40 West Arts District Article

"Cross Over"
4 x 4" oil painting on a 5 x 5" Gessobord panel

The fascination with abstract continues!

As some of you may know my studio is in a 16-artist studio complex within the 40 West Arts District.

Colorado has 12 state-certified arts district. An online magazine called Confluence-Denver is writing a series of articles highlighting each of the districts. 40 West Arts District is up first with a few paragraphs devoted to our 40 West Studios complex. The reporter came to our March First Friday open house and we struck up a nice conversation which appears near the end of the article.

I'm so thrilled, the reporter captured the spirit of our arts district and has some lovely things to say about my art.

Purples and Turquoise

"Healing"
5 x 5" oil over acrylic on Gessobord panel
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"Healing" on mini easel
suggested display

I've been having fun playing with texture and color.  On this experiment I used white acrylic paint to spread around on a Gessobord panel. Once the acrylic was dry I started applying oil paint sparingly with a brush and then used my fingers (with surgical gloves) to move the paint around and work it into the valleys caused by the acrylic texture.

Before I left the studio today I applied white acrylic to a cradle board panel with a wood surface. I can't wait to start applying oils and working it into the subtle color changes to see the acrylic texture pattern emerge.

Sea Greens

"Sea Greens"
5 x 5" oil on panel primed with acrylic ground for texture
SOLD

It's been a long week of not being able to get to the studio..what with the snowstorm and some other annoying things.

So today was a lot of catch up conversations with my studio neighbors. One of my artist friends is working on a piece with lots of texture. I wanted to try to see what I could do with the materials I had on hand. 

This is a Gessobord panel that has pastel ground, an acrylic product, applied thickly. Then I oil painted over it. I was originally going to just let it be a textured painting with color, but it kepy edging toward an ocean/sea feel. And then again it could be clouds..or just an abstract.

More Display Space

East wall of my studio with new hanging "system"

My studio neighbor Sean being a good guy

No painting today, but it was productive. A couple of weeks ago I was explaining to my studio neighbor, Sean Doherty, my idea for display/drying racks for my paintings (instead of lined up on the floor.)

He said he knew just what I was looking for. Yesterday he made a trip to the hardware store and returned with four 10' lengths of 5/8" J-trim, used for drywall.  A pocket full of screws, a level and an electric drill/screwdriver made this functional and beautiful "system" for me. About $16 worth of materials and a Chipotle gift card for payment of labor. 

Wild Things - A Rework of an Earlier Painting

"Wild Things"
6 x 6" oil on canvas panel
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As I wait for my energy and brain power return after being away from home last week, I decided to tackle an earlier painting that I decided wasn't quite where I wanted it to be. This is now the finish...a little brighter a little cleaner.

A Little Strawberry

"Strawberry 315"
4 x 4" oil on panel primed with copper metallic acrylic
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A quick painting to get back on track after a trip to Houston last week. I spent three days with the 12 other awesome women on the national governing board of the Colored Pencil Society of America. Lots of creative ideas, laughter and food/wine.