Treasures of Mobile Bay and Delta Area

I can't believe it is already 2011! The new year is already presenting a flurry of activity in the arts community. Yesterday the Watercolor & Graphic Arts Society of Mobile took in artwork for our Mobile Bay and Delta area show, which will hang downtown at the Mobile Arts Council during the month of January. This is kind of a different type of exhibit for the WGAS organization, since there will be no jurying or judging of artwork, although the works will be offered for sale. This is an opportunity for our artists to share their love for the places and creatures that surround us in the Mobile Bay and Delta area, and spotlight why it is so important to conserve and protect these resources. Mobile is a watery wonderland of sorts, with lakes, rivers, bays, coastal beaches, marshes, swamps and maritime forests in abundance. All of this beauty and diversity was threatened this past spring by the horrendous BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Efforts are continuing to try to clean up from the spill and to study what we can do to try to recover and protect our coastal and watery habitats from this threat and future threats. This exhibit is a way for artists to remind our community of why it is so important to protect our coastal resources: habitats, wildlife and birds, and also the people whose livelihoods and ways of life are dependent on a clean and healthy aquatic system.

The exhibit will hang through January 28th, and the reception will be Friday, January 14th, 6 - 9 PM during the LoDa Art Walk. Here is a photo of my watercolor entry: "Bayou Resilience - Bayou LaBatre, Summer 2010". This painting is based on photos I took with my friend Kathy Friedline in June, when our plein air group (Plein Air South) visited the bayou to capture the shrimp boats. Kathy and I spoke to these 3 brothers on their fishing boat as they came in from searching the Gulf and Mississippi Sound for floating mats of oil (note the piles of absorbent boom material on the deck of the boat), as part of the Vessels of Opportunity program. Bayou LaBatre is the center of the local seafood economy. These brothers came from a family of 11 children, all of which along with their parents were employed in the seafood industry and greatly affected by the spill. Our hearts go out to those who were impacted by the spill and the economic tailspin it caused, especially in the seafood economy. We are impressed with the resilience they possess and have demonstrated, and wish them godspeed to get back on their feet again.

Funky Figures

Yesterday morning we had the last Figure Group session for the year, and will break until after the holidays. We had a male model who had his own funk about him. I really enjoyed drawing him in his dark-rimmed eye glasses. We drew him once before last year along with Hannah who was several months pregnant - he is a sweet fellow. Here are some of my drawings from yesterday. Trying to play some more with my watercolors and keeping some of the negative space intact. I think these are each about 20-min. sketches.

Watercolor & Graphic Arts Society Fall Members' Exhibition - Last Days

The Fall 2010 Members' Exhibition of the Watercolor & Graphic Arts Society of Mobile is winding down. We have been showing at the University of South Alabama Library since November 1st, and will be taking down the show this upcoming Monday, December 20th. It was a very professional looking show, if I can say so myself (I was the show chairperson for this show). I decided to include a few photos here:

This is me posing beside my pastel drawing from figure group, "Red Head".

Our Fall show was dedicated to the memoray of Lee Hoffman, who passed away in March of this year. Here is a beautiful watercolor by Lee, called "Sunset at Bridgehead". The Best of Show and a Merit Award were also given in Lee's honor.

We had a delightful judge, Diane St. Germain, who is a signature member of the Louisiana Watercolor Society. This is an example of her work. She was especially pleased with the mix of water media and graphic arts in this show.

Ben Shamback won the Lee Hoffman Memorial Best of Show Award for his etching, "Hagen's Head".

Bill Morris, Lynda Touart and Karen McGahagin shared the Members' Choice Award - first ever three-way tie!

Marie Nickerson beside her water media "Touch of Autumn" which won the Best Water Media award; and Judy Aronson beside her watercolor "Whose Shadow?" which won an Honorable Mention award.

You still have a few more days to catch this lovely show. And then the Watercolor & Graphic Arts Society will be hanging our Mobile Bay and Delta Show at the Mobile Arts Council for the month of January - our opening reception will be on January 14th during the LoDa Artwalk.

Figure Group and Holiday Studio Tours

Last night I drove over to see the opening of the Eastern Shore Art Association Members' Show. I have 2 pieces in the show: "Koi Splash" and "Winter Grackles at St. Marks Refuge", both have previously hung in Mobile but not previously in Fairhope. A nice crowd for the Fairhope First Friday Art Walk. And a nice start to the weekend.

We had a new model today in Figure Group and we all seemed to be inspired by her - lots of wonderful drawings today. It's been a while since I posted some figure drawings, so here are a couple from this morning - pencil sketch and watercolor (my favorite quinacridone gold) - 20 minutes each. I was concentrating on using shadows and negative space to define the form.

After Figure Group, several of us met for lunch at Butch Cassidy's Cafe, and then on to the Holiday Studio Tour. Several local artists have grouped together and opened their studios or homes for display of their handcrafted items for sale as holiday gifts. We visited Bertice McPherson's pottery studio, Val Webb's home with several artists showing together, and Kaoru Oka's home where several artists joined to show weavings, pottery, jewelry and book art. I bought 2 pottery bird whistles from Bertice; 2 sets of beaded bracelets made by Soul of Somanya (African village women from Ghana, West Africa) at Val's house; and a hand-crafted book made by Barbara Spafford at Kaoru's house. It is a wonderful feeling to have completed a portion of my Christmas shopping with purchases from local artists friends and a good start to the holiday season.

I also have started an artist journal, although it is a habit I have yet to adequately cultivate. Anyway, here are two "recent" sketches: a small utility structure I often drive past on the Brookley Field Industrial Complex which I completed in October (I wanted to capture this structure because it appears to be threatened by adjacent construction and may not remain for long); and a colorful simple sweetgum leaf which fell from the tree in my front yard in late November. We've had beautiful color this fall, and I regret not having been able to get out for much plein air painting lately due to bad weather or my travel schedule or other art activities and demands. But hopefully soon!

Suffering from Art "Overkill" - A good thing

One of my friends recently said she was suffering from art "overkill", which was a good thing. I could relate. It has been a jam-packed, hectic scene recently here in Mobile. I hit the ground running as soon as I got back in town at the end of October from a two-week roadtrip to Colorado to visit grandkids. We took in artwork for the Watercolor and Graphic Arts Society Fall Members' Exhibition on November 1st; Satomi Kamei and I hung the show on November 2nd; Allan Butt and I met the judge (a charming Diane St. Germain of the Louisiana Watercolor Society, from Slidell, LA) on Friday; and then we had the reception on Thursday, November 11th. I was the show chairperson, so lots to do in between to make it all happen (more on the WGAS show in future posting). On Saturday, Nov 6, Kathy and I took down our "Critters" Show at the Church of the Redeemer, and then a mad dash downtown to participate in the downtown Figure Group. We missed Lydia Host's Thursday opening reception for her Master's Thesis show at the Spring Hill College since it was the same night as the WGAS reception. Friday night (Nov 12th) was a big artwalk night. Several of my friends had their artwork on display. My Figure Group buddies Conroy Hudlow, Jami Buck and Satomi Kamei had their artwork in the Nudes in November show at the Blue Velvet Gallery, the new ArtOlogy gallery had their grand opening, Mary Elizabeth Kimbrough had a solo show at the Daupine Realty office downtown, Bertice McPherson had her clay show at the Mobile Arts Council gallery, and the Postcards from the Gulf exhibit was in the Saenger gallery. And that is just a few of the highlights - there is just too much now to see it all during the LoDa artwalks. I had to work until after 7 PM at the Cathedral Square Gallery, and then was able to break away with buddies Janie Brown, Gail Bramer, Conroy Hudlow, and Satomi Kamei to catch a couple of the exhibits. I then worked all day Saturday at the Cathedral Square Gallery, then the symphony on Sunday (had to miss Missy Patrick's opening reception at Gallery 54, but hope to catch it soon); and then Conroy, Satomi and I turned in our artwork for the Eastern Shore Art Association Members Show in Fairhope on Monday. Whew! My only lament is that there has been no time to stay at home and PAINT!

Here are photos of me, Satomi and Gail standing by our submissions to the Postcards from the Gulf Exhibit. Each postcard (and there were more than 80, I believe, from all over the U.S. and a few from other countries afar) was auctioned off for $50 as a fundraiser for the Alabama Coastal Foundation. There were so many beautiful and creative cards. It was amazing to see these all displayed together, and it was heartwarming to see how artists and others around the world were affected by the Gulf oil spill this summer, and that in this small way can help try to rally support for saving and restoring the Gulf habitat and way of life. Thanks to Val Webb for her efforts to make this happen.



Me with my alligator snapping turtle postcard.


Satomi with her beach scene.


Gail with her "water" buffalo.

Happy Chef

My parents celebrated their 60th anniversary this summer, and we had a mini-family reunion and dinner at a local restaurant. While taking photos at the dinner I noticed the chef working in the window, and it seemed like the classical "bistro" photo op. I'd been wanting to do a "chef genre" painting and this was my inspiration. I did this painting in 2 or 3 days between hanging the Critters show and the reception trying to meet the October 9 deadline for entry into the Mobile Art Association fall juried exhibition at the Mobile Public Library West Regional Branch. It will hang until November 19th. I like that this was a fast and fresh painting, and I think I was able to capture the atmosphere of the darkened restaurant against the brightly-lit kitchen, and the concentration of the chef. I call this "The Happy Chef", acrylic on canvas, 18 in. x 24 in.

More Critters

I left town on a road trip to Colorado to visit family (3 beautiful grandbabies) the morning after our "All Critters - Great and Small" reception, and could not download photos I took at the reception until I returned a few days ago. So here are a couple of reception photos, as well as photos of my 6 new critter portraits. So far, I've sold one small painting and have inquiries on another. This small exhibit has been a very positive experience.

Fellow artists and best buddies Conroy Hudlow and Kathy Friedline.

My Mom and Dad in front of the menagerie.

Artist buddies Mary Rodning and Satomi Kamei join me and Kathy.

"Audubon Petting Zoo Burro", Acrylic on canvas, 10 in. x 10 in.

"Audubon Petting Zoo Goat No. 1", acylic on canvas, 10 in. x 10 in.

"Audubon Petting Zoo Goat No. 2", acrylic on canvas, 10 in. x 10 in.

"Audubon Petting Zoo Sheep", acrylic on canvas, 10 in. x 10 in.

"Baldwin County Cow No. 3 - Robertsdale Rodeo Bull", acrylic on canvas, 10 in. x 10 in.

"P.E.I. Cow No. 3 - Belle", acrylic on Canvas, 10 in. x 10 in.