Art-Filled Weekend

This past, steroid induced, weekend of Art was a doozy.

Friday was spent at Kat Sowas Studio, where i was able to take in a Craig Srebnick figurative demo and then got a solid start on a still life painting. Then Vicki and i took in a Vancouver Orchestra Chamber Concert, that included a string quartet, piano, clarinet, two sopranos and ended with a killer violin solo.

Saturday we spent all day in Seattle with two of our sons, Kevin and Brian. We toured the UofW campus and got to see the great architecture, and stunning Cherry Blossoms, We were also introduced to the Frye Museum. A special thanks to, Kevin Weaver from Art on the Boulevard, for turning me onto the outstanding venue that owns very impressive works. The next time you are in Seattle, you MUST take time to visit The Frye. Maybe someday, Vancouver can have this level of museum.....

A Gargoyle peers over us as we pause to rest on a UofW campus courtyard

Bronze sculpture of George Washington, dedicated in 1909, looks west with a view of the Olympic Mountains.

Fun sculpture on campus.

 Pitcher and Flowers 11x14

And lastly, here is the still life that i started on Friday and reworked on Sunday. I was able to paint most of the day which put an exclamation on my weekend that was jammed packed with artistic adventures.

This weekend.....A workshop with my good friend, Eric Jacobsen.

P-Patch Community Garden

Thomas Street Garden Pump

8x10

Our middle son, Kevin, lives in Seattle and this last weekend we helped him move to the Capitol Hill area. Saturday was pretty much a 12 hr grind, but Sunday Kevin took us on a tour of the area. Now, being the artist that i am, i found subjects and compositions all over the place, Seattle is just an amazing city, a bit edgy, but amazing. Both days i found inspiration everywhere that was begging to be painted.

During our sunday walk, we happened onto the Thomas Street Gardens, which is a lot, in the middle of a residential neighborhood that Thomas Street Gardens acquired in 1997 and is part of the P-Patch Community Gardening Program in Seattle. It is a lovely whimsical garden that clearly fits with a NW theme of recycling meets artistic.

Many of the P-Patch gardens promote a "giving garden" where the produce is donated to a local food bank. They also promote environmental awareness, strengthen neighborhoods, and increase self-reliance among many other things.

I was so inspired by this little pump nestled amongst the flowers and rocks that i knew it was going to make it into a painting. Little did i know it was to be the same day. I spent a few hours last night with some touch ups tonight and enjoyed painting this fun and cheery piece.

One of the things i enjoy doing while painting is dabbing on thick spots of color, especially for the flowers. I am not concerned too much with detail at this point, as i enjoy letting the paint do its thing as i apply it and pull the brush off the panel. The photo doesn't show it, but there are little curly ques and ridges that appear when applying paint in this manner and to me is the frosting on the cake. And, you just don't eat cake without frosting, right.....?

Check out Thomas Street Gardens http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/ppatch/locations/34.htm