Here's how you'll kinow you're almost there...

I almost had a wreck when I got off Ohio 32 east of I275 at Batavia to drive up to UC Clermont College to visit my gallery show – Nikki Vargas has done a fantastic job promoting the show and the reception for Ronald Keith and I this Friday night from 5-7 pm!

We were thrilled by the comments people who’ve visited the show wrote in the guestbook and by Nikki telling us how much people seem to have enjoyed the show and found our work very “relatable.”

It's easy to find: take the Eastgate Mall/Ohio 32 exit from I275 and drive less than 5 miles east. At the first Batavia exit, follow the signs pointing to University of Cincinnati Clermont College. When you enter the campus, Snyder Hall is on the left where the red umbrellas are. For easy handicapped access, drive around to your right past the large parking lot. Continue on until you see the ramp and motorized doors. Once you enter, the gallery is just down the hall on the same floor.

 

Early in his life, Ronald Keith was fascinated by the hand-painted “Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco” barns that dotted Ohio and Kentucky landscapes. Like me, he painted in oils, watercolors, and acrylics while still in high school and got into the graphic arts industry after college. Ron painted large scale billboards for an outdoor advertising agency and today he still enjoys painting old barns and old trucks or farm machinery in fields. He’s an international artist, represented by Penny Lane Publishing.

“Relatable” seems to be one of the threads that makes our work so compatible in the Park National Bank Gallery. I certainly relate to Ron’s subject matter – it reminds me of the drawings of Scott Sherman, a fellow art student at Findlay High School. And most people around here relate to familiar and well-loved Cincinnati landmarks like the Tyler Davidson Fountain, Krohn Convervatory and Union Terminal.

Color is another thing our work has in common. Ron’s truck paintings look so alive to me because of the colors he’s used in his paintings. I think you’ll really enjoy the show if you’re able to come.

We’ll both be there and will have refreshments this Friday night and the gallery is open through next Wednesday, June 26 from 8 am to 5 pm. This is UC Clermont’s 40^th year and it’s been a joy to get more familiar with the campus. I’ve been impressed by it and its students.  Moreover, I am grateful to have had my first gallery show here and appreciative of Nikki Vargas’ help and support.

See you Friday night 5-7 pm?

 

Our Sorority House

This is a portrait I recently painted of one of my homes at 818 E. Third Street in Bloomington, Indiana. I’m so glad I graduated from Indiana University and that I became a member of Delta Delta Delta (aka Tridelt), a bond my mother and I have shared ever since I pledged and she helped initiate me into the fraternity.



 

 

If you’ve ever been on IU’s campus, you’ve probably noticed all the big, beautiful fraternity and sorority houses on Third Street, Tenth Street, and North Jordan Avenue. I know I fell in love with the looks of this place even before I met any of the fabulous women who lived there. When we stayed in the house this past weekend for a reunion, one of the gals said she figured the makers of the film “Breaking Away” thought our house was prettiest, since it was the one they chose to feature in the movie. If you’ve seen it, most of the girls on the balcony being serenaded are my sisters.

 

Because I specialize in home portraiture, I’ve met a number of people who collect paintings of every home in which they’ve lived. As I result, I’ve started painting all the houses I’ve lived in over the years. 

 

Our reunion reminded me how nice it is that digital photography has made the reproduction of frame-able notecards and prints so feasible and affordable. Each of us who lived in the TriDelt house thinks of it as home and therefore appreciates having a portrait of it. If you are one of the sisters who lived with me while I was at Indiana, just let me know and I’ll make sure you get one.

There were over 30,000 students attending IU when I arrived in Bloomington as a freshman, so Greek life gave me a family and support system during my four years of undergraduate school. I didn’t realize then the importance that bond would have in my life after college – not only with my mom but also through the warm welcome it provided when I moved to new cities where I knew few people and especially through the friendships I’ve been graced to enjoy as a result of being an IU Tridelt. Special people have made this place dear to me, which is why most people treasure home portraits.

My First Gallery Show

I now have a new wish if I win the lottery – a Walker Display system like they have at the Park National Bank Gallery at University of Cincinnati’s Clermont College, where my first gallery show opened this week.

As you can see, it’s a unique and interesting space! I’ve been to a number of shows there and it looks so different each time. The Walker system is part of what makes that possible. And the gallery manager, Nikki Vargas, has been delightful to work with – extremely helpful and considerate. We have her to thank for the theme of our show and the design of the postcards and posters promoting it.

Compare and Contrast, a Pairing of Impressionism and Realism in Painting features the work of artist Ronald Keith along with mine. You’ve probably guessed that my work is not the realism part of this showJ I like his pieces a lot and I think you will too.

The exhibit is open Mondays and Tuesdays from 8 am to 6 pm, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8 am until 5 pm and Fridays until 4 pm, except Friday night June 21, when Ron and I will host a reception open to the public from 5-7 pm. The last day is Wednesday June 26 and then I’ll be open at the Pendleton Art Center on Final Friday June 28 and will demonstrate painting there at Art in Action Saturday June 29 from 11 am til 3 pm.

I sure was grateful for the help I received from a good friend who said, “You’re not planning to hang this by yourself, are you?” Well, I was but I’d never have been able to do so. When you’re up on a ladder, it’s good to have someone else hand you a heavy painting and tell you whether or not it’s hanging straight. Not to mention another’s eyes and input about what looks nice where. I should know from experience, it never looks like you think it’s going to, no matter how much you plan in advance. Having plenty of help, and a Walker system, gives you a lot of flexibility to make a gallery display look good.