Life drawing

Also called figure or figurative drawing. It seems to be popular in Wilmington art circles, but nudes have been primary subjects throughout the history of art.
Today in my pastel class, we had a live model, one of our teacher's favorite subjects.
Many beginner artists, like me, draw too tightly and want to draw or paint looser. She tried to help us loosen up by having us make swooping strokes with wrist and shoulder motions on big pieces of paper. I have a long way to go!

New neighbor Kathryn

Kathryn is from Australia and has that cute Aussie accent.

She settled so quickly into a vacated studio, that I am quite sure she has done this before.
Her art is clever and pretty, quirky and feminine. One of her favorite mediums is decoupage!
Yes... like we used back in the seventies, but hers is updated and elegant. And what she can do with tissue paper and fancy paper napkins is awesome!
Here she is inside her studio/shop. The other pic is of the outer back studio wall.
We can do whatever we want with our spaces.

Why Studio 15?

The big brick building that is now the ArtWorks was a factory in the 1950s. When it closed, Betsy and Jim bought it and used it for other things. Then they got the big idea. Why not turn it into an art village? With a gallery perhaps, and a coffee shop, and art supply store? What a wonderful benefit to the city! But first they would have to gather many artists under the one big roof.

Designs were drawn, streets were designated, studios were framed out, and just like the famous movie line "If you build it, they will come," the artists came. I got my studio a year ago, and since that time, we have grown like crazy!

The studios are built along "streets" named for artists. Mine is on Rembrandt, and it is number 15. Just like a house address. We can actually receive mail, with of course the address of the building!

Most of the occupants are in an art career already or are at least serious hobbyists. Not me. I jumped in before the dust was settled from the move to Wilmington, and memories of thirty years of nursing were still filling my head. What would I do!

Slowly I am coming around. The past year has been exciting as I have learned about so much about the huge field of art. Most important, I enjoy my peer group at the ArtWorks. As I told someone recently, one of the great things about being an artist is that you get to hang out with artists!

Maybe I can use this blog to boldly share some of what I am learning and doing, because that is what artists do. During all those years of psychiatric work, confidentiality was of utmost importance. And any good we did with our patients was done in private. Now I must show and tell! And I will also post what cool stuff other artists are doing, and so on.

I hope it will be of interest.

Open Studio Saturday

In the back corner of Rodin (the "street") are two studios belonging to a husband and wife. Erin is a potter. If I were a potter I know the entire area would be a mess, but her place is unusually neat and clean. In pic one her hands are forming the wet clay as it spins on the wheel. In pic two are short stacks of pretty bowls she has made.

4th Friday

Always a blast at party night at the art studios around town.
Betsy and Jim line up the music and bring the wine.
The artists bring the solid refreshments.
We love to visit with each other, and we love to have visitors.

Here is a montage of some pix from tonight.
To explain who is who:
In the upper left we have Sue, Alice and Mary T in front of my studio. That is Alice's studio next to mine with the door open. Cathy is the one you see standing there.
On the upper right we see William painting his cool papier-mache giraffe. Pic was taken through his big window.
Bottom left is looking into Rita's studio. She is a jewelry maker and was the Featured Artist tonight.
Last is Mary A in front of a gorgeous painting she is working on.
What a terrific group of people we have!

First of Spring 2015

Spring is the most welcome season. I don't think I have ever heard anybody give it a bah humbug or say they would rather have more cold air and gray skies. Spring seems new and hopeful.

This morning I went to my fourth of six oil painting classes. Looking at the value to cost ratio, it was well worth it, even though I didn't lift a finger to a brush.

Years ago I realized that before I am productive or good at something I must have a pretty deep philosophical understanding of what I am doing, and teacher Kevin helps with that. He would make an excellent professor.

Back in the studio, I am helping to mentor an adorable and smart sixteen year old girl who wants to become an artist someday. She is looking forward to participating in the upcoming show for students, so I think she is pretty special. Working with her also helps me. We were sitting at the long table in my studio yesterday playing with watercolors and pens, and I realized that I love watercolors! I must get back to them.