Sold! Collector from Utah

What an incredible night! I hear this happening to other artists or read about it but to have it become a reality for me has put me on cloud #9!

Another red dot! This one for the 1st place winner in oils in Dubois, WY...in earlier days, known as Never Sweat, WY. ( learned that at our steak dinner tonight ).

A couple came into the show and was inquiring about a necklace by another artist; it was bedlam, so I said I knew the artist and would assist them in finding her.  Sale made for that artist......then a fellow artist came to get me, telling me my piece had sold to collectors from Utah and they wanted to meet me.  They are fabulous people that I connected with right away. we talked at length regarding my art and I have been invited to their home in Bear Lake, Utah for in the spring , to stay and soak in the beauty of the Utah landscape ( and paint, of course!)

What fun! I am honored to be living the life of an artist.......

Tom Lucas momento

Met an artist in the Silver Sage Gallery...........owner/artist Tom Lucas. Not only does he paint items that are Native American, he also makes them. I was privleged to talk to him and hear some wonderful stories and watch him work on a delicate pair of baby moccasins as he beaded the tiny seed beads on the tops. Tomorrow I get to go back and hopefully make a selection of one of the items for my own collection.

We also had the privledge of visiting Greg Beecham's ranch and he ran his horses so we could get some action shots of them stirring up the dust in the corral. The neighboring ranch's horses got excited and decided to run, too!  Photos to come.........

Mentoring students in Dubois, WY with SKB

Today was our opportunity to make a difference in the life of a child. So popular that we had 47 students take advantage of instruction, one on one, from an artist that was matched up with them according to medium and subject matter.

My student was Cory Neal, a football player and a VERY motivated artist, passionate about applying paint to the canvas with a personal message. His interest today was painting a very distant peak from Wagon Box Ranch that his brother had rappelled down. Gotta love it! He also loved the water wagon so we included part of it in the foreground.

 

What a great experience it was! I taught him color theory and mixing. He was an excellent and attentive student. Then we were served lunch at the ranch, just to the left of this scene. The smoke had cleared somewhat from the fires still burning so it was enough for atmosphere but you couldn't smell it.

Thanks, Kate, for hosting us...........looking forward to mentoring again!

1st place in oils @ SKB Art Conference 2012

Things have a way of evening out, sometimes. I ruined a nice plein air painting today due to not having a friend stop me soon enough. So I now have a beautifully toned canvas for tomorrow. I was a little bummed after wiping it out but the beauty of the golden-glowing aspens and being surrounded by fabulous people, it didn't last very long.

I was kind to myself and knew that at least I had showed up to do the work and we can't have successes without some failures; checks and balances, you know.

Tonight was the awards ceremony for the art show and much to my surprise and delight, my painting titled "Revealing my inner self" was awarded 1st place in oils! ( by unanimous decision, one judge said)

What an honor! There are so many talented and wonderful artists here that I feel humbled just to be with them for an entire week.

So my motto, "Never give up", proves to be valid once again. Just when we are down on our abilities, validation can come in many forms. So for all my creative friends who are struggling right now with
this same issue, may this spur you on.

Many other wonderful things are in store the rest of the week; art marketing, Photoshop class, more plein air and hopefully some time with artists, Mark Mahaffey and Greg Beechum.

Guy Coombs and Andrew Denman are doing some fabulous pieces and is inspirational to watch.

Stay tuned for news of some other great artists doing instruction and demos here. Thursday, many of them will be doing a quick draw.

Pre- Art Conference

What a wonderful day! Rising early and then getting my luggage delivered was a good start to the day. Wanting to get re-acquainted with Dubois, I went for my favorite walk along the Wind River again.

About halfway through, the winds started howling fiercely and the rain came. All I could do at that point was to fasten the chin strap on my hat and keep walking. Luckily for me, it didn't last very long.

Deciding where to have lunch, as there are several choices. I liked the look of the Cowboy Cafe and it seemed to be pretty busy, a good sign.
I must have made the right choice because not only was the food excellent, just as I was finishing Pam and Les Cable and several others from the art conference showed up. Great reunion!

Smoky Mountains in Wyoming

Heh! I headed west... not south to the Smoky Mtns!   Yet, when we landed, smoky mountains, indeed. We were told there was a fire south of Jackson, near Snow King but it was contained and not crossing over the mountain. It was acrid in the air already, making it tough to take a deep breath.

 Things started to clear as we headed to Dubois. Then on the horizon above the Wind River, we could see smoke from another fire.


I am now in Dubois and can see smoke in the east and smoke in the west. On a good note, despite the extreme dryness here, the Aspens are glowing in yellows ranging from gold to bronze.

 

Great flight on United................until I was left waiting for my luggage ( which never appeared) AGAIN???? ( They did this to me last year due to mis-tagging my luggage.) This year, I double checked it; esp. since the gentleman at the counter emphasized for me to be sure to hang onto that receipt, just in case of lost luggage.

I have my camera and art supplies, minus paints. Not a store in town that has women's undergarments. For some reason, they routed my luggage through Denver...go figure.

Let's hope it arrives by the morning!

Huckleberry picking

Wanda and I after climbing down from the mountainside with our huckleberries! Slim pickins' due to late in the season and being the bear's favorite snack! Since Wanda and Les disappeared to the top of the mountain with the bear spray, I am grateful none showed up.........

Saturday the sun was shining and making for a perfect day on the lake in the boat with fellow artists...including ret. Vice Admiral of the US fleets,  Roger Bacon....

Along the way we were rewarded with a visit from an eagle in the treetop..........

 

We also crossed the Canadian border; marked with a fence on Lake Koocanusa...

 

 

Nothing like finishing off the day with these margaritas.....

 

 

Thanks, Les...........Cheers!

 

Montana views: white snow on the mountaintops

Large expanses of open land.........the way it was made!

 Wanda's green thumb showing here! The patios were covered with planters spilling over with blooms.

 Heavenly views.............deer everywhere!  Sunshine and warm on our level..........watching a storm pass overhead and lay a cover of crystal white snow on the mountaintop!   Montana is truly beautiful!