Vale Show!

Happy Monday!  It was a busy couple of weeks with the ValeArts Spring Show last weekend!  I had a really great time at the show and got a chance to meet a lot of people who came through the door looking for great art.  

The group is incredible at maximizing the space available at the Vale Schoolhouse, with art on walls, flats, bins, and tables.  Above you can see a new palette knife piece I recently finished of a ballerina hanging on the wall while a woman looks at bin pieces available by artist Jenna Klimchak.  The artists place pieces throughout the room to keep it interesting.

Above is the artists' table, where members of the group put out information about themselves as well as portfolios of their work and small original pieces available.

The reproduction room greets you as you enter the schoolhouse.  On the walls are original works of art and on the tables are reproductions in the form of prints and note cards.

Overall it was a wonderful show and while it's a whirlwind weekend from set up to break down, it was really wonderful!

This Weekend! Vale Arts Show THIS Friday-Sunday!

Happy Monday Everyone!  Don't forget to come on over to the Vale Schoolhouse this weekend!  There will be fantastic original art as well as prints and note cards from nine fabulous artists (if I do say so myself :-P).

Doors are open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., with the opening reception being held Friday from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

As always, it is free and open to the public, so come on down!  There is a kids craft table outside and plenty of fun to be had.  Hope to see you there!!!!

ValeArts Spring Show & Sale

Vale Schoolhouse

Corner of Fox Mill Road and Vale Road

Oakton, Virginia

 Hope to see you there!

Fun with Winnie the Pooh!

Well I just wrapped up a really fun project, a Winnie the Pooh mural for a twins nursery in Maryland.  If you haven't seen much of my other mural work, it's because I really don't paint walls very often since I'm an oil painter by trade.  That said, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to paint this large scale mural.  It scales three walls, with the name of each baby on the fourth wall over their cribs.

We decided on a classic Pooh theme, and connected the three walls to make it feel like one large scene with the oak tree in the middle.  Above you can see Pooh being pulled out of Rabbit's House.

Here is a close up of the scene!

On the far wall, Roo hangs out with some butterflies.  Like most commissions, it was really fun, and painting that large was a great challenge, in addition to painting in acrylic as opposed to oil.  Acrylic dries very fast, so shading can be really tough sometimes.  I'm used to putting paint on canvas and being able to play with it for days!

So what do you think?!  I would love to hear it!

Hope everyone is having a great week and enjoying this gorgeous weather!  Ahhhhh I breathe a sigh of relief when I see the first Spring blossoms!!!!

Quick Fix! The Dreaded Dented Canvas

Photo Courtesy of Laptopstolullabies.com

Whether you are a professional artist, hobby artist, or art lover, you may have encountered the absolute dreaded canvas "dent," when a stretched canvas is inadvertently rested on something that creates pressure on a particular part of the canvas, creating a bubble or dent in the canvas like in the picture above.  This may have happened to you as an artist, or even as an art owner, moving art around for hanging.  So now what?  A ruined canvas?  Not necessarily!

Simply take a very damp paper towel or sponge, and wet the back of the dented part of the canvas (not the front!!!!).  Make sure that the dented part is wet, although don't feel the need to totally soak it.  A spray bottle of water also works well in this case.  After you dampen the affected area, simply place in front of a sunny window and the fibers will naturally tighten and in most cases, the dent will disappear. In some cases, there may still be a slight ripple, which can be removed by simply re-stretching that part of the canvas (a frame store can also do this for you if you aren't experienced in stretching).

Voila!  This works for both linen and cotton canvas, so have no fear, a solution is here!

Did it work for you?  Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!

Mark Your Calendars! Vale Arts Spring Show April 24th-26th

Recently I had the honor of becoming the newest member of Vale Arts, a group of artists that shows twice a year at the Vale Schoolhouse in Oakton, Virginia.  Being selected was an unexpected and wonderful surprise, and is a great motivation to keep at the easel as the first show of the year is coming up, April 24th-26th!

The show is located at the Vale Schoolhouse, a one room historical site built in 1888, and features original art from ten artists.  

Here are the details below, check it out!  As always, admission is free and children are welcome!

Where: Vale Schoolhouse 

3124 Fox Mill Road, Oakton, Virginia 

(Corner of Fox Mill Road and Vale Road)

When:  Friday, April 24th, Saturday, April 25th, & Sunday, April 26th

Hours:  Friday, April 24th: 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Saturday, April 25th & Sunday, April 26th: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Opening Reception: Friday, April  24th, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. - Food & Drinks Provided!

Hope you are loving this gorgeous weather, I know I am!  Sixty-five and sunny today?!  Yes please!  Hope you have a great Monday and an even better week ahead!

Time Lapse!

Yesterday, I think Spring may have finally sprung as it was 60 degrees.  It was so balmy I left my jacket behind and basked in the lovely warm weather.  The snow is starting to melt and I feel very happy to have it warm again.  As much as I love DC, sometimes I'm not sure why I don't just live in the Caribbean!

When I created my most recent piece of Georgetown, I had a lot of fun playing around with time lapse photography to capture the painting.  There were several gaps and I'm still working on the best angle to capture painting in the future, but it was really fun!  Check out the link below!

Morning in Georgetown

Morning in Georgetown, 32"x48" oil on canvas

Happy March!  How is it March already?!  The past two months feel like they have been a whirlwind! Recently, I had the opportunity to create a scene of Georgetown and the Key Bridge for a family who lives and works in DC.  This was certainly a large painting (four feet wide!) and right up my alley since I love love love painting large scale pieces almost as much as I love painting Georgetown in general.  Having gone to graduate school there and living in Virginia at the time, I used to walk across the Key Bridge almost every day (except when it was pouring, then I'd take the "GUTS" bus), and it helped to clear my head after a day of learning!

The piece hanging on the wall!  Lovely!

I framed the piece for the family and helped to hang it...above you can see the end result!  They were so wonderful to work with and I love the location...right over the sofa in the family room and next to a painting with a complementary vibrant palette.  Love it!

It was a big week of commissions as I delivered an embellished giclee of "Capitol Glow."  I framed this one as well (although I can't take any credit for the great taste in selecting a perfect frame for both of the pieces above!), and I love the way it hangs in the formal living room between the windows.  It is also a 32"x48".  Just goes to show how a large piece doesn't necessarily need a lot of space on either side of it to fit perfectly and look spectacular!

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday and staying warm.  It's about 40 here today and somehow it feels very balmy.  I guess that's what happens when you've been living in a snow globe for the past month!