Bellevue Museum Arts Fair

We’re in the process of loading up the Suburban to make the two day trek to Bellevue Washington for the Bellevue Museum Art Fair.   We’ve been participating in this show since 2000, the first year I ever showed my work at an art fair.    The Museum fair is a very cool event with a lot of very extraordinary fine art and contemporary craft to choose from.   Getting ready is always a monumental task for some reason even though we’ve been doing this for years.   Unlike many artists who do fairs, we have never fully succumbed to buying a state of the art van or groovy organizing system.   We continue to load the paintings carefully into the Suburban separated by sheets of cardboard and held up with cables and the rest of our supplies and luggage…a perfectly imperfect system.    We’ve chosen to participate in only a small selection of shows for the meantime, while there are kids still at home and the thought of travelling longer distances seeming too daunting but one day maybe we will and perhaps with a big van!    For now, its all puzzled into the Suburban with the extended Yakima rack on top.   My husband Bruce and I have it down to a system.

The Loaded Suburban

The Loaded Suburban

I’ll be bringing new work to the show that has not been seen in the Pacific Northwest.   Included is a large scale Vineyard painting from the Applegate Valley in Oregon.   The landscape is beautiful there.   I’m looking forward to seeing my treasured Northwest collectors at the show and hopefully meeting some new ones.    I’ve posted new paintings in the galleries so be sure to take a look.    See you at the fair, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 23-25!

Applegate Valley Vines

"Applegate Valley Vines" 25x39" Pastel

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GARDEN PARTY

Collingwood-Potting Shed

"Collingwood Potting Shed" 12x12 Pastel

We spent this afternoon at a traditional summer garden party.  Lots of fresh, organic food and plenty of margaritas to enjoy.    It was relatively warm for the Humboldt County coast – holding steady in the 70’s with the sun shining.   Our friends, the Collingwoods have a magnificent property that I have been expoloring and recently did this piece from their garden.   I plan on continuing the series along with others I have in the works…..so many paintings, so little time.   A lovely day in paradise on the north coast of California.

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Middle Children

The Artist with Sister Kitty and Brother Chris

The Artist with Sister Kitty and Brother Chris

June and half of July has come and gone.   A brief illness followed by a wonderful vacation to Southern California absorbed the better part of the past 6 weeks.   I celebrated my birthday on the 4th of July in southern California at the beach home of my dear sister Kitty and brother in law Jim.   I am one of eleven children and it seems that a lot of the creativity in the family was concentrated in the middle 3 kids, including my brother, Chris,  who works as a prop master and art director for commercials and has played guitar since he was a kid and my sister who has put her energies into becoming a great chef and master gardener.  We were all together for the holiday and it was a lot of fun.    So much creativity in one room infused with  even more wit and humor.   I bet there are a lot of reasons that the middle kids from a big family would become the creative ones….I’m just glad we did and that we enjoy each others company as much as we do.

Back to the studio and time to get ready for upcoming shows.   I have some vineyard paintings in the works and ideas overflowing so check back for new work.

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Victoria Ryan