Sounds like a list of my friends throughout my life... quite an assortment pack! This time though they were strangers to me. This weekend Fairplay's history museum, South Park City, was brought to life by a hoard of people dressed to bring this little town to life. The museum is a small town recreated with historical buildings, many moved there from other parts of the county. They are all filled with artifacts of the men and women who populated the many mining towns that sprang up and died with the gold rush. I drove over to take photos of these characters in case I get inspired to paint historical images of the era someday. This special weekend only happens once a year and I had never witnessed it first hand. It was a lot of fun...some of it a little corny, but all good family stuff. I liked this shot as it reminded me a bit of some of my families' heritage. My grandfather built quite a bit of Blackhawk during the goldrush and my other grandfather was a train engineer in the early 1900's. Small pieces of my history that helped build the West! I'll part with a little cowboy logic... "Half your troubles come from wantin' your way, the other half from gettin' it" Ain't that the truth! Ciao for now, it's time to paint!
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This weekend was filled with both hard and happy activities. Saturday was filled with both sadness and joy as we said goodbye to one of my very best friend's partner of 10 years that was tragically lost in a horseback riding accident. We regrouped, changed clothes and then headed to Breckenridge. First to see a solo art show by an amazing artist that is one of our painting group. It was wonderful to see so many red dots on her collection! A red dot next to a painting indicates that it has been sold. To see so many is an indicator that the economy is rising and that people are actually buying art in galleries again! Yahoo! We then scurried up the mountain to attend a much anticipated wedding. The bride has been a part of our family since she was just a little peanut and she and her sisters all worked for me at the Colorado Renaissance Festival through the years. The bride and groom and the entire wedding party were ALL entertainers and/or musicians and the wedding was pure theatre with lots of singing and dancing...it did our hearts good to feel so much happiness after such a sad morning. After catching a few much needed winks I woke up at 6 am, dressed in my oogie painting togs and tackled a scene I've wanted to do for years, but just never got around to, our back deck with early morning light filtering through the pergola and lighting the shrubs and hanging baskets. Spending the morning in the throws of artistic abandon helped me forget about the next pending commitment. To say farewell to another friend of over 30 years. He was an architect, young ( that means close to my age!), well respected and well loved. Several hundred gathered and many stories were shared and many new things learned about a man we all thought we know so well. I was also impressed that so many came from Kansas and Missouri to celebrate his memory. One particular gentleman that we got to know had been his architectural professor at Kansas University in Lawrence. It says amazing things when a teacher student relationship has lasted for over 40 years. I too have been blessed with a teacher that influenced my life over 40 years ago. Amazing isn't it how just one person can change the whole course of your life in ways you may never know at the time. ...and it pays to be honest as you never know when they'll pop up again! Ciao and enjoy life and keep making memories as this whole journey is a gift.
We have a "gang" that has started to paint together here in Summit County this summer. Most of us are members of Plein Air Artists Colorado, an organization dedicated to painting in the great outdoors. It's always more fun to go out with someone else. Safety in numbers and all that stuff. We planned to meet at 8:30 am on the road to Montezuma to take advantage of the early morning light. Only one road...a bunch of artists...how hard could that be? There were only 4 of us! It was about 45 minutes before the crew all ended up at the same place, minus one...one that still doesn't own a cell phone. As you can see it was a beautiful place to paint and we all enjoyed dealing with the usual potpourri of problems that come along with the joy of painting outdoors. Picking little insect corpses out of the paint, the constantly changing sun, trying to race the building clouds that looked like rain and wind gusts. If you look closely you'll see I've "planted" a few small boulders on the other side of my easel in hopes the wind wouldn't take it down. All in all a GREAT day, spent with friends painting. WAY better than vacuuming wouldn't you say? Now where did I put my keys....
If you would like to see more of my art or learn more about me please visit my website: www.mariannaduford.com Choices to make...choices not to make. This art world I live in is complicated, it doesn't need to be, but it is. Do I need the initials after my name? It's like getting a degree in college to get what is called signature status in an art society and there are literally hundreds of these organizations to belong to and in all mediums. Some are local, some regional and some national...even international and within these organizations there are different levels, associate, signature and master! You also have to pay membership fees and the fees to belong go up as your "status" goes up. It shows that you are committed to your art when you belong and that you are tenacious in your pursuit of excellence. My mother, a signature member of the Pastel Society of America for over 40 years, made me feel like it was necessary to have these initials to prove your dedication to your field of artistic expression. To be able to put those initials next to your signature on your paintings was in her eyes, THE most important thing...and it was drilled into me. My wonderful mother didn't have to make a living selling her art, though, and the prestige was truly the underlying drive for her. Most art societies have specific criteria you have to have completed before you can apply for signature status in their organization. Like, being in a gallery, having a solo exhibition in a gallery or museum, being juried into 3 or more national shows, being featured in a national art magazine, and participating in an invitational only art show. Some or all of the above are part of many art societies qualifications. It is costly to enter shows, especially since we've entered the digital age..and the age of baby boomers with income to support what can become an addictive process. There are now, literally, 1,000's of artists vying for the same selections. Here it is...pay $25-$60 an entry fee, get used to rejection...do it again and again and AGAIN, in hopes that your art gets selected, then pay to frame and ship the art to wherever the show is. Maybe you win a prize that helps pay for the expenses and maybe you sell your painting to a show patron...and maybe you don't and then you pay to have it shipped back to you. It's a crapshoot! I was well on my way to signature status in a couple of art society's in 2007 when I took a sabbatical from entering shows to help care for my wonderful, but OLD, artistic mother. My triumphs don't count anymore as it has been too long. I'm entering the fray again...but slowly. I don't feel the drive to NEED the initials anymore, but would like to feel that I accomplished something. Right now I think the satisfaction that I feel when someone loves my art enough to purchase it and want to live with it is enough and the fact that I've been blessed to be able to make a living with my hands is amazing. But in reality the itch is back...and I'm starting to scratch it~ Wish me luck!
Below are 4 paintings that are currently in a show till September 16th at "The Framed Image". A gallery in Denver, CO. Creating art is just one aspect to being a painter....making a living doing what you love can throw a kink into the whole process. There is a romantic conception that all artists spend endless hours in their studios doing nothing but painting and creating. That they don't have time to eat, lose track of time, are quirkie, dress strangely and drink a lot waiting for someone to come by and buy something. While some of that may be true some of us actually have to earn money while being one of these strange beings. I've been blessed to have found a way to collect income by licensing my art to commercial entities. West of the Wind Designs, an international wholesaler, has now licensed 44 of my paintings that they reproduce in their outdoor all weather canvas art line, 14 of the new images are being unveiled at Navy Pier this August and I get to be there :) Seven of my paintings have also been selected for reproduction by American Furniture Warehouse, the largest furniture and accessories retailer west of the Mississippi. Just this past weekend I received notice from the company that they have just added 2 more of my paintings to their line....bringing the total to 9. You can see the new ones in this blog! The reason I'm doing the happy dance is that each time one of my paintings is licensed I have the potential to get a bigger check in the mail for doing essentially, NOTHING! Which leaves me more time to be a quirkie artist that creates endlessly and doesn't have time to eat...oh, woops. That is something I obviously never forget to do :) Ciao and have a fabulous day! If you would like to see more please visit my website www.mariannaduford.com
Late in the day @ Beaver Ponds
I took a half day workshop from master painter, Don Sahli. He studied with a Russian School master and is now passing along "secrets" of the technique, which take a lifetime to learn. Part of the requirement for the class was to paint on a 16x20 canvas with a HUGE #12 bristle filbert. Jeeze Louise...it was a tough assignment. Most plein air painters paint on panels 11x14 or smaller using MUCH smaller brushes...including myself. After the grueling morning with Don I went out again in the afternoon to try doing it again on my own, painting on a 16x20 panel. I painted this in 1.5 hours...a record for me. I didn't include the time it took to keep picking out the little corpses of the platoons of damsel flies that kept flying into my "scene" ...or batting the clouds of mosquitos away. Just another day in the great outdoors!
Cheers...I'm off today to plein air paint with friends here at home this evening and hoping we don't encounter what seems to be the daily mountain monsoon.
"Morning Song" 8x10 plein air oil, available
Another painting friend and I went out Sunday morning to paint in the Crested Butte wilderness. The Plein Air Artists Colorado were gathering for 4 days of painting during the Wildflower Festival and we had arrived early. Crested Butte is known as the wildflower capital of Colorado...and it was breathtaking to experience first hand again! This pretty scene presented itself to me on the way up to the old mining town of Gothic. We needed to join the rest of the 68 artists that would be gathering at noon to have the back of our canvases stamped. This is to have proof that you hadn't painted ahead of time and that the painting was really produced during the paint out. Of course...this one wasn't stamped yet as we went out before the noontime stamp gathering so I couldn't enter it into the show, dang it, as it was one of my favorite paintings of the outing! Oh well, I'm still happy! It's better that staying home and cleaning house any day. Stay tuned and enjoy:)
Oh Be Joyful is the name of some spectacular waterfalls in Crested Butte. It is also the name of the beautiful gallery in "downtown" where tonight's art show is being held. I submitted 2 paintings and they were both selected for the show! WOOT...happy dance and Oh Be Joyful indeed! It's been an amazing week with 68 amazing and accomplished artists. Tomorrow it is back home to reality! I'm actually inspired and excited to paint more in my own back yard. Happy Wednesday to you all!
Slate Creek Road, Crested Butte
Plein air...day 2, late afternoon's partially finished painting. After a fabulous beginning, I'm being sarcastic, the day actually ended up a winner! I was up at the crack of 5:30am dressed and ran out the door to capture the first light of the day. Drove up Washington Gulch and set up my painting equipment to capture the first light on the wildflowers and mountainside. I sketched the view on my canvas panel and was ready to schmeere on some paint. Well...I forgot my paint in the freezer in the condo. Luckily I remembered having a bag of back up tubes in the car. I started laying out my paint and then figured out that all my paintbrushes were in my other easel. Dang. I packed up and headed back to the condo and had some coffee. That's the problem...I should have taken the time to have coffee before trying to think! Note so self...tomorrow have coffee before heading out to paint the first masterpiece of the day!
You should see the back seat!
I belong to Plein Air Artists Colorado and I'm off to my old stomping grounds for a plein air paint out. This coincides with the Wildflower Festival as Crested Butte is known as the wildflower capital of Colorado. I used to live in Crested Butte in the early 80's when there were only 52 year round residents. A time when they joked that the men were men and so were the women. We wore granny skirts and hiking boots and worked and played hard. I opened a cheese shop and deli on the corner of the Stage Stop Building and brought in delicacies that couldn't be found for a hundred miles around us. I also played the piano at a restaurant called Penelopes at night. What a crazy fun time. Any hoo...back to the project at hand :) I feel like I've packed to be gone for the rest of the summer. Panels...check, paint boxes...check, paint brushes...check, bug spray...check, easel...check, sunscreen...check, framing equipment...check, frames...check, rain coat...check, yucky painting clothes...check....AND tequila...check! 63 painters are signed up for 4 days of intense outdoor painting and then what is called a wet wall show at the Oh Be Joyful Gallery on Wed. night where we can enter up to 4 new paintings, created at the event, for jury into the one night show. Wish me luck...Im com'n home, Crested Butte, for some new fangled fun in my old fangled memory world!
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