Decisions, decisions....take the time to paint the 4 paintings I have ready in my head....or stop painting and take some more courses and do the paintings within the classes (not able to sell them). All time well spent. I have enough paintings for the PRAG show. Next push is for submission to be considered for juried membership of WV Watercolor Society; and paintings to submit for juried shows for "Art at the Mill". I've ordered more paints, and two more DVDs in preparation of getting to the next level! Time to learn AND time to paint, and honestly I'm not complaining at all!!!
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Oh my - what a fabulous display of incredible artwork- over 1,000 pieces by 300 artists!!! And the site is just perfect for this! Located at Burwell-Morgan Mill near Berryville, VA. Open 4/28 thru 5/13. Well worth the trip, I promise!!                       
I had a lovely opportunity today to attend a Hospice Social Worker CE class on Art Therapy, presented by D. Michelle Ellis-Thomas, MCAT, Director of Art Therapy, West Liberty University. It was truly interesting and I wish I was 20 years younger and could have earned the credentials to use it professionally! I know personally, of course, what kind of therapy artwork does for me - and it's an expression for everyone - artist or not! I'm really glad I went!
This awesome show begins Saturday and ends May 13th at the Millwood in Berryville, VA. I've just learned about this show and plan to enter the juried competition for their next show in the Fall. We're going on Saturday - I'll let you know how it is!!! Click here for more info.
I'm attending my first Valley Art Association meeting this evening. They have them once a month and I'm finally committing to attending and getting more involved in this awesome group. They have several featured artists who hang their artwork at the Mansion House - in the City Park in Hagerstown at the other end of the park from WCMFA. They are open to the public on weekends and the artwork is for sale. Stop in - you will be delighted, I promise!
I've been reading new material by Karlyn Holman to paint with spontaneity to see if it will loosen me up a bit! Here is my first series of lessons - Storefronts in Shepherdstown. What do you think??? It's soooo different from what I normally do - starting by wetting the back of the paper, then the front of the paper and then putting wet paint on top of that! Not a lot of control, but the paints have a blast moving around!!
I had an incredible day yesterday with favorite friend, artist, teacher - and her daughter! We spent the day in Washington, DC. First stop was the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden with interesting exhibits on light, color and space! Then spent the rest of the day touring both wings and all floors of the National Gallery. Featured exhibit was Jakuchu Japanese Bird and Flower Paintings - the detail was incredible! Also enjoyed the "classics" in all their glory - especially the impressionists. Across the board main attraction for me was the use of light in paintings. When correctly done, I don't think anything surpasses it! One day was not long enough, but it was a fabulous day and I look forward to our next adventure.
This was a fun one to paint - probably because I like beaches so much! I used "L" shape with the scarf and focal point at the intersection - can you see it?  "Life Was A Beach for Mom"
I like this one for the complementary colors - red and green - and use of chips to guide eye to focal point - course, this only works if you can see it! Where do you see focal point??? Lighter glass or pitcher??? Do you like the shadow of cactus to fill negative space?? Still needs more tweaking, but I like it so far!  "Love Our Maggies, Too" - by Andrea Burke
I received word from Linda Elmer, President of WVWS, that my two paintings have
been accepted for the Aqueous 2012 Artshow at Monongahela Gallery in Morgantown 6/11- 7/6. I'm so excited and I attribute most of my success to Anna Hogbin! Thank you, Anna!!! “The sun is like the woman – when the woman kiss you, she leaves the little lip rouge on your face. When the sun kisses the earth, it also leaves the lip rouge and everything is warm where she touches.” – Nunzio Vayan
 "Life Giving You Lemons?" - by Andrea Burke I need to do some more tweaking on this one - thinking the glasses of lemonaid need to be darker, so that the pitcher is the focal point. The gloves and hand rake point to it, so that's a good start! Purple and yellow are complimentary colors and I like how they came out in this piece. I'll post these and others on my gallery when they are finished!
This has been a fun painting to do, as I love working with glass and flowers. Still tweaking to see if I can make the glass figurines show up better! I'm slowly changing to Daniel Smith paints and they are so much brighter than what I've been using and I like working with them very much! "Tangerine" is one of 2012's trend colors, and I'm hoping to sell some "couch art" as they say!  "Did you hear the one about the tortoise and the snail?" - by Andrea Burke
I had to drop off paintings for an upcoming show at the WCMFA, so treated myself to an "Artist Date" and toured the Museum. The 79th Annual Cumberland Valley Photographic Salon is currently on exhibit thru 4/29/2012. If you have a chance, go see it - quite impressive! They also had gallery of local art teacher's exhibit that is wonderful. And the permanent collection is awesome.
Here are some ways of creating space within a painting. 1. Make distant objects smaller with less detail than those up close. 2. Overlapping objects will create depth. 3. Warm colors advance and cool colors recede. 4. Objects must be in proper scale to work!
Here are more things to look for in a painting that help move your eye, but keep it within! 5. Use of radiating lines (with one point perspective) to draw you into the focal point. 6. Fulcrum balances major masses - think of a teeter-totter with small person and large person and where they have to sit to make it work! 7. O shape "frames" the focal point. 8. Portraits - keep in mind the use of space around the head to keep it interesting.
Armatures lead your eye thru the painting. 1. S - think of a windy road or a river that leads you thru painting to focal point in shape of S. 2. L - two "arms" in a painting with center of interest along one of them. 3. Diagonal - watch the momentum and use something on both ends to slow it down. 4. Painting makes use of triangular shape with the center of interest near one of the angles.
And this is the last of great tips for creating strong composition in paintings. 10. Suggest movement using gradation. 11. Use straight lines to make the eye go in different direction. 12. Consider the piece to consist of foreground, middle ground, and background.
Here are some more great tools: 7. Make sure the corners don't take your eyes out of the painting. 8. Create an entrance to the painting along the bottom edge. 9. Organize large masses by simplifying them.
I had the pleasure of judging the artwork for the "Vizzi Awards" at James Rumsey today with Anna Hogbin and Leia Wood. High school students from all 3 counties of Eastern Panhandle were involved - and their work is amazing!
Here are a few more composition techniques to keep in mind: 4. Keep shapes interesting with unique proportions and angles. 5. Don't attract attention to the edges of the painting. 6. Overlap objects to create depth.
This is the first of 12 simple rules for composition: 1. Crop the image for more drama. 2. Look to find value masses by squinting. 3. Pay attention to rhythm and variety.
Out of 212 entries for the Cumberland Valley Art Show, only 64 were selected - and 2 of them are mine!!! I'm SO excited, and honored for sure!!!! This is the show that will be at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, MD 5/5-7/29.
It's always nice to get away, and it's always nice to come home!!! We had a great time in Philly visiting family; and a great time at the artist reception at Timeless Treasures in Thurmont, MD.
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AuthorAndrea Burke, WVWS Click on this if you'd like new blog posts emailed to you!
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