Art at Shiawassee Art Center

Though we are looking at a slow spring, I am still encouraged to travel to the incredible Great Lakes for some fresh reference photos to inspire new visions of my painting subjects.

Wild Summer, 30x40 oil

We  went to Shiawassee Art Center (SAC) to see the latest exhibit by regional artists on cats. It was good to see the artists play with the cat theme in colorful and poignant ways. I always enjoy coming here, it's a cheery place as staff member Linda acknowledged. 

First Light, 30x40

 

Folks at SAC are preparing for an exceptional 50^th anniversary in August. Lots of fixups are planned around this beautiful Michigan art facility during May to August. One thing during the summer is a Pop-Up Gallery in downtown Owosso staffed by volunteers exhibiting and selling art for three months before the big celebration.

Those are the planning thoughts, but as Charles Schultz’ little dog Snoopy would say when starting his creatives, “It was a dark and stormy night…”  It has been a long time since the last blog post and a lot has come my way. A few health issues that are under control and I am back to painting, back to the routine that makes me happy.

Joel

Peaceful Morning, 16x20

Strait Ahead, 30x30

One Month Later

February 11, 2022

I heard the news today; oh boy … famous words from the Beatles sure express my take on the world stage, so I take a step back and concentrate on the stuff where I can have some influence. The chest pains from one month ago did change my perspective on living and helped me dial in on what really matters. I was painting and felt suddenly ill, all the classic signs of, well you know. Leaving the studio, my thoughts were, could this be my last painting? The good news - all is improving and back to the painting soon. In one month you can sure rank your priorities and look to future works being completed. Thanks to family, friends and most of all the medical community that provided great care.

Evening Spirit
(January 11, 2022)

To get back to painting I needed a little warmup time so I found some stretcher bars. These wooden frame-like devices are for stretching canvas and securing tightly with tacks or staples ready for a gesso base and a surface to lay out dreams. So I stretched two canvases and will be painting again soon. 

JOEL, a greatful artist

Flowers on the Wall

Dreaming