84 shades of gray: Exciting, beautiful, rich and yes, lusty shades of gray!
I spent a lazy Sunday mixing shades of gray. And you thought this was going to be an erotic post!
There is something sensual about playing with paint, I think. (more…)
Dorette Amell, Maine Artist. Be prepared to be inspired
Work hard, says Maine artist Dorette Amell. She knows what she’s talking about. She worked hard to find her voice and to become the fine artist she is today. A woman who practices what she preaches.
Read more to find out what inspires Dorette to create art. (more…)
The final drawings: Building on our own momentum
As usual, it’s hard to believe another semester has whizzed by. We exhibited our final drawing projects at an open studio reception, which was fun.
I was blown away by the work my fellow students did, so decided to focus on some of their projects instead of mine. These are images from the reception and some excerpts from interviews I did that night. (more…)
Amy Stacey Curtis and MEMORY: Her final biennial
Amy Stacey Curtis, who has lived in Maine since 1986, says her work “physically exists as art only when installed in a space and activated by an audience.”
Over the past 17 years, Amy has installed eight solo-biennial exhibits. For each, she has chosen a Maine mill as her space. (more…)
Learning to be an artist. Making progress and works in progress
On the way to class the other day, I passed a much younger fellow student on the opposite side of the street. He called out, “Hey Diane, how’s it going? On your way to painting class?” He mentioned seeing my fractured self-portrait on Facebook and how much he liked it and I said I also liked the work he’d been doing lately. (more…)
Ellen Babcock. Inspired by Maine history, this artist celebrates Portland’s working people
A history lesson comes with this profile of artist Ellen Babcock. Ellen lives in New Mexico, where she is an assistant professor of sculpture at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. She also founded the organization Friends of the Orphan Signs. Ellen got her BFA from the Portland School of Art (MECA) in 1984 and makes regular visits to Maine to visit her family.
It’s right on the tip of our pens
No commentary with this post. Pictures only. Exquisite little pen and ink drawings that we did in our Drawing: Media and Strategies class with Michael Shaughnessy. (more…)
Diane Dahlke. An artist who finds inspiration in play
When she’s not at her easel, Diane Dahlke is encouraging and mentoring aspiring and developing artists. She teaches painting in MECA’s Continuing Studies Program. That’s where I first met Diane. I took her Practice of Painting class several times. Couldn’t get enough!
Because her lessons still roll around in my head and in the hand that holds my paintbrush, it is only fitting that I include her in my series of Profiles of Maine Artists. (more…)
How to be inspired by apple trees and abstract art
En plein air. A French expression that means “in the open air.” A plein air painting is done outdoors. (more…)
Lucy Ellen Smith: Artist who teaches us how to draw to learn
Lucy Ellen Smith is not only an exceptional artist, she is an exceptional teacher.
I met her several years ago when she and her husband Carroll moved to Maine from Chicago to take care of her mother Fran. Thinking about that, I need to add that Lucy is simply an exceptional human being. She and Carroll left their home, jobs, family and friends to move in with Fran and care for her until her death seven years later.
They are now back in Chicago, where Lucy continues to create beautiful art and nurture other artists in her drawing and painting classes at the Center for Life and Learning. (more…)
