Kayoss Fiber Art

More Sheep paintings

2011-12-07T12:37:00.000-06:00

This is a little 6" x 6" oil painting on a Raymar panel. The poor little sheep as sensitive eyes and needed a pair of sunglasses.

Why can't I rotate this photo? It wasn't in this position in my file but when I uploaded it to Blogger it rotated the photo to it's side. This sheep likes to dress up and is ready to party!

Fun on Saturday, Nov. 13th

2011-11-16T09:33:00.000-06:00

Sue Stice, my sister, and I in front of my art work at the Contemporary Art Gallery on Paseo. Sue drove here to go to the Holiday Open House event where I also had work on display so we visited the CAG while she was in town.

This is three of the four paintings that I had at the Holiday Open House on Saturday.

Gary Good, Paul West, and I at Gary's gallery, Grazioso Gallery, in Guthrie. Paul and I attended the Second Saturday art walk later that afternoon. We had a wonderful day visiting art galleries then spent the evening with our friends that live in Guthrie.

I entered two paintings in the Oklahoma Art Guild's member show at the Simply Oklahoma gallery in Guthrie. My painting is the one above with the three sheep. My other painting in the exhibit won a third place ribbon! My very first award for a painting.

This is David Canavesio doing a demo at the Grazioso Gallery in Guthrie. I love his work! David is a long time friend of Paul's so we enjoyed visiting him at the gallery.

2011-11-13T20:19:00.001-06:00

Contemporary Art Gallery

2011-10-14T16:00:00.000-05:00

I received a call from the Contemporary Art Gallery on Paseo inviting me to join their gallery! It's a co-op gallery with a variety of wonderful artists so I am very honored to be included. Here is their website http://www.contemporaryartgalleryokc.com/. For the voting process, I submitted oil paintings and felted mixed media pieces. To my surprise they liked the fiber pieces because they add a variety to the gallery. They have oil, acrylic, watercolor, & pastel painters but no fiber artists. I have a closet full of fiber wall hangings so this will give them a chance to hang in public and come out of the closet!

My work will be hanging in the gallery the 1st of November so I hope all of my friends will be able to attend the 1st Friday Walk on Paseo!

Dreaming of Ewe

2011-08-21T10:22:00.001-05:00

I had a hard time naming this little 8 x 10 oil painting but finally decided on "Dreaming of You" then a friend suggested "Dreaming of Ewe" so that name stuck. Now, why didn't I think of that in the first place! It's painted on a gallery wrap canvas. This photo was taken with my IPhone so it's not a high quality photo....I need to get out my camera but I don't have the lighting system that I need here in my little apartment. I've had fun painting sheep! I started on another one this week but it looks horrible and it will end up in the trash. I love the image so I will try again.

Three Bags Full

2011-08-05T07:45:00.000-05:00

"Three Bags Full" is a 12" x 16" oil painting that I finished Wednesday afternoon in my painting session with my painting buddy, Carla. I thought I really liked this painting but now that I see the photo I'm not sure I like it after all. Maybe it will grow on me. I took this photo with my IPhone, it's not a bad photo but it's not the quality that my camera will produce.

I've started a smaller 8" x 10" sheep that I plan to work on this afternoon. I guess I'm on a sheep kick again.....I think it's because I'd like to do some felting. I have a piece started but haven't taken the time to work on it and it's been calling my name.

On the Lamb

2011-07-29T07:50:00.000-05:00

On the Lamb is a 12" x 12" oil painting that will be up for auction at OVAC 12 x 12 exhibition in OKC on October 1, 2011. I absolutely love this event!

I was going to name this piece "Counting Sheep", then my sister suggested I name it "Mutton Head" and I liked that name. Then a Facebook Friend, Theresa Hurt, suggested "On the Lamb" and that name stuck! Thanks Theresa! Theresa runs Pirates Alley frame shop on Britton Road in OKC. They take care of all my framing and I can highly recommend them.

White Tulips and Carla

2011-07-28T08:46:00.000-05:00

This oil painting is 12" x 16". I don't have a good title for it so I'm currently calling it White Tulips. I need to get more creative on my titles! It took me several weeks to finish this painting because Carla hasn't been coming to paint with me very often. Since I moved I haven't felt like staying after work to paint in my studio and my apartment is too small to set up a painting area. Hopefully all that will change soon.

Carla didn't want me to take her picture but I had the camera out and couldn't resist this shot of her with the paint brush in her teeth squeezing the paint tube. We must get the very last drop of paint! We have so much fun painting together and I have learned so much from her over the last 2 or 3 years.

Family of Flower Pots

2011-07-27T08:10:00.000-05:00

This is a 12" x 16" oil painting that I finished about three months ago. The rocks were a real challenge for me. I've tried painting rocks and stones in the past and have failed miserably.....these aren't perfect by any means but at least they look like rocks! My dear friend, Erika, bought this painting from me when she came for a visit. She now owns 5 of my paintings and has requested that I paint her a courtyard scene as a companion for this painting. So I must get busy and start painting again, which is my favorite thing to do!

OKC Reunion w/college roomies

2011-07-24T10:39:00.000-05:00

Carol Lyons, Erika Folmer, Me, and Paul West

First night of our reunion we ate at Ann's Chicken Fry, which is Erika's favorite place in OKC to eat. The food was great but not very healthful.....but what the heck this was a special occassion. I picked Erika up at the airport that morning and then we met Carol, who was driving her car, at my parents house for a nice visit then proceeded to OKC where we met Paul for dinner.

Ann's Chicken Fry has all these old cars and gas tanks in front of the place so it made for nice photo opps.

Saturday we went to Guthrie to shop. Carol and Erika absolutely loved this Glass Gallery and purchased several items.

We ate lunch in Guthrie at Geno's and the food was great!

Richard Goad, Linda Goad, Me, Carol, Erika, Susie West, Laban West, and Paul.

All good friends from my college years. It was fun to see them all after all these years. Richard is the minister at River of Life church so we attended the Sunday morning service and ate at the church afterwards.

Later Sunday afternoon I took Erika and Carol to Carla's house. I wanted them to meet my painting buddy while they were here. We ate at Ted's and then went downtown OKC to the bombing memorial. We took photos but it was at night and they didn't turn out very well. Here we all are standing behind Carol's car getting ready to say goodbye. Carol is driving back to AZ by herself.

We sent Carol off then I took Erika to the airport. I hated to see them go! We had a blast again this year and I'm already looking forward to our next reunion. Maybe we will have it at Erika's new house in Montana next year!

Blogger Problem

2011-06-23T10:54:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted anything in a long time. I've tried to upload photos and for some reason it doesn't work anymore. Since I'm a visual artist and not a writer I don't have a reason to post unless I can also upload a photo.

Tiger Lilies and Friends

2011-04-05T10:57:00.000-05:00

Tiger Lilies and Friends is an 11" x 14" oil painting that I finished last night. Carla and I are finially getting back into a schedule of painting and it feels great.

Precious Tulips

2011-02-16T19:14:00.000-06:00

I finished this oil painting last week. I'm enjoying my flower still life paintings and I'm particularly attracted to tulips. We always had a few tulips that would pop up every year in our yard next to the house when I was a kid. I found it fascinating because they just seemed to magically appear. My parent's never had a garden and didn't work on landscaping our yard but we had a rose bush by the porch and a few tulips in the spring.

Painting of Flowers in a Jar

2011-01-28T10:51:00.000-06:00

Carla and I haven't had much time to paint lately and the last few paintings that I attempted were horrible. However, I'm pleased with the way this one turned out. I'm trying to apply what I learned in my workshop with Carlene Reeves last October. There are so many different things to think about when your painting so I'm trying to learn to slow down and think about what I'm doing. This is a difficult task for me!

January 2011 FAD Group Meeting

2011-01-19T14:30:00.001-06:00

We had our first FAD Group meeting for 2011 Monday night at my studio. It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. Pictured above is Marie, Shirley, and Stephanie. Marie brought a new embroidery piece she has started and it is setting on the table in front of her. The base consists of a photo that she took, then transferred it to a piece of muslin. I didn't get a photo of Stephanie's little knotted piece but it is gorgeous and bound to be another award winner. Stephanie has a piece in the Materials Hard and Soft exhibit that will be opening soon in Denton, TX. I think I foresee a road trip in the future for our group!

The beautiful flowers in the vase at the end of the table was a gift from my friend, Paul. Carla and I tried to use them in a still life setup but failed miserable to capture their beauty on canvas. I took photos of them so maybe we can paint them later.

FAD 2010 Christmas Party

2010-12-16T13:07:00.000-06:00

FAD Group celebrated Christmas together last night and had a great time of food and fellowship! We all brought something to eat and drink and enjoyed our evening together. Above is Carla, Stephanie, and I looking at a photograph of a art project on Stephanies camera.

Charlotte and Shirley enjoy a little conversation before the appetizers were served.

Shirley, Stephanie, Lynn, Carla, and Charlotte enjoying our meal. Carla made a killer lasagna that was delicious! Shirley brought all the appetizers, white wine, and the artisan bread, Stephanie brought a creamed broccoli dish, Charlotte and Lynn brought wonderful desserts, and I made a salad and provided wine and tea. It was a wonderful meal with the most wonderful friends!

Shirley is in the kitchen helping with the clean up.

Stephanie is getting her broccoli dish out of the oven.

Lynn is enjoying the delicious meal!

Charlotte entertained us with hilarious escapes she experienced at different airports. Now really I ask you, does this look like a person that needs to be patted down at the airport?

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

New Still Life

2010-12-01T14:15:00.000-06:00

This is my latest still life oil painting. I love this little vase that was made by a local well known ceramists, Paul Pfrehm. I have several of his beautiful pottery pieces and I love all of them. My still life paintings have improved since taking the workshop with Carlene Reeves but I still have a long ways to go! It just takes lots and lots of practice to improve but I haven't had as much time lately to paint. Hopefully, that will change soon after the holidays.

Thanksgiving Day 2010

2010-12-01T12:09:00.000-06:00

My nephew, Jeff, who is preparing to be deployed to Afganistan soon, and his father, Larry. Relaxing after eating a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.

My nephew-in-law, Daniel and his beautiful daughter, Laryssa.

My dad doesn't look very happy.....maybe he ate too much!

My niece-in-law, Rebecca is helping Nathan with an art project.

My husband, Ron.

My family celebrated Thanksgiving Day at my sister's house. Sue already has her Christmas decorations up and they are lovely!

Sitting around the kitchen table after Thanksgiving dinner is Rebecca, Nathan (Jennifer's son), and Jennifer, my niece.

The McNay Art Museum

2010-10-25T16:03:00.000-05:00

We visited to the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio and really enjoyed the current special exhibit, Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism. We couldn't take photos inside the museum so all of these photos were taken in the court yard area of the McNay home which is now part of the museum. It's a beautiful old Spanish style mansion and the artistry was incredible inside and out.

La Fogata in San Antonio

2010-10-25T15:53:00.000-05:00

Monday night while we were in San Antonio for Carlene Reeves' workshop we found 'the very best' Mexican Restaurant called La Fogata on Vance Jackson Road. The food and the atmosphere was great!

It was an open concept, the weather was perfect for eating 'almost' outside.

Here I am drinking a glass of tea and enjoying my meal.

This is Carla, my painting and traveling buddy.

This is a photo of my partially eaten meal. It was chicken enchiladas in a mole sauce. It was the first time I had ever eaten mole sauce and it was wonderful! Carla and I both took a doggy bag and finished our meals the next night in the hotel room.

Carlene Reeves Workshop in San Antonio

2010-10-23T17:33:00.000-05:00

Carla and I drove to San Antonio to take a 3 day painting workshop with Carlene Reeves at the Coppini in San Antonio, TX. I drove my new car, which I have named Monty, and we both had a great time! Carla decided to name her little Mini Cooper, Python. While we were driving down to San Antonio we also named her two harps, Felix and Victoria and the GPS is named Betsy. We are good at entertaining ourselves on a long trip, ha ha! We didn't realize it at the time but Betsy was an appropriate name for the GPS because thank goodness to Betsy we drove all the way to San Antonio without getting lost once.

Day one of the workshop Carlene is painting a demo while the students watch intently. This workshop was on painting still life's. Carlene brought all the props for the setups and did a great job arranging them for us before class.

Carlene's demo that is almost finished. She also painting one on day 2.

This is the Coppini where the workshop was held on the second floor where Carla is standing waving at the camera. This is a beautiful old building that was donated to the city of San Antonio by Mr. Coppini to use for art instruction.

This shot is of the other side of the Coppini.

I took this photo of the limited parking space standing on the second floor landing. My little Monty fit just fine in the very small parking spots.

Here I am getting ready to think about painting on the first day of the workshop.

This is a photo of the painting and a pic of the still life that I painted on day 2 of the workshop. Each day I improved my skills and needed less help from Carlene who is a great instructor!

I painted this on the third day which was the last day of the workshop. I sure wanted to have at least one more day to paint with Carlene!

Gaye Sekula, who was the workshop coordinator for the Coppini and Carla hit it off great in the workshop. Carla found someone with a sense of humor that she could tease with.

This was taken on the last day of the class. Carlene is helping one of the students with her painting while the others watch to learn. We had such a great time and we both learned so much....now to find time to apply what we learned. Hey, Carla, when are you coming over to paint a still life with me?

2011 Mini Cooper S Clubman

2010-10-16T15:14:00.000-05:00

I bought a new car this week! Well, actually I ordered it about 7 weeks ago and it just arrived from England. It's a 2011 Mini Cooper S Clubman and I absolutely LOVE to drive it!!! It's so much fun and it goes so fast...please pray that I don't get too many speeding tickets! I had been looking at buying a new car and really didn't intend to purchase a Mini Cooper but I made the mistake of driving one and it was downhill from there. I fell in love!

Quartz Mountain Workshop

2010-10-11T15:06:00.000-05:00

I attended a plein aire workshop in Quartz Mountain this past Saturday. It was sponsored by the Oklahoma Art Guild and Rick McClure was the instructor. That morning he painted a demo for us and gave us loads of tips for painting outdoors. The above photo is of Rick working on his demo and the one below is the view he was painting.

After the demo we all found a spot and started painting. There were about 20 people in the class so we kept Rick busy making his rounds between us. Rick is a great teacher and we all had a great time.

OAG 55th Annual Fall Members Show

2010-09-28T15:45:00.000-05:00

I am a member of the Oklahoma Art Guild and I will have two of my paintings in this exhibit.

The Oklahoma Art Guild is proud to invite the public to our 55th Annual Members’ Fall Art Show at the Simply Oklahoma Gallery, 108 South Division Street, Guthrie, OK. The show will display and offer for sale, over 250 artworks in every imaginable media and style. Opening reception is Sunday, October 3rd from 2:00-6:00pm. The show is on display October 1st thru October 16th, Wednesday thru Sunday from 11am-4pm.
This show gives the public an opportunity to view and buy some of the best artwork in the country - Oklahoma art, created by Oklahoma artists.

OVAC 12 x 12 "Best Friends"

2010-09-28T15:32:00.001-05:00

OVAC had their annual fundraising event Saturday, Sept. 25th, at the Fred Jones Industries building downtown OKC. Let me tell you, they really know how to put on a party! You can read all about the 12 x 12 event on their website and see photos of all the artwork that was on display for the auction that night.

Above is a photo of "Best Friends" that I painted for this event. My friend, Bryan Dahlvang, who is a wonderful artist and photographer, took this photo the night of the event and has graciously given me permission to post it on my blog. (Thank you, Bryan!). As you can see there are several bids in the jacket pocket next to my painting! I was so thrilled to see that many bids long before the deadline! I love this event and I'm so thankful that OVAC invites me to be one of the participating artist.

Where's the Ice Cream?

2010-08-31T20:46:00.000-05:00

I just finished this little 11" x 14" oil painting tonight and I named it, "Where's the Ice Cream?". With the brightly colored gift bag it's obviously someones birthday and birthday's = ice cream and cake to me, right? I love ice cream and I have been trying very hard to limit my intake this summer but I occasionally fall of the wagon. I'm craving it now, where's the ice cream!

Micro Mini Cars

2010-08-18T11:53:00.000-05:00

My husband, Ron, is a real car buff and he had been in contact with a Mini Micro Car group that was driving from Santa Monica, CA all the way to Chicago on old Route 66 in their tiny little cars (no a/c I might add!). We met them in Bricktown this past Sunday while they were eating Mexican food. They had some adventures to tell! I hope they all make it safely to Chicago!

Two New Paintings

2010-08-15T18:08:00.001-05:00

I sold the 8 x 10 painting that I did of this barn so I wanted to have a larger version for myself. This painting is on a 16" x 20" canvas board so I had room to add the squirrel on the gate. This painting hasn't told me it's name yet so it's still 'untitled' at this moment.

I just finished this painting today and I haven't quite decided what to think about it. I really, really need to learn how to paint still-life's!!! Oh wait, that's why I've signed up for a still-life workshop in October!

Long Ago Acquaintance

2010-07-25T11:01:00.000-05:00

I joined Facebook last year and it has been fun to renew friendships with old acquaintances. Paul West and I met in college where we became close friends, then we went our separate ways and lost contact. So this has been my year to renew old friendships. The older we become the more we cherish the friendships we made in our youth. Maybe it's a way of retaining our youth because we still see them like they were years ago. We are still the same inside even though we have changed a 'little' on the outside.

This photo was taken in my studio and Paul is standing next to one of my old art quilts named "Voices in Fabric". I finished this quilt early in 2000 for an invitational exhibit titled Voices in Fabric and it contains a block that represents each of my friends that were also participants. I've lost contact with some of these friends but I have this quilt to remember them by.

Barefoot Maiden

2010-07-24T19:33:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday Carla and I packed up our painting gear and drove to the Greenfield Winery in Chandler, OK to paint with the plein air group. Well, it was too hot to paint outdoors! By the time we setup our easels we were near heat exhaustion so we took lots of photos. I started this painting that day but I finished it in my nice cool, air conditioned studio at home. Faith Dyson was nice enough to come along and model for us otherwise it would have been a boring painting.

2010-07-20T17:46:00.000-05:00

The FAD Group received another gracious invitation this year from the Midwest City Library to exhibit our work. They have a nice slotted wall with lighting and provide all the hardware for hanging our work. Stephanie and I met at the Library this morning to install FAD's work. The exhibit will be hanging from July 20th through August 14th.

Days Gone By

2010-07-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

I just finished this 11" x 14" oil painting last night. For the moment I'm calling it "Days Gone By". The poor dilapidated boats have seen better days, in fact one of them has almost completely rotted away, the one in the middle is a hand carved boat that is no longer trustworthy, and the third one is still floating but it has been neglected by it's owners who no longer have time to go fishing. It's a beautiful, peaceful little pond that should be a great place to go fishing......if we only had the time.

Saturday Outting

2010-07-12T10:43:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday at noon my friends, Carla and Stephanie, met me for lunch at one of our favorite places, Panera. We had plans for the afternoon to go gallery hopping. Our first stop was the ArtSpace at Untitled which is downtown OKC at 1 NE 3rd St. We, all being the fiber artists that we are, wanted to see their current exhibit, Altered Books. We were not disappointed, it was a wonderful, interesting and thought provoking exhibit so if you live in the area I can recommend it.

Carla and Stephanie standing outside the gallery. OKC has really made a lot of beatification changes in this downtown area. They completely removed 3rd street, repaved it, and all the condo buildings were built that you can see in the background.

Our next stop was JRB Art at the Elms in the Paseo District which is one of my favorite galleries! Please, check out JRB's website if you aren't familiar with this place. This month the current exhibiting artists are Tracey Harris, James Smith, Leslie Lienau, Harolyn Long, & Eric Stevens. We know Leslie and Harolyn so we were particularly interested in seeing their exhibits, which were fabulous!

While we were in the Paseo District we stopped at a new gallery that we hadn't visited before, The Contemporary Art Gallery and had a nice visit with Marie Kash Weltscheimer, who was the featured artist in the gallery this month. This is a co-op gallery so the artists involved trade turns gallery sitting.

We had a wonderful afternoon and enjoyed seeing all the art. It's always inspiring to visit art galleries and I'm so blessed to have friends that enjoy the same activities!

Tiger and the Eagle

2010-07-08T11:13:00.002-05:00

I have this beautiful sculpture of an eagle, one side looks like his head and the other side looks like the whole body of an eagle. It had been sitting on a table and Tiger would sleep on top of the same table on in a chair near by and was never bothered by this 'bird'. The other day I decided to put the Eagle up in the window sill. Anytime Tiger sees a bird he clicks his teeth and chatters, it is so funny to watch him! Well, it wasn't but a few minutes after I put the Eagle in the window that Tiger started chattering his teeth and stalking the 'bird' from the floor. The window is up too high for him to jump up into so we put him in the window so he could see it wasn't a real bird. He would look at it and then try to jump down. Once he got back to the floor he would start stalking and chattering again, it was hilarious! We went through this procedure several times and every time we put him in the window he wouldn't chatter because he could tell it wasn't real but when he was on the floor he was sure it was a real bird in the window! Cats can be very entertaining!

Another Old Barn

2010-07-07T14:43:00.000-05:00

I finished this 8" x 10" oil painting of an old barn last night. I thought it would make me feel better to paint while I was mourning over my cat, Dudley. It didn't really help but it was a distraction for a few minutes and I love to paint.

I'm not sure what I will paint next. I have some photos that I took on my trip to Arizona so I might start on one of those.

Goodbye to Dudley

2010-07-06T12:01:00.000-05:00

My heart is breaking today because we have to give up our little baby, Dudley. He is a beautiful seal point Ragdoll that turned 6 years old in June. We adopted him when he was just a baby and he was our first cat so he will always hold a special place in my heart. I love him dearly. He is marking his territory too frequently now and we must find him another home. A nice lady is taking him today and will hopefully find a family that will take good care of him. Dudley is a sweet and loving cat and I will always remember him.

"Best Friends"

2010-07-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

I've been invited by OVAC to participate in their 12 x 12 fund raiser event again this year. I really enjoy attending this event every year! They have over 150 fabulous pieces of art up for auction, live music, and delicious food from all the best restaurants in town. None of the art can be more than 12" x 12" and the bidding starts at $168. You can read all about it on the link I provided for OVAC.

I painted, "Best Friends", this weekend and this might be the painting that I submit for the 12 x 12 unless I change my mind and paint something else. (You know that's a woman's prerogative!) I really like this painting so I might paint a chicken and keep this one for myself.

Working on Still Lifes

2010-06-28T13:32:00.001-05:00

I'm a huge fan of Carol Marines' blog on daily painting. She is a wonderful artist and has such a great sense of humor. I would love to take a workshop with her but the opportunity hasn't arisen so I tried my hand at painting one of her little 6" x 6" paintings that I saw on her blog. Boy, do I have a lot to learn! I'm signed up for a still-life painting workshop in October with Carlene Reeves so I need to start practicing now or I will be the laughing stock of the class!

All Ruffled Up

2010-06-28T13:13:00.000-05:00

"All Ruffled Up" is a 12" x 12" oil painting of a chicken that I finished this past weekend. She has just a little bit of an attitude and doesn't want to be messed with because she is probably in 'protective mode'.

Painting of my friend, Erika

2010-06-12T15:30:00.000-05:00

Here is my latest oil painting that is 12" x 16" of my friend Erika. Erika and I were roommates in college back in 1969 - 1971. We recently met in Arizona with our other roommate, Carol, and had a little mini reunion, it was such fun! We took a train ride on the Verde Canyon Railway and that's when I took a photo of Erika standing along the rail with the wind blowing in her hair. It was terribly windy that day but the scenery was beautiful. This is the hardest portrait that I have ever attempted to paint! Thank you, Erika, for being my long-time friend!

Mixed Media 2010

2010-06-10T19:24:00.001-05:00

I entered the OWA's Mixed Media juried exhibit again this year. I had one piece accepted, Story Time, so I'm happy! I entered Story Time last year in Fiberworks but it was rejected. You never know what a juror will pick...I totally give up on trying to second guess them. I like this piece so I'm really glad it will have a change to make it's public debut. I don't have a good photo of it so I can't post it now. I can't believe I didn't take a good photo of it, that's out of character for me. I'll attend the show and upload photos next week after the opening.

Fiberworks 2010 Invitation

2010-06-09T11:36:00.000-05:00

Fiberworks 2010 invitational postcards have been mailed. The time is drawing near! We are accepting entries Saturday, June 12 and Monday, June 14 from 12-4pm at the IAO Gallery.

Juror's Critique Friday, June 18, 7-9pm

Juror's Lecture Saturday, June 19, 4:30-5:30pm

Opening Reception, June 19, 6-8pm

FIBERWORKS 2010: June 19 - July 17, 2010

IAO Gallery Hours: Noon - 6pm, Tues through Sat

Closed Sun & Mon

IAO Gallery, 706 W Sheridan, Okla. City, OK

My Birthday

2010-06-07T16:41:00.000-05:00

Sunday, June 6th, was my birthday and I had a wonderful day....sort of. We had to work all weekend moving my MIL's furniture and household items that didn't sell at the estate sale. I didn't really have room here for everything so that was the downside to my birthday weekend.

We went to my sister's house for all the June birthday's and an early Father's Day celebration. My nephew, Jeff, and his wife, Rebecca also have June birthday's. Sue cooked a wonderful dinner and Mom brought delicious deserts.

My nephew, Jeff, is holding his nephew, Nathan. Nathan has a keyring with one key that is attached to his belt and he wants to remove the ring so Jeff is helping. I have a handsome nephew and great nephew don't I?

Help, Uncle Jeffie!

Yea! I got the ring off!

My niece, Jenny, with her husband and daughter. I took one of my MIL's wigs to Laryssa because she loves to play dress up. I figured she would get more fun out if than I could sell it for and I was right. She got a big laugh and had fun wearing it.

Hot Pepper Fiber Piece

2010-06-02T15:08:00.000-05:00

Here is my latest felted piece that is finished except for painting a canvas to mount it on. I usually have to repaint a canvas several times before I get the right color that will compliment the fiber piece. It will be sewn to an 18" (h) x 24" (w) gallery wrapped stretched canvas.

Now I will have three fiber pieces to enter into Fiberworks 2010. Hopefully, the juror will accept at least one of them. Our juror this year will be Ilze Aviks and I'm looking forward to meeting her.

All Dressed Up

2010-05-26T16:07:00.000-05:00

I finished this 8 x 10 oil painting last night and decided to name it "All Dressed Up". Isn't he a pretty rooster? I took it outside in the full sunlight to photograph it which may have been a mistake. It's darker in appearance indoors so I may do some more experimenting with it later.

Trip to Arizona

2010-05-25T13:52:00.001-05:00

I took a trip to Arizona this past week and had a blast visiting with my two college roommates, Carol Lyons and Erika Folmer. We hadn't spent any quality time together since we graduated in 1971! I put personal photos of us on my Facebook page so I'll just post scenery photos here on my blog.

Our first stop was in Sedona. This was taken at our hotel.

Hotel fountain with a great mountain view.

This was the view from our hotel room balcony.

This was taken during the train ride.

When I first glanced at this statue in Sedona I thought the little girl taking a photo of the statue was real!

We took a ride on the Verde Canyon Railway. It runs from Clarkdale to Perkinsville where the engine changes positions so it can pull us back to Clarkdale. The Perkinsville junction was in the movie of How the West Was Won. Debbie Reynolds got off the train at this station. Now the boards are all rotted!

Mario and Hot Pepper

2010-05-16T11:12:00.001-05:00

I'm still working on this felted piece that I'm calling "Hot Pepper", I may change the name later. I posted a photo of it a few months ago after I felted it but before I did any embroidery stitches. I'm still working on the embroidery but I hope to have it finished in time to enter Fiberworks 2010 the middle of June. I may be removing some of the stitches that I don't like but I will ask the ladies in the FAD Group tomorrow at our meeting to get their opinion. I'll be mounting this piece on a painted gallery wrap canvas when this is finished.

I finished "Mario" so now he is ready for a frame. "It's an 11" x 14" oil painting.

Chef Painting

2010-05-09T12:34:00.000-05:00

I don't think this painting is quite finished yet but it's getting close. I still have a few minor things to do. I think his teeth are too white, his chin needs work, and I need to darken the background. I'm calling him Chef Mario, which is just a made-up name, but he is a happy man so I'm sure he loves to eat.

A customer brought me a rose last week when she came to pick up her new computer so I set up this little still life and painted it before it's life expired. It's not a very good painting, I couldn't get the vase shaped right....too many curves!

Surprise for Nathan

2010-05-03T14:39:00.000-05:00

My family came today to see my paintings at the gallery. I had painted a portrait of my 3 year old great nephew, Nathan, as a surprise. He recognized it immediately and said, "Look! It's a picture of me!" so that made my day. He's onery and wouldn't pose nicely for me without making a face, but isn't he cute!

Nathan and his lovely sister, Laryssa, wanted their photos taken in front of Carla's paintings. Carla is my painting buddy and our artwork is on the same wall at the gallery. Nathan really liked her horses and the big landscape with the forrest.

50 Penn Place Display

2010-05-03T11:14:00.000-05:00

I went to 50 Penn Place Art Gallery saturday morning to hang my artwork and the above is the result. Carla is making a name sign for me to hang but otherwise my display is completed. The opening reception isn't until Friday, May 14th.

Proud Rooster Painting

2010-04-25T16:50:00.000-05:00

This little guy is only 6" x 6" but I really like the way he turned out. I have a frame on order at Pirates Alley and hopefully it will arrive in time to include him in with my other work that will be on display at 50 Penn Place Art Gallery May 1st. through the end of June.

Susan Carlin's Workshop

2010-04-18T13:30:00.002-05:00

I painted practically all day yesterday and it was a perfect day to spend inside since it was raining. I promised to post pictures from my online class with Susan Carlin so here they are. It was really fun and I learned so much....Susan is an excellent instructor and I have a beautiful painting to prove it! Just look how much I have improved, it is amazing. I had to move my easel and painting station closer to my computer monitor and keyboard for the class so I included a photo of that as well. (I removed this photo because it contained the original image that Susan sent us to paint from and that wasn't supposed to be displayed on the web).

Susan broadcast the class on UStream from her home studio. We started at 9:00am and after everyone that was enrolled checked in on the computer she started showing us how she sketches the subject on the canvas. She video tapes it all so we can watch it again later which is also very helpful. We did our sketch and painted until around noon then we took photos of our work and emailed them to Susan. She critiqued each painting on the screen so we could all see what everyone else was painting....just like in a real classroom situation. Then we worked on our paintings until 4:30pm so it was a full day of painting. Susan is amazing....she is the Queen of Multi-Tasking! She sets up the video equipment, works on her painting, talks to us, reads the chat screen, and answers emails all at the same time! I don't know how she does it! Anyway it was a lot of fun and I'm very pleased with my painting!

Second Painting of Man From Lahore

2010-04-16T10:21:00.000-05:00

This is the second painting that I have done of this man from Lahore, Pakistan. I gave the other painting to Ken since he is so kind to let me use his photos. He is currently in Nepal on a mission trip, hopefully taking more photos that I can use! Just kidding, he is doing a great work for the Lord so, of course, that is more important that taking photos for me. I still have a little work to do on this painting but it is 97% finished. This painting is larger than the last one, it's 12" x 16" and I think it works well with this subject.

I'm working on another painting that I hope to have finished before I hang my work at the 50 Penn Place gallery on May 1st. I probably have enough paintings finished but I like to have a choice.

Tomorrow I'm taking my first online class on painting portraits from Susan Carlin from 9 to 4 so there goes my Saturday! I'm looking forward to it and it should be lots of fun. I rearranged my painting station last night so I will have access to my computer while I'm painting. My keyboard and mouse should be covered with paint before the end of the day! I'll post the painting that I produce in the class tomorrow. This will be a hard one because it is of a young boy and children are difficult for me to paint. They have smooth skin and smaller features whereas more mature people have nice character lines that are fun to add.

Will Rogers Park

2010-04-12T14:49:00.000-05:00

I didn't get a chance to do any plein air painting this weekend but I did go to Will Rogers Park and take photos. It's still early spring and all the trees aren't green but the Red Bud trees and azaleas are in bloom.

Good News!

2010-04-08T11:21:00.000-05:00

There is an art gallery in Oklahoma City that is owned and operated by local artists that I have admired for years and years. It's the 50 Penn Place Art Gallery located on the second floor of the gorgeous atrium in the 50 Penn Place building. It's located across the street from Penn Square Mall and is in a great location. Years ago all the high end retail stores were located in 50 Penn Place on the two floors of the atrium and the multi story structure above was leased to businesses. Sadly most of the high end shops have either gone out of business or moved to other locations leaving many vacant spaces.

The art gallery is still there and it is a beautiful space so I was very honored to find out yesterday that I have been accepted as a guest artist to display my paintings the month of May and June! This is something I have dreamed about doing for years so I'm really thrilled for the opportunity. I was nervous about submitting examples of my work when I applied to be a guest artist but I'm glad I found the courage to do so. They have several small areas that they lease out to other artists for two months at a time so hopefully I will sell some paintings to help defray the cost. There will be an opening reception the evening of May 14th at 6pm so I hope if you live in the area that you will be able to come.

Two More Paintings

2010-04-07T22:36:00.000-05:00

I just finished these too paintings. I haven't given them a title yet, I find it hard to think of names for them so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I wanted the flowers to be abstract but the painting just wouldn't cooperate with me. I'll post my photo reference below. I love roosters and have tried to paint them several times before......unsuccessfully in my opinion.....but I like this one so I guess I'm improving.

I took this photo last year when I went to New Braunsfel, TX to take a plein air workshop with Ron Rencher. My sister likes to see my reference photos so Sue, this is just for you.

Cousin Trent

2010-03-23T23:24:00.002-05:00

I took this photograph of my cousin, Trent, last November on Thanksgiving Day. I thought he would make an interesting subject to paint because he was wearing three sets of glasses. The painting doesn't really look like him, what do you think? It's really difficult for me to paint someone I know.....especially someone I've known all my life. You would think it would be easier to paint a familiar face but it's not for me.

Oops! My sister just pointed out that I took this photo in October not on Thanksgiving Day. We had a family gathering after my Uncle Clyde passed away and Trent came for that. I'm getting forgetful!

Man From Lahore

2010-03-20T23:29:00.000-05:00

Man From Lahore is my latest portrait painting. A friend of mine, Ken Womack, took this photo on one of his many travels around Lahore, Pakistan. Ken is a preacher and works for Mission Catalyst International as the Director of Pastoral Training so he has the opportunity to travel around the world.

Here it is the first day of Spring and we get a snow storm! I took advantage of the bad weather and worked in my studio all day so I'm not complaining. I finished this painting, started another one of my 'hippy' cousin, and did some hand embroidery on a felted piece that I'm trying to get finished. I enjoyed my day...let the snow keep falling!

Cats

2010-03-15T14:57:00.000-05:00

My cats never share the same chair so this is a rare shot. Dudley (the seal point Ragdoll) found Tiger (the orange and white one) sleeping in his favorite chair which is located close to my desk in the office. Dudley didn't like that because he considers that chair his personal property. Needless to say, it wasn't long before Tiger jumped down and let Dudley have his chair.

My last two oil paintings aren't good enough to upload to my blog so that's why you are getting to see photos of two of my cats. I'm currently adding some hand embroidery to my latest felted piece so I'll post a photo of that when it's finished. I really enjoy hand stitching on wool felt.....it's much more enjoyable than hand quilting.

Birthday Party

2010-03-05T11:37:00.000-06:00

Ron and I went to my sister's house Sunday to celebrate Mother and Ron's birthdays. Sue fixed a wonderful dinner and made a super delicious Italian Cream Cake. Laryssa talked her Aunt Rebecca into painting her finger nails and toe nails.

Daddy does his favorite thing.....sleep! He sleeps (and snores!) while sitting up. He was sleeping while Mom opened her birthday presents.

My mother opening her presents. She turned 75.

My husband, Ron, will have a birthday next week. Here he is reading his birthday cards. Of course, he must have that blue tooth device in his ear.

Old Isaac's Place

2010-02-23T13:06:00.001-06:00

I just finished this little 8" x 10" last night. I chose this scene to paint because I love the old rickety fence. Whoa, I see a glaring error in this painting that I need to fix! It really helps to look at a photo of a painting that you thought was finished!

Now I'm working on a portrait of a family member. Why is it so much harder to paint someone that you know? It seems like it would be an advantage because you know your subject but it's more difficult to me. I think it will be a nice painting when I'm finished but it won't look like my family member, that's for sure! I need to practice drawing the person then I will try it again later.

More Paintings and One Fiber Piece in Process!

2010-02-16T22:16:00.001-06:00

I don't think these two still life paintings need an explaination but since this is a blog I should say something about them, lol! The pears are more realistic than the flower arrangement and that was done on purpose. I painted the pears from a photograph and the flowers were painted from a still life setup in my studio. It was intended to be more whimsical. I actually used a piece of hand dyed fabric for the back ground that was exactly that color of bright yellow green.

This portrait of an older woman praying is my latest painting. The hands were hard for me to paint. I really like this painting....not that it is well painted but I like the subject.

I felted this piece Sunday afternoon. This is just a start, it has a long way to go before it is finished. I have more defined felting to do then I will add embroidery stitches and maybe some beads. You may remember this design.....I took it from one of my abstract paintings. The painting is 6" x 8" and this piece will be about 18" x 24" when it's finished. Maybe I'll have it finished in time to enter into Fiberworks in June.

My little Dudley

2010-01-26T13:47:00.000-06:00

This is Dudley, my little Ragdoll. He is fully matured and only weighs 8 1/2 pounds which is small for a Ragdoll but he was the runt of the litter. I didn't enhance this photo at all, his eyes are really this blue. I need to get a good photo of him so I can paint his portrait.

Dorothea

2010-01-21T18:58:00.000-06:00

"Dorothea" is still wet and setting on my easel at the moment. This is another 11 x 14 oil painting. I think I'm stuck on that size but when you buy panels from Raymar you have to buy 10 at a time. This is also a good size for portraits. This is the first portrait that I've painted with the subject wearing glasses. They are hard to do and you can tell I need practice!

Old Hermit

2010-01-19T11:19:00.000-06:00

This is "Old Hermit" the latest painting in my portrait series that is also 11" x 14". I really like this painting. Carla came over Saturday and after buying frames at our favorite frame shop (Pirates Alley) we came back to the studio and painted. It was one of those special painting sessions where things just 'clicked'. I wish that happened more often! Anyway we were both very pleased with our paintings that day.

Old Barn

2010-01-15T11:39:00.001-06:00

I really need to get a better photograph of this painting. I don't like the way the barn has a glazy look on the roof and the left side but I didn't take the time to setup any special lighting. I'll have to experiment with that later. Anyway this is my latest painting. It's on an 8" x 10" canvas panel board that I purchase from RayMar Art. They are a very high quality panel that won't warp and I love them.

UPDATE (4/7/10): I just sold this painting to a very dear friend. Thank you, Erika, I hope you enjoy the painting!

Happy New Year 2010!

2010-01-02T14:57:00.001-06:00

It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. Time passes by so quickly. I painted this portrait of an older woman yesterday who has seen many years go by in her lifetime. I like to imagine that she is fondly remembering those years and is looking forward to the ones to come. I was able to spend some time in my studio yesterday afternoon painting with my friend Carla. What a way to start the new year.....working in my studio is my favorite thing to do whether I'm working with fiber or oil paint.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-28T12:09:00.000-06:00

My family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve....Santa comes early just for us. My sister wanted everyone to arrive early for a light lunch so we left home in blizzard conditions and arrived at her house around 12:30pm. We were supposed to have a few inches of snow but it was to stop at 6:oopm. The weather people blew it again because we had the worst snow storm within a 24 hour period on record! All twelve of us had to spend the night at my sister's house. We had plenty of good food to eat and games to play so it was fun....it was like old times when all my aunts, uncles, & cousins would come and spend the night. We had over 14 inches of snow and all the Interstate Highways and the Turnpikes were closed. A lot of people were stranded on the roads and had to be rescued. Oklahoma is not equiped for heavy snow storms because they don't happen very often here.

Sweet little Nathan wore his monkey hat and played his new harmonica to keep us entertained!

Life is a journey

2009-12-28T11:26:00.000-06:00

This is my latest 11" x 14" portrait. Sorry, I couldn't seem to hold the camera strait so the photo is lopsided.

I lined up all three of my portrait series to evaluate them. As you can see I'm gradually getting away from the Matisse style of painting. This wasn't necessairly my intention because I like the more abstract paintings of Matisse but apparently that's not my personal style. I have a couple of more portraits to paint so I'll see where it leads. Life is a journey so enjoy it!

Pineapple and Pears

2009-12-23T11:50:00.000-06:00

Pineapple and Pears is my latest 11x14 oil painting. I really wanted to eat this fruit but by the time I finished the still life painting the fruit had ruined! I need to learn how to paint faster or quit my more-than-full-time job so I will have more time to paint. Since quitting isn't an option I guess I'll just have to learn how to paint faster.

FAD Christmas Party

2009-12-15T10:12:00.008-06:00

We had our FAD Group Christmas party meeting last night at Carla's house and had a blast! Seated from left to right around the table is Carla, Charlotte, Shirley, Marie, and Stephanie. Shirley took the next photo while I took my seat. I guess I should learn how to use the time delay feature on my camera so we could all be in the photo.

Carla made her famous Manicotti and it was delicious! We all brought dishes but I forgot to take photos before we ate! So I took photos of what was left over, LOL! Stephanie made an ice cream pie that was fabulous but I didn't get a photo of that or of Charlotte's bread. It was bread from Panera so you know that was a wonderful treat.

Shirley brought the appetizer.... cheese log, prosciutto log, and crackers.

Here is the almost empty bowl of salad that Marie brought. It was delicious as you can tell by the empty bowl!

Need I mention that we stuffed ourselves! This empty dish is all the evidence you need! After we ate, drank (we won't talk about that!), and made merry we adjourned to the living room to have show and tell.

Charlotte showed us her glitzy dragonfly quilt. She used a bobbin work technique to make the dragonfly out of thread. The moons are made from Angelina.

Above is Shirley and Stephanie. You can see Carla's harp in the background. She played a short beautiful song for us....I should have taken a photo of her playing the harp. Carla is so talented! The whole group is talented and I really enjoy spending time with my dearest best friends!

Here are Shirley's four ATC's that she brought for us. I took the one with the fish swimming upstream.

Shirley has been making jewerly with polymer clay. This is a necklace and one of the earrings...she did make two earrings the other one just isn't pictured. I'm going to have to rename her Shirley Kato!

Here is Marie. She brought two of her lovely embroidered pieces to show us.

This one is finished but she needs to have it mounted and framed.

This one is in process. Marie spends hours and hours on these hand embroidered pieces!

Last but not least....I couldn't resist taking a photo of Marie's shoes! I love these shoes, where did you get them?

I have to tell this funny little story about our trip to Carla's house. Since Carla lives way south of here we decided to car pool so Shirley, Stephanie, and Charlotte drove to my house to ride with me to Carla's. It was very cold last night so we loaded up all the food and piled into the car for the trip. We were all talking and laughing on the way and were excited about our 'girl party'. I turned into Carla's edition and turned left on the first street, like I have done several times before. I was watching the numbers on the mail boxes because on Picasso they are 5 digit numbers and then it immediately drops to a single digit number and you are on 173rd St. with out warning and without a street sign. I know Carla's address is 4 so I turned into the driveway with 4 on the mailbox. I thought the house looked different but we were stopped and everyone was getting out of the car carrying their dishes to the front door. There was this older man waking along with us to the house and we were all wondering (to ourselves) who he was. We rang the doorbell and waited, what seemed like a long time, for Carla to answer the door. It was awkward because we didn't know this man that was standing on the porch with us, was he going to be a party crasher? He asked us if we were going to a party and we all answered yes, then stood there waiting for the door to open. Then he said he was Nikki's father......so who in the world is Nikki? I figured he was confused and had arrived at the wrong house. Then the door opens, Charlotte was at the front so she is already walking in the door, I'm at the back of the line and I realize I don't know the person that opened the door! We were at the wrong house! In the mean time Charlotte, thinking the lady is Carla's daughter, is in the house talking to the gracious lady that opened the door. Charlotte is the friendly type of person that never meets a stranger but by this time she sees a stairway and she knows Carla doesn't have a second story on her house. So we all appoligize for invading the wrong house and start back to the car. So the poor man that I thought was a party crasher was at the right house and no telling what was going through his mind about these four lost crazy women. We piled back into the car, laughing our heads off! This was a two story house with a three car garage. Carla has a one story house with a two car garage and her garage is on the right side of the house and this house had the garage on the left! Boy did I make a big mistake! By this time I knew where I had screwed up, I had turned into the first entrance to the edition instead of the second entrance. We were still laughing when we got to right house and were so thankful that Carla answered the door!

Christmas Lights

2009-12-11T21:40:00.004-06:00

Chesapeake Energy has a huge complex in OKC off N. Western Ave. between Classen Blvd. and N.W. 63rd St. Every year around Christmas they wrap hundreds of trees with lights and it's just breathtaking! In the past they used white lights on the trees lining Western Ave. but this year they used LED lights in different colors and it's even more spectacular than previous years! Ron and I drove around this evening looking at Christmas lights. It really puts you in the Christmas mood!

Hot Pepper

2009-12-11T10:33:00.003-06:00

"Hot Pepper" is a little 6" x 8" abstract oil painting that I finished last week. It's still wet so I haven't been able to varnish it yet. The retouch varnish will bring out the dead spots so it will look better...I should have waited until that time to take the photo but I was in a hurry. I love the bright colors and it exudes an amount of warmth that is very welcome this week because it's been terribly cold outside.

Artist With Blue Hat

2009-12-01T15:03:00.003-06:00

Here is a photo of the painting that I'm currently working on......I think it's finished but I may add a few more finishing touches. I haven't named him yet so I'm calling it Artist With Blue Hat for now. He doesn't look very happy, does he? Maybe he is a starving artist that is struggling with his career. Most artists can relate to that!

"Longing for Peace"

2009-11-12T16:20:00.002-06:00

"Longing for Peace" is my latest painting that is painted on a 14" x 11" canvas board. I'm trying to develop my own style instead of copying from Matisse. I love colorful paintings so I'm exaggerating the colors like Matisse but I'm trying to soften the images. I'm not trying to paint realistic portraits but I want them to have character and emotion.

2009-11-10T10:45:00.002-06:00

One of my cats, Dudley, loves to sleep on my desk and keep me company during the day. Of course, it makes it difficult to use my scanner/copier because I hate to disturb him but thankfully I don't have to use it very often.

2009-11-06T09:48:00.003-06:00

I decided Madame Matisse needed company so I recreated a Matisse self portrait. Don't they make a nice couple? Of course these are copies so I can't enter them in any competition but I can frame them and keep them for my own enjoyment. Both are 11" x 14" oil paintings on canvas board.

I painted this little 4" x 6" oil painting last night. This is an original but it's definitely influenced by Matisse. I enjoy working in this style so hopefully I'll see some improvement soon.

The Green Line

2009-11-02T09:42:00.002-06:00

This is an 11" x 14" oil painting that I did yesterday afternoon. I admire the work of Henri Matisse and they say you can learn by copying the 'Old Masters' so this is a copy of "The Green Line", 1905. It's a portrait of his wife, Madame Matisse. I love the colors and it was so much fun to paint! Thank goodness Matisse isn't alive to see how I butchered his wife's portrait! Click here is to see an image of the original painting and you will see what I mean.

Finished Jackrabbit

2009-11-02T09:33:00.004-06:00

I finished my 14" x 11" oil painting of the Jackrabbit this weekend. I uploaded the reference photo that I used above because I personally find it interesting to see how other artists interpret what they see.

Jack Rabbit in process

2009-10-27T09:52:00.003-05:00

Here is my latest painting that is currently setting on my easel. It's an iry painting of a jack rabbit and I haven't decided if it's finished or not. Carla is coming to paint with me tonight so I'll get her opinion. I haven't been pleased with the last few paintings that I've made so I haven't uploaded them on my blog. My huge stack of rejects is growing.

My Uncle Clyde Taylor

2009-10-20T10:27:00.002-05:00

My uncle Clyde Taylor (my father's brother) passed away October 13th at the age of 80. The above photo was taken in 1952 so he would have been around 23 years old. He is survived by his wife Ruby, two brothers, daughter Patsy, son-in-law Joe, one granddaughter and two great grandchildren. Clyde was one of my favorite uncles. He served in the Army and the Navy and then worked at Tinker Field until he retired.

It's been hard losing an aunt and an uncle within three days time. I don't usually post family photos on my blog but I felt this would help me through the mourning stage.

More about Opal

2009-10-20T10:06:00.004-05:00

Above is my aunt Opal Bullock when she was 23 years old. She was a beautiful woman. She was a hair stylist so her hair always looked nice and she had beautiful skin.

This photo was taken around 1941 when gasoline was rationed and people were riding bikes. Above are a few of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. From left to right; Marion Kay, Armelda Kay, Lela Kay, Ray (Opal's 1st husband), Opal, Elbie Kay (in the wheel chair), seated are Opal's children, Eula and Pearlie. (My mother's maiden name is Kay.)

This photo was taken at a family reunion in 2001. From left to right is Art Kay, Opal Bullock, Mary Ruth Taylor (my mother), Lela McKey, Armelda Kay Randall, and Roy Kay. Opal and Roy are now deceased.

Opal K. Bullock

2009-10-19T16:54:00.002-05:00

My Aunt Opal Bullock born March 8, 1917 and died October 11, 2009. She was my mother's oldest sister and she will be dearly missed by all her family and friends. This is an older photo that was taken on her 76th birthday.....she was 92 years old when she passed. She has two surviving daughters, one brother, three sisters, 6 grandchildren, & 8 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, 3 brothers, and 2 sisters. Opal was an excellent cook so I'll always remember her good food and her infectious laugh.

FAO October Meeting

2009-10-09T11:22:00.004-05:00

I attended the FAO meeting last night. Betsy Rowland and Mary Tevington (pictured above) presented the program on Radical Jewelry Make Over. They took a workshop at Penland this past summer and shared their experiences with us. It was a great meeting! They allowed the members to rummage through their goodies and make jewelry to take home.

They made this necklace while they were at Penland.

Mary just loves this hope punch! I think she bought it at Michaels if I'm not mistaken.

FAO group hovering around the tables of 'goodies'.

Forest Path - WIP

2009-09-30T14:32:00.004-05:00

Here is my current painting that is in process and is still on my easel. I got a new slr camera yesterday so I'm trying it out. The Nikon D3000 is my Christmas present.....Santa just delivered it early! He arrived in a wonderful disguise yesterday driving a big brown truck and wearing a brown uniform. Santa has way too many packages to deliver this year so I was among the lucky ones that received mine early. I'm sure it's because I've been such a nice girl all year.

Rooster and Hens

2009-09-24T10:15:00.003-05:00

I took the above photo at Tina's farm last spring when I went there to do some plein air painting. I like chickens so I tried my hand at painting them. I'm not really pleased with the painting and I've been having serious doubts about my abilities to paint. I guess that's normal for an artist and maybe those feelings of inadequacy is what drives us to try harder.

OVAC 12 x 12 Coming Soon

2009-09-18T11:28:00.002-05:00

This photo was taken at the 2008 12x12 event by Xegunda Photo Werkes. The person in the photo is looking at the felted piece I made for the 12x12 last year. OVAC has preview photos of the artwork that will be for sell at this years event on their website, click here. More information about the event is printed there along with the locations where tickets can be purchased.

FAD September Meeting

2009-09-16T11:26:00.003-05:00

We had our FAD meeting Monday night at Carla's new house. I actually remembered to get out my camera and take photos this time! You may think from looking at the photos that our meeting went to the dogs but you would be mistaken. LOL! Lynn is pictured at the top holding cute little Odie which is Carla's youngest Pomeranian. The other photo is Carla holding her other Pom, Lil Bear, which is older than Odie but much smaller. I think they enjoyed attending our meeting too and they were so well behaved.

Seven-State Biennial Exhibit

2009-09-08T15:21:00.003-05:00

I just mailed off my entry to the Seven-State Biennial Exhibition that will debut in Chickasha, OK at the art gallery on the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma campus. I've entered this exhibit several times before and haven't been accepted so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will get in this year. I hate to get rejection letters but for some reason I feel the need to keep trying. They call it Seven-State because anyone living in a state that touches the Oklahoma state line and is over the age of 18 is eligible to enter. So besides Oklahoma that includes Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, and New Mexico.

I entered three of my felted fiber pieces in the Seven-State. I feel like my fiber pieces are much stronger than my paintings. However, I will enter two paintings in the Oklahoma Art Guild members show in October. It's not juried but they have a judge that will award prizes. Any OAG member that enters will have their work in the show which is nice but I think competition exhibits have a higher quality work on display.

Prickly Pear Paintings

2009-08-31T20:37:00.004-05:00

Here are my latest two oil paintings. The above red cactus is a scene from Big Bend National Park in Texas. For some unknown reason I've found myself fascinated with cactus and it all began when I took a trip to New Braunfels, Texas. I saw fields & fields of cactus while driving down the back roads in the Texas countryside....you don't see that around central Oklahoma. However, I found the below Prickly Pear cactus patch just a couple of miles from my home in the middle of Oklahoma City. It was growing in front of a car repair shop surrounded by a sea of concrete.

Crowded

2009-08-21T11:23:00.003-05:00

"Crowded" is my latest felted mixed media piece. It was machine needled and wet felted then embroidered and beaded. I'll sew it to a painted canvas in the next few days and it will be finished. This was inspired by the theme, Crowd, on the Abstract Challenge group. I painted an 8"x10" oil painting instead of a quilt and liked it so well that I decided to make a fiber piece using the design.

Price Tower Arts Center

2009-08-08T09:04:00.007-05:00

Ron and I attended the opening reception for the UK/OK: Exploring Traditions in Contemporary Design last night in Bartlesville, OK at the Price Tower Arts Center. "Scribbles in Time" (pictured above) and "Pieces of Time" (pictured below) are in this exhibit.

I made these pieces in 2005 and they have been exhibited in numerous shows. I enter them separately in exhibits and they have always been accepted together and hung side by side. When they were in the VisionMakers exhibit the juror referred to them as "two journal pages". They are a couple of my favorite pieces so I was thrilled that Scott Perkins, the curator, chose them for this wonderful exhibit.

My friends, Marie and Earl Miller at the opening reception. Marie has one of her exquisite embroidery pieces in the show.

I walked up to the second floor and took these pictures looking down to the gallery space below. I had fallen in love with this piece when I saw it at the IAO Gallery in 2008 because it is absolutely beautiful. This photo doesn't do it justice but you can see it on Whitney Forsyth's (the artist) website.

Another shot of the gallery below.

You can see my two pieces in the show on the back wall. Marie's piece is the first one on the right. "Sunrise, Sunset" is pictured on Marie's page in the Virtual Gallery on OVAC's website.

Scott Perkins said he worked on curating this exhibit for 1 1/2 years! I'm thrilled beyond words to have my work in this show!

UK/OK exhibit

2009-08-04T12:18:00.003-05:00

I'll be attending the UK/OK opening reception this Friday night in Bartlesville, OK at the Price Tower Arts Center. I have two pieces in the exhibit, "Scribbles In Time" and "Pieces of Time" that Scott Perkins, the curator, requested for the show. Their website states: "This exhibit celebrates the work of nearly seventy artists and designers working in areas of handmade design and “high craft” across Oklahoma and in the countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Emanating from a curiosity of cross-cultural comparisons, UK/OK examines contemporary British and Oklahoman designers through the lens of “traditions” – in technique, materials, and influences. The focus of the exhibition is the recent resurgence in handcrafted design and those working within the fields of metals, book making, ceramics, stone, glass, embroidery, quilting, apparel, woodworking, basketry, woodblock printing, and jewelry." This should be an great exhibit and I'm excited about having my work included!

OAG Members Show

2009-08-04T12:06:00.002-05:00

Carla and I joined the Oklahoma Art Guild this month since we have been oil painting so we were eligible to enter their members show. We both have two paintings in the exhibit that is mentioned above. It's named Small Works because the paintings had to be no larger than 12" x 12" including the frame.

FAD Group Exhibit

2009-08-04T09:55:00.007-05:00

The FAD Group installed our 4th annual exhibit at the Midwest City Library on Sunday afternoon. The exhibit will be on display until August 29th so if you are in the area I hope you will have the opportunity to see it in person. Charlotte, Lynn, and Carla (pictured above) helped me install the artwork on the wall behind them and the three display cases on the opposite wall.

The gallery wall photos were taken before the spotlights were turned on. Above are two pieces by Marie Miller on the left which are hand embroidered on silk painted fabric. The two on the right were made by Charlotte Hickman and are hand painted and quilted.

This is "Just Jugs" made by Marilu Benton Schwetz. It's made from appliqued cotton fabric and machine quilted.

This quilt is "Dogwood Flowers 2" made by Charlotte Hickman.

"Sunflower" a quilt made by Charlotte Hickman.

"Another Place In Time" and "Ancient Sanctuary" felted pieces made by me.

These pieces, "In Kandinsky Time" and "Storytime" are two more of my felted pieces at the end of the gallery wall.

We had three lighted display cases to showcase our work. Above is a close up of Jean Ann Fausser's Temptress in a Teapot series. "Tina" and "Cher" are shown above with one of the posters Jean Ann provided. She has wonderful photos and explainations on her website.

This is a full view of Jean Ann's teapots. From left to right and top to bottom are "Josephine" (Josephine Baker), "Tina" (Tina Turner), "Cher", "Madonna", and "Janis" (Janis Joplin).

The center display case holds oil paintings by Carla Houston. She is our renegade member because she hasn't been working with fiber. That's OK we love her anyway and enjoy her paintings. I need to get a close up shot of Carla and Stephanie's display case so you can see them better.

These felted and knotted pieces are made by Stephanie Grubbs. Of course, these photos don't do them justice so that's another good reason to see the exhibit in person!

You can see more artwork by Carla Houston, Stephanie Grubbs, Jean Ann Fausser, Marie Miller and myself on OVAC's website in the artists virtual gallery pages.

Current Oil Paintings and Fabric Painting

2009-07-14T11:00:00.003-05:00

I'm not the type of person to work on one thing at a time. Maybe that's because I'm a Gemini....who knows but I have to have several projects going at all times.

I painted this green canvas fabric years ago. It's at least 5 or 6 years old. Four years ago it accompanied me to a SDA workshop I attended with Mary Ruth Smith. There I embroidered the larger circle inside the copper colored square and the odd shaped wavy circle outline in blue thread then stopped. It has been in my closet since that time sitting patiently just waiting on me to pick it up again. It shouted at me a few weeks ago so I began working on it. I added blue paint to the inner area outlined with the blue thread because I thought that area needed more attention and all the other embroidery stitches you see now. I like it better now so it may actually get finished!

I took a painting workshop with Dan Robinson back in February and we painted still life's. I wasn't happy with the painting I did in class but I liked the setup so I painted this 6" x 8" the other day using my original painting and the photographs that I took as reference. I like this painting much better than the one I painted in class....hey, maybe that means my painting skills are improving? I want to enter this in a show coming up the first part of August.

This last painting with the orange/pink flowers and blue background is really silly but it's growing on me. I like a little whimsy in my life so this fills that void. I might frame it or it may end up in my ever growing stack of Misforgotten Paintings which is growing by leaps and bounds!

Modern Materials

2009-07-10T10:17:00.002-05:00

I'm going to attend the opening of Modern Materials tonight at the Untitled [ArtSpace] Gallery in OKC. This is an invitational curated exhibit by Jill Rumoshosky Werner that includes an impressive list of fiber artists! Only two artists from Oklahoma were invited and both of them are good friends of mine, Elia Woods and Jean Ann Fausser, so I'm excited about seeing the show tonight!

Possible 12 x 12 Oil Painting

2009-07-02T09:26:00.006-05:00

Here is the 12" x 12" oil painting that I could use for OVAC's annual event that is called the 12 x 12. I still haven't decided if I will give them the fiber piece that I posted yesterday or this oil painting. I'm open for suggestions!

Possible 12 x 12 Felted Piece

2009-07-02T09:26:00.004-05:00

I've been invited to participate in OVAC's 12 x 12 exhibit again this year. I love to attend this event so I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to participate. OVAC supplies the canvas, you can choose to donate the work or receive a 50% commission when it sells, and you get two free tickets to the event! What a deal because two tickets cost at least $50.

I have a dilemma this year because I can't decide whether to do a fiber piece or an oil painting so I'm making one of each.....then I'll have to decide. This is the fiber piece I've made but I haven't named it yet.

2009-07-02T09:26:00.002-05:00

I made a trip back to the IAO Gallery where the Fiberworks 2009 exhibit is on display to take photos. All the lights were not on so they didn't turn out very well. Carla took her fancy camera so maybe her photos will turn out better than mine.

The green felted & knotted vessel that is pictured was made by Stephanie Grubbs. This is just a close up view so you can't see the whole sculpture but I liked the way the photo turned out and you can see inside the vessel from this angle.

The next photo is part of a knitted chess set by Sara Braden. She uses recycled silk yarn and the little chess pieces are so cute and tiny! Sara buys sweaters from the thrift shop then unravels them so that's what I meant by 'recycled silk yarn'. You can see part of the gallery in the background.

The last photo won "Most Innovative" and is made by Michi Susan. It's mounted behind plexiglass and is constructed of hand made paper, twigs, and found objects like bottle caps and other things.

Tomorrow is the last day that Fiberworks 2009 will be on display. It will be sad to see it disassembled on Monday when the artists come to pick up their work.