More new work from TICA. "Bubba Gump's Nightmare". Need I say more.

New Art!

Here is the piece I finished next. Same basic process, but I added some stamping in this one. I try to incorporate the bits of collage into the paint so it is difficult to tell where the paper starts and the paint begins.

Here is one of the first images I did at TICA. I start by finding interesting collage materials, then glue them down to start my composition. I add underpainting in a complementary color. Since I work in acrylics and like to scrapethe surface to let the underpainting peek through, I complete small areas at a time. Otherwise the paint dries too quickly and I can't scrape out areas. I finish the painting by adding small spots of color to bring out areas and add detail.

Home At Last

Flew in last night from Chicago. What an amazing week! For those of you that are HS art teachers, you should definitely try to get in. Although I am exhausted, I had a great time and learned a lot about contemporary art. I have a ton of pictures to download and organize today. I will try to get some up later for all to see. I also got some new artwork finished. I am extremely happy with the last few pieces I did. I see a new direction on its way. Hope everyone had a great 4th!

So Far In Chicago

Things are going well here at TICA. We get lectures on contemporary art 3 times a day. Most of the time they are quite interesting. Today at lunch we had a presentation from an artist named Sarah Sze. She does the most amazing installations! I would love to see her work in  person. I am also getting a lot of time in the studio. So far I have finished 5 small paintings and gotten a lot done on the first 15 pages of a new altered book. I will try to get some pictures up later this week. I just found the computer lab in this building today so I could take some time to post. We are going to the contemporary art museum this afternoon and have another lecture tonight. Looking forward to it.

Hello from Chicago

I'm at the Art Institute of Chicago this week for their Teacher Institute for Contemporary Art. So far they have kept us all very busy. We are getting lectures on contemporary art during lunch and dinner as well as studio time during the day. The city itself is beautiful! Several of us walked out to the lakefront last night. The whole area is one giant marina. The boats are so beautiful. The dorm room that I am staying in looks out over the street. The view at night with all the lights is awesome. The first night everyone was awakened by an incredibly shrill alarm. Turns out someone had burned some food in one of the rooms. Nothing like walking down 8 flights of stairs and standing on the streets of Chicago at 11 PM in your jamies! Got to go and head over to the studio building. It is behind the museum. Hope to get some new work done this week.

Relaxing

Enjoying some time at the beach. Weather has been beautiful. Only rains at night.

New website is UP!!!

Finally got my new website up and running. One glitch with the contact form. Will try to get that taken care of ASAP. I found the template online and fell in love with it. Not sure about the music. Let me know if you like it as much as I do. Here is the link: http://www.melissawalkerartist.com

When I went to the opening of the Randolph Arts guild's juried show last week, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that one of my former students had taken 1st place. Susan Harrell has been pursuing her art ever since she left Randleman HS. Through her diligence and hard work she has achieved an amazing degree of skill with oil painting. It's rewarding to know that I had some small part in her decision to pursue art. Take a look at her winning painting. Congratulations, Susan!

Back at it

Checked out my new face book fan page. Just put it up last Sunday and already I have 15 fans. If you sign up within the next 27 days you are eligible to win a free 18x24"poster of one of my paintings. Here is the link: Melissa Walker artist
I am also on twitter. Check for me there. When I get all this internet stuff working together, hopefully it will generate some interest in my work. Wish me luck!

Randolph Arts Guild Juried Show

This week has been pretty busy so far. This past Tuesday I attended the Randolph Arts Guild's 27th Annual Juried Art Show. I had entered 3 pieces and received an Honorable Mention for my painting "Dreaming of Plates". It's always nice to get some recognition. As usual, there was a good crowd, although I got there a little late. The artwork was wonderful. There are some very good artists in Randolph Co.

Another school year

Time flies when you are having fun, or so they say. Not sure if that applies to this past year. Insanely hectic is more like it. At least the school year is almost over. Only 3 exams to proctor. If you have never proctored an EOC or VOCATS exam in NC you don't know what you are missing. Standing, (literally) for up to 3 1/2 hours watching students take a test. You can't read, grade papers or talk. Neither can the students. If a cell phone even rings, the whole test is thrown out and everyone has to come back another day to try again. Sooo much fun! I do enjoy teaching high school students though. They always keep me on my toes.