October 2015 Wrap Up Post

1. Conversion
12" x 16" acrylic and painted papers on wc paper-NFS

2. Epicenter
12" x 16" acrylic and painted paper on wc paper-available

3. Up, Down and All Around
12" x 16" acrylic and painted paper on wc paper

October is over and November is here! Time for some colder and hopefully wetter weather. And time for some turkey too pretty soon:) October was a good month for me in the studio. Here are the highlights:

1. Conversion: Earlier in September, I took a trip to the historic Folsom Powerhouse State Park. Over this past year I have developed a real interest in our state's water system. It's a very complex subject of which the generation of electricity is just one component. Visiting the park was a chance to get up close and personal with the beginnings of power delivery in our state. I was particularly taken with the generators which were massive! The piece shown above depicts some of the images and ideas inspired by my visit to the park. If you can, I highly recommend a trip to Folsom to see this historic site. The exhibits were very informative and would be fun for school age children and adults alike.

2. Epicenter: Over the summer I read several books, one of which was The Seven States of California by Philip Fradkin. One of the chapters in that book dealt with earthquakes here in California. The author described how Mission San Juan Bautista was built directly on a fault line. I remember reading that chapter and being both amazed and inspired! I wanted to depict the idea of fault lines and of buildings made off kilter by the movement of the earth. Having lived through several earthquakes, I find them to be disorientating for awhile afterwards. That idea of disorientation is what I think finally emerged in my finished piece.

3. Up, Down and All Around: Not long ago it was walnut harvest time. We live right next door to San Joaquin County and the small town of Linden where there is a lot of growing and processing of walnuts. I frequently take drives to this area to get inspiration. On this particular trip I was lucky enough to see some actual harvesting of walnuts taking place. Lots of equipment and machinery, and lots of people in the fields dealing with the walnuts. Trucks just kept going up and down the roads and there seemed to be a lot of back and forth type of activity. I became really taken with the old style ladders that I saw as well as all of the carts and crates and wagons used to haul the walnuts. The resulting piece, shown above, contains some of those images and ideas from my trip.

Blogging:

Though I produced fewer pieces this month, rest assured that I have been busy sketching and doing research. I find that doing a variety of things in addition to the actual physical act of painting helps me to stay centered, interested in my craft, and happy! I frequently write about the above things as well as other topics related to art making and composition. If you don't already follow my blog, why not give that a try? The link to the blog is here. Simply follow the link and check out the right hand side of the page. There is a little box where you can "click" to enter your information to follow by email.

Shop Locally For Art This Holiday Season:

Do you know someone who might enjoy some art as a gift this Christmas? Why not find them something special that is made locally? I would suggest your local Arts Council as a great place to start. Our Arts Council is located in downtown San Andreas and will be featuring new art starting in early November. I would also suggest the gallery in Copperopolis at the Town Square and the co op gallery in downtown Murphys, Art on Main. Try looking for prints or cards as well as original art. There should be something for every budget.

As an alternative, if you find an individual artist whose work you like but aren't sure about buying a specific piece, why not ask that artist if they sell independently and if they would consider a time specific gift certificate? It's a little different but it can be done. Many artists, myself included, have a website or sell online through a third party host. This is another way to buy as well. My site is located here.

Award:

In my last newsletter I mentioned having sold two pieces in September through the Agricultural show at the Madera Arts Council. In addition to the sales, I won a first place ribbon for the category I entered in that show! Very exciting!

As always, thank you for taking the time to read these newsletters and for supporting my art making efforts. It's appreciated.

Libby