Impressions of Provence

My most recent show was titled "Impressions of Provence"  where I slightly manipulated the photos to give a painterly look.  Here is a favorite from that show - Provence Market!  I was so excited to win a first place award for this photo in a "Best of 2015" competition with members of my photography group.

Beaches Art Fest!

On Saturday, October 3, I will be setting up my tent for an art festival in Jacksonville Beach. This is the Beaches Art Fest, and it is the second year for this show.  It is a wonderful one day show, with about 70 artists participating!  The organizer of the show, Jolyn Johnson, is a pro!  My tent will be directly in front of the Beaches History Museum -- so hope you will be able to come out and say Hello!

Spring Into Summer!

I hope you all have a wonderful summer!

Outdoor and Indoor Art Shows

Outdoor Show:
A few days ago, I set up my tent for a juried outdoor art show, Arts in the Park! 2015.  Everyone involved with the show had been checking on the weather - which is important for an outdoor show!  The day dawned - bright and sunny - and at 7:30, I joined other artists in setting up my tent at the beautiful Johansen Park.  The show started at 10 am with lots of visitors -  and they kept coming until about 2 PM, when the rain started!  The rain started slowly, but then we all received the news that there were bad storms on the way. So, we were told that it would be a good idea to start packing up.  A lot of artists packed up in a hurry and left.  It seems to take me longer than most to organize my photographs, protect them from the weather, and then pack them up.  So we zipped all the sides of the tent closed, and proceeded to wait out the storm.  We were fortunate that we were not blown away or really flooded!  During lulls in the storms, we packed up.  As we drove away, we noticed how wet and soggy the park had become.  My spot at the corner had been a great one - it was higher than most of the spots in the park.

Indoor Show:
One of the groups I belong to is the Jacksonville Coalition for the Visual Arts.  Several times a year there will be a juried show and members may submit two or three pieces of their work to be juried.  Recently, I submitted two of my photographs for their juried Spring show.  I was happy to find out that both of my photos were accepted - and even better, this one, Lavender Cart, won a second place award!  This show is continuing until May 7.  It is being held at Egret Hall at Cypress Village, near the Mayo Clinic.

Having Fun With My Photos

I have been having a lot of fun with my photos!  I always have fun taking photos, but I have never spent much time playing around with them - or using any special effects.  To me, trying to get the different effects that I was thinking about - and could see in my mind - involved countless hours trying to get that same effect using PhotoShop.  I took a class from a graphic artist/designer, who helped me "simplify" exactly what I was trying to do.  She helped me have "fun" working with my photos!  These three photos were taken in the South of France and are in the "Local Exposure" Show at Gallery 725.  A friend of mine calls this look the "painterly" look.

This Fashion Wall was taken in Eze.

This Almost Empty Wall was taken in Riez.

This Graffiti Wall was taken in Cotignac.

Swimming Hole

Another of my other photographs at the Cultural Center in Ponte Vedra is a photo I took last July when I was in France.  I was spending some time in the south of France, and one of my favorite places to visit is the small town of Cassis, which is on the Mediterranean Sea.  There are limestone cliffs, called Calanques, that go straight into the Mediterranean Sea there.  It is always fun to take a boat ride around to see these Calanques from the sea.  So, I had a great boat ride around three Calanques - a ride that lasted about an hour and a half!  Many visitors to the Calanques take small boat rides, or hike the trails, to be able to go swimming in the water of these Calanques.

Many Steps

It is exciting to be a part of the Artist Member Exhibition at the Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra.  This is a juried show called "Celebrate Art 2015" beginning Friday, January 9 and running until February 1.  One of my photos in the show is "Many Steps" - taken as I was walking on the Great Wall in China.