"Summer House" Pastel Victoria Ryan

After a week living out of a suitcase at The Four Points Sheraton and preceded by weeks and months of annual preparation for my biggest event of the year The Sausalito Art Festival, we are finally, and happily, home.    I’m sitting in my office, Barack Obama is addressing Congress in the background…..hmmm, I’m not big on politicians right now, even the ones I voted for.   I’m incredulous to all of the rhetoric but let’s see how he does.   I need to be inspired right now.

This time of year is historically the end and beginning of the work season  for me.   I just sent my daughter off to college and my dear husband and I are now empty nesters.   Its a strange feeling but one I am embracing for the sake of my psyche and my art.  I look forward to working with abandon in my studio late at night, taking the occasional trip to gather inspiration without having to concern myself with school schedules and the fear of my child driving at night.   No car for this freshman and the dorm is right on campus.   Somewhere there is an R.A. who is going to get a nice Christmas card from me.  I wonder if they make sure the kids eat their vegetables?

Back to current events….. Sausalito was a bittersweet blast.  Its always fun and crowded and I’m by now a show veteran along with my other peers in Row 600 on the tennis courts.  This year’s “gala” was a tad ill conceived but our spirits were not deterred come opening morning.

My work looked great and I placed quite a few originals in the hands of new collectors and added to the collections of more.    I love this show more than any other and its always sad when its over.   So many friends and laughs and good times.    But its so nice to be home.

In a little over two weeks we take off again for San Diego.    A little show in LaJolla that has the benefit of having Joseph Lillis on board.   He is the mastermind that turned the Sausalito Art Festival into a blockbuster event for artists and patrons and is hoping to do something similar in other venues.    Till then I’ll be back in the studio in earnest.   I have paintings to paint including a big hospital commission.    Hope to come up for air soon.

Bay Area Friends:   if you would like a private showing of anything you saw at the Sausalito Art Festival I will be in the Bay Area at the end of the month.  Please let me know and I’ll come by and show you work in your home/office!

Barack is still talking.   Lots of clapping.   Seems to be going quite well.   I’m actually inspired!  Awesome.

"Wine Country Afternoon"

Opening on April 7 at Robert Allen Fine Art in Sausalito, California,  is “Northern California Landscapes” consisting of paintings from yours truly and a handful of other regional greats.   Robert Allen has created a beautiful setting in which to showcase his artists and it is definitely worth the visit.

Continuing at Studio 7 Fine Arts in Pleasanton, a series of recent landscapes can be found.   If you are in the Tri Valley Area, this gallery is a must see having one of the largest exhibition spaces in the Bay Area.

Be sure to check the Upcoming Events Section for where to find me in the months to come.

Where else can you spend a day or weekend seeing the works of about 300 juried artists and dance to English Beat on one day and Jefferson Starship on another while drinking a margarita!   This event is truly a blast and for all the hard work, we artists manage to have an immensely good time as well.  The festival organizers brought in a huge crowd each day and for that I am thankful.

I am grateful to my new and established collectors who purchased from me this year and who commissioned paintings….I’ll be kept busy for months to come.    As one visitor put it,  in this economy,  many  with discretionary income would rather invest in individual artists rather than purchasing from large chain operations, thereby contributing to the health and sustenance of  the arts as a whole.   I highly condone that!

Here’s me at the Preview Party.   I’m showing off my new JayneMax handbag – a gift from  Designer Jayne Dearborn.   Check out her beautiful line at:

http://www.designsbyjayne.com/

Sausalito Preview Party

Now its back to the studio to work on new work.   I have new pastels in progress and plan on returning to oils next week.   I’ll have new images to post soon.   

"Harmony" 20x27" Pastel

 March 27-April 26….New Pastels at Art Brokers Inc., 2660 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA

Opening Reception:  March 27 from 6-9 PM.    Please come celebrate with me.   This latest body of work is a decisively more intimate view of the landscape with emphasis on painterly images of streams and other waterways, a commonly explored theme in my work.   New prints will also be unveiled at this show.

"Winter Wildflowers" 23x31

Artists have been drawn to images of water, with its aesthetic and evocative qualities since the early cave man drawings.  There is a soothing quality to water…and evidenced based studies have shown that images of water create a calming, restful environment in healthcare settings.     

I was drawn to this composition  because of the strong blue  sky  reflection in this closed in waterway near my home in Eureka.   The winter brush and spent wildflowers had an amazing depth of color to play with.   This is one of the paintings that will be featured in my upcoming show at Art Brokers in Sausalito.   I will post additional images from the show in upcoming days.

I’ve wondered why I rarely paint seascapes since I’ve lived on the Pacific coast for the past 7 years.   I think I should make that be one of my challenges…