A Fine Beginning to 2010

"Conception," the painting I threatened to keep and only finished two weeks ago or thereabouts, is gone but its owners have granted me visitation rights. The sale and my warm feelings for this particular painting sparked one of those artist gab sessions between Elaine Brady Smith and me. I want to share it. Elaine is an artist/colleague/friend I turn to when I feel stuck on a piece. By the way, she was the first I turned to for feedback on "Conception" because it features collage elements and Elaine does collage better than any artist on the planet. Linda Billet was also on the consult list. Like Elaine, her personal and professional advice always causes me to think. I value Linda's eyes, her soul, her artistic gifts ... and she makes me laugh. She's positively effervescent most days.

Anyway, I am sharing our chat because Elaine said something that I know to be true and she said it in such a lovely way. Without further ado:

Me: Elaine - I think I have finally found my palette. But then again, I've gone totally "cool" with the metallic blue and purple on the funky flower piece.

Overall, there is something about earthy and warm that makes neat stuff come out of me. I am sure you understand this when I say that the warm quinacridones, raw umber and green gold cause me to feel almost magical. I watch my hands put stuff on the canvas and wonder where the heck it came from... know what I mean? Of course you do!


Elaine Brady Smith: "Oh...I just love that feeling... those moments when you look at what you have created and wonder who am I really? Those moments when you get a glimps of your own soul and it feels familiar yet so surprising. Really love being in that place!"


By the way, here's a fair rendering of "Conception" as installed in a home in Mechanicsburg, PA today.

Want to join me? MMCA Marketplace now enrolling.

You've been hearing all the buzz lately about the up & coming MMCA Marketplace, and now we'd like to extend an invitation for you to join in on this exciting online marketing venue. If you are an artist who is committed to producing quality, original art, we welcome you to apply for membership now while we're doing an open enrollment.

Applicants are judged on quality, style and value to ensure that our Marketplace can effectively represent you, and so that we can offer "something for everyone" who comes to the Marketplace to shop. We strive to represent those artists who are devoted to their work and are constantly refining their skills. Artists accepted into the Marketplace will be coming together with the current members , adding to the already widely varied background of styles, mediums, and pricing, making it possible to offer our clients quality art in the medium of their choice.

While our standards are high, our membership costs are not. Benefits of belonging to the MMCA Marketplace include:

• 
  Your own shop page including your branding logo and short bio


• 
  Local, Regional and National Press Campaign


• 
  Website, blog and contact links listed on shop page


• 
  20 images with short product descriptions with Buy Now buttons


• 
  Featured Artist rotation on Marketplace Blog

Some of our more recent promotions are:

• 
  We made headlines in local, regional and national publications


• 
  Our artists participated in a gallery exhibit in Central Pennsylvania


• 
  We advertised in a nationally published magazine

To accommodate various budgets, we have three membership options. If you believe you belong with us, please consider submitting an application.

Other new stuff

I'll be putting these in the gallery for the Art Tour 2008 and on MMCA Marketplace.

It's a triptych on canvases- not named as of now. Want to name the set? Send me an email.

Here are some close-up views of the pieces. The tones are very earthy browns, coppers, tan and green.