This summer I didn’t sign up for any out-of-state workshops like I usually do (sorry Johnna). There was, after all, a grand baby coming along. And he IS grand, but this is an art blog so I’ll stop at that, heehee.
So instead I took a community college art class in another county. I love being in class, it makes me commit myself to the work, and gets me in a routine (which somehow I am sorely lacking). The instructor was great and if I’d had thin skin my feelings would have been hurt the first day, but his criticism was constructive and much-needed. Also, he’s 84 years young!
It seemed that taking oil paintings on the road would be a little cumbersome in my little red car (appropriately named “Lil Red”) so I decided on working in oil pastels. That and the fact a dear friend commented how much she liked my works in the medium. Ok, I love working with them but it had been quite a while so her comment jump-started me back into this creamy, malleable medium.
One of these works was “just for fun” (Black-Eyed Susans), one was commissioned (Sisters) by a grandmother, and the single portrait (Going Somewhere) was from a former student’s selfie while working on a make-up business venture. Remember, I never take or appropriate photos without permission. Well, hardly ever. As a matter of fact, I’m really excited about the next two drawings (or paintings, as oil pastel purists call them), photos from friends are the inspiration, but I want to use them as a springboard into more expressive work. Stay tuned.
“Going Somewhere” is in a competition at the Moore County Arts Council summer show at Campbell House in Southern Pines, NC.
The Art of Joy A. McGugan 
nice work.
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