OH/OP

A small group gathered at the Barnsdall Municipal Gallery last evening for the first in a series of three "One Hour/One Painting" sessions I'll be offering there--but a small group is good.  All the better, really, to see the painting.  We sat with Patty Wickman's painting, "Passion," which features a sleeping woman wrapped in a blue blanket on a patio, with a view out beyond to a few barely distinguishable houses on a leafy hillside.  Her two companions on the patio are a patiently waiting but expectant dog, looking forward, out of the picture frame; and a colorful, cocky rooster on the table top in front of her, a splash of color, caught in his first morning crow.  The scene is bathed in the glow of early sunlight, a moment of anticipation and awakening.

A lovely painting, then, and a delight to spend an hour with.  Unusually, the artist herself joined us, and spoke quietly about the painting afterwards.  To judge by responses, everyone had a good time.  A special guest was a baby, six months old, Samuel Clements by name--and a big name to live up to!  He proved a little noisier than his dad had anticipated, and was carried off before too long--though I had welcomed his presence and forewarned my participants about the likelihood of "ambient sounds" that might give unexpected focus to the meditative parts of the experience.  He came back at the end, with his mom, and was greeted with the proper oohs and aahs.

I'm looking forward to my other two sessions at Barnsdall.  You'll find out about the schedule if you go here, and scroll down to the OH/OP information.