Changing art scene

Ha! These two paintings looked very different when I showed them to Diana on Sunday. They were almost monotone. Not much tonal variation. They were at the starting point and fairly placid looking. Not so now! All the black is the new part. Imagine these without the pop of the black paint. Boring. Pleasant, but boring. I think they look like a Mars sunset now. How did that happen? It was nowhere in my consciousness or plan. I wanted 'pretty'. This is only an interim stage, and I wish I'd photographed the beginnings. They will change again. Stay tuned. Hopefully the end will be an improvement.

Katherine Malmsten & D.J. Pettitt workshops

I'm coming back to my art, and I like it. Earlier this year my friend Kathy LaPorte and I drove to Kalamazoo, MI for a calligraphy workshop with another friend, Katherine Malmsten, a master of the ruling pen. We had a great time! Last weekend my friend Donna Hacker came up to stay with me and to attend the DJ Pettitt workshop in New Albany, IN.

DJ's ladies' faces are a signature style. I didn't want to copy and originally planned to paint something else. I'm glad I changed my mind. I learned a lot by sticking with the program and painting what everyone else was painting. Though we all (15 of us!) started with the same basic patterns, each of the finished pieces had the artists' individual flair. My Blue Lady is above in two phases of production...most everyone used earthtones. The other photo is of my friend Donna holding her near self-portrait with her Corgi pup Gwynneth.