An Art Journey: Savannah Sunrise

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Savannah Sunrise

I've been in a bit of a painting rut lately. Except for the pet portraits I did for my cousin's birthday I've only done two paintings since the pastel workshop I took in February, and both of them were rejected from our upcoming pastel society juried show! So not a very good track record, LOL.

But tonight I went to my friend Leslie's open Studio Club at her home studio to try to shake out of my rut. On my way home from my cousin's birthday weekend I stopped to do some birding at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. I was there early in the morning and enjoyed the lovely light of the early morning sun, so I used one of the photos I took as a reference.

This is my "preliminary" painting. I have to stop and see how it looks in natural daylight, and give myself a chance to think about it a lot, but I'm happy with it so far. It's a 9x112 on Richeson paper, sort of a slatey color.

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ABOUT ME

: Name:Debbie Cusick; Location:NE Florida, United States

Debbie has loved nature and drawing since early childhood, and spent a lot of time drawing and coloring - mostly animals, and visiting art museums, encouraged by an artistic and nature-loving mother. At age 11 she won an art scholarship of a year’s free lessons at the Montclair Art Museum.

But Debbie veered away from art in her teen years. Her interests lay in more classical drawing, and more representational interpretations, all of which were totally out of vogue, and totally untaught, in those teen years. In her 20s she turned to quilting, and spent many years making quilts, primarily her own original designs.

But she still missed drawing, painting, and the fine arts, and in 2005 began to pursue this passion again. She discovered pastels and finally found an art medium she could love.

From 2005-2011 she continued to take lessons with Master Pastelists – first Alex Piccarillo at the Montclair Art Museum (Life drawing, figurative art) and later with Christina Debarry (still lifes and landscapes) at her home studio. Debbie owes a huge debt of gratitude to both Alex and Christina, to their fine teaching skills and warm personalities.

Debbie is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of New Jersey, and served as their 2^nd Vice President and Exhibitions Chair. In 2011 Debbie moved to northeast Florida where she just completed a 2-year term as President of the Art Guild of Orange Park, is a member of the First Coast Plein Air Painters, and also currently serves as the Webmaster of the First Coast Pastel Society , as well as a board member of the St. Johns Audubon chapter.

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