Air Conditioner Wanted

We've had some hot and steamy weather around this area for weeks.  Maybe it was that, or our new windows that let in a lot of sun, but the Studio was not the most comfortable environment to hold our monthly critique.  I had gotten there a few hours early and quickly colored another copy of the cats with the super large spotted ball.  Don't need it right now, but although I've been busy with a lot of art activity this past month (teaching classes, palette rebuilding, meetings and receptions), I don't have a lot to finished work to show for it, and this at least represents something done in that time.

People gradually started drifting in as the starting time approached, and we ended up with nine artists, all with work to discuss.  My old studio fan helped make conditions a little more tolerable.  Above are two mixed media drawings from Tim and a painting in progress from Edy.

The above photo shows a graphite drawing from Katie, the just colored cat print (third overall) from me, and an encaustic painting from Sheilagh.  Below are two recent paintings from Jill.

Jane had written me that she was planning to bring the large painting with three side by side trees (seen at a few previous critiques), but when she arrived she brought the painting to the left, a new work in progress.  Not shown are works by the two other artists.  First time critique participant Margery brought a tiny sculpture, small enough to fit in one's palm.  Too small to get a good photograph.  And Vince's piece was completely inside his head, an idea for a somewhat conceptual piece he is considering, and was seeking our input.

As usual, the discussions at times turned away from the specific pieces in front of us, and toward general art concerns.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the concepts debated can help all of us as we work on our art.  More often the discussions are more about the technical- choices of specific colors, proportions, etc.

My piece was well liked, despite being a somewhat lightweight subject.  I showed the original postcard version of the cats and explained the process involved in creating that, compared to how I reused the image and the changes made to the composition to make up for the missing tea bags.  I can't see myself making any more cat blocks, but I'll hang on to this one should I ever have another place to use it.