Ready, Set ...

Newly Formatted Web Site: www.JillBanks.com

Today was like getting ready for the starting line. It's January. The start of a new year -- full of promise, unknowns, exciting adventures to come, paintings to be, new directions.  Next week classes begin -- with new and returning students, a new curriculum for my portrait class (you can still sign up and join us!).  My calendar is filling with deadlines, events, receptions.

Time to get my equipment and art materials (brushes, canvases, class stuff), art business (web site, blog, other) and thoughts (what will I be creating in 2013?) in order before the deluge.

I have literally hundreds of brushes -- many or most of which have been woefully neglected.  My MO is to create for as long as I can -- well zapped of the energy needed to clean up after myself.  Hence, the sad brushes.  Yet, they need to be in tiptop shape to work well.  To make intended strokes.  So, today was the first of many, many, many hours of brush cleaning ahead.  I'm reclaiming a substantial investment in them.

I'm also figuring out what to do with the many acres of canvases that are on hand.  For the last two years, I've been experimenting with different surfaces and have shifted to liking a smoother oil-primed linen surface that has been toned also with oils in a neutral gray.  Now, I just have to get the canvases I have to resemble the newly favored one.  It will help not to be constantly changing the texture and look -- plus the new surface fits with the paintings I imagine lying ahead.  "Garden Girl" was painted on the perfect surface. I want more of that.

And, today I changed the format on my web site.  Check it out and tell me what you think.  What I like about it is that it shows eight of the most recently added works to the site. (These aren't necessarily the most recently painted -- but are automatically chosen to appear there when I add images to my web site. It usually takes me awhile before adding work officially to the web.)  It also highlights upcoming events and makes it really easy for you to subscribe to my email newsletter (that's sent out every two months or so).  But, that's what I like.  What do you?

"Stepping Out" Selected for the FAV 15 for the December BoldBrush Painting Competition
BoldBrush is a monthly online painting competition and each month the Fine Art Views staff (the competition's sponsor) select their favorite 15% of the entries.  My painting "Stepping Out" was chosen for that honor.  This is independent of the official juror's selection of winners and finalists to come -- but it is still nice to be included. Go to the FAV 15 December 2012 of the BoldBrush contest to see it and the rest of the works selected at: http://faso.com/boldbrush/fav15/98.

Reception: Great Falls School of Art Student Exhibit
Come see and celebrate what the students have created this year during Friday's (January 11) reception, 7-9pm, held at the Artists' Atelier gallery, 1144 Walker Road, Suite G, Great Falls, VA 22066.

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

Events and Exhibits
Register now for Winter classes.  See my web site: www.JillBanks.com, Classes page for Still Life Painting in Oils and Draw, Paint, Sculpt the Portrait -- offered through the Great Falls School of Art, Great Falls, VA. Still Life is now full with a wait list. Sign up for the Portrait class -- it's going to be a great one!