Show update!

So many great titles in my Name That Painting contest right now!  It will be hard to choose!  Have you submitted your entry yet? 

In other news...

I'm busily preparing for a solo show at North Gate Vineyard in Purcellville, VA.  Check it out:

Lots of new work that I can't wait to show off.  Come for the opening reception and have a glass or two of North Gate's great wine while you're there.  The opening is September 8 & 9 from 2-6pm.  A two-day reception!  Let's party.

Update!  Here's some press in the Leesburg Patch on the upcoming show.

Name This Painting contest

The person with the best title wins a 6 x 6 abstract!  Contest ends August 1.

 

40 x 30 inches

oil on canvas

New Growth

New Growth

24 x 24 inches

oil on canvas

It's fascinating to watch the seasons change, especially the more dramatic change from winter to spring, unlike spring to summer. The stark, scrawling lines of tree branches against the sky are now slightly blurred by citron leaves still in their infancy.  I'm lucky that the view from my studio showcases these changes, and I enjoy looking out that window every day.

This painting was created originally with a bright blue sky, but as I worked I changed the vantage point to place the viewer deep in the woods without a view of the sky, but instead creating a canopy of green above that mirrored the blurred forest floor.  I like how the crimson trunks against the early ultramarine background really pop, and the trees seem to sway a bit, as if celebrating a new beginning.

My own life has taken a bit of a new direction, and I'm pondering this notion of growth today.  My second baby is growing up, no longer a baby, and it's not nearly as easy to work around her naps any more.  I so love being a mother and spending lots of time with my children, but as an artist, the inner child often gets neglected.  There are many days lately that I have been feeling forced to choose. But to everything there is a season, right?

"If you are in a choppy period right now, the best way out is to make art. Art for the hell of it. Art for art's sake. Just for you."     -Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way

So there are many nights that right after bathing and bedding two active little kids, when all I want to do is collapse, I meander into my studio and look at my easel.  The next thing I know I've picked up a paintbrush and two hours have gone by and all is right in the world again.

I'm entering a new chapter in my life, just as my baby is entering a new chapter in hers.  New growth is a new beginning.

The Moment I Knew I Wanted to be an Artist...

I wanted to share with you a little video I made for the Moment I Knew project sponsored by the Huffington Post, in which I describe the beginning of my life in crime--er...art...

May in a nutshell: adventures in art fairs

I've leaped into the outdoor art show experience with my borrowed tent and display walls by getting my feet wet at our local farmers' market in Reston, VA.  The great part about this is that I can walk to the plaza from my house (though with all my stuff, I drive there, obviously, but I'm super close to home if I've managed to forget to bring an important item), plus the market is very popular with our community, and it's a fun and lively event with music and food and handmade items.  I'm also having a blast meeting new people and getting great feedback about my work.  People are truly responding and that feels awesome.  When I start making some sales, that will feel even better. ;)

So here are some shots from my booth for the first few weeks (May 5, 12, and 26.  I skipped the weekend of the 19th to go check out the big league artists from the wonderful Northern Virginia Fine Art Festival.  I plan to enter that next year when I have a few shows under my belt.

May 5
I started with a 'double L'-shaped display with a table in the back corner.

This year there are over 70 vendors so the arrangement was a bit crowded, and the coordinator wanted to move some of us to a different location to help the flow of traffic.

May 5

May 5, desk shot

May 12
The following week we all had to rearrange anyway for a festival going on, so I went to a U-shaped display.  I liked the openness of the space despite losing the intimate nature the former display provided.  And yes, that's my thumb taking over the shot...

May 12

May 26
This past weekend I landed in a different space near the coffee house at which my family and I love to hang out, but as it turned out, I would not get to call this space home either.  Hopefully my NEXT show I'll have a permanent home.  Keep your fingers crossed!  I moved the table to the front corner, which I think helped catch some eyes.  As the sun crept in I moved it on a diagonal.

I made my first sale this week, a charming little 6 x 6 inch abstract.  Hopefully this will be a start to something.  At least it nearly covered my show fee this week, so I'm feeling pretty good.

May 26

Onward and upward
I'm taking June 2 off to cheer on my husband at his first race (a half-marathon is his first race, not a 5K.  Do you believe him?  My first race was a 5K and I wanted to die afterward, LOL), but I'm back for the rest of the month, hopefully with a proper booth home.  I've decided that next time I will show fewer mid-range pieces, though, as most visitor comments favored larger work, and this will also help out the all the hanging and handling and stress on the art issues.  Plus I have some gorgeous new work to display, and I can't wait to show it off.

In other news...
I now accept PayPal payments through my website, morganjnorwood.com, and all major credit cards at my show or via offline sales and commissions.  Interested in a piece?  Contact me directly.

September is coming quickly, and I'm planning a show at the North Gate Vineyard in Purcelville, Virginia.  More information to come, so be sure to check back soon.

2012 Abstracts

2012 Abstracts, a set on Flickr.

Added a few more to the series. Enjoy!

Helllooooooo!

It's been too long since I last updated, but that also means I've been exceptionally busy.

Lots of new paintings coming out of my studio, and I'm frantically preparing for my first experience with an outdoor show.  I'm joining my local farmer's and crafts market this season (which starts THIS SATURDAY, yow!), and I'm both quite daunted and very excited about it.  Thanks to my awesomely talented (and very generous) friend Cheryl Parsons, I have a borrowed canopy and Graphics Display walls on which to hang lots of art.  Thanks to my husband, I also have my paperwork completed and I can also now accept credit card payments.  All that's left is the heavy lifting at 6am, and that will pretty much be all me.  Can't rely on the hubs for everything, now can I?  Someone's gotta stay home with the kids.  So grateful for our friend Peter, a fabulous wood carver, and our lovely neighbor, Paula, to pitch in on show days when they can. 

Practicing my display in the courtyard

Whew.

Another bit of good news is that my painting Bloom took an award recently at this year's Founder's exhibit, "Promises Made."  I used my prize money to purchase some art supplies I desperately needed, too.  Very timely!

Bloom, ©2012 Morgan Johnson Norwood.  24 x 24 inches, oil on canvas

And speaking of time, Scribble's naptime is already over, and it's time to get her up and go pick up her sister.  My nearly one-year old (when did that happen??) has been struggling with the pollen lately and is feeling under the weather today.  Doodle is healthy, at least.  Let's keep it that way.