The studio is busy as autumn art season approaches. I've been busy adding to my Abundance series; bold and busy flower painting series which I began painting in 2012. Now I've added 2 more to the series, making it six in total. The two recent works, plus the first of the series are currently on display at PI Fine Art in Toronto from Sept. 12 - Dec. 1, 2016.
This fun, busy floral series has been one of my favorite themes as it challenges me as a painter. I have had few references and had to resort to much ad-libing along the way. The two new oil paintings are 4ft x 6 ft canvases and is exhibited along side a 7ft x 9ft oversized work. The color palette of these paintings are very chromatic, with roses, lilies, tulips, leaves, branches and berries.
(Left: Abundance IV as a work in progress.)
Adding to this, I have been preparing for the upcoming McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) Artfest 2016 which will be held Oct. 2, 2016 at McLean Central Park, in McLean, VA. In its 10th year now, Artfest celebrates visual arts in the DMV area (D.C., Maryland, VA). During MPAartfest, the Park is transformed into a lively landscape of mini art galleries showcasing and offering for sale the work of 52 juried acclaimed artists from the Mid-Atlantic region. This free event also features local live musicians, food and an open air art studio for adults and kids to enjoy. Check out my Exhibits page for details.
Following Artfest on Oct. 7th and 8th, I will be offering two workshops at McLean Project for the Arts. Friday, Oct. 7th, we will be having a very fun and very different paint night entitled Arts and Crafts: Painting Art and Craft Beer. This workshop will run from 7 - 9:30pm at MPA and each participant will complete a rustic work on barn-board. Beer tasting will take place during drying time. And yes, our barn-boards are authentically from barns: cleaned and kiln dried. Ready for our project!
Below are samples of completed work for the Arts and Craft: painting art and craft beer. For more information visit my workshop page.
Also at MPA, I will be running a two-day fall foliage and landscape workshop: Changing of the Season with a Twist! This workshop runs Oct. 7th and 8th: 9:30am - 12:30pm. The focus is painting a fall scene and extending our selves as artists and exploring with color and composition. For registration, visit the MPA link.
Also last but most certainly not least! Registration is now open for June 2017 Chianti Hills! Our hosts, Il Chiostro are offering a discount of $100. per person for early bird booking prior to January 1st. This 7-day workshop/holiday runs June 3 - 10th, 2017. We stay in a beautifully restored 12th-century monastery right in the heart of Tuscany. I will be instructing daily classes and we will have visits to nearby Tuscan towns during the week, returning each evening to a meal prepared by our Italian chef. Its going to be delicious!
(Left: Il Chriostro's Tuscan Renaissance Centre where workshop and stay is held in Chianti.)
To learn more about The Tuscan Palette workshop head to il Chiostro or visit my workshop page.
Hope to see you this autumn!