Opening Reception photos

Here's a link to a Picasa web photo album from the opening night reception for "Butterflies, Bugs, & Beyond". It was a wonderful party!
http://picasaweb.google.com/lucyaharnold

Flora and Fauna

I believe the final brush stroke is now on the paper for "Flora and Fauna of the Eel River Watershed" painting. Whew! To complete this project, I need to get together a complete list of each species I depicted and make up a clear ID list. Then, I'll create a reference picture with corresponding numbers. As soon as the current rain storms let up, I'll get the painting to my photographer for a 4x5 transparency and hi res scan. I'm not sure yet quite how this painting will be used, but I do plan on sharing any profits with the Friends of the Eel river conservation group. I'm thinking that first we will frame the original, then make giclee prints, then later perhaps do cards, jigsaw puzzle, T-shirts, and a coloring poster.

Opening Reception

The opening reception for my solo art show, "Butterflies, Bugs and Beyond" was fabulous! My oldest friend, Karen Sellinger, provided wonderful live classical guitar music. My sister, Jennifer, provided delicious dessert treats and numerous gorgeous bouquets. Guests arrived before it started and stayed until the art committee of the library had cleaned up the last platter and folded up the tables. It was a great party, and everyone seemed very enthusiastic about the artwork. It was especially fun to have guests from several different areas of my life: family, friends, music and art. The art committee of the Belvedere-Tiburon Library were extremely helpful.  They had arranged for an interview and photo with a reporter from the Ark Newspaper, and they did all the clean up after the reception... thank goodness.  The paintings will remain up until Halloween.

It's not easy being green

Well, the new painting is coming along well. I'm in the final phase: the greenery. (All the flowers, bugs, butterflies, birds, amphibians, and mammals are painted.) Now, many folks might think that green is just blue plus yellow - or green straight out of a paint tube. But no. Greens come in endless varieties, and it's important that they don't all look the same in a painting. Some are cooler, or warmer, and there are many different blues and yellows to use. Often, a bit of purple or red gets mixed in. It is an interesting puzzle to find enough different greens for all the plants in this piece, yet have them all tie together. Then there is the value range to consider. How light? How dark? How much variation is needed in a single leaf? In the whole plant? Where is the light source? And on and on. There's no end to the questions that come to mind as one paints.