This is my rendering of a colored pencil exercise that I taught in my colored pencil class this session. It is based on an exercise in a wonderful book by Anne Flood.

Quote:
There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. ~Winston Churchill

This is my second pastel landscape painting. I really enjoyed the looseness of this medium. Quite different than colored pencil. I did this piece on Wallis Belgium Mist pastel paper.

I rented a small studio space in Dexter at the Broad Street Artists Collective. This is the first time I have had an art studio away from home. I am working on mosaics and pastels (a new interest) here. I feel free to be messy and leave the mess when I am done. That is kind of liberating! I am flitting around from media to media this summer, enjoying the variety of textures, colors and styles.

Circle of Art

I donated these horoscope Artist trading cards to the Circle of Art, a fundraiser for Food Gatherers in Ann Arbor.

Circle of Art 2009 - People joining together to turn art into food. Join us on Sunday, May 17th to see an amazing array of small artworks, meet artists and art lovers and raise money to help Food Gatherers fight hunger. Watch the entries as they come in and bid on your favorites (100% of your bid goes to Food Gatherers). Bidding online will continue through Saturday May 16th then the auction will finish at the Circle of Art party at Saline Picture Frame Co. from Noon to 5 pm.

Learning to draw a drop of water

One of my students' favorite lessons is learning to draw a drop of water.
This is actually not a very hard thing to learn to draw, and it gives a new colored pencil artist a great feeling of accomplishment. For those of us who like to do representational art, there is a great delight in successfully producing a very realistic drawing.

Broad Street Artists Collective

I am happy to announce that I am moving my home studio to the Broad Street Artists Collective in April.
This group of artists studios, housed on Broad Street in Dexter, Michigan, was established in the early 1990's .
Barb will be working on colored pencil, mosaics and painting, and will also be available to teach privately in her new studio. Look for our open house during the Ann Arbor Art Walk, and other events.

Artychoke

This is a new exercise for my colored pencil class. We used several methods to mix color when drawing this artichoke including complementary shading, local color, and also grisaille. This piece is done by laying down a tonal drawing in prismacolor black grape, and then applying the full color over that layer.
A friend told me to stop my drawing at this phase. She thought it would be more interesting than completing the artichoke.

Art Show at Sweetwaters Jan - March 2

Here are some photos of my art show at Sweetwaters on 123 West Washington Street in Ann Arbor. This show is sponsored by the Ann Arbor Women Artist organization. I am showing with Nicki Griffith (organic abstracts) and Judy Enright (Allegorical symbolism in oils). It was great fun putting it together.
It will run through March 2, 2009. See the review in the Ann Arbor News