Pleine Air Festival

I confess, The competition itself was nerve-wracking. And it was hard to find subjects when everything was so manicured. I tried a study in orange and then froze. Jim got after me and gave a lecture about "thumbnail sketches." (He was just as grumpy as Mr. Folland ever was.) So in desparation I called my dear friend Mary McBride (at 6 am) and asked if she had any kids she would let skip out on school. The result was a fun day in the children's garden for Simone and Peter. We took a ton of pictures and truly they were so cute, even Sandra Rast of Deseret Book fame,

joined in and took some pictures of them. I painted all day and night, cropped a wet painting, framed them and drove in a frenzy to the water tower. And was pleasantly surprised to see Sandra Rast of DB fame, had also painted our adorables. She got the fun one, where the kids were feeding the Koi fish. (The Koi fish that Todd Orchard painted. and traded to me. teehe.)

The Daily Universe Highlights my Quick Draw.

The quick draw was completely nerve wracking; But all in all the festival was a great success , partially because I sold 13 paintings, but especially because I went home with so many incredible paintings! Todd Orchard did a trade with me, and Brigitte Bize who won an honorable mention, traded me her Sunflowers for a painting of a shady lane in Kamas, which I will miss, but am thrilled to have begun my own collection. I will try to post a picture of them both. I am still ironing out a trade with my choice for Best of Show- Bruce Martin. Meanwhile I should announce that Dana Robb won a free drawing, and is currently chewing over what she should ask me draw.

And surprise surprise, I ended up with this picture documenting the whole event in an article in the Daily Universe.

Thanksgiving Point Peine Aire Festival

After three days of crash painting in the visual sugar bowl that is Thanksgiving Point, we submitted our paintings and are waiting for the judge's results. I painted in the quick draw competition, and gained a fan-- and eleven year old conesuer, Jonah, who held my pallete, loaded my pen with ink, and gave the initial squirt from the squirtbottle. He was the cutest little guy who dubbed me, " The Quill Artist." Hmm. I can live with that.

Any way here are a few pictures from the beginning of the week-- My subjects for the competition. If you want to see how they turn out, I guess you'll have to come to the show. One of the other Artist Sandra Rast, piggy backed on our set up with Simone and Peter. I suppose we will see those two on the wall at DB sometime soon.

We had a fabulous 2 days painting at Sallie's house, especially climaxing with a visit to Gary Smith's Studio. I want to bite something just saying that.He invited us to come to the plein aire festival at Thanksgiving Point. Apparently he has some hand in pulling it together. He showed us his current Plein aire paintings so rich with Pallet work. I asked him about his furrowed fields; So unique! He said it came from his ancestor paintings, with the ancestors slowly disappearing. But he pulled out paintings before they disappeared, the humans were so suggestive, almost cubist/impressionist! His colors are so vibrant and transition so well. Amazing. I asked him about the Joseph Smith Work and he pulled out a recent portrait made from the Community of Christ photo, and he apparently had worked with Ron Rommig to do the painting. :) But I really meant the red Carthage paintings, and so he pulled that portfolio out and told me BYU studies had just put it on their cover, I said, "that was my husband!" and the fun part was Gary remembered him! Then he brought out the unprinted pieces in the series, and it was so beautiful with lost and found edges, and so much like the forensics one I had tried to paint (and failed,) and I couldn't help crying but felt pretty good about my goal not to sob, (but failed.) To which he said, well if you are going to cry over it, I'll give you one of these, and he passes out prints to everyone in the room, of his sketch of the martyrdom painting. SWEET SWEET MAN!