61st TWS Exhibition Acceptance

HAPPY DAY!! I got this email: "Cheryl Devoto, Congratulations, your painting, THE UGLY DUCKLING, was selected to be included in the 61st TWS Exhibition, April 1 – May 8, 2010 at Rockport Center for the Arts." I'm crying!!  It's my first acceptance into a juried show.  I'm so thankful!!

The Infant Messiah

Meanwhile the long expectation of the Jews, especially during the reign of Herod, of a promised Deliverer was fulfilled, and one claiming to be the Messiah appeared - not a temporal prince and mighty hero of war, a greater Judas Maccabeeus, as the Jews had supposed, but a helpless infant, born in a manger, and brought up as a peasant carpenter.  Yet he it was who should found a spiritual kingdom never to be destroyed, going on from conquering to conquer, until the whole world shall be subdued. 

This painting was part of the SWS Christmas Party. Santa Claus, a.k.a. Richard Wilson and his wife received it in the gift draw.

INRI

This is my first attempt at an abstract-ish painting.  I wanted to try out the new Fredrix Watercolor Canvas and discovered it requires a little instruction when used with strictly watercolor.  My painting of a poinsettia looked like I'd painted glass with diluted Kool-Aid.   At SWS last month, Sandi D'Alessando gave a demo on Yupo using an acrylic medium.  I dug through my cabinets for the DaVinci fluid acrylic samples from the Nick Simmons workshop and decided to try something similar to Sandi's techniques to salvage the canvas.  I had a blast finding shapes that emerged from layering and scraping paint!  Those hearts were almost entirely formed without intention.

The text came from an antique book called Beacon Lights of History and reads, "...the life and teachings of Jesus entered with vital power into the heart and brain of those devoted followers who recognized him as the Christ - the revelator of the universal fatherhood of the One true God; and thence-forward Christianity becomes the great spiritual power of the world."

Whale Watchin' in Kyliefornia

Those who know me will recognize Kyliefornia as the great state of California where my granddaughter, Kylie lives. This summer, we got to take her on a quick trip of some of the state's beautiful sites. We took a whale watching boat off of Newport Pier. Right before taking off, we grabbed up a pint-sized Crocodile Dundee hat and some oversized shades to protect her from the ocean sun. It wasn't whale watching season, so we didn't get to view any, but several groups of dolphins made it well worth the fare. The staff had asked everyone to search the horizon for whale spouts, and Kylie was the most attentive of the search party. She stood there for 30 or 45 minutes quietly scanning the horizon.

The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling

October 28, 2009

We were driving down a starkly drab industrial street in Dallas when a breathtaking sunset unfolded straight in front of us. Our daughter, Katey, a little girl at the time, said, "God sure does color good!"

Any array of flowers is evidence that He surely does!

A Progression

Once I was bitten by the watercolor bug, I stumbled upon an AWESOME website for artists called http://www.wetcanvas.com/. It is full of demos and articles from talented artists offering their help and encouragement for FREE. Anyone can post their painting (or sculpture or drawings...) and have it critiqued by some of the best artists all over the world. Even my first feeble effort received encouragement from a fantastic watermedia artist, Nicholas Simmons, who has skyrocketed to international attention. He WON the National Watercolor Society show last year with his fantastic piece"Fresh Sushi." http://www.nicholassimmons.com/.

Years ago, Nick had generously posted an article about painting Koi fish using "Fluid Acrylics." While I didn't have those, I learned much from his article as well as other advice he posted with techniques about painting large and textures. So I gave it a try with regular watercolor. We're so blessed in this day that the internet opens doors to get to know people all across the world. What an opportunity!

I called this painting
"Koi-nonia" which means Christian fellowship.

Last June, Artists' Showplace hosted Nick to do a workshop in Dallas. It was a privilege to meet him and learn more from such a talented artist. (See me at the back right.) Nick even came to eat dinner at our house! (Pinch me!)

Another favorite artist of mine is Ted Nuttall. I love his colorful, "sloppy dots" portraits full of vibrant colors. http://www.tednuttall.com/ Artisan's Studio offered a workshop with Ted and I painted this of my beautiful Grandma Birdie who is now 102 years old.

Every time we see her, she points above her bed to a painting of Jesus and says, "I don't know why He's still keeping me here. He must have something He still wants me to do!" Khris has her give one piece of wisdom to the kids, and I know that her life still matters!! I think of this verse and the joy that soon awaits her.

"As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thess. 1:3

Trying my hand at a more contemporary painting, I tried one of Dusty and Kylie. I call it "The Pacifier." Pacifier means: someone who brings peace.

Another highlight was the rare opportunity to attend a workshop by, arguably, one of the greatest watercolorist of our time, Soon Y. Warren. This modest little woman uses Corelle dinner plates as a palette and "whatever paint that is on sale" to produce the most amazing florals and crystal I've ever seen. Check out http://www.soonwarren.com/. I could stare at her paintings for hours and am in awe of the caretaking details God provided in nature for our enjoyment. Here are two that I did after her workshop. The red peony was a wedding present to Maggi and Tony.

So, after a long hiatus, I've decided it's time to pick up the brushes again. I am amazed by God's unique design and beauty of flowers. I call this painting "Folded."

The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of God endures forever." Isaiah 40:7

Thanks for reading the blog. Next time you see a flower, consider taking a deeper look of the care God takes for something that is here today and gone tomorrow. How much more does He care for us?

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well! Psalm 139:14

A Devoted Art

To introduce myself, I am Cheryl Devoto, AKA devotedmomof7 or Uma. (The last one is by my precious granddaughter, who is sure to be mentioned a few zillion times in the course of this blog!)

I hope to use this forum to offer praise to the Lord through works of art depicting His creation.

My personal journey in art, specifically watercolors, was birthed through the inspiration of my mother, Anne Bedford. (The first three paintings in this post are her magnificent works.) Self-proclaimed as a "Jack of All Trades and Master of None," she has dabbled in every medium of art imaginable. Anyone who has seen her painting and drawings, tasted her cooking, read her writings, received her gifts of crochet, listened to her play the piano, or heard her singing will quickly realize that self-description doesn't aptly portray her masterful multi-talents. When I was a little girl, my sister and I enjoyed our handmade sets of paper dolls that mother had cut from cardboard. She designed innumerable inter-changeable outfits that were elaborately designed with colored pencils. From toddlerhood, Teresa and I were taught to color in continuous circles to avoid directional lines, and we both picked up her propensity to doodle on every surface available. I remember how Mom spent TV hours cutting up tiny, tiny specks of color from magazines which were later glued together into magnificent collages that looked like masterful paintings. Her hands bear the scars from her brief adventure into carving. The carving kit was lugged along during our summer vacations to the east coast. I'm pretty sure there are very few of those creations around after the need for stitches in her hand put a damper on that pursuit. From Scherenschnitta to cross-stitch, Mom has done it all. Between my Dad's history-buff obsession and my mother's diverse artistic pursuits, we were, thankfully, exposed to vacations touring endless historical museums and art galleries. After my father died, and we moved to Texas, Mom started watercolor lessons with Sarah King in Garland and has enjoyed studying with other respected teachers such as Naomi Brotherton, Jane Jones, and Jan Kunz. Three years ago, she was awarded the highly treasured signature status in the Southwestern Watercolor Society - a two-decade goal.

While I've always been a not-so-closet doodler, I had never followed mother's footsteps into painting. One afternoon a few years ago, I picked up an unwanted watercolor set that had gone unused by my daughter and tried painting a rose, an onion and a couple of trees. That's all it took for my mother to rush to my assistance with tubes of paint, jarfuls of brushes, and every other tool needed to assist my progress in the medium. She's showered me with shelves full of watercolor books and introduced me to local experts to rub elbows with in order to glean their advice.

Today, my mother's illness prevents her from painting as often as she would like, but she incessantly draws and studies. I aspire to Mom's excellence.