Getting ready

So I'm going to be in the Summerlin Art Festival on September 24th and 25th. I'm working on some new pieces. The paints pretty thick. I hope it dries in time.  Sticking with my muse. The festival is held in the same neighborhood as Red Rock so I guess I have the perfect theme.


Thought you might be interested in how a picture comes together. I am revisiting a favorite place, the steps on the Willow Springs trail.  

  This time I'm trying to use palette knife only.   

Time to let Willow Springs rest and move on to other pieces. I like having a goal to work for.

Trail back side of White Rock

I don't know if it's the palette knife or listening to Adele and Amy Winehouse but I like what's going on with these pieces.  Must return to work. If you're in the neighborhood I'll be at City of the World tomorrow. Stop by and see what's new. Have a great day. A

It's hot out there. Get to a park.

One of the Mammoth Lakes

Yosemite Falls from the meadow

Bryce Canyon Utah, this place doesn't even look real.

I'm back from our grand tour of the beautiful tri-states of Cali, Nevada and Utah. We live in a beautiful, big county. 

I encourage all of you to visit a park as soon as possible. Preferably one at a higher elevation, they tend to be cooler all around. 

That said I now have lots of ideas for paintings and will be focusing on putting brush to canvas. Trying to do justice to the places we've been. I will be participating in the Summerlin Art Festival on September 24th and 25th in the City of the World tent.

 This is one of the biggest art fairs in the valley and if you can come down it should be fun. Will definitely be cooler than July.

Willow Springs

Spring Flowers

If you just can't wait to get an art fix come on down the City of the World gallery at 1229 South Casino Center, on the corner of Casino Center and Colorado.  
  

Las Vegas Wash

I'm in the gallery on Thursday afternoons, 1 to 4. Contrary to what you've heard we are still celebrating First Friday for August and September. In fact most of the businesses will be open. 


On August 5th "Summer Days" goes up. It's a juried event and I have an entry entitled "Floaties". Come on down and check it out. It's the first competition I've entered in a long time. I believe the last one was when I was in high school. Should be interesting.


Enjoy the summer, and remember to hydrate, and go visit a park.

I'm a book cover

Check out Amazon.com and type in Future Poets by Rod Martin and there's my painting.  Yippe I'm so excited. I'd show it to you here but I lost my pics in the great computer melt down.  Whoops just found it.

YIppee. How exciting. I can't copy the  good looking Amazon ad to my blog but please check it out.

Small crummy looking ad.

Ok so maybe framing does make a difference.

Dichotomy 2011
Wetlands Park, Las Vegas

As some of you know I am a framing snob. Not that I insist on it, quite the opposite. I don't  believe it in, kind of like the granite thing, pigs with earrings, etc. etc. But even I can change my opinion

The Road to Othello October, 2010

Had these first two professionally framed at Desert Arts and the bottom one was one of my cabinet door frames.

Summit White Rock Trail,  March 2011

Someone told me in my painting group that frames are like choosing jewelry for an outfit. They finish the piece off. Could believe that. Old dogs, new tricks.

New stuff, thank you Gabby.

Pine Creek Canyon Trail March 4th, 2011

So I've gone back to school. Well that sounds much grander than it is.  I am painting with a group led by our fearless leader Gabby and having a great time. This has caused a build up of art in the Norris household (see below).  These are in addition to the ones hanging in Ted's clinic.  If any catch your eye PLEASE contact me.
at: annanorrisfineart@gmail.com or on this blog.

Pine Creek Trail Feb 19th, 2011

Good news is Ted and I are in the process of buying a house. Our silver lining to the dismal real estate cloud that is Las Vegas. As such I will be able to get a business license and start schlepping stuff to galleries before the end of the year (one of my goals). Before that I would like to lighten my moving load. Please check out my stuff at Etsy. I haven't really found an easy way to find my stuff so I'm sending the addresses. I you are interested in anything please let me know.  The addresses are:

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/64732355/othello-fields

http://www.etsy.com/listing/64732236/road-to-othello

http://www.etsy.com/listing/64435569/spring-boulder-bay-lake-mead

http://www.etsy.com/listing/64732585/amargosa-opera-house

Start of a painting of Oak Creek, Sedona

  Ted and I went to Sedona for our anniversary in the middle of February. What a beautiful drive, amazing place. We both agreed that downtown Sedona reminded us of Vegas strip and Waikiki.  We stayed as far away from that as possible. Went hiking and scrambling over many red rocks, visited the vortexes (we decided we weren't that open), stayed out of the sweat lodges and had amazing food. Pretty incredible scenery and Montezuma's Castle and Well, Tuzigoot  (sp) were awe inspiring.

Cathedral Rock from Red Rock Crossing, Sedona

It's ridiculous that the place really looked like that. The water was so calm and there were dogs downstream playing in the water.

My nemesis

Meet my nemesis. Started life as a sliding closet door. I thought it would be a perfect canvas for a project I was doing for Ted. I started this in September of 2010.  It was a simple idea. As of this date I have rehashed the idea and positions of everything a few times. It is my view from the kitchen island. 

As you can see I am working from no fewer than 5 photographs.  Wish now I had done some sketches when I was there.

This painting is not only consuming our dining room but my time. 4 months to be exact. It's large, over 6 feet by 3 feet and will eventually either be the shield I'm carried out of the battle defeated on or hang in Ted's wound care center. I think I need to go to Lanikai and sit on the beach for awhile.  Aaaaaaaaaaa it's driving me crazy.

Ho Ho Hold the phone

Have not been on in awhile but have been busy. I met the artist Robert Krogle today at the South Point Casino's "Art of the American Cowboy" exhibit. The pro rodeo is in town for the week and I have never seen so many cowboy hats or the use of sequins on the most unexpected items of clothing. Also, did you know you can make any item of clothing out of leather. I don't think the point is to make it comfortable.

But back to Mr. Krogle. www.ROBERTKROGLE.com Love the guys style-impressionistic in landscapes and he was very kind. I showed him a few pics and he gave some pointers on things to try and walked me through a piece he was working on at the show. Light tips, color blocking, etc. Very generous. He told me to send him pics of my paintings when I had questions. He had a landscape there that I would love to have. Out of my price range and as my family would say, "don't buy that Anna can make it". Some day I will.

Sketch from Grand Canyon trip
Saturday morning

While I've been off the computer I haven't been out of the studio. In fact Ted and I were talking that maybe I have to spend more time in the studio. Who needs clean clothes?

Ted and Connor and the Canyon
somewhere behind them Sunday

After our trip to the Grand Canyon, where we saw a great art show along with the Canyon, I was inspired to try a few sketches. I am not worthy...yet.  I didn't understand how amazing it would be until I was standing there in awe. Sunrise was a constant play of different lights and the sky was an magnificent as the canyon. As sunny as Saturday was we had snow and fog Sunday morning. Also, elk in the yard of the El Tovar.

Nana's Christmas present

So it's back to working on Christmas gifts. We don't have pottery (but Ted's working on it for next year) so we're going with a painted Christmas.

Have been working on smaller paintings lately. Mostly things for family.  I am really excited to try some different techniques that Robert Krogle talked about. Some of which I've started with on the roses picture below.

Roses from our garden

I'll be posting a little more often and I hope you see a difference in style in the coming days.

Thanks, Anna