Happy Artful Holidays!

It's been a wonderfully creative year - not the least of which is because we've had two sweet grand children enter our lives this fall - can't get enough of them. Welcoming a baby is the perfect pause in our somewhat chaotic lives. They are perfect reminders that all's right with the world.

But... all that snuggling takes time, so I will not have a Christmas card painting for the first time in several years. I'm thinking it might be a New Year's painting! Stay tuned.

I am very pleased to note that although it's been a busy year with non-art needs and distractions, there have been some wonderfully rewarding opportunities on the art front.

Noteworthy ©2017 Dorothy Lorenze

This fall my trompe l'oeil painting Noteworthy was juried into Oil Painters of America's Eastern Regional exhibit. It's my first acceptance to a show by this national organization. The exhibit is at McBride Gallery in Annapolis, a lovely gallery in a beautifully historic and artsy town. Happily, the show has been extended into January.

Earlier this fall two paintings were juried into Borderland State Park's Ames Mansion, in North Easton, MA. I enjoyed discovering this gorgeous historic venue and getting to know artist, feminist and inventor, Blanche Ames. Such a fascinating woman! She and her husband, Oakes, also happen to be grandparents of actor George Plimpton. A portrait of Oakes Ames in the dining room looks, eerily, just like grandson George. (But I digress.)

My next new art adventure will be to participate in Art Show: Bedford which has been ongoing since 1973. And it was the first art show I ever visited when we moved  to the area in the 70s. I'm very pleased to be invited. The exhibit runs from January 25 to February 3 at St. Matthews Parish House in Bedford, NY. It's always a popular event and all proceeds benefit local charities - so it's good works for good works!

Santa's Chocolate Shadow © 2017 Dorothy Lorenze

Since I haven't got a new Christmas painting to share, here are two of my favorites from past years  (which some new readers haven't yet seen). Santa's Chocolate Shadow was painted last fall and it has recently found a new home.

Christmas 1945 is an ongoing favorite of mine because it features vintage ornaments from my parent's childhood trees.

So this is what I enjoy about still life - the opportunity to explore light, color and reflection while spending time with vintage, nostalgic subjects that draw me into another time and place. Sort of a painterly, mini Downton Abbey adventure.

Christmas 1945 ©2013 Dorothy Lorenze

I do have several new paintings in the works - almost finished - and I plan to write about my painting process after the holidays, so please keep an eye out for that.

In the meantime, thank you all for your kind comments and support throughout 2018. You helped to make a busy year even more rewarding. I hope you are enjoying time with family and friends in the coming days, reminiscing about all the goodness in your life. I look forward to entering 2019 with renewed creative energy and sincere wishes for joy and peace in this crazy world.