The Imaginary Land of "Figs and Cherries" and the Brandywine River Museum

"Figs and Cherries," oil on Raymar panel, 8"h x 10"w,

After a long hiatus (almost a week?), I'm finally back with a blog post. My head is full of many posts to be -- since those absent days were filled with a trip to Wayne, PA (the exhibit for Wayne Plein Air ended), New Hope, PA (to visit Howard Cooperman's Bucks County Gallery and to see the town), and a tour of the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford -- the source of a ridiculous amount of inspiration. In fact, I can't get it out of my head. Things could definitely be worse.

You know, I go against advice. My blog is never about one thing. It travels in the direction of the next thought. And the next one after that. I'm supposed to stick with a topic.

Figs and Cherries

Reuse and recycle. "Figs and Cherries" were once (a few weeks ago) a different painting -- the demo done for the Great Falls Senior Citizens group.  For the demo, I wanted to show the process of painting, how developing a painting worked. Mission was accomplished but the subject, composition, etc. held no appeal. Today, I wanted to end up with an 8"x10" finished painting (there's a reason) and decided to bring that start to new life. Trader Joe's brought green figs (a great substitute for a lime) and I spent a long time in the aisle deciding between the darker and the more red/orange cherry varieties.

Brandywine River Museum

You're going to be hearing about this for awhile. This is an artist's museum, full of inspiration and writings, messages from the curators that are incredibly personal if art is your chosen path and daily life. The museum collection is surprisingly rich, yet concentrated on the Wyeth art dynasty, grandfather and illustration giant N.C. Wyeth, father Andrew Wyeth (a hero of my late uncle's who I would have loved to have walked with through the museum) and son Jamie Wyeth -- who I'm convinced is a kindred spirit.

Becoming an artist has gone hand in hand with learning about art & art "movements" -- current and past. While art studio classes were part of my schedule in school, I never enrolled in a single art history lesson. Now, I can't get enough.

You keep learning, and everything starts coming together with common threads. A local collector is a specialist in Illustration Art, an area many of us relate to with Saturday Evening Post covers a la Norman Rockwell. Private tours of his fantastic collection have taught me a lot -- the names, the leaders, the beauty in this particular art form. N.C. Wyeth trained a whole school of the best and the Brandywine River Museum was full of his work (the oil paintings on which the illustration plates for Treasure Island were based) and those of his students.

On many, the information plates included the caption for the illustration. I wondered. What is the caption for my "Figs and Cherries?"

Exhibits and Events

August, Visiting Resident Studio Artist, Torpedo Factory, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria, VA, Studio #333

August 1-10, "Quiet" in Salmagundi Club's Annual Photography and Graphics Exhibition held at Denise Bibro Fine Art, Chelsea, NYC.

Sunday, October 14, MPA Artfest Outdoor Juried Arts Festival, McLean Central Park, McLean, VA

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

Web: www.jillbanks.com
 Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 1 (faces 1-54): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project.html
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 2 (faces 55-100):
www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project_2.html
Email

"Lemons and Black Figs" Painting Today

"Lemons and Black Figs," oil, 10"h x 8"w, ©Jill Banks 2011

"Lemons and Black Figs" was going to be my second "practice" for tonight's demo. Since that demo was canceled, (probably postponed until next week, hopefully on a drier day) it turned into my painting of the day. I'd gone to Trader Joe's to pick up lunch and painting objects, intent on finding fruit or veggies with a distinct shape ... versus distinctly round onions. Thus ... lemons and figs ... chosen too for their complementary colors. I bought the funkiest shaped lemons I could get, and then painted this view of them ... where you can't tell just how strange they are. Perhaps they'll appear again, more obviously bumpy.

All day it was hard to ignore the rain. I painted in the classroom instead of the Atelier ... since my "Clown Doll and Kisses" is taking up the room I have for a still life setup. She wasn't ready to move. I was painting next to a big picture window and the rain poured ... as hard as it possibly could ... all afternoon long.

I've done many (as in lots!) of painting of lemons. Check out some in the still life section of my site's gallery page. This, however, marks the first time painting figs. I can't wait to do more!

Classes Start Next Week

There's one spot left in my Still Life class that starts next Tuesday (the Portrait class is full).  Check out more info on the Classes page on my web site and email me if you are interested in registering.

"Lemon Yellow,"is on view at Market Cellars in the Reston Town Center

Events
August 1 - September 21: "100 Faces in 100 Days" on exhibit at the Artists' Atelier, 1144 Walker Road, Great Falls, VA. Open hours: Fridays and Saturdays, Noon-4pm.

Canceled Due to Weather: Thursday, September 8, 7:30pm: Demo for the Vienna Arts Society, Vienna, VA. Vienna Arts Center, 115 Pleasant Street NW, Vienna, VA.

My Still Life and Portrait Painting & Drawing One spot left in my Still Life class. See the Classes page on my web site for more information on those classes. Send me an email if you would like to receive notification of other class/workshop offerings -- what kind of courses you would be interested in, days of the week and times.

Sunday, October 2, 10am-5pm: MPA McLean Artfest, juried outdoor arts festival, McLean Community Park, McLean, VA

Saturday and Sunday, October 15&16, 10am-5pm: Great Falls Annual Studio Tour. Major weekend long event with 47 artists from Great Falls Studios participating in a self-guided tour. I'll be in the Artists' Atelier, the studio I share with 14 other artists at 1144 Walker Road, Suite G, Great Falls. Last year, the tour drew 7200+ visitors from throughout the DC area. Don't miss it!



October 20-22, Out & About Norfolk 2011: Juried Plein Air Event and Wet Paint Sale. I'll be spending three days in Norfolk for this 5th Annual Plein Air Competition ... painting away. I'm excited!

To read more about the 100 Faces in 100 Days project on my web site (www.jillbanks.com), go to the 100 Faces Project Pages 1 and 2 where you can see all 100 of my volunteers. Click on the paintings, and go to my blog post for that person's sitting.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 1 (faces 1-54): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project.html
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 2 (faces 55-100): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project_2.html
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435