The Agricultural Stewardship Association will present its 22nd Landscapes for Landsake Art Sale & Exhibition again this October with both in person and online events.
I am delighted that the ASA jurors have chosen a large grouping of my work for this excellent art show and important fundraising event; I will have a dozen paintings available for purchase, with at least seven to be hung at the live event.

I will add a link to the online gallery once it becomes available

October 1 - 31, 2023
22nd Landscapes for Landsake Art Sale & Exhibition 
Maple Ridge, Cambridge, NY
Friday, October 6, 3-7pm: Preview Party for artists, past buyers, sponsors
Saturday, October 7, noon-5pm: Public Opening
Sunday, October 8, noon-4: Gallery open to public
October 8 - 31: Virtual exhibit, all remaining works available to purchase online

Every year, the Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville, VT and Stowe, VT presents a juried exhibition called Land and Light and Water and Air; the show is made up of work by established landscape painters from all over New England. I've been following the work of many of the artists in Bryan Gallery for some time, and am honored to have a piece included on their walls.

I'm happy to announce that Woodland Mermaid, my watercolor painting depicting Shelving Rock Falls on the East side of Lake George, made it into the exhibit. Woodland Mermaid is part of a series of Lake George paintings I completed in early 2021 for a solo show that same year. It measures 14"x10" framed to 20"x16" and will be available for purchase through the gallery for $600.

My painting is in the selection of Land & Light works at Bryan Gallery's new location in Stowe, VT. The show opens on September 6 and runs to December 23, with a reception on September 14. For locations of both galleries and hours: www.bryangallery.org/

​Very close to where I live lies a small old graveyard shaded by an enormous ancient sugar maple, the final resting place for a Revolutionary War veteran and members of his family.
 
I often wonder what the land I've lived on for the past 10 years looked like 50, 100, 200 or more years ago, being where it is, placed on the map of this country's history. And I think about all the people that inhabited this place over the centuries, settled, struggled, hunted and farmed here, established their families, lived and died here.
 
The tree is a living testimony to history and change, partly damaged by the ravages of time, somehow still standing with a full canopy of leaves. It has played a role in the ever-changing landscape, very likely being the progenitor of much of the sugar bush throughout the surrounding woodlands - a symbol of longevity and resilience.

Depending on what the subject matter is and how complicated a painting might be, I create a fairly detailed drawing on regular drawing paper in pencil. This practice is especially important if I'm doing a commissioned house portrait or other complex composition. Once I'm happy with the sketch (or the customer is happy with it, if it's a commissioned piece), then it's time to transfer the drawing to my stretched watercolor paper (see blog from April 2023 on how I stretch my watercolor paper).

I turn over the drawing and coat the entire back of it with graphite, using a soft black pencil. Then I turn over the drawing, place it on the watercolor paper, and tape one side down so it doesn't slide around while I retrace all the lines and transfer all those details onto the watercolor paper. I don't press down too hard, just a gentle pressure; I don't want to emboss the lines into the paper, just lightly coat it with the graphite, so that I have guidelines to follow when I get to painting.

Once the tracing process is complete, I lift the drawing paper off the watercolor paper. Then I tape around all four edges of the transferred drawing on the watercolor paper with white artists tape, so that I can have a clean edge around the painting.

It may seem like a tedious and archaic process, but it's what has always worked for me. And I enjoy all the steps. I have saved every drawing I've done for each painting...probably should organize those into some sort of archive some day.

I was very excited to learn that my little gouache painting, Chicken Diva, was accepted into the American Watercolor Society 2023 Associate Members Online Exhibition. I thought it might be kind of long shot to submit one of my gouache paintings instead of a transparent watercolor, but that little chicken has so much character and spunk, along with some fine feathery supportive friends and a really cool house, so how could a selection juror resist, lol! 

All joking aside, it's such a wonderful honor to get into this online show with the American Watercolor Society. The entire exhibit is viewable from June 7-August 20, 2023 at this link:
https://americanwatercolorsociety.org/2023-associate-members-online-exhibition/​

Chicken Diva measures 7"x7" matted/framed to 10"x10" and is available for purchase at $280 (plus 7% NYS sales tax and $15 shipping/handling if applicable). If interested, please email me through my Contact page.