En Plein James

So my youngest is taking a rowing camp.  And what I would have thought of as a huge inconveince of running back and forth from the James River is now a great excuse to stay and paint...and use my way cool new #8 Quill Mop Brush.

Really enjoying the process, I am working with two watercolor blocks at the same time using the view in opposite directions.  Switching back and forth like this gives me the opportunity to create both hard and soft edges, by working on one whole the other dries.

I am sure I looked a little nuts to all the joggers and dog walkers as a whipped from one angle and paper to another... 

Of course when painting during a downpour, like I did on Monday totally changes the process again.   You just got to go with the flow (literally). Was more trying to keep paint off of the paper with obviously limited success.

Really I plan to work on this a bit more in my dry dry studio.

Social or Not?

I just love it when an exhibit makes you want to go back again and again as well as think about it all throughout the day.

A fantastic exhibition just like that  is currently at the Visual Arts Center in Richmond Virginia until August 14th.

What makes it so fantastic (in my opinion) is the way Social deftly combines social commentary on a subject that deeply affects us all (whether we use social media or not) with a high degree of craftsmanship, and a delightful interplay between the two along with an out of time experience.

This fused glass mobile by Charlotte Potter, looks like a 19th century cameo brooches but really represents all the pending friend requests she has on her FB account.  Hence is concept of hanging...

This one represents an on-line romance played out as a chained conversation in etched glass.

While this may not look interactive, this piece below by Lucy Louise Derickerson, asks the artist's FB friends to come visit her at the gallery so that she can put the metal box she made for them in their hand herself,

You might see, if you look closely enough that some have and so the only box is gone and the mini shelf with a QR code to their particular FB page remains.

This last artist's work, I found the most playful. Ariel Brice uses the thumbs up logo for FB as a repeating three dimensional form to show both acceptance and then turns it upside down in another color to express displeasure.  

All of this is great food for thought as I go into my studio or click on my mouse!  

En Plein Paradise....Nimrod Hall in Bath County, Virginia

Got to break this guy out again for painting in one of the most beautiful places on earth, Nimrod Hall in Bath County Virginia...

Also lucky enough to be able to see a demo done by one of the best plein air painters around, 

Sara Linda Poly.

Not only is this place gorgeous, it is full of history..

  

 From 1937-1985, it was a summer camp for boys and girls...there are many old pamphlets like the one these photos came from in one of the libraries (along with a great treasure trove of inspirational art books) in the main house.  These pamphlets  tout the "high moral character" of all the counselors and the fee for 8 weeks is about the same for one week now...


In fact many of the cabins still exist in a dilapidated shape and make for great subject matter...

This is what was once the mess hall for the boys'camp...

and my watercolor plein air study of it.

Now here is the amazing upgrade new owners' Laura Loe and Will Loving

have added to the water hole nearby...complete with SUP boards.

It was a great way to cool off and work out some design problems, while relaxing in a tropical paradise via the Blue Ridge Valley.

Already counting the days until next year...