Ben and I took a day trip to Lake Frierson here in Arkansas. I painted (this) while he did some fishing. After a while, he called me over to ‘look at something’. When I got to the bank, he got down on one knee, pulled out a little white box and popped -the question-. What a moment. This painting is filled with so much emotion, just like that day; very fitting.
Little 9×7″ pretty lady in high detail. I started this one a little differently, by starting with a pthalo blue under-painting and featuring the primary colors.
Once again, I worked with the wonderful people at the Ozark Foothills Film Fest to create the branding for this year’s fest. In the past I try to work in the theme of the Ozarks and Arkansas, at least in some way, but this year I went a different route. I chose something more eye catching and direct.
Tshirt Design ↑
Banners ↑
Last night was a big surprise for me. We helped host an awards ceremony for our local Main Street organization, of which I am VP. Awards were given to outstanding businesses and community members. I won local Volunteer of the Year for my town. Ben also won Local Hero award.
AND THEN…
Representatives from the Arkansas Main Street state program were there to give 2 awards to our community. I kind of guessed we had won for Best Online Presence. (I created our website: Downtown Paragould this year, and Gina, our director, does an amazing job with our social media.) But, to my incredible surprise, I also won the Volunteer of the Year from the state Main Street program!
What a weekend! Not only did I get to catch up with some wonderful filmmakers I have met in the past, but also got to meet some new and very incredible people, and see inspired films from around the world.
For a while now I have been actively showing my works-in-progress on Snapchat. It is a great platform for informal, behind-the-scenes stories that are more personal and real because they disappear to the public.
I have also found it to be quite difficult to find other artists on Snapchat. Typically “snapchat artists” on emerging directories are referring to people who doodle on their snaps with the built-in capabilities of the app. Don’t get me wrong, @Cakes1toDough1 ‘s cute cats are to die for, but I’d love to watch the daily practices of fellow traditional artists. If you draw or paint on snapchat please send me a friend request – mandyatlarge – let me know and I will definitely give you an add back!
Happy Chatting Fellow Snappers!
I created a new Twitter account for keeping up with my art. I will be posting work in progress pictures, videos and much more! Follow me!
I’ve been working hard so far in the new year. I found a book on figure drawing my Andrew Loomis that I have become obsessed with. I’ve been producing dozens of figure sketches to really hone my skills for the future.
This year, once again I handmade Christmas cards for all of my closest friends, family and coworkers. Each one was uniquely made for the person receiving.
This project means a lot to me every year. I mostly love seeing the reactions of people when they get something handmade.
I absolutely loved this project.
For this project we did a full photoshoot. From those photos, the family selected a favorite (which was actually my favorite too) for the portrait. The eyes are captivating.. and huge!
Finally got this girl framed. She is very large and hangs at the top of my stairs.
The Batesville Area Arts Council Gallery asked me to be a featured artist for their Main Street Art Walk. I had a beautiful display in the top of the Historic Landers Theater.
Again this year I got to create the look for the annual Ozark Foothills FilmFest. I really like the way this years turned out and especially the tshirts. Looking forward to another great day of movies tomorrow. Bob and Judy are the very best.
