Guest Blogger for April - Lisa Egeli
Artwork by Lisa Egeli
Last summer I had the privilege of being one of two Master Artists working with the inaugural Artist Colony at the Gettysburg Festival. Since this was the very first Artist Colony and I was working without a template, and since I hadn’t been to Gettysburg in many years, I did what I usually do when in unknown territory: I summoned my love of painting, my passion for exploring, and my joy in sharing art adventures with others, and hurtled myself forward through the four days of the Artist Colony.
As artists we can easily become isolated, easily turn inward to refine our craft and work safely within territory we know. But it’s very important to venture out there, accept new challenges, and reach for new opportunities. Leading the Artist Colony at the Gettysburg Festival was a new challenge for me, and I found it to be incredibly rewarding. The Colony painters were enthusiastic, determined (it was rather warm as I recall), adaptive (I did mention this was the first Colony) and inspiring. I really enjoyed getting to know them and sharing some techniques and tricks of the trade.
Gettysburg itself is so full of fascinating history. It’s a perfect example of how important it is to really understand the story of your subject. Of course, the good people of the Gettysburg Festival went above and beyond to make this new territory feel welcoming and rewarding for all of us. I learned a lot from the event and hope others did too.
Whether it’s the Artist Colony at the Gettysburg Festival, a major juried exhibition, or a painting trip to a new (to me) part of the world, I have found that stepping out into new territory always helps me grow as an artist.
6 comments:
Thank you for visiting DPP, Lisa, and sharing your beautiful artwork. I certainly appreciate your comments about resisting the urge to be isolated. Good insights! I hope you have a great time this year during the festival.
Hi, Lisa. It was an amazing experience to be a part of the artist colony last summer at Gettysburg, and to be one of the fortunate artists who got to work with you. I remember so well your second painting here of the view from the Hauser Winery. I've never forgotten watching your application of a one stroke highlight on the top of a silo that transformed the painting before my eyes!
Great to see your paintings up here on the DPP blog.
Breathtaking rendering--very serene and expertly painted.
Thanks for visiting DPP, and thanks for sharing your experience and art work. Wonderful!
Very poetic work Lisa! Your open box m set up is exactly the same as mine! Even the arrangement of your palette :)
Thanks, all!
And thanks for the nice comments, Claire. It was really a pleasure working with you!
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