Time moves on

Qiang Huang, Artist

A busy week. Our Austin, Texas friend Qiang (pronounced Chong) came to town to show his work in the Legacy Gallery. Qiang was part of the Richard Schmid's Putney Painters of Vermont exhibit. The art exhibits and workshops were all filled with new ideas. Please visit Qiang's website and read his daily blog. Qiang always has an interesting view on life.

Now I'm off to an abstract workshop that uses tissue wrapping paper as an element of surprise. Wish me luck.

Oh! What a show!

The Art Show went from December 2nd to the 4th. It's our first one and it went better than we had anticipated. We, the four painters and my husband were very fortunate to have the support from friends, colleagues, relatives and neighbors. The response was great and they loved the show. 

We were surprised that even though we live near the busiest street near downtown Scottsdale, and with good signage on the street, not many passersby came. It just shows how important to have connections.

A lot of work was put into the preparation for the show, but it was also a lot of fun. The show brought another level of friendship to all of us - Sven Helle, Gloria Cuadraz, Vanya Allison, my husband Mark Mahalik and me. Mark deserves most of the credit for putting up a flawless show from start to finish. What would I do without you, Mark? Thank you so very much!

Sven and Vanya are great Portrait and Still life painters; Gloria paints mostly Still Life. She is a prolific and well loved professor at the ASU. You can see some of their work below. 

Included in the show were the works done by the 1st graders at the Kiva Elementary School in Scottsdale during a workshop I gave them 10 days before the show. There were 26 of them! I had them work in groups with collages collected. They worked together and at the end choose a view and "framed" the final project. We decided to include their work to our show. Mrs. Judy Alway put a lot of thought and work into this. It was in Mrs. U's (Anna Udelson) class. She was great with the children!

Enjoy some photos of the event!

Art show begins in the main house living room with abstract paintings

and in the dining room

Sven, Gloria and Vanya have their wonderful paintings in the studio.

In the backyard, we post the Kiva student's collage artwork which they made 10 days before at the Kiva Elementary School where I gave a workshop. They are beautiful! Each one is unique!

They look great in the open. Vayna later wraps plastic sheets over to protect them from the rain and they still look awesome!

Each student will take home at least on piece of their work. Mark and I spent hours "framing" each work the student choose to have, which was the objective of the workshop, choosing a view.

The reception was fun in a cozy, rainy afternoon. We have over 70 guests, including some from our neighborhood.

 Music, guests, wine and friendship. Vayna's husband Ted plays guitar to entertain the quests.

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Here are some works by my three friends and the one and only work by my husband sold first in the show, which I love so much:

Pintings by Vanya. oil on panel

"Napa Cab" by Gloria Cuadraz, oil 12x12

Sven Helle painted himself

My husband Mark's sold painting at the show.

Wishing  you a great, good fortune for the coming New Year!

Happy Holiday!

Iris in Blue

Oil on masonite, 12"x12"

Iris has a very nice, bony face. I loved painting her.

Next weekend, December 2 - 4, my three painter friends and I are having a studio art show and sale in Scottsdale near Scottsdale Road and Camelback Road. If you're looking for something different to do, stop on by! Please see below for more information. Hope to see you there....

Please email me if you have any questions or comments, or visit my website to see other paintings.

Little Bottle and Garlic

Oil on panel, 9x12

Garlic is an interesting object for studying color - value, temperature, and, for its light, shadow, shade, reflective light, hard and soft edges, etc. It's so perfectly white all around until the spot light gives it its character.

At one point, I had to change the garlics and reposition them because when they didn't have the pointed bottom they were harder to make looking like garlics. When I started painting them they looked like purple little tomatoes. It was hilarious!

Please email me if you would like,

Or visit my web site to see more of my work.

Thanks for viewing!

"Rebecca"

Oil on Linen, 12"x12"

Portrait has never been my favorite subject matter. In open studio it has been a hit or miss for me, mainly because I didn't know certain process that could make it less of a struggle. A few days ago, I learned that, like painting a still life or a landscape, value defines. Shades and shadows sculpt light to make things look 3D on a flat surface. They define the contour of a face as well as a landscape. 

I look forward to doing more portraits in the future, even if it doesn't come by easy. It's hard to find some one who will sit still for you for a few hours (for free)! 

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Thank you for viewing!

For comments or to purchase my art, please email me or go to my web site,

"Little Brown Vase"

Oil on Gessobord, 11"x14"

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Sometimes, setting up subject matter to paint is more difficult than painting. In the studio, we juggle with the objects and try to come up with a worthy setting to paint. Often times it's a hit and miss. But the spotlight is always a lifesaver. It can suddenly bring the setting to life and create a dramatic effect. The kind of the light gives a particular temperature to the setting, ranging from cool to warm. The table cloth and the material in the background make a big difference, too.

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Six of my small paintings, mostly abstract, have be chosen to the 

West Valley Arts Council Mini Miniatures Show 

located at The Citadelle plaza at 19420 N. 59th Ave. Suite #A104, Glendale, AZ 85308

The exhibition will go from July 8th till August 10th.

 The opening artists reception is on July 8th from 6 to 8 PM.

Please stop by to see my work and many other wonderful artists work.

The artwork will be for sale, too.

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To see more of my paintings, please visit my web site.

If you're interested to write,  my email is here.

"Mr. Eucalyptus"

Oil on Linen Canvas, 14x11

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Mr. Eucalyptus is a big tree in my neighbor's back yard. A couple of hawks like to rest high on it's branches in the spring. I wanted to study painting trees and this is the closest I could find. So I did a plein air in my A/Ced studio looking out the arcadia doors of this grand tree. It was very warm at 104 degree  in Scottsdale today!

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Please also visit my web site.

My email is here if you have any comments or suggestions.