Aspens in Fall

Join us September 17th at The Shoppes on 4th and Cherry for a Sip and Paint class.  We will be painting a little bit of Colorado that Mary Ann brought back to us from her trip out West.

                Call the shoppes to sign up for an evening of fun creativity with your friends.  468-4426

Greetings from Colorado!

 Due to technical difficulties out of my control,  this is my first post since arriving at Wuanita Hot Springs Ranch.  It is so beautiful here and I wish you all could be with me.  I have been busy painting oils and watercolors along with teaching lots of children and adults painting.  These three pieces below are just a couple of examples of paintings I've done and the middle one is a photo of the scenery outside the lodge.  The dog is the ranch owner's and his name is Sammy.  The horse painting is of some of the horses that are let go from a campsite to take themselves home to the ranch.

Wuanita Hot Springs Ranch is one beautiful place. I have done about six paintings in two days so you know there has to be lots of inspiration for an artist. There may not be photos along with this post but I will work on ironing out the kinks.

Poodles

Poodles was the theme in this 50's Graceland bathroom.  Just too cool not to post.

Graceland

Graceland was really very pretty.  Much more than I expected.  The interiors were a step back in time from the 50's to the 70's.

These Boots Were Made for Walking!

I'm starting my cross-country trip to Colorado this week.  My house sitter and alarm are in place and my art supplies are packed!  I hope you will follow me through this art journey to Wuanita Hot Springs Ranch where I will be leading painting lessons with the ranch guests and hopefully creating my own Western themed watercolor and oil paintings.  I am going to try and post a comment and photo each day.  Wish me luck!

Mary Ann

Art Locker Project

I came across a tall and narrow set of school lockers at Livi and Company in Albany.  The price was too good to resist so I loaded it into my car and drove that sucker home!  I don't have time right now to spray paint it and I'm not sure I want to.  I did decorate it with magnets, some made out of vintage watercolor paint boxes.  Each door is labeled with the art supplies it holds.  It is definitely a work in progress.

Artist's Mecca

Sennelier makes some of the world's best pastels.  Their shop is in Paris and I was lucky enough to visit and shop.  I snapped a photo at dusk of a couple walking by in the rain.  This pastel painting is not quite finished but I wanted to share it.

Cowpokes to Come

This summer will be devoted to Western themed artworks of mine and students.  I'm posting one I painted a few years ago that's called, "Cowboy Wannabes".

Flash Card Art

A friend gave to me a box of old elementary flash cards.  I have racked my brain thinking of something creative to do with them.  Being made of card stock, they are stiff enough to take watercolor paint.  I doodled some paisley designs on them and painted over with a very thin brush of watercolor paints.  Certain words can make pretty strong statements.  Enjoy!

James Rizzi Inspired Portraits

My youngest art students completed these paintings of queens and kings and I was able to snap this photo of them before they took off with the finished works.  The expressions on the paintings are so funny and priceless.  Enjoy!

Garden Signs

I recently created some garden signs with quotes and wanted to share them with you.  I found blocks of distressed wood and painted them with acrylic paint.  So they cost almost nothing to craft.  The first one says, "Chin Up Buttercup, Everything's Gonna Be Alright!"  The other signs have a clip attached.  Twelve index cards with the month of the year printed on each one are clipped to the sign.  You can record what you planted each month or what things need to be done in your garden each month.  

Corks and Canvases for March

This month my talented groups in Ocilla and Fitzgerald will tackle landscape painting.  Here is our inspiration piece that we will paint in acrylics.

"Paint Box Collage"

If you have never been to Scott's Antique Market in Atlanta you are really missing a fun adventure.  I went in search of vintage children's paint boxes and found two for a good price.  I used one in this collage.  It's great to try and come up with a way to use your artwork outside of just making a framed painting.  

"Flower Power"

I just finished this acrylic as the subject for my next "Sip and Paint" classes in Ocilla and Fitzgerald.  The people that come to these sessions are so much fun to paint with!  The colors in this piece are very vivid and I think the zinnias will make great subject matter.

"Ethan and Grandmama"

These two are having a good time at the beach!  Grandmama is Linda, an art student of mine.  She paints some beautiful watercolors!  

"Napa Rest Stop"

This large oil is a commission piece for a client who hopes to revisit her favorite California site with her husband.  Their wish is to go bike riding through the Napa Valley.  I hope this piece inspires them to soon take that trip!

Tea for Three Exhibit

Thanks to all friends and family who came to the opening of my three person show with Vincent and Anthony.  The exhibit will be up until March 21st at the Museum of Agriculture at the Agrirama in Tifton.