What has REALLY been keeping me busy...

We bought a new piece of property...well it's actually an old mobile home that we're gutting and rebuilding.

If you want to see what we're doing you can check it out here .

It's adjacent to the property we already own where we're going to build our house. We'll move into this while we're building then turn it over to our friend to live in. What a plan!

Unfortunately, Paul had to head out to California for a job so I'm on my own with an additional work crew of one...

Wish me luck!?!

"Three Tomatoes"

"Three Tomatoes"

6" x 8"

Oil on Panel

It's been so long since I've spent any "quality time" in my studio!

I did this one day recently while I was there and it came out fairly well. It's a little different style than my normal work but it was fun. Maybe I'll do more of them.

I've recently been invited to show my watercolors at the Dell Jewish Community Center in Austin. It's a three artist exhibition in the Fall including two photographers and myself.  I'll post more information when it's available.

Really! I haven't died...

I feel bad that it's been so long since I posted but life has kept me so busy! I've done a few small paintings but I've definitely been too lax and I've had far too many distractions.

I promise that I'll get back to work this week and get some new work posted. For now, I'd love for you to visit my website at www.judithbakerarts.com and see my gallery of work there. There are some things that I've never posted here including photomontage (from the same series as my last post), oils, acrylics & life drawings.

I'm planning to do some really different kinds of things over the next month. I hope to enter the Oil Painters of America Western Regional Show this month and I've been invited to participate in a three artist show in Austin (more info on that to come) so I will have to get busy!

For now, I'll post this...

"Oregon Rocks"

Digital Photo Montage/Collage

20 x 24

$850 (framed original montage/collage)

This image is also available as a montage print without the hand torn edges and layers. It's slightly smaller than the original at 13" x 16".

Contact me if you'd like more information about prints.

"Leaving Roswell" 3/50

"Leaving Roswell"  

Limited Edition Print  5/50

8" x 18" (on 13" x 19" Ilford Matte Paper)

$185 unmatted/unframed

FINALLY!...

I'm finally starting to feel better after that horrible (cold/allergy/bronchitis?) month of feeling awful and I'm ready to start getting back to work. I have a long list of things to do before the end of this month.

There are competitions to paint for...

There's the "TEXAS" Show at New Bruanfels Art League which takes submissions on June 1.

The Oil Painters of America Western Regional Show deadline is June 17 (online submissions) and the Bosque Conservatory Conservatory Art Classic deadline is a few days earlier on June 14.

Lots to do!

My most recent painting...

"From the Soap Berry Tree"

(unfinished)

14" x 11"

Oil on canvas

My trip to Austin ended with me catching a terrible cold so I haven't been very good about painting since then. (Coughing and hacking and just plain miserable)

 I did spend a few days at the studio to work on this painting so I could enter it in the "Contemporary" show at the New Braunfels Art League.  I apologize for the less than optimum photo but I took it before the painting was finished and it was still just sitting on the easel. If you look at it closely you can still see where I scratched/sketched in the composition before I started painting it in. I  also made some changes to the background with some lighter and color-shifted areas which made the overall look a little less gloomy. I wasn't able to frame it the way I planned but at least it made it into the show. 

I've also been working on restructuring Judith Baker Arts Dot Com to make it easier to update and to correct some problems that have cropped up. So keep an eye on it for the new and improved!

The last painting that I finished before "Art City Austin"

"Three Tulips"

24" x 12"

Transparent Watercolor

It took two tries to finish this one but I'm pretty happy with the results.

Now that Art City Austin is over...

...I'm looking forward to working in mediums other than watercolor for a while!

I spent the last two months concentrating on getting stock ready for the festival and it will be fun to break out my oils again. I've had several ideas that I want to try so the next few months should be interesting. I'll also be making a quick trip out to CA (work for Paul and a mini vacation for me.) 

Then it's back to the studio.

"Art After Dark" 

Booth #114 at Art City Austin,  April 12, 2008, 7:30 pm (cell phone photo)

PS. I've decided that Art City Austin is probably not the best venue for my watercolors.  Although I received nothing but the best feedback about my work, sales were just not there. I sold a few reproductions but that was it. I'm contemplating the reasons and I've decided that unless I can include oils or acrylics to my booth, I will probably not do the festival again next year. 

Maybe, just like last year, the best outcomes of the festival are not the sales but the contacts that were made. I've met some interesting new people, made some wonderful new friends and reached some enlightening new conclusions so all is well!