They're up tonight!

When you’re downtown in Cincinnati near Fountain Square, stop into the 5^th street entrance of the Westin Hotel to see this year’s Secret ArtWorks! All the 5 x 7” originals will be sold at a benefit this Friday night (Nov 22) at the Mercantile Building. Until tonight, you could only view the work online at

http://www.artworkscincinnati.org/secret-artworks/art-reveals

But I like to see the pieces in person before I decide on my favorites. Of course I love H0031 (Mt Adams x 1) on page 5 and three of the pieces on page 19 – Connecting, Music Hall, and Fountain Textures  (none of these is mine) – but I also love Orange Rose (H0050). Next step: go and see if I like them as much in real life. The pieces will be displayed at the Westin until Thurs night at 5 pm. After that, you’ll have to attend the party Friday night to purchase one of these originals – first come, first served.

My acrylic paintings shown here of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and Highland Tower were 2012 Secret ArtWorks. Art on the Levee at Newport on the Levee sells greeting cards featuring these images but I’m not sure who bought the originals last year. And the collectors did not know they were mine until they’d been purchased. That’s what makes it “secret.”

 

My friend Diane tells me that in Florida, there’s a secret artworks program where the originals are hidden and the people who find them get to keep them. Sounds sort of like the medallion that was hidden somewhere in the city for St. Paul’s winter carnival.

Let me know which Secret ArtWorks you like best this year and which ones are the three I painted for the 2013 event this Friday night?

Destination Wedding

This is a watercolor of a house right on the beach at Sea Grove in the Florida Panhandle where friends will be married this spring.

Once I've painted a portrait of a home, we can always decorate it (the painting) to make holiday cards, as well as using the portrait for regular greeting and notecards.

Here's an example of a Kiawah Island home portrait I recently enhanced for the collector's Christmas card this year.

Using a print I made of the original acrylic painting, I painted boughs on the railings and put wreathes on the front door and windows. My mentor, Elmer Ruff, enjoys painting like this on the computer, in PhotoShop, but I still like the tactile qualities of paint and brushes. Thank goodness for the computer, though. This is just one of the ways it is invaluable for artists like me. I'll share some of the other ways I use it in future posts.

Secret ArtWorks 2013

The Secret’s Out: Sort Of

I guess it isn’t really a secret that I usually donate at least one original painting to Secret ArtWORKs every November. The painting you see pictured is one that was purchased at last year’s event. All the works are 5 x 7” originals created by local artists and you don’t know who created one you purchase until after you buy it!

ArtWorks is the organization that paints public murals on buildings in Cincinnati and the Pendleton Art Center got one of our very own this summer. It’s a great summer program that employs local art students (for pay) under the supervision of local artists. Secret ArtWorks is an important fundraiser and, although I can’t donate $$, I can give my time and talent to support their efforts.

You can come down to the Westin Hotel lobby in Fountain Square from Mon Nov 18 to Thurs Nov 21 to see all the Secret Artworks and try to figure out which 3 I painted. Or you can look at them online at

http://www.artworkscincinnati.org/secret-artworks/art-reveals/

On Friday, November 22, at the Mercantile Building on 115 E. Fifth Street in Cincinnati, the doors will open and you can run and try to be the first one to purchase the art you want to buy (each piece is $75). And the local food being showcased this year sounds just great! This has always been a delightful party, for a good cause. Hope to see you there in support of ArtWorks.