New work!

"By an Open Window"
24" x 24" acrylic and collage on canvas

Just completed this new painting. I'm almost finished with another one so hope to show you that soon. I'm thinking this piece will be part of a new series, but I'm not sure what I want to call the series yet. I think the words will come as I keep painting.

I had to take my show down at My Sweet Bakery yesterday. It was sad to see the bare walls...but I'm happy that another Artist will be able to show her work there next. The Owner, Kelly, took a few pictures when my work was up and you can see them here on My Sweet Bakery's Gallery page.

So after packing up the artwork...James and I drove home with a car load of paintings...and a big box of pastry which we have almost entirely consumed (licking almond paste off fingers). If you live in Denver...get thyself to this place...their pastry tastes like the pastry in Paris!

Tennyson Art Walk

Geez, it's been awhile since I last blogged...just lots goin' on; taking one show down, putting another one up, working on abstracts and finishing up my next dog portrait.

These photos are from my show which just went up at My Sweet Bakery on Tennyson St. in Denver. It was time to take down my exhibit at the University last week...but I was invited to put eleven paintings back up in THIS beautiful space.

A big thank you goes out to Kelly McBride, the Owner of the Bakery. She has been so generous in inviting me to show my work there. I should also thank you, Kelly for your amazing pastries. I have enjoyed each and every one of them...especially the coconut cupcakes!

My Sweet Bakery opens it's doors during the Tennyson Street Art Walk which takes place the first Friday of every month. James and I went last Friday night and it was hoppin'! Between the art, live music and good food...we were pretty blissed out by the end of the evening.

So stop by and see the show if you live in the Denver/Boulder area...it will be up until the end of June. Make sure you try one of those cupcakes...and maybe one of their almond croissants too! :)

Hope your weekend was good!

New work #2

"Light As Air"
16" x 16" acrylic and collage on canvas

Here is #2 in my new series. I shifted to a bit of a different color palette and composition with this one. I'm trying to push myself into unknown territories that are not quite as comfortable for me.

So in my last post, I mentioned that I had some exciting news to share with you? Well, I am happy to say that I have another solo show of abstracts scheduled for June! My work will be displayed for a month at a beautiful new Bakery, "My Sweet Bakery" in the Denver Tennyson District. Tennyson St. is booming with new art galleries, shops and restaurants and they have a monthly Artwalk. The Bakery will be part of the Artwalk so I am thrilled to be able to participate!

I'm about half way finished with a new dog painting so I'll be working towards finishing him next. Hope to show you next week!

The Exhibit is Up!

My solo exhibit is finally up! James and I hung the show on Monday...took us about six hours and all went very smoothly. There are 33 paintings stretching all the way down both sides of the Hall. These pictures are not the best but I'm glad we took a few of "the day" the show went up. I'll be going down to the University of Denver this weekend to spend more time taking better ones.

Hope you can stop by and see the show if you live in the area. It will be up until May 31st. Check out my last post for more information and the address.

My incredible exhibit manager and husband, James
putting final touches on the hanging wires.

Cluster of paintings at the end of the Hall.

Paintings are hung all the way to the front entrance on both sides.

Our car in front of The Chambers Center Building
( I can't believe we squeezed 33 paintings into one car!)

I'll be back tomorrow with more good news!

Almost there!

"Merle Chambers Building"
Women's College of the University of Denver
photo courtesy of the Kiewit Corporation

Sorry I've been blog absent...I've been taking care of all the final preparations for my solo exhibit at the University of Denver. It's just a few days away!

This is the building where my work will be for two months...it's the Merle Chambers Center for the Advancement of Women. It's a great space to show my work and I really appreciate them for inviting me to do so.

The DU campus is beautiful too...so if you live in the area...please stop in and view the show. The exhibit is on the first floor and continues through May 31st.

Some Show Info...

The Show Postcard Invitation is here...yay! If you would like me to send you one, just shoot me an email with your address. Below is a portion of the backside of the card with all the information as to when and where.

Here is my lastest painting that you might have already seen on Facebook. Hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!

Have a beautiful March weekend out there!

"Catching Memories"

"24" x 36" acrylic and collage on canvas

Let go and let the paint flow!

"Letting Go"
16" x 16" acrylic and collage on canvas

Wow, only a little over three weeks to go before the show! In the next week or two, I will be wrapping up the painting for awhile...and will be varnishing, labeling, writing a bio and sending out postcard invitations.

I'll be back on Thursday with more specific details about the show. If you'd like to have a postcard mailed to you, just shoot me your address!

Two New Ones...

Here are my two latest paintings for the show at the University of Denver Women's College. I'm really enjoying working with the 30" x 30" canvas size. In fact...I think I like working larger in general now!

I will be back next week with more detailed information about the show. I will also be posting information on my Facebook page. I would love it if you would head over there and "like" Abby Creek Studios! I post my latest paintings and Etsy listings there.

"Glide"
30" x 30" acrylic and collage on canvas

"Embrace"
30" x 30" acrylic and collage on canvas

All of the paintings I'm doing for the show are for sale so feel free to email me if you're interested in one. They will remain in the exhibit until the end of May but I can ship them to you after that.

Have a great weekend!

A Chilly New Year!

Maisie in her spankin' new booties.

Hi everyone...Happy New Year to you! I had to pop in to show you this picture of Maisie wearing her new Muttluk boots. We've had a couple of cold snaps here in Boulder where it hasn't gotten above the low teens all day. When it's that cold...these boots are great and keep her paws nice and toasty.

I've been pretty voiceless on the blog lately and I'm sorry about that because I love hearing from you all. I think working towards my show since early last year has temporarily left me with a "brain freeze"! I have been so consumed with having a voice within my paintings...that my own physical voice has really had to look for words.

Hope to show you some new work soon though. As always, I treasure the voice of each and every one of YOU. Hope your New Year is starting off with a sparkle!

The Colors of Spring

"Vision of Spring"
13" x 16" acrylic and collage on canvas
prints are available online at Imagekind.com

I've been working on this piece all week and it finally came together today. I love when things finally "click" like that! Yay!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm going to be showing all of these new abstracts in a solo exhibit next April at the University of Denver. As a result...I won't be putting them up on Etsy for sale this year. If you ARE interested in purchasing one of the originals now, you can do so by emailing me. I will reserve the painting for you until after the show.

Hope you've all had a great week. See you on Monday!

New work

"Ice Dance"
20" x 24" acrylic and collage on canvas
Prints are available online at Imagekind.com

Finally got what I wanted with this piece...yay! By the way...you've probably noticed that I've been focusing more on my abstract work lately. The reason is that I have been offered a solo exhibit of my abstracts at the University of Denver for next year. I'm stoked! I need to build a larger body of work for it so I will be focusing on them the rest of this year. That doesn't mean I won't be doing dog paintings and still life...just not as many as I had planned.

On another note...went to hear a lecture last night about coyotes by Marc Bekoff Ph.D. Since we've had two coyotes visiting around our property lately...we wanted to learn more about their behavior. Marc has written some incredible articles and books on the emotional lives of animals and about expanding our compassion for them. Great reads!

Back to work now on more abstracts and Maisie's painting!

The Broadmoor and Snow Bandit

The Broadmoor Hotel

Hope you all had a nice Valentine's weekend! My sweet hubbie took me on a three day getaway to this beautiful hotel in Colorado Springs. I've always wanted to stay there since we moved here so it was a real treat. They also allow dogs so it's my kind of place so once Miss Maisie is a bit more behaved, she will definitely be going back with us. Then she can have her well-deserved bone on a silver platter!

We visited the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center while we were there and saw some fantastic art. We saw the NASA/ART ~ 50 Years of Exploration exhibit that's traveling the country. There were pieces by Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell and Annie Leibovitz to name a few.

In their permanent collection, James and I also loved this painting (below) by Artist, Joe Baker of "Snow Bandit Waiting for Spring". It really grabbed our attention from across the room.

"Snow Bandit Waiting for Spring"
by Joe Baker, 1983
Oil on Canvas, 78" x 60"

Now, I'm back at work in the studio. I've got a new and different dog painting going and an abstract too so hope to show you those soon!

National Art Exhibit

"Plum on Yellow Plate"
8" x 10" Acrylic and Paper on Canvas

I'm doing a happy dance today! I was accepted by a jury to participate in the Northern Colorado Artist Association's 16th Annual National Exhibition. The above painting, "Plum on Yellow Plate" was chosen to be part of the exhibit and will be for sale. The exhibit runs from April 7 - May 11 at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins, Colorado. The artist reception will be at the Lincoln Center on April 7th from 5:00-8:00pm. If any of you fellow Colorado artists can make it...I'll be there and would sure love to meet you!