It's all good.

At the beginning of each year I like to set new goals for what I want to try to achieve by December 31.  Lets see which goals were set for 2010".  They were "paint more, eat less, exercise more, catch up on my house chores, organize the garage, spend more quality time with all the people that I care about and oh ya, more me time!"

Hum! Lets see... Paint more?  I did!  Eat less? Lets just say that's a work in progress.  Exercise more? Part of the year!  House chores and organize Garage?  Some.  Spend more quality time with my family?  For all but 3 months of it!  More me time?  Not so much. 

I completed 15 paintings for the year, held several classes and workshops, was involved in a few group exhibits, Won a People's Choice Award,  judged an art show, guest speaker for a couple of art groups and did the Ann Arbor Art Fair, ( for the first time), as their Featured Artist.

  I'm not going to beat myself up over what didn't transpire.  I think I'll give myself a thumbs up for what I did accomplish and Try try again for this year.  It's all good.

"Escape To Molokini"

You might remember that I was showing the development of this painting a couple of months ago as a painting in progress.  I decided not to show the finished work until after the opening of my Solo Exhibit at the Lawrence Street Gallery in Ferndale, Michigan which will end on the 27th of this month.  (See gallery web site for hours)

I'm very pleased with the outcome of this piece because its final presentation is just as I envisioned it long before the first sketches were drawn.  This painting has a less vibrant color palette than most of my other work as it reflects the calm serene nature of this creature which to me is like a friendly peaceful ambassador of the Sea.

Today is the Day!

 "Ghost Plant", above, is my newest painting.

Today is the day, or maybe I should say night of the opening of my Solo Exhibit at the Lawrence Street Gallery in Ferndale, Michigan.  I have 21 Oils on display through the 27th of this month.  Many of my Limited Edition Reproductions are also available at the Gallery. 

Please join me in celebrating the opening of my exhibit which is from 6-9pm at 22620 Woodward Ave. 

Gallery hours are Wed., Thurs., Sat.: 12-5pm & Fri,: 12-9pm

"High Society" wins Peoples Choice Award

And this years winner of the Gene Hammonds People's Choice Award is.... Tim Marsh for his Oil Painting titled, "High Society".  The crowd jumped to their feet with thunderous applause.  

Well actually the announcement was much more low key with only a few people in the room and there probably wasn't any applause either ~ but it looked great in my head!

This is my seventh People's Choice Award and my fourth time for this exhibit which was the 18th Annual Canton Fine Arts Exhibition held at the Cherry Hill Theater Gallery.  

It's great placing in an exhibit and having words like "First Place" or "Best of Show" next to your name.  There is usually money that follows closely behind these words which makes , "First" and "Best" even better!

However there is one exception.  A Peoples Choice Award.  Normally there is one Judge handing out his or her choices for the awards but a Peoples Choice Award is a vote from the viewing public.  They represent a collective voice that says we like what you do and for an artist that's a pretty awesome feeling.

So from one voice to the many that voted for my work, 
Thank you all.  

Featured in Detroit Free Press "Play" section today!

I've been lucky enough to have some really nice press coverage this year and my latest appeared today in the Detroit Free Press.  In the "Play" section of today's news is information on my up-coming solo exhibit at the Lawrence Street Gallery.  A large color photo too.  Very nice!

Hope to see you at the opening.

Painting in Progress #2

At this point I've put down just a couple of thin layers of paint to carve out or define the individual leaves and start to build dimension.  This stage of a painting does feel like carving to me as each element appears out of a white background. Check back to see the finished painting!

Painting in Progress #1 "Succulents"

In a post from August 31st I introduced the photograph of succulents that I'd been wanting to do for a while.  I thought it would be a good example of how I build a painting.  In this first photo you can see how I sketched out the image first.  I then selected three colors of oil paint and began to lightly lay in some color. This stage is really like a color sketch.  Doing it this way gives me a feel for the end result.  The original image from my mind is just starting to emerge.

Remember to check back to see the next stage!

And The Winner is.........

Thank you to my loyal Followers who have entered my Limited Edition Print Giveaway for October. Please remember that I will give away another print after January 1st of 2011. You can't be the lucky winner if you don't enter! So having said that, The October winner is..............*Kim Ensch* Yay! Hurrah! (Cheers from the crowd). Congratulations Kim! You're the Big winner. Someday you may be able to pay off your house with this. Wishful thinking!
Just go my websites Portfolio page to choose your print.

Time to give away a print!

It is once again time to give away one of my Limited Edition Reproduction Prints. All you have to do to be eligible is ~a.) be a "follower" of my blog and ~b.) leave a comment on this post. Your comment can be about which print you like best or anything at all. It's that easy! I will draw from the "followers" that left a comment on this post only. You will have until October 3, 2010 until midnight. I will post the winner on October 4th or soon after. Good Luck!

All of my available Limited Edition Reproduction Prints can be found on my web site by going to the "portfolio" tab on the navigation bar at the top of the page.

Thank you CPSA Local Chapter 104

Thank you to Local Chapter 104 of the Colored Pencil Society Of America for inviting me as their guest speaker last Thursday September 16th at the BBAC in Bloomfield, Michigan. I had a great time and was truly inspired by their members and their high caliber of work. I was able to present awards to the chosen winners from the Colored Pencil Plus exhibit that I Judged the previous month. (Thanks for waiting!)

I was invited to lead a critique of several members work and thoroughly enjoyed our open discussion and exchange of comments and helpful hints.

Thank you all for your kind words and hospitality. It was an honor to meet and talk with all of you and be received so warmly.

Presentation at CPSA Local Chapter 104

I am pleased to have been asked to be the guest speaker for local chapter 104 of the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA) on Thursday September 16th at 7pm. My discussion will include my selections for the Colored Pencil Plus Exhibit which took place in August of this year at the Livonia City Hall Gallery. The image above, "I Set The World On Fire" by Dean Rogers was awarded First place. We will critique members work and have open discussion. Finally I will hold a drawing for one of my Limited Edition Reproduction Prints. The winner must be present so I hope to meet you there.

Please follow the link to the CPSAs Local 104 web site for location and more information about the Colored Pencil Society.

Orchid Painting up for Auction

I don't often put original paintings up for auction on eBay but I thought "what the heck" I'll try it. This painting which is simply titled "Pink Cattleya Orchids" was one of my very first paintings from 2001. It is on a 12 x 24 inch canvas and will need a frame. I don't always display it with my current work as it is painted in a more traditional style with a dark background.

If you look on my website you will see that it is priced at $400.00. I have decided to move it out of my studio and into someones home. I have put it on the eBay auction block with a starting price of $99.00 with a reserve of $150.00. If interested just follow this link to my eBay auction page to see the details and place your bid. Don't wait too long!

From start to finish

Many have asked me how I begin a painting. What do I look at or what inspires a piece? I thought I would share with you a small painting from start to finish. I've been wanting to experiment with southwest succulents on a small canvas and then eventually a larger one. The first thing I did was to go to a greenhouse that specialized in unusual plants, found the ones I liked and bought them. I then grouped and photographed them. I narrowed my selection down to about 10 photos. The photo above is the one that I've chosen and will use to create my 12 x 12 painting. This painting is not one that will have a story or more than one element reacting to one another but will simply focus on the shape, color and texture of these plants which I find interesting. Here we go!

Fan Dance

"Fan Dance" is all about the color and texture of this unique creature. As you can see there is no story going on here. I just think these Lizards are fascinating and wanted to come up with a playful way of addressing their color and texture. The reason I chose the title "Fan Dance" was not only because he is on a Fan Palm branch but because of the way a Chameleon slowly sways as it walks while being provocative to another chameleon I'm sure. This reminds me of the Burlesque Fan Dancers and thus the connection was made.

Next Workshop

Thank you to all who attended my last workshop at the Visual Arts Association of Livonia (VAAL). This was a Colored Pencil nature still life two day workshop where we put our focus on the textures of natural objects. I hope you all had as much fun as I did. I can talk nature and art all day.

My next workshop is scheduled for September 14th and 15th which is a Tuesday and Wednesday from 5pm to 9pm with VAAL at their new location at 37653 5 mile road in Livonia, Michigan. This workshop will focus on the techniques of drawing Roses with Colored Pencil. For more information please visit the VAAL website for complete class and workshop descriptions as well as registration.

My new workshops for Canton, Michigan begin in October.