Catching Up ... Rain and Receptions

I'm ready to catch my breath.

The Friday night Closing and Awards reception at the Salmagundi Club was really fantastic. I had a smile on my face the whole night ... except perhaps when husband Randy was kindly trying to capture my photo for this blog. I am so uncomfortable, weird, squirmy, etc. whenever a camera comes around. What a nerd. I shouldn't include it here ... but maybe the shame of it will teach me to try harder to be a better subject next time. Maybe?

The artwork in the show was gorgeous. (The show's over ... but I'm sure all the art continues to be gorgeous.) I know, by reputation and admiration -- not personally, many of the artists accepted into the exhibit. It felt great to have my work hanging up on the wall among such distinguished company. Plus being one of the award winners, to boot! The jurors must have had a hard time choosing!

The reception was packed. Salmagundi Club President Claudia Seymour had a hard time holding the attention of a chattering crowd ... but managed to get through it. Fun music (great trio), great time getting to know some of the other artists, just a happy few hours.

Elizabeth Pollie, an artist I've been following through Raymar and Fine Art Views Bold Brush online competitions, won Best in Show there for her painting "Grand Promenade." To the left is my snapshot of it -- her work. The photo's not great but the painting is. See more of her animal paintings, and horse and carriages on Elizabeth Pollie's web site: www.elizabethpollie.com/animals.html.

Something else I appreciated about the evening is that people really seemed to have connected ... and noticed ... my painting. It was hanging fairly low on the wall, so hard to see in a crowded room, but every time someone asked me which work was mine, it was clear they had seen and liked/loved it. Pretty good, right?

 I've included a couple of photos of other paintings from the show... figuring you'll be just as impressed as I was. Congrats to all!

One last note on Friday night. Randy and I went out to dinner at this very pleasant Italian restaurant ... and with the hot night decided to eat inside rather than on the sidewalk. Inside just meant there was a roof overhead rather than an awning since the whole restaurant was open to the outside. Mid-meal, the skies opened up and it poured. Looking out at sheets of rain, car lights blurred, moving umbrellas and puddles ... and back to people engaged in lively conversation, comfortable with friends and family ... may have just been the true highlight of that night. It's another image -- memory -- burned in my brain. You know what that means? Someday, a painting it will be.

I thought this post would also be about yesterday's reception at the Old Brogue for my "Painting the Town" show. Later. I need to go paint.

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