The York Bailey Museum at The Penn Center on St. Helena Island South Carolina,  presents Gullah Art:  A Legacy of Preservation.  This is a traveling exhibition organized by Gallery Chuma of Charleston South Carolina.  The exhibition opens on February 11, 2012, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm.

Nine artists working in various mediums bring attention to the Gullah culture, whose roots can be traced through slavery and back to Africa.  Sweetgrass Hat and Magnolia #22 is one of four of my paintings included in this exhibition.  The following artists are also featured:  Leroy Campbell, Tyrone Geter, John W. Jones, Judy Mooney, Irene Tison, Nakia Wigfall, Jonathan Green and Arianne King-Comer.

Casting a Net #4, 36″ x 40″, oil on canvas   Basketlady #16, 16″ x 20″, oil on canvas

Casting a Net #4 and Basketlady #16 are part of an exhibit which focuses on the Gullah Culture in South Carolina.  The exhibit was curated by the Art in Embassies Program (AIEP). The program was established within the United States Department of State in 1964 by President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie.

The goal of AIEP is to promote national pride and a sense of cultural identity by displaying America’s art and its artists throughout the world.  The program places more than 5,000 works of art in the public rooms of approximately 180 American diplomatic residences worldwide. Artwork is borrowed from galleries, museums, individual artists, and corporate and private collections. AIEP curators develop thematic exhibitions in collaboration with each ambassador, taking into account the host country’s artistic traditions and cultural mores.

The Gullah Culture exhibit will be on display for two years in Luanda, Angola at the residence of Ambassador Chris McMullen.   View all artwork in this exhibit.

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler will be on display in the Mardi Gras Art Show in Whiting IN.  The exhibit, sponsored by the Whiting Arts Council, includes artwork dealing with New Orleans themes -  architecture, cafes, zedeco and jazz music, etc. It will open on February 4th at Studio 629 Gallery.

On October 2nd, I participated in an event called Arts Goggle.  Businesses on the south side of downtown Fort Worth, provided a venue for displays of artwork by local artists and music by local bands.  I was assigned to Spatenatiety, a new spa and nail salon at 618 S. Jennings Avenue. Owner, Missy Malone, did complementary nail treatments for visitors.  In the photo, I’m working on a study for a portrait of my father.

Below are two of my paintings that were on display.  I used fabric in both paintings; the dress and parts of the scarf in Waiting (11 x 14, mixed media on board), and  the dress in La Chantuese (the singer, 8 x 10, mixed media on canvas).  Waiting was inspired by the image of a woman that I saw in a news report about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur Sudan.  She was in a refugee camp across the border in neighboring Chad.

These paintings BP Deep Water Horizon Oil and BP Deep Water Horizon Oil Cleanup are in response to the BP Deep Water Horizon oil rig fire, and the resulting environmental damage to the Gulf of Mexico and the coastlines along the Gulf.  They show crude oil encroaching on pristine waters and the effort to clean up the mess. I’m from Louisiana, so this is very personal.  Last month both paintings were in the TexasWax 10 x 10 Exhibit of encaustic artwork at The Galleries at Sunset Center in Amarillo Texas.

Lately, I’ve been exploring abstraction, but I still like realism.  Painting animals is unusual for me.  I was drawn mainly to the image of this little girl dressed up like a sophisticated lady.  Puppy Love was appropriate for an exhibit entitled, Unconditional Love Juried Pet Art Exhibit.  It received an award for 2nd Place in the Water Media category.  The exhibit is sponsored by the Irving Arts Association.  It is on display at the Jaycee Park Center For The Arts, 2000 West Airport Frwy, Irving Texas through September 23, 2010.

Louisiana, my home, has been on my mind.  Jazz Man was inspired by New Orleans jazz. As some of you know, my first artistic outlet was sewing.  Lately, I’ve been looking for ways to include textiles into some of my paintings.  The collar in this painting is fabric.  The pattern on the shirt was made with a hand-carved stamp. The background has some stamping and layers of splattered paint.

 After 10+ years of painting with oils, I have become sensitive to the solvents used to thin the paints and clean brushes.  The odor, which never bothered me before, has gradually become difficult to tolerate.  A few years ago, to limit my exposure,  I started making a transition from oils to acrylics and watercolors.   At some point I may try the new water soluble oil paints that are now available to artists.  I’m not leaving oils completely.  But, for now, I’m viewing this as an opportunity to learn and to continue to explore painting with acrylics and watercolors as well as encaustics (hot beeswax).  I’ll talk more about encaustics at another time.

My painting, Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler (Cajun French for Let the Good Times Roll), was inspired by the Mardi Gras and Jazz Funeral traditions of New Orleans.  I took advantage of the versatility of acrylics.  Heavy body paint, similar in consistency to oil paint, was used on most of the painting.  Several colors thinned with water were splattered across the top of the painting.  The splatters start at the horn and go over and around the umbrellas. I wanted the horn player to be like a pied piper leading the procession.  The hat and umbrellas are fabric and paper. The pants and parts of the background are decorated with paint applied with stamps that I carved by hand.

My focus is on the layering of colors, textures and patterns. This is reminiscent of a time in my life when sewing was my main artistic outlet and I was surrounded by colorful fabrics. I am coming full circle.  In doing so, I am reclaiming pieces of my life that I had left behind.  I will be creating more artwork which incorporates elements from my life that allow me to make more personal statements about who I am.

After seeing a photo of this little lady and her puppy, I wanted to do a painting.  Aside from her cute and sophisticated look, I thought this would be a good exercise in watercolor painting and would allow me to continue to learn techniques.  Her crocheted dress presented a challenge.  But, I am pleased with the overall results.

Puppy Love has been accepted into the Arlington Visual Arts Association 34th Annual Juried Regional Exhibition. The artwork will be on display from February 12, 2010 - March 26, 2010 at the Bob Duncan Center at Vandergriff Park, 2800 S. Center Street, Arlington Texas.

Monday and Tuesday evening after dinner, there were lectures by instructors Don Andrews and Mary Ann Beckwith. Wednesday evening there was a Studio Walk Around. All of the studios were open so students from the 5 classes could see each others works in progress. Thursday evening we had free admission to Burroughs Chapin Art Museum. One of the exhibits was 25 Years of Jonathan Green: Selections from the Barbara Burgess-John Dinkelspiel Collection of Southern Art.

 On the last day, John critiqued our work. We prepared our paintings for the evening exhibit and reception.  Overall, it was a very positive experience. Five intense days immersed in painting in the company of artists from all over the United States and Canada. I developed a greater understanding of the principles and elements of design, which are a basis for both abstract and realistic art. I will make a conscious effort to apply them in my future artwork.

The Springmaid Watermedia Program offers 3 weeks of workshops during the spring and fall. The workshops are held at the Springmaid Beach Resort on the Atlantic Ocean. The workshop fee included our room and meals in Marlin’s Restaurant cafeteria at the resort.