Round Top Pottery

Hi friends!  Just finished this 5x7 painting of a small pottery jug nestled in front of two much larger pieces I found on a visit to Round Top, Texas - mecca for antique shoppers!   The pot is set off by a really cool turquoise stained wood table which has been weathered by much sun exposure - love the wood grain!

5x7

linen on panel

Painting will be on display at 

Gallery Off The Square beginning May 31st

ART CENTER is approved

Howdy! I must confess that I was disappointed that not that many artists showed up to the City Council meeting last night! The good news is that City Council has given the okay for the Art Center pilot program. The next step is to name the non-profit that will be managing the art center... This is a huge step that has been years in the making! It's very exciting news for the arts community.

May Framer's Gallery Report

Good morning art enthusiasts!  WCAG members are displaying 25 very nice works at the Framer's Gallery, located one block off the square (610 S. Main) in Georgetown, TX.  Participating artists this month are: Lowana Carter, R Castro, Marianne DeRiggi, Kay Dimitri, GretchenArt (Gretchen Hecht), Ann Koziell, Gregory Heflin, Lynn Kessel, JoRene C. Newton, Virginia Headly Masserang, Joan McShane, Holly Moore, Betty Stinson, Alexis Templeton and Kerry Whitfill. 

During the First Friday's People's Choice vote, Lynn Kessel's two paintings were in a neck and neck race with each other for first place.  At the end of the night "Watchful Eyes" won the People's Choice Award.  Congratulations Lynn!

Any WCAG members who wish to display their art at the Framer's Gallery in June should email the gallery chair, Connie Hartsfield, at charts303@yahoo.com.

Artist America Martin returns to Austin for a solo exhibition at Wally Workman Gallery

BY MICHAEL GRAUPMANN 05.05.12 | 03:00 pm French artist Paul Cezanne once remarked, "One does not replace the past; one only provides a further link to it." A revolutionary figure in the art world during the early 20th Century, Cezanne knew a thing or two about respecting the great Impressionists who influenced him while still forging ahead with his unique style that paved the way for Modernism. Taking a look around the enjoyable new solo exhibition of Los Angeles-based artist America Martin at Wally Workman Gallery, you'll see a similar unapologetic homage to the confident contemporary artist's influential teachers like Gauguin, Rothko, Picasso and, yes, Cezanne. To read the full article, please visit the Culture Map website. I just ran into this story, and never heard of the artist, but I can tell you that I am going to be going to this show. Maybe I'll see you there... Nick

This past week Amy Guadagnoli, who makes wood block prints, spoke at the
Williamson County Art Guild meeting. She cuts her blocks, and prints each one by
hand, making a mono-print. I was so inspired that I decided to make my own print, on a much smaller
scale, using the Staedtler Master Carving Block. I cut a piece 31/2 X 61/2 and drew on the design.
These blocks are so easy to carve; it's like cutting butter! Having never carved anything quite this size,
it was a little challenging. I did not want it to be too perfect, but more organic looking, so I think it
worked out pretty well. I tend to make circles and curves when I make marks; this is what happened.
The connecting circles depict how everything is connected in the universe. The dove of peace flies in
the spiral sky above the rising sun, and the wheel is a sign of moving forward. I used some screen
printing inks on rice paper (this is the bright one). Lumiere paints were used on the black paper,
and black on the white rice paper. I'm sure I will be doing more of these because I love the unexpected, the surprises, that you get with the whole process.

The Blue Dove

Sonia, from Stinger Studio, has been leading some of us in different ways of doing things.
The dove was started with a very colorful background on heavy watercolor paper.
I then outlined the dove and painted white around it to leave the negative space of the dove.
It looked too white for me, so I sanded the background with sand paper until some of the background color
was peaking through. I like it better this way.