Sunny Sunday in the Studio

Yesterday I worked pretty much all day, partly on the pup above, whose color -- difficult to see until I put a coat of retouch (workable) varnish on it -- turned out to be more blue than it should have been. The photo above is after I used a transparent iron oxide glaze to warm up his fur considerably.

The pieces above are a commission, and are lying flat while their bottom edges fully dry. This is taking longer than normal for some reason. Ah, the vagaries of oil paint.

My wonderful sunny corner at Old Town Artists. I've just shifted studio space because the person who was in this slot left the group (no drama, just due to other things going on in her life).  Yesterday I spent several hours sorting, moving, and organizing things. Good spaces are important for creativity. I really, really enjoy this one.

Landscape Painting at Battle Creek Park

In the photos, you can't see the heat and humidity, but I felt like I was right back in Florida! These canvases are a commission for a homeowner in Highland Park, and they are nearing completion; got some finishing to do and a lot of wildflowers to add. I had wanted to do that today, outdoors, but it looks as if we'll be getting rained upon (and possibly pummeled by hail) late this afternoon/early evening, so I'll likely have to work indoors.

Above, another Tiny Moleskine Sketchbook page, drawn on site on Wednesday as the sun was going down. The mulberry tree is in the woods near the Mississippi. I found it by chance and had very little time before it was too dark to draw, so I sketched fast and then added the color the next day.

St. Paul View from the Window at Old Town Artists

This was last night at the Old Town Artists studio, and I chose to spend a bit of time playing with an 8 x 6" canvas I had on hand. There was already a painting on this canvas, a mockup for a commissioned piece that I didn't get.

To be clear, I had no regrets about not getting that job. You get things or you don't, and it's never personal. Trouble was, that little canvas wasn't a painting I liked much, and I was tired of having to see it all the time. So I just painted over it in something of a loose and haphazard fashion, with the colors I happened to have on the palette at the time. Some days, the required focus for Serious Art simply isn't there -- but I did want to play.

It was an enjoyable process even if I am not sure what I'll ever do with the resulting painting. I'm terribly disappointed in the way the photo appears on this blog, too; something about Blogspot's software seems to dull it down, and I am not sure why.

One thing, at least: I like it better than the one that was on the canvas before.

Old Town Artists. It's studio space, but it's really the people.

This is the blog for Old Town Artists, which has been a Twin Cities tradition for more than fifty years now, and which I had the honor of joining last year. All these recent peony paintings are things I've been doing at OTA, with many more to come.

View from the Window at Old Town Artists, St. Paul. Oil on panel, 9 x 12", by Tracie Thompson

I love this group and want to invite other artists/aspiring artists to come meet us on Wednesday nights for figure drawing. We're friendly, fun, and even have wine and popcorn (another tradition) at the end of the modeling sessions.

My studio is at OTA. It's affordable, gives me a place to focus and really get into the groove as an artist, and most importantly, I get the community -- not only of Old Town Artists itself but the many, many other working artists whose studios are in the same building. ACVR Warehouse is a hidden treasure, an artist beehive that keeps growing all the time.

We have a few spaces open at Old Town, so if you're looking for room to do your thing, contact me and I'll give you a tour. It's a great location with fantastic views, free parking, plenty of food nearby (hey, that's important! We also have a fridge, microwave, coffeemaker, and water heater for tea), and you get to participate in the Saint Paul Art Crawl. If you're wanting to do more figure drawing/painting, membership means that those sessions are free for you.

Stormy portrait session at Old Town Artists

First of all, I'm excited because I made my first little painting at my new studio space with Old Town Artists.  The thistles come from the pasture in Hugo where my horse lives; they are huge, lovely, prickly and fragrant.

 Glass with Wild Thistles by Tracie Thompson. Oil on canvas, 10 x 8".

Last night was full of lightning, a pounding deluge of rain that was worthy of my native southern Florida, some hail, and the obligatory tornado watch.  As a result, only seven artists came out for the portrait session (last week we had thirteen), but we had a lot of fun once we got there.

Don Biehn was back, and created the study above. My tripod couldn't match the height of his easel, thus the perspective distortion in this photo; I like this piece a lot.

Nels Femrite was there, too, keeping the rest of us entertained with his wit while he created the above piece, about 32" wide.  Nels doesn't have anything online for me to link, but perhaps eventually I'll be able to talk him into joining mnartists.org.  For free.

I got made into art last night ...

... because I sat for the portrait modeling session at Old Town Artists.  There were -- if I counted correctly -- thirteen other artists present, all staring at me.  More fun than it sounds, and I took some shots of a few of the resulting images.

Me, drawn in Conte on paper by Alec Smith. Click his name to get to his website.

Two fun drawings by Betty Livingston, long time OTA member.

Don Biehn broke out the watercolors and created this lovely piece.

Matt Linz was still working on this oil painting at the end of the evening; it's To Be Continued next Friday night when I'll be back to do a second session.

Old Town Artists drawing session

This was Wednesday night, 5/26/10. My first life-drawing session with the Old Town Artists, a group I've now joined.

I am setting up a studio space with Old Town Artists in the ACVR Warehouse at 106 West Water Street, St. Paul. This building is part of the bi-annual St. Paul Art Crawl, and I can't wait to participate in that!

Stay tuned for more news as I get out of the basement here in Robbinsdale and into this fun, thriving little artist community.