Art Retreat In Asheville

So what happens when five artists (who are also friends) go away together for about a week, stay in a magnificent home nestled on the side of a mountain located about two miles from downtown Asheville's arts district, in October at the peak of Fall color in the Smoky Mountains, and study with their favorite art coach? The answer is sage guidance and advice, magical paintings, deepening friendships, loving support, great food, and memories that will last a lifetime.

The house that we rented was designed, reconstructed and owned by Richard Fort, a local architect.

These are some views of our kitchen, dining room, entertainment room and from our living room window. We had magnificent views of downtown Asheville, the turning leaf colors and spectacular sunsets.

The five artists were Fran Gardner, Melissa Mason, Toni Slick, Beau Wild and me. We traveled, from our respective home states, by car to our journey's end off Mountain View Road in Asheville. Steve Aimone was our instructor and coach, who along with his lovely and gracious wife, Katherine, hosted our art-making at their spacious studio, also in Asheville.

Katherine and Steve Aimone, in their studio loft

Steve probed our objectives, allowing us to modify these as we went through the week and as revelations occurred.

Throughout, he honed in on where we were going, offering challenges and helping us overcome obstacles by developing satisfactory solutions. Steve has a gift. He is not only clear and knowledgeable: he rapidly ascertains individual artist needs and talents. He nurtures those personal skills to help his students move forward and push their own boundaries.

The result is art that is personally gratifying, rich with a language that expresses the artist and yet ...

Paintings by Beau Wild

...speaks to all viewers in a powerful and enriching way. It wasn't all serious: we laughed and cracked each other up for days on end.

Pat and buddy, Fran

Fran's workstation and growing installation

Melissa's wall of art

Toni and some of her paintings

We all cranked out some terrific art, brought away wonderful discoveries, and returned home refreshed and elated.

Pat and some paintings

Neo News: Falling Into Art

We have a new addition to Neo Stable Studios: our mascot, Tebow!

Melissa's toy poodle puppy often comes into our studio. He's a cutey, barking while his mouth is stuffed with his favorite toy. Tebow has grown since this photo was taken, but a few weeks ago, he was small enough to fit into the pocket of my painting apron while I worked.

As the summer winds down, autumn returns and the weather cools off, the artists of Neo Stable Studios are back to work. The pasture that lies outside our stable is bright green thanks to the rain produced during Florida's hurricane season. Touches of gold creep into the landscape. Melissa's horses and those of boarders romp in the pasture. The lines, shapes and forms in and out of the studio provide constant inspiration. Forest From The Trees, below, is an example. I painted this piece on a canvas that Melissa was about to throw out: it bore one of her early equine paintings and had marvelous texture.

Five Years Later

The disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is still fresh in our minds, five years after that deluge. People died, a legendary American city was vanquished, and Gulf coast natives lost their homes, property, jobs and loved ones. We are still recovering from this devastating event.

I have not forgotten it. I recently challenged myself to paint a series based on present-day disasters. One of those paintings sprang from Katrina. While painting, I remembered riding through Gulf states a few months after the hurricane, flying over the region when I left, and witnessing a ravaged New Orleans. I returned a few months ago and was pleased to see NOLA recovering, slowly but surely. Imminent Threat 3 perhaps represents my modest tribute to the families affected by Katrina.

Abstract Show

I hope that you can catch a great abstract art exhibition at Hollingsworth Gallery, located at 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite 210B, Palm Coast, FL. The gallery is featuring abstract two- and three-dimensional art from select southeastern artists. Some of my art will be exhibited, including Three Cups Of Tea.

The exhibit opens on Saturday, June 12th, 2010 from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Light refreshments will be offered. The show runs through August 7th, 2010. Please check this link for more information about this beautiful gallery: http://www.hollingsworthgallery.com/Home.html.

Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall

Sidestepper has been accepted into Rise-Fall, a multi-city event marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. During the month of November, Sidestepper can be viewed at http://www.rise-fall.com/. The exhibition will be conducted in Miami, Boston, NYC, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Try to visit one of the sites during this travelling show: NYC is the first stop.

Also, my acrylic mixed media piece, To Lure a Selkie, has taken First Place in the 2D category at a Women in the Visual Arts Exhibit at the Armory Art Center, 1700 Parker Avenue, West Palm Beach. Another of my paintings, Ah-Ha Moment, was also juried into this event.I hope that you can see this work and more than 250 other artistic creations at this beautiful gallery before it comes down on October 30th. For more information about the story leading up to the creation of To Lure a Selkie, please read my other blog, http://a-crosstheuniverse.blogspot.com/, under the title "Water" (August 30, 2009).

Art of Enduring

In October for a period of 11 days, I participated in a 'paint-in' and exhibition at downtown Orlando's City Arts Factory, 29 S. Orange Ave. The event was sponsored and funded entirely by the Limner Society, a faith-based international organization that works through the visual arts to benefit worthy local and international cases. Generous donations of art supplies from Jerry's Art-A-Rama and local churches and synagogues furnished our tools and nourishment to sustain us over the ten-day period. The Marriott Hotel in Orlando served as our home during this time. Six resident Limner artists and six juried guest Limners (myself included), painted in a studio at the CAF and then curated an exhibition of our work, which opened on Oct. 15th. The streets were closed in front of the gallery, live entertainment drew folks, and the Limners conducted a silent auction of the work we produced during the paint in. Several of my works sold. A Latin jazz combo inside the gallery kept the throngs of patrons entertained.

The work produced by the artists involved were donated by them for purposes of the silent auction and ensuing exhibition. This show continues until the week of Nov. 15th. Although about a third of the 58 paintings juried into this show have already been sold at silent auction prices, all work is priced lower in order to sell to benefit worthy charities in Orange County, FL and relief efforts abroad. Please stop by the CAF Gallery or call 407.648.7060 for further information.

abstracted women

On September 19, 2009, my art will be featured in an exhibition, Abstracted Women, at the Rose Room Gallery of the Peabody Auditorium, 600 Auditorium Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL. There will be an opening reception on Sept. 24th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The exhibition will run through December 16, 2009.




Everyone is also invited to participate in a panel discussion to be moderated by artist/architect/art historian Louise Lieber. This panel discussion and gallery talk will occur on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, from 3-5 p.m. in the Rose Room Gallery. We will discuss our process and respond to questions presented by Ms. Lieber and the audience. The Irish Comedy Tour show begins at 8:00 p.m. at the Peabody, so why not make a day of it: art, refreshments, dinner at a nearby restaurant on the beach, and a show?

directed individual study

I have just returned from a workshop, Directed Individual Study, at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach. ACA is one of Florida's greatest secret treasures. It offers visual and performing artists a haven where they can explore and push their boundaries in a beautiful, natural setting. When in central Florida, please visit and support this unique arts center and the Pabst Gallery.

This past week, my art coach, Steve Aimone, gently pushed nine of us to fulfill our respective objectives. It was fun, frustrating, fascinating and productive. I completed some work that thrills me and one, in particular, that stemmed from a two-week long dream sequence. My dreams were haunted by an unknown toddler, about 15-18 months of age. I finally awoke midweek, sketched her out on a scrap of paper by the phone with a Sharpie, and dashed over to ACA's studio to paint her out. I have no idea whether I will let this piece survive my usual obliteration by painting, but for now, she will rest on canvas along with other elements from those lingering dreams.

The balance of my developing work incorporates language, musical elements, and stream-of-consciousness images that appear when I'm not analyzing. I don't know whether my paintings are completed. But I am certainly enjoying this process.

across the universe

I and fellow artists Fran Gardner (fiber and painting) and Cheryl Bogdanowitsch (sculptor), who are exhibiting together at the Harris Gallery of the Art League of Daytona Beach in March 2010, have started a blog, inviting public comments and critiques as our work progresses. Please follow it at: http://a-crosstheuniverse.blogspot.com/ and provide your input.

summer time is here

This month, two of my figurative pieces are being shown at the Art League of Daytona Beach, in its annual juried human figure show. The exhibition opened on June 28th and runs through the end of July. One of these works, Woman Emerging From Shadows, captured 3rd Place. More than 150 pieces of art and sculpture can be seen in this show, which was open to all Florida artists. The ALDB, one of the oldest art organizations in central Florida, is located at 433 S. Palmetto Ave., Daytona Beach.

On July 19th, the opening reception of a juried exhibition of the Florida Chapter-National Museum for Women in the Arts will be held at the new Gateway Art Center, 17-92 & Saxon Blvd, Debary. All are welcome to attend the reception, which will be held between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m.. This exhibition runs through August 16th.