TEN… the show – Robert Lange Studios!

Remember Me by Robert Lange 10x10" Oil on Panel
Center of Attention by Robert Lange
10×10″ Oil on Panel

Robert Lange Studios celebrates 10 years with a fabulous show… TEN! Opening reception this evening 5-8PM.

This gallery has been on the cutting edge since the doors opened. Always interesting, fabulous art!

FREE Shipping through opening weekend!

Read a bit about the show.. T E N from the gallery website:

Ten-Inch Paintings to Celebrate 10 Years

February 6 – 26 2015

Opening Reception: February 6, 5:00-8:00 PM (free to the public)

This February Robert Lange Studios (RLS) in Charleston, SC will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a group show featuring 24 RLS artists of past and present. Each artist will create multiple 10-by-10 inch works exemplifying their specific style, genre and subject matter. The exhibition will hang through February 2015 with ten-percent of the proceeds going to the John C. Doyle scholarship fund. A reception, featuring music, wine, and hors d’oeuvres will take place on February 6 from 5-8PM and is open to the public.

When considering how to celebrate the milestone of being open for a decade, RLS decided that an exhibition highlighting the wide diversity of work that has been shown over the years would be best. This show will be the 92nd exhibit for the gallery.

“In looking back over the past ten years, the only word that comes to mind is blessed,” says Robert Lange. “In ten years we have witnessed many of our artists’ lives transform. Some had just graduated college when we picked them up, most never having exhibited their work, and now they grace the covers of national magazines, receive awards and accolades and have exhibited in museums across the country.” 

Veteran RLS artist Ali Cavanaugh, who recently painted the cover for TIME Magazine’s person of the year finalist, has created a new painting for the show.  Karen Ann Myers’ who currently has a traveling museum show will be creating at least one new work. Another veteran to RLS, who has been voted best visual artist in Charleston for four years, Nathan Durfee has shown at the gallery since his beginning as an artist. For the show he’s created a series of three introspective dogs in cardinal costumes.  “This show was a great opportunity to revisit one of most beloved characters: Bartholomeux, the dog-in-disguise.   By focusing on his face and mask he becomes a vehicle for me to explore color and pattern in his costume.  His closed eyes and quiet expression complete the narrative: dreams of what his costume could be and could have been.”

Lange when looking back said, “When we were 22-years old we decided to open a gallery.  We actually sold our DVD collection to help cover the first month’s rent. Our goal was to promote emerging and mid-career artists with a focus on artistic and personal integrity. We could have never imagined this is where we would be today.”

Image via RobertLangeStudios.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

House Plan: Martin Houseplan by Bill Ingram!

Martin House plan (SL-1863) by architect Bill Ingram for Southern Living House Plans. This plan is 2,990 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. I really like that the garage doesn’t look like a garage! Also note the wonderful porches on front and back! This plan is more traditional than the open plans I have been featuring. There are so many different styles to love, and this is surely one!

Can the exterior be any classier? I don’t think so… I love it!

Martin House Plan SL-1863 designed by Bill Ingram for Houseplans.SouthernLiving.com
Martin House Plan SL-1863 designed by Bill Ingram for Houseplans.SouthernLiving.com

As I mentioned, instead of the open living, dining, kitchen space, you have more individual rooms, which is also quite nice. I like how the master is tucked away, and the library not far from the master… love it!

Martin House Plan SL-1863 designed by Bill Ingram for Houseplans.SouthernLiving.com
Martin House Plan SL-1863 designed by Bill Ingram for Houseplans.SouthernLiving.com

The upstairs has two bedrooms with a shared bath and private dressing rooms. How decadent!

 Images via Houseplans.southernliving.com

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Peggi Kroll Roberts!

Peggi Kroll Roberts
Peggi Kroll Roberts

Peggi Kroll Roberts. Peggi is known for her bright colors and loose style. She can make just a few strokes turn into a painting full of life! Ahhh, look at this painting. The color, the movement, the FEELING… I would like to be there with them right now! They look like a fun group!

Turquoise Vase, Two Creamers by Peggi Kroll Roberts
Turquoise Vase, Two Creamers by Peggi Kroll Roberts

Peggi also paints with watercolor. Just look how colors placed in just the right way gives the object a sense of space. Peggi is well known for her workshops, check out that link! She also has many DVD’s for sale – all fabulous!

Read a bit about Peggi, from her website:

Award winning artist, Peggi Kroll-Roberts, was trained at Arizona State University and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA.  Peggi worked as a fashion and advertising illustrator before making the transition into fine art.  Using  intense color and value to accentuate her subject, she moved into fine art with a bold palette, a love for small paintings and a very loose style that achieves a lot with a few very energetic brush strokes.  She prefers to suggest reality than render it.  

Inspired by her children she paints beach scenes and other aspects of their lives.  She also breaks away from the conventional still life by painting scenes of cosmetics and the occasional coffee cup or slab of butter.  Peggi’s work gives us a new appreciation of our own daily life.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

How to make Turkey Burgers…

ArtFoodHome.com

I would say its been close to a year now that we stopped grilling hamburgers and started grilling turkey burgers. We can buy them already made up in the warmer months at Whole Foods and EarthFare (healthy grocery stores), but in the off months we just make them ourselves and eat them twice in a week (not sure how freezing them would be)? That alongside the fresh vinegar coleslaw, wow! It tickles your senses, and is an utterly fabulous meal!

I’m a little freaky about big hamburger buns. Growing up, my mom always used only a portion of the bun. Now I do the same thing, which results in a scary looking burger. REMEDY? Ahhh yeah! SLIDER BUNS! I buy wheat slider buns and keep them in the freezer. When it’s time to grill I pull them out and stick them in the microwave for about 15 seconds and they’re nicely steamed. I top my turkey burger like I do my hamburger, pickles and mustard. That’s it. I love the crunch of the pickles :)

ArtFoodHome.com

If you’re making your own turkey burgers, take 1 pound of ground turkey (white or mix), and some crumbled feta (however much you like) and a handful or two of torn baby spinach. Make into patties and grill until done! You will not believe how good they are! The feta makes them super special!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Debra Huse!

Yosemite Renaissance XXIV by Debra Huse Best of Show Award!
Yosemite Renaissance XXIV by Debra Huse
Best of Show Award!

Debra Huse. I love this woman’s work! It’s different. Fabulous colors and her style is one I absolutely adore. To try to figure out WHICH painting could be your biggest problem (and what a problem to have!) – each and every one is stunning! Take Yosemite Renaissance XXIV for example… How wonderful is that? I love the body expressions! The background lends itself to making the people stand out wonderfully but gives you a sense of where they are. Love it!

Sailors Delight II by Debra Huse 24x30" Oil
Sailors Delight II by Debra Huse
24×30″ Oil

Debra has some beautiful paintings of sailboats, just lovely. Check them out on her website… Debra also owns her own gallery, and a top notch one it is! Visit the Debra Huse Gallery!

Read a bit about Debra from her website, and check out all the WORKSHOPS for 2015! :

Name: Debra Huse (Ressel)

Studio; A Marina in Newport Beach, CA

Gallery: Debra Huse Gallery, 229 Marine Ave. 
Balboa Island, CA 92662 www.debrahusegallery.com

Born & Raised: Indianapolis, IN

Favorite Book; Two Years Before the Mast

Family: Husband Randy Ressel
Transportation: 43’ Santa Barbara Sportfishing Boat. 

Artist’s Statement

I’ve been blessed with the talent of seeing and the passion for painting. Oil is such a luscious medium. Applying lots of paint – moving it around and carving out areas is fascinating. As a contemporary plein air colorist, I strive to capture the beauty of the moment, the poetry of the atmosphere, and the notes of colorful light with the spontaneity and energy of a painter intrigued. Not painting is not an option.

Images via DebraHuse.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Do you think you’re free from the boot?

IMG_2616

Ahhh, the dreaded boot! I’ve never been “booted”, but don’t think you are exempt if you drive something other than a car and park it in the wrong spot and/or for the wrong length of time. On the way home the other day, we saw this golf cart with a boot. Bummer… I’ve heard stories about people trying to drive off (in a car) with a boot attached… it doesn’t work. At all.

Charleston, SC keeps up with parking, so be sure to put money in those meters, and don’t park in the residential areas longer than the signs stipulate. You are almost guaranteed a ticket. To be safe from parking fines, head to a parking garage!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Michael Situ!

Heisler Park View by Michael Situ 12x12 Oil
Heisler Park View by Michael Situ
20×24″ Oil

Michael Situ. Take a minute to look through his website. His paintings are stunning. His color are just perfect. In the painting above, Heisler Park View – Just look at those shadows.I swear I can hear the ocean and the crashing waves, I can feel the sun, and those palm trees… amazing! Love the rocky shore and the great feeling of distance in this painting!

The Green House by Michael Situ 18x24" Oil
The Greenhouse by Michael Situ
18×24″ Oil

Another great painting, and for me, the reason it really catches my eye is the use of dark/light. Michael skillfully places his strokes in just the right location making the painting really pop. It’s nice that the details aren’t there, he’s left that for you to do… and it’s wonderful!

Read a bit about Michael from his website – click on his BIO tab to see more!

Michael Situ is a nationally recognized artist in the United States. An award winning artist, he is a Signature Member of Oil Painters of America, California Art Club, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association and American Impressionist Society. He is a contemporary artist of the California Impressionist Style. He is known for his luminous and richly colored landscapes of the coasts, mountains and various scenes that capture his imagination. Powerful compositions, strong brushwork, a gorgeous sense of color all come together in perfect harmony, marking him is a masters of plein air painter.

At an early age he begin to interest drawing and painting, growing up in China where he completed his art education at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art, Situ developed a deep appreciation for nature and a passion for art.

Michael arrived in the America in 1989 and now lives in Southern California. He is a full time professional artist whose artwork has been exhibited in numerous national major competition and museums, national juried exhibitions such as the Arts for the Parks Top 100 International Competition, the Oil Painters of America’s Annual National Juried Exhibition, the California Art Club’s Annual Golden Medal Juried Exhibition, the Masters of Fine Art Salon International Juried Exhibition. 

Check out his website for more!

Images via MichaelSitu.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Outbuilding plan by Moser Design Group – Check out TNH-0-25!

Front view...
Front view…

TNH-0-25. In my dreams, along with all the fabulous house plans, I love to look at plans of outbuildings. There are so many I like, I was looking for a plan with no kitchen. Our house is 2 bedrooms, which is fine most of the time, but another bedroom sure would be handy to accomodate the few times when we’ve had more than one person want to visit at the same time. Most of the time it could be used as a studio, but when company is in town the studio could become a guest room. A place to sleep and take a shower. How perfect is that?

What a dream it would be to paint without having to put everything away each time. This is my excuse why I haven’t painted in a long time… here is my scenario: Set everything up (in our sunroom, which we use on a daily basis), crack windows, position a box fan blowing air out, setup paint, palette, etc. Then decide what to paint (ok, this part is my fault I so know that, ha ha), then start to paint and BOOM it’s time to make dinner… clean the brushes, the palette, etc. Put everything away, close the windows, put away the fan, etc. And once again, no painting… sigh… So ideally, if I had a studio I should have no reason not to paint, right?

TNH-0-25 by Moser Design GroupOur garage is in our backyard, so its not where a car can be parked, which is fine. If we ever built a garage, we would have to stay with the same foundation, we cannot change it or we would have to move it. So it would have to be pretty small. A friend of mine in the neighborhood built a beautiful garage/studio with fabulous barn doors… I love it… That’s what I want… but it would have to be much smaller… that’s OK!

Guest or studio space!
Guest or studio space!

So this configuration would give you a place to paint, as well as cleanup. A shower would be nice when we work in the yard and get really dirty, nice to not drag it through the house. I love the light coming in the windows (and the ventilation). Nice that the steps are inside and not outside in the weather.

TNH-0-25 by Moser Design Group

This is the side I love! This would face our pool – how cool would that be? I would see if we could use barn doors instead of regular doors. They’re so cool!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Little Free Library… Brilliant!!

Little Free Library - What a concept!
Little Free Library – What a concept!

What a brilliant concept! Have you heard of the LittleFreeLibrary.org? It’s a great idea and “libraries” are popping up all over the country! I snapped this photo while on a walk downtown (Charleston, SC)… no library card is necessary!

I love to read, and I used to buy all my books. Now I read faster so it wouldn’t be too cost effective for me to buy every single book. I use our public library which is fabulous. But the problem with it is that so many people use it (which is a good thing), but the wait for a book can sometimes be months (if a new release). Literally months. If I buy a book, I read it and then I pass it along. If we had a little free library, we could put our books that we’ve read in it, and “check out” a different book and return it when done. How great is that?

Do you have a Little Free Library in your area? Catch you back here tomorrow!

Health Starts Here and it couldn’t be more beautiful!

ArtFoodHome.com | barbara stroud Health Starts Here is a program at Whole Foods Market…. and it couldn’t be more delicious! Look at how beautiful this is!

You may remember a while back I mentioned that Fred and I are currently on a customer advisory panel for Whole Foods Market. We have learned so much. It lasts for six months (once a month), this is the fourth month and the subject was healthy eating… and an introduction to their Health Starts Here program. They prepare food that is so very scrumptious, then give you time to eat and chat, then there is a talk. Sarah Jane at our local Whole Foods (Mount Pleasant, SC) was so interesting to listen to, and full of great tips and suggestions for healthy eating.

They also gave us a great booklet THE HEALTHY EATING HANDBOOK – it’s FULL of great information, recipes, guides (ideas for smoothies, breakfast bowls, dinner bowls (which we are hooked on right now!), salads, etc. – Click on the link to download!

Also note the BULK BASICS booklet… full of great info on all the different types of beans, whether you soak or don’t soak, the ratio of beans to water, how long to cook, etc. More than beans… so pick one up if you’re in the store!

ArtFoodHome.com | barbara stroud

The Health Starts Here program that Whole Foods Market has started helps take the guesswork out of eating healthy!

I had a white bean dip and an avocado dip with veggies, a scrumptious wrap, lentil chili, a wonderful salad with avocado vinaigrette, and raw apple crisp that was out of this world! I was so full. How often do I eat this many veggies at one sitting? Hmmmm, never! But this showed me that it was possible, and we’ve been adding so many more fruits/veggies ever since this meeting!

Healthy eating is much easier when you get an idea of some of the foods that you should choose… If you have a Whole Foods Market in your area, you’ll see some foods are labeled in the salad/hot bars, prepared food secretion and the self serve prepared meals with a Health Starts Here logo – if you see that you’ll know it’s good for you, and that it was prepared without any extracted oils/processed fats, they only use the healthier sources of fat… nuts, seeds and avocado… YUM!

All foods that have the Health Starts Here log follow their Four Pillars of Healthy Eating:

– They’re made using the purest whole foods, not the processed foods that many of us are used to!

– The ingredients used are plant based – which means there is fiber (that help keeps you full), protein and phytonutrients!

– They only contain healthy fats such as nuts, seeds and avocados!

– They’re high on the list of nutrient dense (containing the most nutrients) list… they have a great way to measure the super nutritious foods… At Whole Foods Market, in the produce section, the fruits and veggies have an ANDI (Aggregate Nutrient Density Index) score. So say you want to make a brown rice bowl and add some greens, you want the most nutrient dense greens, so you check the ANDI list and see the Kale is higher on the list then Arugula, so you choose that green.

With that being said. If you’re eating veggies, you’re doing good… this just packs a more powerful punch!

So I would like to shout out a big THANK YOU to Whole Foods for making healthy eating much easier!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Ken DeWaard Workshop – Charleston, SC – APRIL 17-19, 2015!

 

ArtFoodHome.com | barbara stroud

Ken DeWaard. Those of you who know him, love him. Those of you who haven’t met him yet, WILL love him. He is an amazing instructor! He’s very positive and motivating (believe me!). You will learn a lot, this workshop will help you create stronger paintings, and you will also have fun! Ken is an accomplished artist with many awards to his name – this is going to be one fantastic workshop!

Space IS limited, so be sure to not wait until the last minute. Ken is very familiar with all mediums, so all medium and all levels are welcome.

ArtFoodHome.com

If you know of an artist who may enjoy this workshop, please pass this along! Catch you back here tomorrow!

This is one of mine… what are some of yours???

Who are some of your favorite authors?
Who are some of your favorite authors?

My mom gave me a book by Mary Kay Andrews and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I get into spurts reading… and then I get stuck in a rut and if I don’t get a book right away it’ll be months that go by without reading. So several months ago I resolved to start reading again (read instead of Facebook)… it’s been working well! I don’t miss Facebook… I catch up with it quickly and read for a short time in the morning and evening. I love that time of day. Getting lost in a book… there is just nothing like it!

Who are some of your favorite authors? Let us know (either by commenting on this blog at the top of the post you’ll see a (it will have a number in it if there is already a comment, or using the Contact Me link at the top):

Comment Click on it, and type your comment! Or comment on Facebook!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Winter light… nothing like it!

Broad Street Rooftop - Charleston, SC
Broad Street Rooftop – Charleston, SC

It seems like fall brings fabulous, bright, magical skies and then once winter is upon us the lighting seems so much more magical. Lacking that strong intensity that summer brings it gives a soft golden glow, especially around dusk. I love the light and shadows on this building. This was taken on the coldest day we had so far this year… lows in the single digits and yet look how crisp and lovely this is!

Magic is Charleston in the winter!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Steven Aimone!

Painting by Steven Aimone
Painting by Steven Aimone

Steven Aimone. Very cool guy and talented artist. Steven and his wife Katherine live on Monhegan Island (Maine) part of the year – and I just can’t imagine it getting much better than that! Both Steven and his wife are artists and besides painting they have another business… Aimone Art Services, where Steven teaches abstract painting workshops (read more here)…

From the photos that are posted it looks like everyone really has a good time! Check them out!

Read a bit about Steven from his website:

Born and raised in northern New Jersey, Steven Aimone spent his formative years as an artist in New York City, immersing himself in the offerings of galleries and museums. While there, he attended graduate school at Brooklyn College where he received an MFA in painting and drawing. 

In 1993, Aimone left NYC and journeyed to Florida where he served as Visiting Artist in painting, drawing, and design at Stetson University.  He subsequently served as Artistic Director of Arts on Douglas (commercial gallery in New Smyrna Beach) and helped found ProArt Institute, a non-profit arts organization offering fine arts courses to working artists. 

In 2000, Aimone married artist and fine arts writer-curator Katherine Duncan (Aimone). In 2002, the couple formed Aimone Art Services, offering fine arts workshops and arts writing services. Through AAS, Steven has taught workshops to a wide range of audiences in venues throughout North America. His most recent book, Expressive Drawing: A Practical Guide to Freeing the Artist Within, was published in 2009. 

Aimone’s art works have been the subject of numerous solo and group exhibitions in New York and elsewhere on the east coast, and are represented in more than a dozen corporate and numerous private collections.

The Aimones now live and work in Rockland and Monhegan Island, Maine, in the summer, and Asheville, North Carolina during the winter.

Check out both Steve and Katherine’s work, and if you’re looking for a workshop for abstract painting,

I think you’ve found just the place!

Image via StevenAimone.com , used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!