Lowell Open Studios

This was a very busy weekend since it was the 11th City Wide Open Studios in Lowell, MA.  Special activities and demonstrations took place in many of the studios located throughout the city.  Shuttle bus transportation was available to those wishing to visit several of the studio complexes in Lowell. At my studio in suite #326 at Western Avenue Studios many friends and other art viewers were in attendance and all paintings were offered for sale.  The annual fall event was the most successful in 11 years and more than 2000 people came to view the great art at Western Avenue Studios. If comments overheard were any indication of how satisfied participants were with this experience, we can look forward to many other Western Avenue Activities. For the artists and their families the building owner Karl Frey organized the 7th annual pot luck dinner and party on Friday night October 30th in the Loading Dock of Western Avenue and announced several new accomplishments of the artist's community including the installation of more than 900 solar panels on the roof of the building which will produce approximately 60% of electricity used in studios by artists. In addition is was announced that 50 live-in studios are being constructed and should be available for occupancy in the Spring of 2012.  Western Avenue Studios certainly is a vibrant and alive place for artists to work and have fun.

Entry For Beaver Brook Association Fall Festival Show In Hollis, NH.

This painting which I have titled "Night Watch" was a commission for a client who is a collector of owls. This particular owl is a snowy owl. The painting was a new challenge for me and was worked on for much of the month of September for entry into the Beaver Brook Association of Hollis, New Hampshire's Fall Festival. The painting was on Exhibit at the Maple Hill Farm for the show which was entitled Nature Beckons from September 22nd through the 25th. The new artwork criteria for the show accented New England natural settings or art which reflects a nature theme.  Manmade structures and domesticated animals could not be included in landscapes or be the focus of the art. I was quite pleased at the results achieved and learned a great deal about representing birds in painting. Since this was a commission the painting was not offered for sale.

Summer Work

Although the summer has been quieter for me in terms of production of new paintings, I have worked on a few new pieces.  This piece which is called Winter Solitude is a view of the Massachusetts State House which I produced for the 15th Annual Seniors Holiday Card Contest sponsored by the Secretary Of State William Galvin's Office.  The contest is open to all citizens 62 and over.  The paintings are hung in a gallery upstairs in the Commonwealth Museum located at the Massachusetts Archives Building on Columbia Point at 220 Morrisey Boulevard in Boston, Massachusetts during November and early December.  Two paintings will be chosen to be reproduced and these cards will be sold at the State House Gift Shop with the name of the artist printed on the card. Winning artists will be presented in a ceremony to be held at the Commonwealth Museum and all entering artists will be recognized a a special luncheon sponsored by Secretary Galvin's office. I am relatively happy with the results in this painting and attempted to convey a moodf of quiet and solitude on Beacon Hill.