There has been a hot wind today, locusts singing carried in with the staccato of chickadee off in the arbor vita, the ceiling  fan whirs and I can see clouds of grey on the western horizon, along with veils of new spiderwebs in the corners of the windows and walls of the farm house. Waiting for people to arrive to see Door PRize for Portraits and  connecting with the locals, that is what I have spent today doing.  I am also looking at a few paintings laying on the floor, drying,  I am trying to decide what needs to be done.

A SAMPLER OF THE DOOR PRIZE FOR PORTRAITS EXHIBIT

One of my favorites for this event was this painting by Emmett Johns,  friend and well known Wisconsin writer, Door County favorite Norb Blei

Graeme Reid of the Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend WI, reviewing his notes as he announced the Door Prize for Portraiture Best in Show

Portions of the party going on outside and in. 

Liz Maltman did this portrait of her friend Lynn Gilchrist

The party outside, includes Stephanie Trenchard and Karen De Noto and inside, Karen Overbeck and Paula with others unidentified. There were about 60-90 people in attendance.   The portrait above is titled THE HAT, by Chicago artist Ken Klopack.

BEST IN SHOW, ELENA, by Archelle "Buttons" Wolst

Archelle "Buttons "Wolst enjoying her win

                               Honorable Mention winner Mark Zelten of Green Bay celebrates after awards.

Me with Graeme Reid, artist Paula Swayden -Grebel of Plymouth WI and Craig Blietz, artist, of Door County.

When the night was nearly over, Suzanne caught us, the host and hostess winding down for the evening in the coolness of it all.

 Honorable Mention was given to Suzanne Rose for her portrait of daughter Delilah titled DEAR ONE.
my apologies for the reflection in the image

Door Prize for Portraiture third Annual Invitational Exhibition

DOOR PRIZE FOR PORTRAITURE  THIRD ANNUAL INVITATIONAL EXHIBITION
June 29-July 29 2012

This exhibit opened at my art space/studio/gallery/farmhouse on the evening of June 28, one of the hottest days of the month and we have no a/c. Worried about labels curling off the wall, people fainting from heat, food going bad from sitting out too long, I had a lot on my mind for a few hours. One thing I did not have to concern myself with - the show. It went up like a dream, 21 works from artists who I have known for some time, witnessing their growth and  efforts at meeting new challenges, some of the people in this exhibit are very old friends, some are new. All of them are talented individuals who Steve and I wanted to honor. I get to play out my fantasy curator-ship and since we seldom entertain, the evening is our once a year bash for friends and artists.  I  felt looked like I stepped out of the shower,  the heat/humidity index was brutal while we were greeting guests, maybe 70-90 people arrived and filled the airy space with lots of talk, renewals  after a long season away, several confessed that this event, still in it's infancy really, is one of their favorite art events of the season. Steve poured wine outside, tables set up and plenty of soda, water, raspberry tea and inside, tables piled high with some delish  delights from Top Shelf Catering and Town Hall Bakery, my catering friend Linda Hegner and some new friends including an artist named Arnie who has a gallery up by Ellison Bay. 21 artists responded to our invitation last fall, to submit a portrait. Included  were some returning artists and some newbies; Sharon Auberle, Cal Bonnivier, Lori Beringer, Julia Van Roo Bresnahan,  Emmet Johns, Lynn Gilchrist, Liz Maltman, Rick Risch, Archelle Buttons WOlst, Tudy Ekman, Cynthia Wolfe, Mark Zelten, Randy Rasmussen, Shelby Keefe, Mary Ulm Mayhew, Stephanie Trenchard, Sarah Bradley, Tim Nyberg, Ken Klopack  Suzanne Rose and myself.  Winners were Archell "Buttons" Wolst for her portrait ELENA, and honorable mentions went to Mark Zelten for GIRL IN VIOLET SILK and Suzanne Rose for her photograph DEAR ONE.  Graeme Reid, Assistant Director of the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, WI was the awards  judge. He presented the standing room only crowd with his observations and commentary on the overall   quality of the show, describing his job as difficult, because the 21 artists presented their best work, the show was the creme de la creme. When awards were announced there was audible joy in the house,  and it was the moment that I had been working towards,  the moment when I can sit down and share a glass of wine, take my shoes off eventually, and savor the friendships, the talent and the beauty that surrounds me .

 YEAH, I got in the Hardy this year. I always tell myself its ok if I do not get into a juried show, its subjective, to appease a group of unknowns, who gather to determine the selection of an exhibit. Are we juried for our best efforts, or juried for the overall effect of the collective whole, the standard of the work may be pushed  higher if there are one or two works that carry the mark of excellence. I entered a small piece this year, having entered a large chicken painting last year, which was rejected from the Hardy Wall to Wall Salon. This year, my January Gray City View of Manitowoc made the cut. I am pleased to be included in this annual exhibit at the Francis Hardy Gallery - the painting was a brief exercise in studying the city view and skyline and the painting said I'M DONE after a quick 90 minutes. Knowing when to walk away is important I guess. Still I see other work that embodies the hours of devotional work which many  have presented, and I am humbled by the talent and discipline I see in their work.  Thank you Hardy Gallery.

TRALA ITS MAY

Well this blog page has a new look and its time to negotiate another learning curve. ah well. I have two paintings ready to go to framer and then to possible exhibits, one at the Hardy, their annual juried  floor to ceiling show, (has it been a year?) and the Ridges exhibit which is in late June through July, early August. I was not happy with my studies for the Ridges, but finally sat down and got out a painting of the range light station, the local icon, beacon of light,  in Baileys Harbor, as portrayed above. The day I went with my gear it was sunny but chilly, then I did some photos there a few weeks later and this painting is a result of several visits, 2 small studies and a photo image on the lap top,  I was happy with the light in this, shadows were long and dark. Reading the Ridges exhibit  will be at the Door Community Auditorium and will feature area artists invited to submit their impressions, at the Link Gallery opening on July 1 with a special reception. I was in this exhibit a few years ago when I did a painting of networked tree branches and a winter wren, this painting is quite different from the Winter Wren. I do not define myself as a landscape artist or a plein air painter, but these labels apply within a larger definition of my inquiring eye.

ANTICIPATING SUMMER

Its April, hmmm, looks like May but feels like March right now, on the lake side of the peninsula. The flocks of swans have come and gone, and each morning I step outside, walk with the dog to the shore of Kangaroo Lake and have a look at what might be going on there, a small gathering of divers, the bufflehead merganser types. I wonder if they'll stick around. Also, I am wondering why I haven't been a more regular blogger lately. I finished painting my gray frozen views of ice and snow, then in mid March buds started to swell on the lilac bushes, temperatures lured me outside, I went to the Ridges to paint the Range Light Station; I have been asked to be in an exhibit this summer called Reading the Ridges, which is a repeat of an exhibit they did at a space in the Gibraltar School Auditorium gallery space called The Link 2 years ago - I spent months preparing for it. This year I have spent months thinking about it and not doing much painting, so off to the Ridges I went again last week with my camera and last month, with my 6"x 8" pochade and folding chair, a warm day in March. So far I have two studies done, but keep thinking of entering older work that references the forest floor pathways i painted a year ago. I know others who go out with their gear all the time, painting in cold, in fog, in wind, I can't do that. I am happy if I can just pull up the side of the road and look at the view, let alone pack in gear to some off the road spot that might hold a treasure, but I just can't get to it because I am feeling some pain and weakening in the knees and hip joints, it is becoming harder to do the things I wanted to do at this stage of my life, but I got out and I walked, I shot images, I painted images, I went back home a few hours later feeling righteous and full of purpose, than I got achey and low. Now the sun is out again after a few days of gray and rain, wind and fog. I have had enough of that stuff, I want flowers and color and I want to feel myself walk without wincing, there are meds for that, but I am noticing that I don't think about it if I am looking at a canvas, sitting there painting what is in front of me- bring on spring and warmer weather, bring on the flies and mozzies and give me my bottle of Aleve and I will be there ready to fulfill my obligations, and hopefully have a painting I liked doing, for Reading the Ridges exhibit this summer, and the Land trust exhibit this fall at the Miller Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay, and while I am at it, I should do a portrait for my upcoming Door Prize for Portraits opening at my place Chez Cheryl Art Space in late June. There is a lot going on this summer, Door Prize for Portraits, Art by Diane Foster from west central Iowa,in August, and in September I have two workshops I am offering with artist instructor Emmett Johns, doing plein air painting for three days, followed by Chicago artist Ken Klopack, for three days painting the interior, exploring the figure in the interior space. There is also the garden to tend, and the chickens to feed and the dog to walk, the lake calls to us to put the canoe in- the county starts to fill up with seasonal tourists and residence and summer workers. Chez Cheryl Art Space will be open and ready for it's close-up.

January Grey

Today is Australia Day, and for the third year in a row, I am not observing it in Australia. I miss the color and sultry currents that filled my senses there. The flora and fauna and the sounds of it all permeated my thoughts, and spilled out to the canvas and journal for years. But in Wisconsin there is another current blowing, the water froze further out in the harbor of Baileys this year, and the geese stuck around but were further out as well, but today its barely freezing, still very cloudy and that Wisconsin grey has numbed my paint box, this is obvious if you look at the last three painting studies I posted today. The snow is dingy and shallow, with patches of ice lurking in criminal corners, waiting for someone to take a misstep.

These three little paintings are record of the work I pursued this month after a 3 month hiatus from painting. After the fall workshop with Bonnie Paruch, painting plein air nocturnes, and the two days painting with Mary Ulm Mayhew in mid September, I found myself in a lull. Not from lack in the workshops, just too many distractions. Holidays came and went, I scolded myself for not painting, went to several critiques, entered a few paintings in an exhibit at the Miller Art Museum SPIRIT OF THE SEASON exhibit with the Door County Art League. (old work) and then the Peninsula School of Art had their Janaury SALON, which offered up hundreds of art works by area artists, a big show, a good party and a few people I know even sold work there. I put three works in that show, and had good comments from people whose opinions I respect. One of the paintings I will have to photograph and post soon, it is full of color, and I realize it is a cousin of a painting I did in Australia, and it was made last summer at the height of rural color, flowers and birds everywhere, a celebration of color is hanging in the wings for me right now. Its all about painting snow, but we have none. Not yet anyway.