New Class Session Starts November 6th and 8th

The last Class Session of 2018 soon:
Tuesday Evening November 6th, 6:30 to 9:30pm and
Thursday Morning November 8th,  9am to noon.

As the days shorten and the cold weather sets in we get a bit of energy from the anticipation of the "holidays" and Advent seasons still ahead. I want to channel that energy  and stir it up even as the year winds down.
Tuesday Evening Class will continue with the focus of WILDLIFE study.
Thursday Morning Class will emphasize the idea of "Gift Giving" - in ART.
There is always something to be learned and something to share.

If you are not in our area-
and feel your creative energy draining away with the fall light - look for a class or a group that meets to paint, craft, draw or even a book club or Bible study, that meets weekly.  Don't let winter drive you to the TV for consolation.
For many artists, a good plein air season creates new ideas and sows seeds of inspiration that can fill the studio over winter.  And for many of us - doing it with others is really important; not just the work, but the connection.

Tracy Miller Guest Artist

We had a treat in class this week - Tracy Miller, artist and owner of the Tracy Miller gallery in Manitou, gave a demo and talked about her exuberant style animals - painted in acrylic.
I have painted with Tracy in different events around Colorado and am represented in her gallery in Manitou, - but I have never been able to sit and just watch how she puts it all together.  Her colorful animals are finding their way to posters, bags, and accessories in venues like TJ Max and U Gallery, an on-line source for original artwork.
The film festival poster above is testament to the kind of attention her work is getting and she is a generous and active member of the art scene in Colorado Springs.

Using a small piece of reference, Tracy painted the little Cardinal shown above;
then using a simple compositional idea of OUR choice, she created the bison. Tracy has been drawing and painting animals for so many years that she can pull almost any animal out of her head and paint it in a way that communicates.
What a fun morning! I love to see artists work in styles so different from my own, pushing boundaries and inspiring ideas about WHAT is possible.
It is like a breath of fresh air. 
Thanks so much to Tracy for sharing with us.

Live Model in Class - Woof!

 Last Tuesday night we were lucky enough to have a live model in class. Richard Luckemeier brought Gus who "sat" to be painted - actually he went to sleep, hence my painting of him snoozing at my feet.
The Tuesday night class has been inspired to paint animals- in the landscape, in abstracted forms, from scrap and from life.  I put animals in the "figures" category- right up there with portrait - always challenging - but like anything else, practice is what gets you there.
More about that later.