Why Waste A Good Planet Exhibit

If you haven't seen Chris Helton and Joe Pogan's featured show, "Why Waste A Good Planet," you still have another week to stop by the gallery. We're open 11 to 5 Tuesdays through Saturdays. It's a great show and guaranteed to make you look at leftovers in your garage in a new light. Hope you can stop by.

A Visit To Aunt Ruth

I have plans to visit my dear Aunt Ruth back in Pittsburgh, PA. She is on a waiting list for a new apartment and it's time to reduce the amount of "stuff" that has to be moved from one end of town to another. Aunt Ruth has lived in the same place for many years and has accumulated a lot of "stuff," so even though I'm looking forward to spending time with her, the thought of going through years of collecting is daunting.

Aunt Ruth is an artist and many of her friends were artists; so she has lots of art throughout her home. She also has stacks of paper, matboard, glass, frames, thousands of photographs, scads of sketchbooks, and albums recording all the art workshops she took over the years. I'm sure we'll take hours going through these things and will probably box them up for her new location.

But there will also be drawers of clothes, purses, and shoes she hasn't worn in ten years or more. Not to mention chipped dishes, dented pots and pans, multiple can openers and screw drivers, unopened boxes of stale crackers, matches from all over the world, art magazines stacked to the ceiling, old linens and doilies, and bric-a-brac that needs dusting - a life's collection of stuff. It won't be easy for her to part with a lot of these possessions even though they have sat unused for years. I hope I can be gentle and kind, patient and tolerate as I convince my 86 year old aunt to part with her past and move on to her future in a smaller, safer home.

A Juggling Act

I just completed the paperwork for my exhibit in the Mayor's Hall at the City of Beaverton offices. It's tricky to select twelve pieces for a two-month show when you have commited yourself to exhibit work in more than one location. I've been concentrating all my efforts recently on Art On Broadway Gallery, but coming up in February and March I'll have work in three locations. As my life progresses, I appear to suffer more and more from Adult Attention Deficit Disorder and the act of juggling my artwork has become more of a challenge.

It was easy to select a single painting for the special event at Matthew's Gallery on Upper Boones Ferry in Lake Oswego. I didn't have to worry about whether pieces would work well together because I only submitted one - the problem of installation fell to Matthew and his crew. They did a wonderful job, by the way, and the opening reception on January 22 was fun. The show continues through February 19 when the awards presentation takes place. About 80 area artists are represented and there is some wonderful work displayed. You should make a point to stop by.

Since I've never seen the space in the Mayor's Hall in Beaverton, planning is difficult. But a hall is hall and so I assume it will be long and narrow and that small pieces will work best since you really can't step too far back and away to view the work! I did throw in one large piece just to be "unpredictable."

Mirror, Mirror....Fairmont Hotel, S.F.,
Watercolor on Paper

And, of course, I have to set aside six or seven paintings for my favorite gallery space, Art On Broadway, and our February show, "Love Art, Give Art." We're featuring red art, romantic art, art that makes the heart flutter - and we're serving champagne and chocolates. You would think we were celebrating Valentine's Day! I hope many of you will join me and my aob friends for a toast to Love on Saturday, February 5, 6 to 9 p.m.

Hollyhocks at Cambria,

Gouache on Paper

New Paintings

A couple of my out-of-state friends who were unable to attend the artists reception at Amato's Art On Broadway this weekend asked me to post some images of my new paintings on my blog. So in response to Mary and Helen's request, and for anyone else who was unable to be there on Saturday, here are a few photos I shot just prior to the start of the party ....

Welcome, please come on in...

May I offer you a glass of wine ...

This watercolor painting is titled, "Gaudi Made Me Do It," and was inspired by Anton Gaudi's masterful Sacrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona. I took a series of photos while touring the interior and was struck by the enormity of the structure, the complexity of its design, the commitment of its artisans, and the freedom of visitors to walk unsupervised through the "under construction" portions with workers pouring concrete on the ground level and operating cranes carrying materials to the roof tops. I loved that parts of the cathedral were finished and functioning, and others were completely open to the sky, with only netted wiring to separate one area from another, and workers from tourists. The experience made me weep.

These two paintings began as photographs taken in a small village in southern France. The soil in the area surrounding Roussillon consists of red and ochre clays, and the colors of the village's architecture reflect it natural resources. "Inside and Outside the Red Wall" and "Shadows and Shapes in Roussillon" are the results of my connection with the colors and shapes of this charming village - its simple and playful imagery, and its sense of a warm and contented lifestyle. Our visit here was too short.

Another view of the Gaudi painting, along with several small plein air pieces that were painted during earlier trips to Italy and France. The other full sheet watermedia painting in the right of the photograph is titled "Una Strade Stretta," - A Narrow Street - and was inspired by a photo I took while breaking away from the formal Florence tour and exploring on our own. I loved the patterns - the dark and light, the near and far, the large and small, the cool and warm - and I was moved by the quiet simplicity of the space just minutes from the splendor and crowds of central Florence. We delighted in our off-the-beaten path discovery and enjoyed it along with the architectural and sculptural wonders of the Renaissance.

Well, Helen and Mary, thanks so much for your interest and for allowing me to share my recent work with you. I hope you'll stop by my blog again some time soon.

Merry Christmas from Me and My Neighbors

In January we will have resided in Oregon for three years - hard to believe, but true. Each year we are delighted and amazed by all the work one of our neighbors puts into his holiday light display.

He lives on a cul-de-sac and decorates both his front and back yards, and some of his displays are so large they have "marched" their way over to the yard next to his.

We have no idea where he stores these displays from February through October, or whether he has to take out a second mortgage during the remaining months to pay his electric bill. But we do know that his passion for the holidays is obvious and his efforts bring delight to our neighborhood and everyone else who drives down Murray Blvd. and sees the glow from his yard from blocks away.

My contribution to holiday cheer this year was taking pictures of our neighbors' yard to share with you and bring a little light and gaiety into your holiday experience. Hope you enjoy the photos and have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

A Full Sheet - Painted and Signed

I feel good. With inspiration from my friend Annie Salness, I challenged myself to do a full sheet watercolor. I usually work smaller for space and economic reasons (cost of framing, fear of failure, etc), but thought if Annie can fight back from a stroke, I can surely tackle a large white sheet of paper.

I have an inventory of inspiring photographs from earlier trips to Italy and the Mediterranean - great subject matter for a painting. This latest piece is based on a place that brought me to tears. After touring La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, I sat on a bench and cried - me, little old Donna McCormick Sanson who comes from very humble beginnings, was sitting in this beautiful foreign city outside a splendid work of art by Antonio Gaudi, able to reach out and touch it, to stroll under its vaulted ceilings, to stand in the bans of colored sunlight streaming through its fractured stain glass windows, to watch artisans continue the daily work of its ongoing construction and know that I was there when parts of it were still open to the sky - I was overwhelmed.

The detail in this image is meant to give you a little peek, a little preview of my January showcase at Amato's.

I'm happy with it - I signed it - I'm moving on. Thanks Annie!

My Holiday Auction Tree

Halloween is in two days and I'm working on a tree sculpture for the Christmas season. No wonder life seems to be racing by!

My tree of soft whispy white branches draped with watercolor ornaments and chains will be just one of many holiday trees to be exhibited in December at Amato's Gallery. Each of Amato's artists was challenged to create a tree sculpture reflecting individual style and medium.

My main struggle was choosing a form that would display my watecolor ornaments. After several unsuccessful starts, I finally settled on a white ceramic vase filled with sand and pretty manufactured glass stones. I can't claim creating the vase, sand, stones, or fake tree branches, but all the ornaments are designed and handcrafted by me. I used old less-than-successful paintings as my main material, cut them into strips, wove the strips together, added little watercolor collage elements here and there, strung strips together to make colorful paper chains, and then placed all my unique ornaments carefully on the very delicate branches.

The trees will be featured at Amato's Gallery starting on December 4, with an afternoon reception from 1-4. Each tree will be accompanied by a bidding sheet with a starting bid recommended by the artist. Bidding will begin during the reception and continue until noon on Saturday, December 18. The highest bidders for each of the trees will then be notified and will have their own one-of-a-kind holiday tree to enjoy this Christmas and for years to come.

I can't wait to see what all the artists design!