Plein Air Inspiration Show at 108

 Hey Friends, Just realized I have not invited you yet, to the BIG show at Gallery 108 in downtown Roanoke .  It opens tomorrow night, Friday, Oct. 5th with our monthly "Art by Night" but it will hang until the end of November.

 Bonnie made us very nice postcards for this show, up above.

And here is a sample of some of the works we created.  We were all at the same spots, painting together, but the paintings are so very different, you would never guess that. 

We are hoping you can stop by the gallery for refreshments while perusing our work.

Happy Trails Travel Well

MonoPrint Demo by Susan Egbert

 Hey Friends,  This is a rather long post, with a lot of photos.  I wanted to show a step by step demo of making a monotype/monoprint.?  Not sure which term is proper.  I will have to ask Susan Egbert.
Above Susan is just starting.  She uses brayers to mix water soluable oils on a piece of plexi-glass.

 Here she is rolling the oils onto another piece of plexiglass.  Of course the plexi is the size you want the finished image to be.

 Adding more colors, more layers.  This piece will be a bit abstract Sue thinks.

             It may look like a lot of time has elapsed but so far only about 10-15 minutes.

 Here Sue is adding some stripes and textures using the brayer instead of a brush.  Here she is using a nib to remove some paint.  Removing some paint to form a tree shape.

                                          Still removing paint, making shapes.

         Here she is Adding paint with a brush.  Kinda like negative and positive shapes.

                       Playing with the brayer again.  This has taken about 20 minutes.

                                               Above is the press.

        Putting the plexi with the paint on the press table and laying damp WC paper on top.

    And it is Aquarious WC paper.   Now Sue is cranking the plate & paper thru the press.

                                                                          TA-DAH !!
The final result !  The image is much bolder than I thought it would be.  It looks like a lot of fun and I can't wait to try it myself.  Sue and Petie Stringfellow share a studio on Campbell Ave. in DT Roanoke, Va. and they invited me to come back and give it a try.  Hoping I can do that soon.

If any one close to Roanoke would enjoy a short class/workshop in this process, the members at Gallery 108 are perusing holding such short workshops at the space available to them next door.
So leave comments with your email address if interested.

Happy Trails Travel Well

Gallery 108 - Featured Artists for March

Hey Friends, Of course I screwed up the order for posting these photos, but I wasn't going to change them. It takes forever to fix the line up. So..... Mary Anne Meador is above and it is REALLY difficult to get a decent photo through the big glass windows from outside. And Mary Anne's are spread out a bit, so I took this from inside.

Darcy Meeker does some lovely but large copper work so it wouldn't fit in the camera frame from any angle. So all you get to see is a card and a bit of sculpture. She does fabulous stone work.

Angela Shields has been an art teacher in high schools for a lot of years. She gave that up to be a full time artist. She creates paintings w/ a lot of textures and patterns.

Bonnie Mason is a traditional type painter. She uses oils and creates soft textures in her landscapes and still life.

Terry Lyon creates highly textured oil paintings. Mostly landscapes but a beautiful nude is thrown in every now and again just to keep him interested! His studio is downstairs and he usually is there every morning to paint.

That's the line up for this month. We have several new artists joining us, as members and consignment. I will post those next week so I don't bore you to death with a post any longer than this.

The weather here in SW Va. has been amazingly beautiful the past week. So get out there and enjoy !!!!!

Happy Trails.

Tenth Year Anniversay Celebration at Gallery 108

Hey Friends, Some photos I took Wednesday at the Gallery 108 in downtown Roanoke, Va. The shot above is the left window. Notice the face with the 3-D glasses?!
This is the window on the right. I always have a hard time taking a decent photo of these windows. Didn't even try the big main window. Some time I'd like to go by there at night and see what would happen with all the glare and such.
Here is the main stage upstairs with the main or majority of the 3-D images hanging. It's probably hard to see but at the top of photo is a little sign that says"It's a new dimension". This show is about looking at art with the glasses you normally would be wearing at a movie !! It's pretty cool. With the glasses on certain colors will appear to be floating or hovering out from their place on the painting. Mainly the HOT colors and it seems exaggerated with the use of Thalo Blue and green. Hope some of you can make it to the show. The big celebration party is Sunday August 21, 2011 4:30 to 7 pm by invitation only and only because wine will be served.
Some city law says when a spirit is served you must know their name or age or something. So if ya want to come, zip me an email and I'll put your name on the list.
AND - TA Dah - My favorite little Man in the world - The handsome Mr. Nic !!! Trying to master the 3-D glasses so he can critique the new works !! His fav was the big red heart floating on the sea.
And now he is ready to play hide & seek !!! Have you ever seen such a cutie pie !!!
Happy Trails !!

New Art Works at Gallery 108

Hey Friends, I know I didn't post these last night, as promised, But my sister was here when I got home from the REAL job and we had to visit. So-o-o-o the photo above is an Art Card made by the one and only creative Mary Ann Meador (she is featured in the last post also). The verbage is a fortune cookie promise and it says " You will always get what you want through your charm and personality"...... How cool is that? There were several more in the basket.

The painting above was created by Susan Egbert just recently. She and artsy-fartsy friends were plein air painting at a B&B in Montgomery county called MAISON BELIVEAU. Go ahead and google that. It's a beautiful place and they grow a lot of lavender, I was told. She used water soluable oils for this piece and if you could see it in person you would love the textures.

Sorry I had to include this - I LOVE IT! I can't write at all, can't even make some words rhyem (can't spell either) so why am I always drawn to stuff with words. I think I'm really secretly depressed and look for the uplifting stuff. It was created again by Mary Ann. can you tell I like her work? Also she is the president of the League of Roanoke Artists and works hard at this job.

I meant to load these last 2 photos vice versa. These were created by Suzanne Sellers another super creative woman. She is a teacher at a nearby school and sorry I can't remember the small stuff. I think she makes a lot of her papers but she also buys some. But look how she uses them!

These are just gorgeous in person. And they are right up my alley in terms of fantasy or make believe. At one time they were close friends of Tinkerbell.

So you guys get on down to the market. Shop around Gallery 108 and then go over to the farmers market and get some tasty stuff for dinner. You won't be disappointed.

Happy Trails

Roanoke's Famous Taubman Sidewalk Art Show

Hey Friends, I'm busy getting my ducks in a row for the BIG show this weekend!!!
The 53rd Annual Taubman Sidewalk Art Show on the streets of downtown Roanoke, Va. happens this weekend. YES, this weekend - June 4 & 5 - Sat & Sun !! Yippee !!
Now make plans to be there. And help support the arts and maybe an artist, too.

That beautiful little face you see up there is just gracing my blog, has nothing to do with the Sidewalk show. I just wanted you to smile.

Stop and say Howdy, I'll be in a tent beside Billy's Ritz old rest.
Happy Trails

Art by Night @ Gallery 108, Roanoke, Va.

Hey Friends, Thinking you may like a glimpse of what has happened today on the Roanoke City Market. Not a whole lot until Art by Night started.

The featured artist is Martha Rhoades ! She has a beautiful show hung until the end of March.

I have shots of the work as a whole but you can't see much. So I'm showing the details of two pieces. Lots of texture with mixed media playing a big part.

There are two spot lights showing up here that I can't get rid of. I think it's titled "Gold Rush". Lots of texture with gold leaf. They are all gorgeous.

And some humor in the windows. See the construction cone? That's all you can really notice in downtown Roanoke right now.

I love this window. I think the celebration is starting early. How about that Queen?

Happy Trails.

Getting in the Groove.....

Hey Friends, I AM getting back into the groove of blogging. I still want you to meet all of the artists involved with Gallery 108 in downtown Roanoke. Above is Susan Lockwood, a photographer from Blacksburg, Va. She does a lot of traveling to get her photos. She has a lot of stuff for the RailRoad groupies too.

The photo above is for Mary Anne Meador, who works in all media and is especially good with pastels. She teaches workshops and is president of the LRA (League of Roanoke Artists). Bonnie Mason sharing a display panel with Mary Anne, is an amazing artist. She works with oils in a traditional style, also plein-air. Her subject matter is calm and restful.

Margaret Dubois is the artist above. She works with oil pastels but her claim to fame is ENAMELS! Now that is a hot mess. She has about 15 layers of this powder pigment and clear glazes to fire in a kiln. I mean each layer has to be fired. And the tiny images are just beautiful. Wish I had taken some close ups but the glass reflections probably would have made it useless anyway.

The next "Art by Night" is Feb.3rd, 5-9pm. So get out here and look for yourself. No

more stinking snow to worry about !

Happy Trails...

ART BY NIGHT at GALLERY 108

Hey Friends, If you are in the area (Roanoke, Va.) come out for the Art by Night in downtown Roanoke in the market area. Some areas call it an Art Crawl but it means that the galleries all stay open 'til 9pm. Refreshments are served while you browse the new works and a featured artist. At Gallery 108 it is Revelle Hamilton. She has beautiful watercolors on display tonight.
This morning I changed my work. I had birds up but now my cows are hanging. I like all the bright colors! Maybe someone will fall in LOVE with my bovines.
Have a great weekend.

Happy Trails.

Original Paintings

Hey Friends, Cows! Now I know why I see so many paintings of cows. They are so easy and quick to paint! I mentioned in a post that I was shoveling snow and then painting for an hour or so, alternating the activity, trying not to hurt the old back. So I ended up painting 7 cows! They are 8"x8" so you know they came along pretty fast anyway.

I put 3 on this post so you could see how I tighten up as time goes by. The green one should have been the last one. Notice the first cow is pretty loose. The red one is fairly loose but the green one is pretty tight! Why do I do that? Don't have a clue. But it is something I need to pay attention to.

I also painted about 4 of birds, 3 of cats, a couple landscapes, and 3 Wabbits! I do love to paint! Now I must varnish and put on the backings and hangers.

This evening Gallery 108 (downtown Roanoke) is hosting a little party so the new members and original members can meet. I know this will be a good time. I'll post photos later.

Happy Trails.

MY LOVES, GALLERY 108, NEW PAINTING

Hey Friends, I finally got this photo from my daughter (the one in the middle). I've been nagging her since Christmas. She had it put on a mug for me. I love it! Look at how much my granbabes have grown!!! Just wanted to share a little of my personal life.

Above is the new gallery I am in now ! It is a co-op gallery and I'm like 1/7th of a member or something like that. I'm really HAPPY about this. Always wanted a gallery in downtown Roanoke. It is right across the street from the new Taubman Museum, so stop in soon!

Here is a link to Gallery 108. They haven't gotten me on the site yet because I need to make a CD for them to download from. Yeah, more computer work that I hate doing.

And the image above is one of about four I painted at the same time. The others are real dogs, this one is the least ugly. I think I'm falling out of love with acrylics. Blending, soft edges are not easy to start with and then add the dry air of 12 degrees and it's frustrating. I also don't like the canvas panels I have right now - too grainy! I prefer to work on gessoed masonite but I can't afford to buy them and it's a Major deal to get the table saw out of the shed to cut my own. Poor Sue, I could whine for hours but it's not really my best talent.

I only know I've got to get busy and get better. I've got shows coming up ! ! !

Hope you guys are having a wonderful 2010 so far!

Happy Trails.