"Looking Up"

14"x 11"  Oil on board

You'll be seeing a lot of "Skyscapes" in the next few posts.  These will be on exhibit and for sale at the up and coming 2 Person show titled "Of Earth and Sky" at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa.

Accomplished Metal and Glass artist, Mika Sorak (who happens to be my daughter) is the other artist represented in this show.  Her work can be found in a few galleries and floral shops across Iowa and is in private collections across the United States.

The Show will be hanging Feb 1st - March 7th, 2016

Bentonsport 2016 Brochure Cover

I can now announce that the Van Buren Conservation Board approved the use of my painting shown here as next years cover for our 3 fold flyer on Bentonsport's businesses, B & B's and Campsite/Trails.

Soft Pastel on LaCarte Sanded paper.  I donated the original to the DNR.  It's size is 25"x 11.5"

Businesses shown here are all along Hawk Dr., across from Riverside Park and the Des Moines River. The building at the top is known as the "Odd Fellows Hall".  The second floor is set up as a museum showcasing ritual memorabilia and meeting room of an "Odd Fellows" chapter.  The organization is much like the Masons.  NEW IN 2016 the main floor will house the business 

"Paddle, Pedal, and More".  A kayak, bicycle rental  and gift shop.  Odd Fellows Hall is located near the boat ramp to the Des Moines River.  The business owns a pontoon boat in which they plan to give tours on the river. 

Next is the front of "Iron & Lace"store.  Below it is a street scene  - left to right - Iron & Lace, The Quilt Shop, Greef General Store, and Artisan Coop.  Below it is "Forever Sweets Creations" fudge and sandwich shop.

All the businesses are closed now (except for the B & B's in town.....they're open year around).  The retail shops are open Mid April through October during the week and both Saturday and Sunday.  November and December All retail businesses are open Weekends Only.

In 2016, I plan to have the "Parlor Room Studio"  (located in the Herman Greef House shown above) open to the public most Saturdays  10am to 4pm  April through November when there isn't a workshop going on. 

 My dear friend MaryBeth Heikes, who is an established nationally known watercolorist, is planning to be in the studio two Saturdays a month giving demonstrations.

Here's a picture of MaryBeth working on a collage in the studio.

Largest "Skyscape" so far.....

Here's how my  palette has looked through out the process of creating the "skyscape" you'll see in this post.

Above is a view of the work showing the red underpainting and where my palette sits to the right.  Working from my plein air set up has truly become habit...indoors or out.  After seeing how sturdy my friend Jessica Kirby's tripod is that she uses with the Lammert plein air set, I had to order myself one and I've fallen in love with it.  The painting box my husband makes works GREAT with it.

 Oil on 3- 36"x 24" Gallery wrapped stretched canvases. (36"x 72" shown here). 

 I've painted the sides so the canvases can be hung with space between them or as shown here.    The camera really doesn't give this piece justice.  The magenta color and blues near the horizon line aren't as out of focus and as bright as they appear here.  No matter how I adjust the camera or try adjusting the image on our computer, it still reads as you see above.

This painting will be part of a group of skyscape works I'm creating for a 2 person art exhibit  Feb. 1st -March 7th at the Indian Hills Community College, Ottumwa, IA campus.  The other artist is my daughter, Mika Sorak.

  IHCC has a fabulous high end gallery that can easily showcase up to 120 or more paintings plus sculpture space.  Hopefully I'll remember to take a few snapshots when we have the artist's reception when the show opens.

2015 Plein Air Paint Out in Bloomfield, IA

Here's a close up of my friend Jessica Kirby painting during the 1st Plein Air Paint Out in Bloomfield, IA during the communities Special Christmas Day, Dec. 4th. 

The event was sponsored by the Davis Co. Arts Council and 9 artists from all over the state and one from MO participated.  Sign in and reception was held in the Courtyard Gallery & Studio  where we were treated like royalty. 

Here's what Hans Olson from Fairfield, IA was working on.

John Preston created 2 outstanding watercolors....took 1st place purchase award and an honorable mention.  In this photo, he's standing on the SE corner of the Courtyard lawn looking East.

.....and another view of Jessica that was set up in front of the Gallery/Studio.  I was actually parked in the middle section of the road just left of her.  I sat up my easel next to my car and was surprised at how many people walked over from the sidewalk to visit and view what I was working on.

Next time I'll remember to take more photos of everyone.  We were all in short walking distance of each other.  By the time I got around to thinking of documenting the event, most the artists had already headed to the studio to frame their finished works.

For December, we had FANTASTIC weather to work by.  It was arranged for us to work from business windows if weather had turned sour.  As it was, temp was high 40's and the wind didn't pick up until mid afternoon.  We were to be done...with work hanging by 4pm.