Blog

Why is it the days of summer seem to pass so much more quickly than those of the rest of the year? Already the time for my next Pet Portrait Workshop is nearly here. This two day workshop is hosted by the Glen Arbor Art Association, beginning July 28. So, you ask, where the heck is Glen Arbor?

For those who wonder, it is due west of Traverse City. If you go much farther west than that, you’ll be swimming in Lake Michigan. If, however, you prefer staying dry and would like to try your hand at creating a likeness of your favorite Fluffy or Fido, here’s the link for more information: http://www.glenarborart.org/events-classes/pet-portrait-workshop/

Hot on the heels, well, I hope not TOO hot, is the annual Glen Arbor Paint Out Weekend. This year, the dates are Friday and Saturday, August 1^st and 2^nd. You can go to the Glen Arbor Art Association website for more information http://www.glenarborart.org/   

Even better, you can click on this link to see the handsome poster: http://www.glenarborart.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/PaintOut-flyer.pdf

Submitted by Kathleen W. O'Connell

Last weekend Michigan artists were happy to have the opportunity to participate in the second ever Brighton Paint Out. One of them was me. We had lovely, sunny weather on Saturday and pleasantly cool weather on the second day, Sunday. The torrential downpour considerately held off nearly to the cut-off time so participants had time to complete their entries.

In case you don’t already know, a “paint out” is a timed competition where artists begin with a blank surface: canvas, paper or otherwise. The artist must then work from direct observation to begin and complete an artwork by the end time. In this case, the end time was 3:00 p.m. Sunday. This is the deadline for turning in the finished artwork ready to hang in an exhibition. For oil painters, me for example, this means popping a still-wet oil painting into a frame. That only adds to the adventure of it all. While paintings done in this way may lack the polish of pieces carefully crafted in the studio, they often have a quality of freshness and excitement that is evident to the viewer.  

Sarah Grusin, of the Brighton Art Guild, and her team of assistants made every detail of this event a delightful experience for participating artists. With plenty of natural beauty and appealing scenery nearby, I’m already looking forward to the third Brighton Paint out! The artworks from all the participating artists are on exhibit at both the Cobach Center and Art Ventures Gallery in Brighton, Michigan through the end of July. For details, see: http://cobachcenter.org/