Sunday, September 30, 2012

Roses revisited...sometimes I find that when I look back on a painting I realize it just doesn't come off as well as I thought it did!  I have to decide then whether it is worth the time invested to try to "fix" it, or if it is just one for the scrap bin.  I felt this painting had something worth saving although it required some really major changes.  I cropped it from a 16x20 down to an 11x17, isolated what I felt was the strength in the piece and then began the process of basically repainting the painting!  I'm glad I took the time to find the painting that I felt was hidden under all the elements that just didn't work.
Here is the revised version and I am much happier with it!
Roses in a Little Purple Vase          11x17  o/c

Friday, September 21, 2012

ArtPrize is on!  The big art event in Grand Rapids started this week.  I'm thrilled that I have sold 2 of the grouping "A Season in Flowers".  All pieces are framed individually and for sale, although they cannot be taken until after the ArtPrize event is over on October 7th.  Please, if you are down to ArtPrize stop by City Art Gallery and check it out.  It is a wonderful Gallery, kind of off the beaten path but worth the effort. There are 37 ArtPrize artists exhibiting there.
I was interviewed this week by West Michigan Woman Magazine.....
Check it out!!
West Michigan Woman



Art as a Constant Companion

Thursday, 20 September 2012 14:59



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Art as a Constant Companion
The opening of ArtPrize may have been yesterday, but the season of creative expression started months ago for artist Barb Schilling. With a dozen blank canvases and paints of varying hues, Barb painted the progression of spring and summer as flowers opened their petals in her garden. Now, all who visit the City Art Gallery at 1168 Ionia can see what she sees in her yard everyday, and that is a beautiful thing.
Barb started dabbling in art early on in life, then had to put the hobby on the back burner to pay the bills. She didn't stray too far away though. By day, she works atFrames Unlimited in Grand Rapids doing art restoration. On the weekends, she gets lost in painting.
"It's almost like going into a meditative state. You really do get lost in your own little world when you're painting. A lot of times, I truly forget to eat I'm so focused on what I'm doing. I become unaware of everything else around me," Barb says.
barb at saugatuckSometimes she goes for twelve hours without breaking the hypnosis. For someone who has a home and immense garden to maintain, not to mention a full time job, Barb says she'll use any spare time she has to dive into her world and create.
Barb uses the unique alla prima painting style in which she works layers of wet paint into each other to blend and form depth in her work. This is one of the reasons she works non-stop, so that she can complete her vision for the piece before the paint dries.
"You continually are painting while the paint is still fresh and wet. You can blend and wipe it out and keep continually pushing and pulling the paint because when it's wet, it's pliable," Barb says.
This is Barb's third year of participation as an artist in ArtPrize, an event that the Northeast side resident says gives artists the unique opportunity to share their work and their visions with a broader audience.
"There are so many people out there that you would never be able to connect with, that would never see your work otherwise," she says. ArtPrize "brings a huge amount of interest and revenue to the city, and it gets people who otherwise would never even think about it to connect with art. It gets them interested in it and talking about it."
Check out Barb’s ArtPrize entry at the City Art Gallery, or click here to add it to your online collection.
Written by: Erika Fifelski is West Michigan Woman magazine's editorial coordinator. She was born and raised in West Michigan, and after a brief stint on the sunrise side, she's home and loving it. Erika enjoys gardening, vacuuming, and discovering new ways to live sustainably and support local businesses. Photos provided by Barb Schilling

Tuesday, September 11, 2012


Grand Rapids, Michigan has become quite well known for their annual ArtPrize event.
Each year hundreds of artists from around the world participate for the 3 week long art event
in downtown GR.
This year I have worked throughout the growing season on studies of flowers
picked from my own gardens and set up in stilllife arrangements.  Paintings vary in size
from about 6x8 to 14x18 inches and span several months of flower growing in my 
gardens!
Each painting is framed separately and available for sale, but have been chosen to
compliment one another and work as a cohesive grouping.
The public is very welcome to join the event and downtown is busier than at
any other time, as people flock to see the special event.
YOU ARE INVITED!!!!




Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Last tuesday I went out with a group of very talented artist friends to paint plein air at the Merizon Studio and Farms.  It was a beautiful day and a fun time!  Here is one of the paintings that I did that day.....
Thistle Weed    11x14 o/cb


.....
Chantal Merizon-VanHeest, will be hosting a group show on September 15, 3 to 7pm,  for 20 artists that painted at a plein air event at the Farm in July.  The "Thistle Weed" painting will also be including in the paintings that will be for sale at that show.

Merizon Studio