Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Artists Demos & Local Craft Shows



See artists demonstrating their work in the annual fall Art in Action in Londonderry. Mack's Apples is opening up their farmstand and Shady Hill just up the street will have their greenhouse wide open for this weekend event. Anthony Williams, Frank Moulin, Debbie Curtin and many others will be set up and ready to rock and roll out some new work! Check it out!

Saturday, November 9th in Manchester

Our treasurer, Linda Feinberg and her husband, writer Joe Smiga, will be sharing a table at the Brookside Congregational Church annual craft fair.  The church is located on Elm Street in Manchester, two blocks north of Webster Street.  The fair is on Saturday, November 9th  from 9:00 – 3:00 and you will find many gift ideas as well as some delicious bakery items. Stop by and check out the artwork, books & crafts.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Final Paintings for Families in Transition Project

Carolina Chauvette painted this beautiful butterfly for our project with Families in Transition.  

The final paintings have been delivered to FIT and we are waiting for them to notify us when they will be having a reception so we can enjoy seeing all the paintings hanging on the walls of the residence.






An interesting mandala by Paul Davidson. Acrylic painting 16” X 20”.


We will be having a meeting on Wednesday evening, October 23rd and hope to pick our next project at that time. If you need more information, contact our treasurer or president. Contact information

Monday, October 14, 2013

The Art of the Portrait by Deb Curtin

When I started my very first job out of college as a layout artist for a newspaper in Massachusetts, I learned on the job and became proficient over time. I left that job after only three years knowing I needed to move on to other possibilities in the art world. Today I can look back and see quite the interesting art path I have travelled. I always felt drawn to doing more art and have never stopped. To me growing and learning through artistic opportunities makes for a more varied palette of skills. 

When we moved to New Hampshire, I found a job working for a local printer. I had a baby daughter to care for so this mom and pop place was a good fit. The Adult Evening program in town offered a drawing class and The New Hampshire Art Institute offered a colored pencil drawing class during the year. I said 'why not?' Keep up and keep going, that's my motto. This time in my art life led me to an interesting challenge. My boss asked me to paint or draw a house portrait of his family's lovely old-style Cape. In  the barter (we decided to make it one), I needed a piece of furniture stripped and refinished which he agreed to do. I completed the house portrait and he restored my family heirloom. (I think he put in more time and sweat for sure!)

This first portrait started a path to more portraits after putting a small ad in the local paper. Every house portrait and some other unique portrait collaborations has had a neat story. I delved into people portraits with some apprehension but figured out my style and went with it. Each of these also has a story. These few I'll share with you.

#1 - Michael

This portrait was commissioned by the grandparents as one of their two grandchildren. I was given a picture of Michael and knew immediately he needed a haircut and a proper shirt. Done.













#2 - Lauren
Lauren was in a bathing suit and her hair was wet in the photo I received of her from the grandparents. So, I dried her hair and then styled it. A floral dress was given to me to have her wear in the portrait. No problem. I asked daughter #3 who was about the same age as Lauren to put the dress on and model for me. It worked.













#3 - Jordan
I wanted to thank a co-worker of mine who helped me immensely when I started a new job. I chose one of Jordan's favorite fairy tales and used Tinker Bell to personalize the portrait.

My advice is don't stop what YOU are doing! Keep the pen, pencil, brush, chalk, charcoal, paint, and fingers moving on the paper, canvas, board, wall etc. Look for those opportunities to 'just do it'.

Contact information:

Deb Curtin
debcurtin5@gmail.com
603 432-8143




Thank you, Deb, for this inspiring blog post. If you would like to submit a guest blog post, please e-mail it to treasurer, Linda Feinberg, lhfeinberg@myfairpoint.net

Monday, October 7, 2013

Laurie Lafleur


Manchester native, Laurie Lafleur has been active on the local art scene since the 1980s. 

Having won numerous awards, she is listed in several, current Who's Who publications, most notably: "Who's Who in American Art".  


She participates in summer art shows in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.


She teaches the weekly Hooksett Library art class, as well as the Suncook Senior Center art class.


Contact: DonLaurieL@comcast.net
603-485-9012


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Project Update - FIT


Another beautiful acrylic painting by Frank Moulin. He mentioned that he used a sponge on this one to create texture. Sounds like a fun technique. This one is 16” X 20”


Our newest member, Deb Funk, submitted this colorful bird on an 8” X 10” canvas. This should certainly brighten up the residence walls for Families in Transition.

Our FIT project is coming to a close. We are waiting for the last two canvases and then we hope to have a reception at the residence for our artists and the public sometime this month or next. Stay tuned….more information will be posted when we know the dates.