The Southeastern Pastel Society 2009 Members' Exhibition

These two pieces recently won Third Place and Honorable Mention at the 2009 Southeastern Pastel Society Exhibition, currently hanging at the Lyndon House Art Center in Athens, GA. Go see it if you get the chance. Click on title to be linked to exhibition info.





















I am sitting here with a cast on my left arm from hand to elbow. I fell off my husband's bicycle. Right on our driveway. Hadn't even taken it out for a trial run. Was barely moving, just couldn't reach the pedals or get up on the seat fully, pulled on the brakes and crashed (somewhat similar to the old 'Laugh-In' skit of a person on a bike falling over sideways). I look like I've been in a car wreck with enormous bruises all over my left leg. Because I'm so embarrassed at the stupidity of my actions, I'm racking my brain for an impressive reason for my current situation. I'm thinking of telling people I fell off my horse while playing polo with Charles and Camilla.

A free 5x7 (of my choosing) to anybody who comes up with what I think is the best story. Click Comments below to add your story.

You must see my sister on this AirTran commercial.

My sister, Catherine, is an actress. Click the title "You must see my sister on this AirTran commercial." above to see the video. Catherine is wearing the maroon jacket.

NUDE ON WHITE CHAIR, sold

PINK SASH

PEARL EARRINGS, sold

MEG IN BLACK, sold

MEG IN BLACK is a 4x5 pastel on LaCarte Pastel Paper. Framed in an 11x14 simple black frame. Bidding begins at $100.00.

THE COMPACT, sold

NUDE ON FLOWERED ROBE, sold

NUDE ON FLOWERED ROBE is an original framed 4"x5" pastel on Sennellier LaCarte Pastel Paper. 11x14 Frame is black, simple 1 inch molding. It's another from the Denver show.

MEG'S NECKLACE, sold

MEG'S NECKLACE is a 4x5 pastel on LaCarte Pastel Paper. Framed in an 11x14 simple black frame. Bidding begins at $100.00.








I'm uploading the remaining pieces from my show in Denver. People were not in a buying mood that weekend, so I have a few pieces left. Keep an eye on my ebay store; you'll see some more pieces not shown here.

ANNETTE AT THE WINDOW II, sold

ANNETTE AT THE WINDOW II is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.00 (and much to my chagrin, usually sells for that much. You don't know what a bargain this is).





So this is how this piece came about. I was teaching a small group of women in Chattanooga. We rented an empty store, which contained the remnants of the previous retailer: a couple of beautiful upholstered chairs, shelving creatively draped with fabric. Other than that, the room was virtually empty. We put Annette in front of the shelves, moved the chair around until we liked it, put a spotlight on Annette, and that's what you see now. Annette is not really at a window. She's facing a wall.

In the past, I've had prospective customers say, "Tell me about this painting. What's going on here?" I tell them the real story (like the one I just told you); I see their faces drop. I can see they had something wonderful in their heads already, and I just blew the sale. So nowadays, when I'm asked that question, I say, "The story is for you to make up."

And I just put my quotation mark after the period.

WOMAN IN CHAIR

WOMAN IN CHAIR is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord.












I know. You're wondering where I come up with such creative titles. Believe me, it isn't easy. Here's my thought process:

Hmmmmmm. What should I call this one? How about Annette in a chair. No. Too many Annettes already. And it's boring. Maybe if I say it in French, it'll sound better. No. I don't speak French. I could look the translation up online. No. That would seem so pretentious and everybody would know what I did. Maybe I should say something about the room. Hmmmmm. What? Maybe "Abstract Study in Brown, Blue, Orange"...Fuhgettaboutit. It's a woman in a chair.

And maybe my next one will be "Woman in a Chair II".

And for you purists, who are thinking, "That quotation mark should be after the period," I know. It just always looks funny to me. So I broke the rule. I have a great web site for you:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Correct-Spelling-Punctuation-and-Apostrophe-Use/74280614587?ref=nf

ANNETTE IN RED II, sold

"ANNETTE IN RED II" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.00.







This is Annette again, model from my last Chattanooga workshop.

In case anybody's been wondering where I've been, two weeks ago I was teaching a 3 day workshop at the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn, a bed and breakfast in the Hudson Valley, upstate New York. The owners, Mark and Kim LaPolla, were lovely hosts--he's a chef and we dined royally each night. They have an art studio in the carriage house, and enough rooms to accommodate 19 people. It was lush and green up there after weeks of rain. Made me very jealous to leave what should have been a lush a green place in the south and find it lusher and greener way up north. Gardens were glorious.

I left there, flew out to Denver for the Cherry Creek Art Festival, where my husband was waiting for me at the airport. He had driven my van from Atlanta, loaded with my art and booth. Denver was also beautiful and green, gardens at their prime. We had heavy rain that weekend, something that's not a little daunting during an art festival. We got to visit with an old friend from my adolescence; we were little hoydens way back then, terrorizing our neighborhood and Lenox Square in the mid 1960's. Nydia's now retiring from a teaching career and heading to California with her husband to be closer to their daughter. I know it's hard to believe, but she hasn't changed a bit since she was 13.



Then from Denver we drove to Tularosa, New Mexico, where the skies reminded me of NC Wyeth illustrations (may I bore you with photos?), to visit another old friend from my high school days. DJ and her husband took us one evening to their cabin in the mountains; on our way home that night we passed a herd of elk, grazing by the road. There had to have been 40 of them. We stopped the car, with the headlights pointed at them so we could see them, and watched for a good 5 minutes. It was magical.













But I must say that one of the more memorable moments of our trip was the visit to the world's largest pistachio. And here's a photo to prove it.













Just in case you've ever wondered what a pistachio looks like on a tree. I always did.
















As beautiful as it all was, it's good to be home. I may try to do some paintings of the beautiful western skies. Though I know there's nothing to compare with the original.