A Gala Evening: Winter 2008

A challenge was handed to me: paint at a live event (for pay). I had a month or two, to think about my approach. Like anything else, you're never sure how things will turn out. On December 10, however, I was on stage in the Salem Conference Center, at this gala benefit auction for the Boys & Girls Aid Society. Beautifully adorned Christmas trees and accompanying room settings complete with toys and gifts were auctioned off; I was to paint the scene of the gala affair during dinner and the auction, which ended with the auctioning of my finished painting. I had a couple days before to set up and sketch and get a feel for my direction.
With 4-5 quick sketches it fell into place: it would be like my landscapes, with rows of tables (instead of rows of vineyards or crops) surrounded by trees. I took an actual photo too, just to put it into perspective, and did a quick color study that afternoon. Then the evening arrived and I began....
A bad photo of the room; then laying in my "rows" on a 40x40 canvas. Then I filled in tables, trees and "sky". There I am onstage, with about 500 happy diners watching. Lastly I added people, shown in the final painting at the top of this blog. The evening flew by, and before I knew it, my painting was the final Item 15 on the block. I was really pleased with the result, it turned out exactly how I hoped.

Making Art: lessons in creativity

This was my first free week after finishing up teaching a 5 week course. I will always remember where I was the night Barack Obama was elected president: I was teaching that Tuesday night with several stalwart students. We have mail-in ballots in Oregon, so no lines or rush to vote. My husband promised to text me when Barack hit the 270 mark, and my students were dying to hear when my phone kept buzzing and buzzing. So, shortly after 7pm we took a little break, i looked at my phone and, well we nearly danced a jig. It was hard to focus back to painting. But paint we did! The theme of the term was doing a series, and I'll be repeating the class, with opportunities for advanced students in Winter term. I was so impressed with these students, some beginners, some younger, some older, some returning to painting after several years of sabbatical. With their permission I took photos of their work with a promise to post at least one of each on my blog. Everyone had such wonderful, individual style. I humbly present this art, applaud the talents, and encourage them to keep "making art". Shown first at the beginning of this blog, is one of my class demos that I finished up. Some students were quite prolific, with series in birds, trees, abstract landscapes, and nonrepresentative paintings. it was a great exploration, with lots of talent. I forgot to put labels on each photo when I uploaded, so I credit Jessica for her birds and trees; Geoff for his landscape and starry night; Liz for her swirling purple creation, and so much more of hers I could have put here; Randy's balanced shapes with his wonderful colors; Maribeth's textured zenlike beauty; and LouAnn's passionate sunsets. May you all keep making art.

Settling into Serious Work

There is no end to discovery with art. That's why I teach, that's why I continue learning. This week I am going to paint with a friend who uses joint compound with acrylic paints and sands between layers. I've had a big bucket of joint compound for some time, just waiting for the right time to get in and explore with it. I am blessed with wonderful friend-artists who freely share what they know. Also getting ready for the Holiday Showcase at Salem Art Association, so that is always a challenge to create one-of-a-kind but affordable art. Just as much work goes into small pieces as large. Just as much creativity and planning but that can be replicated easily and appealing as an irresistable gift for the discriminating holiday shopper. Trying to separate art from kitsch, fine art from craft. I've adopted a quote to sign off with, which will inspire and float me for awhile until I hear the next inspiring thought to share: "Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience."
- from "Thomas Merton on Peace"

Inspiration Manifested

The investment in exploration the past few months has paid off. I have done some demonstrations at the State Fair and local gallery, and enjoyed Paint the Town in Salem area at 9 locations. Paintings are coming together, old paintings have been quickly completed and a series of new paintings has emerged. It is hard to stop! Getting ready for Open Studio Tour this weekend with a preview Friday night. Much to do, looking forward to an 80 degree weekend. Woo hoo! Have updated website and learned In-Design and got postcards ordered from 48hourprint.com. Great job, got them mailed out and distributed, a few left to drop off at key points but hey I've got 1-1/2 days left, right? Art inspiration has paid off, I can't believe how well everything is turning out. I am happy with results. I couldn't ask for more! Also I consented to teach classes starting in October in Acrylic media, doing a series of painting with aspiring and experienced artists.

A Year of Exploration and Discovery

It has been a year of facing fears and the unknown, growing and celebrating. It is fall 2008, and the warm extended summer and cool crisp nights get us nesty for winter.

Sometime last year I had a new website set up with a solid plan to have it done in 2 weeks. Well weeks turned into months and eventually I will have hit a year on October 12, 2008, with no advancement done. What have I been doing? Summer of 2007 was a banner year, sales were good, even great. I thought I would do art festivals again, having come off a successful season. But fall hit, and with it my husband's cancer returned and we slogged for 6 weeks to radiation therapy every day, Monday through Friday. He finished treatment right before Thanksgiving, neither of us having much appetite or energy, so we played it low key. His strength returned, lab tests looked great, and after having been sidelined for a few months, we hit the road in February 2008, heading for Las Vegas and Arizona to reinvigorate ourselves. We celebrated Valentine's Day with a two-day stay at a Venetian suite, shopped and dined sumptuously and then headed to see friends in Arizona, relaxing, shopping, catching up, light hiking, shopping, cooking, and even hit a flea market in bustling Kingman. Antique art shopping is always a favorite pasttime with my friend Mary.

In early April I went to a Donna Zagotta workshop with a friend, for a week in Hood River. Fabulous! The buds were wanting to pop on the pear trees, Mt. Hood towered to the southeast, and the Columbia River beckened to the north. All restaurants in Hood River seem to feature dishes and drinks made with pears. Pear dumplings (scrumptious), pear chutney, poached pears, pear wine, you name it.

In late April, I headed to Taos, New Mexico and participated in a two-week Intensive Studios Seminar, with Alex Powers, Fran Larsen, Topher Schink, Skip Lawrence, and Katherine Liu. OMG was it fabulous, and the word "Intensive" was quite appropo. It was WORK. We arrived a couple days early to get our bearings, see the Rio Grande, and explore Taos. Then it was down to work. Some have asked what techniques I learned. Well, none, it wasn't that kind of a "workshop". It was a seminar to explore one's strengths and identity. Two of the instructors said I should stick to landscapes, 1 said definitely figures, and the other two said do whatever you like. Well I like so many things, that was my struggle, to find an identity. What I came out with was, I shall do 30-40 landscapes. After that, I can move to something else if I want. Meeting with 100 other artists from around the world was amazing, all striving to improve their voice in the visual arts. I may go back again. Some have gone for 7 years or so. We stayed an extra day in Taos and took in the first art festival of the season, then off to Santa Fe for 3 days of gallery exploration and fine dining. A wonderful city, met a lot of wonderful and friendly artists.

In late May-early June, I went to San Luis Obispo, California, for a week's stay at a the Avila Beach Resort and took advantage of a Robert Burridge workshop. How fun was that! Intensive freedom! I explored new mediums and we stuck our paintings on the wall. Some of my fellow students mistook my paintings for Bob's. Bob is one heckuva teacher. There was no fear. No wrong. We had official permission slips to do anything we wanted. I bought two of Bob's original paintings from his "circus" collection as a souvenir.

Returning to Oregon, and welcoming home my son and his wife from Japan, I had decided back in February I would take the summer off from festivals and teaching. I would enjoy family, and painting. And I did. I mulled a lot. Mulled over what I had learned, discovered. I explored. I did 9 on-site plein air paintings (at least I started them) and set up tables on the deck with my festival canopy over me, and had lovely bright white light to paint under all summer long. We had company most of the summer, coming and going. I gave the gift of a "summer off" to my husband. We held onto our sanity together that way, without the pressure of creating huge bodies of work for summer festivals after traveling so much. Life is good, my husband feels great. I think I took like 3000 digital photos this summer, for inspiration and memories. I had two paintings accepted into the All-Oregon Art Annual this year (professional division), which exhibited in late August. Didn't win an award this time (as I did a couple years ago) but it was the only thing I entered this summer, with all that was going on.

So now I am looking forward to our fall studio tour. I have busted out new paints and materials and have hit a roll! I had to order new cards and restock my galleries with original paintings, prints and cards. New paintings have poured out of my soul. Rest is good. The sabbatical was successful. Invigorating, inspiring, and I'm more happy with what I'm painting than ever before.

I will update this as events warrant. I have scheduled nearly nothing else for the rest of the year, an exhibit or two in the winter, one in January. An exhibition in October, small things.

It has been a year of facing fears and the unknown, growing and celebrating. Now, I face my website with updates of new artwork! Find me at krug-art@krugart.com.