Succulent Saturday - Art Opens!

This was a gallery weekend!

Friday night, a few friends and I went to Roq la Rue for the Travis Louie exhibit (he is so one of my favorite painters).

The gallery was crowded with fans and ardent viewers -

Some of the attendees were nearly as interesting as the paintings themselves. :-)

(Found this amusing - this woman with LOTS of hair photographing the hair painting)

Got to *meet* and chat with Mr. Louie himself! (He is charming and personable).

Here - he is personalizing my book, and I am getting his contact info. Hopefully he can come teach for TLCWorkshops in the future? (I would so *love* that!)

Here is my fabulous personalization!

(Oh, and I picked up a copy of the most recent Hi-Fructose - it has a whole Marco Mazzoni sketchbook insert in it! Oh, the awesome!)

Tonight, I got to see RK Post's exhibit at Krab Jab Studio.

Here is the contemplatively debonair Mr. Post himself.... (sadly, his pug had already gone home).

Krab Jab has other art, from previous shows, also up for sale (my faery piece is there in the lower right corner).

(These patrons approve of this exhibit!)

Figure Friday - The Curse of Baba Yaga....

Awhile back I posted some Work In Progress shots of my painting of Baba Yaga....  Since then I have entered her into a local juried show for artEAST (the poster is at the end of this post) and she charmed her way into an acceptance.

This means she needs to be framed - so she was taken to a local place to pick out one, plus matts, etc.. After much deliberation, I did so, ordered and purchased. And waited.... Finally called since I hadn't heard anything and the matts were ready. Went in to pick them up, and the order was wrong. I think Baba Yaga is cursing this project. They cut new ones for me and assembled it for me in penance. I went to pick it up today -

- and as soon as she was home and unwrapped, she fell and broke the corner of the brand new frame. of course. She has to be ready to turn in to the gallery by Monday, so the husband got creative and figured out a way to brace it while the glue dries....

And clever wordsmith friend, The Laundry Fairy, has already written an aria about the suspect saga:

  (tune: "Hotel California")

Welcome to the Curse of Baba Yaga
Such an ugly name
In a broken frame
...Broken the frame with the Curse of Baba Yaga
Not a nice surprise
Get the angle vise.

We'll see how the saga continues. If I am very lucky, she will make it to hang on the wall and not injure anyone else around her. (If you're local, you're invited to the open on March 11. If you dare.  :-).

Gallery Friday -

 Tonight, my critique group got to attend fellow-member, the lovely Michelle's, open to her gallery show.

 She had an impressive collection of paintings - big and small.

 This large one was "The Cabinet of Curiousities" (my personal favorite. Wish I had an extra $1000).

She had a wonderful variety of subject matter - from architectural landscapes from her month-long stint in Europe last year -

-to drawings of sculpture from the same trip,

to portraits, and still lifes - from her quirky collection of antique-objects-of-great-character.

(The wine-and-cheese table was decorated with some of these fabulous finds).

Here's the bulk of our POBL group - loved the show, and reveled in the after-show Thai food next door together. Critique groups are not just great - they are vital for artistic growth. And sanity. Thanks gals.

Figure Friday - Daily Pages...

Not as many pages done this week - the faces take longer, plus I had TAD design homework...

...perspective homework, critique meeting, and art gallery day....

...with cupcakes! :-) (If I get a minute, I'll try to blog about it tomorrow. Was way fun!)

Gallery Outing! (Eric Fortune & Nicoletta Ceccoli)

Today I got to meet up with a lovely art friend of mine who lives in Seattle and together we ventured off to see the current (and entirely sold out!) show at the eclectic Roq La Rue Gallery-

(Look at this fun space- Black floors and ceilings. Indian themed cut-outs. Crystal chandeliers.)

There was an entire wall devoted to new pieces by Italian illustrator Nicoletta Ceccoli. I first saw some of her work at the Bologna Children's Fair a couple of years ago. These were even more impressive.

Every piece was like a finely finely rendered pale pastel confection of fantastical imagery... They were absolutely beautiful.

In the back corner were these large breathtaking pieces by Eric Fortune.

I've seen his pieces in print and online, but that totally does not do them justice. They are so incredibly soft, textural and nuanced in person. (We spent a long time looking). His website describes his work thusly:

Packed with emotional nuances he creates soft yet riveting lighting and atmosphere. With uncompromising patience and discipline he slowly builds up his luminous characters and worlds until they radiate life.

And so what sometimes seems to be a simple image to the viewer becomes richer and richer as he or she becomes increasingly entranced by the emotional presences within the art. A true original, Fortune is emerging as a subtle yet powerful artistic voice.

All true. He shows several of these pieces in progress on his blog. The hours and painstakingly sensitive labor that go into them are immediately apparent in person.

And you can see nice, clear shots of all the pieces in this gorgeous show here.

And to top all that huge visual treat off, we indulged in a bit of the burgeoning market of gourmet cupcakes of awesomeness! Wow! I've heard about these specialty stores-of-tastebud-delight, but I've never really been a huge cupcake fan. Until now. I tried a Mexican chocolate, and a Lavender flavored mini cake. I think I may have actually swooned...

Thanks Rebecca for an completely delicious afternoon.