Windows on the World

Now, I will begin to post some of my paintings. I chose this one to be first because I named my blog, "Nikki Atkinson's Windows on the World of Art And Life". This painting is from my trip to Italy with Judi Betts, 3 years ago. It was just one of the gorgeous windows at our residence, a 500+ yr. old farm house named Selva, outside of Lucca. The flowers there were incredible. What a wonderful trip. I'll never forget it.

I'd like to do this again, larger. I would probably darken the inside of the room to make the flowers pop some more.

Have a great day!

Austin Art Gals Night Out

Last night was the first of what we hope will be a regular networking event. Eight of us (Art Gals) met at Iron Cactus for happy hour. It was really fun to meet, greet and get to know several artists in Austin, that I didn't know before. Some of these ladies are already members of Creative Arts Society, which I just joined this week. Some were also members of Pastel Society Austin. Though we paint in different mediums, we have many issues in common and it was great to share our successes and concerns. Well worth the time it took to go. Marilyn Rea Nasky was the instigator of the event. Kudos to Marilyn! I am already looking forward to the next one.

Sign of the times: At one point, I pulled out my IPhone to show someone my paintings. Within a few minutes almost everybody had their smart phone out showing their own works. Each phone got passed around and around. It was hilarious! The technology of 2010 is AWESOME.

My studio @ Austin Art Space Gallery

These are the first pictures of my studio since Brad and I rehung everything. (Austin ArtSpace Gallery is a co-op gallery in Austin, Texas. We have 10 resident artists and have been open since Nov., 2008.) Since my blog is so new, I plan to gradually show you many of these paintings, along with new work, or works in progress. I hope you will come back many times to see them.

I spent considerable time this week, perusing the blogs of other artists, to learn what I want for my own. The up-shot of that time spent is that I am so inspired by the talents of so many of the bloggers I visited, and the sense of community I found among them, I now aspire to achieve new heights in my own art. I could hardly sleep for the excitement it instilled in me. What an amazing resource this blogosphere is! I will continue my blog searches and add many of these awesome artists to my list, here.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Spring Break & SXSW

My family is here visiting from Katy, Tx., for Spring Break. I'm looking forward to taking them by Austin ArtSpace Gallery to see my studio. They haven't been there in a while and I'm excited for them to see how we got it re-hung.

We plan to see "The Bounty Hunter" and eat some good food . . . . . if we can ever decide which of everybody's favorite restaurants to go to. Decision making in this group is a joke. Too many followers and not enough leaders. Or, maybe it is just that there are too many good places in Austin to eat at.

Jamie (my techy grandson) is here so maybe I will learn a lot about posting and getting my web site updated.

A New Day

Well, enough of counting the days of this post. I've proved to myself that I can post something almost every day. . . . .except when my Internet service is screwy and I can't get online at all. Suddenly, it works, so here I am again. I took the weekend off, spent time with friends, ate good food, read a book, spent more time with friends and worked around the house. No art this weekend, other than the lovely paintings I got to see at East Side Cafe and at Austin ArtSpace Gallery. I'm starting the new week feeling inspired and excited about my own work and all the possibilities for future paintings. It is going to be a great week. See you later,

Day 7

Today turned out to be glorious after all. Eight ladies and one intrepid gentleman, out for a day of painting in Gruene, Texas. I set up next to the Gruene River (a favorite for river rafting) and spent the morning listening to the roar of the rapids and the birds singing. We've had lots of rain lately, after several years of drought, so this is the most water I've seen in the river for a long time. I've painted here when there was only a trickle, so this was exciting and encouraging to see. After painting for several hours, we all gathered at The Gristmill for a late lunch before heading back to Austin. What a great day.

Day 6

Yeah, I did get to paint a little bit today. Tomorrow I'm going to go with a bunch of painters (mostly watercolorists) to Gruene, Tx., for a paint out. It is a cute little town, just outside New Braunfels, full of quaint shops and restaurants. If we don't get rained on, it should be fun with lots of places to paint. I hope the sun shines!

Check you later. . . . .

Day 5

Today was all about searching through my photos for new compositions. I was bummed to find that the boxes of photo reference material, stored away for who knows how long, has begun to lose color. Aaaawwwww, pooh. Oh well, I've decided to see if I can challenge myself to pick a random photo from a box, choose a color pallette (warm or cool), maybe play with some of the gorgeous new Daniel Smith watercolors I got recently, and find something in the poor, sad, faded photo that I can get excited about. This is going to be the material for my "almost daily" paintings. Wish me luck.

Did you enjoy the Academy Awards last night? I managed to stay awake through the whole thing! I was so proud for Sandra Bullock. Yeah!

See you tomorrow. (Oh, you may have noticed that there are still no pictures here.) Soon.

Day 4

I admit it. I didn't wet a brush today. Cloudy, rainy, ooky weather. So, I went to the movies with my son after a great burger at Mooney's. Now it is time for the Academy Awards, so I'm hunkered down with my dog, Zoe, my blankey and a drink, ready to enjoy the evening. Tomorrow is another day. Make it a great one.

Day 3

Wow, three days in a row. I'm on a roll! High 5's for me.

Brad and I finished re-hanging my studio last night and it looks AWESOME. I'll take some pictures today while I'm working at the gallery and see if I can get them posted on here. My techy friend, Dianne, has offered to show me how to post images today.

I started this quest when I clicked "Next Blog" while viewing a friend's current post on her blog. It took me to Diane Hoeptner's blog and I was hooked at first sight. She has a long list of fellow bloggers, which I have since checked out. I'm intrigued by all the Daily Painters and their small works. What a great way to start your day. I can't promise that I will do a painting a day, but I am going to challenge myself to do several a week. Watercolor, to begin with, and we'll see where it goes from there.

Have a great weekend.

Day 2

Well, I got a lot accomplished yesterday. It all started with getting this blog up and running. Yeah! I spent the afternoon working on my San Miguel de Allende street scene. Last night my son, Brad, and I went to Austin ArtSpace Gallery to re-hang my studio. We were there until midnight, took everything off the walls and started from scratch. Two walls are done and more to finish tonight. It is looking great. If you live in Austin, come by and check it out. There will be a reception this Saturday evening, for Donna Crosby. Thursday, March 11, we will be open until 8:00 pm to celebrate the 25th birthday of Northcross Center. Big party on the parking lot. Lots of food, fun and people. Come join us.

I tried to attach a picture yesterday and failed dismally. Today, I am going to get this figured out so I can post pictures easily and regularly. Wish me luck. I'm not the most technically proficient puppy out there.

Day 1

I've been planning this blog for months. Literally, months. I've dreamed about it, talked about it, worried about it, journaled about it . . . . always trying to figure out what I have to offer that anyone would really want to read. My life is at a place where I can do just about anything I want to, within reason. Painting is my drug of choice, so this blog will probably be mostly about my art, my art friends, my art travels, etc. Paintings will be attached, along with links to many of the art blogs I love to read. I hope you will join me.

For now, this is enough for me to say that I finally have a blog. I can now go paint with my friends and think about what I will post on Day 2. See you then.