Lucinda Howe's paintings at The Garden Gate in Camden, SC

I’m excited to announce that I now have gallery representation in the historic town of Camden, South Carolina.  The Garden Gate Gallery and Frame shop is in the Greenleaf Villa at 1807 Broad Street.

My contemporary Fauvist paintings look wonderful in the wide upstairs hallway and would be colorful complements to a traditional home.

The Garden Gate carries a variety of art and gifts and hosts open houses periodically.  Like their facebook page to find out about future events.

The Garden Gate Gallery and Frame Shop, 1807 Broad Street, Camden, SC

Greenleaf Villa, historic home built in 1815 in Camden

Upstairs hallway at The Garden Gate Gallery and Frame Shop http://www.facebook.com/GardenGateGallery

Melinda Smith and Donna Reed painting en plein air at Barbara Yongue's

Here’s a link to an article about last Saturday’s paintout at Barbara Yongue’s written by Steve Doherty of Plein Air Magazine…

http://www.outdoorpainter.com/featured-events/plein-air-painters-in-south-carolina-670.html

Earning My Lunch, Acrylic on Ampersand gessobord, 14x11", ©2012 Lucinda Howe

One of the best things about painting with a group is the friendships that develop and the chance to talk about art topics that our families are tired of hearing.  But sometimes there are too many distractions to get much painting done.

On Saturday, I was invited to a paintout at the home of a painter who is also a wonderful cook.  She planned to serve breakfast and lunch and told us to paint wherever we wanted around the farm.  By midmorning I’d had breakfast, a stroll with my camera and was sitting on the porch catching up with some friends I hadn’t seen in a while.

Our hard-working hostess came by and observed that we were “lazy, lazy, LAZY”.  She was right, and I was afraid she wouldn’t let me eat lunch, so I had to get busy.  I found a spot in the shade by the chicken coop looking up the hill to a barn overshadowed by a big old tree.  I wanted to capture the many shades of green in the foliage, the structure of the tree, and the bits of warm contrast in the rusty roof and sides of the barn.

To start the painting, I blocked in the darks with black gesso, then added a warm glaze of yellow graded to red at the bottom, then added the greens and finished with touches of white.  I had to paint quickly because the weather was warm and the paint dried almost as soon as it touched the board.  I did a little blending in the sky color, but otherwise painted in layers rather than trying to blend.

Whew! Finished in time for lunch!

Blueberries ©2012 Lucinda Howe

During the weeks before Open Studios, I was busy finishing my palm series, making labels, and cleaning the studio.  Now I’m taking a break and catching up on other responsibilities before I start painting again.

This weekend as I cut back sweet autumn clematis and Virginia creeper in my neglected garden, I noticed a good crop of blueberries developing in spite of my neglect.   My garden has always been a source of inspiration for painting, so I grabbed my camera and started taking photos.

In the process, I remembered advice I had been given about photographing the garden…

• Put your camera on its highest resolution.  My photos are 2664 x 4000 pixels.
• Shoot “loose”.  Include more on the outer edges than you think you need.  This photo of the blueberries bushes is too busy with leaves and berries to be a good composition, but it has possibilities for cropping.
  

  Blueberry Trio ©2012 Lucinda Howe

• Experiment with cropping different ways using your photo editing software.  Change the orientation or focus on a small area.  In this example, I isolated a group of three blueberries to emphasize the interesting shapes on the blossom end of the berries.
• By starting with a high resolution file, you can crop to a much smaller size and still have enough pixels to print or post on the web.  In this example, my cropped photo was 774 x 618 pixels, large enough to post or print for painting reference.

Even if I never use this photo for a painting reference, the process helps me to reconnect with my love of gardening and feed my creative spirit.

Gold Palm, 20x16", Acrylic on canvas, ©2012 Lucinda Howe

Palm trees, ocean breeze, salty air, sun kissed hair. That endless summer, take me there. (Unknown)

It is the nature of the strong heart, that like the palm tree it strives ever upwards when it is most burdened. (Philip Sidney)

The first rule of hurricane coverage is that every broadcast must begin with palm trees bending in the wind. (Carl Hiaasen)

In South Carolina culture, Palmetto trees are ubiquitous.  In a broader context, palms have many meanings.

What do palms mean to you?

Do palm trees remind you of tropical vacations or ancient civilizations?  Does your religion recognize palms as spiritual symbol?  Have you eaten the fruits of palms… coconuts, dates, cabbage palmetto?  When you see a photo of palms bending in the wind, do you think of hurricane warnings or good surfing?

I hope you will come visit me at my studio this weekend to experience my palm paintings and reconnect with your love of palms.

Saturday, April 21, 2012   9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.  (Come early for a cup of coffee 9:30 − 10:00 a.m)

Sunday, April 22, 2012 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

10203 Two Notch Road, Suite F, Columbia, SC (across from Target)

More information about Columbia Open Studios  www.columbiaopenstudios.org.

Happy, Merry, and Anni; 60x48", Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, ©2012 Lucinda Howe

Please join me at my art studio, 10203 Two Notch Road, Suite F, for 701 CCA Columbia Open Studios, Saturday and Sunday April 21-22, 2012!  I’ll be open from 10am – 6pm on Saturday 4/21 and noon – 6pm on Sunday 4/22.

I will be one of 69 artists all over Richland & Lexington counties who will be opening their private, working studios to the public for the weekend!

Columbia Open Studios’ objective is to provide an opportunity for the public to support our local arts community. Admission is free to all of the studios, and my work will be for sale.  701 Center for Contemporary Art, as the nonprofit organizer of the event, does not take a commission on sales.

Before the big weekend, there will also be a very fun kick-off party, Thursday, April 19, 7-11pm, as an artists’ preview and Indie Grits Festival-wide kickoff party in the Grand Hall at 701 Whaley!  The entire Midlands cultural scene is going to party together in a fun, informal environment with cash bar by The Whig, a complimentary artisan grits bar by Scott Hall Catering, soul/oldies/pop DJs, visuals, a drawing rally, and more at one of Columbia’s coolest event venues, historic 701 Whaley. Preview the work of the 701 CCA Columbia Open Studios artists, and party down with all of the official partners of The 6^th Annual Indie Grits Festival!  Tickets ($8 adv / $10 door) for this event can be found at http://bit.ly/GMElzp

There is also a Columbia Getaway sweepstakes which ends 4/12 at noon, which includes airfare,

Airfare for 2 or $300 gas, 2 nights in fabu Sheraton Downtown Columbia, gc’s to meals at Motor Supply & The Whig, and free tickets to all Indie Grits festival events April 20-22, 2012 (including The Olivia Tremor Control show April 20) in Columbia, SC, with nifty VIP services like phone concierge service during 701 CCA Columbia Open Studios and a 1-year Family Membership to 701 Center for Contemporary Art.

Enter: http://bit.ly/VIPIndieGetaway

We hope to see you there! For a big map to all studios, listings for all artists, an online version of the Open Studios Guide, and more information, head over towww.columbiaopenstudios.org.

Hosanna, 7x5", Acrylic, ©2012 Lucinda Howe

I have had a wonderful time this week working in my studio, painting palms and preparing for Open Studios April 21-22.  I’ll be featuring paintings of tropical palms and low country palmettos for the special event.

My studio on Two Notch Road will be open April 21, 10 am – 6 pm and April 22, 12 – 6 pm along with 68 other artists around Richland and Lexington Counties.  If you’re in the Northeast area, I suggest you come by my studio first thing Saturday for a cup of coffee, check out Karen Langley at The Village Artists, then work your way toward Forest Acres and downtown.  It will take you most of the weekend to get around to all the studios.

See the map below to plan your route.

Click here for tickets to the preview party on April 19.

View 701 CCA Columbia Open Studios 2012 in a full screen map

Palm Warm Up, Acrylic on paper, 7x5", ©2012 Lucinda Howe

This week I’m on vacation from my other job and am having a private “art retreat” in my studio.  I wanted to organize my work with a theme for Open Studio weekend April 21-22 and create some new pieces.  As I looked through my reference material, I realized I’m a PALM FANATIC.

In my travels I’ve drawn, painted and photographed palm trees in Greece, France, the Caribbean, Hawaii, southern coasts, and my own backyard.  I’ve painted palms in watercolor, acrylic and oil using many techniques and color schemes.  Since this is the week before Palm Sunday on April 1, painting palms seems like just the thing!

This small piece is a “warm up” exercise, experimenting with colors and getting my brushes wet.  I’m also working on some larger pieces to be completed by Open Studio Weekend.

Botanical Garden Spring, Acrylic on paper, 7x5", ©2012 Lucinda Howe

Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden was the site of the third Saturday plein air excursion last week.  The botanical garden featured cobalt blue pots with lavender-painted curly willow, violas, and white tulips contrasting with the yellow-green of new foliage.

Usually I try to complete an 11×14″ piece at these events, but recently I’ve been painting smaller pieces quickly and taking a lot of photos so I will have more to work with when I get back to my studio.  I may use the color inspiration for another image or abstract the shapes.

This small piece will be available along with several other 5×7″ paintings for $45 each at my Open Studio on April 21-22.  In the meantime, I will be using some of these as inspiration for some larger studio pieces.