shoes and bees and art

My 16th Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon" was on Saturday, March 25th at Selby Shoes Etc in South Portland, and it was so much fun! As you may or may not remember, the first "Paint-a-Thon" I had at Selby Shoes Etc was in December 2016, and there was a big snowstorm that day. Well, guess what happened when I was setting up my "pop-up" art show on Friday, March 24th? WE HAD SNOW! Thankfully, the severity wasn't even close to December's snowstorm, but Dennie, Ed, and Paul at Selby treated me to some good-natured teasing nonetheless ("Do you have a snow cloud over your head?"). The forecast was clear for Saturday, though, and Friday's snow was gone as quickly as it came. WHEW!

all set up!

Besides clear skies, Saturday was filled with laughter, visits from friends (thank you, Jen, Jenn, Lori, and Heather!) and encounters with new, friendly faces. I sold a handful of tote bags, including two to a woman who purchased one, walked out to her car, and came back in to get a second for a friend. I even met Ellen from Dobra Tea in Portland, who invited me to show my work at her shop on Exchange Street. Woo hoo!

The beginning...

progress...

The eight hours flew by (as they usually do), and suddenly, I had a finished painting! The title came to me through a conversation I was having with Dennie while I worked: "Let It Bee"!

"Let It Bee" and my Fluevogs!

Ed was kind enough to do the raffle drawing honors, and sure enough, the winner of "Let it Bee" was Heather Goulette of Monarch Massage! Heather is one of my dearest friends, and she has supported many of my previous Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon"s, but this was her first time winning a painting. I'm thrilled that her name was on the winning ticket, and I know she will give "Let It Bee" a good home, because Heather is a collector of my work! Plus, I will get to visit, which is always nice. Thanks to everyone's support, together we were able to raise $100 for the conservation efforts of Maine Audubon! 

Hooray for Heather!

In other news, I will be hosting another four-week "Playing With Paint" series at Curtis Memorial Library! Take a look at this wonderful write-up in the library's newsletter by Sarah Brown: 

PLAYING WITH PAINT-NEW CLASSES

Due to overwhelming demand, the library will offer a repeat series of free Playing With Paint classes.  Each class will focus on a different famous artist and one of their paintings:

•  Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh, April 6, 5:30-6:30
•  Convergence by Jackson Pollock , April 13, 5:30-6:30
•  Red Canna by Georgia O'Keeffe, April 20, 5:30-6:30
•  Blue Circus by Marc Chagall, April 27, 5:30-6:30 

 Maria Castellano-Usery, a well-known artist in the Brunswick area, will teach the classes.  Maria has a wonderful sense of how art is created, what is required to dive into the process, and how to have fun while doing it.

Maria will talk briefly about the artist and their work and style and then class members will paint (and take home) their version of one of the artist's well-known masterpieces.

  The goal of Playing with Paint is to learn about painting and art, and have fun in the process!  Come by yourself or bring a friend with you - it will be an enjoyable, relaxing evening with some interesting learning mixed into the process.

Appropriate for ages 14 years and older, the classes are free and all supplies will be provided.Class size is limited to 12 attendees-so sign up early! Sign up limited to two classes per person, with the option of adding your name to the wait list for the other two classes.

Please sign up by calling the library's reference desk at 
725-5242, ext. 204.-SB

Speaking of Curtis Memorial Library, if you're interested in checking out my bi-weekly blog for Curtis Creative Spaces, here's the link to my most recent post (they go up every other Wednesday, in case you'd like to follow along): http://curtiscreativespaces.com/. I think that's it for now!