Art Walk

Good morning...

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to go to the Seattle Art Walk.  I believe it's on the first Thursday of every month.  Sad to say that I had never gone before so it was all new to me.  I will definately be going again!  I went with a group of artists from Bainbridge Island that wanted to go over to see the opening for a much loved artist from Bainbridge, Claudia Mckinstry.  It became obvious to me how loved she is when we got to her gallery space.  It was full of her fans...but did I mention the weather that night?  BUCKETING!!! I am not kidding...the skies unleashed and have continued to.  So considering the weather...her fans REALLY love her. And she is a lovely woman and magnificent artist.  Check out her website here for a real treat.  I have been so blessed to be surrounded by truely amazing artists.  I was lucky enough last summer, at the BI Studio Tour, to be set up next to Erica Applewhite.  She is such a great person and a very talented block print artist.  You can see here work here.  Erica and her Mom Jill just had a show opening in Tacoma at the Sandpiper Gallery which is called Vessels.  The show will run from November 6th to the 30th.  I love her chocolate donut with pink icing and sprinkles and I am lucky enough to have one.  The other artist that I have become friends with, along with his great family, is James Bernardin.  He is an incredible childrens book illustrator and you can see his work here.  Jim has a new book out that was written by Candy Chand which you can purchase at Amazon called "The 12 Prayers of Christmas".  His Book Jacket Illustration is stunning and according to Jim and the reviews I read, it sounds like a real keepsake of a book. Like I said...I am blessed beyond belief to be surrounded by so many talented artists.  Erica and Jim went to the Art Walk with me and are part of an artists group that I have just started up.  This event was only our second meeting which Erica arranged.  We are meeting once a month and I can't wait to see what happens with our group.  Exciting times ahead!

I wanted to share another one of my recent paintings with you from my holiday series.  I call this one "Vintage Christmas".  This one took me right back to my childhood when my Dad and my Sister and I would go up to the Mount Baker Forest and get our tree cutting permit with which we would fullfill our quest for the perfect Christmas tree.  My parents had built a New England Salt Box house which had a very tall ceiling in the living room.  It needed a TALL tree.  So we would go to find the perfect 16 foot tree to bring home.  Some of the best memories of my childhood.  By the way, we did not have a red truck but we did have a yellow Cutlass and the tree was usually longer than the car!  What a sight..

Have a great weekend.

Meagan