Sara's paintings - another sneak peek

Sara Markel Altman is a wonderful watercolorist and new friend, who will be exhibiting her paintings along with Jackie and I later this week at the TREEHOUSE Gallery in Pittsfield. Sara paints gorgeous abstracts, as well as, representational paintings. Here is a sneak peek of what you'll see at TREEHOUSE. Amazing, right?!!!!

 

Our exhibit runs for the month of August, with an opening reception on Friday, August 3rd from 5:00 to 8:00P PM, as part of Pittsfield's First Fridays Artwalk. If you're in the area, I hope you'll drop by for a wonderful evening of art, conversation, merriment and refreshments.

Jackie's work - sneak peak for August show at Treehouse

My dear friend, Jackie Del Rossi, will be showing her work along with Sara Markel Altman and I at Treehouse Gallery for the month of August. Jackie is an amazing artist who works primarily in oil with an emphasis on portraiture. I love her work!

 

Albert on my mind

One of my favorite quotes from Albert...

“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”

  ― Albert Einstein

art show next month

The First Fridays Artswalk in downtown Pittsfield that I've been raving about, held its third event last Friday. From all accounts the Artswalk is a huge success! Sidewalks, businesses, galleries and restaurants were filled with arts-loving folks. It's a great time to be out mingling, exploring and chatting with folks one might not have met otherwise. The energy is palpable. It's proof-positive that art really does impact our communites and lives for the better. Thank you, Leo Mazzeo and Mary McGinnis for leading this effort!

I'm really excited to be working on an exhibit to be held at Treehouse Gallery for the month of August. I'll be showing my work with two other artists/friends - Jackie Del Rossi, an oil painter and Sara Markel Altman, a watercolorist. Stay tuned for a sneek peek as to what we'll be exhibiting in the days ahead. I am SUPER excited to be showing with these women!

The Berkshire Salon, Eclipse Mill Gallery

Photo Credit - The Eclipse Mill http://www.eclipsemill.com/userPage_6_Directions.htm

While the list is long of dreamy places to live/work as an artist, the Eclipse Mill in North Adams, Mass. has made it to the short list. Since moving there any time soon is totally out of the question, I decided to participate in their Fifth Annual Berkshire Salon. And yes, I'm exhibiting another river rock painting there. I've recently sold half of the latest River Rock Series, so I'm busy creating more for an exhibit this August. That may very well be my last river rock exhbition.

I'm craving working on a mixed media piece to break things up a bit. I love the juxtaposition of representational work side by side some very abstract pieces. It keeps me balanced in some way that I can't explain.

a wonderful evening of art

It was just one week ago today that First Fridays Artswalk in Pittsfield, Mass. had its inaugural event. After months of planning led by Leo Mazzeo and Mary McGinnis,  Friday May 4th arrived. The rain stopped, the sun came out and a beautiful evening of art, friends and life in the city unfolded. Armed with a camera, George captured many wonderful moments that evening. And this is just the first of many Artswalk evenings to come. The first Friday of each month we will hold an Artswalk in downtown Pittsfield, so if you live near by or are visiting the area, we hope you'll stop by.

Pittsfield is Alive with ART - Come see what all the excitement is about!

happy new year

I wanted to give you a little head's up - I'm taking some time off to refocus my art efforts. We all have those moments when we need to draw inward to work out some creative challenge, right?
I'd like to leave you with this quote from The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown:

"The only unique contribution that we will ever make in this world will be born of our creativity. If we want to make meaning, we need to make art....As long as we're creating, we're cultivating meaning."

Wishing you all a wonderful, creative and inspiring new year!

Hugs,
Susan

storefront artist project

It's with bittersweetness, that I share this news. After ten wonderful years, the Storefront Artist Project (SAP) in Pittsfield is closing its doors stating mission accomplished. "Our mission was to fill empty storefronts and forge a community of artists, entrepreneurs, businesses and residents" says founder, Maggie Mailer. There have been many wonderful changes to Pittsfield in the decade since SAP began as an experiment with a single artist's studio that grew into a community endeavor.

This coming Monday, December 12th will be the Closing Party and Final 12x12 Event, with all proceeds going to support arts education in the Pittsfield public schools. So, if you're in the area, stop by at 6:30 PM; tickets are just $25 and in addition to celebrating a wonderful movement, you'll take a home an original piece of artwork measuring 12x12 (of course!)

Thank you Maggie Mailer for your vision!

art + community = paradise

Whenever artists come together to build community, to share ideas and to collaborate, they bring a vibrancy and energy to their community that is palpable. While I've been fortunate enough to have shared in that kind of community here in the Berkshires, I'm also aware of the many ways artists can reap these benefits through online communities.

One of my favorites is the Visual Artists Street Team (VAST) through Etsy. "We are an eclectic group of artists motivated to create successful artistic shops. Our goal is to promote the extraordinary talent of artists selling on Etsy. We are excited to be able to open our doors to you and share our creative world!" Through group emails and blogging we have the opportunity to share the ups and downs of the working artist's life. We offer each other encouragement, understanding, critiques, networking opportunities, and share great tips and solutions to some of the inevitable bumps in the road.

It goes without saying really, that the blogging community is an incredible source of friendship, education, support and sharing, too. I'm thankful for the friends I've made and the generous sharing of information over the years.

Sometimes an artist's life can feel a bit lonely - working alone tucked away in a studio for hours, but through community connection, we combine the best of all worlds.