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Well, one down, one to go… March 2 was the opening reception for the Western Spirit Art Show and Sale at the Old West Museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The Museum puts on a great show – lots of wonderful artwork, a great opening reception, generous art collectors and the best volunteers in the world!

I’ve been accepted into this show for the past six years, and this year I was asked to be one of the Quick Draw artists – where you get 45 minutes to complete a painting, start to finish – in front of a crowd of curious onlookers. As is usual for me, I stressed out about doing the Quick Draw for about 2 weeks. I practiced, panicked, and practiced some more. By the time it was time to actually paint in the Quick Draw, I was over it and ready to create.

The fun thing about painting in front of a crowd is you can hear their comments, yet stay laser-focused on painting (after all, you’ve only got 45 minutes!). Because I start my paintings with a bunch of scribbled color, it is funny listening to people try to guess what the heck the painting will be. And when suddenly they can see it, it’s kind of like they breathe a sigh of relief.  (That’s me with the finished painting.)

The Quick Draw Artists are assigned a volunteer (or in my case, two) whose job it is to cater to the QD artist’s every wish.  I think I lucked out and got the VERY BEST volunteer couple – Shorty and Ronda.  Shorty kept me appraised of the time, gave me encouragement and was downright funny. He kept me relaxed. Or maybe that was Rhonda, who refilled my wine glass and kept me in clean painting water. Either way, they were great and if I do the Quick Draw again next time, I’m definitely requesting them!

When the time was up and my piece was framed, it went on the auction block and was the highest bid painting of the night. The couple who bought it were so happy and even had me personalize the back for them. Later on I got the best compliment from an artist whose work I greatly admire. Julie Bender said watching me paint was like watching a little kid, I was so free and engaged with the process. She said seeing me paint like that inspired her to try to loosen up.  All in all, a good night at the Old West Museum!

Next up… the Colorado Governor’s Show. I’m busy creating paintings for the show – I’ll need three more in addition to the one featured on the Governor’s Show website and catalog.  I haven’t decided which three yet – I’ve got until April 1^st to send in my images. So I’ll keep on painting and then choose the best three out of the bunch.  Click here to see the possibilities.  Do you have a favorite so far??