Inspiration

Not only do I draw from nature for inspiration, but I look for inspiration from other artists, too.  Musicians, poets, writers, dancers, and visual artists are all part of the pool of creativity that I enjoy swimming in.  I wanted to share with you two artists who I have lately been inspired by.

The first artist is a friend I have never met in real life.  I know her as a fellow artist and blogger.  We met through an online class we both took from Alyson Stanfield.  (Was that almost two years ago already?)  Meet Patricia Scarborough, plein air painter extraordinaire!   Patricia paints in oil and pastel, focusing on scenes from her local Nebraska surroundings.  I am enchanted with her light-filled paintings.  Please take a moment to visit her website or blog and see for yourself why I love her work.  She also has the ability to put a smile on my face with her delightful sense of humor.  Patty, I am such a fan!

Tree Line.  Oil, 6 x 6 inches.  ©2010  Patricia Scarborough.

The next artist I have been drawing inspiration from lately is also someone I have never met.   That is because he died about 55 years before I was even born.  August Macke (1887-1914) was a German artist who embraced the avant guard artistic ideas of his time, melding the ideas of the Blue Riders, the Expressionists, Futurism and Cubism into his art in a unique way.  I have a tiny book of images from watercolors he painted while visiting Tunisia with Paul Klee, and I love the vibrant colors and abstract qualities of the collection. Macke also painted in oil, and produced some amazing paintings for someone who lived such a short time.  I do have a larger book with more of his paintings and a short biography that I love to spend hours with.  

August Macke.  A watercolor from the Tunisia trip.

I finished hanging eleven drawings at JTAG, the collective gallery in Joshua Tree today.  The opening is this Friday, from 6 to 9 pm.  I hope you all enjoy your week - September arrives!

Art Happenings in Joshua Tree

On Saturday, I was out and about in Joshua Tree, catching up on just a few of the art events.  The first event I enjoyed was Martha Jacobson's lecture at the public library.  Martha Jacobson paints these really cool watercolors inspired by photographs taken by the Hubble Telescope.  There was a good crowd for the talk, and I enjoyed hearing Jacobson talk about her art.  I tried to take a couple of photos of her paintings, but they had glass on them and I did not get any good images to share.  The show stays in the library until January 5th, so if you get a chance, I highly recommend it.  The art talks are sponsored by the MBCAC and the Friends of the Joshua Tree Public Library. 

After the talk at the library, I went over to True World Gallery, where there is an exhibition of my friend Tina Bluefield's art.  They are showing a nice sampling of Bluefield's art, including abstracts, landscapes, and collage.  Apparently, the Red Arrow has now relocated to a space in closer to downtown Joshua Tree, but I did not make it over there.  I was too busy admiring Bluefield's paintings!  Plus, I was struggling to get myself back in the studio after too much time away from my own art.    

 

It is always better to see paintings live and in person, so if you are in Joshua Tree or vicinity, please do stop at True World Gallery.  If you don't live nearby, you can visit Tina Bluefield's website to see a bigger sampling of her oil paintings.

I have finally managed to get myself in the studio with oil paint once again.  After an interruption of over two weeks, I am struggling a little to find out where I was heading with my work.  I have jumped into an entirely new direction now, but I am beginning to rediscover the thoughts I had before leaving.  I hope to have something interesting to show you soon.