"Fresh Strawberries" from Rittenhouse Square

"Fresh Strawberries," (Rittenhouse Square Market), oil, 12"h x 16"w, ©2016 Jill Banks

The Farmer's Market became my neighbors during the Rittenhouse Square Spring Original Art Show on Saturday, June 4 ... the same day I was set to give a short (1 hour) painting demonstration. With just a small space separating the strawberries and rhubarb from my tent and plenty of people to fill that, I set up as close to the corner of my booth as possible and peeked down the street. "Fresh Strawberries" is the finished version of that start ... a complicated scene and fairly large canvas for such a short period of painting time ... thus the follow-up in my studio.

"Bohdi," oil, 10"h x 8"w, ©2016 Jill Banks. Private collection.

"Fresh Strawberries" wasn't the only painting to make it on and off my easel these past few days. I also managed to capture one of two Australian Shepherds who resided with our weekend's host and hostess.  The photo reflects some very fresh paint -- so it is not great -- but hope you get the idea, anyway. What fun  "Bohdi" was to paint!

Thanks for reading ... and to all of you who visited the Rittenhouse Square Art Show in Philadelphia, the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club at the Salmagundi in NYC or the ArtFest on the Green in Great Falls, VA! Hope you enjoyed!!!!

Jill

Phone: 703.403.7435

Email: jill@jillbanks.com
Web: www.JillBanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com

EVENTS

May through December:  First Friday Art Walk, 6-9pm, Artists' Atelier, 756 Walker Road, Great Falls, VA

May 22-June 3: Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club's Member Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club in NYC, Salmagundi Club, NYC. "Seaside Sunset" awarded BEST IN SHOW -- the Board of Directors Award.
June 3-5: Rittenhouse Square 89th Annual Spring Original Art Show, Philadelphia, PA. Official arts demonstrator: Saturday, June 4, 1pm. Free painting demonstration.

July 9-10: Wickford Fine Art Festival, Wickford Historic Village in North Kingstowne, RI.

September 24-25: Armonk 55th Annual Outdoor Art Show, Armonk, NY

 

"Lots of Peppers" Today

"Lots of Peppers," oil on linen, 24"h x 36"w, copyright Jill Banks 2011

It's finished ... but needs a signature.

For this entire painting, I've been covered in paint. I squeezed out huge piles of paint ... my entire palette and then submersed myself. Paint in hair. Red paint on my face. You get the picture.

I had fun with this one ... minus maybe the tedium of painting a checkered tablecloth. (I love the result.) The colors and textures of peppers are right up my alley. I believe that the first oil painting I ever sold was of peppers. And, plenty of them have popped into many of my still life paintings over the years. Loved them then, too. The colors are irresistable.

See more of my market series paintings on my web site. 

I met with Terri Parent today ... to discuss if (and what) I would want to teach this Summer. (I was thinking of taking the Summer off.) But, I'd love to hear from any Washington DC local folks what you might be interested in learning and when.

I'll come up with some possibilities and ask you to weigh in. Or suggest your own.

Time to rest.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project: www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project.html
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

Anjanette Murphy is Face #38 Today... Plus Peppers Painting

"Anjanette Murphy: Face #38", oil, 12"h x 12"w, copyright Jill Banks 2011

Anjanette Murphy came to sit for me today to become Face #38 ... after my portrait class. I did work on this some after our sitting ... but enjoyed our time spent together.

Anj is embarking on a new life ... and we talked about house renovations, kids, art (Anj is a painter), thoughts about art in Great Falls, my project, etc. She has a lot going on, many recent changes, but she manages to keep her sight on the big picture. She's enjoying being happy and knows things will fall into place in due time.

I think she enjoyed having time not running from one place to the next. Time to sit is pretty precious.

That sounds pretty good to me, too.

Find out more about my 100 Faces in 100 Days Project on earlier posts and on my web site, on the 100 Faces project page.

Picking "Pick-a-Peck Peppers" Back Up

"Pick-a-Peck Peppers" work in progress, oil, 24"h x 36"w, Jill Banks

Saturday I returned to this market painting after a many faces hiatus. I'm not done ... as I said in a previous post ... but felt like showing you a glimpse of something else. It's almost impossible for me to fit in painting other subjects on top of a "face" a day ... but I'll show them when the chance pops up.

I have created many paintings in my market series ... and all of them reside in new homes as of December 2010 ... so this is the latest, only available, and still not done ... one of these. I REALLY like it.

To see more of those market paintings, see my web site: www.JillBanks.com.

It will be awhile before I get back to it ... again ... but it will be fun when I do! Incredible colors!

Time for bed ... again.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project: www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project.html
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

"Farmer's Market" Painting Finished

Today I was experiencing just how creative the creative process is. I wasn't happy with a previous stab at finishing this painting I started a few weeks (or month) ago at the Great Falls Farmer's Market ... so I performed all sorts of changes today to get to what you see here. People came and went. (On the canvas.) Plans developed. More vibrant color and thick paint took over. And, voila! Now I'm happy.

I'm not sure who all the characters are in the painting ... but one ... second person from the left in jeans carrying a bag ... is Laura Nichols. Laura's the fearless leader of Great Falls Studios, a consortium of now ninety artist members who live or work in Great Falls, VA. Great Falls Studios has to be the most effective arts organization (or any community organization) on the planet. Working together, they sponsor exhibits, a highly successful Studio Tour (annually in October), social gatherings, arrange photo shoots for members' arts, developed a terrific web site, keep members informed of exhibit opportunities, sponsor members-only studio tours, arrange two art events each year, gain amazing publicity for the group, and on and on. It's through Great Falls Studios that I first started exhibiting ... learning "the ropes" from other artists in the group. I served on the board for three years as an Exhibit/Show chairman ... another chance to learn new skills while enjoying the comraderie of a great group of artists.

Back to the "Farmer's Market" painting ... it will be one of the paintings exhibited next month (July 2010) in my solo show "Painting the Town" at the Old Brogue Irish Pub in Great Falls, VA. A reception is scheduled for Sunday, July 25, 2 to 5pm. See a preview (sort of... still thinking and painting) of that show on my web site.

This coming Saturday, June 12, join me for a free drawing session with a model, 2:30-4:30 at the Great Falls School of Art (where I teach). I think I'm the artist in charge. What's better than a free drawing session? Address: 1144 Walker Road, Suite D, Great Falls, VA 22066. And, we have open hours at the Artists' Atelier, same address, upstairs from the school in Suite G ... on Saturday, from noon-4pm. Hopefully, I'm not in charge of that.

I am conducting a series of single-day workshops called "Painting (and Sketching) the Town." Each day we will pick a different location ... maybe Reston, Great Falls, Herndon, Vienna, etc. to paint or sketch. I'll post each day's location on my web site. I hope you sign up and come paint (or draw) with me! The workshops are being held: Saturday, July 17 (10am-5pm), Sunday, July 18 (10am-5pm), Monday, July 19 (10am-5pm), Sunday, August 15 (10am-4:30pm) and Monday, August 16 (10am-4:30pm). Each single day's workshop is $95. You can sign up for one or as many as you like. Look at my web site for more info.

I'm also teaching a Still Life in Oils Workshop, Tuesday through Thursday, August 3-5, 10:00am-5:00pm each day. Again, look at my web site for more particulars.

"Farmer's Market", oil on Raymar panel, 8"h x 10"w, copyright Jill Banks 2010.

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