Day Trip to Billings/YAM

Since my husband had to go to Billings for a class, I jumped at the chance to go with him. I love to go explore new places, see the Galleries and check out local cuisine etc. The Yellowstone Art Museum ( known as the YAM) was on my list and did not disappoint.

The YAM is the largest contemporary Art Gallery in Montana. Quite the treasure in the city of Billings.

 

I did not find out more info about the mobile, but enjoyed it in the entry from the the exhibits. They have a great website that you can access from the link above. I'm just going to show you the pieces that grabbed me. One of the exhibits was about the history of western painting, so I took down a few names to learn more about at a later date. Sorry for some reflections and blurs, also using my new phone for pics and learning to make sure it is focused.

 Bill Stockton,  "Lone Pine", Livestock marker(!) and graphite

Adrian Arleo, "Herd", encaustic and ceramic

Kate Hunt, "2kh FLAG 24", newspaper, rebar and epoxy

Kevin Red Star, "The General"

Isabelle Johnson, "East Fiddler Creek"

Joellyn Duesberry, "Folly Island, Evening, IV", Monotype

A few shots of one of the exhibit rooms, very nicely done! They also have exhibits of young local artists and a small gift shop of local art work. 

A great addition to the museum is the "Visible Vault", it is a separate building a block behind the museum. You can get a key card and go view the storeage vaults for the museums permanent collection, fun to see. It brought back memories of getting to go to the vault in Glasgow, Scotland with Stephen Quiller and see some of his favorite watercolor painters a few years ago. 

 

As there was a meeting going on in the Visible Vault entry chamber, a nice gentleman suggested I visit the studio of the Artist in Residence. I might have been too shy to do so had it not been the case. What a delightful person Artist Carol Spielman is! Not to mention that I had seen her Art around Montana and admired it. We had fun chatting about art and Billings. The studio for the Artist in Residence is a beautiful well lit space and it would be hard to give it up I would think at the end of the residency.

Of the Galleries I found I have to say Toucan Gallery was my favorite, both for the Art they have and their display of it. There is a great vintage shop, Montana Vintage Clothing. I managed to find both a small handbag and a vintage suitcase there, it would be worth exploring further on another visit. Foodie-wise we kind of struck out in that  department, my usual go to tool "trip advisor" let us down, and we had planned on dinner out, but Jeff's class let out at 2:30 instead of 5. All in all it was a good scout mission on my first visit to Billings, our biggest "city".

Getting Outside!

Plein air painting has been pretty good this fall. I'm more motivated to get out and paint due to lack of space in my current in home studio. I've got it set up for encaustic, which does not leave room for an easel too. Now if only I could stay off Pinterest on the day I say I'm writing here. Some days the inspiration and cool finds just do not seem to have an end. Today was one of them....

I seem to have lots of painting ideas flying around in my brain, waiting to settle down and get on canvas or panel. I have to write down little notes about them when they surface, otherwise they risk getting pushed aside from the next idea. Once I have time to focus on paintings I can go to my little book of random painting ideas and see which one gets my attention. 

This time of year is my favorite for taking photos also. Some for the pure joy of capturing the moment and others will become paintings during the cold indoor months. Also a show coming up helps me to focus and get these ideas out in paintings. I've been reviewing my reference photos and choosing the ones that get my attention for new paintings in encaustic. 

First day Plein Air, on a wet underpainting, a bit mushy, but fun to get out and explore my new landscape in Montana

Windy second day out, in David Mensing workshop

Up Bridger Canyon Road, good place to park and paint.

On site vista

Day one cattails and trees

Day two, a couple days later, with a little color change

New favorite painting spot by the Story Mill

Day two, painting fast with impending rain storm, it moved in fast, but I made my sky choice before the cloud took over.

A few photos from the recent fall days, amazing to watch the changes in just a few days.

Sun lit trees!

First snows

Lingering color

Just at sunset

Time to get back to the Blog

Wow, moving from Alaska to Montana was a lot of effort. I did not plan to take such a break from my creative blog here. But somehow time just slipped by in the chaos of all the change. We are still settling in, but feeling more grounded.

I just got back from a great trip to Austin and San Antonio TX. Hot, hot, hot there, whew. I attended the 7th Annual Encaustic Conference, now named Encausticon. It was great to be surrounded by so many artists and all the creative ideas. Ate some great food in Austin and enjoyed some live music. Emily Wolfe at the Cactus Cafe, a fun quirky up and coming singer/songwriter doing a residency at the University of Texas.

About the second week I was in Bozeman I found out about a plein air painting class and was able to attend. It was a great class by David Mensing (from Idaho). I met a few local artists and am slowly finding some connections here. That is the worst part about moving is leaving your artist friends.

Just looking through my photos and decided that I need to post a few days on my trip to Texas. Lots of things to share.

First I'll start with my plein air studies from my oil class. It was so fun to get back to the brushes, even if I couldn't find all my supplies. David was a great teacher, so much information in 2 days. We didn't have much time to paint, but were given so much info that will last and add to future paintings. The class was hosted by Cobalt Moose Studios, which is a mother/daughter team of artists. They are both amazing artists and were so friendly and welcoming at their studio/home and property.

Blogger is being cranky and not letting me write more, so I'll save the rest for another day.

First day, painting-quick less than 2 hours

Second day, around an hour and a half

 

 

Four at Midnight Sun Brewing Co

What started out as a blustery end of winter day ended with spring sunshine on our opening afternoon.
The show looks great and is a fun mix of art styles. Just in case you can't get there, or need more prompting I'll give you a quick tour of most of the show. I dashed in yesterday to get some photos right at opening time, as it often too busy to get photos without people while they are open. It was a little challenging due to the sunlight streaming in, but you can get the idea. If there is a cloudy morning-I'll head back over and get some more pics. Enjoy.

Darla Myers oils  Erin Osinkosky Monoprints

Darla Myers encaustics

Darla Myers encaustics      Erin Osinkosky collage

Erin Osinkosky collage    Darla Myers encaustics

Cheryl Lyon Oils and Encaustics

Cheryl Lyon encaustic

Wendy Gingell ceramics

Wendy Gingell ceramic

Cheryl Lyon Oil

Cheryl Lyon encaustics

Darla Myers encaustics

Spring?

Yeah, the calendar says it's Spring, but in AK the seasons don't really conform. The days are extravagantly long into the evenings, while still lacking in the early morning light. Snow is melting and dripping, sidewalks are still non existent and the world is mostly grey/brown and white. The promise of summer taunts and keeps us going.

In the meantime a great way to spend this hopeful time is looking at bright and fun Art. Or better yet, finding some Art you love and making it your own. You can do all that and more this First Friday in Anchorage, at the Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

April 6, 5-8 will be the Opening of "four", showcasing the works of Wendy Gingell, Cheryl Lyon, Darla Myers (myself) and Erin Osinkosky.

My new works are three mini-series in oils and encaustics. The encaustics are sunflowers with great textures and iridescent fills, and Trees reflecting various states of mind. My oils are a a series of three paintings from a day in flight. I've been traveling quite a bit between AK and MT as we get ready for the big move south. Between those flights and my work as a Flight RN, I get the bird's eye view often and it has been begging to be painted.

I always try to get a window seat on the big planes and my camera is always nearby, the paintings below were all from the same day returning to AK.

These paintings are all 16 x 20 and have a fun red undertone peeking through. Come see them in person this Friday!

A Day in the Sky-Clouds

A Day in the Sky-Ice Circles

A Day in the Sky-Mountains

Be careful what you ask for!

Artmaking has been a lower priority these past few weeks. This is not a optimum thing in any shape or form. First it was the Pre-Holiday "things to get done and sent", then the Annual Winter Solstice Party-with lots of homemade food to prepare. Now throw the fact that your Lucky Husband just landed a job that he has been preparing and trying for for over 15 years. Oh-the job is just a few states away-Montana! With a short hiring timeline he got barely 3 weeks notice. I'll be holding down the fort in Alaska until warmer weather, then working on the move south.

Can I just say it's always something? I'm feeling a mix of anxiety and excitement which trade place rapidly through each day. My secret hope is that with the "distraction" of Lucky Husband gone-I will spend more time buried in my world of Art. We will see if that comes to fruition. Coping with the anxiety of all the change and facing a BIG move coming on I have turned to ORGANIZATION as a way to settle my mind, not to mention it will make room in the Studio and will make packing and selling art before the move much easier.

I just rediscovered Bento-loaded it on my IPAD (thanks Santa) and am committed to inventorying all  new works and gradually getting older works documented. It's super easy and fun to set up. I'm using a trial version on my Black Mac and know I will be purchasing the full version soon. Also  I decided to make sure that all finished works were wrapped, labeled and accounted for-this is the almost free way to organize paintings. All are wrapped with kraft paper and labeled on the side, as well as a masking tape label with painting name and medium corresponding to it's placement in the box.

Paintings wrapped, labels and put away

More of the finished work new organization 

I did manage to fit in time to rework a painting for the Members Show at International Gallery of Contemporary Art. It is an encaustic that I was not satisfied with-now I like it! The photo does not do it justice-needs to be seen in person. The Members Show will open Jan 6, 5:30-7:30pm and will be on display for the month.

Fall Foliage, encaustic painting

Quiet on the Blog, Busy in the Studio

Yes-I'm attempting to get back to weekly blog posts. While the blog has been pretty quiet, they studio has been busy. Encaustics have been the complete focus with a show coming up next month. I've been listening to my favorite pods casts, which include: Latina USA, Fresh Air and E-town. I think I'm caught up  and need some suggestions for a few new podcasts to paint by. I find that listening to spoken words puts my mind at rest and the creativity flows easier, I listen to the speaker and not my inner critic I guess.

Here a a few quick snap shots of parts of some recent paintings. Better ones will be posted when it's closer to the show.

Two paintings just neared completion this afternoon and I'm really excited by both of them.

 I've got some new formats including a couple diptychs (two piece paintings), that are on 2 square panels, also a couple narrow rectangles. The show will be in downtown Anchorage at the hip little gallery, "Octopus Ink". Stay tuned for more information as the date nears.