Coca Seattle (Center on Contemporary Art)

This organization in Seattle, WA is so supportive of artists.
You can view an artist member directory on their website and get links to some interesting shows and events.
http://cocaseattle.net/directory/artist.php?id=331&m=all

Sunlight Bursting with Joy
oil on canvas
copyright andreaklawson.com 2015

Help stop the Dakota Access Pipeline!

Andrea K. Lawson’s exhibit, Seascape  Mindscape will be on view at Pippa’s Real Tea in Port Townsend through December 31^st, 2016. The show juxtaposes intimate landscapes depicting the energy of sea and sky with internal landscapes of the human brain. The brain series is  painted in acrylic. The seascapes are oil on canvas.

Andrea will donate 50% of painting sales to the Standing Rock Tribe DAPL fund to help stop the Dakota Access Pipeline protecting our water and people.

This is a chance to enjoy art, support art and give to a good cause.

Pippa’s Real tea is located at 636 Water Street, Port Townsend and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. For more information about Andrea’s art please find her at www.andreaklawson.com

standingrock.org  Save our water!

 

Summer Navy Lights
oil on canvas
copyright andreaklawson 2015

Creating a Butterfly Mural for a California Home

Monarch Migration

acrylic on canvas 48 x 72"

detail of the Butterfly Mural

I just got  back from completing a 75 square foot mural for a private  home in San Raphael, California. It was hot work but very gratifying. My intent in creating the butterfly mural was to extend the garden space  and expand the feeling of sky while bringing more vibrant  color to the enclosed garden space. It's a dialogue between art and setting, as now the garden is being redesigned with the mural's color palette in mind. Susan Amanda who commissioned the  mural told me that  it makes her happy to wake up and  look out her kitchen window each morning to view the mural. Since my other goal was to create a painting that would bring a feeling of joy and happiness to the owner for years to come, I consider the project a success.The butterfly images relate to my Monarch Migration series which call attention to the environmental challenges facing the monarch butterflies. My most recent piece Monarch Migration Flight seeks to give the viewer the feeling of being surrounded by the  flock of butterflies.  www.andreaklawson.com/gallery

The images in the mural  vary from large close up butterflies  to abstractions creating a sense of movement and space. After extensive research about monarchs, I definitely took artistic license in their execution to create interesting designs and color variations. Another challenging aspect of the project was that the mural was to be painted onto four doors.  Because of the doors, the surface was not flat.  I chose to deal with the space as one  and to incorporate some of the hinge shapes into the butterflies.
I thought it would be fun to share the process of creating Butterfly Mural:
One of the most time consuming  parts of the process was the surface cleaning and preparation.

 During the heat wave,  I had to work in the early morning before it got too hot!

I used Golden acrylic paint with GAC 200,  goldenpaints.com and did a lot of research to make the painting archival for outdoors. I selected the most color fast  pigments which included many earth tones but also lots of bright oranges and blues, for instance,  Phalo blue for the sky. First, I painted the entire   surface shades of sky blue. Each color had to be painted in two coats to make it color fast.The idea is that in the face of sunlight two coats are better than one!
 Next I created a grid to  translate my small painting design to full scale.
Luckily, my brother Jeremy dropped by to help me with the chalk line and level! He sneakily let me climb up and down the ladder multiple times before realizing that he was tall enough!

Me and Jeremy making a grid

 Drawing the design and honing it to go with the actual wall/door area.

Outdoor painting table

Detail of Completed mural with the Artist
(before final msa varnish to protect the  mural from weather and UVA)

This was an exciting project and I'd love to do more. Please contact me if you would like to commission a  mural or painting for your home or garden.

Paintings Drying on my floor

 Waiting and waiting for them to dry so that I can find room to walk around and  paint some more!

Turning Point Exhibit opens this Thursday, September 5, 2013!

Turning Point  opens at the Corridor Gallery,

 Seattle Washington  through September 30, 2013

This month Artist Trust Edge 2007 Graduates will exhibit their work at the Tashiro Kaplan Building in Seattle, WA. 

Gallery hours are Wednesday  thru Saturday  10:30-5:00 PM

You are invited to the Opening  Reception  September 5th 5-9 PM.

  Artists participating in the show are Amy Armitage, Ellen Borison, Donna-Lee Elke, Karen Hackenberg, Trish Harding, Nicolette Harrington, Linda R. Hughes, Lydia Kunnap,             Andrea Lawson, Nico Lund, Pamela Mills, Cheri O’Brien, Joyce Prigot, Colleen Sargen, Mark Skullerud, Denise Snyder and Martha Worthley.

On view: Andrea K. Lawson Rite of Spring: Firelight Dance, oil on canvas,   30 x 40"

The theme, Turning Point, refers to renewal or a transition in the artist's work. Alternately it refers to a turning point in nature or  a political or social event,  cultural or social awareness. 

About the Edge Corridor artists and what Turning Point means to them: 

Andrea Lawson www.andreaklawson.com : Inspired by music, dance and nature, my paintings are produced through a voluptuous layering of paint and vital gesture. My work is intensely process-oriented, born of my ongoing engagement with the emotion, mystery and magic of applying paint to canvas.I love oil on canvas because it is sensuous and provides deep color. I also work with drawing materials and intaglio printmaking and pastels. My Rite of  Spring series is inspired by the ballet Rite of Spring which  involves themes of life, death, rebirth and spring. Rite of Spring: Firelight Dance also conveys a feeling of primitive people or dancers around a fire which was a turning point in our human history and feels to me like a point of gathering together. The painting itself is somewhat of a new approach as I use the   elements of gesture in a very   direct method similar to  drawing.  I felt that the theme really fit with  my current painting series and I really enjoyed selecting pieces to submit to the show.    

The Artist Trust  Edge program  was inspiring and a great way to connect with other artists.  Artist Trust is  a wonderful resource.  

Joyce Prigot:

Joyce Prigot grew up and lived in the NYC area until she moved to the Pacific Northwest a decade ago. It was a difficult transition for her, trying to create a feeling of home in such a different atmosphere. She figured that if she could understand her environment around her, specifically what the cloud patterns communicated about imminent weather, she'd feel more comfortable. This is a painting from her medium sized oil paintings called her cloud series, which she painted to get a better understanding of the world around her. 

More about the artist can be found on her web site, 

joyceprigot.comjoyceprigot.com 

 Joyce Prigot
Cumulus Congestus
2012
oil on canvas
20 x 20 inches
Image courtesy of Larry Mansfield

  Turning Point was curated by MalPina Chan, Dayton Knipher, Katy Krantz, Lisa Pollman

Corridor Gallery is located in the Tashiro Kaplan building,

206 S. Washington Street, Seattle Washington, 98104   Corridor Gallery

Throughout  2013 Tashiro Kaplan's Corridor Gallery at 306 S. Washington St., Seattle, will exclusively showcase Artist Trust EDGE graduates.  This gallery is in the heart of the arts district in Seattle. 

Edge Corridor Gallery Facebook 

http://theseattlevine.com/11103/artisanship/group-show-explores-growth-and-change/ 

 Artist Trust is a not-for-profit organization whose sole mission is to support and encourage individual artists working in all disciplines in order to enrich community life throughout Washington State.

ArtistTrust.org

Landscape Painting!

Inspired by our outdoor friendly weather, I would like to feature a variety of landscape paintings this month!

Here are some inspiring landscape paintings by my friend the artist, Stephen Yates. I love the abstract capturing of light and  water!

Inlet is 36 x 36"

The two Marsh paintings below are 36 x 80"

 

http://www.stephenyatesarts.com/

ArtSites.us Has a newsletter!

 Guess what? This week, I'm the featured artist! HOoray!

 Click here to see the article:

http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=383d89cd7132ba36405d3909f&id=d277035353&e=274d4f2b38

Night Parade Dance, oil on canvas by Andrea K Lawson

Landscape Painting at Anderson Lake!

Yes, me painting! It was supposed to be the cloudy day but was actually very hot!

My friend Sharon Schlentner painting at the same location!

 

I got up at the crack of dawn to paint a pink hued sunrise but got fog!

Landscape painting is always a surprise. Here is what the sky looked like! Grey!

Morning sky from Port Hadlock, Washington, photo by A. Lawson, 9/13

 

Illustration Friday!

Worn

 

 

Worn Bear

Mona Art Auction is tonight!

Mona art auction is tonight in La  Conner! A chance to bid on lots of great art including my oil on canvas, Basket of Pomegranites painting.

It's an exciting event!

http://www.museumofnwart.org/ 

 

 

This is my painting in the Mona Auction. Oil on canvas.

Now sold at the auction. 

It was a fun event, I was able to attend the reception, couldn't get to the actual auction because I was watching my daughter dance.

Happy Anniversary Rite of Spring!!!!!!!

Here are some of my paintings from my Rite of Spring Series, Happy Spring!

Rite of Spring: Iris Moon, pastel

  Rite of Spring: Fire Dancers

Rite of Spring: Bikini Dance, oil on canvas

Rite of Spring: Dance, oil on canvas

 

Spring is Coming

Spring is coming! I finally got a chance to start work on my Geese paintings inspired by a drive through Whidbey and La Conner from a previous springtime. It is truly amazing to be surrounded by their honking whiteness.  Here is my small painting of Geese:

Migrating Geese

New Illustrations, still debating Seaweederella or Swimerella

               Swimerella Rides to The Ball in my twist on Grimm's Fairy Tale, Cinderella. In my version, Cinderella is a mermaid, Swimerella or Seaweederella.

 

     Last weekend I had a fabulously inspiring time attending the Society of Children's Writer's and Illustrators Western Washington conference.

As part of the conference, I took a master illustrators intensive with Scott Magoon, Art Director, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and  Lucy Ruth Cummins, art director with Simon and Shuster. Both are also children's book illustrators.  The two directors really got across their excitement and love of children's books. Our assignment was to create an illustration from Grimm's Fairy Tales, with a twist. This was fun and also crazy to see all of the variations from my Seaweederella  to an adorable  fluff ball monster Little Red Riding hood, ( Ben Clanton)  and Robin's nutty Rapunzel with a beard.

Working with variations on fairy tales is a fun way to expand both  visual and literary ideas.

These drawings led to some new illustrations for my portfolio which are now on view at my website gallery. http://www.andreaklawson.com/gallery/illustrations/

I named my underwater Cinderella, Seaweederella, thinking that Cinderella was named for her proximity to the cinders and that Seaweederella  would be all covered in ocean muck and seaweed. I had a suggestion  to name her Swimerella and  think it has a nice sound to it.  For now, I won't say who the suggestion came  from as that might sway public opinion. I'll give the person credit if wanted,  later.

Andrea Now Showing at the Directors Gallery on Bainbridge Island!

Andrea's Paintings now showing at the Directors Gallery, Bainbridge, Washington on view for First Friday Gallery Walk!
New this month, August 2010, Andrea's paintings will be at the Directors Gallery on Bainbridge Island!
First Friday Gallery walk is tomorrow Bainbridge Island Galleries are open from 5pm-8 or 9pm
Contact information for the Directors gallery: The Directors Gallery
126 Madrone, Bainbridge, Washington open daily 10-6pm

Paintings at Artisans On Taylor through August

Please stop into Artisans On Taylor, Port Townsend, Washington or visit the beautiful online gallery at Artisans On Taylor/Artists.

September Bouquet, oil on canvas

Current Art Exhibits

My paintings at the Undertown through August 3 and more paintings at Artisans On Taylor, Port Townsend, Washington through August 2010!

Kala Point, Landscape, Oil on canvas copyright 2010 Andrea K. Lawson

New Paintings Art Opening July 3 Artisans On Taylor, Undertown!

Please join me at The Undertown for a lively art opening July3, 5-8 pm, celtic, zydeco and cajun music with the Alternators until 10 pm at The Undertown, 211 Taylor St. Port Townsend, Washington.

First Sunrise oil Painting

Brushing the light of luminous clouds reflecting on water always in motion
When it happens I catch my breath.