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Friday, April 4, 2008

OPA Scholarship Award

I like to keep self-promotion out of this blog, but I really wanted to share this excellent piece of news: I just found out I've been awarded a Shirl Smithson Scholarship from Oil Painters of America.

I'll be using this award to attend a Lois Griffel workshop in the fall. I really admire Lois' work. An excellent colorist, she studied under Henry Hensche. Hensche studied under Charles Hawthorne, founder of the Cape Cod School of Art. CCSA was famous for plein air Impressionism. Hawthorne was its founder and first director; Hensche was the second director; Lois was the third and last until the School closed a few years ago. I'm looking forward to this special opportunity to study with Lois.

As I mentioned before, I'm off to Ontario for a pastel symposium. Having not had time to do any painting since my return from Illinois -- it's been catch-up and now, repacking -- I thought I'd leave you with this pastel sketch I did last summer near Bar Harbor, Maine. It was a hot day, and the light was just glorious.

"Hot Harbor" 5x7, pastel, en plein air