Studio Tour Day One

"Stepping Out," oil, 30"h x 24"w off to their new home.

The first day of the Great Falls Studio Tour was filled with great conversations and good cheer. People at Studio Tour are regularly smiling from ear to ear -- enjoying all the art, talking art, peering at palettes, asking questions, hunting for pieces to take home.

At 10:00am (opening time), the first purchase was made -- "Stepping Out" -- my painting of Belgian workhorses that has been a universal favorite since I created it earlier this year. Nancy, its purchaser, had seen "Stepping Out" last week at MPA Artfest ... and wanted it then. Her goal was to snatch it up before anyone else could come for it.

I'll really miss this one, but could tell it was going to a good home. I helped load it into Nancy's SUV which was all ready to accept it with one seat down and a cushion to lay it on.

This pair of horses will be treated with great care.

The Delayed Proposal
I didn't ask this often enough but for some of the unfamiliar -- or less familiar -- faces, I'd inquire whether this was their first Studio Tour. One young couple told me it was their second but that they'd skipped a few years. It turns out that they'd visited four years ago when the now-husband had planned an outing to Great Falls Park to propose marriage. With our Studio Tour signs paving the path to their destination, the now-wife took the detour -- studio to studio. That plan was foiled and it took him another two weeks to plot another proposal opportunity which happened at the top of a mountain. They just celebrated their third wedding anniversary.

"Cherries and Green Figs," oil, 8"h x 10"w, ©Jill Banks 2012

Purchase Two
"Cherries and Green Figs" also will be heading off to a nice, new home -- an artist's home -- but it's still hung in my space with big (well, maybe medium-sized) red dot on it. This painting was one metamorphized from a demo given to the Great Falls Seniors Association -- and its purchaser loved it from the first time I posted it (here on my blog).

Last Weekend's Purchase
At Artfest, "Sunset in NYC" -- my painting from the hotel room shower -- was purchased, and Randy and I installed it over the mantel in its new home. I swear the mantel was made for it.

"Sunset in NYC" purchased at Artfest last weekend

A lot of my favorite paintings have been flying from the coop all year. Funny how that is.


Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project
Email
Phone: 703.403.7435

Events and Exhibits
Saturday and Sunday, October 20&21, Great Falls Annual Studio Tour, 10am-5pm, visit artists in their studios throughout Great Falls on a self-guided tour. I’ll be at the Artists’ Atelier, 1144 Walker Road, Suite G, Great Falls, VA 22066. Get more info on the Tour at www.GreatFallsStudios.com.

October 2 through November 30, Greenberry's Coffee & Tea, 6839 Redmond Drive, McLean, VA. Solo show of seven oil paintings celebrating coffee, friends and family and food.

More October and November events are listed on my web site: www.JillBanks.com

There are a LOT!