Well, it's been a while since I posted on my blog, so I thought I might just do that. Hope everybody is doing well and enjoyed the summer months. I can say that my summer was extremely busy . I've been working on several commissioned painting and series of new paintings for the galleries. Did some traveling and managed to find some more wonderful art books. I guess there is always a new book to be found :)

   It has been so much fun finding so many artist friends on facebook. Several years ago I opened  a facebook account just to keep in touch with my brother Ramiro who was serving in Iraq. Never did I imagine that months later I would find so many old and new friends. It has been particularly nice to be able to keep in touch with other artists as we each work in our studios day by day. All of a sudden it seems like you are not so isolated in the studio and you have ahuge group of virtual friends to keep in touch with. I love my time in the studio! I wake up every morning excited about what I will be working on that day. I have also been trying to limit my online time in the mornings, because I find it easily takes away much more time than I set out to from the easel. So I am trying to work on keeping my computer time for the evenings.
    I continue to mentor a small group of artists at the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts. It is so refreshing to get together with them and paint. They are all so committed and dedicated to their Art that it makes my day a joy.
    I am also happy to announce that I am now represented by "Greenberg Fine Art" in beautiful Santa Fe. This is a new gallery located at 205 Canyon Road and I am very excited about the move. Mark Greenberg , the owner, has years of experience in the business, so I know he will do very well.

    Have a beautiful day everybody!

    .
   

"Mon Coeur s'ouvre a ta voix" (My heart opens at the sound of your voice)
(This particular painting was inspired by the Opera composed by Camille Saint-Saëns' "Samson and Delilah", particularly this beautiful aria:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz9dVX_Uu6M

Hi everybody!
>     Wanted to let you know about Jennifer King's new webzine that is
> becoming so popular among artists.
>    You're invited to view my new article on CreateBetterPaintings.com
> anytime during the month of May:
>
> 1. Start by going to www.createbetterpaintings.com
> 2. Click on the Member Log-in link in the lower left-hand corner
> 3. On the Member Log-in page, input this e-mail address:
> may@createbetterpaintings.com
> 4. Input this password: mayguests (all one word, no caps)
> 5. Click the Login button
> 6. At the top of the new page, click the link Go To Website Home Page
> 7. Back on the home page, please click any link to any article of your
> choice
>
>
> I am currently working on several projects such as my one-woman show
> opening September 5th at GiacobbeFritz Fine Art Gallery in Santa Fe,
> NM. You can email them at art@giacobbefritz.com to
> be included in their mailing list.
>
> I also continue to show at "M Gallery of Fine Art" in Sarasota, Fl.

>
> Currently I am working on four paintings for the 8th Annual Greeley
> Stampede Western Invitational Art Show, June 25-July 6. I am so excited
> about this invitation, since all fund collected from their auction will be
> donated to the Stampede's 501 Foundation for scholarships for high school
> seniors.
>
> I will be in Italy for three weeks, and hope to bring back lots of studies
> to develop into larger paintings. Check back on my website to preview.
>
> Don't forget to visit "What's on my Easel". I am trying to keep it posted
> with the paintings I am working on.
> Well, gotta go back to my easel.
>
>
> Wishing you all a beautiful summer!
>
> Very sincerely,
> Gladys

>

Dear Friends,
   Everyday I am more and more amazed of the resource the Internet it. How we can view beautiful art collections online without having to leave our homes or studios, view demo's and even listening to amazing lectures online at the tip of our fingers, and all this is free!
Well, I stumbled upon a wonderful place on the Internet: The WGBH Forum Network. (WGBH live and Archived Webcasts of Free Public Lectures in Partnership with Boston's Leading Cultural and Educational Organizations.) WGBH Forum Network.

What a gift the Internet is! I have been enjoying tremendously the lectures, which you can either hear, watch, or even podcast. Everything from Art to Music, to Science, etc.
   "The WGBH Forum Network is an audio and video streaming website dedicated to curating and serving live and
on-demand lectures given by some of the world's foremost scholars, authors, artists, scientists, policy makers and community
leaders."

If you would like to try it out, I would suggest you consider listening to
"Bostonians Who Collected Impressionism" with Dr. Erica Hirshler, senior curator, paintings at the MFA Boston.

If you have never seen her, it is so nice to put a name and a face together. I have collected her books on Impressionism
 for quite some time. As with Richard Ormond, I believe that any book she writes about Impressionism is worth reading.

I had to share this with you and hope you will enjoy this forum as much as I do.

Have a beautiful day!
Gladys

Just a short note to let you know about a hard decision I have made. I have scheduled a four day still life workshop at the Coppini starting Friday April 18 to Monday April 20. It will take place from 10AM to 5PM everyday.
   But for the very first time, I am being very strict about only having eight students. It is my sincerest desire to share with you the little knowledge I might have, and therefore I want to make sure that each student receives what they expect from one of my workshops. Recently I gave a workshop to a rather large group. I did this because I had more students than I could handle. I thought it would work out.   Unfortunately, it was not the best decision because I felt I was not able to work with each person the way that I would of liked to. Therefore, from now on, I will very firmly limit my workshops to only eight students. If there is a need, I will have a waiting list. I truly hope that you understand, as I feel it is my obligation to share with you what others have so unselfeshly shared with me and I can only do so in a smaller group.
   So I came up with this idea: "How many are too many students" What do you think?
Would love to hear your thoughts.

If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please let me know.
The workshop will be held at the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts.

Happy painting!
Very sincerely
Gladys :)

Hi everybody and Happy New Year to all of you!
 Thank you for your emails and comments.

I wanted to update you all with some information. Some of you have written me asking if I submitted any work for the Greenhouse and/or OPA. Unfortunately, I was not able to. I have been so busy with the move into our new home and studio, that I did not have the time to really focus on the two competitions and I did not want to just send in anything. We are still living with boxes everywhere, but slowly and surely things are falling back to place. I am happy to write that I am back to my painting routine and I am enjoying my new studio. I did not think I would get used to it, since I do not have the two story height of the other one, but  I was pleasantly surprised to see the I LOVE it!
 
Therefore, after finishing some military commissions, and getting over my huge disappointment for not making the two deadlines, I have now focused all my energy towards painting for my September Show in Santa Fe at GiacobbeFritz Fine Art Gallery. I am also trying to add the section "What's on my easel" to this website, and hope to have it done tonight. I will try and post what I have been working on.
If I can be of any help, please let me know.

Happy painting to all of you!
Blessings!
Gladys

Hi everybody
Just wanted to share with you an awesome website that Sue Lyon wrote me about
www.createbetterpaintings.com


It is an online magazine and it is wonderful!!!!
Hope you enjoy
Gladys :)

Dear Class, here is the painting we talked about today. I hope you find it as inspiring as I do and see the possibilities of the posing of our model today.
See you Wednesday!
Gladys


Flaming June is a painting by Frederic Lord Leighton, produced in 1895. Painted with oil paints on a 47" x 47" square canvas, it is widely considered to be Leighton's crowning work, showing his classicist nature. It is thought that the woman portrayed alludes to the sleeping figures the Greeks would often paint which were collectively referred to as Venus.

Flaming June was auctioned in the 1960s, during a period of time known to be difficult for selling Victorian era paintings, where it failed to sell for its low reserve price of $140 USD (the equivalent of $840 in contemporary prices). Afterward, it was promptly purchased by the Ponce Museum of Art in Puerto Rico where it currently resides (see the following account).

The painting was honored in song by Paul Weller on his "Stanley Road" album, and by Mexican singer Luis Miguel (who was born in Puerto Rico) in his music video for the song "Amarte es un placer".

Circumstances of arrival in Puerto Rico

In 1963, Luis A. Ferre - the noted Puerto Rican industrialist and politician, who would be elected Governor five years later - was on a trip around Europe, engaged in purchasing paintings and sculptures for the Ponce Museum of Art in Puerto Rico, which he had founded. On a stop in a gallery in Amsterdam, he found "Flaming June" abandoned in a corner. He became impressed by the painting's beauty, and asked the owner about it.

The owner said no one was interested in the painting because it was considered too old-fashioned for the time. But he added that if Ferre was interested in it, that he could have it for $10,000. Even though Ferre thought it was expensive (as noted above, it had been shortly before been auctioned for much less), they entered into an agreement that Ferre would wire the money for the painting. The man gave his word of not selling it to anyone else.

Antonio Luis Ferre, the industrialist's son, many years later related that his father spent a sleepless night, worried that the gallery owner wouldn't keep his promise^[1]. Ferre called him in the morning, assuring him that the money would be wired and asking him to keep his promise - which he did, even though other people had already gone to the gallery and liked the painting.

Thus, "Flaming June" traveled to the Ponce Museum of Art and was prominently displayed. In later years, it was loaned to important expositions around the world, with the renewal of interest in Victorian art. As noted by El Nuevo Dia Newspaper (April 22, 2001), Puerto Ricans are proud of having rescued the painting from obscurity and feel that "It now belongs to Puerto Rico".

Information from Wikipedia.

Hi everybody,
Just to let you know that the gentleman that makes the pochade box I shared with you yesterday  is Ben Haggett and his boxes are called
Alla Prima Pochade Boxes
and his website is www.allaprimapochade.com
http://www.allaprimapochade.com/

Hope you like them as much as I do. They are GREAT!

Landscape and Figure Composition by Sadakichi Hartmann (Sidney Allan)

Foolow this link:

http://books.google.com/books?id=91QEAAAAYAAJ&dq=sadakichi+hartmann+figures+in+the+landscape&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=qMnB_5jTfs&sig=YzCiL6441Z5ySFp2XWLoBf-N4FU#PPA17,M1