Art Break Wednesday: Ann Goble’s Fine Art

 

Today I have a special treat – for me and for you!

First, I get to meet my friend Ann Goble for lunch.  We try to do this every once in a while – not nearly enough!  Ann has been a dear friend for many years, as we’ve both raised our kids and pursued creative careers as well.  Our sons just graduated, but I know our friendship will long continue.

Now the treat for you – I thought I’d share a bit of Ann’s work here to brighten your day.  I’ll have her back for a real interview soon, but I wanted to whet your appetite.21096_805145ss ann b w head shot

Ann began seriously painting in1999.  She has studied under renowned painters including Roseta Santiago, David Leffel, Gregg Kreutz and Marc Chatov.  Her work has garnered numerous awards and hangs in galleries and private collections.

Her paintings are breathtaking.  Here are some of my favorites:

the-boss goble

The Boss – ©Ann Goble. All rights reserved.

camelia-on-white goble

Camellia on White – – ©Ann Goble. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

amber goble

Amber – – ©Ann Goble. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

Ann begins her artist’s statement, “Painting is for me a search for beauty.”  I think you’ll agree she’s found it! You can learn more about Ann and see additional paintings here.

 

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Horses of Los Cob – © Ann Goble. All rights reserved.

But wait – there’s more!  Ann’s mother,  Ruth I. Money, is also an accomplished painter.  (You know, the apple doesn’t fall…)  Ruth and Ann have exhibited their paintings in the same shows before, and if you happen to live in north Georgia, you can see an exhibit celebrating both their careers.  “Mothers and Daughters” runs until July 19 at The Bowen Center for the Arts.  Click here for more info, directions, and images of paintings –  and feel free to leave some love in the comments below.

Art Break Wednesday: Blown Away by a Book Cover

 

It’s my privilege to write a monthly poetry column over at my friend Janice Hardy’s terrific blog for fiction writers, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY.  My offering over there today harkens back to Notan (positive/negative shapes and such) as a simple way to think about characters in a story.  As an example, I borrowed characters from Margarita Engle’s wonderful book, Hurricane Dancers (Henry Holt and Company, 2011).

hurricane dancers cover

jacket illustration ©Cathie Bleck

I think its cover is, like the writing, just exquisite.  The jacket illustration was done by Cathie Bleck.  (The Artist’s Statement on her website sings to me!)  The jacket designers were Rich Deas and Elizabeth Tardiff.

The book has six parts, each comprised of individual poems told in five voices. I love the visual opening each of these as well:

Wild Sea interior hurricane dancers

I don’t know what the lettering/font is called, but I’m also in love with the letters.  Looks to me like blackletter with curlicues and a Western twang (with the “points” peeking out along the stems of the letters.)  Very dynamic.

For a treat, click here to see a video of cover artist Cathie Bleck’s artistic process using kaolin clay.  Many of her incredible paintings as well as some studies and sketchbooks are posted on her site as well.  Enjoy!

 

Art Break Wednesday: Terrific Art Springing up – Check Out these Artists!

 

Greetings, Art Friends!

On the home front, I’m zipping between region and state tennis tournaments this week for my youngest, a high school senior and captain of the team. DSC_0036 seth with trophy small  (Blog posts I’ve been planning in my head have yet to materialize, in other words!)

But it’s still Wednesday, so I’d love to share a few links which are sure to delight your eyes.  Click around and enjoy!

First up is Chip Ghignachip ghigna art cropChip is the son of noted children’s poet Charles Ghigna, aka Father Goose.  I’ve been eyeing Chip’s colorful, lively paintings on the Father Goose blog for a while now.

 

Chip is a recent graduate of Auburn University and currently enjoying his first gallery show at the Ellenburg Gallery at the Homewood Public Library, next door in Alabama.  If you’re in that neighborhood, check it out!  If not, please enjoy clicking and scrolling online.

 

Next, you’ll enjoy tooling around the portfolios of Joseph Bradley.  I met Joseph briefly at The Maker’s Summit in Greenville, South Carolina, in February.  joseph bradley art cropHe hails from a neighboring town, Pendleton, and I quickly assessed that his paintings on wood panels have more than a few fans.  Take a look-see and you’ll learn why!  Joseph has just added many new pieces.

Last but not least on our mini gallery tour today is the newest member of my wonderful art critique group, fellow Georgian and the creative force behind Doublefly Design, Leighanne Schneider . leighanne art crop Here’s a link to her fine art site, and she has a treasure trunk full of irresistible offerings at her illustration site.  She doesn’t know this yet – nor do my other art critique group partners in crime – but I do plan to feature each one of them in a proper interview post in coming months.  Forgiveness is easier to get than permission, you know…

Here’s hoping you are surrounded by colorful April flowers – and art! – springing up, and that the pollen is passing you by.  Enjoy creating, and support your friendly local artists. :0)

Thanks for visiting.

Art Break Wednesday: Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s “Drawing Into Poems” project

 

Hope you are enjoying a Happy Poetry Month!

Today I have a special treat.  Children’s poet and author, sought-after writing teacher, and Poem Farm blog creator Amy Ludwig VanDerwater has embarked on a wonderful project this month that she graciously agreed to let me share here.

Amy LV

Amy LV

Each day in April, Amy has been “Drawing Into Poems” – her daily “drawing/seeing/writing study into poetry.”

“I chose this project because I have always wanted to learn to see better, to understand through seeing, to develop my own sensitivity,” she says in the introductory post here. Logo Amy LV

(Don’t miss the great books she’s listed as resources on that page.  I smiled at a couple of old favorites, THE ZEN OF SEEING by Frederick Franck  and DRAWING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN by Betty Edwards.  Others I’m putting on my to-read list.)

 

Here’s a taste of her project.

On April 4th, Amy shared this drawing of a bowl:

Bowl Good 2 Amy LV

On April 5th, she shared a poem inspired by that drawing exercise:

Cupped Hands 3

Don’t you love all those associations?  And such lovely imagery?

a dream / of old coyotes / a dream / of sun-warm deer” makes me swoon.

Another favorite of mine from this project is her cemetery sketch from this past Monday (April 15):

Cemetery Amy LV

I  LOVE the lively composition here – so much life for such a “grave” subject, no?  And what wonderful reflections, such as the winding thought penned above the arched tombstone, “Always… These tombstones remind me… not to worry…

I’m enjoying Amy’s reflections in her blog posts, too.  Here’s an excerpt from this same day:

What places make you feel grateful and reflective?  It is important for all of us to find places where we can find our quiet selves and just think. Cemeteries slow me down and help me remember what matters most to me.  I wish that I could talk with all of the people buried here, learn from them, hear their lessons.”

My mother instilled in me a love of walking through cemeteries, too – sketching, pondering.  Amy’s drawings and words help us appreciate such contemplative moments and places.

At just past the mid-way point of this project, I asked Amy what she’s learned so far.

“Halfway through my month of Drawing into Poems, I see that drawing and writing are even more alike than I had imagined,” she says. “There’s that initial flash of love, followed by circling around and around, trying to make clear outside what you see and deeply feel inside.  I’m studying shadows now, and roof lines, noticing the silhouette of a milk carton and the way our mother cat’s tail curls around her smallest kitten.  I am seeing more because I am looking differently; drawing has opened up another window for me.  I plan to keep drawing in my notebooks even after April is over so as not to lose these new eyes.”

Amy’s poetry appears in many publications and acclaimed anthologies.  Her first collection for children was released this spring by Clarion Books – FOREST HAS A SONG, illustrated by Robbin Gourley.  Led by a girl in spunky red boots, readers FOREST COVERexplore the woods in 26 poems.  From “Song”:

Under giant pines / I hear / a forest chorus / crisp and clear.

Singing its praises are the most respected names in the field of children’s poetry as well as teachers in the trenches.  You might also be interested in seeing the art for this book develop – Amy includes a page on her website which chronicles Robbin Gourley’s beautiful illustrations as they progressed.

Now, I know you want to click over to Amy’s blog and check out all the art and reflections thus far this month.  And aren’t you thankful we still have a couple more weeks to go in April? :0)

Gracious thanks to Amy for visiting today and sharing her inspiring work!

Art Break Wednesday: Enjoy Meandering through these Great Links!

 

Yay Images

Yay Images

That good old Road Less Traveled can lead to some wonderful surprises and delights!  I’m always coming across art-related links I’d like to share, so today I have a meandering kind of assortment for your enjoyment.  (Some I’ve mentioned before and others are new here.) Click on whatever tickles your fancy:

Like reading about artists and discovering new original work?  Check out Jama Rattigan’s  Alphabet Soup blog for her brand new series this year spotlighting indie artists.

First you’ll meet Kari Van Gelder, Mandy Troxel, and Amy Lum of Bossy’s Feltworks.  (You’ll have to click on the feature to learn how that business name came about!)  You’ll also meet some adorable fuzzy characters you just might not be able to live without.

Then, enjoy the miniature sculpted delicacies of Stéphanie Kilgast  of PetitPlat.  You won’t believe your eyes!

If you love printmaking as much as I do, check out the website for printmaker and illustrator Holly Meade and her Reach Road Gallery.

Her bold and lively work can be found in a trio of books by David Elliott – On the Farm, In the Sea, and one of my favorites, In the Wild.

Is photography your thing?

My author friend Sarah C. Campbell has a terrific website with lots of great info about how she and husband Richard created photographs for her award-winning nonfiction books for young readers.  Here is a great little video interview with Richard about making the pictures for Growing Patterns.

Lettering fan, you say?

Take a peek inside the wonderful print journals offered by the amazing folks at John Neal Bookseller, Letter Arts Review and Bound and Lettered (Scroll down to click on sample issues.)

Are you mad for mixed media?

Check out Pam Carriker’s inspiring blog and website.  Her second book is now available for pre-order, Creating Art at the Speed of Life.

Then be sure and enjoy all the layers at Seth Apter’s amazing blog, The Altered Page.  If you really want to get lost, start clicking through the hundreds of art blogs he’s painstakingly compiled in his Art Blog Directory!

Getting serious about launching, or growing, your art business?

 

Yay Images

Yay Images

Beth Rommel pointed me to this first one:

The Art Biz Blog by Alyson B Stanfield. All kinds of great resources for those doing this for a living!

 

The Etsy blogs are a terrific resource for art business entrepreneurs.  Here’s an article from yesterday about what kind of business structure to choose. 

 

 

Interested in illustrating for the children’s market? 

Check out the expansive website and blog of my author and illustrator friend Elizabeth Dulemba,  with this page of helpful links.

Finally, for the art history buffs and gallery geeks among us – have you seen this?

MetPublications is “a portal to the Met’s comprehensive book and online publishing program with close to 700 titles published from 1964 to the present…

MetPublications includes a description and table of contents for most titles, as well as information about the authors, reviews, awards, and links to related Met titles by author and by theme. Current titles that are in-print may be previewed and fully searched online, with a link to purchase the book. The full contents of almost all other titles may be read online, searched, or downloaded as a PDF. Many of these out-of-print books will be available for purchase, when rights permit, through print-on-demand capabilities in association with Yale University Press.”

Oh, my.  If I go missing, I have likely gotten lost in these amazing publications.  Please send a search party.

Let me know if you’d like to do this again sometime – there are plenty of wonderful trails to explore, and you might even have a favorite to share, too!

 

Art Break Wednesday: Connections and Combinations

 

Greetings!  I’m not exactly sure where the past week went, but between travelling, enjoying the last bit of spring break with Morgan, and a couple of work things, it slipped through my fingers!  Oops.

Happy to be back and eager to share art and inspiration this spring.

Today I’m thankful not only to have been a creator but a recipient in the Pocket Change  Artist Trading Card project.  Folks participated from all over the world:  the US, Canada, Italy, Australia, India, Mexico, and New Zealand! Beth mailed out my own cards to keep (or share) a couple of weeks ago, and they have been brightening my days:

 

Images © the artists

Images © the artists

The “Flowers of Time” card from Nancy is particularly special because she put the date on the back – and it was created my birthday, January 30!  Its collaged text reads:

The truth, that painter, bard, and sage,

Even in Earth’s cold and changeful

Clime,

Plant for their deathless heritage

The fruits and flowers of time.

 

Isn’t that beautiful?  I was cheered by the other cards as well – Leslie’s lively hot pink and ink drawing, Fiona’s happy Friendship card, and the colorful collage from.. Spain? Well, it has Spanish postage stamps.  I love knowing that the creators put not only their imaginations into these delightful pieces, but their hearts as well.  Thank you!

For more about the project, here’s a post on 6 Degrees of Creativity with links to other blog posts by participants.

In other news… customers often have the best ideas.  I was recently asked about putting together a combination package of note cards from my Etsy shop, an idea which I’ve been stirring on the back burner and whose time has come.  After sending off her custom package, I decided to offer a couple of themed packs as well as a “Your Choice” option for those who can’t decide.  Finally got them posted today:

Literary Combo Pack (Click for Link)

Literary Combo Pack (Click for Link)

Literary Combo Pack

 

 

 

 

 

Animal Combo Pack  (Click for Link)

Animal Combo Pack (Click for Link)

Animal Combo Pack

Custom Combo Pack (Click for Link)

Custom Combo Pack (Click for Link)

Custom Combo Pack

The price per pack is slightly higher than my same-design packs, simply because there is a little more time involved in assembling them.

Thank you, Dear Customer who spurred me on, and I hope other folks will enjoy these options as well.

Now, I’ve got some new projects coming up with the daffodils – what are your artistic plans for Spring?

Art Break Wednesday: Pick a Card!

 

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Any card!

Okay, not THAT kind of card.

This week I signed on to participate in an exchange of Artists Trading Cards (ATCs).  The deadline was last night and I think I squealed in just before cut-off.

I’ve seen them around and in the art magazines for a long time – these amazing little gems of art shared between creators and often sent to other parts of the country or world.  They’re about the size of playing cards, or sports trading cards, etc., and just about anything goes media-wise.

My amazingly generous and talented friend Beth Rommel has volunteered to help with this current project, which she blogged about here and here.  (Click over to see some lovely examples of her ATC’s.)  It’s fun to think of these colorful wonders not only arriving in someone’s mailbox, but perhaps left somewhere to brighten a stranger’s day, guerilla-style!

You might see the acronym ACEO as well – this stands for “Art Cards, Editions, and Originals.”  Artists often sell these at shows and online.  (On Etsy, for instance!  A search of ACEO, or ATC, will yield thousands upon thousands of results.)

One reason I jumped in for this project is that I’ve recently enjoyed receiving creative surprises in the mail.  I had the good fortune to participate in a Poetry Swap in December, organized by the also-generous-and-talented Tabatha Yeatts. My blog post about her gift to me is here.  And her post about my gift to her is here.

Another poetry friend Laura Shovan is blogging about a postcard project she’s got going on this month and next, celebrating her 44th birthday in February. (She’s documenting these one by one in current posts!)  I recently received my postcard (with an original poem of hers on the back) and blogged about it, too, here.

I look forward to creating my own Artist Trading Cards in the next couple of weeks and sending them off.  I’ll post a picture or two.

How about you?  Have you participated in any fun, creative swaps yielding a bit of wonder in your mailbox?

 

Art Break Wednesday – Thankful!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This week as I count my blessings, I’m especially thankful for my wonderfully creative, generous, and supportive art critique group.

Prescott Hill, Beth Rommel, Kathleen Bradshaw, and Paula Puckett – my fabulous artists critique group!

Robyn and Kathleen

These fine folks are:  Prescott Hill, Beth Rommel, Kathleen Bradshaw, and Paula B. Puckett.

We meet once a month at Beth’s lovely home (though we’ve promised her we’ll start spreading the hosting love).  We eat, sip coffee, nibble some more, and encourage one another as we share whatever is going on in our artistic lives.  It’s not all social – each month we share whatever we’ve been working on for feedback.  I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned and how much I appreciate their keen insights!  I’m beyond thankful that I stumbled into the fold of this group as it was forming last spring. It’s made a huge difference in my creative life and has been very instrumental in my getting artsyletters off the ground.

Oh, and we sometimes take field trips, too.  Of course, we can all be found at SCBWI Southern Breeze events, but we like our own side trips as well.

Here we are shopping researching markets and digging up inspiration and treasures at the Flowery Branch (Georgia) Antique market.

 

 

 

And Beth and I are shopping  researching and gathering art-making supplies yet again this past weekend in Buford, Ga., at the Revival Antique show.

 

 

 

 

We call ourselves “Harold’s Friends” after Beth’s cat, who usually deigns to supervise each meeting at some point.  I’m thankful for these friends and wish, for everyone who creates, a talented, honest little band of folks who speak the same language and encourage them on the journey.

 

Art Break Wednesday: Painter and Illustration Contest Winner Beth Rommel!

 

This past spring, I had the lovely good fortune to fall into a wonderful artists’ critique group.  We met through our amazing SCBWI Southern Breeze region.  I’ll share more about our small band in future posts  (Beth Rommel, Kathleen Bradshaw, Prescott Hill, Paula Puckett, and yours truly).

Beth Rommel

Beth came to see me at Mule Camp!

TODAY, I want to celebrate our “fearless leader” – or, at least, the one of us brave enough to host us in her home each month and keep our calendar on track. Why are we celebrating?  Because BETH ROMMEL just won first place in the SCBWI Southern Breeze 2012 illustration contest, as announced this past weekend at our fall conference in Birmingham!  Woo-hoooo!!!!!  The contest was judged by Debra Kaplan, Vice President and Executive Art Director at Penguin Young Readers.  (Yes, you should be impressed!)

Beth came to the Atlanta area in June 2011.  She grew up in Louisiana, and her work has been widely exhibited in Texas and the Southwest, and in Florida, where she later lived.  Her work experience includes graphic design, editorial, production, public relations, and education.  Now you can find Beth and her wonderful paintings here in Georgia!

The prompt for this year’s contest (coordinated by our own Kathleen Bradshaw, by the way) was:  “PJ tried and tried…”

Wouldn’t you know it, Beth was not able to attend this weekend because she was the special guest at another art event in Atlanta featuring her oil paintings. So I snapped a quick picture on my iPhone of her work up on the BIG screen:

image ©Beth Rommel. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a better picture of her painting:

“PJ tried and tried to make friends with the horses.” ©Beth Rommel. All rights reserved.

Beth kindly offers this peek into how she created her winning picture:

I am so surprised to have won this because as a painter my style is very different from traditional children’s book illustration, which I really admire.

In coming up with a way to complete the prompt “P.J. tried and tried” I spoke with fellow artist Prescott Hill who said he was trying to remember things he had done as a child.  I was always doing something with horses in my childhood, riding them, showing them, trying to catch them in a field, make them my friends (carrots and apples always helped that process). 

Because of that constant contact their form is intuitive. It is well embedded in my Visual Catalogue, a term I coined recently. (I define it as a registry of the images kept in one’s mind. The images are derived from experiences of all descriptions.) I wanted to convey the feeling of being in a field surrounded by horses, some are friends, some are a little wild, some threatening, and others completely ignore you. This whole cast of characters I knew as a child. Wearing mismatched clothes was not an issue in the country early in the morning when all I wanted to do was get outside and get on a horse. In my dad’s big jackets or a flannel shirt I would walk the wet fields in Louisiana trying to track down these creatures and hope they wouldn’t run away before I could catch one for the ride home.

I used a palette of mixed media: acrylic paint, white ink, collage papers on coldpress 140 lb. watercolor paper. The original is proportionally twice the size as the final printed piece as I work better in a large format. I have tried to imagine what it would have been like to see my horses on a large screen at the conference! I sure wish I had been there; thank you again for sending me the photo. I am walking on air.

Thanks so much for this behind-the-scenes look, Beth!

Here is a taste of some more of Beth’s vibrant works.  These are all oil paintings.

portraits: Co-Directors of the World Shakespeare Project. ©Beth Rommel. All rights reserved.

Admired Woman. ©Beth Rommel. All rights reserved.

Nancy and Andy. ©Beth Rommel. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Big Chicken was Back Again. ©Beth Rommel. All rights reserved.

Can’t wait to see what else Beth has in store.  You can keep up with Beth at her new art blog,  bethrommel.com.

What feelings does Beth’s artwork evoke in YOU?  Let her know in your congratulations in the comments!