Here is 2 of the photos from the Mary Whyte booksigning at the Greenville County Museum of Art on March 13th. To see all photos from the opening reception and booksigning please check out the PhotoBlog tab above.

Frame Warehouse will be hosting a Reception & Fundraiser for NAMI Greenville (National Association of Mental Illness).  Several local artists will be on hand during the evening, including Joan Zepf, Sherry Elrod, Dick Mitchell, Richard Campbell, Stella Schaefer, Sandra Roper, and myself.  

10% of Proceeds will go to the local Greenville chapter, along with 100% of the proceeds raised by the drawing for a 36" x 42" framed Charleston watercolor by artist Sandra Roper.  We hope that you will join us and support this wonderful organization.

NAMI Greenville Reception & Fundraiser

Thursday, April 7th

6 - 8pm

Frame Warehouse (between Wilson's and Satters Creek)

                    2454 Hudson Rd, Greer

I've finished my 'yellow brick art' submission for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life silent auction fundraiser. I was asked by neighbor and Relay for Life captain, Pam Freeman if I would paint a brick to be auctioned off on an online fundraiser.  Artists throughout the Greenville, South Carolina region are contibuting to this effort by painting bricks to raise money for this wonderful cause.  Several artists at the Artists Guild Gallery of Greenville have also submitted bricks to be auctioned off. The theme of "There's No Place Like Hope" (a take-off of the Wizard of Oz yellow brick road) was to be incorporated in our design in some way.  Each brick is also signed by the artist and is an original work of art. 

My brick was designed around a poem about HOPE, by author Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  It's a beautiful poem that speaks to the rough times and storms we all endure at some point in our lives and how we weather them. I've always been touched by this poem, although it took on a deeper personal meaning to me through working on this particular project.  I had painted branches that wrapped around the brick, and had added several leaves with the thought of naming each leaf for someone in my life that was touched by cancer. As I sat down to think of the family members and friends, both survivors and those who have passed, I realized just how many people who were dear to me were in fact affected.  My little brick wouldn't be sufficient to hold all of their names.  I also though that the person who bids on my brick would have their own intended loved ones. So, instead of naming leaves, I added a dedication on the bottom of the brick to dear friends and loving family members, who have taken this unexpected journey and  have allowed HOPE to live in their hearts.  Godspeed.

Here is my demo painting of the snow scene we completed in mid January in the winter session at AGGG. We had just had a big snowstorm the week prior to the start of this class and while I had planned on doing something else to 'kick off' the class and get everyone 'warmed up', I became inspired by the snow outside my own window and thought it would be nice to do something seasonally appropriate while we were all in the mood. The painting is not one of my own subject matter, but rather from the book  "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Watercolor" by Marian Appellof, which is a terrific book for anyone who is learning.  Hopefully I will post some of the class participant work, as they turned out absolutely wonderful!

Here are the completed watercolors from the Jan/Feb watercolor session I taught at Artists Guild Gallery.  The painting is of a photo I took while on a weekend trip to the Isle of Palms. (the photo is of a window of a shop in Charleston, SC) We also completed a snow scene, during the first 2 and a half days of this 6 week session, but I do not have student artwork photos. The snow scene lesson was taken from the book, "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Watercolor" by Marian Appellof. I will post my own demo painting and will post a photo of one of the class participants if I can obtain a copy.