Show Time! Featured Artist Display in Redlands, California

As I type this in Spokane, WA my featured artist display of paintings and photographs is going up at the Redlands Art Association Gallery in Redlands, CA.

I still consider Redlands as "home," even though I moved up to Washington state in 2003. I lived in Birch Bay until 2011, when I moved to Spokane where I've been now for almost three years. Oh my! Has it really been that long, and my sister Mel Slater still puts up with me? Bless her and her roof over our heads!

The Featured Artist Show: I've been a member of the Redlands Art Association for over 30 years, and volunteered while I lived there in a number of capacities such as gallery manager, put together the newsletter, librarian, board of directors, workshop instructor, et cetera. A lot of time and effort was poured into that community art organization, just ask my sons!

With that background, I was tickled pink to be able to provide artwork for this featured artist display back in my hometown. Since I cannot be there, one of my other sisters, Sandy Davies, accepted the responsibility to mount the work for me.

The logistics have been a little different. The cost of shipping framed artwork to another part of the country would have been beyond my fixed income budget. Ever one to adapt, all of my paintings in this show are under 11" x 14" as are also the matted photographs. Nothing is framed. I kept to this size restriction so I could pack EVERYTHING in Medium Flat Rate USPS boxes. I'm told everything arrived in good order and Sandy is now using little metal clips to hang the artwork in a professional, albeit alternative, manner.

I'm thrilled that my friends and acquaintances who are interested can see what work I'm currently creating! I've already sold one of the paintings in the show and am thrilled about it!

I'm uploading photos of the paintings with this blog entry. Hope it all displays well for those of you who are interested and not able to make it to Redlands.

My show runs from April 19th to May 9th at Redlands Art Association Gallery at 215 E. State Street, Redlands CA. Their phone number is (909) 792-8435 where you can call about prices, and you can access their website www.redlandsartassociation.org  for hours and other information about the benefits and services they provide the community of Redlands and environs.

Birch 11 x 14 acrylic

Blossoms 11 x 14 acrylic

Amalie  9 x 12 acrylic

Blush of Morning 11 x 14 acrylic

Eucalyptus 9 x 12 acrylic

Daffodils in Blue 11 x 14 acrylic

Dusk Along Coast 11 x 14 acrylic

Mokume Gane 11 x 14 acrylic

Moonlit Geraniums 8 x 10 Acrylic/Colored Pencil

Night Wind 9 x 12 acrylic

Outside In 11 x 14 acrylic

Silhouette 8 x 10 acrylic/pencil

Stuck With a Way Out 9 x 12 acrylic/graphite
(This painting is already sold)

Du Jour 9

Day 9 and I'm almost a third of the way through my September painting challenge. I've more scribbles for today's painting in pink and yellow. I enjoy connecting the dots ... is it as simple as this, as metaphor? Hmmm, just thought of this. Interesting. I'll give that more thought another day. As well as the lines connecting, I like the open spaces relative to the connections. I think, too, the lines keep the viewer's eye moving and I like that movement in the painting.

So, here be it:

I've been matting and framing some small scale photographs to ship down to Redlands, CA for a show take-in on the 20th of this month. There is a theme: Redlands Celebration. I've tinkered with some of my original photographs so that they look like serigraphs. I'll upload those photographs tomorrow, along with the painting of the day.

Du Jour 4

Yesterday I enjoyed playing with the circles in yellow, but in today's exercise painting, I went a little further with drawn lines into the oil medium. It seems contrived, but I like all the squiggly lines. Perhaps I can play more with them so they appear more organic and less deliberate, if you know what I mean.

I'm feel a bit constrained working within this small 5" x 7" format, but I think it's a good discipline lesson. I'll stay with it for the time being.

As I worked in the colors and the ovals, I was reminded of the work of Gill Daft, an acrylic painter in Redlands, CA. At one time I collected a number of his large acrylic paintings. Many of his paintings incorporated large ovals, bright colors. I haven't thought about his work in many a year. Nice to think of him again.


If not familiar with my Etsy store with my original photographic images, I suggest you check out www.kweststudio8.etsy.com. Let me know what you think!

Du Jour 3

I had fun trying something a little different today. I started out using the same medium as yesterday, Shiva Artist's Paintstik, but I also wiped some of it off, and then went back in with a black colored pencil and a silver colored pencil and drew some connected circles or ovals shapes. I liked the change in the surface when I wiped off some of the paint. It seemed to open up the little format.

I didn't have any reference for this painting, just followed an inner prompt and then stopped. However, once I started I remembered seeing some mobiles in a gallery down in Southern California and was intrigued with their balance and symmetry. So I just played with that idea.

Another day, another painting "finished."