I am excited to announce that my second solo exhibition of the year opens this Saturday, June 17, 2023 at Artmosphere Community Arts Center in Clayton, NC. I dropped off the framed watercolor collection this afternoon to this location which is named in the National Historic registry. And if you know me, you know I love historic architecture! This building does not disappoint.
I even have a painting of the former plantation home, known as the Smith-Moore House in my exhibit! (I had visited last summer to plan the show and photographed the building to paint later ;-) The home sits on 8 acres of its former hundreds where tobacco and cotton were once grown in Johnston County.
Much of the work in this exhibit was painted "en plein air", which is something I simply love to do. There is nothing like heading out to a sunny spot on a beautiful day to paint- whether that be in urban Downtown Raleigh, or overlooking a farm in western Cary. Many of the images depict places that either no longer exist, or will be gone or changed soon. My style is colorful and fresh and I hope breaths new life into the scenes I depict and resonate with the viewer.
There are roughly 22 watercolors and 3 alcohol marker drawings in the show, which focuses on scenes that make a place home. The show is therefore titled "No Place Like Home" and is a continuation of paintings I exhibited in Downtown Apex, NC at the Halle Art Center in March.
Over the course of this past year I focused on increasing the overall size of my watercolor paintings. Several in this show are measure 16" x 20", (framed 20" x 24"). They are my largest works yet.
As an artist, sometimes it seems like my work interests are all over the place, working to run pop-up booths, paint plein air, then switch to acrylic painted pet portraits and back to a studio watercolor. My pop-up booth focuses mostly on smaller works, as well as the pet portraits that many know me for. When I work on paintings to exhibit, I frame and show work that is more time- involved and larger, like those photographed below. More "Gallery-Ready", if you will.
Below is a brief peek at what I will have in my exhibit. The show is up through July 31.
I am moving some new work into the Cotton House Craft Brewers, 307 S Academy Street in Downtown Cary. The front room on the left has a number of my framed works on display. Stop by there for a beer and some art when you are in downtown Cary.
After the Artmosphere exhibit comes down, I will about a dozen pieces to Glenaire, where I will be the Featured Artist from September 1 to December 1, 2023.
I am looking forward to a productive summer both at the beach trying out new watercolor subjects and also when life gets really hot, hanging out in my studio working on images that I have been collecting all year.
Thank you for following along on my art journey. I appreciate your support.