Hello out there!

Can you believe it's almost March? We had a pretty good blizzard at the start of the month, and mild weather since then. This is typical for Colorado, and if we have a snowy March, that will also be typical. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks. 

I find that the longer days energize me and I get more done around the studio. In addition, "calls for entry" (invitations to enter spring and summer art shows) are starting to roll in. It's time to consider what to submit...newer work is always a good idea, but sometimes a piece that is not fresh off the easel works, too. I let my artistic muse guide me as I ponder how to approach each call. The shows are fun to enter, and a good way to get my name out there. Often I am able to sell work at these shows, and make contact with new clients. It's all good, but can be challenging, because some of us are introverts and have to push ourselves to get out there and communicate. It's often a learned skill! 

Another way to get our names out is through blogging and using other social media.  I hope you will share what I write, like my Facebook page (Julia M Evans Fine Art) visit my website (www.juliamevans.com), find me on Fine Art America, and search me out on Instagram (tjstudios). 

Here's a sneak peak at new work! Comments?

 

New Year, new beginnings

2016 is here. I hope the year brings you all sorts of joy and good things. I don't typically make resolutions, but I do view the first of the year as a time of planning, new beginnings, and anticipation. Seed catalogs are arriving, which makes me anticipate the end of cold winter days and the warming of the soil with its promises of spring flowers. 

Possibly inspired by the start of the year (and seed catalogs), I recently finished a big triptych, called "Promises." You can see it at Gallery 113 in Colorado Springs. Gallery 113 is a great venue and is celebrating the start of the year by having moved to a larger location at 125-1/2 North Tejon. As a co-owner of the Gallery, I am responsible for graphic design needs, and I work in the gallery periodically. I've attached a selfie taken in the gallery, with my artwork in the background. "Promises" is the big piece at the top.

Time to go plan some paintings!

50th Annual Own An Original event

Hello everyone! I just wanted to take a minute to catch you up. We had a very successful Pikes Peak Studio Tour, and I just want to say Thank You! to everyone who stopped by. The weather was great, and it was fun to meet all the visitors. Many people took home new art!

Meanwhile, I was invited to participate in the Littleton Museum's 50th Annual Own An Original exhibit and sale in Littleton, Colorado. The exhibition dates are November 20, 2015 through January 26, 2016. If you are in the area, please stop in. It looks to be a great show. For more information, go to littletongov.org/museum.

This piece, Mystical Islands, is on display there.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pikes Peak Studio Tour...and a video!

Happy November, everyone,

First, a shoutout to our veterans, especially the veterans in my circle of friends and family. Thank you for your service. We enjoy our freedoms in this great country, thanks to you and to those warriors who have passed from our midst.

Secondly, in a previous blog, I mentioned studio tours...and I am participating in the Pikes Peak Studio Tour that, if you are in the Colorado Springs area, you may have heard advertised. It's This Weekend! I'm getting things together to take to Dianna Cates Dunn's studio tomorrow so that we can be ready for your visit. 

In the midst of all this, I had the opportunity to film a short video in which you will get a glimpse of my own studio. Enjoy!

Pikes Peak Studio Tour/Julia Evans

Spring cleaning in the autumn

Around here I tend to get serious about deep cleaning in the spring and in the fall. Spring cleaning is good for airing out the house and tidying up after the house plants are getting moved outside. Autumn, cleaning, on the other hand, helps me prepare to settle back into the house and studio as I say goodbye to warm days and lay the garden down for the season.

Today I decided to tackle cleaning the carpet in the studio. If you are a messy artisan like I am, you are likely wondering why anyone would have carpet in their studio. I wonder that myself!! Truth be told, my studio may have been a family room/office in a previous life, and we just haven't gotten around to replacing the carpet. So...I protect it as much as possible and clean it when necessary. (Someday "replacing the studio flooring" will percolate to the top of the "to do" list.)

Here's what the studio looks like during carpet-cleaning season. Hopefully it will dry quickly and I can get back to painting in a couple of days!

Studios

A popular trend amongst the art community is "Artist's Studio Tours," in which a group of artists get together and agree to open their studios to the public for a few days. It's a great opportunity to visit with artists, see how they work, and purchase art. I hope to participate in one of these events later this year. In the interim, though, I thought you might enjoy seeing a few pictures of my studio.

I am fortunate to have space in my home where I can spread out and make a mess. This is my easel, with my painting, "Two Sisters with Crazy Hats."

A closeup of the area where I keep brushes, water, and other stuff.

To the left of the easel is another table, with yet more tools, paints, and another work-in-progress.

Summer: art shows, rain, and gardening

After a late spring, punctuated by 8" of snow in May, we are cautiously optimistic that warm weather is here. I try to divide my time between the studio and the garden. I've added a couple of raised beds to the greenhouse and existing beds, and hope to plant beans tomorrow. I know my southern cousins are already harvesting their beans, but we had frost until just a couple of weeks ago, and the soil just hasn't been warm enough to foster good germination. Iris and lilacs are blooming, and there are buds on the poppies.

When it gets too hot outside I venture into the coolness of the studio and pick up my tools. I have been playing in encaustics this year, and enjoying the results. Encaustics is basically painting with melted beeswax and pigment. I'm also playing in acrylics, as always.

It's the summer show season, so I have been busily delivering work, attending receptions, and picking up unsold work when the shows come down. So far I've been in shows all up and down the front range. It gets a little crazy, but I feel that the recognition is important and can lead to more gallery representation. It's all good!

Here's a new piece, as yet untitled. Let me know what you see, or if a title comes to mind.

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