Southern Hospitality

Two days ago I returned from a week in Florida, during which I spent time with good friends and attended an artists' retreat hosted by the Gainesville Chapter 113 of the Colored Pencil Society of America.

I laughed -- sometimes so hard my stomach hurt.  I cried.  I danced (though not very well, despite the best efforts of those who actually know how to line dance).  I visited the Salvador Dali Museum -- fascinating, to say the least.  I learned how to make bruschetta. and ate sushi, eel, and seaweed salad for the first time.  (I will skip the seaweed salad next time.)  I even occasionally adopted a southern accent as a result of spending several days in the presence of the charming drawl of artist Jeffrey Smart Baisden -- so much so that upon my return my son asked, "Why are you talking like that???"

The retreat itself was held at Dayspring, an Episcopal camp and conference center in Ellenton, Florida.  Approximately twenty-five artists attended the four day event and though most were residents of Florida, there were several of us from Michigan, California, and Washington state as well.  Attendees literally ate, slept, and made art..............and talked, talked, talked.  The Gainesville Chapter members themselves are a wonderful group of artists who truly knew how to make this out-of-stater feel welcome.  I so appreciated the tremendous hospitality shown to me, and the Ellenton retreat is definitely something I will try to attend in the future. 

   

Jeffrey Smart Baisden of Florida, Elizabeth Patterson of California, and moi'

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not thank Jeffrey for the kindness and hospitality she showed me in her home the three days prior to the retreat.  Her amazing sense of humour and genuine way-of-being were good medicine for the soul of this "little girl from Michigan". (Thanks Jeff)

And thanks for reading.

Pat Lentine and Bonnie Auten

Kudos!, and off to warmer weather.......

While perusing the wares in an area art supply outlet last week, I was excited to find the recently released Derwent tins and packaging that feature Deborah L. Friedman's drawing, "Graphite Stones".  The Boston, Massachusetts-area artist is a good friend and fellow CPSA member, and a number of months ago she was contracted by Derwent to do the drawing for their Graphic Soft tins.  Recently Deborah has been working on an extended series of still life drawings and paintings of stones in varying compositions.  To learn more about her and her work, visit Deborah's website and blog at http://www.dlfriedman.com/  .  (And of course as I paid for the Graphic Soft pencils pictured above I smugly said to the cashier while pointing at the drawing, "This artist is a very good friend of mine".  I couldn't resist.)

  

"Graphite Stones", by Deborah L. Friedman

Not nearly so exciting but worthy of comment none the less, is the fact that this week I will be leaving for Florida.  Though I do not find Michigan winters to be too objectionable, I must admit that I look forward to temperatures in the upper 60s.  My primary purpose for going there is to attend a four-day artists' retreat, during which myself and numerous other artists will draw, draw, draw...........and draw.  (I'm also told that this group sometimes engages in less structured types of fun also!)  The retreat will be held at Dayspring, a camp and conference center in Ellenton just south of Tampa, and is organized each year by the Gainesville Chapter of the Colored Pencil Society of America.   Though reluctant to take a break from the horse drawing at this time, its size makes getting it from Michigan to Florida and back again...........well...........very inconvenient.  So I will be working on another graphite bird drawing whos size is more conducive to travel.

I hope to post an entry from Florida, so watch for photos from the retreat -- hopefully not too many of us will be wearing lampshades! 

Work-in-Progress: Developing the eye area

In the most recent photos of this drawing taken yesterday, I have been working my way up the pale horse's face, as well as developing the eye and surrounding area.  Following my last post several days ago a good friend emailed me and asked, "Are you going to tone down those eyelashes?? "  (Emphasis is mine.) 

The question immediately propelled me into completing the layering in the eye area.  Upon doing this, I realized that Scottish artist Elizabeth McCrindle may have a good point.  She describes that the correct development and placement of the eye(s) is very important to her, and can effect the successful execution of the remainder of the painting.  Therefore she prefers to do this early in a painting's process.  There was something about rendering the eye area that resulted in my feeling more engaged in what I was doing: the pale horse suddenly had a soul, and it energized me.  Often my work has been somewhat methodical, beginning in one area and working my way across the surface: but I may follow Elizabeth's lead and make a point to draw in these 'windows to the soul' sooner than I may have chosen to before.

................Which causes me to consider -- how much I have learned over the past months by taking the time to read other artist's blogs!  Increasingly I find too, as I've stated before, that I learn to draw simply by drawing.

Thanks for reading.

Work-in-Progress: Wild Horses Update

So okay: here is the long-overdue blog post I've been going to share for the past two weeks.   Lately it seems as if there has been alot of life-conspiring-to-keep-me-away-from-the-drawing-table going on.  Thankfully though things appear to be on the up-tick, and just in the nick of time: this piece and another I'm about to begin are both under deadlines.

Though some areas of the dark horse are not fully developed yet, I needed to move on to the pale horse and take a break from all of that indigo, black grape, and dark cool grey.  The lightest tones and details are being laid in over a yellow ochre base, and I'm finding myself struggling with a familiar nemesis..........this being my tendency to attempt to put in every single detail, rather than to suggest the details.  The suggestion of detail can be especially important as the image recedes from the eye, calling for less detail and softer edges.  I've already reworked areas of the pale horse in which I placed far too many individual hairs of the horse's coat.  This 'artistic character defect' of sorts, has proven to be a stubborn one -- and one I keep having to revisit and work on with each drawing.

What?..........CONTROL ISSUES!  Moi???  Never!            

2010 Statewide Fine Arts Competition

My piece, "Canadian Cowgirl", in the 2010 Statewide Fine Arts Competition .

The Ella Sharp Museum in Jackson, Michigan, is currently exhibiting the 2010 Statewide Fine Arts Competition from January 16 to March 20, 2010.  The museum hosted a very well attended artists' reception on opening day, during which James Freeman's piece, "520 Cups: Here's Looking at You!", was awarded Best In Show.  This and some of James's other work can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesfreemanstudio/  or at http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com/ .

The sixty pieces by Michigan artists were chosen by exhibition juror, Richard Rubenfeld.  Mr. Rubenfeld did an exceptional job developing a cohesive yet diverse exhibit, which adequately balanced subject-matter and  technique, as well as both abstract and realism.

If you happen to be in the area - or simply are experiencing a little cabin fever - the exhibit is well worth a look.

Dean Rogers of Novi, Michigan,  fellow Colored Pencil Society member, and his engaging portrait titled "Forgiven".

Work-In-Progress: Wild Horses

I've recently resumed work on my drawing depicting a pair of wild horses.  Slowly but surely the fine detail layers are coming together, and I have next to move down the remainder of the mane, and across the neck and chest.  I'm anxious to complete the dark horse and move on to the one to the left, a beige-toned grey whose head is buried into the side of the dark horse's neck.  I will be working to complete another bird image for an upcoming show at the Hudson Gallery in Sylvania, Ohio, so will be alternating between the two pieces over the next few weeks.

Drawing Conclusions

"It is never too late to be what you might have been".  - George Eliot

I'm usually not one to make New Year's resolutions.  Regardless of the time of year, if I feel compelled to make a major change I simply do it.  When I decided I wanted to become a runner in my late thirties, I just started running.  Many years ago when I decided to quit smoking cigarettes, I quit three days later.  Just as simply however, if I don't really want to do something I seem practically incapable of doing it.  There are times in life though, and for me the arrival of the New Year this year seems to have provided one of several triggers, when factors converge and really cause one to.............take pause, so to speak.

Many years ago when fresh out of high school I attended a college commercial art program.  Though I did not realize it at the time, it was not my forte' (and those of you who knew me then would probably say that regardless of the curriculum it would have........er............interfered with my 'social life'.)  Following that I completely diverted, and absolutely enjoyed a lengthy career in social work -- however over a twenty-five year period I may have completed only three drawings.

Okay: what is my point?  Possibly that concerning my art, I became lost -- I abandoned it, ignored it, basically did nothing with it except take the ability for granted, and hadn't the foggiest notion of what I wanted to do with it.  Over the past four years I am slowly regaining, or possibly gaining for the first time in my life, a sense of who I am as an artist as well as who I want to be.  With this comes increased knowledge of what I need to do to get there.  I have longed to have a clearer understanding of what my own 'artistic voice' is, and have felt frustrated at times that this insight seemed to elude me.  That too, seems to be getting clearer.  Others have tried at times to tell me who and what I should be as an artist -- but this never really works, does it?? -- though I have learned just as much from my poor artistic decisions as my wise ones!

I have suffered from lack of focus, and have allowed other issues in my life to impact my work and my output.  I have allowed emotional and tangible distractions to put my art somewhere wayyyy down on the list of priorities.  In striving to find my artistic voice, I have tried techniques and subject matter that were more.........convenient.  I mean lets face it: this is southern Michigan.  There isn't exactly a cowboy standing on every street corner!  Yet that is what I feel drawn to portray -- images of western people and increasingly, horses.  I think some of you will 'get it' when I say that there are ways in which I have not been courageous, thus allowing my life to become small.  From this point on, I choose to strive not to do that. 

2010 is certain to bring some major changes to my life.  For one, my son will be off to college.  For another, in all liklihood I will be returning to social work on a part-time or full-time basis -- a fact that will effect my art to some degree.  However I look forward to these and other changes, though some will be certain to bring growing pains of sorts.  I am up for them..........I just have this feeling that 2010 is going to be a good year. 

And if you have made it through this reflective dessertation, congratulations and thankyou!

(The photograph at the top of the post was taken on Brockway Mountain on the Keweenaw Peninsula, of Michigan's upper peninsula.)