Time for an upgrade

The heavy lifter has decided that we must find an alternative to the 2' x 6' grid panels we've been using to display my paintings. Since I have upgraded my booth from the rain-catching EZ-Up to the dome-topped Trimline, the grids don't attach as well to the interior, and on top of that, they look haphazard and weigh a ton. Today I ordered the Mesh Panels from Flourish Co. These panels attach to the booth interior and provide a neat and orderly background for my art. Their website is: http://www.flourish.com/. Best of all, they're lightweight and portable. Anything to make set-up and take down easier.

Here is a picture of the Mesh Panels. That's not my artwork in the picture!

Being Judgmental

Today I was an awards judge for the Lincolnshire Art Festival, along with two other artist/judges. We were to grade all exhibitors, 180 of them, based upon several criteria. After all of us were done, we met to total the points, and awards were to be given to the highest scores in 6 categories. The weather was hot and sunny, and the judging process took me close to 5 hours to complete. I talked to most of the artists, many of whom I knew from shows that we had been in together, and though it was time consuming, it helped me to learn much more about their work.

Here's what I learned in the process:

• The quality of the art in this show was superb.


• The photography was the hardest to judge, as I know very little about the process, but I was greatly impressed by the artistry and technical skills required to be a good photographer.


• Most of the artists are so devoted to their work that they cannot be doing anything else.


• My favorites were the creations that were previously unknown to me.


• It doesn't hurt a bit to talk up the judges, it's like making a sale. I must learn to do this when I am being judged as well.


• My booth display could use some more curb appeal. This entry formerly contained the word "pizzazz", which needed to be changed. I just changed it.

Drawing in the garden

Our meeting of the Reed Turner Botanical Artists group was Saturday. We sat in a beautiful wildflower garden on the property of Ms. Reed Turner. Butterflies and dragonflies were as abundant as the sunshine. Until then, I had always taken a cutting of the plant I wanted to paint, set it up at my desk, and hurried to sketch it before it changed. When drawing from nature, it was hard not to be distracted by, well, all of the natural distractions. All in all, it was a good first experience.

We also discussed the possibility of having a pre-holiday sale of our work at the nature center. I'm all for it, as that may be my only chance of displaying any work in the off-season. We will need publicity to draw potential buyers of nature artwork to the center. We'll continue to discuss this, I hope.

Link to Reed Turner Woodland website:
Long Grove Park District: Reed Turner

My latest work

I have just completed a new watercolor/graphite work, "Nasturtium and Magicicada, 2007". I have tried in the past to combine watercolor and graphite in a botanical, and have not been satisfied with the result. I have seen this done successfully by other artists, but when I tried it, it was hard to incorporate the pencil into the painting. Now, I'm happy with the final product. Here it is:

Second Place in Painting!

Though the weather was hot and sales were off, I was delighted to receive the second place award in the painting division at the Hinsdale Art Festival last weekend. My booth location was shady but overall, the heat and humidity were not conducive to buying much artwork, at least in my case. I do plan to return next year to give it another try. Here's something new: I have been asked to give a demo on drawing pet portraits at an art league in the area. This is a good opportunity to go in a new direction- teaching art to other artists. I have learned a lot this way, in informal groups. More on this in the future.

magicicadas

This is in the wrong order, but this one is fully mature.

This is how a cicada looks after emerging from its shell, but before it's fully mature.
A cicada and its shed exoskeleton.

In the process of becoming an adult.

I'm now able to upload photos, so here are some pictures I took of the 17-year cicadas in various stages of growth. They are now nearing the end of their life cycles, but are as noisy as ever, though many of the dead ones are littering the ground. Though they can be annoying they are a remarkable phenomenon and it's kind of difficult to think of what may be happening in the world 17 years from now.

No More EZ-Up

The TrimLine Canopy has been assembled and is ready to go for the next outdoor show. It has been withstanding rainstorms and high winds for 2 weeks with no collapse or rooftop accumulation. Every piece has been labeled and color-coded with a Sharpie, but it will probably not be a smooth setup right away. It's heavy and expensive, but if it allows me to not panic every time it rains a few drops, it's a good thing. Anyone want a used EZ-Up?