Our Club’s annual art show in April (discussed in my previous blog) was well attended and a complete success. So many attendees at our “Social” on the Friday night mentioned how excited they were to be able to get together again (this was our first “social” since the end of Covid), and most of them talked about how much they missed being able to gather together as a community again. It is these types of events that continue to keep our small town so special!
With summer fun well on its way, it means one thing for me as an artist – I take a little break from painting and start to think about where I want to go with my art over the next year. Since I spend a lot of time at our place on a local lake during the summer, it gives me with a lot of ideas for many future pieces. Getting up early in the morning and watching the sun come up gives me a full view of so many types of birds, including pelicans, which we normally don’t see in this area. The eagles and ospreys are always busy fighting for food, the ducks and geese are swimming by with their babies, the loons tend to make an appearance here and there, plus the beavers and otters are constantly popping up when we least expect them to. With that and the chipmunks, weasels and the odd bear in the fall, it is an amazing place to gather ideas for paintings.
Lots of people say that I should be painting while I’m out there, but given that I paint mostly with acrylics, and we live in a desert area, I would be spending all my time trying to keep my paint wet. 😊 Thankfully, I have a decent camera and bring it with me so I always take lots of pictures to use for references!
I have been thinking about expanding my style, creating quick art using broader strokes and not worrying about every single detail. My first attempt was this year with a new painting of my young border collie (shown with this article). It was a fun experiment, took me only a few hours to complete and by the end of the painting, I had the same satisfaction with it as I do when I finish a piece with my normal style, which is detailed realism. I hope to do a few more this year so keep checking back as I will post them as I finish them!