I recently finished up some small acrylic-on-canvas pieces for a holiday show, where everything is 8 x 10 and smaller. It’s different when you haven’t worked much on small surfaces. I continue to explore acrylics, using brushes and palette knives. I found it helpful to keep the scene simple, especially on a small surface, where you could start thinking about small details too. I got started with the big shapes and finished with details, but not too many. I also tried a limited color palette. It helps to work with just three primaries, a few earthy colors and white. It’s enjoyable and challenging to work with acrylics because it’s such a different method from watercolor in establishing darks and lights and to mix paint and color on the canvas!

The annual Collector’s Showcase is the small works show and fundraiser at the Workhouse Gallery at Lorton. It will feature original art 8 x 10 and smaller for sale to beginning collectors and holiday shoppers. In addition, Workhouse artists are donating a 10 x 10 original piece of art, unframed, unmatted to be judged for the Workhouse calendar. Selected works will be published in the 2010 calendar and notecards. This piece SUNFLOWERS is my entry. I will also have several original acrylic-on-canvas small works for sale in Gallery Building W-16. More information see www.WorkhouseArts.org

The newest exhibit of the Workhouse Artists Association at the Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA is October 15 - November 23, 2008, located on the first floor, in gallery building W-16. I have three pieces on display in this exhibit, and Ocean Race , 32″ x 40″ watercolor, is featured here. An artist reception is Saturday, October 18, 2 - 4PM. Unfortunately, I will miss this reception, but free refreshments are part of the reception and enjoyment.

Live musical events are also held in building W-16. Come out and enjoy the fine art exhibitions, then attend music performances under the title ARTNOTES. Please check the website: www.WorkhouseArts.org for more details about current and future events.

I will have more events coming up at Lorton to share later! 

The 2008 fall season brings new art shows and exhibits that you should find exciting. 

Starting Sept 24 to Oct 31, the Center for the Arts, Caton Merchant Family Gallery, Old Town Manassas, VA features a Regional Juried Exhibition of artists from Prince William, Loudon and Fauquier Counties. One of my watercolor pieces, entitled “By the Side of the Barn”, has been accepted in the show.

A grand opening celebration and inaugural exhibition of the Workhouse Arts Center, a program of the Lorton Arts Foundation, is set from Sept 19 - 27, featuring live music, free art workshops, exhibitions, firworks and more for the whole family.  Juried members of the Workhhouse Artists Association will have art on display and I have two pieces in this exhibit. More information can be found at www.workhousearts.org.

The ArtBeat Gallery, Manassas, VA exhibit entitled “Foreign Lands” is currently running through Oct 31. Several pieces of my watercolor and acrylic work are on display in this exhibit.

I’ve decided that since my interest in acrylics has grown,  I want to present these works together.  Today, I have a new page just for acrylics on canvas. I hope to keep sharing new and interesting pieces there. They are for sale and I will attempt to keep current. Please send me an email if you have a question.

 One of the most popular golf clubs in the world. Maybe someday I’ll get to play there! This piece is 12 x 36 and another fun painting done in acrylics.

 The Athletic Boosters Club at Osbourn Park High School held it’s annual golf outing fundraiser August 15, 2008.  I donated this piece to the Silent Auction held afterwards. It was purchased and hopefully the successful bidder enjoys it!

Another piece done in a series of summertime flowers….unfortunately, they don’t live long…soon summer is over and they become a fond memory. How does a small seed produce such a big flower? Same results with my veggie garden seeds….just a few white beans stuck in 1/2 inch of soil, watered, then loads of green beans picked fresh to eat! Ahh, summer!

Here is a new watercolor, part of a series, with several washes laid down to develop the visual effect of wet surfaces. It’s enjoyable to paint “water with watercolor”, whether flat surfaces with reflections, lakes, streams or oceans.

Another acrylic, in a panoramic size. I used some photos of the Grand Teton National Park, WY after our vacation to the West in 2007. This park is an artist’s paradise, with incredible scenery! I saw quite a few artists, painters in the morning, photographers in the late afternoon and evening, trying to capture the best light of the early and late part of the day.