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October Greetings

10/27/2017

Hello!

This month I’ve attended a critique, reorganized my studio storage, held the first Dessert and Design, and met many new people. Exploring new venues a little farther afield has been fruitful, too. Here I am at the gallery in the Mebane Arts & Community Center planning for an upcoming show in the spring.

~ Annette

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From the Garden

10/23/2017

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©Annette Bartlett-Golden, Sitting Pretty. Watercolor, 9 x 12 inches. $225

Thinking of Pansies
By guest author Avery Bartlett-Golden

Pansies or more specifically Viola × wittrockiana have brightened the winter landscape for many generations and are a testament to our long fascination with the Violet family. Progeny of extensive cultivation and crossing of many species of violas most notably Viola tricolor, V. lutea, V. altaica and V. cornuta, modern pansies show the best characteristic of western violas. The name pansy is believed to come from the middle French penséem meaning thought, from the appearance of the flower looking like a pensive face.

Given this deep fascination it is no surprise that the pansy is an automatic first choice for winter color. Blooming from late fall to mid spring they fill one of the most challenging gaps for color in a garden. Preferring organic rich soil, and shade from the sun as spring warms up pansies will be quite content to endure for many months. Dead heading will prolong and increase blooming, and leggy plants can be pinched back to encourage more vigorous growth.

Good companion plants are generally ornamental brassicaceaes like Kale, mustard, some Asian greens like Pak Choi, and Swiss chard. Another companion is snapdragons. One other less common use for pansies is as an ingredient in salads giving a slight wintergreen flavor when the sepals are included. For culinary use, it is recommended to use organic or seed grown plants to avoid chemical contamination.

Avery Bartlett-Golden is a Horticulture Science major at North Carolina State University.

Pansies and ornamental kale pair well together for an attractive potted arrangement.

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Photos from Dessert & Design

10/16/2017

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We had a fabulous time in September at the first Dessert and Design! Many thanks to Amy Nakhlé for hosting the event at Smitty's Homemade in Burlington, North Carolina.

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Coming up in November ~ Dessert & Design

10/12/2017

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Reserve your space here.

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Critique with Jill Troutman

10/9/2017

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Jill Troutman in front of one of her earlier works on exhibit in “Jill Troutman: Forty Years of Art“ at Alamance Arts.

Critique with Jill Troutman
by Annette Bartlett-Golden

Recently, I went to a painting critique at Alamance Arts with North Carolina artist Jill Troutman, during a retrospective exhibition of her paintings, “Jill Troutman: Forty Years of Art “. A classically trained artist, now in her seventies, I was curious to hear what insights she would share with us after a long and successful art career.

Jill told us that one of the most useful things she had done over the years to improve her painting had been participating in highly focused small group critiques with about four or five other artists. Each artists brought a painting or two that they wanted help with from the group. Everyone took turns giving and receiving suggestions. These meetings, in an atmosphere of mutual respect, offered positive constructive advice.

Since there was a small group in attendance, my experience at the critique with Jill Troutman was very similar. She began by giving her own feedback but soon asked us to share our ideas, too. For my turn, I brought the painting In Shadow and Light because it had taken me in a new direction and I wanted to get Jill’s impression of it. That painting is the first I had done with figures that really explored the interplay of shadows and patches of light in a landscape. Hearing Jill's observations and suggestions along with that of the other artists proved to be quite helpful.

Over the past few weeks, while I painted another similar scene, a garden path bathed in bright sun and shadows, I kept that advice in mind. And it has made a tremendous difference. Shade Walk at Majorelle Garden, which I just finished, is my best painting of that sort so far. But don’t worry; I plan to apply what I learned at the critique toIn Shadow and Light, too. Many thanks to Jill Troutman for her generosity in sharing her time and experience with us at the critique.

If you would like to learn more about Jill Troutman and her art, you can visit her website at jilltroutmangallery.com.

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October Greetings

From the Garden

Thinking of PansiesBy guest author Avery Bartlett-Golden

Photos from Dessert & Design

Coming up in November ~ Dessert & Design

Critique with Jill Troutman

Critique with Jill Troutmanby Annette Bartlett-Golden

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Thinking of Pansies
By guest author Avery Bartlett-Golden

Critique with Jill Troutman
by Annette Bartlett-Golden