"Capturing the Glow" - Third in Landscape, at the 41st Annual International Miniature Art Society of Florida Show!

This weekend is the opening of the 41st Annual International Miniature Art Society of Florida Show. This year I was only able to send four entries but I'm happy to say, all four of them were juried in the show! The four works are, As Twilight Begins, Capturing the Glow, Nocturnal Flight, and Sanctuary.

Top Row: Sanctuary ©Barbara A. Freeman, M.A.A.

Graphite and Mixed Media on Claybord 3 5/8" x 3 5/8"

Nocturnal Flight ©Barbara A. Freeman, M.A.A. 

Graphite and Mixed Media on Claybord 3 5/8" x 3 5/8"

Bottom: As Twilight Begins © Barbara A. Freeman, M.A.A. 

Graphite and Mixed Media on Claybord 3 5/8" x 3 5/8"

Capturing the Glow © Barbara A. Freeman, M.A.A. 

Graphite and Mixed Media on Claybord 3 5/8" x 3 5/8"

I'm even happier to announce that my work, Capturing the Glow was awarded Third Place in Landscape!  This work received an Honorable Mention at the 81st Annual International Exhibition of Fine Art in Miniature at the Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society show in Washington DC!

Capturing the Glow © Barbara A. Freeman, M.A.A. 

Graphite and Mixed Media on Claybord 3 5/8" x 3 5/8"

This is such an honor because the artwork in this show is outstanding, created by some of the top artists of Fine Art Miniatures from around the world! Also, another thing that makes this great is that my work was done in graphite and had to compete with all the beautiful colored paintings!  Which means it wasn't competing with other work in the drawing category, but with other works in the landscape category!!! It's not easy having a mostly black and white work get any notice when it's competing with paintings!  So, that's why I am beside myself and doing the happy dance!  This show is the largest Miniature Art Show in the USA and there are hundreds of entries from across the globe!

The show takes place at the Dunedin Fine Art Center, 1143 Michigan Blvd., Dunedin, FL.  There is a Collectors Preview on Saturday, January 16th 10AM to 5PM with the Artists Reception following at 5:30.  The show runs from January 17th through February 7th, 2016!  This is a wonderful show and not to be missed! I was fortunate enough to have attended the show once and hope to be able to do it again, someday. Hope you can make it there!

2016 Miniature Art Society of Florida Exhibition (MASF)

Dunedin Fine Art Center (DFAC)
1143 Michigan Blvd, Dunedin, FL 34698; (727) 298-3322 

January 17th - February 7th 2016

Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday 10AM - 5PM

Thursday 10AM - 8PM

Friday 10AM - 4PM

Saturday 10AM - 5PM

Sunday 1 - 5PM

Closed Mondays and National Holidays

As always, thank you for taking the time to read about my work.  Happy 2016!

Third Place Drawing at MASF for "A Flash of Blue"

A Flash of Blue © Barbara A. Freeman

Graphite and Mixed Media on Film 2 3/4" x 3 3/4" 

Great news for me!  I received my letter today from MASF, Miniature Art Society of Florida, that all five of my works have been accepted for the 37th Annual International Miniature Art Show!  Not only that, but A Flash of Blue has taken 3rd Place in Drawing!  I sent my very first submissions to MASF back in 2008 and have gotten my work in every year.  This is my first award in this show, so I am thrilled!  It's the largest miniature art show in this country and there are hundreds of entries!  This particular drawing received 1st Place in Drawing in the 2010 Miniature Painter, Sculptors and Gravers Society in Washington D.C. which was an honor!   I guess the judges like this piece.  It makes me happy!

The other four works juried in this show are Early Autumn, From the Highlands,  I Got My Eye on You and Through the Portal.  The show opens on January 15th and runs until February 5th, 2012.  I attended the show last year and it was incredible seeing all the tiny masterpieces! If you get a chance to see the show, it is well worth it! For more information on the show and miniature art, visit the MASF website by clicking on their name. 

Miniature Art Society of Florida Exhibition will be held at the Dunedin Fine Art Center 

1143 Michigan Blvd, Dunedin, FL  Hours: Mon.-Sat.: 10AM-5PM; Sun.: 1-4PM

Thanks again for taking the time to read about my work.

Three New Miniature Paintings

As promised, my three latest miniatures, all done in acrylic, each on a different substrate.

From the Highlands  © Barbara A. Freeman
Acrylic on Illustration Board  2 1/8" x 2 1/8"

This cow is from a hearty breed of Highlands cattle.  He kindly posed for me while on the Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms, which takes place around the end of September, first of October.  The farm tours are self guided, so you can pick and choose which route and farms you want to visit. They are so much fun and a great way to learn about different farm animals, as well as veggies and fruits. One of our favorite stops is the apple orchard. I never knew there were so many varieties of apples!  We do the apple tasting, then purchase the ones we like, along with my favorite pears. They store well and we can enjoy them for weeks to come.  Another one of the many reasons I'm really starting to enjoy living here in the Pacific Northwest!

I Got My Eye on You  © Barbara A. Freeman
Acrylic on Illustration Board  2 5/8" x 2 5/8"

These pelicans, however, are not from the Pacific Northwest. This one along with the one below are from our trip to Dunedin, FL in January when I attended the Miniature Art Society of Florida's (MASF) annual miniature art show.  Gina, Wayne and I took a walk along the causeway where folks were fishing.  The pelicans were in various modes of relaxing and watching all of us! 

Catchin' Some Rays © Barbara A. Freeman
Acrylic on Gessobord  3 5/8" x 3 5/8"

This pelican was hunched down into his body, looking very relaxed, indeed! He was a bit older I think and trying to have his afternoon nap. We didn't seem to be bothering him at all, but I'm sure he wished we'd go away!  One of these pelican miniatures will probably be heading back to Florida for this year's MASF's show.

I have been busy with many different projects this summer.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to keep up with blogging as often as I'd like, nor have I been able to visit my blogging friends' sites and leave comments. Facebook has taken away from some of that time. It's really been difficult to stay connected to everyone and all the different events taking place. I'm sure many of you must be experiencing some of the same. Therefore, I thank all of you who do manage to take the time to read about my work and leave a comment. Your support is much appreciated!

*The faint red marks on the images are my watermark and do not appear on the actual work.

Gold and Glory, New Acrylic Painting in Miniature

This work is another recent miniature I've done in acrylic. It's a painting that I'll submit to one of the upcoming miniature art society shows*. It was inspired by the small country church, The Little White Church on the Hill.

I saw a peek of this church as we were driving by and had to stop to photograph it. I love our drives in the country, this one was on the Pioneer Hwy, close to the town of Silvana, WA. It's near the bridge overlooking the scenic Stillaguamish River Valley. The Little White Church on the Hill is an historic site completed in 1898 and is listed on the Washington State Register of Historic Places.

Gold and Glory ©Barbara A. Freeman

Acrylic on Art Board 2" x 2"

It was in late autumn and the trees had already lost most of their color. I didn't have as much information in the photograph to work with as I would have liked. I decided to give the tree colors a touch of autumn gold. It worked well with the whites, bathing them in a golden glow. I tried two different frame styles on it and I think the one above is the best choice, more delicate. It works well with the theme of Gold and Glory.


In the above photo you can see where I started the painting by covering the entire surface with a blue wash to tint the illustration board. Then I built up the layers with thin applications of color. On the upper right side next to the first tree you can see the color of the first blue layer. This helped me to lay in the whites of the church and the blue was a great contrast to the orange. I painted the roof and shadows with tints of blues and lavender. Actually, this piece is filled with complementary colors. I also used a bit of metallic gold paint on some of the trees. The bell in the tower was a real challenge, it was so tiny! I decided to mat it in a smaller format to create a more pleasing composition.

I selected this frame and the first one above as possibilities for the finished piece. I think the first one is the better choice, more delicate and the yellow gold is a better match. Sorry, as you can see the first gold framed work is not very straight. I'll post a better photo of the final matted and framed work at a later date. As always, thank you for taking the time to read about my work. Your comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

*I am in the process of putting the final touches on my work and will be shipping them out soon to the two Miniature Art Society Exhibits coming up, the Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society of Washington DC, (MPSGS) and the Miniature Art Society of Florida, (MASF).

Frustration and Perseverence!

Wow, what a week!!! I finally got my work shipped to the Miniature Art Society of Florida, (MASF) for their 35th Annual International Miniature Art Show. It was a really close call as the deadline is this Friday, tomorrow, October 9th! I thought I had the right sized mats cut for the two new works I just finished, (varnish still drying) but they didn't work out. So, I had to cut two new ones, and that is the worst for me!!! I don't know how it always looks so easy when you watch a demo, but I end up cutting so many before I finally get one that is without flaws! I got so frustrated, I thought about giving up and not doing this show. Seriously! It's not only one of THE two most important miniature art shows of the year in the USA, but it's the largest miniature art show of the year and I am a society member! MPSGS in DC, the oldest miniature art society in the USA, is the other most important show, (work shipped on time). I made myself take a deep breath, persevered and was able to get everything together and made a mad dash to the post office and shipped five works priority mail, 2 to 3 days on Tuesday! I love usps online shipping and printing! Thanks to Wayne for all his help!

I'll be posting the two new works as soon as the images are sized and my copyright put on them. The one that I recently posted as a work in progress is the new Italian landscape I submitted. The other new one I submitted is done on film with graphite and acrylic. It's an image of trees and a crow with a key! It was inspired from the larger graphite on film, Finding Time. I love how one work can send your mind into other possibilities for future works. Never did I think I would be watching crows as a subject in my work, but now I see crows everywhere, (course they are everywhere!). I'm hoping to post these images soon. I told that to my "webmaster" and he just smiled at me, so we'll see. SOON!

Update

A quick note to say I have been busy with finishing work, plus matting and framing. My deadline for MASF is so close!! I will be back to blogging once this is done, so please come again!

Yesterday, however, we did take a much needed day off to go to the Festival of Family Farms Tour in Skagit Co. and what a beautiful day! We visited several wonderful farms with, sheep, alpacas, and Highland cattle. In the wilds we spotted an elk herd off in the distance, and eagles soaring overhead! It was a breath of freshness and beauty that I sorely miss! We didn't want to come home.

Today it's back to my studio to work. I hope to be back to regular blogging by the middle of the week. Meanwhile, I hope your days are filled with health and beauty!

Painting, Deadlines, & Shows

I've been chained in my studio trying to get work done for the deadlines fast approaching! Right now I am working on a painting on polymin to submit to MASF. That deadline is on October 9th, so that means the work needs to be out the door by the 5th or 6th, which is really close! The new work is another from my miniature Italian landscape series. I also just finished one (also an Italian landscape) on gessobord that is ready for the isolation coat and varnish. Besides those two, I also have a graphite on film piece that is in the works, but not quite finished. So you see, not much time for blogging, unfortunately. I also miss reading and seeing all the new work my blogger friends are doing. I know you all are doing wonderful work and can't wait to see them!

A reminder, this Friday is the Artists and Patrons Preview from 7 to 9pm with an Awards Ceremony at 7:30 at the Mountlake Terrace Show. I'll be attending.

Also, I've been asked to participate in a show with small works and miniatures at a local community college. More details on that later, so stay tuned.

I also have a few photos for the Elder Street Gallery, It's a Small World Exhibit in Houston and what my daughter thought of the show! (She loved it!) She sent them in an email, so I'll be sorting them and posting real soon.

Prospectuses

Wow, can you believe it's that time already! I just downloaded the prospectuses for the two Miniature Art Society shows, MASF (Miniature Art Society of Florida) and MPSGS, (Miniature Painters, Sculptors, & Gravers Society, Washington, DC) and put the deadline dates on my google calendar.... already in to 2010! If you are a miniature artist, or would like to find out about the societies and their shows, their websites are on the lower right hand side of this page. Just click on the names. You can also download the prospectus from their websites and see some of the winners from last year. Now I gotta get off this computer and get busy! Happy painting everybody!