Studio Stories from our WAOW Artists
Marie Kash Weltzheimer • Oklahoma • Studio Stories
TWO WOMEN OF WAOW AND A CHILDHOOD FRIENDSHIP
In my last studio story I talked about having burnout. May 28, I had just delivered 25 paintings for a 2-person show “Abundance”. One painting remained on my easel with only the imprimatura underpainting which I had planned to finish and submit to a show. I had heard all about the Bosque Art Classic from artist friends and I was eager to enter due to its reputation and drivable distance, but I was exhausted and this was a pretty large painting. I’m proud and honored to report that this piece was accepted to the 41st Annual Bosque Art Classic, but if it were not for the encouragement of one special friend, Kathy, I would have scrapped the whole thing.
Judy Thompson • Iowa • Studio Stories
When Alix, Gallery Director at Rehfelds Modern, called to tell me that my painting Full Bloom had been acquired for the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, I was both surprised and deeply honored.
Marie Kash Weltzheimer • Oklahoma • Studio Stories
FROM BURNOUT TO REJUVINATION – A PASTEL STORY
Sometimes artists suffer burnout. I told myself that after the opening reception for our 2-person show in June, "Abundance!", I was going to take a break, a real summer vacation ALL summer. I needed it badly. But much has happened in a positive way and I can’t complain about that.
I work in both, pastel and oil, but my pastels sadly have been used only occasionally these past years. The pastel trays in the photo are from my very first professional set I ever owned. It was a Christmas gift, a set of Rembrandt pastels from my husband in 1986. Pure pigment rolled into a stick, they were magical to me! I created a lot of pastel art the following 30+ years, becoming a signature member with Pastel Society of America and Master Circle artist with the International Association of Pastel Societies.
Painter Destiny Bowman
My studio is my favorite place to be. It’s where ideas flourish, problems get worked out, colors move on the canvas, and my many objects that I’ve collected gets put into my paintings. I have collected skulls, bugs, vases, books, bowls, flowers and contraptions to use in my still life work.
From an Exta Bedroom to a Studio . Painter Mary Russell
“My first studio space was in an extra bedroom when my daughter was eleven. I would get her off to school, walk over piles of laundry, and get right to my easel. I loved it!
In time, I had an opportunity to have a studio away from the house which I shared with another artist. It was a huge space in an old shopping center. ” Mary