I've decided to bite the bullet and see if I can be juried in as "Signature Member" of the WV Watercolor Society.  Rules are you have to be in 2 juried WVWS shows within 6 year period - check; must be juried member - check; and now I just have to turn in 4 more images with proper paperwork.  With our upcoming move, I know I'm not going to have time to paint anymore between now and October, so best do it while I can!!!  Crossing all appendages.  Feedback from juried submission from the Judges was most helpful, and I'm looking forward to getting even deeper, stricter feedback this time.  Here are the photos of paintings I'm submitting:

I had the extreme pleasure of going to Cheap Joe's in Boone, NC with two very dear artist friends - Mary Alice Bowers and Ronda Albright.  We've all been wanting to take classes their for years and this was the first one we've actually taken - we will be back again and again and again!  Fabulous set-up for classes - state of the art equipment - catered lunches - and had every tool required for the class for sale (of course) and I believe everything they offer on-line for sale was also readily available.  You had to walk thru the store to use the restroom....very smart marketing on their part, and fabulous resource for us all!

We'd never been to Boone before - what a great community!  College town, and that always seem to make it more trendy - boutiques, fabulous restaurants, and cater to the arts!  I've never seen so many restaurants and the stores were packed with delightful creations by local artisans. 

I can't say enough good about Sterling Edwards.  His paintings are fabulous - so rich in color and design.  His teaching methods are wonderful - so very, very patient....great demos with detailed instructions.  Then as we painted, he was always available for one-on-one private sessions until we understood the process!  He's funny - shared great stories - and has such a tremendous passion for art and for artists!! 

All new rules and approach for me - and my head is spinning.  I've always been a very detailed "realist" and to learn to paint loosely with HUGE brushes and express my own creativity (vs painting the photograph) is going to require a lot of practice - which I am looking forward to! 

Not a lot of time right now to paint as we ride the real estate roller coaster trying to get our house sold.  And once we get moved to Clarksville, we are going to have several months of work to do on our new home.  In the big picture this will all pass quickly and I'll be joyfully painting again before you know it!!!

Happy Painting!
Andrea

We decided the time is now to make a move to a home on a lake to finish our "Golden Years".  We had lined up 3 dates with REALTORs to shop for homes - in Clarksville, Charlottesville, and Smith Mountain Lake.  We got to Clarksville a day early and walked around the little town of 8,000 people - we were blown away by the friendliness and people going out of their way to talk to us and make us feel welcome.  At least 3 people described it as living in Mayberry RFD.  Half way thru the day with our agent, Karin Kuhn - we were sold on the area and cancelled the remainder of our tours.  We picked our favorite of the 8 homes, went back for second showing and wrote an offer - contingent on the sale of this home.  We are ratified and went back to do home inspection yesterday.  Here are some photos so you can see what the fuss is about!!!