River Garden Studio

Springs Promise

Its been a beautiful two weeks in my garden and in my world. And I have been thinking about what spring promises to me. 

Finding new colors.

Making new books, this is an example of one I made for a sample for my Branching Out workshop.  You can read about it and see photos here.

Seeing the world with fresh eyes. 

Noticing new patterns.

Having the sky and the trees filled with songbirds.

 

And songs. Can you see the little bird diving upward in the left hand corner?

Seeing shadows that appear only before the trees have their leaves.  Here the sun was at the perfect angle.

Collecting treasures.

Spring promises days of drawing outside...

And watching birds in the bird bath.  This silly jay hops around our garden chasing my cat every afternoon.

But she sure is pretty.

Spring is like seeing colors for the very first time.

When dreams can come true.  I planted several bunches of tulips last fall.  Just look at them now!

Spring is when I was born.  Today is my birthday! I finished one deadline and my husband is making me giant scallops and spinach noodles for dinner.  

And for me this spring has been a celebration.

An almost year long collaboration has come to life.

In our show, The Story Within,at Ilahee Gallery, in Ashland, Oregon. See more photographs here.

With my dear friend, Seth Apter. Seth speant four days with my husband Jim and I and met my whole family!  We even had an art day, where I taught him some encaustic basics. We worked outside in the patio garden and I video taped it... I promise will share it soon!  I am teaching an Encaustic Workshop in Bandon by the Sea, on August 24th at Sage Place.  More info will come... 

And Elan, who shared our show with her lovely art work, and hung it all so beautifully. 

During the spring you can't help but smile.  What is spring's promise to you? 

And don't for get to check out my new online workshop that starts June the first.  Click the image below to read all about it!

growing and changing

Path to the Sky

Encaustic and Mixed Media

Roxanne Evans Stout and Seth Apter

We've had such a cold, snowy week here in my little town in Oregon.  Skies have been a dark purple gray and filled with fast moving clouds and flocks of wild geese.  It's been a little too cold to work much outside in my gardens and this is for the best because this has been the busiest two months I've had for a long time. Ever in the art world at least.

Circle Dance

8 inches by 8 inches, Encaustic and Mixed Media

Roxanne Evans Stout

The wonderful thing is that I have a week or two between each event and that has helped me with organizing and planning, packing and ordering supplies and creating new projects. Often times my best ideas come to me in the middle of the night.

Left Behind

12 inches by 12 inches, Encaustic and Mixed Media

Roxanne Evans Stout and Seth Apter

 Here are my two workshops that

are coming up on April 27th and May 11th:

-The Thread That Weaves at Rogue Gallery in Medford, Oregon.  Every time I teach this workshop it is a little different, depending on the season and the place where it takes place. This workshop will be inspired by the beautiful Rogue Valley spring and the feeling of renewal that is everywhere.  We have a few more openings if you are in the area!  You can read more about it and register here.  This gallery offers amazing schollarships of ten to fifty percent off to meet the students needs!

-On Saturday, May 11th, the day before Mother's Day I am doing a new workshop in Klamath Falls, Oregon in the lovely new addition of Klamath Falls Library.  Registration is now open!  You can read more about this workshop here and to sign up you can call this number, 541-882-8894.

May 11th is also very special because that evening is my husband's retirement party!!!  We are so proud of him and all his amazing work as a Resource Officer in the U.S. Forest Service for over 30 years.

............

-The Story Within, my collaborative show with Seth Apter in coming with it's opening on the first Friday in May,  the 3rd,  at Ilahee Gallery in Ashland, Oregon.  Seth and I will both be there and would love to see you and meet you in person.

Through the Mist

10 inches by 10 inches, Encaustic, Plaster, Mixed Media

Roxanne Evans Stout and Seth Apter

During the next few months I will be in the midst of creating

a new online workshop called Nature Journaling...

just for summer that will be filmed right in my own garden!  

Those of you who have known me for a while

know how much I love to garden, to paint and draw outside,

and to photograph my garden in the changing seasons.

Read about this online workshop here 

or click the image below and

register before May the 5th

for a free copy of my book, Song of the River,

AND

the first eight people who sign up

will also receive a small piece of my artwork!  

I am planning this to be a very special workshop

and would love to teach you

how to draw and paint and collage  

things from  your own back yard!

 

The next painting is by Niki Salt, one of my "This I Will Do Students."

 You can read more about this project by clicking here.

I love how Niki takes a project idea and makes it her own.  Here is what she said about The Tree of Life: 

"What I found was that the loose format of this lesson was really conducive to creativity.
I have done a few e courses and although I really enjoy following videos the danger is that you produce a beautiful page in some one else's exact style. This project kicked off so many ideas, I actually made about 4 different pages with a loose tree theme, I didn't love them all, but in a way that is good, as it should be as much about the process as the end result."

Here is the link to Niki's Flickr page. (I hope this link works!) She was also in my "The Thread That Weaves" workshop and you can see her book there.

........

And lastly I leave you with two photographs of the insides of a package from one of my very favorite artists, Elizabeth Bunson.  I won a comfort cushion from her blog.  The package came at a time that I really needed comforting too.

Thank you eb.

 

Restore

Sometimes all you need is a trip to the ocean.

Even if it rains the whole time you are there and the wind shakes your little motel room so that you think it might blow away.

Sometimes all you need is a trip to the ocean.

The ocean can restore so many things.  

Your love of nature,

your connection to the world,

that light that you have to share.

 

Last weekend I taught two workshops at Sage Place in Bandon By The Sea.

To see work samples from Land, Water and Sky please click here.

And to see work samples from Windows To My World please click here.

Such lovely students I had, a such a beautiful studio to work in.  

Art flowed just like the waves on the shore.

Morning Shore (detail)

12 x 12 inches

Roxanne Evans Stout and Seth Apter

My husband couldn't go with me this time, so I found a little motel with a gorgeous view of the sea and a fireplace.  

Before I went to sleep each night I could watch the waves and the glow of the fire all at the same time.

Tangled Blue

10 x 10 inches

Roxanne Evans Stout and Seth Apter 

Life Saver

 12 x 12 inches

Roxanne Evans Stout and Seth Apter

Preparing for my collaborative show, "The Story Within," at Ilahee Gallery in Ashland, Oregon with Seth Apter has been nothing short of joyful.

 

 

Mountain Waters

8 x 8 inches

Roxanne Evans Stout

This is our description of this show...

In every painting there is a story within, needing to be told and waiting to be discovered. In this group of paintings, Oregon artist Roxanne Evans Stout and New York artist Seth Apter collaborate to tell their story. 

From a distance you will see beautiful abstract paintings...deep and mysterious... but on closer inspection layers, textures and colors will unfold pulling you closer for examination. Part encaustic, part acrylic and part plaster, these paintings are a unique blend of the artists themselves.

Each of these twelve painting has traveled back and forth across the United States for the last year. One artist would begin, and the other artist finish until “the story within” was revealed.

The story unique to each artist is also told side-by-side in an intimate grouping of individual work.

 

Golden Haze

6 x 6 inches

Roxanne Evans Stout 

Sometimes all you need is a trip to the ocean...