Last week my friend Ilse and I attended the Art of the Carolinas, sponsored by Jerrys Artarama in Raleigh, North Carolina. We came back with many exciting samples and lots of new ideas to try.
Here I am with Patti Brady, author of Rethinking Acrylics. I've mentioned her book before and I hope you followed my recommendation and bought it, because it will lead you into new territory. I was so excited about meeting her, and was lucky enough to take two classes, one on digital grounds and one on using interference colors and other paints on various mediums. Patti said we were 'women on wheels' because she was driving around on a scooter due to an injured foot. And isn't her hair color ( uhm, colors ) the coolest? I've always secretly wanted to try a shock of hot pink. Maybe this will be an encouragement.
Patti was demonstrating the effects of fluid acrylics on fiber paste, a very cool feel. I would never have known about these mediums if I had not read her book. Each medium leads the artist to experiment with paints in a new ways, leading to more excitement in your work.
Another artist I was anxious to meet was Bob Burridge. I've tried to get in his classes before in other places, but they were always full. When I heard he would be here, I was the first to sign up. This class was about loosening up and painting abstracts. He really had some great ideas and we experimented with various compositions and using just one color with black and white. He also introduced his new color wheel, which is geared toward more intense colors that appeal to me.
Did I mention that my friend and I drove through one of the worst storms in the past few years? Schools were closed back home, but we slogged on and showed up with the drowned rat look, which I'm modeling here. Bob was happy to stop for a second to pose with me.
