Postcard Invitation

I have two large pastel paintings in the Winter Members Show at the Southern Vermont Art Center in Manchester and was pleasantly surprised to see that one of them had been chosen for the postcard. It looks quite festive. Come to the opening reception on Saturday afternoon if you can; December 6 from 2-4.

Today marks 7 years of blogging here. The title of my painting featured on the postcard is Number Seven - a serendipitous good omen for the next seven!

Please look at Rodrica Tilley Gallery of available Paintings when you have time. The paintings on exhibit in Manchester are Number Seven and Community Garden, Putney.

Sally Strand Workshop

Last week I was among the lucky 18 to spend the week with Sally Strand exploring her style of painting. The 5-day course was named The Color of Light and it was held at the beautiful and well-appointed Southern Vermont Art Center in Manchester. There was a lovely display of color and light on the Green (looked purple-blue to me) Mountains touched with warm autumn foliage and sun. But this was not a landscape class.

We worked from still life and live costumed models all week. Sally made sure we left our comfort zones, so we could learn something new or at least re-enforce solid principles of value and the ways light affects and changes colors. It was a wake-up call for me; easy to fall back on one's old ways of working and not SEE the subtleties and beauty in familiar scenes. Sally's instruction will prod me to practice and increase my skills and abilities. Yes, I felt like going home at some point on Tuesday, but the week ended on a brighter note.

Thank you to gifted teachers, wherever you are. Thank you for forcing us to step outside our comfort zones.