Chair-ISH The Arts Exhibit & Auction

A chair in a light filled, inviting room is a catalyst for a wellspring of connection from friends, family, and loved ones. What better than to embellish the subtle carved cornucopia on this antique chair to bring out its gift of giving message.

My neighbor, Frieda, donated one of her antique kitchen chairs for the Eastern Shore Art Center's CHAIR-ish the Arts Exhibit and Auction. I went to her house to pick it up and deliver it to the art center for an artist to paint. But when I saw it, I knew that I had to paint it myself. I just loved the cornucopia and scroll design motif carved into the back of the chair and immediately thought of how it was the star of the show – even though the rest of the chair was also lovely with scrolled and carved balusters.

The History Of The Cornucopia As Told In Mythology

According to myth, when the young Zeus (Jupiter) was playing with Amalthea (the goat who had nurtured him on the island of Crete), he accidentally broke off one of her horns. Zeus promised her that from that day forward, the horn would always be filled with whatever fruit she desired. As such, the Cornucopia came to symbolize the unasked profusion of gifts from the gods.

Abstract in Acrylic - "Aflame"

And another venture into abstracts - this time in acrylic. I did this as a quickie painting with the paint left over on my palette after working on a sunflower painting. The 8x10 canvas panel was already painted in a bright yellow gloss. First I added red paint randomly and this produced the background and then the idea for a kind of seascape.

"Aflame" - Acrylic - 8x10 Canvas Panel

Landscapes in Acrylic

I did these landscape paintings a while ago. I think I'm going to revisit doing landscapes in acrylic paint. It could definitely be addictive.

"Linford Autumn" - Acrylic - 16x20 Canvas

"Golden Trees - Acrylic - 24x36 Canvas

Sunflower Series - Acrylic

Venturing more into acrylic painting, I did a sunflower series. Really enjoyed this...

"Red Sunflower" - Acrylic - 16x20 Canvas

"Sunflower Macro" - Acrylic - 8x10 Canvas Panel

"Sun Worshippers" - Acrylic - 24x36 Canvas

"Sunflower Party" - Acrylic - 24x36 Canvas

"Spirited Sunflowers" - Acrylic - 36x24 Canvas

"Red Sunflower Portrait" - Acrylic - 20x16 Canvas

"Sunflowers in the Sky" - Acrylic - 36x24 Canvas

"Wings" - Pen and Ink Drawing

Yesterday I pulled out my Prismacolor Art Markers, Faber Castell PITT artist pens and a sheet of 9x12 Canson Vellum Bristol paper. Armed with the drawing supplies, I sat in my recliner to watch the 2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing. The ceremony was so spectacular I couldn't keep my eyes off of the TV. I did get in some drawing during commercials and then after the ceremony ended. Finished it up today.

"Wings" - Pen & Ink - 9x12 Bristol Vellum

Watercolor on Yupo

I took a one-day class on painting watercolor on Yupo "paper". Yupo isn't actually paper - it's plastic. A synthetic material with high durability, it's also pH neutral and 100% recyclable.

The class was an exercise in learning basics and our final paintings were essentially a sampler of these. I set it aside for a while then wondered, why not see if there are any abstract designs in it that I would like to frame? These are some that I came up with.

I'm eager to practice more with Yupo as it is great fun. The paint stays the same color as when you place it - so what you see when you lay down the paint is what you get. I'll be ordering George James' DVD "Mastering Yupo" so that I can have more fun and create more paintings.

"Centerpiece" - Watercolor - 5x7 Yupo

"Coral" - Watercolor - 7x5 Yupo

"Tendril" - Watercolor - 7x5 Yupo