Demonstrating in Illinois
15 May 2010
Campobello Island in the Canadian Maritimes
Believe it or not, we put 3,433 miles on the car between Sedona and Campobello Island! Along the way, we spent some time in Santa Fe; stopped in Springfield, Illinois, to teach a pastel workshop; stopped again to teach an oil and pastel workshop in Valparaiso, Indiana; and then stopped one last time to teach a pastel workshop in Montpelier, Vermont. (These workshops were full, by the way.) Although we had a great time on the way, it's good to be home. The apple trees are already blooming - about 3 weeks early.
I am busy painting for Acadia Invitational II. Argosy Gallery in Bar Harbor, Maine, has invited 30 artists to participate. This is not a "wet paint" event, so many of us will be doing studio paintings. Some of the other artists participating include Elizabeth Tolley, W. Jason Situ, Simon Winegar, David Tutwiler and Tom Nicholas. The exhibit opens August 7 with a reception at the Bar Harbor Inn. (I will post exact times on my website when I have them.) I am honoured to be invited to this event.
I've agreed to be the Juror of Selection for the 2011 (that's next year!) National Exhibition of the Pastel Society of New Hampshire next August. I'm looking forward to this, as well.
For those of you who missed Master Pastellist Doug Dawson last time, he is returning this summer to teach another mentoring workshop for intermediate-advanced students. Doug is a well-respected teacher and very generous with his time and knowledge, and the artists benefited greatly. The workshop, which runs August 2-6, will be based in Lubec, but we'll be painting on both sides of the border on Passamaquoddy Bay. Cost of the workshop is only US$575 which gives you five full days with him. Although Doug will be working in pastel, oil is also welcome. The workshop is limited to only 8 students. Our suggested lodging is The Wharf in Lubec, an elegantly renovated 100-year-old sardine factory. For more information, please visit www.dawson2010.com or contact me. The workshop is filling quickly, so you'll want to act right away.
I still have room in my own Campobello Island workshops. Please go to my workshop page to learn more about Campobello and other upcoming workshops. For Campobello, if you bring a friend, I'll give you $50 off the $300 tuition fee.
If you haven't bought my book (Backpacker Painting: Outdoors with Oil & Pastel) or any of my other publications, now's a good time to do so. Lulu is offering free shipping on books this summer. At checkout, use the coupon code FREESHIP to qualify. Visit our store at http://stores.lulu.com/miragenm to buy them.
By the way, Trina and I purchased a commercial property in Sedona before we left for studio and workshop space. Pumphouse Studio Gallery (www.PumphouseStudioGallery.com) is where I'll be holding my Paint Sedona workshops next winter, and it'll also be my working studio. It's located in the Creekside Plaza right across the road from the famous Tlaquepaque plaza and a block from Windrush Gallery, which represents me. Since I'll be at Pumphouse only in the winter months, we have arranged for a summer artist to use the space. Nationally-known Hopi sculptor Gerry Quotskuyva will use it as his studio for crafting katsinas and bronze sculpture. We're very excited to have Gerry. And stop in and visit me next winter!
For those of you interested in learning about new paintings, new workshops and helpful painting tips, I encourage you to visit my blog regularly. The site is http://mchesleyjohnson.blogspot.com. I'm also on Facebook, and I've started putting updates there, as well. Visit me there at http://www.facebook.com/mchesleyjohnson.
Have a great summer, and I hope to see you soon!
Michael
