S.I.N.O. - SUMMER IN NAME ONLY

Not sure what to write here, about the summer that played hide-and-seek with most of southern Norway this year.It seems that NORTHERN NORWAY made off with the sun and high temps. and have the most D.vitamin going into this winter. We, in the south west of the country, have new records for rain and sales of water-proof outdoor clothes. Between my better half having come down with Shingles and the weather, it has been a steller summer for staying home and getting lots of work done in the studio. Now that it's the middle of September, the sun has decided to make an appearence and I'm ready to take a break and fill up my depleted energy levels. I did, however, manage to get in a little trip to western Ireland and southern Norway (Grimstad) in June, and southern Norway (Lindesnes) in September, and they have helped to inspire. The studio has been my daily retreat, and I don't see that changing any time soon. The course with Pam Caughey (Art, Success, Masters) was completed in August, so now I am FREE to explore my own interests and painting direction. I think light and sun, contrasts of light and dark in nature will always be a theme for me. The spring and summer months, with new growth and color bursts, just calm me down and reassure. One take away from the courses I've taken are decisions over color choices. Previously I have blindly used the 3 primary colors in their warm and cool versions, plus black and white to mix with. As you may know, there are VERY many yellows/blues/reds on the market, so depending on the opacity or transparency and properties/color versions of those primaries, you will get thousands of color combinations. Mixing color swatches in huge numbers, exploring the different combinations of colors that I have, have narrowed me down to some definite favorites-and they aren't what I was using previously. Just one of the many ah-ha moments in the never ending study of art. This weekend is the yearly art festival B-Open in Bergen and lots of interesting things are happening in art studios around the city. Artists are opening their studios-inviting in anyone who is curious to see what goes on in there where we are spending sooooo much time creating something out of nothing. My studio will be open for a visit from 12-17:00 on Sunday, along with Charles Grande. Sandviksboder 73a, 5035 Sandviken. I'd love to see friends and neighbors for a coffee and a chat. Check out B-Open.no for the whole proogram and list of artists whose studios are open both Saturday and Sunday. That's all from me for now. Stay in touch!