Sex in the Afternoon: The Nasty Little Secrets of Pollinators

Visit our Organic Forrestry studio (# 25) during the first two weekends in December during the Chatham Studio Tour. I will feature my new series of mixed media paintings, inspired by the Pollinator Garden at Chatham Mill in Pittsboro, NC. This is my Summer's crop of paintings. We have a large inventory of paintings, and you can stroll through our Forrest Dweller sculpture garden.

2014 is our 22nd Studio Tour. The Chatham Tour is one of the first in North Carolina, and a model for others which have followed. Click HERE for a list of participating artists, and a Tour Map. 

I hope the see you,

Forrest

Evolution of a Country Garden

Several months ago I started a painting inspired by a long ago drive through Cotswold in England. I started with a watercolor and colored pencil painting of a thatched roofed stone cottage. I was very happy with this element of the piece.

I continued on with watercolors to frame the cottage in a country garden. I made the forground rather diffuse, and the scale of the flowers large. I was not at all happy with the feel or composition of this painting, but displayed it anyway.

Viewer feedback pretty much confirmed my own thoughts -- The composition didn't work. The blury flowers in the forground just didn't work.

I took the piece back to the studio, and painted new large flowers in bright acrylics. It was more powerful, but the colors were too vibrant. I took it back to the shop, where it hung for some time. My wife hated the panting, especially the flower colors. Some of my artist friends were more polite, but it was clear that the was not very good. Viewers were also polite, but I could tell by ther facial expressions that this was not my best work. In fact, I kind of cringed every time I looked at the painting.

I decided to either throw the piece away, or drastically redesign it. So -- I covered the entire forground with an undercoat of heavy body acrylic paint.
Then, I began to recreate an eclectic garden, but in a smaller scale relative to the cottage in the background. Finally, I painted a welcoming gate and a winding path to cary the viewer's eye to the cottage. I think that this composition works much better, and features the little cottage that was the original focus of the piece.

Now, the painting is going back to The Joyful Jewel in Pittsboro, NC for the real test -- Do folks visiting the shop like it?

Sometimes a painting goes well right from the first brush stroke. Sometimes it goes through an "ugly"stage, but works itself out fairly quickly. On rare occasions, a piece goes through several "near death" experiences before it finally evolves to completion.

Chatham Studio Tour 2013

The Chatham Artists Guild will hold our annual studio tour the first two weekends in December. My studio, gallery and sculpture garden is number 32 on the tour map. I hope that you will visit. Details: http://www.chathamartistsguild.org/portfolio-item/forest-greenslade/

Fall-winter schedule for Chatham County artist Handler Works on exhibition

Sept. 28 Reception FrAnk Gallery ‘Inspired by the Lens’ Sept. 10-Oct. 6, Chapel Hill

 

Oct. 20 Artists Studios @Fearrington Outdoor Ann’l Show, 20 booths of arts, crafts in the Village Center 10 AM – 4 PM, Pittsboro

Oct. 18 Reception, Durham Art Guild 59 ann’l. Juried Show, Oct. 10-Nov. 9, Downtown Durham

Oct. 19-24 Internat’l Furniture Market, ‘Revolution Artists’ showroom, 104 N Main St. High Point, Open to the trade only

 

Nov. 7 Reception 5-7 PM, Domicile Realty, newly renovated Bold Building,   Oct. 30-Nov. 25 One Man Show, 50201 Gov’s. Dr. Chapel Hill

Nov. Reception date tba. Suzanne Connors Fine Art, gallery Opening, 544 Northwood Rd., W. Palm Beach, Fl.

 

Dec. 7 Gala @ Greenhill Center for NC Arts, admission charge 7-11PM, Dec. 8, 2-4PM Free public viewing, Greensboro

 

Jan. 5 Reception, 2-4 PM Chapel Hill Historical Soc. @ Horace Williams House, Jan. 5-Mar. 23

 Jan. 16 Reception 5:30-7:30 Theater Arts Gallery, High Point One Man    Show Jan. 16- Mar. 30

 www.murryhandler.com

Chatham Artist Awarded for her Pastel Paintings



Many people lay low during these hot and humid Summer days, but not Chatham Artist Kim Werfel. She has been very busy making a splash in the area arts scene. She won two awards at the state wide exhibition  North Carolina Pastel Societies at the Hickory Museum of Art. Her best in show pastel, “The Lookout” depicts a group of deer seeking food in the morning light. Werfel’s “Queen of Swords” won  the Pastel Society of Virginia Award. It is a haunting portrait of a young girl leaning on fencing foils.   An avid animal-lover, Werfel’s art was featured at the 20^th anniversary of the Cole Park Veterinary Clinic in Chatham County.



The Lookout by Kim Werfel

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Kim Werfel now resides in Fearrington Village, NC with her husband Eric and her beloved bichon frise, Summer.  She is a former Wake County, NC art teacher and long-time advertising production coordinator for Time, Sports Illustrated and People Magazines, NYC.  She earned a Bachelor of Fine Art degree in Advertising Design from New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY and a Masters of Science in Art Education from L.I. University, C.W. Post Campus, Brookville, NY.

 

Werfel is known for her pastel portraits of people and animals. Her sensitive realistic interpretation and impressionistic colors give her portraits personality and spirit as well as a likeness. Her paintings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout North Carolina. Commissioned portraits are held in New York, California, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia. Werfel is active in artist groups, including Fine Arts League of Cary (http://www.fineartsleagueofcary.org/main.htm), The Pastel Society of NC (http://pastelsocietyofnc.com/blog/), the Piedmont Pastel Society http://www.piedmontpastelsociety.org/#1, Artist Studios at Fearrington Village (http://fearringtonartists.org/) and the Chatham Artists Guild (http://www.chathamartistsguild.org/).

You can see Kim Werfel in her studio at the 2013 Chatham Studio Tour the first two weekends in December.

L'Homme Vert

The legendary Green Man deity of the British Isles and Europe was believed to create rain, sustain nature, and support livestock and pasture. He has adorned churches, all sorts of buildings, and feels very comfortable in the garden. L’Lomme Vert is created from cement, peat moss, chicken wire, 100 year old tin roof tiles and found deer antlers with tarnished bronze coating, exterior house paint and eye balls by Jonathan Davis. I will display “L’Homme Vert” starting Saturday August 24^th at “Come Out and Play” at JimGin Farm. Then, this assemblage will be at the North Carolina Botanical Garden “Sculpture in the Garden” http://ncbg.unc.edu/exhibits-and-art/#sculpture September 21st through December.

 

 

Duck Duck Goose, A sculptural kids game

Duck duck goose
Critters on the loose
Children laughing in the garden.

Goose duck duck                                      
Kids have all the luck
Running wild in the yard, and

Duck duck goose
They use any excuse
To laugh and run without regard, and

Goose duck duck
The kids have run amuck
This game is so avant garde, and

Duck duck goose
I guess you can deduce
Life is so much fun in a garden.

This goofy gaggle was made of recycled rebar and plastic bags, cement, peat moss, chicken wire, steel, and tarnished bronze coating. I will display “Duck, Duck Goose” starting Saturday August 24^th at “Come Out and Play” at JimGin Farm. Then, this assemblage will be at the North Carolina Botanical Garden “Sculpture in the Garden” http://ncbg.unc.edu/exhibits-and-art/#sculpture  September 21st through December.