Blog

As a full time working artist, i'm always on the look out to find online art directories to add my website to. Last week I came across "The Palette Pages". Here is what they have on there About Us page;

"The Palette Pages is a website promoting art from across the globe! . We are the inspirational website of choice for anyone who loves art, providing a directory of Galleries and Artists from around the world and encouraging creative discussion.

The founder Lisa Gray said �As a part time artist but a full time lover of art, I really wanted to create a platform for artists to share their work and discuss all aspects of creativity. We�re new and still in the development stage of the website but the response has been overwhelming, we�re very excited about the next few months. We made the decision to put the website live as of Feb 2014 although we were still building crucial elements. We hope the creative community will grow with us�

After signing up on The Palette Pages and setting up my own page, I received an email from the sites owner, Lisa Gray. Asking if I would do an interview. I said yes. Today she posted the interview and I am beyond thrilled with it. check out the link to read the interview.
http://www.thepalettepages.com/2014/07/29/darice-machel/

Having the opportunity to teach at Central Boys and Girls Club in Kahului Maui this past month gave me a boost in creative energy. 16 kids, ages 8 and up, all excited to create something new, reminded me how important it is to let out the inner child once in awhile. For the two days I taught, we did ACEOs, also known as ATCs ( art trading cards). I brought my personal collection of ATCs and all the ones I painted to show the kids. I told them I would be happy to trade one of mine for one of theirs. They all took me up on it. I now have lots of new tiny paintings in my collection. It's quite the honor to be given a piece of art created by the hands of a child. The pure ness and imagination that goes into their work is priceless.

In just a few short weeks my book "Art of Painting in Acrylic"; Master techniques for painting stunning works of art in acrylic-step by step, will be on book shelves all across the US. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! Working on this project has been a great adventure. I've learned so much along the way. I'm so grateful to my publisher Stephanie Meissner and all the wonderful, hard working people at Walter Foster Publishing for making this possible.

This book features 6 acrylic artists covering a variety of subject matter ranging from still lifes and portraits to landscapes and animals. I'm one of the Landscape/seascape artists. The four paintings I did for the book are now on my website, check them out in my gallery titled "Featured Paintings In Walter Foster Book".

For a sneak peek at the book and to pre-order your copy click on the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Painting-Acrylic-techniques-acrylic-step/dp/1600583822

I'll be giving away an 8 x 10 canvas print of "Lahaina Harbor" to one lucky winner this month. All you have to do to win is go to my facebook page (see link below), like my page and post a comment telling me why you want to win this print. I'll be closing the contest July 31st and will choose one lucky winner.

www.facebook.com/Darice.ArtEstudio

This image is a photo of my mom, Lola Owen and I at Lakeside Gallery, my parents gallery on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. It was taken in the late 80s or early 90s. Don't you just love those big glasses and cute hat of mine! I miss that hat, I wonder what happened to it. I'm holding those two framed paintings because they belong to the young lady sitting there. I just finished framing them and she was pretty happy with the results.

I had many jobs at the gallery, framer, teacher, sales clerk, model ( when ever my mom needed one ), ordering and stocking merchandise, book keeping, paying bills, scheduling teachers for art workshops, writing news letters and news announcements for the local news paper and janitor. When you work in a family business you ware a lot of hats. I really enjoyed working at the gallery. I lived two blocks away and often walked to work. My kids always knew where I was at and my dog Lacy, ( OK, she was my youngest daughter's dog ) went to work with me.

The summer months in Tahoe were the busy months. There was very little time to sit around. Having a business in Tahoe meant you had to make the majority of your income in the summer when the tourists and summer home owners where there. There was no time for painting then, unless we were short a student for a visiting teacher. The winters months were boooooring! Skiers don't shop in galleries or take art classes so I was able to paint more. My favorite subjects to paint in the winter months were tropical landscapes. The thought of a nice warm tropical beach and dreaming of one day living in Hawaii kept me going through the winters ( over 32 of them ). I was not a snow person. Didn't like to be in it, didn't like to paint it. In fact, I think I only painted two or three snow scenes, ever!

Now here I am, sitting in my Maui studio / classroom, barefooted, warm and happy. Do I miss Tahoe? No, not really. I miss Lakeside Gallery and the fun times we had there. I miss my kids and grand kids. I miss my parents but I am so happy to be living in the world of my dreams.

I've been working on this acrylic painting since Friday, May 30th. I'm very close to being done. I need to study it a few days before I declare it finished.

"The Art of Painting in Acrylic" Master techniques for painting stunning works of art in acrylic - step by step. Collector's Series by Walter Foster Publishing.

"Ideal for beginning and intermediate artists seeking to develop or polish their acrylic painting skills, The Art of Painting in Acrylic features a range of techniques and valuable instruction for working with this classic medium. This comprehensive guide offers a fresh, modern approach to painting in acrylic. Beginning with detailed information for using acrylic tools and materials, The Art of Painting in Acrylic introduces artists to the basics, including paints and brushes, supports, mediums, and other essential information for working with this fast-drying paint. In addition to learning about basic color theory, painting techniques, and how to work with acrylic paint and textures, aspiring artists will enjoy putting their painting skills to use by practicing the step-by-step demonstrations designed to instruct and entertain. Professional acrylic painters provide easy-to-follow, comprehensive instruction and inspiration, enabling readers to learn techniques for mastering this lightweight, versatile, and easy-to-use medium. In-depth lessons cover a variety of subject matter ranging from still lifes and portraits to landscapes and animals. Along the way, aspiring artists will discover helpful tips and tricks for rendering a variety of textures, setting up compelling compositions, achieving accurate proportions, and more. With its breadth of content and detail, The Art of Painting in Acrylic is a must-have resource for any artist's reference library. Includes: Color Theory, Basic Drawing, Painting Techniques, Still Lifes & Flowers, Landscapes, Seascapes, Portraits, and Animals/Pet Portraits."


This book is featuring four of my paintings. Check this link for a sneak peek http://www.walterfoster.com/blog/Sneak-Peek-The-Art-of-Painting-in-Acrylic/252

The book will be available August 2014. You can pre-order a copy now and save on the cover price through Amazon, here's the link.
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Painting-Acrylic-techniques-acrylic-step/dp/1600583822

Or wait to order directly from me for a signed copy.

In just two short days my studio will be open to the public for "Maui Open Studios" tour. The studio is clean, I have a "work in progress" on my easel and I will be unveiling the four paintings I did for the new acrylic book by Walter Foster Publishing, "The Art of Painting in Acrylic". The book comes out this August. This weekend will be the only time I show these paintings to the public until the book is out. I will not be posting them on Facebook or my website until August. Prints will be made available then as well. I'll be asking those interested in the paintings and the book to sign up to my Newsletter. Walter Foster Publications has offered to do a book give-a-way for this event. Anyone who signs up to their email subscription list will be entered to win one of the books. The winner must have a U.S. shipping address.

For all of you reading this blog who wish to be added to those lists let me know by emailing me through my website. I'll be happy to add your name and email.

Walter Foster Publishing has been so easy to work with, making every step of the way to publishing painless and easy to follow. I just received the file on my section of "The Art of Painting in Acrylic" to proof read and edit if need be. I'm so happy and excited to say how amazing the layout of my work looks! After proof reading everything I only found one line that needed editing because it just didn't sound right. I went back through my notes and discovered that was how I wrote it in the first place. I made the change and sent it back to my Editor. I also added a bit more info to my BIO. There are six artist represented in this new book. All of whom are very skilled in what they do. Once all the editing is done the book goes to print. By May Walter Foster Publishing will start their marketing campaign. Targeting book stores, art supply stores news media of all kinds and online media. The book is due out to be on book shelves August 1st.

So, what in the world is LAA? LAA stands for Lahaina Arts Association, it's a non profit organization that focuses on free art education for the children of Maui County. I've been working with LAA as a board member for the past 18 months. A few months ago I was voted in as President. At the moment it takes $150,000 to run the 13 weekly art classes, provide the art supplies and give out 6 college scholarships a year. We hope to maintain and even expand our programs so more children can benefit. It takes a lot of fundraising, grant writing and donations to keep LAA going.

Coming up in May we will be joining the "Maui Charity Walk". The Charity Walk is a state wide event that occurs in the month of May on most islands each year. It is one of the largest single-day fundraising events by a non-profit organization in the state of Hawaii. Since it's inception in 1978, over $26 million has been raised, benefiting hundreds of local charities throughout the state. All funds raised on Maui, stays in Maui.

This year we are designing a T-shirt for the "Charity Walk" and are entering it into their T-shirt contest. My job is to design the T-shirt. The photo pictured here shows my progress so far. Each sandal will have the name of the town where one of our classes in located and what we represent. In the center it will say "Maui Youth Art Outreach" "Lahaina Arts Association". I chose the color wheel for obvious reasons. The sandals represent this years "Charity Walk" theme and logo, "Put Your Best Slippah Forward". ("Slippah, is Hawaiian slang for flip flops or sandals.)