April - Mystical Realm Art Show - Renton WA

Our Neck of the Woods © Barbara A. Freeman

Colored Pencil on Acid-free Film, 11" x 8"

The Mystical Realm Art Show at Happy Delusions in Renton, WA opens this week and will feature over 20 local artists. My fantasy tree, Our Neck of the Woods will be included! The theme of the show is

"based on the magical land where Unicorns roam free on the grassy plains with the Jackalope's. Fairies and Gnomes tend to the wild flowers and mushrooms of the forest where witches live in bone and candy houses. Trolls hide under bridges to torment travelers, troublesome spirits haunt rivers and lakes to lure passersby to a watery grave. Narwhals fight epic battles with ancient creatures in the deeps of the oceans and the castles in the sky float by without taking notice."

I think this work is a perfect fit! The show will be hung at Happy Delusions, 924 South 3rd Street in Renton, (map), from April 1st through April 29th. The Artists' Reception is Friday, April 1st, from 5-9 PM. It's sounds like a great time and a very interesting, fun show! I'm looking forward to it and hope to see you there! Remember to support your local artist!

Another New Wood Nymph Miniature - UNCLAD 2011 and Gallery North Miniature Show Updates

I've just finished another Fine Art Miniature in the "Wood Nymph" Series. This one has a rather dreamy look to it, hence the title, Dreamer. I'm really enjoying creating figures in my work. I would not have attempted this had it not been the challenge of the UNCLAD show. I am so glad I submitted work to it! As all my "Wood Nymph" Series, this was done on Dura-lar Matte film with graphite, then colored pencil on the back side of the film and finished with Golden Interference color glazes on the wings, front side.

Dreamer © Barbara A. Freeman

Graphite and Mixed Media on Film 3 1/2" x 3 1/2"

Speaking of UNCLAD, you can see Janie Olsen and your's truly, in front of our work. I was so happy to see that Sharing Secrets had a big red dot on it when I arrived at the Artists' Reception!!! I also sold my miniature, Gathering the Morning Dew. Gayle Picken, owner of Gallery by the Bay, said my audio really helped with the sale of the work. The buyer was curious about the process and in my audio I explained how it all came together. The Wood Nymph and the other two, You Too Shall Have Wings and Moonbathing, fine art miniatures in the gift shop are still available. Janie was also very happy because her beautiful work, Lost Heart, sold on Sunday!

UNCLAD 2011 Barbara Freeman

with her two works, Sharing Secrets and The Wood Nymph

UNCLAD 2011 Janie Olsen and I together with our work.

A couple of photos of the artists' reception at UNCLAD 2011. The show continues until March 27th, with more events so if you haven't seen it, there is still time, - click UNCLAD 2011 for more information. It's a great show you won't want to miss. I'm already thinking about what I want to create for next year!


Tonight is the Edmonds' Art Walk and Gallery North in downtown Edmonds will be participating. I have three works in their . I was at the gallery during the opening reception and met up with artist friends, Eden Hopkins and Janie Olsen who also had work in the show. It was a fun time and there were lots of visitors to the gallery, all the work is for sale. This evening would be a great reason to go see it during the Edmonds' Art Walk! The show continues through the end of the month.

Gallery North - Eden Hopkins, Janie Olsen and Barbara Freeman

My next show will be the Mystical Realm Show at Happy Delusions in Renton, WA. I'll be blogging about that one soon. Until then...thanks for taking the time to read about my work.

"You Too Shall Have Wings" Fine Art Miniature - from the Wood Nymph Series

This is the third of my miniatures in the series of "Wood Nymph" drawings that will be in the gift shop at Gallery by the Bay during the UNCLAD show. This one, You Too Shall Have Wings, is of a male wood nymph. I wanted to have the male figure represented and chose this posture with him looking forward. Once I had the figure worked out, I still wasn't sure what I wanted him to be looking at. Then one night when I couldn't sleep, I remembered how beautiful the wood nymph caterpillar was. I loved its beautiful orange and black markings. I knew then that I had the focus for my figure.

You Too Shall Have Wings © Barbara A. Freeman

Graphite and Mixed Media on Film 3 1/2" x 3 1/2"

You Too Shall Have Wings © Barbara A. Freeman

Graphite and Mixed Media on Film 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" Framed

Moonbathing © Barbara A. Freeman

Graphite and Mixed Media on Film 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" Framed

Gathering the Morning Dew © Barbara A. Freeman

Graphite and Mixed Media on Film 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" Framed

All three of the framed miniature works together.

Sharing Secrets © Barbara A. Freeman
Graphite and Mixed Media on Film, 6 1/2" x 9" Framed

The Wood Nymph © Barbara A. Freeman
Graphite and Mixed Media on Film, 8 1/2" x 8" Framed

Above are all five of my framed works that will be on exhibit at Gallery by the Bay during the UNCLAD show. There will be an audio of my work so be sure to bring your cell phones to hear about how I created them, they are number 50 and 51. There will also be a magnifying glass available to view all the fine detail in each work. All five have been created in the same way, graphite drawings on Dura-lar Matte film, with colored pencil on the back and Golden Interference color glazes on the wings. You can read about them on earlier blog posts by clicking on "Wood Nymph". There will also be catalogs available at the gallery of all the works in the show. The UNCLAD Exhibit will run from March 12th through March 26th. Gallery by the Bay is now open 7 days a week, 11 am to 5 pm every day. They are located in Stanwood, 8700 271st NW. For more information, phone: 360.629.4297 or Email: gayle@gallerybythebay.com.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my work. Mark your calendars, you are invited to experience the 10th Annual UNCLAD Art Show at Gallery by the Bay, featuring over 150 works of art by artists from across North America, a wonderful Gift Shop, a free Audio Tour, artist Demos, special Events, and all the energy, excitement and inspiration that comes when artists, friends and art enthusiasts gather to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of this unique community event. I hope you can make it! Support your local artist!

"Moonbathing" Fine Art Miniature - from the Wood Nymph Series

As promised, here is the second miniature in the series of "Wood Nymph" drawings. This is the final finished image below.  I will have it along with two other miniature works available in the gift shop at  Gallery by the Bay during the UNCLAD show, opening next week.

Moonbathing © Barbara A. Freeman

Graphite and Mixed Media on Film 3 1/2" x 3 1/2"

This is the the initial drawing where I worked out the position of the body, especially the hands and feet, always the hardest for me!  At this point I wasn't sure where she was going to be, I just liked the posture.

I then transferred her to the Dura-lar Matte film and as shown above, where I placed her on a shelf-like ridge next to an opening in a tree.  I started the drawing on the top left.

Here is my set up with my mangnifier and tray of graphite pencils and tools.

In this photo you can see I've gotten fairly far along.  I've done the figure, face and hands.  The best part for me is the tree textures and values.  I love doing that part, so meditative!

You can see the shelf I've placed her on.  I was using the idea of fungus that you often see growing on trees.  Then I added the steps leading inside, which seemed to be the right thing to do.  I wanted to keep the flow moving to create the rhythm and lead your eyes around the work.

This is what the back looks like when I add colored pencil to it.  I used it for the wings, body and sky and a few touches where the night light shows on the steps.

When I had the opening in the tree, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.  I had the choice of making it a view to a forest real or imaginary and then it just hit me that it would be great to have the moon and stars show through.  The circles in her wings repeat the shape of the moon and the colors set a mood.  I added glazes of Golden Interference Blue (fine) to the wings, the stars and the moon.  You can see I was excited about this one.  I am having so much fun with these imaginary creatures! I have one more finished miniature that I will be posting soon.  I will be delivering all my work for UNCLAD tomorrow and meeting up with my friend Janie Olsen.  Janie also has work, Lost Heart,  in the show. Her beautiful work has an interesting story behind it and you can hear Janie tell all about it with the audio tour by listening on your cell phone.  I also have audio for my works, Shared Secrets and The Wood Nymph, telling how I work on film.  I hope you can make it to the show!  It's going to be a great time.  Lots of fun things going on at the gallery and in the community.  Thank you for reading about my work and I hope you will return to see my next miniature in the wood nymph series.

Gallery North 2011 Annual Miniature & Small Painting Show

I have work in Gallery North's 2011 Annual Miniature & Small Painting Show. The show opened on March 1st and continues through March 31st. The Artists' Reception is this Sunday, March 6th from 1 to 4 PM. Gallery North is located at 508 Main Street in beautiful downtown Edmonds. They will also be open for the Edmonds Art Walk on Thursday, March 17th from 5 to 8pm.

My three works in this show are the small works painting, A Meditation on the Pacific Northwest, and two fine art miniatures, In Fair Condition and The Old Barn. The show was juried for awards which will be given at the reception on Sunday. I will be attending and I hope to see you there!

My next blog post will be my new miniature Moonbathing, which will include a few in progress photos. I am working on getting my photos downloaded and writting the post, so do keep checking back!