September 28, 2008 Exhibit
Posted By Carrie L. Lewis on September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008 was the date for the second in a series of combined media events involving music and artwork.
The Delano Chamber Players and Wichita Horn Society were once again in concert in Wichita.
And once again, art played an important part in the concert.
For this concert, I selected a collection of horse paintings in oils and colored pencils for the exhibit and they were very well received. Most of those attending the concert browsed the exhibit, which was set up in the narthex and was strategically placed between the sanctuary, where the concert was held, and the area where the refreshments were. Several stopped to talk with me about my work and about how I got started painting horses and doing art. Most are surprised that I do not currently and have never chosen to own a horse, a decision made deliberately to better direct the usage of my time toward creating as opposed to recreating.
There were between 60 and 70 in the audience, including many who had been in attendance for the first concert/exhibit in July.
For a good portion of the concert, I was able to work on a current colored pencil piece.
Aeropostale is the largest colored piece I currently have in the works and is also the largest colored pencil piece in quite some time.
It’s actually an older portrait, one started in the late 1990s or early 2000 and which I discovered quite by accident packed away in the other things that made the trip from Michigan to Kansas in 2002. It has been ‘in progress’ ever since, though it spends more time waiting than being worked on.
Although I frequently work to music, there is something delightful about working to live music. It’s why I usually take something to work on when going to Neal’s community band rehearsals, and part of the reason I decided to take a work in progress to this concert/exhibit.
Not even the best CDs can reproduce the full range of deep bass and tremulous high notes of string bass and violin, French horn and flute.
And that harpsichord! Oh! The Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 by J. S. Bach was absolutely inspiring!
The other reason is that people have always responded very enthusiastically to being able to see part of the creative process. Whether artists themselves or art lovers, seeing an artist actually creating always inspires interest in the finished work.
The next performance will be on Sunday, December 21, 2008 at Westside Baptist at 3 p.m. I may very well be spending a good amount of time preparing new works for this upcoming exhibit, although there were requests for the miniatures. The new ACEO horse portraits currently in progress should fit in very nicely with that!
I am a self-taught artist for the most part. Lots of trial and error in the past forty years! Formal art training consists of a couple of years of high school art, a painting class at a community college, one semester in the Fine Arts program at Abilene Christian University and a couple of local workshops.
I am always looking for ways to better my artistic skills, so I am a permanent student in the School of Trial and Error. I love reading and have been known to spend hours online researching materials and techniques. As a result, I've painted in several different styles, including the direct method (which goes straight for the color) and Classical methods (which involves underpaintings, layering and glazing).
I have exhibited paintings in locations such as Lone Star Park Race Track, Grand Prairie, Texas and Remington Park Race Track, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Since the early 90s, I've worked with the Michigan Harness Horseman's Association, donating custom portraits to their annual benefit auction.
In the course of maintaining a growing art business, I have taught myself web design (a skill that will no doubt prove to be a continual learning experience).
I also enjoy puttering around the yard, chasing trains with my husband, Neal, travel and, of course, looking at horses whenever they appear on my horizon.
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