Salmagundi Opens - Business Stuff

The Salmagundi Club's Annual Non-Member's Painting and Sculpture Exhibition in New York City opened yesterday! My painting, Inward (above) is included. The show runs until July 18th, when there will be a Closing Reception from 6-8 pm. I'm very happy to say that I will be out in NYC and attending!

I'm preparing for the trip by making books of my most recent/best work and will try and promote myself to some galleries out there and see if anything happens. I feel really lucky to have a tour guide while I'm there; kick a** artist and e-cquaintance David Kassan has agreed to take me around. Cross your fingers for me!

Hi There! Checking In

Even though the blog has been quiet, I'm still here! I took a little while off from creating art. I do now have a painting that I am starting; it is in the charcoal drawing stage. I'll start adding in the paint drawing tonight.

I've also been spending some time on the business side of being an artist. I'm doing some grant proposal writing, attended a workshop on fiscal sponsorship, am in the process of landing my own studio space, have been teaching some private lessons, gallery sitting for the LAG show, and I even got out to my friend Rachelle's fabulous studio downtown! Oh, and I'm preparing for a trip to NYC. I'm going to visit some galleries and hopefully make some connections.

So, yeah, busy busy. I should have some images of actual art to share soon.

In the meantime, remember that I have three shows going on right now, and they are closing this week!

Foundry Art Centre - Figurative Works 05-16-08 through 06-27-08

• Foundry Art Centre
  520 North Main Center
  St. Charles, MO 63301

Feminae - Solo Exhibit at Hilliard Gallery 06-06-08 through 06-28-08

• Hilliard Gallery
  18th and Oak
  Kansas City, MO

Lawrence Art Guild All Members Show 06-14-08 through 06-28-08

• Hobbs Taylor Lofts
  Eighth and New Hampshire St.
  Lawrence, KS 66044

Lacey Lewis - Artist of the Day

I just found out that I am artist of the day at ArtistADay.com. I'm delighted!

Yes, I will return soon with more work to share. Stay tuned...

LAG All Member's Exhibit

Saturday was the opening reception for the Lawrence Art Guild's All Member's Exhibition, in which two of my paintings are included. I attended and ran in to a few familiar faces, and met a couple new ones. The show will run until June 28, 2008. Hours 10am-5pm Monday through Saturday and noon-5pm on Sundays.

Feminae - Pictures from the Opening

Fellow artists and photographers Stephen Locke and Terie Unger were kind enough to take pictures during my opening and share them with me! (Thank you!) Stephen also created a Flash slide show that you can view here. I had a great time, and thanks to everyone who came out. If you haven't seen the show yet, do drop by before it closes on June 28th... there's even more than is pictured here!

Self Portrait Drawing - Finished

She's done! I'm happy with the mix of contour and shading that I did below the neck. Hopefully it looks right to others as well. I'd like to come up with a better title than just 'Self Portrait Drawing.' Anyway, here it is below, framed and ready to go!

Self Portrait Drawing - Almost Complete

I will do more on the lower half of the drawing, but I won't do as much shading. I want to leave a lot of the rest as contour. Either way, it will be finished and framed tonight!

Self Portrait Drawing - Half Way Done!

Made a bunch of progress this afternoon, but I think I'll call it quits for the day. Time to work on other projects. I did take several pictures of the in-between stages; perhaps this will become yet another demo!

Self Portrait - Line Drawing

Yesterday I started this drawing, and after I post this I will continue working on it. As you can see above, I began with a plumb line that hit the curve of the nose/eye/forehead area. It also lined up with a spot on the clothing, so it made for a good place to start my measurements.

As I continued along, I made measurements relative to the plumb line, and also relative to other points that had already been measured. The carpenter's rule of, 'measure twice, cut once,' is also applicable here as, ' measure twice, draw once.' Once I am sure of the marks along the plumb line, I use triangulation to place marks to either side of the line.

Of course, we all make mistakes. Once I got to the shoulder, I quickly found that I had grossly miscalculated the position of the gathered hair at the back of the head. Since I am double checking things at this stage, it is still relatively easy to correct.

In a day or two, I will have pictures to share from the Feminae opening. I had a great time, and thanks to everyone who made it out!

KC Star

I almost forgot to mention that there's a blurb about the show in the KC Star Preview section today! Near the end of this article is a little snippet, and they also included "Mala," which looks surprisingly good in the print version.

Insecurity - Signed, Sealed, Delivered

"Insecurity"
Oil on Canvas 40" x 30"

I finished the painting late last night after the event at Union Station, signed and framed it this morning (don't worry, I took measures so the painting doesn't stick to the frame) and then delivered it to the Gallery. Almost everything is up and ready to go there, and seeing it all on the walls was great! It all looks so much better there than it does in my living room. My husband remarked that it all fits at the gallery much better than in our house.

Once I got back from the gallery, I took a nap. I needed it! I can't remember the last time I was that busy. I'd love to say that I am just going to relax for the next 24 hours until it's time for the show, but instead I have to take care of everything that's been neglected while I was focusing on my work, i.e. the dishes and what looks like a framing shop after an explosion.

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Auction

I just got back from an event at Union Station to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It was 'Sounds of a Cure,' an event put on by Brian Christie of Personal Chef to raise funds for the charity as he competes to be Man of the Year. My friend and fellow artist Terie came with me and we had a great time. There was an auction associated with the event. I donated a graphite portrait, but it will be auctioned at the Grand Finale event on June 12th. There is more info on the news page of my website. For now, I have to go get more work done! The past couple days have been crazy busy.

Insecurity - Crankin' It Out

Wow, I started the last post (about the Feminae exhibition) yesterday and just noticed that I never hit 'publish.' Guess I am busier than I though!

I'm trying to bust this one out ASAP. I've worked on and mostly completed the arms, stomach, and legs. That's most of the area of the figure, but there's still all that detail left in the hands. I'm off now to work on just that. I hope to get it done tomorrow night; let's see if I can!

Feminae - Opening This Friday

My solo exhibition, Feminae, opens this Friday 6-9 pm at Hilliard Gallery. Hilliard is located at 18th and Oak in KC, MO. Please stop by!

Fēminae
New Work by Lacey Lewis
Hilliard Gallery
Opens June 6th 6-9 pm
Closes June 28th

Hilliard Gallery will feature new nude and narrative figurative work by area artist Lacey Lewis in a June solo exhibition titled, “Fēminae.” An opening reception will be held for the artist on Friday, June 6th from 6-9 pm and the show will run through
Saturday June 28th.

Lacey Lewis brings a sense of humanity and individuality to each of her figurative oil paintings. In a genre that is too often approached by artists in the same manner one would approach still lives or landscapes, Lewis seeks to depict unique personalities while simultaneously evoking universal emotions and narratives. Focusing almost
exclusively on the feminine form, she employs dramatic lighting, theatrical poses, and symbolism to imply both the pensive and the passionate. Her paintings and drawings explore areas of the human psyche that range from morbid to erotic to reflective, and often suggest historic or mythical female characters.

Lewis is an award winning contemporary realist figurative painter. Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, she relocated to Kansas City in 2003 with her husband and son. She participates in exhibitions both locally and nationally, and gives public lectures and private lessons.

I will have updates on "Insecurity" soon!

Insecurity - Layer 1

Last night I managed to get this whole layer done! It's a 40" x 30" canvas, so that's a pretty good session for me. Of course, I was cleaning brushed at 2:30 am, but still, it was worth it. Let's hope I get a handful of decent sessions like that in on this so it's ready to hang next week.

Ophelia II

Ophelia II has been finished and signed! Now I just need to see about getting some varnish on it to even out the flat sunken in areas, which you can see in the lower detail image. This leaves me about 7 days to try and complete another painting, varnish and frame, etc., for the show! Anyone interested in being an unpaid slave laborer, er, I mean studio intern, for a week?

Ophelia II - So Close to Finished!

I apologize for all the glare in this photo. She's almost done! The tub needs some highlights to give it more dimension, and then a couple other small adjustments and I'll sign it. Unfortunately, I've caught a cold right when I need to really be working on my paintings and also in my most important training week for the Hospital Hill 10k. I have yet to get in my final long run, but hopefully today will be my last yucky day so that I can both run and paint!

For some good news: I've booked my flight to New York City so I can attend the Salmagundi Club reception! I'll be there for a few days so my family and I can explore, have fun, and eat pizza. Can't wait...

Ophelia II - Moving on to the Background

I told you I still paint! I know it still doesn't look like a lot of progress, but other than a couple adjustments on the lower arm, the flesh is done and so the rest should not take much longer. Now that this is nearly done, it's high time to get cracking on "Insecurity."

Summer Classes at the Carnegie Arts Center

I am scheduled to teach some drawing classes this summer at the Carnegie Arts Center in Leavenworth, KS. Following is a list of classes and descriptions. Any changes will be noted here and on my website, in addition to on the CAC website. Contact the Arts Center to register!

Beginning Drawing Workshop - Ages 9-12
Classes will focus sequentially on the perception of edges, spaces, relationships, and values. We will learn about foreshortening, the basic ideas behind perspective, methods for measuring placement and relative size of objects, and some light logic.

• Session 1: June 16th, 17th, and 20th 1-3pm
• Session 2: July 7th, 8th, and 11th 1-3pm

Summer Drawing Intensive - Beginning Perspective - Ages 12-16
A workshop focusing on the basics of perspective. With a little art history sprinkled in, we will learn about 1-point perspective on day 1, 2-point perspective on day 2, and 3-point perspective on day 3. Drawing will be done both from the imagination and from life. Please bring a rectangular solid no larger than a shoe box to class.

• June 16th, 17th, and 20th 10 am -12 pm

Summer Drawing Intensive - Beginning Portrait Drawing - Ages 12-16
In this class, we will learn drawing skills through portraiture. Basics of measuring, contour drawing and shading will be covered while we also study facial proportions. Work will be done both from life and from 2D references.

• July 7th, 8th and 11th 10 am -12 pm

Portrait Drawing - Adult

In this 6 week class we will study the art of portrait drawing from lighting and posing the model and what makes a good reference photo, to proportion, creating a pleasing and accurate line drawing, and using value to give your portrait form and solidity. We will work from a combination of life and reference photos that we create ourselves.

• July 26th through August 30th Saturdays 11 am -12:30 pm

Figure Drawing Classes - Adult
Classes will start with short poses for warm-up gesture drawings. Progressively longer poses will be used to introduce several methods of approaching figure drawing, including sight-size measuring, creating an envelope and block in, and measuring on the inside. We will also discuss non-parallelism in the body, anatomy, contour and form.

• July 26th through August 30th Saturdays 1 - 3:30 pm

I promise to post more pictures of work soon... yes I have been painting!

Pictures from the Gateway Arch

Above is from the park that the arch is in. I have other pictures that I took of the arch as well, but these two are slightly less like what you'd typically see on a postcard, so I though they were worth posting.