Whimsy in Nature

Collage of some paintings I'm working on for an exhibit I'm putting together - Sticks & Stones. Still very much a work in progress, but I'll keep you posted. I'm taking two favorite subjects -  rocks and trees and seeing what evolves when I put them side by side. 

Keep your light shining bright friends!

Poetic License 2025

Another wonderful creative collaboration between the Hudson Valley Writers Guild and the Upstate Artists Guild is coming to a close, but there's still time to check it out. The show runs until 11/16 at the Honest Weight Co-op Gallery in Albany. The authors submit a poem anonymously and then the list of poems is made available to artists to paint from. I love the process! This is the poem I chose.

Haiku 

     I woke up again  

 as a watercolor painting       

 in drizzling rain  

 

Opening Reception at Meeting House Gallery

6/20/25   What a magical evening it was! You know the kind - perfect weather, gorgeous setting indoors and out, truly lovely people, inspiring artwork, live music, delicious snacks and drinks... It was such a joy to be part of this show!

Botanically Speaking Art Exhibit

This Friday, June 20th, BOTANICALLY SPEAKING will open at the Meeting House Gallery in New Marlborough, MA. I am excited to be exhibiting along with these other amazing artists. The art reception is on June 20th from 5-7 PM and I'd love to see you if you are in the area. Otherwise, here are the paintings I will be showing.

Gallery hours are on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00-4:00 running 6/20-7/20. I will be gallery sitting on July 12th from 11:00 - 1:00, in case you want to pop in. 

The Meeting House Gallery, New Marlborough

Route 57 on the Green, New Marlborough, MA

Favorite Member Shows

I love this time of year for so many reasons, not the least of which is that my favorite arts organizations hold their member shows this time of year. It's always fun to catch up and see what people have been doing artistically over the year.

The first is Albany Center Gallery's Annual Member Show running from 12/1/23 to 1/13/24. "Among the Flowers" will be this year's entry. 

488 Broadway #107, Albany, NY 12207

 

Next is Saratoga Arts' Annual Member Show running from 11/25/23 to 1/6/24 and "Star Flowers" will be hung in this show.

320 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

Third is Colonie Art League's Holiday Show running from 12/2/23 to 12/29/23. "Last Flowers" will be hanging in this show at the Colonie Town Library, along with two small works.

629 Albany Shaker Rd., Loudonville, NY 12211

So that rounds out the end of the year for me show wise. It's been a fun year creatively, a trying year in other ways, but art keeps bringing me back to my happy place. For that I am eternally grateful!

The 100 Day Project 2023

There are a million reasons to participate in The 100 Day Project. Some years I have used this time to focus on themes like gratitude or serenity as I paint, but this year my focus is to build skills. The "why" may change throughout the journey, but being part of this global community is my #1 reason to join in each year! 

Here are a few pages from this year's project from my art journal. I found the Treasury of Flower Designs For Artists, Embroiders and Craftsmen by Susan Gaber in my new favorite used bookstore, Rodgers Book Barn. I am inspired by her drawings as a starting point and then I dream up a painting palette for each one.

Holiday Market

This is one of the warmest and most beautiful autumns I can ever remember in upstate New York and I've been enjoying it fully. While it feels like late summer, time marches on and now we are at the end of the first week of November. Surprise! This time of year brings so many member shows for artists in my area. So in addition to preparing for all these shows - which I love because it's all about art and community, this year I am participating in a Holiday Makers Market. 

I'll be offering art cards, mini journals, key chains and silver necklaces along with a selection of small paintings. The Holiday Market is happening at Arlene's Artist Materials on November 19, 2022.

So if you are in the area, consider stopping by to see what local artists and makers 

have to offer and say hello!

Saturday, November 19, 2022

Arlene's Artist Materials

57 Fuller Road

Albany, NY 12205 

Springtime Once Again

This time of year springs alive for me with all things art centered. So many ideas have been percolating, images floating through my mind and colors tugging at my wintered soul. Exhibits are finalized, website is cleaned up a little and my project book is over flowing. There have already been two group shows and more are lined up. I'm working on paintings for my solo show through Saratoga Arts this summer. Stay tuned for more info on that. 

Happy Spring my friends; let's bloom brightly this year!

Current Art Show Opened November 5th

I thought it would be fun to bring my Berkshire river rock friends to the Upstate Artist Guild show at the Art Associates Gallery this year. Usually I like to exhibit my more abstract wilder paintings with the Guild, but this year the serenity of river rocks was so appealing that I decided to give it a go. I'm guessing we could all use a moment to pause and appreciate nature right about now, right?

Art Associates Gallery, 21 Railroad Avenue, Albany, NY 12205 11/5/21 - 12/31/21

(518.459.1307)

The 100 Day Project 2021

 

It's a new year and a new 100 Day Project. What an "interesting" year 2020 was...right? It's been tough, no lie. Everyone has been impacted one way or the other and we are still in the midst of it all. That brings me to my theme this year for The Project of gratitude and acceptance. I need to step up my daily gratitude practice anyway, so this seems like a natural progression.

Backgrounds are important to me both art wise and metaphorically speaking. This week I'm working on painting just backgrounds - slowing down to hear my soul's whispering. 

works in progress

Wherever this moment finds you, I wish for your day to have some bright spots, some moments of beauty and gratitude. 

UAG Goodtime Revival Show - An Artistic Resurrection

So this is fun! I got an email three weeks ago from the Upstate Artists Guild (UAG) saying they were looking to past members for a pop up art exhibit for the month of October. Always a last minute kind of gal, I thought. "Heck yeah". I'm pretty excited to be part of this show. I always found the UAG members to be such an interesting group of artists creating really interesting and often unusual art. And I miss these folks! 

So the UAG is holding The Goodtime Revival Show! held at the Art Associates Gallery, 21 Railroad Avenue, Albany. I dropped these two paintings off yesterday for the show. Both mixed media pieces were created this year and vary quite a bit from what I usually do.

 1) How My Garden Grows  2) Summer Burst 

COVID-19 restrictions are in place for everyone's safety. So there will be a limited number of people (25) n the gallery at any one time, face masks are required and the opening reception will not include food and drink. It will still be a great time because any time you can look at art and be inspired is, IMO a great time. 

The 100 Day Project 2020

This year when #the100dayproject came around in the beginning of April, I was struggling like everyone else trying to learn how to navigate life in the midst of a pandemic. My home state of New York was the epicenter...not an honor one would flaunt. The last thing I felt like was beginning a creative endeavor. However, I also saw this as an opportunity and named my project #100daysofserenity. Absurd I know.

So for 100 days I really tried to create something that felt serene to me. What I learned (again) is that it's the process, the practice that gives us moments of serenity. These are some screen shots from Instagram where I posted my project. It's a great global community I have to say. If you are on Instagram, give it a look. There were so many amazing people posting for this challenge.

#the100dayproject

In the Introduction, Mary Gabriel states wherever there is art, there is hope ...and that our own troubled world is sorely lacking in the nutrients that art provides. She quotes Albert Camus, “In the world of condemnation to death which is ours, artists bear witness to that in man which refuses to die.” 

Written long before we were all dealing with the pandemic but screaming back at me now from these pages, I hear the call. Each of us will answer it differently. Doing whatever we can for each other, being generous and kind, caring hugely so that the majority of us come through this and work together to rebuild our lives. I pray for those suffering, I mourn for those lives already lost (especially dear Diana) and I’m grateful to all those working so continually for the common good. 

My offering to you is art to feed your soul, soothe your aching heart and give you a moment of respite amidst all you are dealing with right now. Even better, I encourage you to make your own art, to create from your inner most place something that helps you deal with the challenges. Something that reminds you of all the love and goodness that exists in the world and how strong the human spirit is. 

Holiday Gift Market

At the last minute I decided to apply to the annual Gifted 2019 Holiday Market at Albany Barn and am happy to announce that I was selected. I'm looking forward to this event, as it's new to me and I can't wait to meet the other artists and artisans participating. There will be 20 + vendors, live holiday music, drinks and sweets, a holiday photobooth and much more! 

Date: Friday, December  6th

Time: 6-9 PM

Where: 56 Second Street, Albany, NY

Here you can find my art cards, mini journals and pendants and key rings. I will also have some unframed small paintings for sale, too. Stop by, enjoy a local holiday shopping experience!

Daily Practice

The 100 Day Project ended yesterday for me. Today I woke up thinking "What now?" Going into this project I had hoped to jump start daily painting again. I had let too many non-essential, but important, things hijack my painting time. Check! It was also wonderful to connect with other artists and creatives world-wide who were participating in the project. Check!

I created pages of river rocks from my imagination. There is something about rocks that resonates so deeply with me. I thought I would eventually get tired of painting them, but that didn't happen. The other paintings I worked on weren't river rocks though.

This has been a really good journey for me and I will keep to the daily practice of painting in my art journal. Here is the space to explore anything freely without a thought to the final product.

Christine brought cake and ice cream.

My daughter, Christine, (unspeakablevisions.com) is a very gifted writer. Life got in the way of her regular writing practice so she participated in this project, too. We decided to celebrate accomplishing our goals last night at our weekly Goddess Night Dinner with cake. Just ask all the grandkiddos - everything is a celebration when there's cake!

I look forward to participating in next year's #the100dayproject. New goals and a new project awaits.

Daily Practice

Today is Day 45 of #the100dayproject and happily it's well integrated into my daily life. This was the whole point of the project for me. Well, that and participating with a whole global community because I love the idea of that, too!  I look forward to each day's page and the meditation it brings. One might think rocks are an unusual choice, but it's simple really. The shapes, the painting, the designs all just flow organically leaving my mind out of it.

Days 3-15 #the100dayproject

Days 3-15 of The 100 Day Project with two guest appearances of budding artist and delightful granddaughter, Samantha. I love her work and enthusiasm.

#the100dayproject

#100daysofriverrocks

I'm enjoying this project, but am pretty sure I'll be adding other subjects as time goes on.

Follow along on Instagram

#The100DayProject

A friend said he was thinking of doing #the100dayproject. I didn't really know what this was all about, so I decided to check it out. For so many reasons this is just the thing I need to dive into right now. And it's a fun project for my new watercolor journal (See post below). So I'm off and running. Yes, I started a couple of days late, but it's not a race - it's a practice.

I chose river rocks because.........well because I am really fond of rocks; so this will be #100daysofriverrocks most likely. One of the beautiful things about The 100 Day Project is that there really aren't any rules. You decide what you want to do. You can change your mind mid-stream if you want to. Might you be interested in joining in too?  https://www.the100dayproject.org/

Here is Day 1 and Day 2

"Small Works, Big Impact" at Albany Center Gallery

Photo Credit - Albany Center Gallery

Friday, December 7th, is the opening reception of Albany Center Gallery's Annual Members' Show from 5-8 PM. Over 125 regional artists' work is hung salon style. My painting, "Out There", is included in this exhibit. The show will run from Friday, December 7, 2018 to Friday, January 19, 2019. Join in the fun - lots of great art, food, conversation and at 7 PM awards will be announced. 

Looking forward to this fun night!