Newsletters

I hope you will also check out my Blog featuring my newest paintings, my thoughts on art theory, special painting events and class discussions. You can also sign up to automatically receive my blog posts in your email mailbox. The sign up form is located in the right hand column on my Blog page or you may click here for a direct link. You can opt out at anytime, but I hope you will enjoy these visits to my studio.

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Happy February 3rd to you, as we clean up from yet another major snowstorm. I heard that the groundhog saw his shadow, so we have another six weeks of winter.

January was a very busy month for me as I participated in artist, Leslie Saeta’s “Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge”. The event has grown to over 1480 artists from all over the world. I was pleased to be able to complete all 30 paintings.

This is my third challenge with Leslie. All my paintings for all three events can be seen on my website click here.

I have also been busy updating my Ebay page and sales have been good. Click here to see my selection of available paintings on Ebay. I have more available work on my website, www.CeleneFarris.com.

While roaming through Facebook the other day, I found another interesting opportunity. Artist, Bill Guffey, has organized a Virtual Paint-Out. This group is now in its sixth year and has an interesting concept. Every month a group of artists travel, via their computer, to a different location. Using Google Maps Street Views only, they explore the area and each artist finds a spot to paint. The idea is to “walk around” the streets using Google Street View as if you were actually there with a painting group looking for that ideal scene to paint. You then post your finished painting to his blog. Here is the link for more information, www.VirtualPaintOut.blogspot.com. In the past six years the group has painted all over the world. Last month’s destination was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This month’s location is Bangladesh. The Google Maps Street Views are limited for this region, but I’m going to check it out. It will be interesting mixing geography and art.

My blog keeps me busy. I have been posting all my new paintings and some class information. If you wish to visit my blog, here is the link www.CeleneFarris.blogspot.com. Should you wish to receive my blog posts automatically in your email, there is a sign up box in the right hand column of my blog. You can opt out at any time but I hope you will enjoy visiting with me. I look forward to your comments and questions.

If I do go to Bangladesh this month I will post the finished painting in my blog. Hope to see you there.

Stay warm and thanks for visiting,

On this peaceful Christmas day I want to wish you all a very happy holiday season and a New Year filled with peace and joy.

Although it was raining this morning and almost 50 degrees outside (very unusual weather for a Maine Christmas), I'm sure that Santa put on his raincoat and completed his job without a hitch. I know that he was very generous at our house.

Our family gathers here for Christmas Eve. It is always such a fun time, filled with laughter, love and great food. There were presents galore and Ginger had a wonderful time ripping up all the wrapping paper.

Today is a quiet day, just the three of us - Tony, Ginger and I. The classical radio station is playing beautiful Christmas music, Cornish hens are roasting in the oven and the house smells so fragrant. The wrapping papers and ribbons have been picked up, but there are still bits of paper all through the house, thanks to Ginger. Tomorrow will be soon enough to run the vacuum. As I see these bits and pieces scattered about, I smile with the remembrance of last night's festivities.

My refrigerator is stuffed with the leftovers from last night so I won't have to cook for a week. That is good as it's time to clean the studio and get ready for the January 30/30 Challenge. If all goes well, I hope to get a lot of painting done this winter, both for the Challenge and some larger gallery pieces. My internet marketing is doing well and I hope to expand that in the new year.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. After all the hustle and bustle of the season, we are left with the warm glow of family love and good friendships.

Today we had the closing on the sale of our building. I would like to share the history of the gallery that has been such an important part of my life.

In January 1999, three Maine artists, Louis Masciovecchio, Celene Farris and Dianne Horton, established The Working Art Gallery on Front Street at the Belfast waterfront. The name was chosen because the three artists maintained their studios at the gallery. Visitors were encouraged to watch and ask questions. Celene also offered art classes at the gallery. The three artists helped to establish The Belfast Art Association, working closely with the other galleries to create a vibrant art community in Belfast.

Mid September of 2003, the gallery moved to its own building at 65 Main Street in historic downtown Belfast. (The William Crosby Building, 1857). The gallery expanded to two floors and added a visiting artist’s gallery giving new, up and coming artists the opportunity to display their work in a gallery setting. A classroom on the second floor was now used for Celene's expanded oil painting classes. The gallery continued to grow, representing over 30 local artists.

In November 2006, Maine artist, Sheryl Tripp, became the gallery’s new manager and added The Aina Moja Shop, a project of Expanding Opportunities, a non-profit organization supporting native African artists in Kenya and other Kenyan charities.

When the local newspaper began its “Best of the Best” People’s Choice Awards Competition in 2007, the gallery was voted the top art gallery in Waldo County. The gallery continued to receive recognition each subsequent year.

At the close of 2011, after thirteen busy years, Celene and Louis decided it was time to downsize the gallery and give themselves more free time to paint. They moved their gallery to the second floor and exhibited the works of Louis Masciovecchio, Sheryl Tripp and Celene Farris.

On the first floor, noted Maine artist and antique collector, Jude Nickerson, opened her new signature gallery, Raven’s Nest Gallery, featuring an exciting mix of Maine art and Maine antiques. She offered to oversee the upstairs gallery as well.

In March of 2014, Louis and his wife, Mary, returned to Maine. The second and third floors of the gallery building became their new temporary home. The physical gallery closed and a new virtual gallery was created. The first floor remained the home of Raven's Nest Gallery.

On September 3, 2014, Celene and Louis met to sign the sale papers on their building. The great old building is about to begin its new life and the artists are free to paint and travel. Celene will continue to maintain the gallery's website.

It has been a remarkable journey and I would like to sincerely thank our patrons and participating artists for making this a wonderful and exciting experience. The success of our gallery would not have been possible without your support. It has been a great pleasure to be part of Belfast's vibrant art community.

We are extremely pleased to be voted one of the top art galleries in Waldo County by The Republican Journal's "Best of the Best" People's Choice Awards for the past five years. It is an honor we will always treasure and we sincerely thank all those who made this possible.

"Art washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life." Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

Celene

July 2014 Newsletter

I hope you are enjoying your summer. Here in Maine the weather has been gorgeous – lots of sunshine, warm days, comfortable nights and only a few days of steamy summer heat. Great weather to work outside and we have been busy! My art classes are on hold for the summer and I am using this extra time to paint and study.

I have been reading a fascinating book by James Gurney, “ Color and Light”. A very in-depth study by a talented illustrator and teacher. I am especially intrigued by his chapter on “Gamut Masking”. This concept uses the color wheel to chart a selection of harmonious colors to create mood and drama. The gamut mask shows what colors, and their chroma (intensity), are included. All other colors are excluded. The gamut mask can be moved around the color wheel to choose different combinations to create various moods and effects.

This was a difficult concept to grasp at first but the more I read and thought about it, the more intrigued I became. I searched out his blog for more information and found a treasure trove of information on more than just gamut masking and color. Definitely worth reading. Here is the link – www.GurneyJourney.blogspot.com.

Then yesterday I received a note from Leslie Saeta saying that she was organizing another 30/30 painting challenge for September. Perfect timing! I can experiment with Gamut Masking for the challenge. I will have enough time to study a bit more and to purchase a color wheel that shows the full range of color chroma from pure color on the outer edge to neutral gray in the center. I will purchase both the standard wheel and the Munsell wheel for comparison. The more I read about the Munsell color wheel the more interesting it becomes. It differs from the standard color wheel by shifting the colors a bit more to the blue side and is supposedly a truer color wheel.

I hope you will consider joining Leslie’s “September 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge”. There are no rules except to have fun. You can paint as many as you like and she lets you post them on her website. Any subject, any size. I enjoyed the January 30/30 challenge and painted 24 – 5x7 paintings. I noticed a definite increase in energy in my studio and it was fun to join over 400 artists from all over the world in this adventure. I met many nice artists along the way. Here is a link - http://30paintingsin30days.weebly.com/. Leslie also has a great blog about her free radio talk show called “Artists Helping Artists” that you can access through your computer at - http://artistshelpingartistsblog.blogspot.com/.

I will be talking more about these topics in my blog. You can sign up to automatically receive my new posts in your email mailbox here. Or visit www.CeleneFarris.blogspot.com to read my previous posts. There are over 50 posts that I hope you will enjoy.

Our beautiful Maine spring has arrived, chasing away the cold and sometimes dreary days of our long winter. The new grass and emerging flowers are lush and colorful. The many song birds add dancing bits of bright colors to the landscape as they flit back and forth at the feeder, chirping to each other and singing in the trees. Our resident bluebird visits every day and I am reminded of the Indian story about the bluebird carrying the sky on his back. In addition to our usual summer birds, the spring migration has brought many colorful visitors who stop to feed and rest while on route to their summer breeding grounds. My well-worn bird book sits by my window, ready to help.

Of course, spring in Maine means blackflies. Luckily they don't like the salt air, so now my plein air painting trips will be to the coast. Painting inland this time of the year is for hearty folks only. Thankfully, blackflies like cool spring weather and will be gone when summer arrives. Meanwhile, the swallows are having a feast.

It was a pleasant surprise to see a picture of our gallery in the June 2014 issue of Maine Magazine (page 48). The article was titled," Belfast & Lincolnville in 48 hours.

The annual Senior College Art Show at The Hutchinson Center in Belfast last week was a great success. It's always nice to visit with artist friends that we haven't seen all winter.

Not much else for news. May is a busy month, with lots of yard work, cleaning up winter's debris and pulling the weeds that are growing as fast (or faster) than the spring flowers. It's time to plant our vegetable garden and set out the annuals. And now that our pup is six months old, her serious dog training begins. All this means lots of time spent outdoors - what could be better.

In my March newsletter, I mentioned that our physical gallery, The Working Art Gallery, Belfast, Maine, is now a virtual gallery. The move is complete and I have been sorting through my paintings and prints. Some paintings will go to other galleries, some, along with my matted prints, will be listed on My Ebay page and the remainder will be stored and listed later on.

I'm also breaking in a new computer. Since Microsoft recently stopped supporting Windows XP, I upgraded to a Windows 8.1. This past week was spent moving and sorting files and pictures and learning this new system.

The weather is finally warming and the snow is gone except for shady areas and the deep woods. This is a good time to finish all this sorting, organizing and updating of both my website and the gallery website. Next week's weather forecast is for sun and temps in the 50s. Time to start painting outside again.

I hope you've had a chance to read my recent blogs. I showed a simple pattern for an easel shelf that works great on my outdoor easel. My husband made it from a piece of leftover birch plywood. It is easy to attach, just slip it on. Cutouts hold extra brushes, my medium jar and turps container. Here is the link - My Blog.

I still enjoy writing in my blog and have over 60 posts. You can sign up to receive my new posts automatically in your email mailbox. Look for the sign-up form in the right hand column on my blog page. You may opt-out at any time but I hope you will enjoy these visits to my studio.

“To everything there is a season …..….” so goes the well-known song. Finally, spring has arrived and brought not only a change in the weather, but also a change for our gallery as well. My partner and his wife have relocated from South Carolina to Belfast, Maine, and will live on the second and third floors of our gallery building. The first floor will continue to be the home of Raven’s Nest Gallery operated by Maine artist and antique collector, Jude Nickerson. Our gallery’s physical presence will be replaced by its virtual presence.

My partner, Louis Masciovecchio, and I have owned and operated an art gallery in Belfast, Maine, since 1999 and now it is time to slow down and paint. Now that we are both retired and he is back in Maine, we hope to be able to paint together again without the responsibilities of the business getting in the way.

I would like to share the history of our gallery, taken directly from our website.

“Three Maine artists, Louis Masciovecchio, Celene Farris and Dianne Horton, established The Working Art Gallery in January 1999 on Front Street at the Belfast waterfront. The name was chosen because the three artists maintained their studios at the gallery. Visitors were encouraged to watch and ask questions. Celene also offered art classes at the gallery. The three artists helped to establish The Belfast Arts Association, working closely with the other galleries to create a vibrant art community in Belfast.

In September of 2003, the gallery moved to its own building at 65 Main Street in historic downtown Belfast. (The William Crosby Building, 1857). The gallery expanded to two floors and added a visiting artists’ gallery giving new, up and coming artists the opportunity to display their work in a gallery setting. A classroom on the second floor was now used for Celene's expanded oil painting classes. Louis and his wife used the third floor apartment when they visited Maine.

The gallery continued to grow, representing over 30 local artists. In November 2006, Maine artist, Sheryl Tripp, became the gallery’s new manager and added The Aina Moja Shop, a project of Expanding Opportunities, a non-profit organization supporting native African artists in Kenya and other Kenyan charities.

At the close of 2011, after thirteen busy years, Celene and Louis decided it was time to downsize the gallery and give themselves more free time to paint. They moved their gallery to the second floor and featured the work of Louis Masciovecchio, Sheryl Tripp and Celene Farris.

On the first floor, noted Maine artist and antique collector, Jude Nickerson, opened her new signature gallery, Raven’s Nest Gallery, featuring an exciting mix of Maine art and Maine antiques. And she agreed to oversee the smaller gallery on the second floor.”

It has been great fun and lots of work operating an art gallery. I won’t miss the paperwork and the long hours, but I will miss all the wonderful people I have met along the way. We have worked with so many talented artists, both local and from away. It has been a privilege to be part of their art community and I have devoted two pages on our website showing their work and contact information. I will continue to update our gallery’s website presence. I will also miss all our wonderful customers. We have had so much fun and enjoyed ourselves immensely, but it has taken a great deal of the time that we will now be able to use for painting – both plein air and in our studios. You may visit The Working Art Gallery here.

Lou and Mary’s furniture has arrived and all the artwork on the second floor will be removed so they can use the wonderful space as their home. They have an awesome view from their living room and new back deck overlooking the water and the new Front Street Shipyard. From their front windows, they can look out at Main Street and across to the bay. Belfast is a charming community and they are pleased to be back.

I will be shipping some of my paintings to my new gallery in McKinney, Texas. Some I will add to My Ebay page. I have had good luck with Ebay. It’s an easy way to sell and I am developing a customer base with repeat sales. I also have a few local venues that will accept more work, such as our local hospital and The Fireside Inn’s Ocean Edge Gallery on Route 1, Belfast. I will continue to teach at my home studio. I have two small classes that I really enjoy. And, of course, there is my new venture into social media. I do enjoy writing my blog and newsletters and have met many new friends. Our new puppy has kept me busy, but she is growing up and requires less supervision. She is currently sleeping across my feet as I work at the computer.

It seems that winters get longer the older I get. I think that we have had a decent winter this year - so far. A short spell of very cold temperatures, a few minor snowstorms, an ice storm that disrupted power for a few days, but nothing compared to some of the other states. After all, this is winter in Maine.

Today is a beautiful day, clear and crisp, temps in the 20s, with a cobalt blue sky and a bright sun shining on newly fallen snow. I wish I was hardy enough to paint outside on a day like this, but I don’t like the cold and would rather paint in my nice warm studio. Looking forward to spring on this sunny day, I cleaned out my plein air gear, repacked my supplies and I’m ready to go as soon as winter is gone.

The January Challenge of 30 Paintings in 30 Days was very interesting. I completed 22 paintings. The last week of January was just too busy to allow any painting time except for my Tuesday class. We had errands to run, appointments to keep and we picked up our new puppy on January 25 – an eight week old Golden Retriever named Ginger.

The 30/30 Challenge was interesting because I could definitely see a day by day improvement in my Alla Prima technique and in my energy and concentration. I had made the commitment and was determined to see it through. Knowing that I had to complete a painting each day, photograph it and post it over the Internet that evening was a driving force. I’m glad that I participated and would like to do it again – but I would only commit to 4-5 paintings per week. It was almost impossible to continue that pace for the whole month, as I had other chores that needed my attention – like housework.

I did find that all the postings increased the traffic to my sites and a good number of the little paintings sold through my My Ebay. Over 400 artists participated and it was fun to be a part of this larger artist community. I met many nice people along the way. A big thank you to artist, Leslie Saeta, for giving us this opportunity and sharing her knowledge with us.

I'd like to invite you all to visit my new Blog. I currently have 46 posts and will continue to add more on a regular basis. All my 30/30 Challenge paintings are shown. I explained my goal for each painting, my thoughts and showed my painting steps.

Thanks for visiting. Happy painting!
Celene

The start of a new year is a good time to look back and remember family and friends. I want to thank you all for your friendship and support. I hope that 2014 brings you and your family good health, peace and joy. I read an interesting quote the other day, "Every year on January 1st you are handed a book with 365 blank pages. It's up to you to make the entries on each page meaningful." This year, I hope to fill the pages of my book with lots of meaningful things. Many pages will be devoted to family and friends, but I'm saving a good number of pages for myself.

The last few months, I have spent many hours on the computer, learning about "social media". This is a new topic for my generation, but it is the future and I am determined to get on the band wagon.

I have had two websites for a number of years, mine and the gallery's, and feel quite proud that I was able to build and maintain them, with a lot of help from my son, Mike. Then I branched out to Ebay, where we have two accounts, one for stuff and one for my art. Then on to Facebook and Pinterest. My most recent hurdle was learning about blogging and newsletters. And after much study and frustration, I now have a blog and today I am writing my first newsletter.

I haven't figured out the difference between newsletters and blogs, so I am going to concentrate on my blog. I hope you have signed up to receive my blogs through your email. You can always opt out if you wish, but I hope you will enjoy visiting with me in my virtual studio. And if you have any friends who are interested in art, I would appreciate your sharing of these links with them. This is the link to my blog - http://CeleneFarris.blogspot.com. I may continue with monthly newsletters, if I can figure out their differences. I think they are, in my case, letter-like and a place for me to ramble on.

I've just joined a fellow artist in a fun painting challenge - 30 Paintings in 30 Days beginning January 1st. It will be interesting to see if I can actually paint that many this month. January is a busy month for us, we have appointments to keep and we are getting a new puppy. That alone should keep me busy. All my successful paintings in this series, along with a selection of earlier pieces will be listed on Ebay, fixed price, no auction. My seller name is MaineArtist13. Here is the link if you want to take a look. My Ebay.

Now, Pinterest, is another thing to learn. I'm just beginning there and haven't really figured it all out.

All this "social media" stuff takes a great deal of time and we all have so many other things in our lives that need our attention. One thing I have learned though, is that the internet is a great way to make friends and stay connected with people all over the world. I have met so many people that I would never have met in person. We have downsized our gallery in Belfast, Maine and I see in the near future that we will close our physical location and work only through the internet. So, a few of the pages in my section of my book will be about this thing called the internet and social media and the rest, I hope, will be about painting.

I hope you will join me in writing your own book. And please visit with me on my Blog. Your comments and questions are always welcome. I look forward to hearing from you. Let's stay in touch - the internet makes it easy to "Reach out and touch someone".

Thank you for reading. Stay well and happy.
Celene