Thursday, May 29, 2014

Wet Paint and 50 Years of Braithwaite Fine Art! What??

Only a couple of weeks left until the Helper Workshop and we have had a couple of spots open up!  Doug's workshops are incredible.  Those of you who have taken them know what a great experience it is!  I know, I know, you think I'm just saying that because I get . . . . well, anyway, he's damn good!!  And a great instructor too!!  Oh my, this is going no where fast!  bahaha

Well anyway, back to the workshop.  cough cough  It starts Monday night at 6:00 p.m. on June 9th.  Full days (morning and afternoon/evening sessions) Tuesday through Friday then wrap up Saturday morning, June 14th.

Doug has been teaching workshops for as long as I can remember.  He started taking workshops with Paul and Dave when they first started doing "Summer Solstice" in LaSalle (near Moab).  They then transitioned to Helper when Dave Dornan purchased the great old "Hotel Utah" on Main Street in Helper and the rest is history.  What a blast to spend a week in Helper among other artists, the interns that take such good care of the place down there, and those professional artists who have made their living painting in that awesome little town.

Doug's working hard to get a couple more paintings in before he heads down to Helper.  He even did a quick roadtrip (he and Jeffrey - our "CHUG" - which is a chihuahua/pug mix)  They had a blast!!  Had a great time painting and Jeff loved the country.  Being able to run around for a while and then plop down next to Doug while he painted was a great time for both!!  Jeff's great company as you can see here.  Loves to hear the words "wanna play chuck it??"

Here's a few paintings Doug took to Torrey Gallery just recently.  Looking forward to doing the workshop in Torrey in September!  It will take place just a couple of days before the Escalante Plein Air competition begins - Tuesday through Thursday September 16-18 - three full days.  There's still a few spots left in that workshop!

"Boulder Home"
8 x 10
Torrey Gallery

"Boulder Fields"
11 x 14
Torrey Gallery
"Capitol Reef Rocks"
9 x 21
Torrey Gallery

"Club Sandwich"
8 x 10
Torrey Gallery
He also did a few flower paintings for Terzian Gallery for their summer season!  These were kinda fun!  He doesn't do many flowers so these were awesome!! 

"Blossoms"
8 x 10
Terzian Gallery
"Hollyhocks"
21 x 5
Terzian Gallery
And my fave - Sun Chasers!

"Sun Chasers"
8 x 10
Terzian Gallery
He also did this little piece for the 300 Plates Show at Art Access in Salt Lake City.  Love the downtown scenes.  Love it!

"Main Street"
11 x 10
Oil on Plate
SOLD
So in the midst of all of this,  Doug had his 50th birthday!!  Wahoo - 'bout damn time!  It was a blast - a little family get together and then a few people stopped by to wish him a Happy Birthday and he was THRILLED!

The kids "borrowed" his truck earlier that day and went and had a new stereo put in it.  I put together a book entitled "From Crayons to Paintbrushes:  50 Years of Braithwaite Fine Art."  Okay, not gonna lie . . . it turned out pretty cool.  It starts with a painting or two that he did as a kid, along with some from high school and college, then a few from each year up to just a couple of weeks ago!!  It has about 150 images in it and is a treasure!  Some of the best of the best of the best, SIR!  (Men in Black in case you're wondering!)  Many of the paintings had a special story behind them of which I have elaborated on those a bit in my quirky way.  I put in a few "all nighters" working on it because "of an evening," Doug and I would chill together and watch Cash Cab or Cosmos!  Then I'd yawn, "ahhh, well, I better get to bed!!"  Then I'd come and work till 3 or 4 in the morning cropping, resizing, and researching dates and titles.  But totally worth it - brought the big guy to tears as he looked through it.  Awesome!!  We've had a few requests for a copy so I'm working on getting some more published.  I'll keep you posted!

Okay - going to shoot this off!  Please let me know if you're up for the Helper and/or Torrey Workshop!  I'll put the link below to the website and the registration form!  Oh, and there's also the Fox River Valley Workshop in Northern Illinois right before Door County!!  That's July 17-19.

Have a great day, everyone!!  Thanks for following and letting me ramble!  Looking forward to more roadtrips with Doug so I can ramble more often!!

HUGS!!

J'net

Workshop Link 

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2 comments:

  1. Sounds like an awesome book!! Great update

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  2. Great post Jeanette! I need one of those books so please let me know more. Hugs to you both! I didn't know Doug was so old ;)

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