Art In The Square 2011

Reading, 28 x 34 framed, oil on canvas by Heather Dixon

It is time for "Art In The Square" at Utica Square this Saturday, October 1st! I will be set up in front of Petty's again this year. Above is my annual "Utica" figurative painting in honor of the event. Avery was my model. He did not mind so much given all he was required to do was read a good book. (Voyage of the Dawn Treader)

I am showing many landscapes this year that are painted on copper plates (my new favorite painting surface) I will show examples of this technique in a later post. Come by and see the artists this weekend and be sure to stop by and say hello!

Painting Portraits

Larry Oil on canvas by Heather Dixon

The new year has begun and with it I have begun a new art class. I am taking my first portrait painting class. It is on Saturday at Water Street Art Gallery in Sapulpa and is taught by local artist Evelyn Petroski. We had our first class yesterday and painted from a live model. the image above is the resulting painting. I have a lot to learn on the subject of portraits and I hope that you will be able to see my progress as the class continues. The drawings below are ones I did this week of Avery and Clara this week. They are charcoal, white conte and sanguine drawings on tinted paper. I am considering using them as studies for oil paintings in the future. I will be doing a similar drawing of Oliver next using the same materials. Unlike the painting above these drawings were done from photos as reference rather then a live model. (I do not think I could get the kids to sit still for 30 minutes let alone 4 hours!)

Clara Charcoal, conte and sanguine on tinted pastel paper by Heather Dixon

Avery Charcoal, conte and sanguine on tinted pastel paper by Heather Dixon

The Christmas Art Box

My 5 year-old daughter Clara has recently become interested in art! She has requested both art supplies and "art lessons from mommy" for Christmas this year. Of course, I am thrilled with this new interest and I immediately went in search of the perfect art supply kit to inspire her. I found nothing on the market that was either fun enough for a creative, little girl or had the selection or quality of art supplies that I would like her to have. I decided I would have to create it myself. The result is a entirely custom art box complete with her initials, fun colors, flowers and, of course, a fair amount of sparkle. I found a vintage train case at the flea market and used fabric paint, paint pens, fuzzy letters and rhinestones to give it a new look. This was fairly inexpensive which gave me the opportunity to invest in some of my favorite art supplies with which to fill it. I can't wait to see her reaction on Christmas morning and I also can't wait to see the masterpieces she creates!

Autumn & New Art Supplies!

Charcoal, sanguine and white conte on colored paper by Heather Dixon

Autumn is here and art class has begun! All the charms of fall combined with new art supplies makes me smile! This semester I am taking a drawing class at Water Street Art Gallery in Sapulpa. Artist, Gil Adams, is my instructor again. You can see his work at http://www.giladamspaintings.blogspot.com/.

Above is my first still life drawing from the new class. I used charcoal and conte crayons in white and sanguine on colored paper. I really enjoy working with these materials and I intend to "play with them" more throughout the class.

Silhouettes for Christmas

I have begun to do silhouettes of the children for various Christmas projects. The image above will be on our Christmas cards this year. The silhouettes, though time consuming, are pretty easy to create. I took photos of the children's profiles. I used the photo as a template and cut out the image on black scrapbook paper using an exacto knife. I scanned the resulting silhouettes into the computer in order to do some of the projects (card, ornament....) Instead of mounting the black cutout onto white paper and framing it I decided to make decorative plates. I went to the flea market and found old plates that I thought would work. I used modge podge to adhere the cutout to the center of the plate and I coated the plate. When it was dry I added a coat of non-yellowing, glass-like epoxy. If you would rather mount the cutout onto paper you do not have to use plain paper. It would be a nice effect to mount the cutout in the center of sheet music or a page of type from an old book. The ornaments are made with a plain, cardboard ornament from the craft store. I made a copy of the silhouette on my computer. I adhered it to one side of the ornament and some scrapbook paper to the other side using modge podge. I also used epoxy to coat the ornament and create a glass like appearance. the silhouettes are a lot of fun to create and the possibilities they present are numerous. I plan on doing more with silhouettes this season!