We found a treasure this week - 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die by Stephen Farthing. We have already had some good laughs and happy moments looking through the paintings in this book, in part because we are still so far away from being included in there. But just you wait world! Colter has been bumping up his productivity and some great paintings have been started, finished and sold over these past two weeks. Here are some highlights:
Shows and Festivals
It is hard to forget Spring City after you have been a part of their annual Plein Air Festival. Last year during his internship with Kimball Geisler, Colter was introduced to the festival and all of its "regulars." After meeting previous winners and seeing the amount of work purchased by patrons, Colter was highly motivated to produce some great work for this year's festival. After finishing two pieces he was excited about, Colter painted over a failed horse attempt (it wouldn't stand still long enough) with a rolling landscape. It turns out (despite the last-minute nature of the piece) that this was the judges' favorite, and it was awarded an Honorable Mention.
This past week has been spent painting on the double because of a near catastrophe with framing. Colter purchased a gorgeous muted gold frame from San Diego Frames in plenty of time to submit Our Shared Symbol to the Springville Museum of Art's Fall Salon. It was a rollercoaster of emotions when the frames arrived, a surge of joy for the perfect match of styles between the frame and the painting. And then a gut-wrenching disappointment when we realized the frame was an inch too wide on each side of the painting. With only a week before the submission was due, we knew we needed to brainstorm solutions beyond getting a new frame. Ultimately, Colter decided to repaint the lamb to the dimensions of the frame. A few days into this project, San Diego Frames (who were so generous in working quickly with us in this situation) called and told him they had found an inner lining that would adjust the frame to the correct dimensions. So, just one day before the submission was due, Colter now had two nearly identical lamb paintings and a frame that would fit either of them. The original lamb became the lucky winner (or so we thought) as we selected it as the submission. That same night, though, a generous family member visited Colter's studio and commented on her interpretation of the expression of the remaining lamb portrait. Little did we know that Our Shared Symbol (II) would soon find its new home. We are so grateful for how the Lord looks after His sheep, and we are blessed to be among His flock.
Galleries
A new style of animal portraiture is in the works to head to Corwin Galleries. We are hoping they are a great fit among the landscapes and wildlife that are already there.
Commissions
Tis the season for commissions! The Timpanogos has a frame and is just waiting to be taken to its new home. The final piece has wispy clouds reflecting warmth on the snowy mountains, reminding you that in just a few months it will be warm enough to crest the peak.
Big Sur is next on the list of commissions to complete. It has been completely blocked in and is ready for more detail work. I personally am most excited to see how the exquisite wildflowers make the scene come to life.
The Tipi Sunset and Chief Red Cloud paintings are in the process of being designed. We are on the waitlist to listen to The Heart of Everything That Is by Bob Drury so we can get a sense for who Chief Red Cloud is, and begin to build a relationship with him that will bring his painting to life. If you have any other suggestions about books that will help us love this amazing man and his journey, please let us know! (We are avid book listeners, so would love any recommendations!)
The Trucker's Sunset has begun! This is a new flavor of project for Colter - a familiar sunset and an unfamiliar semi truck paired together. It has a base layer of paint, and is waiting for some color.
Connecting
Let's be honest here - most of our recent connecting has been with family members. Which has been amazing, and is definitely one of the reasons we were thrilled to be moving to Provo. We recently met up with a cousin, Matt, who works for FaceBook and is excited to partner with Colter on using social media platforms for business marketing. We also had Great-Aunt Athelia over to visit the studio and loved talking with her about art, life, and everything in between.
Over the past month-or-so Colter has had a few opportunities to chat with Mark McKenna, an incredible artist who we have looked up to for ages. He has invited Colter to visit him in his studio, as well as to do wildlife photo shoots with him. Colter is looking forward to spending more time learning from him later this year.
Adventure
Our biggest adventures recently have been picnics in the parks, bike rides with the kids in the trailer and family walks. Even when we aren't traveling far away for adventure, we try to live in the moment and get outside together.