Spirit of Manitou Studio Trail in year 5....

The Spirit of Manitou Studio Trail is gearing up for year five of the annual Artists' Trail. To be held on July 7th and 8th weekend.

It was decided at our last congregation to pose for a group photo. Thanks to the tripod-mounted camera for this shot. Good unit.

Members in good standing (except the front row who are seated) of Spirit of Manitou Studio Trail 2012. Front: (left to right) Loa Titman, Bryce Erickson, Toni Ambrose, Sandy Christensen. Middle Row: Donna Lorbetskie, Crystal Bashak, Gloria Stefanson, Jewel Buhay, Helen Herr, Linda Leslie, June Ferguson. Back Row: Dave Titman, Darrrell Baschak, Frank Wison, Michael Gaudet. Regrets: June Jacobs, Richard Lamartine, Lonnie Mason.

This group of artists and artisans are a  driving force, having 'harnessed the genius' of the crowd we grow a bit bigger and better each year. 


Have there been growing pains? You bet.


Every year we mull over over how we can improve things. 


Our brochure is getting rave reviews as one of the best around. In the next short while the website will undergo its annual over-haul. Just to give you an idea of what each artists' page on the site could look like, here is my 2011 page.


This page will have all new artwork on it and my latest fun links, for example to my shiny (relatively new) Google+ profile. 


At last count we are seventeen members strong.


In my books that's a pretty vital number.


I'll keep you posted as everything fall into place.

Happy Art Day

Yesterday (February 4th, 2012) a bunch of artist friends and I gathered at our local Community Hall here at The Resort Village of Manitou Beach for a full-on 'Art Day'. Everybody brought along supplies, equipment and materials to either carry on with a 'work-in-progress' or else to create a new piece during the day.
I was interested to see what a variety of activities took place under one roof.
We had a clay sculptor, a wood-block printer, a water-colorist, painters and a pastel artist.
I noted that some of the painters opted to use photo references, probably for convenience.  Helen Herr was a notable exception to this, as she uses only her intuition and inner sense of design and artistry when creating her abstract pieces. Crystal Bashchak also had no references in sight...she relied upon her instincts and color sensibility to carry on with her artwork.
I decided to bring a mirror along to do a self-portrait. I was going to do a still-life but decided at the last minute that a self-portrait might be interesting...I have not painted one for almost thirty years, unless you count the several 'embedded' self-portraits I have snuck into murals.

Bryce Erickson is a recent arrival in our community. He specializes in wood-cut printing and is also an oil painter. 

Helen Herr is an abstract painter who is always willing to experiment with bold colors and shapes.

Toni Ambrose decided to break out the pastels for a couple of small landscape drawings.

There was a lot of socializing and sharing of ideas during the day. Everyone left their stations frequently to chat and visit with their fellow artists.

Lonnie Mason working on one of her 'surreal' figurative pieces.

Frank Wilson whipped up a rustic painting of an old one-room school house.

Sandy Christensen  patiently constructed one of her "Prairie Folks" clay figurines. She is working on a tiny foot.

Darrell Bashchak putting the finishing touches on a finely executed lily pond in oils.

Sherron Reid worked on a couple of lovely watercolors based on photos from a recent trip to Italy.

Crystal Bashchak colorizes one of her striking abstract designs.

I decided to take a shot at painting a self-portrait.

Here's how my effort turned out. 

It was an enjoyable and constructive time.
We all know each other quite well and this was a great opportunity for bonding and strengthening our artistic community.