Studio Tour!

In the Cold

It's time again for the annual Chatham Studio Tour. If you're not familiar with this event, it's a self guided tour of artists' studios throughout Chatham County. Maps and more information on the artists can be found here. The Tour runs Saturday and Sunday, Dec 4th and 5th and Dec 11th and 12th, and studios are open from 10am - 5pm each day. Last weekend was a great start, and I appreciate all the visitors who came by. (it kinda looked like my painting for a few hours but fortunately, and unlike "In the Cold", everyone was dressed appropriately) This is my fourth year on the tour, and it's always fun to see familiar faces and meet new visitors as well. If you haven't taken the tour yet, it's definitely worth the time to meet the artists and see all the variety of work out there. My studio will be open again next weekend, and I hope to see you then.

In related news, there's currently a show at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro featuring work from all the artists on this year's tour. The opening reception is this Friday night (Dec 10th) from 6-9pm. Here's a link to the ArtsCenter's website for more details.

On the Easel
Here's what I'm working on right now. It's completely from imagination, so it'll be interesting to see how it turns out. It probably will depend on my mood that day or whatever music I'm listening to in the studio.

Swing Fling - Nov 2nd

Besides getting to vote, on November 2nd you can also enjoy live music and food while supporting local artists. If you're in the Pittsboro area, stop by the General Store Cafe from 6-9 pm to hear Trilogy perform in a benefit for the Chatham Artists Guild. Tickets are available in advance or at the door and include a buffet (with dessert) and a cash bar. Swing on in!! (yes, that was the worst.pun.ever. and explains why I'm not in advertising or writing for Mad Men)

Less is More

This month I have a painting in the Less is More exhibit at the PAF Gallery in the NC Arts Incubator (223 N. Chatham Ave) . The show features small works by members of the Chatham Artists Guild and runs from September 9th - October 7th. The opening reception is tomorrow night, Sept 17th, and is part of the monthly Third Friday Artwalk in downtown Siler City.

My painting is called "House on the Hill" and was inspired by a recent trip to the mountains. I wanted it to capture the solitude of a single house on its high perch combined with the rich colors and long shadows of early evening.

Etsy Treasuries

Hope everyone's having a good summer. It's been eons since my last post, but I'm still here working (even though it may not seem like it). Lately I've been busy in the studio and have been making some changes to my website - nothing too dramatic but check it out and see what you think. I've added some pages and am working on making it easier to shop online.

And speaking of shopping online, that brings me to this post's topic - Etsy Treasuries. For anyone not familiar with Etsy, it's an online store where artists and craftspeople from around the world sell handmade items. One feature of Etsy is the Treasury which is a collection of items chosen and curated by sellers. This summer I've been lucky to have several of my art prints included in treasuries, so I'm posting the prints and links to the complete collections below. I'm not trying to give you a sales pitch or anything (there's already plenty of advertising online), but it's worth viewing the treasuries to see all the creativity and diversity on Etsy. If you are looking for a unique gift or treat for yourself, it's a great place to shop.


The Mighty Oak Treasury

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c4a69694a9f8eefa7ec170f/the-mighty-oak?index=5

Boston Terriers Collection

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c4f864217fb8eef3acc479c/boston-terriers





Beauty and the Beach Treasury

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c4ebe6eb20e6d9153b2e46d/beauty-and-the-beach?index=0

Glad for Glads Collection

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c5d611a752e8eef4dd7abdb/glad-for-glads

Burrito Bash Fundraiser - May 4th

It's almost time for this year's Burrito Bash fundraiser for CARE (Chatham Animal Rescue & Education). I'll be donating the painting shown to the left for the live auction. It's called "Coming Home" and is based on the time my dog Rufus decided to run away. Rufus is a shelter dog, and not too long after I adopted him I decided to let him off the leash to run around. (I live on a farm at the end of a fairly long driveway away from traffic on a lightly traveled road, so please don't report me to PETA or the Humane Society). I took him out to the backyard thinking he could fetch tennis balls and/or take a swim in the pond - turns out he has no interest in retrieving things and hates water. So instead of the activities I'd planned, he ran across the backyard, past the house, down the driveway and towards the town where he'd once lived. After at least half a mile or maybe farther, he stopped, glanced back at me (as I was frantically calling him and trying to keep up) then looked out at the open road, and finally turned around and started walking home. He's now a spoiled only dog, so it was probably a good decision.

The Burrtio Bash is being held Tuesday, May 4th from 6-9pm at the General Store Cafe in Pittsboro (39 West Street). The silent auction is from 6 - 7:15, and the live auction begins at 7:30. Lots of items have been donated by local businesses and artists, so if you're in the area, I hope you'll come out for a chance to bid on some great stuff and help the animals.

Stages

Hello again. It's been so long since I last updated my blog I had to look up my password (and it didn't even seem familiar). I was afraid this would happen when I decided to start a blog, but there are several things happening so I'll try to a better job with updates......yes really, I'll be better.

For this post I thought I'd take you through the stages of a painting. Some artists enjoy giving painting demonstrations, but it's not very likely I'll be doing that any time soon. When I'm working, I tend to block out everything around me, so I'm not so good with an audience. Instead of a live demonstration I decided to take photos of my latest painting while it was in process.

For the first step, I added a rough outline and started blocking in or adding large areas of color.

Next I finished adding the main areas of color. I typically start out with thin layers of paint and continue with more and more layers to build up colors and texture.

In this stage I added other elements to the painting. Here I've added the tractor, the focal point of the scene.

The final stage is where I added details like highlights on the tractor and shadows across the barn. For this painting I also added a tree behind the barn for balance. I usually sketch the whole scene before I start a painting, but sometimes I make changes as I go along.

Sometimes it's hard to know when a painting is done and when to stop working on it. There are times I wish I had an "undo" button. If you were able to watch me painting, you'd probably see me squinting and making weird faces on my way to a finished painting.

Beginnings

I was cleaning out a closet the other day and found a box full of my old sketchbooks - (btw, if you ever need inspiration to do "spring" cleaning and get more organized, just watch Hoarders on A&E). Just for fun and because several people have asked me how I got started in art, I thought I'd share some of my early work. I've also been asked why I sign my paintings with my initials instead of my name, and I actually don't remember why I started doing that. I did notice one of these drawings has my first name, but most of them are signed as D. L. Taylor. When I started painting I decided to keep up the habit I've had since the '70's. (the late 70's....oh, and did I mention I was really really young when I started drawing?)

I was horse crazy growing up so most drawings have at least one horse and sometimes more. These horses all appear to be very well fed.


I also invented stories for all the drawings. I'm going to call this next one, "Tragedy at the Track". If you look closely at the top, you'll see an ambulance and some horses down - very disturbing. I don't know why I drew such a scene. (maybe a comment on the dangers of racing).



By '81, the horses were looking a little more realistic.



And finally, since we're in the midst of the Winter Olympics, I'll leave you with some ice skaters.