Sunday, August 2, 2009

Lots of Photos from Austria posted on Facebook


Due to several technical difficulties and lack of wifi here in the mountains of Austria, I have found it easiest to post photos to Facebook directly from my phone. I have made my photo album on Facebook viewable to all...even if you don't have a Facebook account.

Please go to this link to see photos with captions from the first week of my trip so far!

24 hours in Vienna

After a rather easy flight from the U.S through Munich and in to Vienna, I pushed and pulled all of my luggage into a very small but quaint room at Pension Pertschy in Vienna just a block from the Hofberg Palace. After a short one hour nap and some fussing with my iphone and internet signals and electric converters that wouldn't work, I finally stumbled out in the sunny streets feeling tired and exhilarated at the same time.

There were horse drawn carriages clopping by every few minutes and beautiful sculptures and architecture looming overhead in every direction. I followed a very simple path straight to the MuseumsQuartier Wien and bought my ticket for entrance into all three very contemporary looking museums located together on a big plaza with outdoor cafes and enormous modern plastic seating structures.

The Leopold Museum was having an exhibit of Egon Schiele's paintings and drawings. I hadn't realized that he was Austrian and also that he had died at only 28 yrs old with the flu. He made quite a few paintings in his short time that are very expressive and personal. I have a new found love for his work and was very inspired by his freedom on the page. There were other great works in this museum including a Klimt and other expressionistic works. The Cy Twombly exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art (MUMOK) was sadly less inspiring.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Savannah, Georgia: Fried Chicken, Iced Tea and Paintings

Fountain in Forsyth Park...just one of 21 beautiful parks in downtown Savannah


Scooters in Savannah...inspiration for a new painting

We took a brief vacation in Savannah, Georgia over the fourth of July where the moss hangs thick from the live oak trees and where the fried chicken is as good as it gets. Since it is the middle of summer, all the art students from SCAD seemed to be scattered out of town. Most of the art I readily found was tourist junk. I did, finally, stumble across one painter whose work was hanging in a nice home decor shop called One Fish, Two Fish...while we waited for an hour for the best fried chicken outside of Mrs. Wilkes on the humid street corner.


Knowing Home by Wendy Lea Martin

The artist, Wendy Lea Martin, paints on panel with a wonderful mix of abstraction and imagism. The painting I loved best was a horse with a bird, titled "Knowing Home". You can see more of her work on her blog.

Fourth of July celebrations

Neighborhood in Historic District

Monday, June 29, 2009



The "Scooter Parking Only" reception was a great party! Thanks to all of you who came down to Fort Avenue. And thanks to Gallery 211 for hanging the work so beautifully and putting on a great reception. The paintings really pop in this space. The opposing brick wall and white wall create a great dynamic for the 15 paintings.

If you get a chance, stop in to see the show. The gallery is open on Saturdays from 2 - 7 p.m. so you can drop in on your way to grab a bite in Federal Hill. The gallery is located just around the corner from School 33 Art Center.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Art Opening Tonight at Gallery 211!



SCOOTER PARKING ONLY opens tonight from 6-10 at Gallery 211 in Federal Hill! I am super excited to have my paintings hung in this great little gallery on Fort Ave. There are 15 paintings in total. Most are acrylic and some are acrylic with oil on top.

I had so much fun painting these last summer. I was inspired by riding my own little 50cc scooter around Alexandria. I treated the scooters in the paintings like figures: putting them in groupings, posing them like portraits and capturing moods in bright colors.

Hope you get a chance to see the show at the gallery between now and August 29, 2009...or just go to my website to see the rest. The one pictured here is the final painting in the series and isn't on my web site yet.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Going to Austria!

Painting by Xenia Hausner

I will soon be packing my bags for three weeks of daily painting in a very small lake town in Austria. O.k., well not soon, but this summer. I am turning 40 this year. . .a milestone for sure. . .and have been trying to determine what to do to create a memorable final year in my 30's. Mare has been saving her hard earned cash for this moment. Thanks to her I will be taking a short sabbatical from my graphic design work at HDN Studio to study with an incredible Austrian painter, Xenia Hausner, at the Sommerakademie at Traunkirchen.