Center City Rooftops

Center City Rooftops
24in. x 48in.
Oil on Newspaper Covered Canvas
©2013 Teresa Haag

Sometime, way back, before kids when my husband and I still had adventures, we spent a weekend at the Ritz in Center City Philly with a couple of our best friends.  The view was spectacular.  This view was from our wrap around bathroom with built in steam shower and jetted tub.  Heck yeah!  

Now, I can look forward to the day when we can go back...someday.

I'll be putting this piece in my upcoming exhibition at the Phoenix Village Art Center in April.

Baltimore

Last year at the Inner Harbor Art Festival in Baltimore, a couple stopped by my booth and chatted with me for some time.  Marlene and Sam have since become good friends and I went to visit them yesterday at their home just outside of Baltimore.  

 

Marlene is a portrait artist who has been thinking about making the leap to show her work at outdoor exhibitions for some time.  Back in the fall I was visiting with her when she made it clear that she was ready to do it, so we ordered in all the equipment she would need to get going.  Part of exhibiting your work at art festivals includes an application process in which a jury reviews your work and a photo of your display.  My trip yesterday was to help her set up the booth and display her paintings so we could photograph it for the applications.  

Setting up the booth in her backyard in the crazy wind!

Panorama of the booth.  I love my new iPhone. :)

We knew it was going to be sunny...but man was it windy.  She got a real taste of what it could be like in a summer storm! All in all, I think that the booth came out looking great.  

After the photo shoot, we formatted the images and got her applications in.  It was a great day, and as always, I had a lovely time with my new(ish) friends.  

Hotel Arcata

It's crunch time.  April is my solo show at the Phoenix Village Art Center.  So, I'm on a mission right now.  The boys are in NY with their grandma for the next few days. So, I am free to paint and prepare.  I've been working on a couple of different projects.  Tonight, I'll share with you my Hotel Arcata piece. 

In 2008, Eric and I took a road trip around the country.  We spent a few days driving up the Pacific Coast Highway and pulled over in Arcata for the night.  The night we got in, we put our bags in the room and roamed around for a bit.  We found a great little pizza joint and stopped at a gritty little pub to listen to a band that was playing.  When we woke up, it was cold and draped in fog.  There was a park in the center of town that was full of teenagers sleeping on benches and lining the walls of the businesses along the street.  

Hotel Arcata
24x30
Oil on Canvas 2013

Progress Photos
Left - Final Image
Top Right - Pencil Sketch
Middle Right - Block in
Bottom Right - Almost Finished

Picking up Where You Left Off

With almost every painting I work on, I get to a place that I think, "There is no way this painting is going to work." I have learned to embrace this point instead of throwing in the towel (which I have done many, many times). You see, I find that the best things comes from a challenge.

Below is where I am at with the piece.  I've also included a reference photo.  I started the painting on location.  I was standing on E Pratt Street overlooking the Inner Harbor.  I got it sketched and blocked in there. I took the photo for reference back in the studio.

Inner Harbor
24x30 Oil on Canvas
2013

Inner Harbor Reference Photo

2013 is here...what's in store?

Isn't it funny how your brain isn't really able to focus on the new year until the tree is down and the lights all packed away? Christmas has always been my most favorite time of year, but I was really ready to move forward into the new year this time around. Not because 2012 was bad - in fact 2012 was a game changer for us...but because I am just so excited to see what this year has to bring.

My solo show is in April. Pretty much all my efforts these days are directed toward work for the show. I was feeling bad about my lack of activity on my blog, Facebook, twitter...blah, blah, blah. Here's the deal, I will post when I can and when I can't, it's because I am in the studio painting. Quality over quantity, right?

I am in the midst of outdoor exhibition applications. As my acceptance emails come in, I'll post the dates and details in the right sidebar of the blog and on my website.

South Philly Rooftops
36x48 Oil on Paper Covered Canvas
2013