I created this bra for the Artful Bra fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. It is titled the Wall Street Banker’s Bra as I assume there is at least one woman among the greedy Wall Street Bankers Clique, if not, than this bra is for the cross dresser among them!
To view many of the bras going up for auction and to learn about the Ladies Night Out party this Saturday night at the High Hand in Loomis check out the Facebook site High-Hand Gallery Artful Bra Show.
Painting watercolors on clay on board (Aquabord) in my studio.
Julie Hirota with her exhibit of textile murals in the living room.
The Loomis Art Loop Open Studios Tour last weekend was a great success. This is our 7th Loomis Art Loop on Mother’s Day weekend, and attendance gets better every year. Mornings started out slow but by noon we were very busy and stayed that way all afternoon both days. We were so busy at times that my little studio could not hold all the visitors trying to enter.
It was great fun to see friends, students, and visitors that we know from previous years. We know that at least half of our visitors were artists, which makes for great discussions while I am demonstrating. I love sharing my latest discoveries and hearing about other artist’s latest work.
I was kept busy demonstrating and answering questions in my studio upstairs while Julie was describing her techniques downstairs where she exhibited her work. Our hostesses, Theta on Saturday and Linda on Sunday, were busy welcoming our visitors, answering questions and ringing up sales. Thank you both, we could not do this without you.
And for all you artists out there reading this; I am happy to report sales were surprisingly very good! Where as last May sales were practically non-existent, this year they were excellent. Original paintings are selling again; however, it is the small paintings that are selling not the larger more expensive pieces. Sales of my small prints and cards were the best ever, showing that although people are buying again, they are not making big purchases. Julie also sold original pieces and loads of cards and prints and books. The other artists at the other studios had similar results.
Most of all, everyone, artists and visitors alike, had a really fun time!
Here’s photos of the other artists at their studios:
Millie Beatie with her pots.
Cindy Bonito busy demonstrating relief printing.
Brenda Dominguez with one of her paintings.
Susan Goodmundson shows her work with Brenda.
That’s Doug Horton under those glasses, working on jewelry at his studio at the Horton Iris Garden. The iris were incredible this year!
Paula Amerine also shows at the iris garden, inside the Horton farm “art barn”.
Victoria Brooks demonstrated oil painting in her beautiful studio.
Thien Dao exhibited her clay sculpture in Victoria’s garden, but not trusting the weather this year, the ladies erected a tent. Good thing, it rained Sunday afternoon.
Larry Brenden with a beautiful piece in his photography studio.
We do our Loomis Art Loop every Mother’s Day weekend and the third weekend in October. So hope to see you here October 16 or 17.
Julie and I have been very busy preparing for the Open Art Studios Tour known as the Loomis Art Loop coming up this weekend.
My art studio is small and upstairs, so I hang a display of my work in our dining room. After we remove the dining room furniture up go the walls.
This wall is done.
Julie arrived after work this evening, and we moved furniture around in the living room an up went her walls. Julie works with textiles by painting, quilting, and using glue and brads, and a host of clever tricks to create colorful textile murals.
Julie hangs the first piece for her show.
An hour later….
Where should I put this one?
We are planning to demonstrate our techniques, share our latest discoveries and answer your questions. Julie will be busy on her sewing machine downstairs and I will be in the studio upstairs demonstrating techniques for painting watercolors on clay on board (“Aquabord”).
We hope you will come see our show this weekend, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm both Saturday and Sunday. We are stop #7 & 8 on the tour map, just exit Interstate 80 at Penryn exit and follow the yellow signs with the Loomis Art Loop logo. This is a FREE studio tour. To learn more about the tour artists and print a map click on this link www.LoomisArtLoop.com.
Hope to see you this weekend. Julie and Sandy
The Horton Iris Garden held it’s annual paint out on a beautiful Friday and Saturday in April. I decided to do my painting on Aquabord and it worked very well. I took one of the pre-framed types with me, painted it, sprayed it with varnish and I was done.
Here is the painting
It will be in my exhibit this weekend on the Loomis Art Loop Open Studios Tour.
Students in my February classes might remember I began this watercolor on Aquabord demonstration working from a live Bird of Paradise. When they last saw it the central bird was painted but that is as far as I got in the class. It now looks like this. I think I will hang it in my exhibit when I open my home studio to the public in conjunction with the Loomis Art Loop this weekend.
A free map of the Loomis Art Loop Art Studios tour and photos of the artists, work can be found by clicking on this link www.LoomisArtLoop.com.
Oh, and the other demo, the Birds of Paradise on watercolor paper, well that one is not done yet. See you are not the only one with incomplete paintings hanging around in your studio, or stashed under the bed!
My friend and fellow Watercolor Instructor Jeannie Vodden asked me if I knew how to remove masking fluid that had been on a painting so long it was stuck for good. The only thing I could think of was to try to pick it off with a sharp blade like a razor blade or Exacto knife. She said she was thinking the same thing, but it really does not work very well. So I am throwing the question out there and hope someone will have the answer and write a comment below.
By the way, Masking Fluid becomes “one with the paper” when it is
A left on too long, a few weeks is OK a few months or years is not
B heated up, so don’t leave in the car on a sweltering summer day or blast it with a hair dryer too close to the paper.
If you have the answer you will truly be a watercolor hero!
