Announcement - Loyalhanna Watershed Association

I am thrilled to announce that I have been invited to participate in this year's Loyalhanna Watershed Association's Annual Dinner and Benefit Art Auction on Saturday, September 17, 2011. I will have a piece included in the Silent Auction that evening. I am so very happy to be able to help out this organization, they do wonderful work to conserve, protect, and restore the environment in that area. The event has been the Association's largest fundraiser and has a 26 year history - pretty impressive!

About the Loyalhanna Creek Watershed:

"The 298 square-mile Loyalhanna Creek Watershed is located in Westmoreland County in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Loyalhanna Creek originates on the western slope of Laurel Ridge, south of Ligonier Township, and flows northwest through Ligonier, Latrobe, New Alexandria, and finally on to Saltsburg where it meets the Conemaugh River. Together, they form the Kiskiminetas, which flows into the Allegheny River.

The Loyalhanna Creek Watershed is comprised of 2,500 miles of stream, each varying in origin, size, and quality. Despite abundant forests in the headwaters and natural areas throughout its middle section, the Loyalhanna Creek Watershed is impacted by a series of challenges including abandoned mine drainage (AMD), sedimentation as a result of erosion, and nutrient loading. The combination of historic coal mining, farming, and development threaten the Loyalhanna Creek Watershed and its quality."

For more information check out the Association's website!

New Painting

April 22nd. oil and acrylic on canvas. 20 x 17"

FSU Article and New Paintings!

April 21st. oil and acrylic on canvas. 10 x 8 1/2"

April 15th. oil and acrylic on canvas. 10 x 8 1/2"

Right now there is a little article on Fairmont State University's news page that I am featured in! FSU is the university where I earned my BA in studio art. It is a small school, but I am very proud to have studied art there at the time that I did. I owe almost everything that is important to me today to Fairmont State. Even my husband (we met in a drawing course)! So thank you to FSU and to Bradley Omanson for this article. He also writes for the Fine Arts Tatler blog.

Artist Conversation and "Stealing Like an Artist..."

October 16th. oil and acrylic on canvas. sold.

I wanted to pass along two things today, the first being a new Artist Conversation over at the Finding Fine Art blog. This interview is between Martha Marshall (who everyone will remember inspired my new studies) and Rebecca Dresser of Knee Deep Originals on Etsy. The post features an interesting conversation that touches on a variety of things, from their painting practices to rural living and nature. A great read, so stop by.

Also a nice post that is definitely worth checking out is from Austin Kleon with "How to Steal Like an Artist and 9 Other Things Nobody Told Me" He states that it's "a simple list of 10 things I wish I’d heard when I was in college". I really enjoyed points #2, 4, 9, and 10. Oh heck, I liked them all!

Announcement - Group Exhibition

October 9th - Valley Falls. oil and acrylic on canvas.

I am pleased to announce that I have been invited to participate in a group exhibition at Annex Gallery that will take place during FestivALL located in Charleston, WV. It is a 10 day festival that includes music, dance, theater, and visual art. This year, FestivALL runs from June 17- 26th, so make sure you stop by if you are in the area! I will have 5-6 pieces on display and the exhibition will run through the end of June.

New Paintings - studies

Study 20. acrylic and graphite on paper.

Study 19. acrylic and graphite on paper.

Study 18. acrylic and graphite on paper.

Study 17. acrylic on paper.

Study 16. acrylic and graphite on paper.

Study 15. acrylic on paper.

These studies are really starting to add up - and my Etsy shop has grown very small due to most of my work being on display at The Slingluff Gallery. So I am offering these works for a discounted price in my shop; they ship for free in the US!

Soon, I will be back with an annoucement and new works on canvas...hope everyone had a great weekend!

New Paintings - studies

Study 14. acrylic on paper

Study 13. acrylic on paper.

Study 12. acrylic and graphite on paper.

Study 11. acrylic on paper

Study 10. acrylic on paper

the Magnolia

Our magnolia tree is beginning to bloom - I'm so excited! When we first bought our house in 2009, I was thrilled to find that there was a small magnolia tree in the backyard. Always have loved them. Growing up, I used to play under my grandmothers tall, beautiful magnolia. So fragrant and gorgeous in the spring!

Also, they provide wonderful inspiration for pink in a piece! I will use any reason to mix up some pink for a painting :) New works to come...

Finding Fine Art Blog

Just wanted to mention that Etsy's Finding Fine Art team has a nice blog up and running. There is an ongoing series titled "Artist Conversations", where two artists pair up and have a chat about their art. Up first is Sonya Johnson and Scott Price discussing their work!

New Paintings - Works on paper - studies

Study 2. acrylic on canvas.

Last week, artist Martha Marshall wrote a post titled Art for the In Between Times, where she discusses an art journal. I have never been the kind of artist to keep one. I paint in a very direct way and I don't do a lot of sketching, planning, etc. But lately, I've found myself needing not just to explore, but to explore quickly. This is hard to do when you are confined to a canvas all the time. A canvas takes a lot of time and preparation - building a stretcher, stretching it and priming it. So this weekend, with the art journal idea in my head, I picked up some canvas paper. It's easy. It's primed and ready to go, for oil paint or acrylic. Yesterday I cut it to size (4 1/2 x 6") and created 8 little acrylic works. Eight! It was wonderful. While technically not an art journal, it is the closest I think I will get to one. I hope to do many more studies in the future. Thanks, Martha!

Here are a selection of the works:

Study 4. acrylic on canvas.

Study 6. acrylic on canvas.

Study 8. acrylic on canvas.

Study 7. acrylic on canvas.

Study 1. acrylic on canvas.

I will pose the same question that Martha did - to my fab artist readers - Do you keep an art journal? Or create preparatory works?

New Painting(s)!

March 26th- Prickett's Creek. oil and acrylic on canvas. 20 x 17"

March 27th. oil and acrylic on canvas. 10 x 8 1/2"

Philadelphia Part II

More pictures from our weekend in Philly...

Also, you can see all the work that is part of the exhibition Recent Works by Lauren Adams on the gallery's website right here!
From The Slingluff Gallery's Facebook page: "Tim Pervious said it perfectly: 'Her work was beautiful, like nature seen through a dream; off focus but brilliant with color and emotional impact'".

Recent Works by Lauren Adams

Recent Works by Lauren Adams at The Slingluff Gallery

I'm back - we had a wonderful time in Philadelphia this weekend! The exhibit looks great, if I do say so myself. Jonathan and Leigh did a fantastic job installing the work and were so wonderful all around. They couldn't be any nicer. Big thanks to them!

The reception went well, everyone was very receptive and I met some great people. Thank you to everyone that stopped by and visited. The exhibition will be up though May 1st at the Slingluff Gallery. Below are some pictures from the weekend, I will post more soon....

at the reception Olivia supervising the installation