Art Demo Completed

I declare the project of showing one of the ways I paint is now complete. Here is the final for the painting I call "Me & MB", acrylic on canvas, 36" x 36". For those following its stages from initial photo and drawing layout, thanks for being patient. You will note a few subtle changes such as an ankle bracelet and a rounder shoulder. In answer to Peggy who wants to know why it is called Me & MB, well, MB was my dog for 16 of her 17 years and while I began the painting of a dog many know as Riley, Riley became MB. The girl in the painting is me as a round child and carefree hair only my mother fussed about. As a very good excuse as to why it took so long to show the final art to you .... I am no longer on my beloved island. You may reach me here on the blog or lollyart@netscape.com or PO Box 1195, Pullman, WA 99163. Posts will be further apart as news about the island will be second hand from friends. When I return for visits, posts will be frequent. When I establish a new blog I will let you know. Meanwhile, love and peace.

artsHOP on Anna Maria Island

Come to the Island November 14, 15 & 16, 2008 and experience our cultural side. People visit to enjoy our beaches but wait until you experience another aspect of our beautiful beach life. All the cultural groups on Anna Maria are sharing their talents beginning Friday, Nov. 14 at
5:30 p.m. The Island Gallery West will have an open house with music and the art of Barbara Orear featured, the Anna Maria Island Art League will exhibit Florida wildlife-themed art and have a raffle which benefits Wildlife Inc. in Bradenton Beach, The Artist Guild Gallery will have a community art project in which you may participate and feature the art of Cheryl Jorgenson and The Studio at Gulf and Pine will exhibit Women's Contemporary Art. In addition, The Historical Society Museum will have a Seminole Indian Clothing Exhibit. The AMI Butterfly Park will sponsor an Arts and Crafts show on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The Island Players will have a live performance on Saturday and the Anna Maria Island Community Chorus and Orchestra will perform at Crosspointe Baptist Church. It will be a wonderful weekend at the beach! Call the AMI Chamber of Commerce or watch our local papers for more details. This is an advanced notice.

Posh Puppy Photography

"Hot Lips" 18" x 12" acrylic on paper

Encore & more! is a consignment shop on 1439 Main Street in downtown Sarasota. Sales benefit the Women's Resource Center of Sarasota County. Because this is a great cause I am mentioning the shop and an upcoming fund raiser even though it is not on Anna Maria Island. Plus it sounds like great fun! On Saturday, June 14, 10:00 a.m.- 2:30 p.m., Juliana Vazquez will be at the shop to take pictures of our furry friends. All proceeds benefit the Women's Resource Center. Visit http://www.thewomensresourcecenter.org/

Making Art

Several more layers of paint are added to "Me and MB" with my not liking the color of the girl's pants. However I am not falling into the well as I did with the dog (kept on painting the dog without regard to other areas of the canvas). Now I look at shapes. Some are working and others are not. Like ad executives do, it is time for market research. It is when I take my work to a group of artists I respect and get their reaction. I seek more than "this looks good" and I am lucky to have artists who open my eyes to other possibilities.

Island Players

Holmes Beach, 11" x 14" watercolor on 140# paper

On Anna Maria Island you have beautiful beaches and entertaining theatre. The Welsh Players of Glamorgan, Wales will perform The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde at our island theatre Friday, August 15 and Saturday, August 16 at 8 p.m. There is a Sunday matinee on August 17 at 2 p.m. General admission tickets are $15. For more information call 941-778-5755. We have great theatre on our 7 mile long island. This performance marks our 60th anniversary season. Deadline for subscriptions is September 3. A subscription is only $65 for five wonderful plays: The Cocktail Hour by A.R. Gurney, Cliffhanger by James Yaffe, The Affections of May by Norm Foster, Sylvia by A.R. Gurney and Alone Together Again by Lawrence Roman.

Making art

The gloves I wear when I paint are DermaSoft gloves. They do not make my hands sweaty or itchy. Olga Schaefer is the director of marketing and she sent me an email with a great promotion. If you buy two pairs of gloves at $3.95 each you will get a pair for FREE! Call her at 1-800-893-4401. Tell her lolly sent you. She can answer any questions you have.

Here are images for the next layers of paint for "Me and MB". On top - I fell in love with painting the dog when I could have been applying paint to the canvas everywhere. Putting paint everywhere is what I usually do but I could not leave this dog. On bottom - Now all of the canvas has color. It took two sessions to get here but the fun of painting is the process and time flies.

Making art

I painted the 36" x 36" with gesso tinted in a warm light yellow. The canvas had white gesso on it but I added a second layer of gesso. I use a pan to mix my colors and always wear gloves. All paint is toxic and I try to keep it off my skin. Golden does a good job of rating their paints' toxicity plus the colors are good. When I clean up I make sure to wipe my brushes on an old towel or a paper towel before putting the brush in water. Please try to keep paint out of our water. While there a many products to clean brushes and no doubt work well, I use Murphy's Oil Soap. It works so well that I have never tried anything else to clean my brushes.

Making art

Earlier this month I said I would show how I begin a painting and how I work. It was a challenge to stop, take photos and then download the images. This work is not finished so there will be more to show. Please note that I do not start a work the same why each time. There are times I can't wait to apply the paint and there I go. No one way is the only way. This is how I began Me and MB, a 36" x 36" acrylic and paper on canvas. Your comments, if you care to leave some, are welcome.

Top left image shows the color photo I used. The image is of our niece and her dog at the beach. It was enlarged in black and white. I created a composition which included what I liked of the photo and where the light originated.

Top right image shows the sketch of the composition done on a large sheet of newsprint paper.

Bottom left shows my parrot Ben watching every move I make. She is my critic and often shows her liking with a display of feathers or her disliking with a pile of droppings!

In My Garden Series

Island Critters at Play, 20"x16", acrylic on canvas


Last month I began "In My Garden" Series. Here is the second post for that series. It is currently hanging at the Sun Tan Art Center in St. Pete Beach and will be there until early June. It is an acrylic on canvas.

Art in the Making

A few weeks ago, an emerging artist asked if she could watch me paint. The request surprised me. I said she could paint with me, if she liked, but I did not think just watching would help her. Next another artist, Joanna Coke, suggested I take photos of my work at different stages as I did them so as to avoid some of the time-consuming mis-steps I make on a consistent basis. I've combined the request and suggestion and decided to show you and myself how I paint. You will see all my formal steps and my deviations, including working on other stuff while my main focus is resting. I do not know how long the process will take but I have will begin and finish a painting in this blog. You may make suggestions or comments along the way. I am wide open to that idea. You do not have to be an artist to make comments or suggestions. You need only to have a desire to be part of the process or a wish to keep me from going off a cliff. Know that I am like artist Randal Dutra who gravitates towards a kind of visual poetry as opposed to hard reporting of subject or slavish detail. What excites me is the suggestion of things and feelings. More to come.

Sea Turtle Season on Island

Island Turtle, 20"x 16", acrylic on canvas
We are blessed to live on an island where sea turtles come to lay their eggs. It is time to share what we know about their nesting habits with visitors so these beautiful creatures will live. Sea turtles have been swimming the oceans for 150 million years but deliberate hunting and accidents in fishing nets are now endangering them. Please take care when visiting Anna Maria Island from now until November. Mature females nest once every 2-3 years during the warmest nights of the year here on our island and other tropical and subtropical beaches. Some rules enforced on beaches during nesting season are:
1. Turn off lights at night that face the beach. Hatchlings follow the light of the moon to reach the ocean but if there are other lights, they are lured to their deaths. I have seen hatchlings dead in the road after some careless person left a light on and it is a heart breaking sight.
2. Keep away from marked turtle nests and hatchlings.
3. Take beach furniture off the sand at night. Turtles can get caught in them.
There are 5 species of turtles that swim our waters. The loggerheads are the most common; the green turtles are green because of the fat underneath their shell; the hawksbill have elongated tapered heads that end in beak-like mouths; the kemp's ridley is the smallest growing less than a meter long; and the leatherback is the largest of the turtles. Both of our island papers, The Island and The Sun, have special sections on the turtles and photographs from our local beaches.

The Dancing Crane Gallery

Flower Talk, 29.5" x 35.5", water media on yupo

May will bring a new exhibition of "Bloomin Kaleidoscope" to The Dancing Crane Gallery in the Village of the Arts, 1019 10th Ave. W., Bradenton, FL (941-744-1333). I have two artworks there. The one showing here is called "Flower Talk" a 29.5" x 35.5" watercolor on yupo framed in a bronze-toned wood frame. You always hear how flowers are the language of love or are symbolic of a message. If humans think flowers can send messages, why not show a flower talking? If you look carefully, you will see not only words on the petals but three flower goddess heads talking amongst themselves. It is amazing what you can see whenever you look closely at flowers. This is what I saw. The exhibit will run for two months.

Suntan Art Center

No Regrets, 27" x 34", framed mixed media on watercolor paper

"No Regrets", my Dr. Ph. Martin drawing ink and collage piece, is in the April Members' Show at the Suntan Art Center, 3300 Pass-A-Grill Way, St. Pete Beach, FL. The show's theme is Art with An Edge and the artists' imaginations make for interesting interpretations. The show is on view until the end of April. The upcoming May/June exhibit is called Creative Connections and I have no idea of what I will submit. Any ideas??

Free Clay Workshop for Kids

Log on to www.keetonsonline.com and click on the Artist's Corner or call 941-747-2995 to get the details on the free JOVI kids clay workshop on June 14 from 10 a.m.- 12 noon at the store. I do not know what ages are allowed but I do know it is bound to be a good experience. Keetons's always has informative and fun workshops and this one is FREE!

Join the FL Humanities Council

Join the Florida Humanities Council's mailing list to find out about upcoming public programs, cultural tours and seminars for teachers, plus information about grant programs for non-profit organizations. The council is located in St. Petersburg, FL and recently present a lecture by Mallory McCane O'Connor at Art Center Manatee in Bradenton. Her topic was "Sunshine Muse - Watercolor Painting in Florida: A Brief History." It was well done and made me appreciate even more the glorious area in which I live. She noted that an abstract painter she knew as hard edged using dark colors is now painting lively colored landscapes now that he has moved to Florida. You can visit the Council online at www.flahum.org

I have started a series of paintings which I call "In My Garden". They show the colors and textures I find in my garden and on this beautiful island. More to come.

Anna Maria Island Vacation

Here is my house which is 500 steps away from the Gulf of Mexico. I feel like I am on vacaton every day. This place is a duplex and the second side is for rent so all of the land is now for me and my pets to play upon. The grapefruit tree in the front has bloomed and it has the sweetest smiling blossoms. A visitor thought it was a jasimine scent but it is grapefruit flowers. Most people have never had the pleasure of smelling the pretty white flowers.

American Watercolor Society Exhibit

Art Center Manatee is the only west coast of FL site for the amazing traveling exhibit from the American Watercolor Society. It will be at the Center in Bradenton until mid-April. The address is 209 Ninth Street West, Bradenton, FL 34205. If would be a good idea to call before visiting as the hours have been extended (941)746-2862 or visit the web site www.artcentermanatee.org for details. No matter what you preference in painting styles, you will find something to enjoy and be amazed by the techniques.

Village of the Arts Nets National Raves

Art Calendar, a business magazine for visual artists, named Village of the Arts in Bradenton, FL among the top 10 cities in the U.S. for working artists. Check out the March issues of the magazine and read why is was selected as a good place where artists can live and work. I know many of the artists and a few of the gallery owners in the area and can say they are a great group of people. In addition, artists who purchase property in specific areas can get up to $10,000 in matching grants. The seven-year-old Village is turning a run-down area of Bradenton into one of the best spots to live, work or visit. The top 10 cities afor working artists are:
1. Milville, N.J.
2. Evansville, Ind.
3. Rising Sun. Ind.
4. Berea, Ky.
5. Bradenton, FL.
6. Chattanooga, Tenn.
7. Paducah, Ky.
8. Clarksville, Mo.
9. Pawtucket, R.I.
10. Oil City, Pa.

How to leave a message on this blog

Some of my visitors have asked how to leave a message on this blog. Thanks for asking as I am sure others wonder how but never asked. This blog is part of a larger community and you must join the community before you may leave a post. It is easy. Find the posting where you would like to leave a comment and click on the word "posting" or the pencil icon on the far right. A new window will appear. Look at the upper right of the blog and you will see "sign in" in blue lettering. Click and fill in your email address and make-up your pass word. That's it. You do not have to create a blog for yourself unless you desire one. Hope to hear from you.

Nudes and Goddesses

The Dancing Crane Gallery (Village of the Arts) is opening a new exhibit, Nudes and Goddesses, tonight 6 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Artists from Bradenton, Anna Maria Island, Sarasota, Venice and St. Pete will show their works and some of them will be there on Friday and then on Saturday. I will be there tonight at 7:30 p.m. and hope to see you. The address is 1019 10th Avenue, Bradenton, FL 34205. The Gallery's phone number is 941-744-1333 and web site is www.dancing-crane.com in case you want to join us via the web. Two of my works are in gallery one and gallery two of the web site. Just grab a glass of wine while you're viewing the web site and you will feel like you are with us at the opening reception.

Jean Blackburn, Artist

Jean Blackburn, artist, will present her lastest series of paintings and photographs on Sunday, January 27, 2008, 4-7 p.m. at The Studio at Gulf and Pine, 10101 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria Island. The artist will give a talk at 5:30 p.m. This is a wonderful time to experience the still rural area of Myakka through the artist's eyes. In addition The River Jazz Trio will play and guests will sample Anna Maria chowser and brew. Is there a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon? I think not. A percentage of sales will benefit the Myakka Conservancy and The Friends of the Myakka River so bring your checkbook with you. Myakka is an area that we ought to take part keeping healthy, sound and in its orginal state. See you there!

Inna I

Often artists will do a sketch, pen & ink or watercolor in a small scale in order to work out some ideas about what they wish to create on a larger scale. I thought you might like to see "Inna I" which is a watercolor on paper (15"x 18") and help me create "Inna II".

Sarasota Arts Day Demo

Hello to all I met at the recent Sarasota Arts Day in front of the Dancing Crane Gallery art tent. It was a pleasure meeting and talking to you about art. A special hello to Michael, Diana and Bruceline Kinard. Their daughter, Bruceline, is a promising young artist who at 9 years of age does fine portraits. Here is the finished work which is called "Inna II", an acrylic on linen. How does she look to you? I have changed her figure and put more texture in her hair. The dragonfly remains the same but all the colors in the entire painting are intensified. I thought you might like to see how the painting changed or remained the same. Please let me know what you think? Inna II will be part of the upcoming exhibition at the Dancing Crane Gallery in the Village of the Arts in downtown Bradenton of February 1. The exhibition is called Nudes and Goddesses and promises to be exciting. All of the Village will be open that night and filled with good art of all kinds, music, food and drink. I will be there starting at 7:30 p.m. and other artists will be there starting at 5:00 p.m. Hope to see some of you there.