Tomorrow is the Day

For the Artist Studio Tour and Plein Air Competition

Our town is celebrating.  More than a hundred artists have come from near and far to participate in the Plein Air Competition.  

They have been painting for 3 days.  
Winners and prizes will be announced this evening. 


My Studio will be open

  
There will be familiar faces and, as always, there will be new faces. 

Wish you could drop by.

Gina 

We're coming up in the world.

We don't have many things.

But we have a new soda fountain and ice cream parlor. 

Scribbled on the blackboard is my motto

"Life is short eat desert first". 

The Ice cream parlor opened the same day the winners of the plein air competition were announced.  

Above is the  painting that took 1st place

and which garnered a $2,000 prize. 

2nd place winner $1,000.

3rd place winner $500.

There are many rules which apply and must be strictly followed by Artists who participate in the plein air competition. 

Rules require that artists paint outdoors. 

After the judging, all paintings are for sale. 
Friends of ours bought this painting for their country house. 

There was something for everyone.

My walking partner, Sophie Soprano, entered this painting. 

This Art Critique looks familiar. 

On the last day of the event, the Artist Studio Tour was part of the celebration.


 This bowl was the last piece out of my kiln and the first piece to sell.

It was a glorious day. 

Artists walked away, a few pennies richer.

Many visitors came and went.  

Our town is back to normal. 

I wonder if the ice cream parlor will survive.  

We stopped in and chose a BYU Creamery
 (Brigham Young University) 
chocolate ice cream.  

We will be back for more.  

Have a great week dear friends, 

Gina 

We are celebrating, again.

Plein air Competition and Artist Studio Tour, Spring City, Utah.

The four day event will culminate tonight with the announcement of winners. 

Artists from near and far will have painted in 

en plein air for 3 days.  

While Pasha is taking it easy,

I have been painting lots of tiles for new kitchens.

A few new pieces are still in the kiln. 
If all goes well they will become part of the 
Artist Studio Tour Sale tomorrow afternoon. 

This is also the time of year when we are very busy harvesting and preserving.

And still bottle feeding Liesel who has been reunited with her cousin "Charming Hansel".  


I will show you photos of the winning paintings tomorrow. 

Wishing you a wonderful Labor Day weekend. 

Gina 

The Event.

It's here. 

The Annual Plein Air Competition

and 

Artist Studio Tour, Spring City, Utah.

The four day event will culminate tomorrow morning with the announcement of winners. 

Artists from near and far will have painted in 

en plein air for 3 days.  

A trip around our environs, late afternoon yesterday, found several participants painting local scenes.  

After the winners of the plein air Competition are announced and prizes have been awarded, the Annual Artist Studio Tour will commence.  

Unlike Pasha, I have been busy. 

My Studio will be open Saturday.  

I have been painting, not blogging

Wish you could come for a visit.

Have a great weekend.

Gina 

Summer and Sunflowers

What's not to like

They go together.

You may recall that when thinning sunflowers have a look at the stems.  The green stem on the left will produce light colors and the darker stem on the right will produce the vivid reds and rust colors.  

A few Foxglove for contrast makes for a festive show. 

New fingerling potatoes look at home with apples and pears.  

These tuberous begonias have been in the same pots for years.  They go into the greenhouse before the frost where they are forgotten until they show new growth in the Spring. 

I didn't think that I would like these pale peach colored Foxglove...they have become one of my favorites. 

A few volunteer sunflowers show up in the potato and squash patch.  The planted seeds (on the left and growing in a row) always bloom a few weeks later. 

 This is the time of year we like to be outside, working in the garden and relaxing in the shade when the sun is high.  

Just gathered for a bouquet.

Don't forget to cut a few flowers to enjoy inside.

Sweet Peas always make me happy.  The odoratus type or old varieties still have that heavenly perfume.  



I'm getting ready to welcome visitors today and tomorrow.  
Our town is celebrating with a Blue Grass Festival and 
Gallery Stroll. 

A horse drawn wagon will bring visitors to my studio.


Have a wonderful week dear friends.  

Gina 

I've been writing a book

And it's off to the Printer this morning.

Hurrah!

Now back to painting.

A few more ceramics to paint for the 

Artist Studio Tour 

this weekend. 

Have a great week my dear Blogging Friends.

Gina 

I have not abandoned you

As usual, this time of year

I am preparing for  

the Annual Artist Studio Tour. 

See that red Poppy with the black and green center?

That is an Opium Poppy,  (papaver somniferum).

When I was a very young girl I spent a lot of time out in the country side gathering food for our many rabbits. 

Sooner or later I would run into a Poppy field. 

Often the pods were almost ripe but not quite. 

I would open a pod, empty the many seeds into my hand and hold my hand up toward the sun. 

Within seconds the unripe and green seeds would turn into black poppy seeds, yes the kind you would sprinkle onto baked breads and cakes. 

As soon as the seeds turned black I would eat them, all of them, 

all at once. 

Was that Euphoria I felt?

Wishing you a euphoric week my dear 
Blogging Friends

Gina  

Artist Studio Tour and Plein Air competition

It was a beautiful day.
The Artist Studio Tour was a great success. 

Many people came. 

It was too beautiful to be inside.  My temporary studio was set up under a row of Mountain Ash trees. 

The plein air competition attracts more and more Artists to our little town each year. 

First Cash Prize in the plein air competition was awarded to 

 Doug Fryer, a fine local Artist.  This is the first in many years that a local artist won the coveted prize.  

Even grown ups wanted to pick apples.  

We have plenty.  

The Italian plums were not quite ripe.  

Winter Pears will grow some more. 

Sunflowers of every variety were blooming along the fence.

Interlaken grapes were ready to pick to the delight of

 little boys and girls. 

Wishing you a bountiful week ahead. 

Gina 

Mon Bouquet du Jour

It's a Jungle out there.
A jungle Bouquet. 

Grapes and Morning Glories fight for attention. 
There's no room to walk past. 

Morning Glories are winning.  

I will be painting.

Glaze is applied next, pencil sketch lines disappear during firing.  Will fire to 1790 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Glaze and powder pigments fuse during 24 hour firing schedule. 

You won't see much of me next week. 

I will be painting and painting for the Artist Studio Tour.

Have a beautiful weekend and a wonderful week my dear 

Blogging Friends. 

Gina 

J