crazy weather + pigmentary portraits
betsy and i headed off to the opening at artstream last night shortly after i posted here. i didn't mention it at the time, but there had been some pretty severe stormy weather going on during the afternoon - torrential rain, strong winds, thunder and lightening, and even some hail thrown in for good measure. it was giving me a little bit of weather ptsd after the renegade fiasco last month! but there was a break in the weather right when we were heading out last night so i didn't think too much of it. turns out we headed right into the thick of the storm, as evidenced by the super crazy sky that turned black in the matter of one minute and reminded me of the giant overhead dome in the truman show. had we not been in such a hurry, i think we both might have liked to pull over and draw the crazy clouds we saw, because the light coming through them was spooky and very interesting to look at. we saw a lot of downed trees and power lines, and kept laughing at all of the obstacles and delays we came upon because it seemed so riduculous. we were two slightly desperate mothers away from our kids for the evening, just trying to see some art + some friends and have a good time. why make it so hard? i mean, really.
((lisa c, lisa s, and susan from artstream))
we finally arrived at 6:55 - the opening was slated to end at 7. luckily for us no one was in a hurry and there was still a bit of wine left. the show was lovely - so much fun to see it up close and in person.
there have been plenty of pictures online but it was a treat to see the little details. i loved the way it was hung with each color pigment pairing side by side, and really enjoyed seeing lisa congdon's brush strokes + great use of color (i loved her use of an excellent silvery colored gouache in most all of the paintings) and lisa solomon's incredibly dainty and delicate stitching and the multilayered bits in each of her pieces.
it was so interesting to read more about the thought process that went into each piece, too. we got a chance to meet the lovely and talented lisas,
which was an absolute pleasure for me after knowing them for a few years in blogland. they were just as great as i imagined them to be.
we enjoyed a delicious dinner with the two of them and the artstream gang after the show at this place, which i'd never been to but would definitely go again. yum.
and to make it all even better, tonight there is another dinner with the ladies, here in town. spending time together like this with other artist friends is so inspiring and fun, and makes me love the internet for bringing kindred spirits together in the excellent way that it can.
ut-oh, i think i hear thunder and an emergency management radio warning. time to go + hide under a chair or something.





















