Asheville

I spent this past weekend in Asheville, NC teaching a two-day version of my Luminous Liquid Layers workshop at 310 ART in the River Arts District. I love Asheville, and I remember a time when there was no River Arts District, just a single building with the Wedge Brewery and a few artists spaces, studios, and galleries. Now it's a bustling art mecca with hundreds of artists, and an eclectic collection of galleries, stores, and restaurants. It's such a great place for artists and art lovers.

I feel very fortunate that I was able to teach in this exciting and creative place.

I had eight enthusiastic students who dove into the process of experimenting with liquid acrylics and building up layers of paint and collage. I've taught this class before, but only as a one-day class, so it was wonderful to go more in depth with the process and talk about developing images and incorporating mixed media like collage and image transfers.

I am always amazed at what the students are able to come up with, and it's always great to see their creativity emerge. I'd love to go back and teach more workshops in and around Asheville, so I'm hoping to set something up in the future.

But of course a visit to Asheville would not be complete without a stop at French Broad Chocolates. I had to bring home some of their yummy truffles for my wife!

A big thank you goes out to Fleta Monaghan, the owner of 310 ART for the opportunity to teach at her space, and heartfelt gratitude goes out to good friend and artist Erin Keane for advocating for me to teach there. Erin is an amazing encaustic and book artist and a member of the 310 ART gallery. She's also a wonderful teacher, so make certain to take one of her classes at 310 ART or elsewhere.

Larkin Arts

I was fortunate this weekend to spend a full day teaching my Luminous Liquid Layers at Larkin Arts in Harrisonburg, VA. I haven't spent much time in Harrisonburg since David graduated from the MFA program at James Madison University, so it was nice to go back. Larkin Arts is an cool spot right in the heart of the city, and it's an all-in-one stop for the arts. They sell art supplies, have a gallery, rent out studios to artists, and offer classroom space for workshops.

There were only three students in the class, so we were able to spread out as we worked. Using Golden High Flow Acrylic, we built layers, textures, and patterns, and spent six solid hours playing with the paint.

The process was one of discovery, and I encouraged the students to not have a preconceived idea of what they were painting. Allowing the painting to develop through cultivating the accidental and the unpredictable always leads to creative surprises that you can't get through meticulous planning.

I want to thank Valerie Smith, owner of Larkin Arts, for hosting me and the students as we made a creative mess, and I hope to go back and offer more workshops in such a eclectic space.

If you missed out on this workshop, I'll be offering a more in-depth Luminous Liquid Layers workshop at 310 Art in Asheville, NC in May.

Art Exhibit: Cascades Library

Today, I was fortunate to hang twenty-four pieces at the Cascades Library in Cascades, VA. It's a nice large space, and if I do say so, I think my work looks pretty great in the space.

Much of the work was from the past year, but a couple of pieces were from 2007 a few from other recent years. Although my work has undergone some stylistic changes over the past nine years, the bright colors tie everything together quite nicely.

If you're in the area, make certain to to stop by and check it out. The work will be hanging throughout January and February. Hanging an exhibit is a great way to kick of the new year.

This Is Not A Resolution

Happy New Year! It's hard to fathom that another year is done, and a new one has begun. 2016 has come and gone so quickly for me, and it has been filled with so much. But I'll save those reflections for another day. Instead I have had a thought, an inkling to try something.

Now this is not a resolution! The new year sees many people making these yearly promises only to have them fall to the wayside. They resolve to lose weight, save money, to make all of these life altering changes, but I've never been a resolution kind of guy. The new year is a symbol of renewal, and I've always had notions and ambitions for the new year. This year is no different. I want to try something. I feel like over the past couple of years that I have lost touch with my visual journal practice. When I got into the journal eighteen years ago, it changed my life, and I used it on almost a daily basis. Now that I have made a major change in my life, I want to engage in the journal like I did those many years ago. So, I'm going to try to work in my journal everyday for as long as I can, and post some of that work each day here on the blog and on social media.

I started my current journal a couple of months ago. I've done some work over those months, and I have worked on a dozen or so pages. Some are rather developed, and others not so much. I just have not engaged the journal in a way that I would like. So, today I dove into working with some watercolor on quite a few pages. I added to pages that I have already begun, like the spread at the top, and I have used watercolor as the beginning of other pages. I don't know how many pages I actually worked on, but these three spreads are just a few.

Look for more tomorrow!

The Best Gifts are from the heART!

If you're looking for unique, one-of-a-kind gifts for the upcoming holidays, I have a number things in the JFJ Big Cartel Shop. Although most of my larger work is on display in Lexington, VA at Gladiola Girls, I have quite a few smaller paintings and mixed media pieces in the shop, including the radiating design above, and the monster painting below.

I also have some polymer clay monster sculptures and monster pendants.

And for the teacher in your life, there are digital downloads!

Finally, I have an online workshop that I launched last year!

Check out all of my goodies, and act fast so things can ship in time for Christmas!

Mandalas

I've been attracted to mandalas lately. Well, I guess that I have been attracted to them for quite some time. I've always seen my radiating designs as mandalas of sorts, but it hasn't been until now that I have pursued making more formal mandalas. 

It wasn't until I saw the movie Doctor Strange that I decided to explore mandalas of my own. There was something intriguing in the way mandala designs were used within the movie. I've never read the comic books, so I don't know if these sacred circles were part of their visual vocabulary. But I was fascinated by the visual impact in the movie, and I had to start making my own. I didn't copy the ones from the movie, and there are lots of mandala images, resources, and tutorials on the web. But I needed to find my own way.

I grabbed a compass, a ruler, pencil, eraser, and my Faber-Castell Pitt Pens, and began exploring. I'm in the initial stages now of experimenting, and I don't know where this is leading. But that is the fun and excitement of art. An idea takes root, and through cultivation, you get to see it grow and change and bloom.

Have you created mandalas? What drew you to them? What insight did you take away from making them?

Art and Soul Portland 2017

I just uploaded a fun little video to promote our spring workshops at Art and Soul in Portland the weekend of April 8 and 9, 2017.

For more info and to register check out the Art and Soul website.

If you can't make Portland, check out our Events page to see our schedule of events, appearances, and other workshops for the Spring.

Artwork in Lexington, VA

I spent a beautiful day yesterday driving to Lexington, VA to hang up sixteen pieces of art at Gladiola Girls at 34 S. Main Street. Although the shop sells mostly women's clothing, they do sell some homewares and other miscellaneous accessories, and there was ample wall space for my pieces.

I took primarily newer work, much of it completed in the past four or five months, but I also took a couple of my larger, older Excavation pieces to hang.

I might be biased, but I think that my art complements the contents of the shop quite nicely. If you're in the Lexington, VA area, make certain to stop by and check out my work. It'll be up for all of November, and original artwork makes for the best presents for the holidays!

Yard and Art Sale!

We're having a Yard and Art Sale this Saturday, October 29, at my home studio in Purcellville, VA from 8AM to 3PM. Come on out to find cheap household items and awesome art! Hope to see you there!

Art at the Mill

Photo from the Clarke County Historical Association

I am pleased to announce that I had eight pieces accepted for the Art at the Mill exhibit at the historic Burwell-Morgan Mill in Millwood, VA. This annual event brings together approximately 1000 works of art by 300 artists, and I am excited to be one of them this year.

Along with some older artwork, I have Meditate (above) and Radiate (below) in the exhibit. If you want to see it along with a whole heck of a lot of other art, the exhibit is open daily now until October 16. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but I'm hoping to get there before it closes. I hope you can make it out!

Cascades Arts & Crafts Fair

There's a lot going on in October, and I have been busy making, painting, and creating trying to get ready for it all.

Today I want to invite you out this Saturday, October 1, to the 2016 Cascades Arts & Crafts Fair hosted by the Loudoun County Senior Center at Cascades Advisory Board. I'll be there along with other local artists hawking my wares!

I'll have a bunch of new polymer clay monsters along with monster head pendants, and I'll have a bunch of new artwork as well. So come on out from 9 AM to 3 PM this Saturday to see what I've been making in the studio. The arts and crafts fair will be located in the parking lot of the senior center 21060 Whitfield Place, Sterling, VA. I hope that you can make it out!

New Monsters

I recently finished these four little guys, and I think that I am finally figuring out a baking procedure that is reducing the cracking.

They are all looking for nice comfortable homes, so please check out the shop to take a closer look.

You know you want one for yourself!

New Online Shop!

As many of my friends and former colleagues are getting ready to go back or have, in fact, gone back to school already, I have been busy trying to put somethings into place that will allow me to pursue my dream of being a full time artist.

First, I have been working to put together a couple of new workshops which I'm hoping to teach at various places across the country. More on those later.

Second, I have put together an online shop through Big Cartel. I debated between Big Cartel and Easy, but Big Cartel touts itself as the platform for small, independent artists and businesses. Besides they have a sister site that can sell downloadable resources.

I spent part of today putting together the shop. I only have 11 items listed, but I plan to have more by the end of the week, including some downloadable files. I have a few paintings, a few monster selfies, and a few monster polymer clay sculptures. So, check it out and let me know what you think.

Inked Monster #2

Another monster ink drawing. I have started adding watercolor to a few in this series, and I'll share more later. But in the meantime I wanted to offer a resource. Someone on Facebook had suggested that these guys would make for a great coloring book, and hey, if you want to print them out and color them, then be my guest. BUT, what if you made your own monster? That's even more creative and meaningful. So, I'm sharing a link to my Monster Maker PDF. This is a simple resource that I put together for my students to use. Feel free to download it, and use it to make your own monster, and go on over to Facebook, and share! Happy monster making!

Monster Obsession

I must say that my fascination with monsters has turned into a full-blown obsession. I've made a few more polymer clay sculptures (that I still need to bake), and I've been sketching and drawing even more. I started on a series of 6"x9" drawings on Strathmore 400 Mixed Media Paper. I began with a quick sketch in pencil, and then inked it with my Faber Castell Pitt Pens. My plan is to add watercolor paint to them, but I don't know if I'll be deliberate with the color or a bit more free. Since the Pitt Pens are india ink and waterproof, I'm hoping that I can paint over the lines without any bleeding and smearing. Above is one of the first monsters in this series. I'll share more later.

Monster Invasion

Well my first attempts at polymer clay monsters this weekend weren't as successful as I would have liked. Although I've done a lot with ceramic clay and Model Magic over the years, I have never used polymer clay, and it does have a bit of a learning curve. First of all, it took a while to get use to the clay. I first tried Sculpey III, but I felt like it was a little too soft, so I tried Premo Sculpey, and Fimo. Each of these has their own issues, but after a while I began to catch onto the clay, and feel like my later attempts were more successful as I figured out how to best use the clay.

Then there's my attempt at baking the clay. My first attempt at baking ended in three of the four pieces cracking - one had only a slight crack, but the other two had significant cracks. Only the purple guy above survived. But after following some advice someone gave me on Facebook (Thanks, Glaucia), I was more successful. I ended up with six that survived out of ten. I'm thinking that my success rate will go up as I make more. Depending on how many more I make, I might have to put some for sale on the website. I'll share more of the monsters over the next few days.