrip cost is $45, and it's reliable and easy to use. I would certainly recommend it. There is a train that runs between the two cities but it's not as convenient and a lot more expensive.

After booking the plane and the shuttle, I made an extensive online search for a hotel. OPA made their home in the La Fonda hotel. A great hotel, but $179 a night. I was going for 5 nights, so I was looking for something more economical. Martin found Garrett's Desert Inn at $88 a night. The location was good, and the price for location couldn't be beat, but . . . I found too many negative reviews and decided not to stay there.

Instead, I stayed at the Inn of the Governors. My rate was an average of $120 a night. When I got to Santa Fe, my room had been upgraded from a traditional room to a superioir king!!! Above is my comfortable bed with six pillows, and there were 4 more pillows in one of the two armoires in the room.

On one side of the bed was a writing desk and chair, a nice window that opened to the outside for fresh air, and a sitting area with two chairs and a table. At left you see the seating area dn door that went outside to a small balcony with two chairs. The view wasn't great: the parking lot and a little of the pool, but you could get a distant view of a mountain and great skies. Mostly I opened the door for a nice breeze. I wasn't really in the room long enough to sit on the balcony, but I went outside and sometimes watched the clouds in the sky. I was happy.

In addition to the little balcony, was a kiva woodburning fireplace. Very cool. I only thought about burning it once, but in the end, I didn't burn it at all. Still, it was fun to have it there and it looked good too.

In the armoire was a TV at the top and in the bottom a refridgerator with water.

Next to this armoire was another on with an ironing board and iron.

On the other side of the bed was a night table and there were three lamps in the room. The bathroom was very nice with thick towels, and great designs in the tiles, which I forgot to take a photo of. Shower was really nice. I was happy with my room.

2009 Oil Painters of America National

I've just returned from a trip to my home state of Maryland. I hadn't checked email for about six days. One email in particular stood out from the hundreds that are in that inbox . . . the one from fellow artist, a travel/paint buddy, and friend Susan Astleford. She was congratulating me on my acceptance into the Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition. This is the 4th time that I have been accepted into this pretigious exhibition, and I am thrilled to death to be a part of it all.
The 18th National Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils will be housed this year in the Sage Creek Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Exhibition Dates: May 1 – 31, 2009.
www.sagecreekgallery.com
200 Old Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 988-3444

All I can say is, I am going into the studio to paint, and finally, thank you to the committee that juried my painting into the exhibition.

Invited back to Door County Plein Air Festival

"Walk on the Wild Side" - 11" x 14" - Oil on RayMar Panel. Copyright 2007

I painted this in during the inaugural Door County Plein Air Festival Invitational.

It was a very misty morning when fellow artist Karen LaValley and I found this spot deep in the woods behind the Edgewood Orchard Gallery. Close values and a variety of greens, punctuated with a trail and wildflowers.

Near the time I was almost finished this painting, a figure in fuchsia suddenly appeared at the end of the path. Just what this painting needed. "The Lady in Red" was delivering my lunch.

I'm happy to announce that I am invited back to paint in the 3rd Door County Plein Air Competition. If you're in Wisconsin's lovely Door County stop by the Penisula Art School to see where I will be painting that day. Dates are: July 19 - August 1, 2009.

Click on the link to see all the events: https://www.doorcountypleinair.com/

More Door County

I was pleased to be asked back to compete in the 3rd Annual Door County Plein Air Festival. Wisconsin's Door County is a gorgeous place filled with art galleries, interesting jewelry shops and lots of wonderful people.

I should know, I was part of the inaugural event in 2007. Stayed with a wonderful couple, the Miller's. They couldn't have been nicer or better hosts.

Mr. Miller and I shared a common interest: growing a meadow. He'd been working on his for about three years, and it was a fabulous thing to see when I first arrived at their place.

The unfortunate part is not getting to spend more time with the family that opens their house to you. But, you have to have time to paint! So . . . you have to be out.

Last day of the festival was the Quick Draw Competition. On the waterfront, well anyway within hearing distance of the horn they blow. I found this wonderful little dinghy named Happy Day. I loved the high contrast of values and the patterns in the water. I had to paint it. 8 x 10", Oil on RayMar Panel. Sold at the live auction in the park. What an exciting time!

Snowy Weather

So here we are at the end of the first month of 2009. I don't know how many times it's snowed so far in the new year, but the storms have been lengthy and have filled me with a sense of serenity. I thought I'd post some older photos. Here's one of me out painting on Lynd's Fruit Farm a couple of years ago. The orchards are 5 miles from where I live, and they are particularly beautiful to look at in winter, and even more beautiful when there is snow on the ground.

The bark of the trees changes color in winter, taking on neutral colors with pinkish or greyish overtones. And the bark is shiny and smooth. It is wonderful to walk among the trees and see which one is calling out to be painted. And, it's a difficult subject matter. But I like the linear quality of the limbs against the snow and sky.

Here is a painting done in December 2003. There was the lightest snow falling and just a dusting on the ground which fell in the early morning. I had hosted the artists from OPAS out to paint the orchard in the morning and then have a hot soup lunch and critique back at my house. We had quite a few artists come out that first year. None of us were really hardened to painting in the cold, but we all tried. Some didn't dress smartly at all, and they wanted to get back to the house for hot coffee and heat. So, I didn't paint as long as I might have. This 16" x 20" was done in half an hour or so. It's not a sophisticated painting, but I do think that you get the feel of a raw Ohio morning. I know I was cold.

There was 12" of snow on the ground when I went out a month later in my husband's four wheel drive. It was Super Bowl Sunday but I could care less for football. The snow was coming down hard. Martin was away on a job so I went out to the orchard, sat in the car with the engine running and the windshield wipers going and painted this 10" x 12". I think you can see a big difference in the the quality of the painting, dictated by the state of comfort of the artist. I was warm while painting this one.

Like I said, these are older paintings, from around 2003 - 2004.

This next one was painted in December 2005, the year we had the massive ice storm that took out power in Central Ohio for a week or more for some. Here in "the country", we lost power for about three hours at a time and then the heat would come back on for an hour or more and the cycle would start all over again. We were relatively comfortable through it all.

The storm made for some gorgeous scenes. Among other things, sunrise through freezing fog was awesome. I got up every day at 5:30am and drove around the same route. There were paintings out there for sure. It was amazingly quiet and beautiful. Mostly, I just looked, taking in the memory of it for reference, and taking a few photos as well. I always had my easel with me, but didn't use it often. Still, one morning, I got out of the car and stood in the cold and painted this 8" x 10". Painting at dawn. I was chilled. The light changed quickly. I didn't want to fall into the trap of painting into the light, so I quit within half an hour. I think you have to agree that this is a cold scene. I sold it to someone that understood cold; the painting now lives in the great state of Alaska.

2008 OPAS Zanesville Juried Exhition

Ohio Plein Air Society had back-to-back exhibitions at the end of last year. The exhibition at the Schumahcer Gallery I just wrote about. And then there was the exhibition at the Zanesville Art Center. I entered two paintings and received two awards. Both paintings are 8 x 10's and completed on the same day. I received an Honorable Mention for a painting entitled "Carter and the Grant Wood Mural" It is a quirky kind of painting of a 15 year old fiddle player sitting on a street corner at the monthly gallery hop in Columbus, OH. Across the street from him is a huge mural of Grand Wood's "American Gothic". I will post a photo of it when I locate it.

A better painting is this one which took second place entitled "Granville on a Saturday". It's been written that Granville is one of the prettiest towns in Ohio. It's 8 miles from where I live, and this was the first time I'd painted there. It's home to Denison University where I studied printmaking with Debra Fisher and Ron Abram for a few years in the mid-90's.
The painting was completed on Main Street in October 2008, on a gorgeous October day. It was around 2:00 PM when I started to paint. I knew it was time to quit when my husband Martin delivered a rum raisin ice cream cone to the easel.

Schumacher Exhibition Awards

In November 08, I won two second place awards in the Ohio Plein Air Society (OPAS) Juried at the Schumacher Gallery of Capital University in Columbus. The 6" x 8" oil painting above is titled "8 AM, Lakeside" and was painted during the July OPAS paintout. I was mezmerized by the sun shining on the distant water. The color in this photo doesn't do it justice, it's too brown, but try as I could, I couldn't get it right.

At the end of about an hour, the light had changed dramatically. I was pretty much finished, but would have put on a few more strokes. However . . .

suddenly I saw some folks pushing off from the shore in a sunfish boat with a great striped sail. My love of pattern and color kicked in and I couldn't get the first painting off of my easel quick enough. I grabbed it off the easel and tossed it on the grassy lawn. Frantically I fixed a new panel on the easel and jumped into this second 6" x 8" painting. 20 minutes later, someone yelled that an ominous storm was moving in across Lake Erie behind us. We could feel the wind at our backs, but we didn't stop to look back. We kept on painting, with the feeling that the storm would give us some warning. We would have time to pack up and get out, even if a little wet.

Once again Mother Nature had her way, she opened up the sky pelting us with a driving rain. The easel filled up with water, but the important thing was to protect the painting. Jack Liberman had a tarp and ran over to offer us cover. We stood under the tarp for at least 20 minutes, dripping and laughing. It was an exhilirating experience!

I love these little paintings, they have lives of their own and I was pleased for them, that they received awards.

Edie Dean has a website!

Here's a photo of me painting and talking to my good friend Edie Dean. We are in the Deaf School Park in Columbus, OH.

Edie has just created a website! WOW! It looks great and she keeps adding some great new stuff, like her monoprints rock!

http://www.ediedean.com/

Sold!

I have done such a poor job keeping up with this blog.

A few posts ago I published this painting "Morning Ritual, Banganga Tank". This painting got accepted into the ViewPoint 2008 National Juried Exhibition sponsored by the Cincinnati Art Club. It came home to me from that show, and while I was away at Christmas time someone saw it on my website and asked about seeing it. I took it to my gallery and a sale took place! It now resides in a good home in Columbus, OH.

Pot Luck, Pie and Paint

Day 3 of Ray Hassard's visit. We were invited by Sharon Weiss to attend an annual pot luck lunch on the farm of two artists, Paul and Nora. Many of the artists represented by Sharon Weiss Gallery came and invited even more painters and friends. I invited Edie Dean. And there were also patrons of the arts, and small children searching for the farm cats.

Food galore . . . but, the prize for beauty (and not to mention great taste) was this gorgeous French apple raisin pie. Just look at the art of that crust! I had to add this one to my folder of fabulous food photos.

After eating and partaking of a little wine, out came my easel. I attemped an 8 x 16" oil of Paul's orange barn. I am not sure that it is finished, but Ray had to get back to Cincinnati, and Martin and I had to pack for tomorrow's drive to Canada. It was perfect weather - again.

I am going to try and figure out how to post to the blog from Stratford. Until then, have a piece of pie!

All hail the pumpkin!!!

One of my favorite places is Lynd's Fruit Farm, just 5 miles from my front door in Licking County, OH.

The day after my friend, Ray's art opening, we decided to go out painting. The day was clear and a little crisp, perfect for painting, but we were a little worse for wear after a long night of "fun and games" at the Sharon Weiss Gallery and beyond.

We thought maybe there'd be a painting at Lynd's Fruit Farm. There would certainly be a lot of color in this season of plenty. But there was more than color, there were tons of people. We may as well have been back in India. We couldn't paint in the way of hundred's of people picking out their fruits and veg and waiting in line to pay.

Lynd's had a new sales tent, a startling lime green and white striped one; but, as thrilling as that color was with the outside light shining through it, inside it gave everything a strange green cast.
We decided to take it easy on yourselves and paint somewhere else.

I next suggested Granville, about 8 miles further east. Ray and I both like to paint urban stuff, and Granville has a great Main Street with a lot of activity in town on a Saturday.

We drove up to the top of the hill where Denison University sits. I'd hoped to get a view of the town below. Too many trees, we weren't excited.

So Main Street here we come! We headed down, parked, grabbed the cameras and "cased" Main Street. My eyes were excited by the site of two umbrellas, red and light bluish green. I knew that was a painting. But we restrained ourselves and walked around a little before making the final decision to give that busy stretch of sidewalk filled with people and umbrellas a shot.

I painted over an old painting. Should have taken a photo of that painting, since the landscape in it is no more, but instead is now a Chevy dealership. As I set up my easel, I thought about how to simplify that busy scene. It took me quite a while to sort it all out, but in the end, the painting had a glow about it, and it had the publics seal of approval.

Will post it later, I am off for bed as we leave tomorrow for Stratford, Ontario and the Shakespeare Festival - and of course - some painting in between plays.

Now at the Sharon Weiss Gallery

Ray Hassard and gallery owner, Sharon Weiss, flanking Ray's wonderful pastel painting. His exhibition entitled "Fun and Games" is on this month at Sharon's gallery in Columbus, OH. A real treat for the eyes and soul! Especially in the strange times we are living in.

Congratulations Ray, on your first solo exhibition. Job well done.

ViewPoint 2008

"Morning Ritual" • 16" x 20" • Oil on Canvas
has been accepted into Cincinnati Art Club's Annual National Juried Exhibition ViewPoint 2008.

Juror is Dr. Julie Aronson, Curator of American Painting and Sculpture at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Exhibition opening:
November 7: 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Exhibition continues on Saturdays and Sundays, 2:00 - 5:00 PM until November 23, 2008.

Address:
Cincinnati Art Club • 1021 Parkside Place • Cincinnati, OH 45202

Further information:
ViewPoint 2008 Chair, Jim Effler • 513.821.0459 • jeffler2@cinci.rr.com

New Blog Site Announced

Posting a photo of me at my easel during the OPAS competition in New Philadelphia, OH.

Below is a link to a new blog just established by Mary Spires for The Collage of Women Artists. We are 40 women artists in Central Ohio who come together each month for lunch and a program on art. It's brand new, but check it out!

http://thecollageofwomenartists.blogspot.com/

Thanks Edie for the Photo!

At the end of the OPAS plein air competition, with artists scrambling left and right to pack up and start their drive back home, I asked Marc Hanson if he'd pose for a photo with me and the painting he awarded 2nd Place.

Thanks to my good buddy, artist Edie Dean, for sending me this photo, and to Marc for the award.

Taken Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008 in the Courthouse Square of New Philadelphia, OH.

Contemporary American Realism: 2008

"Do You Know Your Place" 30 x 40" Oil on Canvas
Copyright 2008 Debra Joyce Dawson

I am pleased to announce that the above painting was chosen for inclusion into the national juried exhibition Contemporary American Realism: 2008. The biennial exhibition is on display at the Ft. Wayne Museum of Art, in Indiana, opened September 3 and continues until November 2, 2008.
http://www.fwmoa.org/exhibits/currently/biennial08.htm

The Museum has published a high quality, four-color catalog to go with this exhibition featuring one work by each artist in the exhibition. Catalogs are for sale, and so is the art.

Admission to the Fort Wayne Museum of Art: Free to members $5 for adults $3 students (K-college) and $10 for families.
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10am - 5pm; Thursday – open until 9pm Sunday Noon - 5pm. The galleries are closed Mondays and major holidays.

Marc Hanson Workshop and OPAS Competition Winner

OPAS Plein Air Competition
2ND PLACE and ARTISTS CHOICE
"Breakfast on the Hoof"
8" x 10" - Oil on RayMar Panel

My good friend Edie Dean and I made the drive to Traverse City, MI in June 2007 to take a 5-day Marc Hanson workshop. Marc gave us an overload of information to digest: in writing, through lectures, and by watching the 7 demos he did in pastel or oil. My favorite part of that workshop was Marc's value to color exercise. Edie and I came away from the workshop with plenty of new ideas and all pumped up to paint.

When I heard that our statewide organization, Ohio Plein Air Society (OPAS) www.ohiopleinairsociety.com was going to host Marc to do a 3-day workshop in advance of our annual plein air competition, I decided to participate. It's the first time I have repeated with a workshop teacher, and I am certainly glad that I did.

Day 1: Marc condensed the things that he'd taught the year before into an intense three days. We started with an overview of materials, went on to a demo of the value to color exercise, and then we painted that exercise ourselves in the heavy duty architectural atmosphere of Dennison, OH, home to the historic Dennison Depot. http://www.dennisondepot.org/

Day 2: We were in the lovely countryside of Tuscarawas County, heart of Ohio's Amish country, beautiful rolling hills, cows, fields, barns, and weather to die for. 16 students - beginners to professionals - watched Marc do a demo on color relationships, asking us to not get bogged down in details, but to concentrate on the values and color relationships that we saw in nature. Sounds easy enough, but it didn't feel that way.

Evening of Day 2: 9:00 PM, the class convened on the Square in New Philadelphia to watch Marc demo a nocture. A real treat for us, and flash photography was not appreciated by his painting eyes!

Day 3: A new and exciting exercise: painting from memory! Marc said that the great teacher Frank Riley had used this exercise with his students. I'd been exposed to some of the ideas of Frank Riley during my classes at Captial U with Michael McEwan www.michaelmcewan.com . But, I'd never done this memory exercise, and frankly I felt pretty charged up about doing it! I think that everyone was surprised at how well we did, including Marc.

I commend Marc for taking each student in the class out of their comfort zone, since that is when you struggle and learn the most. You can read more on Marc's experience in Ohio on his blog: http://marchanson.blogspot.com

Marc went on to jury the 5th Annual OPAS plein air competition. The painting here is one that I completed just an hour or so before the jury. Entitled "Breakfast on the Hoof" • 8" x 10"• Oil on RayMar Panel. Marc awarded it 2nd Place and my peers voted it Artists Choice.

Thanks to my good friend, and fabulous artist, Ray Hassard www.rayhassardart.com for asking me to paint with him that morning. He won 3rd Prize and just a couple of hours later, he won the Quick Draw.