Elk River Art crossing....

We watched a small herd of elk cross the Yellowstone River behind our Gallery today.

Cat Nap

A new bronze sculpture by John - Cat Nap - of a 'dozing' lynx. This piece John had been working on for a LONG time, years in fact, on and off, always going back to it to get the restful position of the lynx to look 'just right' along with an interesting variety to the texture of the fur. When you know it's going to be in bronze, lasting much longer than a lifetime, you want to be REALLY happy with it! So it feels particularly good, finally, to be very satisfied with the piece AND now see it in bronze.

For the photo, we thought the piece would look quite at home behind the gallery on the rocks overlooking the Yellowstone River. Cat Nap can be for interior (with or without the walnut base) or for exterior (without the base). We have it inside the Gallery now, so stop by and see it in person.

So much to blog about, so little time....We have A LOT going on - so much so that it's hard to find the time to write about it!

I'll start with an easy one - I'm teaching an art class this month that is a lot of fun. I tried something a little different... March Art Madness = Have It Your Way. Painting or drawing - it just needed to be fun and motivational to you. You can bring your own project or I set it up for you - it's up to you. One project for the entire session or different exercises each week - you can choose. Many people who had taken my classes had mentioned they'd like some direction with a project they were working on at home. So this gave them that chance to 'bring it on down'. It certainly keeps cabin fever from setting in!

We run the gamut - we have people drawing figures using pencil and charcoal, some painting still lifes, others doing landscapes and even one VERY large canvas. Experience ranges from 'brand new', to 'haven't pick up my bushes for 20 years', to an art teacher along with a senior in college who is a painting major... and lots in between. The diversity really keeps it interesting (and keeps me on my toes!) - I've talked about values, edges, brushwork, color, composition, and materials in both drawing and painting. We've discussed line drawing, tonal drawing, proportions in figure drawing, perspective, limited and full color palettes for painting, soft versus hard pencils for drawing and blending, oil painting mediums and their uses, 'rules' for creating the illusion of distance in a landscape, seeing the reflected colors in still life, and so much more. I hope it benefits everyone to hear about so many different art principles and methods - after all that's the way art principles are in practice - all interrelated. So why shouldn't class be!