Winter Park Paint Out 2013

On By Barbara StroudIn ARTLeave a comment

WinterParkPaintout.org

From the Winter Park Paint Out website:  A friendly competition was held among our artists to find a poster image for the 2013 Winter Park Paint Out. The winner was Stephen Bach of Winter Park.

2013 WINTER PARK PAINT OUT

APRIL 20 — APRIL 27, 2013

to ben­e­fit the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculp­ture Gar­dens

The Albin Polasek Museum & Sculp­ture Gar­dens hosts its Fifth Annual Win­ter Park Paint Out dur­ing the last week of April 2013. Twenty-five pro­fes­sion­ally acclaimed plein airartists will roam across our fair city cap­tur­ing many of your favorite land­scapes and land­marks with oils, water­col­ors and pastels.Plein Air - a French term mean­ing “in the open air” — describes art works painted out­doors with the sub­ject directly in view rather than in a stu­dio. Plein air artists cap­ture the spirit and essence of a land-scape or sub­ject by incor­po­rat­ing nat­ural light, color and move­ment into their works.Join us for the 2013 Win­ter Park Paint Out. If you’re an art lover, a patron, or just curi­ous to see what the buzz is about, stop by the Polasek Museum to see the lat­est from the 25 artists in action!  The museum, sculp­ture gar­dens and gallery will be open FREE to the pub­lic through this excit­ing week-long event. Click here to check out the sched­ule of eventsinclud­ing FREE paint­ing demon­stra­tions and other activ­i­ties. Com­pleted paint­ings will be hung in the gallery’s ‘Wet Room’ imme­di­ately — watch as the week pro­gresses and the gallery fills with plein air art­work. Be sure to visit often to watch the artists work and to pur­chase these one-of-a kind paint­ings the moment they are hung on the wall.If you’d like behind the scenes access and attend our VIP events click here to learn more about becom­ing a Paint Out Patron.  Don’t for­get to pur­chase your tick­ets to the exclu­sive Gar­den Party — this event sells out quickly! Fol­low this link to reserve yours today.

For more infor­ma­tion about the Win­ter Park Paint Out, please call the Museum or email us at info@polasek.org.

I’m also going to sneak a little something in here by artist, Ken DeWaard – if you can make it to watch the demos, I highly suggest it. DARNIT! I wish I would have gotten this posted before it started… ugh! Ken is a fabulous artist, very talented and VERY diverse! I love watching this guy paint!

Ken DeWaard Newsletter

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Poe’s Tavern – Sullivan’s Island, SC!

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD5 Comments

Poe's Tavern!

Sullivan’s Island, SC. One of the most beautiful places on earth. It has that “back in time” feeling. I would like to retire and live there (wouldn’t everyone)… beautiful homes, cool businesses, and of course, the ocean! Tucked in the small area of “town” is this wonderful restaurant that’s been around for about ten years now… it’s called POE’S TAVERN. Everything on the menu has an Edgar Allen Poe name to it, it’s so creative. The t-shirts are cool too, so if you make it there, check them out! Fabulous burgers and pretty much everything else! It’s fun to eat outside or in. It’s a happening place!

I know what you’re thinking… WHERE’S THE MENU?? Right HERE my friends… check it out!

Read a bit about Poe’s from their website:

Named in honor of Edgar Allan Poe, we’re best known for great burgers and drinks.

Much like his work, the life of Edgar Allan Poe was short, tragic and shrouded in mystery. Best known as the author of the popular poem “The Raven”, Poe is credited with creating the detective and horror story genres. After a brief stint at the University of Virginia, Poe enlisted in the army under the pseudonym Edgar Allan Perry and was stationed at Fort Moultrie at the western end of Sullivan’s Island for thirteen months beginning November 18,1827. His time on the island inspired “The Gold Bug”, a story about a mystical beetle that led to buried treasure. He died alone, impoverished and inebriated at the age of 40 amid conflicting accounts of his demise,  yet left an indelible legacy on American literature.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Chad Smith!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist2 Comments

ChadSmith MaroonStreetPoppies CS

Maroon Street Poppies by Chad Smith

Oh, I am loving these pops of orange against the green… fabulous! I ran across Chad’s work on Facebook and was loving every single piece… I was having a horrific time trying to find one image that I really loved on his website because each and every one is just so wonderful! On Chad’s website, when you click on  PORTFOLIO you’ll have some options. Maroon Street Poppies is located under FIELD WORK TEST. If I ever complete a painting that is close to being as fabulous as this is you will hear me yodel from a mountaintop somewhere. Ha ha… not kidding! I love light in a painting and this is just so perfect… Check out his work, I’m sure you will love it as much as I do!

I really like it when artists share who they’ve studied with. Kenn Backhaus and Marc Hanson… whoa! I love their work! They’ve both “got the eye”… and they can transform a canvas into what they see which is breathtaking and ALWAYS a treat! Oh, and you can’t forget about Mother Nature…! Painting plein air is challenging to say the least. You have got to be organized and pretty quick at what you do… no time to dilly dally when the sun moves at such a fast pace (which you would never realize unless you’re trying to paint and the shadow that was once there is now quickly gone)!

Here’s a blip about Chad from his website:

Chad Smith’s (b.1970) most influential instruction came through private full-time atelier study with Douglas Flynt via Jacob Collins and the Water Street Atelier. Smith has studied plein air and studio landscape painting with Kenn Backhaus and Marc Hanson. Smith previously studied classical academic drawing and painting concepts with Frank Covino, Don Maitz and David Meo. Smith has also studied figure and animal drawing with famed Disney animator and teacher Glenn Vilppu and Joe Weatherly. He graduated with a BA in Drawing and Painting from the State University of New York and is presently finishing graduate MFA work at the Academy of Art University.

In addition to gallery work, commissioned studio work, and plein air events, Smith now spends his time with the greatest teacher of all outdoors painting from life “en plein air.”

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston Photo… Don’t walk without a camera!

On By Barbara StroudIn THOUGHTS1 Comment

Charleston door

Fred and I took a walk on Easter… the weather was gorgeous and so was the scenery, I’m so glad I brought my camera! People take such pride in their homes downtown, and it really shows. I took some fabulous photos of doors and window boxes. Absolutely stunning!

Enjoy your Sunday, it’s supposed to be windy here… I love that! Maybe the wind will get rid of the remaining squiggles in the oak trees, woohoo!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston Photo: Downtown Street and a Trembling Lip…

On By Barbara StroudIn THOUGHTS2 Comments

Charleston, SC

I think that the location of this photo could easily be in another country. This is a street in Charleston, SC. Those trees are stunners aren’t they?? If you get a chance, come to Charleston, SC for vacation… if you live here, take the time to go downtown and walk around and see all the cool sights there are to see! You will be amazed. Trust me!

It’s with a trembling lip that I say ‘see ya soon‘ (can’t say goodbye or that trembling lip will turn into a disastrous mess, ha ha) to my parents who have been in town visiting this week. I moved to SC from MI in 1989, right before Hurricane Hugo (brilliant, eh?) with every intention of being here just a short time… then I met Fred. Awwww… the love of my life. It’s hard to live in a different city that is either an expensive flight or a 17 hour drive away… wish we were all closer in distance!

I’ll be back to normal posting next week! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston Photo: What do you suppose this is for??

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME8 Comments

WHAT is this?

The architecture downtown Charleston, SC will blow your mind. Every walk we take I see something else that is just so original… I’ve seen these before, what do you suppose this pointy thing is for?

To keep birds away from the door? To keep squirrels from running up to the above piazza? Hmmm, I’m not sure, I just know that it’s a pretty cool site on a gorgeous house downtown. The homes in Charleston are stunning. They. Are. Historic.

What do YOU suppose this is for? I’ll be back to my normal posts next week, in the meantime I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!

A Carriage Ride in the #1 Tourist Destination in the World… Charleston, SC!

On By Barbara StroudIn THOUGHTS1 Comment

Charleston, SC

Charleston, SC. What a fabulous city to visit! Most seasons have fabulous weather… there is so much to do and see it will boggle your mind. Food. Boy do we ever have the food, as well as the #1 Restaurant in America! History, culture and the arts… we are heaven on earth for those of you out there who adore art, dance, theatre, concerts, etc. We are people who get out and move. It’s no wonder that Charleston, SC was selected as the #1 TOURIST DESTINATION IN THE WORLD! The. World. Yep, you got it. People from all across the world visit Charleston and love it. This is the second year that Charleston has been voted the #1 tourist destination in the country. Last year we were number 3 in the W O R L D ! Now… Numero Uno folks!

Read more about this in a past post of mine…

A cool website to check out is Charleston Area Convention and Visitor Bureau – when you get to their site you’ll see different videos of Charleston that you can choose from, and they are magnificent!!

Remember, I’ll be back to normal posting next week with HOUSE PLAN THURSDAY… Enjoy your day and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston Photo: Old Oak Trees with Moss… beauty from another era!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME1 Comment

Oak lines street in Charleston, SC

This is our street in the spring… in this little area of the world, with these grand old oak trees our spring is like fall (leaf-wise)… of course fall is also like fall, ha ha… during the spring the leaves drop (and new ones quickly form), then acorns drop and finally “squiggles”… these trees are a lot of work, but I wouldn’t trade them for all the tea in China! They are gorgeous with the resurrection ferns thriving on the limbs and the moss that really makes them pretty darn outstanding! When we’re on vacation in other parts of the country and come home after a period of time this always takes my breath away! Beautiful!

I have company in town, so I will get back to normal posting next week! Enjoy your day and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston Photo: WHAT’S THAT SMELL? Whew!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTS2 Comments

Wisteria, Charleston SC

On my daily walk along the greenway in Charleston, SC I could see the wisteria beginning to bloom… no scent… yet. Then one morning on our walk we could smell it. There is no mistaking the scent of Wisteria, it’s heavenly. Especially when it’s all the way down a stretch of our walking path. What a nice spring treat! Smells nice and is beautiful with its pops of lavender peeking through the green vegetation… Oh, I love spring!

I have company in town, so I will get back to normal posting next week! Enjoy your day and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston Photo: McLeod Plantation, James Island, SC

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME4 Comments

McLeod Plantation

Pretty darn amazing, isn’t it? Charleston is such a cool city, there is so much history here that we take for granted. This is a photo of the slave cabins at McLeod Plantation (you can see the plantation at the end). This looks like it was taken years ago, but in reality, we were on our way back from Lowes (Why? Because Lowes Knows Value, hee hee… ) and the bridge was up to let a sailboat pass through. Traffic was backed up a bit which put our car right near the slave cabins. You would never know this beautiful old plantation sits on what is now a congested road… would you?

Charleston County Parks and Recreation acquired the McLeod Plantation for $3.3 million in 2011. The county plans to restore the site and open it to public use. Right now they have a fence up so that you can’t go on the property, so I hopped out of the car and snapped a few photos with my phone (how handy is it that phones have cameras… I mean really!), changed it to black and white and *POOF* looks like the 1800’s doesn’t it??

A little history about McLeod Plantation from South-Carolina-Plantations.com, for more info, check out THIS LINK… It’s so interesting! Here’s a little tease… for more, click on the link!

Buildings

  • Current status – Plantation house and 5 slave cabins still exist and are in relatively good condition.
    The old slave bell used to call slaves in from the field still hangs from an oak near the main house.The slave cabins, as well as the dairy and kitchen buildings, are believed to date from the Lightwood/Parker period (early 19th century).
  • Barn – Wooden structure possibly dating from late 19th century
  • Dairy – Unique in that the eastern half is on piers while the western half has an enclosed root cellar
  • Gin house – Two-story masonry and wood structure used to process cotton and maintained into the 1930s
  • House – “The main house is a three-story, wood-frame structure. The interior has a double pile floor plan with a central stair hall and two interior chimneys. Originally the house was oriented to the south with a one-story raised porch supported by square columns. In 1925, the principal fascade was reoriented to be the rear or northern side of the house. This renovation, in the Southern Colonial Revival style, included an addition of a projecting portico with a fan light supported by four fluted Doric columns on a raised concrete porch base. A single-story kitchen was also added at that time.” (Historic Charleston Foundation)
  • Kitchen – A central chimney divides kitchen in half. One side may have been used for laundry.
  • Slave cabins – 20′ by 12′ wooden structures sit on raised masonry pier foundations with exterior end chimneys.
    – Juneteenth Stay at Slave Cabin Offers Several Firsts – Joseph McGill, a program officer for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, documents his overnight stay in a slave cabin at McLeod Plantation in June 2010

I have company in town, so I will get back to normal posting next week! Enjoy your day and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… John Murray!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist2 Comments

JohnMurray OrangeSlices JFM

Oranges by John Murray

Spectacular painting! I love the rich texture, the deep colored background with the orange slices just popping right out at you! You can almost feel how juicy they are! The table… oh, is that a fabulous old table! This painting is sold, but check out John’s website for even more fabulous paintings!

Here’s a blip about John from his website:

John Murray is a contemporary artist who works primarily in oil. His subject matter includes figure, landscape, still-life and portraiture. Inspired by the classical masters as a boy, his traditional training and artistic development has lead to work of quality. His paintings carry an appealing sense of clarity and color. Murray was educated at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) in Philadelphia. In 1991 he studied at the John Michael Angel Studio in Florence, Italy. Upon graduation, he became one of four banknote designers at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where he drew presidential portraits and worked on currency designs for 16 years. In 2005, he decided to leave the Bureau to pursue his art career full time. The same year, as a faculty member at the Corcoran School of Art, he won a grant from the Corcoran to do post-graduate work at the Repin Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In 2001, his wife Lena, a Russian artist, founded the Bridgeview School of Fine Art in New York. John Murray is a co-founder and guest teacher at the Bridgeview School. Since 2005, John and Lena have been organizing summer master classes for American students in St. Petersburg, Russia at the famous Repin Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.

John has exhibited in many venues including the International Art Expo in New York City, the Strathmore Museum in Bethesda, Maryland, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he won Best of Show Alumni Award in 2002. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland and teaches drawing, painting and sculpture at the Corcoran School of Art while continuing to paint. He is represented by Nichols Gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia and Newman Gallery in Philadelphia.

Check him out if you get a chance! Catch you back here tomorrow!

House Plan Thursday: Southern Living Plan of the Month – Garden Cottage SL1830

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, House Plans6 Comments

HousePlan GardenCottage SL1830 SL

Garden Cottage (SL-1830) – An Exclusive Design for Southern Living by Group 3 Design

Precious. Is it not? At 540 square feet, this plan is perfect to use as a guest cottage, or as a weekend getaway situated in a scenic spot somewhere nice and quiet. With one bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchen and a living room, this plan has all the essentials for a nice stay!

HousePlan SL1830

I would ditch the bathtub and make a nice size shower and maybe see if there was a way to fit a stackable washer and dryer in the bathroom!  Oh, maybe I would add a cool little square window up above the door that can let more light in… I’m not sure what kind of ceilings this has, but I would also insulate from the rafters, then cover with wood. I love a vintage wood ceiling, whoa! Plus that would give you extra height and the little window would add a little more light. What would you do? It’s fun to dream… and see, I don’t always have lofty dreams! Ha ha…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via Southern Living House Plans…

Images are not for construction or reproduction, they are property of the design firm.

Featured Artist… Bill Sharp!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

BillSharp Miki BSfb

Miki by Bill Sharp / Image: Bill Sharp

The eyes. Look at the eyes. You can get the feeling that Bill described about his rescue dog Miki… you can see it in his posturing and his eyes that he’s not thrilled about a photo shoot (unlike Charlie, who runs into the photo of whatever I take). I love the name they chose for Miki… read on… Miki really stands out against this beautiful red rug, doesn’t he? What a sweet dog! Great painting Bill!

From Bill Sharp’s blog, this particular post was called “On the Carpet”:

This is our little mutt Miki. He’s a rescue dog that we got from a shelter, where he was listed as an American Eskimo mix. I believe the mix part but I think he has more Chihuahua in him than Eskimo dog. However, we looked for inuit words when naming him and settled on miki, which, according to our internet source, means small ice floe.

Obviously, since he wouldn’t hold this pose, I painted this from a photo. He’s afraid of cameras, thus the defensive posture. I wasn’t threatening him, except with the camera.

All in all, he’s a pretty good dog.

One more photo… check out Bill’s blog, it truly is filled with fabulous work!

BillSharp LawnChair BSfb

Lawn Chair by Bill Sharp

FABULOUS in every way! Catch you back here tomorrow!