"Pumpkin Patch" Painting in Progress ... and Lots of Art Events

First, lots of special art happenings are well, happening in October ... and I want all the hard work organizing, thinking, etc. to pay off by seeing lots of people there.

So, this week...
Friday, October 2, 7-9pn
First Friday at the Artists' Atelier (the studio I share with 15 other artists)
1144 Walker Road, Suites D&G, Great Falls, VA
We're hanging a new show in the gallery on Wednesday ... so it will be fresh and new.

Sunday, October 4, 10am-5pm
MPA Artfest
An outdoor juried art festival
McLean Central Park (corner of Old Dominion Drive and Route 123 - Dolley Madison Blvd.)
McLean, VA
I'll be in booth #25 with a mix of classical drawings and paintings. Hopefully, I'll post photos later of the shape my studio is in at the moment with piles of paintings and drawings I'll be choosing from for this event. It's an interesting process for someone who has to agonize over every decision.
I really, really hope you can come to this one.
(This event happens rain or shine -- it just moves indoors to 1234 Ingleside Drive, McLean, VA if it rains.) Get more info at www.mpaart.org.
Mastercard and Visa accepted.

Also in October:
I'll be participating in the 6th Annual Great Falls Art Studios Tour
Saturday & Sunday
October 17-18
10am-5pm, rain or shine
45 artists will be talking and creating art in our studios all around town. More on that later ... but be sure to register for the art bucks program -- a $2000 giveaway of forty $50 art bucks to be spent on the tour. Register and get more info at www.greatfallsstudios.com.

I came up with a tagline for a brochure that I'm pulling together for the Artists' Atelier. "Be Original. Buy Original." What do you think?

So "Pumpkin Patch" in progress is a painting I worked on last Tuesday -- one of the still lifes I set up for my class. It needs a good bit of work, but other pieces have needed me this week. All the setups are very calm, with toned down color, as an exploration of color subtleties. One set-up is of a bowl of eggs inspired by a beautiful painting of ... you guessed it ... a bowl of eggs that a Dutch contemporary painter created. His name is Henk Helmantel. Here's his website. Definitely quiet, maybe a little dark, but beautifully painted work.

One more quick note. I updated my website with a links page. I hope it's useful.

"Pumpkin Patch" work in progress, 24"h x 18"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2009.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435