West End Studios Art Opening/Pop-Up Gallery

West End Studios Logo

Mark your calendars!!Deelite Design will host the first art opening for artists at the West End. Sculptors Bill Knapp, Barry Sheehan; Woodworker Ewan Tulis; and myself, will have works on display for purchase. Preview Party Friday Evening.

This will be a two day gallery show, Pop-Up style. The show commences Saturday evening so be sure to stop by and bring your art lover friends! Lots of great art for sale! More Information

Preview Party: Friday July 11,  7-10

Show: Saturday July 12, 10-6

About West End Studios:

Technically still Main Street, the West End of Historic Ellicott City is home to several working artists. Currently there are nine artists within the area: blacksmiths Barry Sheehan and Sam Salvati, Sculptor Bill Knapp, Woodworker Ewan Tulis, Painters Dee Cunningham, Laurie Hansen, and Chuck Gamber, and wood turner Dave Calloway.

About the Participating Artists:

Bill Knapp:

bill Knapp 2014

"My intent is to make the viewer wonder. 'Does it work, will it run or maybe what does it do?' Although some pieces may be strong with just their elements, I prefer that the elements relate to each other and and come together to appear to perform a function. That function may appear mechanical, animal, or figurative. My studio includes a small warehouse of parts that talk to me. They come from the internet stores, antique shops, and dumpster dives. Friends often leave things at my studio door that they know I'll recycle."

barry sheehan 2014

Barry Sheehan: "I am a master craftsman with a primary focus in metals and traditional blacksmithing. My artistic philosophy is life is in motion and motion gives art life. I use a minimalistic approach to sculpture in order to create a restless energy that can arrest the attention of any viewer and allow them to interact with the piece. I use familiar imagery such as the human figure caught in motion in order to create an imaginary reality that involves the sculpture and the space around it. My process is difficult but simple: fire, water, impact, and pressure."

Ewan Tulis:

ewan tulis

Ewan is a woodworker by heart. His day job of doing construction and home improvement allows him the pleasure of building sculptural furniture that often includes exotic and reclaimed woods and vintage hardware and metal. His work includes gracefully shaped pieces with curved lines as well as lightly refined rustic pieces that speak of their previous life.

Dee Cunningham:

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Working as a decorative artist my job is to paint for others. Solely commission based up to this point, my work is custom made for the client. I will paint anything from abstract to photo realistic styles in order to achieve my clients' vision.  After much discussion and personal reflection, I hope to complete my first body of work for my own artistic expression in the next year.

A Twin Tween Bathroom!

A fun project I completed last week. My favorite color too!

The hibiscus flowers are done with a hand cut stencil, the design pulled directly from the shower curtains.

Interior Designer Tag Sale!!

Mark your calendars!! Deelite Design will be hosting our first Interior Designer Tag Sale Saturday June 28 from 10-5 with a Preview Sale Friday evening from 5-9pm including wine and light fare! Five designers have decided to clean out their coffers and offer for sale tons of great items at incredible prices! There will be upholstery and drapery fabric remnants, accessories from home staging, and many items are "To-The-Trade" and not usually available to the public.  I will be selling some vintage and antique wood furniture items that I had intentions of painting but don't have time to tackle right now.

Tell a friend! Heck, bring a friend! Hope to see you there!

Location: Deelite Design Studio, 8602 A Frederick Road Ellicott City MD 21043

Call 410-707-9246 or email dee@deelitedesign.com for information.

(Cash and carry, no returns or exchanges. Be prepared to take your items the same day.)

A Portrait Project - Finding my Footing

A few months ago Pam Long of Pam Long Photography approached me about doing a joint project.  Pam is a wonderfully talented photographer with a studio on Main Street in Historic Ellicott City. She does maternity portraits, newborn or children portraits, family portraits and high school seniors' portraits. Pam wanted to offer a new package option for her clients, having their portrait painted. That's where I come in!

We had a photo session back in February. Ill be honest, I didn't know what to expect since its not every day that I have my photo professionally done.  Pam was very welcoming and complimentary, immediately putting me at ease. We had a great time and did a few different set ups. About a week later, I came back to go through the lot and choose a handful that could potentially work for our project. I was surprised at how well they turned out given the subject matter ;) I tend to be goofy and and self conscious when having my picture taken.

With each new painting  there is an element of excitement, anxiety, and sometimes fear. Portraits are not easy, especially when they are for a paying client. Careful attention to detail is a must, and sometimes the client will be choosy in how they are portrayed.  Remember the whole Kate Middleton portrait kerfuffle? I thought the work was stunning and captured her essence, but most people wanted an idealized image that they had conceived in their minds. You can't please everyone, but you must please the client! In this case the client is me. And its super hard!!

I've always painted in acrylic and this time I've been using my usual standard, Proceed Slow Dry Fluid Acrylics. I did use a different kind of canvas since I was out of the kind I normally use. Somehow I think the combination isn't working very well. I find it difficult to build layers without cutting through the subsequent layers. I also am finding that for this particular project that the paints are drying to opaquely and flat.

What I've been noticing now that I'm working on this is how in other artists' portrait work the colors of the skin are so varied and deep.  Cerulean blues, cadmium reds, all layered to achieve such a beautiful luminosity. I tend to mix a color, add white and either burnt umber or raw umber to it to get the value correct, and put it down. The results are very opaque. I am struggling to find how to layer the colors to achieve that beautiful depth. I did some thinking and believe that I am going to try out oils. I've never been properly schooled in their use, but I have used them in the past. I'm hoping that by using oils I'll be able to achieve the subtle nuances with the shadows and richness of the skin.

Ill post some more photos when I think its nearing completion. Any advice or constructive critique is welcomed.

Stay tuned!

Happy Accidents

Not everything goes according to plan.  (That should be this year's motto.) With this job I had a major "oops" where the finish I was supposed to do on the ceiling didn't quite turn out as planned.

I had completed the walls last year with a glazed plaster texture and the client wanted to do something on the ceiling that complimented but didn't upstage them.  I also had glazed the trim in her kitchen to match the cabinetry and she wanted to do the same in these rooms too. Normally when I do samples I keep notes and swatches of the different paint colors and mixes that I use. For some reason I didn't do that this time. Don't ask me why. I'm usually good at remembering my process but this time I don't remember what I did. I tried guessing but that didn't quite work. I was about to pull the plug and start over but thankfully my client talked me off the ledge. We came up with a solution that turned out to be even better than the original plan.

Trim and Wainscotting:

I have to say that normally I would be mortified that the job went south but with a client like this, who is very creative and flexible, was absolutely amazing.

Its so hard to capture the subtlety so I pumped up the definition a bit. If you'd like to see the finish in person give me a call, I now have a sample that matches!

The final result is what to me looks like what could be a deteriorated plaster with hints of old wallpaper discoloration on a Parisian apartment salon wall. It has a very subtle crackle with gold peeking though. The colors are all slight variations of taupe, grey, and tan. I am absolutely in love and have tried doing this type of finish several times with no success. I guess you could say it was a happy accident!