April Downtown Gallery Crawl

Our April Downtown Gallery Crawl in Monroe and West Monroe Louisiana was fantastic. The weather was beautiful and the crowd was amazing.

My husband, Jeff, debuted his photography for the first time ever in my gallery space. He sold three of his photos and I couldn't be more excited. He is so humble and would never have done this if I didn't nudge him. He is a radiologic technologist by day so we titled his show "A Difference Kind of Exposure". clever, huh?

Hubby and I (above) in front of his show, and next - some friends that came out to the crawl.

Monroe artist Sue Sartor with her husband, Walter, who was one of the band members that played with Code Blue and the Flatliners on our street during the crawl. Walter is also a physician. Sue was showing her beautiful paintings in the Upstairs Gallery.

Some of the artists and guest artists at Sugar Gallery.

The next art crawl is the first Thursday in June. Don't miss it!.

Here are some random pics of the April crawl.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

December Mixed Media Monthly Challenge

Tis the season to be........... busy!!!

My daughter is busy rehearsing for a Christmas show at the local theater, and I've been trying to get finished with my painting commissions and still find time to make small gifts. Speaking of gift items, I had the bright idea to make a series of mixed media angels - and they were a huge hit. The first one I made is the one I'm using for the December Mixed Media Monthly Challenge. This month's challenge is "Tic-Tac-Toe"

The challenge is to create from any three across or diagonal. I chose "star, patterned paper, and ribbon"

Here's my angel "Hope".

She is 8" x 10" on 1.5" deep sided canvas. I used papers, paint, stamping, gold leaf, and whatever else I found in my papercrafting stash.

Play along with us! Our prize for this month's challenge is a $25 gift certificate to Inspiration Emporium. 

To play, link your project to the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge Blog. Thanks for stopping by and have a merry Christmas season.

Monday Morn

I look forward to my mixed media art classes on Mondays. We have two more classes and so I am having the ladies create a mixed media "girl". I asked them to think of a quote or something personal to them to put on their girl, which could be representative of themselves if they wanted. It's going to be inspiring to see this process.

Last week I created another mixed media angel. His time I used the card with the initial "w" which I wanted to stand for "wings". 

I wanted to find just the right quote for her to tie in dreams (the moon) and wings.

She is big... The board is 20" long. I used alphabet stamps and rub ons for the quotes. I put her with my other mixed media pieces at one of the galleries at the art crawl and one of my collectors took her home. 

The art gallery crawl was wonderful. We had so much activity on both sides of the river. Here are a few photos.

Some of my paintings at the Ouachita River Art Gallery, Wesr Monroe.

My roommate from long ago came out.

And I had a surprise visit from my cousin.

One of my students was showing her beautiful work a few doors down so I stopped by to take a peek. She worked on the tea cup piece during class and it is gorgeous.

I have a super busy week. I am working on two very special commission pieces. One of them has a critical deadline. What an honor to be a part of something so special. More on that later.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a happy Monday!

A is for Angel Mixed Media

I am half way into my summer mixed media workshop and just demonstrated using textiles in mixed media. The students are enjoying creating mixed media surfaces using papers, stencils and paint.

Here are a couple of photos of student work in progress.

I am so proud of and inspired by these ladies! They have each absorbed what they were taught and applied it to their own ideas and just "let it go" (the theme of our adventure).

I had prepared this background in our previous class and brought it back to show them the steps I take in building my images after the first layer.

I have a pack of mini alphabet cards that I have decided to put to use. I have had them forever. I decided to use "a" for angel.

I lightly drew my angel girl, then outlined her with black. While she was drying, I added paint to the background. Next, I adhered cheesecloth to her dress with Golden's matte medium. I had brought a paper doily that I thought would make great wings, but I also had some leaf shapes, so I was trying on her "wings" when one of the students said, "Use both"! What a great idea, and in the spirit of "letting it go" , I did, and I love the look. I also didn't stress about perfectly placing the "wings" and as you can see they are not symmetrical, which I think adds to her charm. 

Next I mixed some paint to make a flesh color and painted her skin. I stopped at this point so the students could create. A few days later I pulled her out and even though I liked her at this point, I wanted to adjust her legs and do a few more things.

I used paint, stencils and rub ons to finish her up. I took the rest of the doily and out it on top, and fond a chipboard glitter heart in just the right size to add to her hands. She now awaits a new owner.

Our class has been enjoying various art products, but especially those provided by Golden Paints Seconds Program. No matter what age my student are, I introduce them to high quality art products because it truly does make a difference. 

The Downtown Gallery Crawl in Monroe and West Monroe is June 5. I recently became the secretary for this Downtown Arts Alliance, the hosts of the crawl, and am excited about the wonderful things on the horizon. If you are in Northeast Louisiana, come out. You can even shop because the Antique Alley Association shops on Trenton Stree will be open till 9pm as well as have artists displaying in their stores. The trolley will be running for free to take you to all the galleries so make a night of it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Antique Alley Art Tour West Monroe

Downtown West Monroe will be rocking this Thursday night! In conjunction with the Downtown Art Gallery Crawl, the Antique Alley Association merchants will be open late and hosting artists in their shops. With the River Gallery at 308 Trenton Street having 30 artists, and 30 more shops being open, this makes 60 artists in a two block area. There will be a band outside - Amanda McDowell and The Twlilight Zone will be entertaining the shoppers.

I have been so busy getting ready for this, as well as my daughter, who is also showing art in one of the shops.

There is still lots to do!

Here is a peek of one of my pieces.

I will also have a four foot x four foot piece, "Born on the Bayou" for my Southern theme.

It is coated in resin and really shines! It will be at Brazzell & Co Home, 311 Trenton Street, West Monroe.

If you are local, come on out to Trenton Street, West Monroe from 5-9pm!

Lastest Painting - Psalm 17

Just popped in to share a quick photo of my latest painting inspired by Psalm 17:8. It will be at tomorrow night's Gallery Crawl in West Monroe at the Ouachita River Art Gallery from 5-9pm.

I'm not happy with the quality of this photo so I'll be waiting for the morning light tomorrow to get a better image. Thanks for stopping by. Come to the art crawl Thursday!!

True Colors Art Reception

Thanks to everyone that came out to the "True Colors" art reception at Crescent City Coffee Shop. I was so surprised to have internationally known artist Don Cincone stop by. I took a workshop from him earlier this year. What a talented artist as well as instructor. I felt so special that he made the trip - "just for me" as he said.

Dr. Cain Budds from Louisiana Tech University provided classical guitar music for the event. It was the perfect addition to the show. I was very impressed with his music and may secure him for one of our art events. If you are looking for someone to provide sophisticated live music for one of your events, weddings or dinner parties, contact the university and get in touch with him!

I was interviewed a few weeks ago by the Tech Talk, the La. Tech University's newspaper, and the article is due out this week. Can we say nervous? Why? Maybe because I was sipping on a venti frappe from Starbucks and was quite chatty? LOL. We'll see how that goes later this week.

Here are a couple of pieces at the "True Colors" show.

"True Colors" 24" x 24"

To purchase contact North Central Louisiana Arts Council, 318-255-1450.

"Mr. Know-It-All"

To purchase contact North Central Louisiana Arts Council, 318-255-1450.

 The Downtown Gallery Crawl is THIS Thursday! Make Ouachita River Art Gallery AKA The River Gallery, your first stop during this night of fun, food and art.  The River Gallery will have musician/singer/songwriter Amanda McDowell. The Gallery Crawl times are 5pm-9pm. We are at 308 Trenton Street / Antique Alley in West Monroe. The gallery just redesigned the way the members hang their art, so be sure to stop by any time to see. It's open Tues-Sat from 10am-5pm. phone 318-322-2380.

Don't forget to "like" my facebook page to keep up with the latest news!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!