MY CAMERA IS DEAD :(

SO I CAN'T BLOG UNTIL I GET A NEW ONE (cause i refuse to blog without pictures)
(and i am really busy with new jobs....)

WILL POST ABOUT MY SHOW AT DUPREE GALLERY SOON!

Show coming up at James Dupree Gallery!

I'm very excited. This is what I'm working on this week.
I'm hoping to have 2 or 3 paintings and 2 print collages in the show.
This is a painting that I started as a study but I think I am going to give it to my friend as a wedding present (I hope she doesn't read this!)

This is a print and collage and watercolor.



And this, I am very excited about.

Visiting Old Friends (Sculpture Garden/Hirshorn)

I used to go the the Hirshorn and the National Gallery all the time when I lived in D.C. Free Museums! So it was nice to visit again last weekend and visit some of my favorites as well as see what they've added since I visited last.


Until kind of recently, I had a hard time enjoying sculpture, compared to painting and drawing, but the Hirshorn Sculpture Garden has always been a place I really enjoyed. The first sculptor I ever feel in love with was Rodin.

I walked up to this sculpture on Sunday thinking, "oh, this one intrigues me- reminds me in some ways of that Rodin piece in the Philadelphia Art Museum..."
And, of course, I read on the sign that it is a Rodin. There must really be something ephemeral about his work because, when I stumble across it (as I usually do) without trying to figure out who the artist is, the work always stops and grabs me.

There is a similar sculpture as the one to the right
in the Philadelphia Art Museum. As I walk by this
piece, memories of undergraduate college flood in.

Before I had ever seen a Rodin in person, I used a photograph of this image for inspiration in a relief print making class.

In one of my first college drawing classes (10 yrs ago! yikes!) with Margo Humprey, she gave us an assignment to got to art museums and do drawings of sculpture. One of the pieces I did was not there anymore but I did stumble across the other one.



It's funny, I was kind of impressed when I dug up these drawings- I didn't think that I could draw that well back then...

There were some cool new acquisitions inside the Hirshorn that I had never seen...
I loved this piece called Radiant by




It's just so pretty! I strongly recommend that you click and see the larger versions of the photos!

This is another new acquisition, I mainly liked the title.

same with this one:




This piece below (Baldessari) reminds me....

I have a show coming up! (wait for the next post)

In My Studio

Summer.

These are the paintings I am working on today.
The middle one is the annoying painting for my mom that I have been working on since last summer. I started it badly and am finding it very hard to work on. The seascape is not a subject that I feel excited about but I do enjoy the light I am creating in it. Finish it I must.
The other two are under paintings for studies from life.
I am really enjoying painting in oil. I started glazing over the orchid today. I like the way it looks. I think my figure study started out pretty well too, but I'm frustrated because I won't be here for the rest of the pose. I have to be out of town, away from my studio, all summer.

I love my studio.

(click on pictures to see larger images)
I cleaned and organized today. Gotta prioritize. Finish some projects. I know that I really want to learn how to paint well. But I also want to finish all my figure drawings. And the image above, "love wraps around my heart, like a boa constrictor," needs to get finished on so many levels. The plate needs to be finished. It needs color. And the collage will be the finished product. Maybe this is what should be in Dupree's show. As usual, it is hard to focus on one thing. There are other prints I want to finish as well.

Then there are the lights.

I got frustrated with these cause I made some great circular ones but the lights I used were junk- so the artwork doesn't work very well :(. I know they have a lot of potential. (images of the circular ones are in an earlier post)

There's so much to do!

"Illustrative" by James Dupree

Gallery 141 Presents Philadelphia Artist James Dupree


I've spoken of the Lancaster art scene before, and as of June's First Friday you can now find new and old works by James Dupree at Gallery 141. I introduced gallery owner and my close friend, Alana Hunter to my teacher and friend, James Dupree, shortly after I moved into Dupree Studios in West Philly. Immediately a show was in the works.

I also planted a seed back in March that resulted in a successful benefit show at James' own gallery in Philadelphia. Dupree Gallery hosted Foyer of Philadelphia whose president is also my good friend, Leigh Braden. Here is where I get recognized. :)



Anyway, Dupree's show, "Illustrative", at Gallery 141 is absolutely beautiful. Below left is a picture of a piece from a new series he has started entitled "Stay in the Light". Right is the artist standing between this piece and an older piece called "Life, Death, and Eternity". Both are mixed media.

The depth and light in these paintings, created by layers and layers, is breath taking. I should say that I intended this blog to simply be a report on the First Friday event and not any sort of comment on the actual art itself; but some things cannot go unsaid.



a view of the gallery- new, abstract works next to abstracted fish, above photorealism (one can also find posters of his painting of Philadelphia at the gallery)

others from the "Stay in the Light" series.

Also don't miss the aquarium section of the gallery where Mr. Dupree is showing his fish series: illustrative underwater paintings that look as if they are behind glass. (Incidentally, these can be ordered and glazed over by the artist in my different sizes using the Giclee print process)

But let's get to the opening night. Art lovers came out in the heat wave to see the work but none the less it was definitely a quieter night than usual. The featured artist was unable to attend the opening. Instead he attended his opening in Philadelphia at Sande Webster Gallery. This was a big show of Alumni from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art.

One of Dupree's private students did make it out to the show. Maria has been taking classes at Dupree Studios for the past year. For more information on instruction and residencies, visit the Dupree Studios Inc website.

Below are more pictures from the opening night of the show in Lancaster: I enjoyed watching as visitors contemplated this mixed media work and debated how they were done.

Gallery 141 is accustomed to getting hundreds of visitors each First Friday and serves up refreshments as well as live music. Below is a movie clip of the entertainment on June 6th.

"Illustrative" by James Dupree will remain up until the end of month. However, Mr. Dupree will be showing various works there until the end of the summer. For the month of July, "Revisions" by James Dupree will be traveling from his gallery in Philadelphia to Lancaster City.

Gallery 141 is one of the original and most eclectic galleries in Lancaster. Showing local artists and jewelers, as well as selling beads and textiles. Activities range from First Fridays and Music Fridays to beading parties, birthday parties, and weekly Yoga classes. For more information visit their blog by clicking HERE.

Artwalk in Lancaster City

I've been trying to spread the word- about the lancaster city art scene..... People usually look at me blankly, like I'm not speaking English, or they say something about it being Amish country.

But First Fridays in Lancaster are exciting! Especially when it is nice out- with 40 galleries within walking distance and live music and art performances scattered throughout!

A couple of weeks ago I attended ARTWALK , an event that happens twice a year, which is like first friday except that it lasts a whole weekend!
Most of my pictures are at Gallery 141 (check out their website by clicking), a personal favorite of mine located on Water Street behind the A-plus.

Above right is a picture of local artist/musician, J.C. leaving his mark on the wall outside the gallery. Gallery 141 invites all its artist friends to paint a bubble in the underwater mural originally painted by Andrew Strode.I thoroughly enjoyed myself leaving my contribution to this Evolving Mural Project(right).


Below are some pictures of the movement performance by Kate of Catcow Yoga. What was most fun about this day is the way that J.C. and Kate combined their artistic activities as J.C. used her as inspiration for his 'bubble'.





































I did walk around to some other galleries and one that I really enjoyed was The Living Light gallery on Prince St. They have a wonderful variety of paintings and sculptures with very different styles and techniques with one thing in common, they are all very well done. Below are a couple of my favorites by three different artists but visit their website to see more by clicking on the name.
I love the orchids in this one. The style reminds me of Van Gogh.

I strive to create the light and dimension found in this abstract piece, in my own work.

And the serene beauty and skillful painting of this work caught my attention.

Another gallery on Prince Street that I enjoy is the Red Raven Art Company. This gallery had a lot of beautiful collages, prints, and watercolors out for art walk. Some of the ones I enjoyed were:

The piece with the birds was especially enjoyable in person. I think my favorite pieces were by this artist:

I guess what I'm saying is, Lancaster may be much smaller than philly, but I almost think its art scene is just as big!