News from our studio and SHOW schedules!

Early Spring (March), 2016


March and there is SO much going on. Many art shows and horse shows coming up this spring. We  love to show and tell so scattered throughout this newsletter are some of the many art pieces we created for our collectors. 
Also meet our newest family member, Bella, our baby alpaca. Theresa is already deciding what to do with all of her fleece when she is sheared the end of March.


What's Happening:  Shows where you can find us, as vendors or on the grounds with our easels   (Remember to check back with us on our calendar as sometimes this changes)

March 12 Triangle Farms C horse show, Hunt Horse Complex, Raleigh, NC ! Look for us on just Saturday, March 12 at the show! At the Hunt Horse Complex. We'll be there with portraits and silkwork (oh the horses!)  http://www.trianglefarms.com/

March 17-20  Triangle Farms A horse show, Raleigh NC    Steve will be at this show part of the time with his paintings. Check with us for the dates!  http://www.trianglefarms.com/



March 18-20  Spring Carousel Gift Market  Raleigh, NC, At NC fairgrounds, Jim Graham Building  Theresa will be there with her all of her silk art. https://www.facebook.com/springcarousel

March 23-26  You will find us at the Spring Premier Horse Show at the Hunt Horse Complex in Raleigh, NC.  Portraits, paintings and silk art in our indoor booth!
http://www.raleighspringpremier.com/

April 23 Bynum Bridgefest!  A one day art and craft event (on the Bynum Bridge) between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro, NC that meshes with Earth Day.  Come see Theresa with her fiber and silk art!   http://www.bephilarthropy.com/

April 30:Cary Spring Daze!  Long URL to a long established one day art and craft show held in a beautiful park in Cary, NC!  http://www.townofcary.org/Departments/Parks__Recreation___Cultural_Resources/events/festivals/springdaze.htm

May 6-7: The Handmade Market    We're still waiting to hear back on this art and craft event but if it's a go, Theresa will be there with her silk and fiber art! http://www.thehandmademarket.com/site/



May 21 & 22 Keswick Horse Show: Like last year, Steve will make his annual jaunt to the Keswick Hunt Club (in Virginia) and can be found around the grounds with his easel painting the scenes at the show!

May 20-22  Artsplosure  A very busy, super fun art and craft show in downtown Raleigh, NC. Theresa will be there with all of her fiber and silk art! http://artsplosure.org/

Well that's probably enough to keep all of us busy! There will be our long time horse shows in June, July and August including the 2 weeks at Blowing Rock, NC and possibly  some Virginia shows. YOU can easily keep track of where we will be through our Facebook pages!

ART classes and workshops (March-August) 
These are classes held at our studio location and others. If you would like us to set up a workshop with your art group, just drop us a note. Sign up for our separate art student academy newsletters that are just for our painting students!
Theresa is teaching some new classes with the Vance Granville Community College (http://www.vgcc.edu/coned/personal-interest) in the Personal Enrichment program, including some Heritage Programs coming up. Make sure you are signed up for our Art Student Academy newsletters to stay on top of all art classes!   http://artstudentacademy.com/

SHOP with US!
A great landing page to branch into the areas we have that interest you is http://www.OnRoadArtists.com  From there you can read our blogs, see what we are painting and so much more! But additional locations are below:
Theresa's  portraits are online, is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mtheresabrown
Theresa's abstracts and silk art: http://www.DreamHorseArt.com....go to the shop section to see what is available!
Visit Steve's store with his paintings is:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/sfilarsky




To reach us, all you have to do is go to ONE page:
http://www.OnRoadArtists.com 
There you will find links to our blogs, Facebook pages, various websites, phone numbers and emails!

New work images posted regularly on our Facebook pages! Watch for our updates!
Until next time!
Theresa and Steve

Crazy artist week..wait, that's real life!

This promises to be one of those crazy weeks that . Steve and I have the evening seminars at the Art of the Carolinas  Nov 11, 12 and 13 and what possessed me to agree to demonstrate a brand of acrylic paints (all day) for 3 days is beyond me! Steve will be at the Duke  show with our art booth while I am at the Hilton in Raleigh.....whew...wonder where I can change my clothes?
Meanwhile I am trying to reschedule my teen art class  to avoid a conflict this week.....and heading to the Gallery that I partner with this morning to meet two clients, stopping at the bank, the post office .....oh yeah, the early Thanksgiving on Sunday for a son flying out Tuesday to Job Corp......wonder if they'll actually get the turkey into the oven?......LOL and I HAVE to start on that large family  oil painting, finish the smaller orders.......we even managed to get our custom Xmas cards printed and ready to mail out early this year (as in before Xmas)  but we need to hand address them all......did I mention getting out the newsletters to all of our clients and friends....oh, and I have to trim the hair off the Cockapoo...meet with the guys to finish the "we're in the middle" bathroom makeover of 3 months.......I think I started to say something about an overwhelming  week but in fact it's sort of typical (with the exception maybe of the workshops) of the real life that all artists cope with !

That's why so many of the art marketing sites on the Internet are so....unreal :-). From what we have seen, Very few, if any,  are written or presented by artists who are creating art as well as selling it....they fill their sites with tidbits from here and there, from many artists and so seem to have missed that essential element of real life as we all know it....living the day to day life that we all know and yet creating art within that same context. THAT is what the "real" artist's life is all about!
So regardless of where you are in your own world of art, stick with it! Embrace it and enjoy it. As overwhelming as some days or weeks may be, how you handle the challenges of real life as a working artist is what separates the artists who want to market their art from those who simply think about it!

LOVE the time change-I feel like I'm not starting in the middle of the night!

The Simplicity of red charcoal

I have not created a conte (con-tay) sketch in a long time but really enjoyed doing this one! The colors are warmer than my more traditional black charcoal on a blue/gray background.

Conte is a reddish colored charcoal medium that, when combined with white conte for the highlights, creates that soft, almost ethereal look in a portrait. ......and I just love it!

I had this photo from a series that I took when creating this young lady's portrait along with her sister, in pastel. It is a 16 x 20 portrait so the image size is consider "three quarter" life size. That's a wonderful size to have on your wall. Any larger can be a bit "too much in your face!"

All art stores carry the Conte sticks-pick up a pack and try them as a fun alternative to charcoal!

Portrait of Teen Sisters

An 18 x 24 pastel portrait of two sisters.
Big smiles can be a definite challenge but I have created many smiling portraits and the key is to know the personality of the subjects. Neither of these girls were the serious, moody sort when I met and photographed them and the teen years need to be remembered as not always enveloped in "teen angst!"
But the important part is what the client thinks!

For years I have dreamed of having a portrait done of my children and like many of us I “never got around to it”. When Theresa Brown became a resident artist at The Cotton Company and I got a chance to not only view a good variety of her work but also talk to her about how she works and the whole process, I realized I had finally found the right person to do this portrait.

I gave the portrait of our two daughters as a surprise birthday present to my husband and he and I are both so happy with the results. When the girls go off to college this portrait which has captured not only their likeness, but also their spirit, will be a reminder of so many happy memories!

Thank you, Theresa!

-Elizabeth Johnson, Wake Forest NC

Meet in the Street art show

Wow-so many miles these past few months that a small show (with over 10,000 visitors!) 14 miles from home....it just doesn't get better than that!

So here I am, having completed a cameo pastel and chatting with all the visitors. Just a hint of rain, a few sprinkles, a light breeze, not too hot. Of course by 3 pm I needed a cup of coffee but what the heck?
The Wake Forest Meet in the Street held May 2 was a big success for all.

Albuquerque New Mexico SNOW

Yes, on the morning of the 3rd day of travel, we awoke to snow in Albuquerque!

Now we had been told that Palm Springs was warm...it would be in the 80's, but we had l uckily brought along a few jackets.

Now we know that late March on Interstate 40 can bring surprises. It seems that the Interstate had been closed the day before in Amarillo TX because of a blizzard! So we stayed in Haskell OK with friends while waiting for the day to warm!

Family oil of boys and their pets

What a delightful experience it has been to work with the Faykus brothers! Their joy of life and their home in the country pours into their everyday attitude and being! Although their 30 x 40 oil is not quite done,I have had the family live with their portrait for a few weeks to get a feel for the overall impact. So just a few tweaks to do here and there and this beautiful moment in time is theirs forever!
Originally I photographed the boys and their huge Newfoundland and mellow Golden Retriever (and Siamese) in the late fall.
I created a more springtime look to the portrait and although everything is pulled together to create one cohesive look, the viewer can't tell that I used many reference photos!

But in this scene it is all about the exuberance of childhood! The rough and tumble relationships between brothers. The family pets involved with their young masters. And the growing up with an emphasis on being outside in all weather. It is an opportunity for growth and discovery at its most basic level!

I look forward to the final unveiling!

See more of my Portraits!

Family Pastel Portrait with westie

This 24 x 30 commissioned pastel portrait was a delight to create! I love zooming in on the subjects and although it means the portraiture must be very accurate when working almost lifesize, I find it actually easier to work larger.
The Jones family was delighted with my portrait of their two daughters, Lacey and Morgan and of course they loved Jack, their lovable Westie.
Although the garden was not in bloom, I recreated my rendition, groomed Jack, changed faces, hairstyles, perspective and a number of small areas to finalize my composition.
I met the family in October, took the photos early in November and completed this pastel right before Christmas! An heirloom for generations!

Working artist at a show

There is one thing that I can always say about being at a show and that is that I am productive! UNless I am at an outdoor show where temperatures have soared to over a 100 degrees, I can keep my nose to the grindstone, chat with people and in general, make it a working day!
Sitting in relative cool recently at a show in Roanoke, Va, I was able to complete several pieces for my clients.

The 28 x 32 pastel portrait to the right was created from combined photos of the client's from 2 years ago. The client has seen the digital version but unless they are out of state, I like them to see the "real thing" for any possible changes!

I will post the other artwork later but working at a show increases not only studio time but the delight that people take in seeing a "real artist" (as they say) at work. Until later!
Theresa