"Americana" is my latest pastel painting.  This 16" x 12" painting is a direct result of the Arizona Pastel Artists Association's Art Challenge activity.  Three times during each meeting year members are invited to sign up to participate in an Art Challenge activity.  Each of the three cycles of the Art Challenge are limited to 10 artists.  At the beginning of each cycle the 10 artists are given an object which is to be incorporated into a painting.  The artists have no idea what the object will be until it is given to them at the beginning of their Art Challenge cycle.  The artists then have two months to complete the painting.  At the end of the two months the participating artists bring their completed paintings to the monthly APAA meeting for a critique discussion.  It is always fascinating to see how people incorporate the object into a composition! 

Well, I am one of the 10 artists for the current Art Challenge.....and an 8 oz Coke was the object we all received.  That was at the March APAA meeting.   I had been hemming and hawing about a composition that included the Coke and saw the may meeting deadline quickly approaching.  About this time my friend, Cindi, called me about a show opportunity at The Huey Gallery in Santa FE, NM.  The show is a month long show during the month of July called "America - The Beautiful".  The entry deadline for this show, May 1st,  was also quickly approaching.   As I sat at my desk an idea began to form.  Coke is certainly a symbol of America around the globe.  In front of me at my desk was a small American flag stuck in my pencil cup.  I opened the Coke and gave the soda to my husband, cleaned out the bottle and stuck in the flag.  I was on my way!  Still thinking of the show theme of America, I headed to the grocery store for apple pie.  As I walked in the store I found myself in the flower department and my eyes landed on tightly furled red roses.  I immediately decided to develop a composition that played on the red of the Coke bottle and the American flag.  A beautiful single red rose went into the shopping cart and I headed for the bakery for a cherry pie!  Next to the bakery are the aisles with dishes, pots and pans and other kitchen items.  Again my eye was caught.....this time by a selection of dish towels with beautiful red colors.   I quickly left the store before "my eye was caught" by anything else!   Once home, the composition just fell into place.  I wanted a dark dramatic background so I used a deep olive green with red for color harmony.   This painting came together quickly and was painted in 4 days.  It has been entered into the Huey Gallery show and I have high hopes based on the comments of the gallery owner, Keith Huey.  In the meantime it sits quietly in my studio waiting for the next APAA meeting where it will share the limelight with the other 9 paintings featuring an 8 oz Coke!  I'll let you know about the show as soon as I hear!

"Green Apple"

I am floating around on Cloud Nine!  In fact, I have been floating around on Cloud Nine since Thursday evening.  I was up in Sedona and had just finished helping to hang the Arizona Pastel Artists Association's Spring Juried Show in Sedona.  I grabbed some dinner and went to my hotel room to relax for the evening.  As I began checking my e-mail I noticed I had a message through my website.  That e-mail message put me on Cloud Nine where I have ever been.  The message was from Anne Hevener, Editor of the Pastel Journal.  She indicated she was working on an article for the October issue focused on the backgrounds that still life artists choose to use in their compositions.  She plans to work with 3 to 4 artists and wanted to know if I was interested in being one of the artists.  INTERESTED?????    How many ways can you say YES!!!!!.  She is interested in the backgrounds I use that are composed of striped material.   I am so excited.....and honored....and tickled pink!  I may be on Cloud Nine for some time.  If you call and I don't answer....try the number at Cloud Nine!

Yesterday was the reception for the Arizona Pastel Artists Association's Spring Juried Show in Sedona.  I was excited when the announcement came that my piece, Marbles II,  took the third place award!  It was a beautiful show and as usual the competition was tough.  APAA has many wonderful artists, both professional and amateur level. All the paintings entered in the show can be seen in a slide show at the APAA website.   Our judge was Chris Saper, nationally known portrait artist.  Chris attended the reception and spoke about the judging process and why she placed the award winners.  She also generously spent time with each of the artists in attendance giving them feedback on their paintings.   Other than the cold weather and snow (yes.....in April no less!) it was a wonderful event!  The show runs through April 25th in the Special Exhibit Gallery of the Sedona Art Center.  If you find yourself in Sedona stop by and enjoy the show!