Sandy Wadlington Caran d'Ache Demonstration

Many people showed up to see the Sandy Wadlington Caran d'Ache demonstration. Some people wanted to simply watch, others were here to participate, but all had fun.

It was fascinating to watch Sandy work. As you might guess, she starts off quite loosely and then begins to build up the contrasts- always mindful to leave the lights just as you would with watercolor. Closer inspection of some of the more finished pieces revealed that she doesn't use as much detail as many think. She gives the illusion of detail coupled with the beautiful surface texture that water mediums have. Spots, puddles and pools build up to create leaves, fields and ocean.

People picked up a few tips and then looked at her paintings anew- with the knowledge of how they were made.

There were many thanks from participants and requests for more events like this. I heard and I will try!

Burlington Art Hop

My friendly art escort, Mark Waskow- one of the Art Hop's organizers. We enjoyed some lively discussion regarding our different approaches to art collecting.

I had the pleasure of being this year's jurist for the Burlington Art Hop in Vermont. The event does not take place until the weekend of September 11 & 12, but I had to do the jurying before hand. Even though all pieces entered are included, there is a selection for the jurist's show and awards for first, second and third place for paintings and for sculptures.

The Art Hop is run by SEABA- the South End Arts and Business Association. I was very interested in what they were doing to create a relationship between Commerce and the Arts as I serve on the board of Concord Main Street and Concord's Creative Economy Task Force. I had an opportunity to meet Carlos Haase, their dynamic director who makes sure the events happens without a hitch. It is a big event that attracts 40,000!

I have been to Burlington Vermont many times over the years but I did not know about the South End. It is a fun mix of antique stores, bakeries, used book shops, artists, light industrial and more. It is a place I plan to visit again. I can personally recommend Myers Bagels for breakfast & Fresh Market for lunch. I had a tuna on baguette although the cold sweet potato salad looked really good. (I am on the hunt for the best tuna salad on the East Coast.) I was simply too full for even a cookie from Harvest Bakery, but they looked liked they serve a mean sandwich too.

The art work was wildly varied- both in skill level and content. But it is hard to not be caught up in the exuberance of the event and the variety of art to see in one walkable area. It sounds like a real happening. If you are in the area I highly recommend a visit. I regret that I was so caught up in the activity of judging that I neglected taking photos of the outdoor sculpture. These run the gamut from monumental keys, to interactive drumming posts and a shrine to outdated appliances swathed in burrs- don't let your dog get too close!

A Few More Images

Melissa Miller and Jane Ryan painting at the Wentworth Coolidge Historic Site.

Plein Aire Painting Weekend

Today is the first day of the Plein Aire Painting weekend and lots of artists have showed up. Some are taking advantage of the beautiful view of the water and have set up next to the iconic anchor.



But many more have sought shade on such a beautiful day. This is Barbara Carr painting a view of the Wentworth Coolidge Mansion looking towards Little Harbor.




This is the painting that Jeannette Steele is working on.







Hannah Phelps and Linda Spaanenburg are set up underneath a tree also.

Dewitt Hardy ensconced himself right on the anchor!

Deb Claffey painted a closeup of a shrub on the property- reminiscent of her studio work.

Placing a New Sculpture

I purchased a sculpture from Lotus Lien a few months ago and finally placed it. Placement of sculpture in a garden can be trickier than placing it in your home. The backdrop is constantly changing.

I always think of what my favorite garden writer, Henry Mitchell, said about sculpture in the garden- "It is not a team player." It can easily dominate the planting or even worse- it looks like gilding the lily. Sometimes too much is just too much.


I had a spot in mind but it quickly became apparent how wrong it was. There was no mystery to the placement. It just looked plonked down and didn't relate to any of the plants around it. So I looked for a spot where there was low growing plants. It also seemed to fare better with smaller leaved plants- so that the large orbs contrasted with their delicacy.

This is the sculpture's final spot. It is a little hidden behind a spirea so that you have to sneak up on the sculpture. Its large round forms in shades of gray and terracotta provide relief from all the green and flowers without overwhelming them. It makes me smile every time I see it.

For those who might be wondering- this sculpture cannot stay out year round. It will be moved inside once the weather drops to freezing.

Studio Visit- Sandy Wadlington

One of the favorite parts of my job is going on studio visits. Artists often bring their personal vision of beauty to their homes and studios. They accumulate interesting things, have beautiful gardens and collect marvelous art from all of their friends.



Their studios are full of things too. There are often postcards, newspaper clippings and pages ripped from books that have images that inspire them. There will also be incomplete sketches or the sorts of drawings and paintings that they might never sell. This is all fascinating to me- like an opportunity to see how they think.

I visited the home and studio of Sandy Wadlington this past week to see how her show in September is shaping up.

Sandy's studio is small and cozy. It is full of the art in process. As pieces near completion they are put up on the wall for her to assess as she works on other pieces.

I am amazed at how many pastel sticks she uses. As you can see there are boxes and boxes of them. She has also tacked up paper bags underneath her work are to catch any pastel dust that filters down as she works. Pastels have very little binder in them to make them hold together or even hold on to the paper. Therein lies their beauty- they are almost pure pigment, giving a finished pastel unsurpassed color.

Sandy has also been working on a number of charcoal drawings which have the same same beautiful, atmospheric effect she gets with pastel but minus the color. For me they have the soft quality of a lithograph.

The show is shaping up nicely and Sandy and I decided on the images for the postcard. We are both looking forward to the show in September.

The Glamourous World of Art

Mary McGowan always jokes about 99% of our job is schlepping art from here to there. This was definitely part of our day last week.

In anticipation of delivering a big job we moved 150 pieces from the bottom level where the frame shop is to the main floor. Brian, our framer, was glad to be able to have the room in his workspace again! Amanda packed the first car full for a delivery the next day after a quick call to confirm that the delivery was still on.

Throughout the day the amount of storage area available at the job site kept shrinking. Calls were made, hair was pulled, teeth were gnashed. Construction schedules had fallen behind and there was currently moving men installing all the furniture. By the end of the day it was clear that we would have very little storage area so only Amanda would be making her delivery.

Amanda showed up at the job site, but.... there was no place to put the artwork. So back she came... and the second round of schlepping began. Everything from Amanda's vehicle and the main gallery was moved down a level.

But we all kept our humors about it and worked out a system. Mary who is the master packer stayed downstairs and arranged things so that all of the frames were safe. Amanda and I did the running up and down the stairs. We made fast work of it and none of us needed to make an appointment with our chiropractors.