"Mystere"

Pastel on Paper

19" x 23"

(c) 2009 Nancy L. Matus

I've been working on an ongoing series of studies of the desert Agave. This is a pastel I did which has been sold. I was struck by the early evening light on this dusky-colored plant, and really enjoyed working with the range of deep greens - purples. I have an oil painting I am working on now, of the Agave, and exploring the interesting composition this plant creates. More to come on this painting later!

SunDust Gallery Opening Last Night

(c)2009 NL Matus

Here I am, on the left, with one of my fellow Guild Gallery artists, in front of my large acrylic painting (on the right - "Terra III", 36x48") that was in the SunDust Gallery Grand Opening show last night. The SunDust Gallery is the newest gallery in downtown Mesa, and the Guild moved from it's old gallery location to inside of SunDust. Two shows were taking place Friday night; an Arizona-wide juried show in SunDust, and the Guild had it's ongoing group show in its own space. I had artwork in both of the shows. Around 500 people attended this Grand Opening event, and here's a long shot of the interior from the front door:

(c)2009 NL Matus

At a couple of points in the evening, there were people lined up to get inside. It was quite the event!

More glimpses of Artwalk

(c) 2009 Nancy L. Matus

Another sketch from the nights at the Artwalk. . . . . this one is from March, and it was already getting kinda warm in the late afternoon. Once the sun went down, it chilled down quickly. But in the late afternoon, with the sun hitting you just so, a nice iced tea or soda tasted pretty good. Luckily, Kokopelli's was just across from us, so iced drinks were easy to find!

(c) 2009 Nancy L. Matus

This is Dave, a really cool guy who would set up his musical equipment right next to us, and we'd be entertained with light jazz all night long. He was a one-man-band, and he really helped to draw people down to our art booths! This particular Artwalk pays musicians like Dave to play and help create a great ambience, which everyone seemed to enjoy.

It's Artwalk Time

(c) 2009 Nancy L. Matus

So I'm gearing up now to resume the downtown Chandler Artwalk, which is every first Wednesday. It's still hot - in the 100's - but I took off all summer and need to re-establish myself in a good location. In the spirit of revving myself up, I found my sketchbook I was taking with me each time. These are sketches from earlier this year before we broke for the summer.

This scene is the little shop we were set up in front of each month. This was a nice location, and we artists are set up along the curb, facing the shops, under the shade of the sidewalk cover. The sun hasn't gone down yet, and when it does, the little white twinkly lights that are draped on all the roof columns and trees go on, and the shops stay open late that night to tempt the crowds with snacks, dinner, drinks.

(c) 2009 Nancy L. Matus

This was a sandals display that a shop right across from me had set out right outside their front door. Almost every woman who passed this table stopped and picked up and examined a pair, then put them down and moved on. All these lonely shoes waiting for a pair of feet to take them home!