THE BLOG
Winter Watercolor Class
Yesterday it felt like spring and today winter has arrived in the valley. It is so nice to see a blanket of snow over everything. It also helps me get in the painting mood. I just want to hunker down in my studio and work on some paintings. The watercolor classes will begin January 11th so if any of you are interested in taking a watercolor class at the Bountiful Davis Art Center or you know of anyone who would be interested, join us on Wednesday mornings from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for six weeks. We will work from where you are at. We can paint away the cold winter outside and create some colorful paintings inside.
A Nice Day for an Adventure
An elementary school holds a lot of memories like the memory of running lickety split around a corner of the school at the same exact moment someone else came running around from the opposite direction. What is that scientific law that a body remains in motion unless it hits another body moving in the opposite direction and that the pain involved in each body will depend on the velocity at which they are running. There is a lot to learn in elementary school.
I remember the day my old fourth grade class turned into the library, a whole room filled with books. I found a real treasure one day snooping through a back bottom shelf. Herge’ The Adventures of Tin Tin. It was a book filled with adventure and humor. The story was told with pictures and words. I loved the pictures. An artist could become lost in the pages.
I found the books later as an adult while exploring the Salt Lake Library with my boys and brought them home to reread and introduce them to the boys. My boys loved them also. Steven Spielberg in the December 22, 2011 Parade article said, “Well, I felt like a kid when I was making it.”
We went to the movie and I felt like a kid when I was watching it. The movie captured the characters and adventures I had loved to read in that elementary school filled with memories. My husband kept looking over at me because I was chuckling through the entire movie. Spielberg did a good job of turning a graphic novel into a top notch movie and keeping the flavor of the books.
Another Concert More Sketches
The Oratorio Society of Utah presented the Messiah at Libby Gardner Hall on the University of Utah Campus. Dave’s Mom, brother, nephew, and niece all sing in the chorus so we went to the concert. They did a wonderful job. When you sketch with the music surrounding you, it affects your sketching. The singing and instruments permeate your art. Your arm and pen take on the beat of the music. Years from now when I glance at my sketch book, I’ll be able to remember the trumpet trumpeting and remember the night.
The Director
The Alto
The Bass
The Chorus
Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Last night was the Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert. There is nothing that gets you in the Christmas spirit more than the concert. You find a park and walk down the street in the brisk night air. The Christmas lights greet you on every tree. The closer you get to the conference center, the larger the crowds get. There is an excitement in the air as you get in line to enter at one of the doors. There are bells beeping as machines read your ticket and you are ushered into the hall and directed to the down escalator and then enter the grand expanse of the hall.
The music was grand. Nathan Gunn has a great voice and sang a fun mix of songs. Jane Seymour did a good job narrating the Christmas Story and the Tabernacle Choir sang beautifully. I love to take my sketch book to concerts and try to capture the performers. They are constantly moving so you can capture some of there personality and some of their features. Nathan Gunn had expressive eyebrows and dimples that revealed themselves as he smiled. Here is how the sketch of Nathan Gunn turned out. It feels like Christmas now, only eight days left.
Western Federation of Watercolor Societies
Inspiration for the painting “Driving Durango” came from a family vacation to Durango, Colorado. I was so excited to get the call that my watercolor painting, has made it into the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies 2012 Exhibition. It will be held at Las Vegas April 13 through May 19th.
Western Fed is composed of eleven watercolor societies including Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, West Texas, Idaho, New Mexico, South Western (Dallas & Ft. Worth). You have to be juried into one of their shows, four different times in order to make signature status. “Driving Durango” will be my third painting to make it into the juried show. It will be exciting to go down to Las Vegas and see the show and great to be one of the artists to represent Utah.
Self-portrait
One of these pictures is of a rock scrunt from Nathan’s novel and the other is a self-portrait. You can decide which is which. They sent emails to the winners of the American Artist Cover Contest. No email for me. There were some great entries. It will be interesting to see the winners.
