Word Out Wednesday

Happy hump day everybody. This week I'd thought I'd share some stuff with you. The first thing being my favorite art magazines - Blue Canvas and Artworks. So what is it that I love about these magazines? Let me count the ways.......

Well, to start with, Blue Canvas is not just a magazine. It's a website that showcases the work of artists, it's a place for artists to interact in a community, it's a shop where artists can sell reproductions of their work and it's an organization that works with companies like Epson, Art supply Warehouse and Scion to support art schools. They truly work in support of artists and that is a HUGE thing.

What do I love about Artworks? They mean it when they say they're "a voice for the arts". There's a large focus on the visual arts but they also have features on movie makers, musicians and dancers. They encompass all the arts and sometimes we need to explore what the other arts are doing. Sometimes our lives as artists can get narrow. It's nice to see in-depth articles and interviews with people involved in other art forms.

For fun, here are a few more places to visit....

http://www.sixartistssixprairies.blogspot.com/

http://www.keshabrucestudio.com/

http://www.artsjournal.com/

http://www.doodlersanonymous.com/

http://artnews.org/cityexhibitions.php?city=New%20York

http://www.artbizblog.com/

http://www.artfagcity.com/

http://www.ebsqart.com/

http://claudinehellmuth.blogspot.com/

http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/

Have fun perusing. Oh.... and just a reminder, this Friday is our first Painting Party class so let us know if you're joining us. And just another save the date - June 16th from 5-8 will be our opening party for the studio. Come by and see what we've been up to. More info to come later.

Enjoy the rest of your week and do something creative!

Peace,

Carlynne

It's Party Time!!

Well, it's almost party time. Just a reminder:

When: Friday, May 27 7 to 10 PM

What: Painting Party!

Where: Hershberger & Huff Studios

How much: $25

What you get: guidance with your art project, food, punch, music (maybe a little dancing?) discount on merchandise, a door prize and

a very special demo: Hot pencils and pastels!!!

Why: Why not?????

It's more fun to paint together and why not eat and drink too!!

BYOB, yep, you can drink responsibly

Bring your own art supplies and your current project.

For more info email us at hershbergerhuff@hotmail.com

Word Out Wednesday- Diane Laws

It's an unusually quiet day in Wednesday Guided Open Studio Class at Hershberger & Huff Studios. Normally the air is full of gossip, laughter, recipe exchanging and oh, yeah, a little discussion of artwork. Today is silent until from one corner of the room a confident voice says "Damn, I'm good." Ripples of laughter fill the room and we all know that Diane Laws is giving herself a pat on the back for another good job.




And well she should give herself credit, although she tries to give a lot of credit to us. Diane has been one of our students for more than 15 fun-filled years and is a highly accomplished artist. Her favorite subject is animals and all the pieces you see here are colored pencil, her medium of choice, although recently she is turning out some very high quality landscapes in acrylic on canvas. She paints most all animals but her specialty is horses. Diane has loved horses as long as she can remember and it shows in the work. In her own words, she was "touched by a magic wand to pursue drawing."

Okay, depends on what you call an "animal."

Don't you just want to pet him?

Diane didn't really consider herself an artist until she moved to Florida and started studying with us. She says that we helped her resolve issues with her artwork, encouraged her and helped her develop her own style and according to her, that is the best therapy.

A published cartoonist and book illustrator, Diane also does animal portrait commissions. As a community service, she draws portraits of service dogs for no fee. You can contact her for pricing and more information at Maggieo2@hotmail.com . Her work is on the cover of "Fourteen Years With Buster" and is included in Horseman's Handbook.


We are very fortunate to have students like Diane. Not only is she a cheerleader for our teaching, she was instrumental in helping us get our new studio open. We are grateful for her help, her sense of humor, her artwork and her friendship. Thanks Diane and damn you ARE good.

Peace and creativity,
Kelli

Save the Date - It's a Painting Party!

What in the world are we doing with an electric griddle in the art studio? Not flippin flapjacks I can tell you - although they would be pretty tasty right about now, have you ever tried hot dog pancakes? Anyway, I won't be cooking but I will be melting colored pencils and maybe a few other writing or painting implements while I'm at it. I'll be doing a little demo at our studio for our first ever Friday Night Painting Party.

Here's the save the date part - it's the last Friday of the month - May 27th. The party starts at 7pm and goes til 10. Bring whatever artwork you're working on (any media) and your supplies. Kelli and I will be there to help guide you if you're stuck, help you get started if you're blank or critique if you just want some input. You can even test out the griddle. Beginners and experienced painters are all welcome. Cost is 25.00. We'll have some munchies there and a bucket of ice so along with your art stuff you're welcome to BYOB of your preferred beverage, you can even sip some wine while you paint.

In case you missed it - the studio is located at 1735 NE Jacksonville Rd., Suite 3. If you want to join the party send us an email - hershbergerhuff@hotmail.com

Hope you have a wonderful Monday!
Carlynne

Word Out Wednesday - Dali

Landscape with Butterflies

Galatea of the Spheres

Since Kelli posted pictures from her trip to the Dali museum I thought I'd post pictures of Dali's paintings for WOW. When many of us think of Salvador Dali we think immediately of mustaches and melting clocks so I decided not to post anything showing his facial hair, extreme expressions and clocks draping over tree limbs. Instead I wanted to show you some paintings you may not be as familiar with.

The Face of War

Three Sphinxes of Bikini

Swans Reflecting Elephants

From the fairly simplistic Landscape with Butterflies to the disturbing Face of War to the more complex Swans Reflecting Elephants, Dali always gave us something to think about. Whether you like his work or not there are a few things that can't be denied - he was creative, thought provoking and technically good, so enjoy. What do you think of his work?

"Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad." ~ Salvador Dali

Have a great hump day :)
Carlynne

Dali Museum

I am sure that if Salvatore Dali were here, he would have spent Mother's Day with his mother at his museum in St Pete, FL where I was with my family. If you haven't been to the new museum, the architecture is every bit as interesting as the artwork. It came to Dali in a dream as did most of his painted images.



When he was in art school he read Interpretation of Dreams by Freud and started making notes and sketches from his own dreams. Many of his surreal paintings (dripping clocks, etc.) were drawn from these images.

The spiral staircase inside the museum goes up to a point in a glass encased dome where you can look out over people eating on the patio or the water of Tampa Bay and the airport.

I am not related to these people or I would have asked them to move but I thought that would be rude as they are not my relatives.

When you get a chance go see the Dali Museum and the nearby St Pete Pier. The Pier will be rebuilt soon and so will be closed for awhile. Enjoy the view when you have time.

Peace and Creativity,

Kelli

Word Out Wednesday-Our Fantastic Students

For this Word Out Wednesday we want to get the word out about our fabulous students who made it possible to open our new studio with lots of help and everything we needed. Their response has been absolutely overwhelming.

The list of things donated is endless, from a mini-refrigerator and microwave to chairs, tables, cleaning supplies and equipment, books, coffee supplies, utility sink, a cup rack, paper goods and many other things, including money donations. The generosity alone is astounding, but the fact that we didn't ask, didn't even mention what we needed and they just started showing up with everything!

A big giant thanks to Lea, Nancy, Jean, Betty, Maria, Jane, Rae Jean, Gisela, and Mary for so many, many things needed. Thanks to Kelli's sister Shelley in California for sending a wonderful good luck gift. We are grateful to both our mothers Jo and Johnie for their donations AND for giving birth to us. Thank you to Kelli's fantastic husband Greg for moving everything with no other manly help and doing handy odd jobs.

Last and far from least, Chuck, Diane and Cindy. Thank you for your donations but also for your time, giving up at least a weekend or more to paint and ready our new building. Kelli is particularly grateful that when she had to go out of town on a family emergency, you stepped up to the plate and were there to make sure that Carlynne did not have to do it all alone. (You made her smile and cry at the same time.)







There is no other word that means the same thing, but there are not enough Thank Yous to express how we feel about all of you. We will always remember our new studio opening with joy because of you. Someone said that your generosity reflects well on us, but I beg to differ. It says a lot about who YOU are. Thank you Hershberger and Huff Studios students, we will never forget this and you rock one and all!

Peace and love,
Kelli and Carlynne