Calls for Artists: 5 Opportunities from Manifest Gallery

Manifest Announces FIVE Projects to Conclude Its Sixth Season:

G U I D E B O O K
An International Competitive Exhibit of Works of Collage and Assemblage

Postmark Deadline for Entry: APRIL 16, 2010
For more info. visit: http://www.manifestgallery.org/guidebook

Exhibit dates: May 28 - June 25, 2010


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6th Annual
MAGNITUDE 7
An International Competitive Exhibit of SMALL WORKS

Postmark Deadline for Entry: APRIL 16, 2010
For more info. visit: http://www.manifestgallery.org/seven10

Exhibit dates: May 28 - June 25, 2010


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2nd Annual
N U D E
An International Competitive Exhibit of Works Exploring the Uncovered Human Form in Current Art

Postmark Deadline for Entry: MAY 28, 2010
For more info. visit: http://www.manifestgallery.org/nude10

Exhibit dates: July 9 - August 6, 2010

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1st International Painting Annual (INPA)
A Competitive Annual Publication of Works of Contemporary Painting and Writing about Painting

Submission process now open.

Postmark or online submission deadline for entry: JUNE 30, 2010
For more info. visit: http://www.manifestgallery.org/inpa1


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4th Annual
MASTER PIECES
An International Competitive Juried Exhibit of Works by New Masters

Postmark Deadline for Entry: July 2, 2010
For more info. visit: http://www.manifestgallery.org/masterpieces

Exhibit dates: August 13 - September 10, 2010

Manifest Gallery is in Cincinnati. Visit their web site for details:

http://www.manifestgallery.org/

More Paintings For Artomat

I finished another batch of paintings for Artomat this week and popped them in the mail. Forty-six little gems are heading off to find new homes!

The style is the same as the previous batch - fish, flowers, a few snowflakes. I even snuck in a few birds this time: little tiny baby peeps. The blue painting in the upper left corner of the photo has birds. It's sideways in the box, so turn your head to the right to see it right side up.

It's so much fun putting these little paintings together. And I'm always delighted to find out where they end up.

I posted photos of the first batch in August 2009: http://lifeneedsart.blogspot.com/2009/08/artomat-wip-7-finished.html

These little guys take me a fair amount of time: they get 2 coats of gesso (primer) first, then 2 coats of the background color (green, blue, or yellow), then 2 coats of the paint on top, then the paper cutouts get glued on, then 2 coats of clear, then labels on the back, and then the whole shebang is wrapped in plastic. Whew!

Need A Little Happiness Today

Trish over at LazyTCrochet has ever-so-kindly included me in her treasury called "Need A Little Happiness Today". It's a really cheerful collection of things that put me in the mood for spring. Stop on over and take a quick look; it expires on Sunday:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=92832

And be sure to browse around her wonderful crochet work in her Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LazyTcrochet . March is National Crochet Month, after all. :)

Call for Artists: Radcom Art Show

Local Hudson company, Radcom Services, is hosting an art show to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They're looking for artists to participate - as well as visitors to come enjoy the show itself! Registration deadline for artists is April 10.

For the prospectus and other details, go to:

http://www.radcomservices.com/art-show

Register online at: http://www.radcomservices.com/art-show/75

The show is:

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

10 am to 2 pm

Radcom, Inc
561 Boston Mills Road
Suite 400
Hudson, OH  44236

First Sign of Spring

You can tell it's spring by all the birds coming back to town. They've been out hopping around the yard, chirping like crazy.

I decided to try out a new technique this weekend; didn't go so well.

The idea was to squiggle fluid acrylic paints on paper, then drag a squeegee down the page to blend the colors. So I squirted a bunch of primary colors plus some iridescent copper on the paper and improvised a squeegee out of a piece of cardboard.

Yuck. Didn't like it at all. Tried again and ended up with mud. And a lake of excess paint all over my table. What a mess. And a waste of paint. I hate to waste paint.

So I sopped up some of the paint with a 4x6 piece of watercolor paper and let it dry.

Hm. Now that looked interesting. After it dried, I looked at it long enough to see the shape of a bird in the bright colors. I mixed some titanium white with matte medium and painted around the bird shape.

Now this I rather like.

Go figure.

It's Plant A Flower Day...So I Did

Today is Plant a Flower Day. Never knew there was such a holiday, but I'm all for it! Much as I love flowers, it's perfect that such a holiday should fall on my birthday.

So, in honor of the day, I planted sunflower seeds. I bought this packet a couple weeks ago with hopeful thoughts of spring. 

Now, when I was a kid and wanted to start seeds, I would ask Mom for one of those cardboard egg cartons. I'd fill it with dirt and put in my seeds. When the plants were big enough to go outside, I'd cut the container up and plant each section in the yard - carton and all. 

I just assumed that was still how to do it, so off I trotted to the grocery last weekend to buy eggs in a cardboard carton. Would you believe that not a single brand of eggs at my store came in cardboard? All the cartons were styrofoam. Phooey.

Fortunately, I had this old ceramic planter in the garage and it will do fine for my seeds. The sunflowers will eventually go in my back yard against the side fence. They will get loads of sunshine and will be so bright and cheery! 

My only concern will be protecting them from the Ravenous Rabbits who live in my yard and can demolish anything green in no time flat. It seems like their diet correlates to my fondness for the plant: the more I like it, the faster they eat it. Yeah, yeah, they're cute and all, but not when they're mowing down my hostas. 

If they'd just consider changing their diet to weeds only, we'd get along so much better. :)

Keep your fingers crossed for these soon-to-be-giant sunflowers. Maybe I'll build little fences around them to keep the bunnies at bay.

Today is My Birthday!

So I'm taking the day off to spend some time painting. Maybe I'll take myself out for a massage; I haven't quite decided yet. And I'm having dinner with friends tonight.

And, as my gift to you, I'm offering free shipping on everything in my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lifeneedsart

Since I plan on celebrating all weekend, the offer is good through Monday, March 15. :)

Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Hudson Society of Artists MidWinter Show

Hudson Society of Artists is having its annual members MidWinter Show. Stop by and see the wonderful artwork by local artists!

The show runs through March 26 at:

Laurel Lake Retirement Center
200 Laurel Lake Road, Hudson, OH 44236

My entry is "Ginko Chicken"

To see photos of the winners, go to:

http://hudsonsocietyofartists.blogspot.com/2010/03/members-show.html