Box Heart Gallery
Nothing is more exciting than to be in a worthwhile exhibit. Because I am president of the Pittsburgh Pastel Artist League (PPAL), I felt I should enter an exhibit at lease one that I didn’t feel intimidation. This is it. The Box Heart Gallery, located in Bloomfield, recently had a wonderful exhibit featuring Pittsburgh Pastel Artist that are members of the PPAL group.
I enter two of my paintings. The painting above is called “Pretty In Pink”. I love poppies, and most of the poppies that I see painted are usually red. Red is an extremely wonderful color and when a painting portrays the red poppy, it always comes off as totally beautiful.
However, for me, I looked at many pictures of poppies and found the pink one to be so delicate. This painting was first done as an underpainting with watercolor. I think it helped to capture the tones and values in order for me to keep the painting delicate. I then places several lady bugs in the painting. Did you know that lady bugs are becoming extinct? I was surprised by this and wanted to pay tribute to the cute little creation.
My second painting is one that I have worked on for months. I did a light house series trying to get into one of the juried artist’s leagues. I am still trying, but this painting I really liked. During several of our PPAL meetings, the group held a critique on paintings. I asked for a critique on this one, and it finally turned out a bit better than before.
I ended up calling the painting “Twila-Dawn” because it cold be either during a day of dawn or dusk. Twila Dawn has been a joke within my family. My father, who passed away in 1994, always joked that my name was going to be Twiladawn. My mother forbid such a name…thus, my name became Mary Catherine.
What more of a way to remember my father and his sense of humor than through my artwork. Now, Twila Dawn is now a name given to my painting and will last a life time, even if the name never became mine.
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